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Wake up, God damn it!
I know it's hard.
Your eyes is burning,
slowly opening.
You slowly realizing
that this wasn't no dream.
No, this is your life.
Yeah, right about now you're looking
at them cold walls that surround you,
and you wondering, "How the hell
did I get up in this joint, Jack?
"And how the ***
I'm gonna get out?"
But you know what they say:
"It's like life, y'all.
"Ain't no way to it,
but to do it. "
So reach on up there and scratch
another day off the wall, man.
But don't be whining.
Uh-uh.
Ain't gonna be no signal fire.
Just take a stand.
Be a man.
It's good to see you, man.
And try to understand.
Hey, listen, man. Listen.
You ain't in here
'cause of the master's plan.
No, you in here
'cause you *** up!
Look, this is the *** that I've
been writing you about. You dig?
Yo, I was reading my court
papers the other day, y'all.
They say, "Ralph Waldo 'Petey' Greene
versus the United States of America."
I say, "***! No wonder
I'm up in this ***!"
So I'm gonna dedicate
this next one to my baby.
Man, she gonna be up here in a
minute, and this gal, Lord have mercy,
she's fine as frogs, yeah.
So while this is playing, I want y'all
to think about the one y'all love.
And I'm talking about the one
sends you them pictures, man,
not the cat in the next bunk.
I guess you're pretty hard up
for entertainment around here.
Yeah, man. This is prison.
Whatever gets you through
twenty-to-life.
I got a meeting.
You...
You need anything?
I don't need ***.
Okay.
Let me ask you something.
Why do you even bother?
Because I promised Mama.
Don't do me no *** favors.
Hello, Vernell.
That's the *** line.
Conjugal visits.
Hay. Hey, Radio man! Hey!
So Milo been telling you
about me, huh?
What?
Milo. Your brother?
Said y'all need a new DJ
at that radio station.
Hey, I'm your man.
My brother wouldn't know.
And in case you forgot,
you're in prison.
It's a minor challenge.
You're a miscreant.
That's more than
a minor challenge.
The *** this *** call me?
A Miss who?
A miscreant.
A convict.
Listen to this ***!
I'm a miscreant!
Well, you know what?
I like that ***!
'Cause that makes me sound
like a con with class.
Hey, Ralph Waldo
"Petey" Greene,
miscreant mack
at your service.
You forgot "felon."
"Lowlife."
So do that mean
I got a job or what?
Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait!
I need you to do me a favor,
sugar. Okay?
I need you to go home
and take this
right on down to Nighthawk
for me, okay?
Here.
Here!
Come on, take it!
Here!
Ain't no padding in there,
sweetie.
You tell him
it's all me, okay?
Vernell.
What? You don't get
your *** in that room...
Oh, shut up.
It's just a bra.
Hey, radio man!
You better come on!
I'm gonna look you up
when I get out of here, man.
Yeah?
How many years you pulling?
Five to ten.
Nickel to a dime.
It ain't ***, baby.
You do that.
I'm the best there is, baby.
I'm the greatest!
I'm the greatest
of all time, baby!
This is
The Nighthawk Show,
doing it for all those fine young
things down at Howard University.
The Love Hawk
with you all night,
rocking your radio
in the nation's capital.
It's 5:10 on the
Sounds of Soul, the big O-L.
We keep losing ground to WOOK.
We can make up the lost ground on OK,
sir. I mean, we have a very exciting slate.
Great music, talk... Sounds
good, but it's not working.
What's the problem?
The problem is we've lost
touch with the real DC
in our attempts
to win over the Beltway.
This has always been
a station of the people
and in case you forgot, most of
the people don't live in Georgetown.
Yeah, but the people who live
in Georgetown
do shop at Giant Foods
and ***'s.
Sponsors that pay your salary.
No. I pay his salary,
and yours.
Maybe I should start paying
your salary to him.
Sir, I think...
I'm serious.
What do you say, Dewey?
You think
you can turn us around?
Yes sir, I do.
Good.
Let's give it a try.
Good afternoon, gentlemen.
Sir, I just need
a minute of your time, please.
Hey, y'all, guess what? I found
out today I ain't a con, y'all.
For real.
I am not a con,
or a felon, or a thug.
No. I am a miscreant.
Now, y'all know what that is?
Good morning.
That's a con, brother.
A felon, a thug.
We ain't in prison.
No, this
a correctional facility.
See, when you broke into
that car, or shot that ***,
it wasn't 'cause you a
wrong-doing ***, no.
No, see,
you troubled, brother.
You disenfranchised.
The Tonight Show Starring
Johnny Carson. And now...
All this wordplay so that we
don't have to face the truth.
'Cause the truth is, no matter
how many ways you try to slice it,
I'm a con.
Lights out!
And you a con, too.
Warden's got a little ***!
Warden's got a little ***!
Yeah! Come on, Warden!
What you got?
You got that little ***?
Who the hell is that man
on my tower?
Braxton, Poochie, sir.
Ten-to-fifteen, armed robbery.
Hey, Warden! You got a little, itty-bitty
***! That's right! That's you, Warden!
Shoot him.
Sir?
Right between the eyes.
I don't know
if we can do that, legally.
Technically,
he's not trying to escape.
Well, where in hell can I
shoot him, then? Listen here!
I want Petey Greene!
You hear me, Warden?
I want you to get Petey Greene
out here, right now.
Petey! Petey! Petey!
Petey! Petey! Petey!
What's he gonna do?
Where Petey at?
Oh, yo, Petey!
Yeah. Look,
you got a little ***!
Warden! Your ***, Warden!
Look like you got
quite a situation here, sir.
Yes, Mr. Greene, I do.
Warden's got
a little ***!
Can you do anything?
I don't know, sir.
I mean, what you got
in your boxers is God's doing.
Sorry, Warden, you kind of
walked right into that one.
Poochie! ***, what the hell
are you doing up there, man?
Yeah! Warden's got
a little ***!
Now look here, Warden.
Poochie crazy.
He's a good kid, but he got
all *** up on that narcotic.
Come on, Warden, what you
got? I can get him down.
Got that little ***!
I can even shut him up.
Come on, what you gonna do?
What you gonna do, Warden?
I'd be very grateful.
Now, exactly how grateful
are we talking about?
All right.
Poochie!
Petey! It's Petey!
Boy, if you don't come down from
there and stop making all that noise,
I'm gonna call your mama.
I'm gonna tell her you
out here acting a fool, man.
Now, come on down. Poochie.
Petey! Petey!
Petey! Petey!
Petey! Petey! Petey! Petey!
We take all necessary measures
in support of freedom
and in defense of peace
in Southeast Asia.
Stop the bombing,
and stop the war.
Come on.
Petey!
Yeah.
Ain't this a ***?
What?
I can't move my legs, baby.
You jiving!
No.
Look here, Petey.
Now, you know I been
with you ten years, right?
Hell, nine of them
you was in jail.
So you know how
I feel about you.
But I didn't get all foxy,
nails done, new dress
to hear you talking
about you can't move.
Now, I know you're scared.
Okay?
Every man is scared.
But baby, I'm standing here in a
girdle and some tight-*** shoes,
and I wanna meet me
some Nighthawk!
So you best to get your legs to moving
and get in there and get your job.
What if I ain't good enough?
Hell! Every man I know
ain't good enough, Petey!
But even with all your ***,
you the only one who is.
Now, come on! Look at you!
You the man with the pants!
Yeah.
The ***-talking,
***-walking, good-Ioving man.
Oh, that's right.
The mack that's the head of
the Cool Cat Clan! Give me some!
Preach on.
And you'll be damned if you take ***
from any black, yellow, green or white man.
Amen!
Hallelujah!
Baby, did I tell you
how good you look?
I know!
Good afternoon, good people.
There he is.
You wanted to meet him, go on.
I can't move my legs.
Hello, DC, this is Sunny Jim,
coming back at you.
Well, it's about time
for me to go,
but don't forget to come
to the country fair tomorrow.
I know I'd love me some cotton
candy. How about you, Widget?
"Oh yeah, I love it, I love
it. It's sweet, it's fluffy,
"and it's oh-so-satisfying!"
I'm gonna leave you with the
sunny, sweet, cotton-candy sounds
of The Supremes.
Have no fear,
The Hawk is here.
You're late.
Oh, I'm never late. The Hawk
is always right on time.
Just hurry on up
and get in there.
What you got?
Better tell these women
to stop calling here for you.
I'm not your social secretary.
Jamming up my phones!
One heifer sent her ***!
Don't blame me.
It's the voice.
In the last six months, we've seen our
numbers rise with our core audience.
Nighthawk's show, as you can
see, is winning in its time slot.
But we need to take another
serious look at our programming.
We need to inject some new
ideas, some new blood, some...
Oh, hell, no.
You all right, Dewey?
Yes, sir.
Anyway, the morning show...
May I help you?
Yeah, sweetness.
Tell your boss that Petey
Greene's on the scene.
May I ask
what this is pertaining to?
I don't know what it's pertaining.
Just tell him it's about my job.
Go on, get on the horn, sugar.
This is the Nighthawk,
Taking you all the way to the
midnight hour. That's my song!
Excuse me, sir. I'm sorry to interrupt
you, but there's a Petey Greene
who wants to tell you he's
"on the scene."
Come on with your bad self! Sir?
...a five-dollar bill
right there.
What in blue blazes
is going on out here?
Did this *** just say
"blue blazes"? He did!
Who are these people?
Hold it, now. Hold it, man. We
got an appointment, all right?
Go on, get your boss, sugar.
That is my boss.
No, not Blue Blazes. I'm talking
about the skinny, righteous ***.
Young man, there is one boss here,
I am he, and we don't use that term.
Hey!
Well, right the *** on, man!
Where you been hiding? Come on,
tell your boss here about my job.
What?
What?
Tell your boss that
I'm your new DJ, man.
Did you promise
this fellow a job?
No sir.
I didn't promise him anything.
Now, you is about
a lying ***.
You promised me a job as
soon as I got out the joint.
Well surprise, I'm out.
You owe me.
Oh my God, he's a convict.
Ex-convict!
I prefer "miscreant."
Freda, call the police.
Now, you ain't calling
a ***!
You know how much *** I
had to run to get out of jail?
I ain't never going
back there, man.
Now, you promised me a job, and I'm
here to work in this funky joint.
And ain't no way
in blue blazes I'm leaving
till I get what's mine.
Right on!
So figure it out.
That's right.
Sir, would you excuse
us for one moment please?
Would you like
to come with me?
Yeah. Talk to me. ***.
This is my song!
Girl, you can't feel that?
What y'all trying
to do to me and ***?
Get your *** hands off of
me! Have you lost your mind?
Are you trying
to get me fired?
Man, I'm trying
to get me a job!
Look, I admire
your determination, okay?
But you do not walk in here and talk
to Mr. E.G. Sonderling like that!
And where the hell did you get
the idea you'd be a disc jockey?
From you, brother.
What?
I never said that.
I said, "Look me up." Okay?
And even if I could get you a
job, it would be as a janitor,
or a window cleaner, maybe.
Oh, I don't do windows,
Jack.
I guess that kind of work is beneath
a convict of your pedigree, huh?
You know what, man? *** you.
I thought you was real.
You ain't nothing but another
white boy with a tan.
See, a cat come out of Hard Time,
U.S.A. Looking to turn his life around...
***, I expect
to get rejected by ***!
So because I'm black,
I'm supposed to ignore the fact that
your only experience has been in jail
and hire you as a DJ?
You *** right.
You sound
just like my brother.
***, I ain't him. I'm out
here trying to get what's mine.
His *** is back there
in Lorton, cooling his heels.
But you know what?
That's all right.
You Sidney Poitier-*** ***,
I'm gonna get what's mine.
And when I do, I'm coming right back
here and shove it in your *** face!
Sellout!
Vernell. Come on, baby, we're
splitting. All right, baby.
Come on. All right! Oh,
wait, wait, wait, wait!
One second. Wait. I'll be right
back! Wait for me, okay, sugar?
That Formica?
Hey, you're...
No, you can't go in there.
You make me so hot.
Bye-bye! Thank you!
It was so lovely meeting all
of y'all. Bring your *** on!
Shut the *** up!
I'm coming, God damn it!
Blue Blazes, you so cute!
I'm gonna take this off your
hands, girl. Power to the people!
Vernell!
Shut up! ***!
I told your *** I was coming
up here to see the Nighthawk!
Thanks.
You're welcome, brother.
Hello, brother.
Democratic freedom, brother.
First Amendment, baby.
God bless you.
Go straight to hell!
Go straight to hell!
WOL! WOL!
WOL! WOL!
Go straight to hell!
Go straight to hell!
You're embarrassing yourselves. WOL!
You're embarrassing...
You're embarrassing
yourselves! Go straight to hell!
WOL!
WOL!
Go straight to hell!
WOL!
Dewey Hughes is in bed
with the man!
Dewey Hughes is
in bed with the man!
Dewey Hughes is
in bed with the man!
Dewey Hughes is
in bed with the man!
Dewey Hughes is
in bed with the man!
Dewey Hughes is
in bed with the man!
Dewey Hughes is
in bed with the man!
Dewey Hughes is
in bed with the man!
Dewey Hughes is
in bed with the man!
Dewey Hughes is
in bed with the man!
Dewey Hughes is
in bed with the man!
Dewey Hughes is
in bed with the man!
Dewey Hughes is
in bed with the man!
Dewey Hughes is
in bed with the man!
Dewey Hughes is in bed with...
Dewey Hughes is in bed with the man!
There he is!
Dewey Hughes is a blushing...
Well, does he have blood?
I don't know.
Now, a righteous brother tries to better
himself, make up for his mistakes...
That's right!
... and WOL slams
the door right in his face.
Now, I ask you,
is that righteousness?
No!
Ladies and gentlemen, WOL would
never turn its back on our listeners.
Our goal is to speak for and to unite
the community, not divide or hurt.
Did he say WOL speaks
for the community?
Why ain't they speaking
about that black boy
that got shot down
by them pigs the other day?
Yeah!
Yeah!
Do you know why?
'Cause if they did,
Mr. Giant Foods may not give
them any more of that green stuff.
And as we know, money is
always the real truth!
Petey! Petey!
Petey! Petey!
Petey! Petey! Petey! Petey!
Hell, no!
Petey! Petey! Petey! Petey!
Telephone!
Petey! Petey! Petey!
Let him know!
Petey! Petey! Petey! Petey!
You're late.
Hey, you a little out of your
element around here, ain't you,
Mister Tibbs?
Well, I thought you might be more
comfortable in familiar surroundings.
Yeah, you right.
So, I wanna bring this little
show of yours to an end.
Well, that mean you
offering me a job? No.
Well, then I'm afraid
the show must go on.
That's entertainment talk.
Listen, man,
since you're here,
wanna play a little game?
A little 9-Ball?
Sure.
Call it, sugar.
Heads. Please.
Tails.
Rack 'em, chump.
Please.
Wanna make it
a little interesting?
A little wager on it,
radio man?
You don't wanna just play?
Ain't really playing unless
you got something on the line.
What do you think? About
five hundred?
Rolling kind of heavy for
a man just out of the joint.
Oh, they got
a real nice savings plan.
Okay.
Uh-huh.
I see Mr. Blue Blazes
keeps you happy.
I do okay.
Now, this is just a side bet,
you understand.
Really?
What you say, Tibbs?
How about you play me
for a career?
One game, 9-Ball.
I win, you get me
a job down at that station.
And as you know,
I don't do windows.
And if you lose?
I leave you the *** alone.
Well, then, let's play.
Well, all right.
I tell you what.
Here's another hundred
says you don't drop
a ball off the break.
Mister Tibbs,
trying to talk a little ***!
I like your style, Tibbs!
Yeah, I'm gonna take some more
of your money.
Get him!
I'm about to run this rack.
You're chalking up your cue a
little heavy there, ain't you?
I mean, that ain't your
cellmate's *** you're holding.
Just for that, I'm gonna drop
the nine ball off the break.
***, you couldn't drop your
drawers to *** The Supremes
if all three of them was lying
butt-naked on this table.
What's the matter, big time?
You thinking about all that
money lying in your lady's lap?
Is that why you're sweating?
Or maybe it's all that whiskey
you've been sucking on.
Or maybe you're sweating 'cause you know
that even if you give it your best shot,
you still might
leave 'em standing.
'Cause this ain't Lorton
anymore. This is the real world.
And you ain't *** out here.
Are you through?
Knock 'em down, champ.
All right. Come on. Come on. Baby.
Yeah.
There it go!
Damn!
Too bad, big time.
I had faith in you.
One ball, corner.
Two ball, side pocket.
Three ball, corner.
See, negroes always think that
if you speak correct English,
or you wear clothes
other than clown suits,
that you're not real.
Four ball, side pocket.
And to you, what's real is
a *** loud-mouthing, right?
Telling everybody how bad he is
while he's looking for a handout.
Five.
But you give him a chance
to take what's his,
and he can't sink
one single ball.
Six.
Lucky seven!
Now, you were so busy
running your mouth,
you never really asked yourself
why I chose a pool hall to meet.
'Cause this uppity *** could never
have grown up in these projects,
or made his way through school
hustling *** ***
who thought he wasn't down.
They call me Mr. Hughes.
Grew up
in the Anacostia projects.
This con climbed the tower
in the yard back in Lorton.
He up there, man,
he's talking real...
You know, unflattering
about the warden's ***.
Nobody could talk
this cat down.
So they call Petey Greene,
man,
I talked this cat down
in five minutes, man.
Let's just say the warden was
very, very grateful.
Five minutes, huh?
Mmm-hmm.
But what the warden don't know
is it took me six months to talk that
crazy *** up there in the first place!
Let me ask you something.
Why?
Why you want to be on the radio so bad
that you're gonna go through all this?
Oh, man, it's what I do, man.
It's my thing, you know?
I started off making them daily
announcements back at Lorton
as part of the work program, you
know? A reward for good behavior.
Couple years later, I convinced
them to let me play this record
that my Aunt Pig had sent me, a Sam
Cooke record, man, A Change Is Gonna Come.
That's an incredible song.
She sent me that record, you know,
to try and give me a little hope,
and I wanted to play it
for the men in them cells,
you know, give them some hope.
And I'm telling you, man,
it's the only thing that kept me from
going stone-crazy behind them walls, man.
And now that I'm out,
I still need that.
Why should I put my *** on the
line to give you a shot, Petey?
***... 'Cause Petey Greene
is the real deal, Jack!
***! I swear to God, I mean, he
is the sho'nuff, I mean, ***...
Sorry.
It's okay.
See, what this pretty lady
is trying to tell you is that,
man, being a DJ, that's
the only thing I'm good at
that don't involve me
breaking no law.
And ***, since you here
sharing a drink,
I'm gonna assume that you need
a man of my particular talents.
Three rules.
One,
always know
more than your audience.
Two, you talk ***,
you back it up.
And three, don't you ever,
never, ever,
underestimate me again.
What are you talking about,
man?
I'm gonna give you one more
chance to knock in that nine ball.
Tomorrow morning, 9:00 a.m.,
WOL, Studio One. Be on time.
Be sober.
And definitely
be by yourself.
You my kind of ***, Hughes!
You my kind of ***,
Hughes!
We love you!
We love you!
Oh my God!
We need to make
a personnel change.
Really? Who?
Sunny Jim.
You're not serious.
Sir, morning shows are becoming
more than just a leisurely stroll.
We have to compete here.
WOOK is killing us
in the morning.
But Sunny Jim is a DC icon!
Everyone loves Sunny Jim.
He's so sunny.
No sir, you love Sunny Jim.
Sunny Jim is a relic
of a bygone radio age.
We don't play Nat "King" Cole
or The Drifters anymore.
And our DJ's have
to reflect that.
That's why we have Nighthawk
and Soul Papa.
I'm not turning this into some kind
of teenybopper American Bandstand.
We're a respectable
R&B station.
With all due respect, sir,
this is not a respectable town.
This is DC.
You see them out
on the mall every day,
protesting the so-called
respectable establishment.
We can't become the establishment,
or they'll turn on us.
Who do you have in mind?
Well, sir, I found a DJ
from an out-of-town station.
He has a major following,
and he's recently
been released
from his contract.
Jim, come back here, please.
It's nothing personal.
Oh, ***! I'm sorry...
Watch where the hell
you're going!
All right, man.
Oh, no.
Hey, sugar!
You know the drill.
Call your man.
I don't think so.
Let me ask you something.
You ever had anybody
eat your ***?
Mr. Sonderling!
What's wrong, Freda?
Oh, God. Blue Blazes.
How the radio business?
I put up with your
shenanigans out front
for a week, Mr. Brown.
Greene.
All right, Mr. Green,
what do you want now?
I'm your DJ, man!
Freda, call the police.
God damn! Y'all got some hospitality
issues around this ***!
You're cutting it close.
What can I say, man?
Had to get my vine together.
Your vine?
Yeah.
You're going on the...
***.
Mr. Sonderling,
this is our new morning DJ.
I've been hoodwinked!
Come on.
You are out of your mind if you think
I'm gonna put this person on the air.
Sir, I know
this is unorthodox...
Unorthodox? It's insane!
Sir, hear me out.
This man has a unique voice.
I just have a feeling... I have
much more than just a feeling.
Sir, we need to put somebody on the air
in the next two minutes or we go black.
Black, black, black.
Freda, run after Jim, he might
still be in the building!
Sir, we don't have time.
You're just gonna have
to trust me. One show.
One shot.
Our morning show's already
in the toilet.
We don't have a thing to lose.
You don't have a thing to lose!
Sir, it's one minute to air,
and Jim's gone.
Oh, for crying out loud.
It's my own fault
for listening to you.
All right, one show, one shot.
I want you on air with him.
You can introduce him.
I'll be watching and listening
to every word, young man.
You watch your language
on the air. Scout's honor.
Okay.
Let's go.
You ready?
Yeah.
Okay, remember, always talk, no dead
air. Talk about your cat, your car,
anything, but no dead space.
And watch your language.
Okay. Now, you're a man of Washington,
so speak to Washington, okay?
Connect to Washington. Okay?
Yeah.
You watch your language.
This is it, Ralphie.
Okay.
Okay.
We're coming in.
Okay.
Let's do it.
Okay.
Michael, get the door.
Okay, we're on in five,
four, three, two, one...
And hello, Washington. Welcome
to your new Sound of Soul, WOL.
I'm Dewey Hughes,
director of programming,
here to announce that Sunny Jim can
now be heard at the midnight hour,
after The Nighthawk Show.
Today I introduce to you
a new voice on the DC scene,
a native of Washington, a true
son of the city, and some may say,
a prophet of the streets, here to spin
the tunes that will blow your mind,
Mr. Petey Greene.
Say hello, Petey.
Yeah, hello.
Like the man say,
this is Petey Greene.
And I'm here to spin the tunes
to get you through your morning.
Your AM morning drive.
But hell, maybe you ain't
driving. Maybe you're walking.
Maybe... Maybe you at work
already, maybe riding a bike.
But irregardless,
I'm gonna play the music
that's gonna keep you going,
and I hope
I don't bore you with...
With my rambling.
Say the call letters.
The call letters, y'all.
What the *** is going on? You
didn't come here drunk, did you?
Oh, ***.
No, man.
I ain't drunk.
It's nerves, man. I'm nervous.
Nerves or not, you better
get your *** back in there.
My *** is on the line!
I don't wanna hear some
*** Sunny Jim knock off.
I want Petey Greene, damn it!
Stop putting your ***
hands on me, man!
I ain't no punk, fool.
Well, stop acting like one and get
back in there before the song ends!
Move, man.
Here.
Got some ***...
Well, that was a little funk
to get you through your morning
over your yawning, put the pep in
your step, and a glide in your stride.
Well, over the break,
I was asked to be myself.
So, who is Petey Greene?
Well, I got an eighth-grade education
with a Ph.D. From the streets.
I'm a recovering alcoholic,
been sober five hours.
But I ain't touched a needle
in over eight years, y'all.
That's right.
Kicked *** dead in its ***.
I been incarcerated
over half my life,
most recently down at Lorton.
My mama been in jail
for 30 years,
and as we speak my daddy's
pulling 21 in Alcatraz.
I am an all-around hustler,
and some of my best friends
is pimps, *** and gamblers.
But I guess that don't make me
no different than Berry Gordy.
And hell,
that brother own a label!
I'm in pretty good company.
Maybe I'll own a label
one day, y'all. "P-Town."
So this is me, y'all.
And you ain't gotta worry about me
giving you nothing but the sho'nuff,
'cause that's all I know.
This is P-Town, y'all.
Are you out of your mind, saying
those things about Berry Gordy?
Oh, man, I ain't said nothing
that black folk don't already know.
You will apologize
immediately,
or I pull the plug
on this whole sorry mess.
Okay.
What?
I will apologize.
Now!
You said you wanted
Petey Greene, man!
Just apologize.
Just apologize.
I'm going by.
I'll tell you what, man.
Open the mike.
Sorry I had to break in now
on you ladies and gentlemen.
I know you was
enjoying it, too.
But in all seriousness, folks,
I gotta apologize about something that I
said a little earlier that upset some folks.
I gotta apologize
to Mr. Berry Gordy
for making him out
to be a hustler and a ***.
Mr. Gordy's a very important
man, and he's done a great deal.
And I love the way he takes
the little brothers and sisters,
broke-down runaways, the
downtrodden from the projects,
and he gets them
off the streets.
Then he puts a few dollars in their pockets,
teaches them how to talk and how to walk,
then sends them right back out there
to bring him a whole lot of money.
So I'm sorry if in any way
I made him out to be a ***.
That ain't pimping, y'all! That's
just good old-fashioned hit-making!
Studio One.
So why don't we hear us another
one of them good old-fashioned...
Mr. Sonderling,
Motown's DC rep's on the line.
Yeah.
And again, I sincerely
apologize, Mr. Berry Gordy,
from the bottom of my heart.
This is Petey Greene.
I'll call you back.
Something like that, boss?
Mr. Greene, you may have just cost me my
FCC license and a whole lot more. Get out.
And you obviously can't handle
your new responsibility,
so you don't have it anymore.
Call Jim. He's back on
tomorrow. Same time.
What the *** was that?
Motown is Hitsville, U.S.A.
This is a radio station,
Petey!
We can't afford
to have them angry with us!
"We"?
Did I miss something, or didn't
your *** just get demoted?
But hey, like Malcolm say,
"When the master sick, house
*** say, 'We's sick."'
Oh, you're a self-righteous
field ***, huh?
You *** right!
Well, you just lost a job,
field ***!
Hey, man.
Hey, man!
At least I know who I am.
I'm Petey Greene, and
I'm gonna keep talking ***!
Yeah?
Yeah.
For all the *** you talk, you
still can't sink a nine ball.
We're slowing it down tonight
on WOL.
This is The Hawk, taking you
into midnight. The Love Hawk...
How many times I gotta tell
you the same thing, man?
Oh, man! It's all about
Motown, baby. Motown!
That *** this morning?
He was telling the truth!
Come on, man, Berry Gordy
ain't no ***. ***!
You see, the problem with
trying to be somebody y'all...
You telling me
a *** in America,
with that much money...
Why not? You're ignorant.
Oh yeah? You're just telling it
like it is, just like Petey Greene.
No, I'm telling you. Why you think
they snatched him off the air so fast
if he wasn't telling the
truth? C- O-N-spiracy.
See, you're right
about the con part.
That's why they took
his black *** off the air.
Berry Gordy is
a stand-up brother.
Don't nobody want to hear some con talking
mess about somebody like Berry Gordy.
Right.
Come on.
I would rather listen to a con
than this sucker-for-Iove-*** ***.
Petey Greene was cool, but that
white boy that was with him...
Oh, God!
You okay?
Yeah.
Guys, drinks are on me, okay?
See that, now,
I could get with that.
Thank you, my brother.
Thank you, my brother.
Yo, bartender.
Thank you.
Right on.
How much you leaving, man?
Hey, hey. Keep it coming.
Right on, Kevin.
You ready to shake up
the world, radio man?
Let me ask you something, man.
Why, huh?
Why should I put my ***
on the line for you?
Why should I give up
all this right here
and take a chance on you?
I guess I need you
to say the things
I'm afraid to say.
And you need me to
do the things
you're afraid to do.
Damn, that was deep.
Yeah. It was, wasn't it?
Yeah. It was good, man.
You should put that ***
on a greeting card.
Go on, chump. Rack them.
See if I can't
teach you something.
Yeah.
Hey, Jim.
I just wanna apologize about what
happened and welcome you back.
Come on, let's not fight.
We still gotta work together.
Fan mail.
That's great.
I'm gonna get some coffee.
You want some?
Come on, Jim.
Black. Two sugars.
Okay. Okay.
Dewey! Hey!
Is Jim in his office?
No, I just checked.
He's probably
in the men's room.
You go get him. I'll stall in
there for a couple of minutes, okay?
I thought that kind of work
was beneath you.
Hey, doing this *** is how I got
thrown in the joint in the first place.
Well, then this should feel
good. You're on in five!
Wake up, God damn it! Petey
Greene is back on the scene!
And this ain't Washington DC.
No, this is P-Town!
Did you miss me?
Well, I missed y'all, too. Had to
cut it a little short yesterday.
Man, I don't know
who's worse, though...
Freda, help!
I'm locked in my office!
See, a *** get
a little money in his pocket,
and now we can't talk about it
no more? Shoot!
Look here, man...
Freda! Excuse me, I seem
to be locked in my office.
Could you give me a hand,
please?... I'm on the air,
which may not be much longer,
so I'm gonna go on ahead
and get my money's worth.
They're gonna have to take my
title, just like they did Ali.
And see, that's what
I'm talking about right there.
Freda! A black man can only say so much
in this so-called
free country,
till they break you down.
Well, guess what?
I'm telling it.
That's right, and I'm
gonna keep on telling it.
Some of it you're gonna like,
some of it you ain't.
If you got something to say,
give me a call.
If you disagree,
tell me like a man.
Dewey, have you
lost your mind?
Open this door right now!
Even if you're a woman.
Mr. Greene, sir,
you are trespassing!
I'm tired of hearing fools complaining
in barber chairs and beauty shops.
Let your opinion out.
Come on and give me a call at this
station. The number is 215-JK5-0199.
Somebody tell Freda to call
the cops. That number again,
215-JK5-0199. Dewey, this
is outrageous. Open the door!
And now, old Petey gonna play
a little non-Motown for you.
Dewey, open this door. You're
both in trouble. Do you hear me?
You are in real trouble,
mister!
Come on.
Come out of there
right now.
I'm not kidding!
Dewey, you're not...
WOL.
Yeah. Yeah.
Putting you through.
Talk to me.
Is this Petey Greene?
Sure is.
Petey, didn't I see you last week
down at the strip club on 14th Street?
Oh, yeah, I was down there.
Wasn't to see no show.
But that don't mean I mind the
company of shake-dancers. No.
My girl, Vernell,
she used to be shake-dancer.
She has a bar down there now.
What do you think
you're trying to prove?
Yeah, I had to go
over there...
WOL....and we'll talk
about this, do you hear me?
That's right. Putting you
through now. Look, don't touch!
Again.
Talk to me.
Petey,
I agree with you, man.
All them record guys are pimps, just
like most lawyers and politicians.
You give them all hell!
You know I will.
Do you hear me?
Come on. Dewey!
No, no, no, no. Put it
straight through on the board.
Line three. On the board.
Dewey?
Talk to me.
What you think about that kid
being killed by the pigs last week?
I'll tell you what I think.
Black folk life
ain't worth nothing.
One day, black folk ain't
gonna take that no more
and when that day happens...
Do you realize what you've
done? Are you trying to ruin me?
Hot mike, man.
Oh, for crying out loud.
I'm sorry, sir,
it was the only way.
You just let this fellow ruin your
career. You're finished, Dewey.
You're making a mistake, sir.
You can't see it, but I can.
If you throw us out, we're
gonna walk straight over to WOOK.
Good! That will help
our ratings.
Gentlemen, will you kindly escort
these men out of the building?
Sir? I've been trying
to call the police,
but all our lines
have been flooded.
What?
The operator can't handle
the volume, sir.
Are these listener calls?
I think so.
Wait a minute.
Good morning, WOL.
Yes, ma'am, he is,
but I'm afraid he's real busy right now.
You know, we're getting a lot of calls.
Yes ma'am, I will,
and thank you.
Keep listening.
Morning music and a talk
show, with a man of the people.
Because WOL is
a station of the people,
for the people,
by the people.
I'm the people.
He'll be a hit, sir.
I promise you that.
All right, thank you all.
Everything's fine here.
Let's all get back to work.
Thank you again.
The next time you decide
to make a personnel change,
at least put it in a memo.
Hold it. You can't give
this thug a job.
Man, I got your thug
right here. Ten inches.
Oh, for heaven's sake.
Be cool, Jim.
What?
We'll talk. We'll talk, okay?
I want him on a short leash.
A very short leash.
And I want a morals clause
in your contract.
Fine, man, whatever.
I'll sign it.
Just let me get back to
work, okay? Jim, wait up.
Can I get back to work?
All right. But you watch
your language. All right!
And you keep an eye on him.
Thank you, sir.
All right,
let's get busy here.
I love that song!
Reminds me of summertime
on the beach
trying to get some foxy coed
to rub some lotion on me.
Mmm. Mmm. Mmm.
Well, in case you been asleep at
the wheel, this is Petey Greene.
Hello, caller,
what's your name?
And you ain't in Washington,
DC no more, Dorothy.
No, this is P-Town.
All right, Tom, please hold.
Hello, caller, what's
your name? WOL-AM.
Hello, James.
My granny,
I call her Aunt Pig,
Aunt Pig say, "Petey,
why you always in jail?"
I tell her I don't know.
"I don't know, Aunt Pig."
Then one day
I read my indictment papers,
they say, "Ralph Waldo Greene versus
the United States of America. "
I said, "Damn! No wonder
I ain't been winning!"
He's talking about...
And I don't care what nobody say,
ain't nothing like a black woman.
Now, that ain't to say
I ain't dabbled before.
I mean, I dabbled, man,
I'm a good old dabbler.
But give me a sister with big
hips, big legs and a big old 'fro,
and you ain't got to worry
about me no more.
Hey, hey, hey!
Fan mail.
How many for The Hawk?
Three?
Sorry.
Gave you one of Petey's.
Y'all listen everyday, huh?
Ain't you, now!
Check it out.
Yeah.
Talk to me, Petey! Talk to me!
Talk to me! Want me to talk
to you? I'll talk to you.
God damn it!
Oh, baby.
Let me explain.
I'm listening.
Girl, put the bottle down
and let me talk to you.
Go on, Petey. I'm listening.
"Talk to me, Petey. Talk to me,
baby." Ain't what the *** said?
You tell this *** how I was the only
one to give your sorry *** a place to stay
when you had nowhere else
to go. Tell this ***!
She took me in.
I cleaned your clothes,
and I cooked your food,
***!
Oh, ***. Okay! Okay!
Vernell, please. Baby,
listen, now. Don't do this.
You don't wanna
do this here. Hold on.
Listen, I'm sorry.
I *** up.
Yeah, you *** up.
I did. I *** up.
I know it, baby. I know it.
And I ain't trying to make no excuses
for it. But you don't wanna do this here.
Vernell. Come on, baby,
put the bottle down.
Get out.
***, didn't you hear? I
said get out! This is my joint.
I don't give a ***, Petey!
Get out!
Let me put some drawers on or
something. Get the *** out!
Don't make me say it again,
***. I swear to God,
I don't wanna get more upset
than I already am with this bottle
and get jumpy
and cut your *** off.
You'll be sounding like Frankie
Lyman on the radio. Get the *** out!
All right.
Get out.
I'm leaving.
Vernell! Baby...
Help a *** out, now.
Come on.
Come on, man.
You gotta be *** me.
Look at me, man!
I don't want to look at you!
I wanna get this image out of my
head. Dewey, Dewey, Dewey, listen.
Now, Vernell kicked me out the house.
Caught me *** some other broad, man.
I ain't got
nowhere else to go.
You should have thought about that
before you let your snake out the cage.
Listen, man,
my snake's been incarcerated!
I've been jacking off to girlie
magazines for nine damn years.
Come on, you telling me you
gonna pass up some fine-*** woman
just throw her ***
all up on your face?
Hey, Dave.
Hey, Dave!
Get in here. Come on.
Just helping out...
My *** deuce!
Susan, this is Petey Greene. His
girlfriend kicked him out, so we gotta...
I'll leave you two alone.
No, no, no, no, baby.
No, no, there's no need
for that. You... Just...
Is this what you mean by
taking your work home with you?
Being married to your career?
Listen, listen...
I should have known.
Come on, help me out here.
No, no, no, no, no... Hey!
Damn!
Man, ain't that a ***?
Women, man. I'm telling you.
I've been loving you...
too long, Vernell
to stop now
You are...
Shut the hell up, man.
Put that on!
I'm sorry, Dewey.
I *** up, man.
Oh, ***.
I *** up, didn't I?
***. Just...
Just give her a chance to cool off,
man, and then you'll talk, okay?
She don't wanna
talk to me. She mad at me.
She loves you.
She loves you, okay?
Yeah.
Okay?
Yeah. Yeah.
You're a good friend, Dewey.
Okay.
You're a good friend. Yeah.
Yeah, it's... Okay, man.
Thank you, man.
Okay! Okay! Okay. Come on.
Okay.
Get some sleep.
Get some sleep.
I'll talk to you in the
morning, Dewey. Tomorrow.
Okay.
In the morning, man.
Crazy little...
***.
Oh, man.
I appreciate, you know, you letting me
stay at your place again, bro, but...
Come on, man.
Good night, sir.
Gonna have to give me
some more threads. I can't...
I'm not giving you
any more of my clothes.
Man...
Good night, Mike.
Good night.
Good night, Jim.
Good night.
"Night, Jim.
"Have a nice weekend."
I don't talk like that.
Yeah, you talk
exactly like that.
And you walk like you got a
stick broke off in your ***, man.
I walk with confidence,
like Johnny Carson.
You could learn something
from him. Good night...
Those are my gators, man.
This all my...
Is she still here?
Now we're even.
Oh, no, she didn't.
Hold on. Hold on.
No, she... You don't
understand. Calm down, Petey.
Move, Dewey, move!
Calm down.
You enjoy yourself, ***?
Don't blame me.
It's the voice.
Oh, is it?
Oh, ***. Okay,
hold on, now, let me...
Mr. Sonderling! Mr.
Sonderling, he tried to kill me!
He tried to kill me.
I'm gonna need you
on the air, right away.
What is it?
Once again, this just in.
Oh, man...
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,
winner of
the Nobel Peace Prize
and chief orchestrator
of the Civil Rights Movement,
was shot and killed
by an assassin's bullet
outside a Memphis motel
this evening.
They got him, y'all.
They got him.
Only 39 years old,
Dr. King leaves behind
his wife, Coretta, and...
I'm sorry, y'all.
I'm just tired of this.
I don't know
if I'm more sad or angry.
I'm tired of them
taking our leaders!
I know you are, too.
This is WOL, 1450 AM.
They're burning down DC.
What?
They're burning it down.
They're burning it down.
Come on!
Come on!
My store.
My store!
Hold it!
Hold it, man!
Get out of here, man!
Come on! Come on!
No, stop. Stop! Stop!
Stop it, man!
Y'all! Run!
Thank you.
Now, go on. Go on.
I got to get back
on the air, man.
I may not get there with you,
but I want you
to know tonight,
that we as a people
will get to the promised land!
Coming to you, Petey,
in five, four, three, two...
Yeah, buddy,
it's a dark day in America.
Got to be one of the
darkest days I ever seen,
and I seen more than most.
WOL. Yeah, hold for Petey.
In Washington,
this is Petey Greene.
Talk to me.
It can't go down
like that, Petey.
Somebody's gonna have to pay,
I'm gonna tell you right now,
somebody gonna pay tonight.
I know you're hurting. We all
hurting. He the only one we had, Petey.
I know how angry you are.
You want revenge, you want that
quart of blood, and I don't blame you.
But I want y'all to just go
take a look out your windows.
I mean,
those of you that got them.
Just take a look outside
and tell me what you see.
You see a city on fire.
Now, that's your city.
Our city.
And that's not what Dr. King
would have wanted.
Now, I ain't nothing, man, I ain't
nothing but a con and a thief.
So I ain't up here trying
to be nobody's preacher.
I'm just trying to tell the truth
to y'all, like I promised I would,
and the truth is, I went to
jail 'cause I was a knucklehead.
Dr. King went to jail for what he
stood for, fought for, and died for.
And this ain't it, y'all.
This ain't it.
The man was a giant. Now,
if they could do that to him,
don't think for a minute they
won't cut you down like a dog, too.
So look here. If you at home,
please, just stay home.
And if you out in these
streets, man, go home.
Put your anger away till
we can sort all this mess out.
I ain't saying I know how we gonna
do it. I just know that we will.
We shall overcome.
Hold on a second, now.
Petey, there's a free concert
tomorrow night.
You and James Brown,
Georgetown University.
Okay, I've just been told
that tomorrow night,
Mr. James Brown,
the Godfather of Soul,
is gonna be giving a free
show, that's capital-F-R-E-E,
at Georgetown University.
Bring your heartache, bring your
anger, just bring all that to me,
and we gonna work it out together.
We gonna get through this, people.
WOL. Hold for Petey.
Talk to me.
Petey, I just keep
crying and crying. I just...
WOL. Yeah, hold for Petey.
Well, the clock on the wall
says it's time to go.
That's the end of my show,
and there ain't no more.
But before I go,
I wanna leave y'all with this.
"The ultimate measure of a man
"is not where he stands in
moments of comfort and convenience,
"but where he stands in times
of challenge and controversy."
And no, those ain't words of
advice from old Petey Greene.
Those are pearls of wisdom
from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Like the brother said,
I'm Petey Greene.
Good evening, Washington,
and welcome to P-Town!
I'm happy you could make it.
I'm glad you could show.
But the government's the most happy, 'cause
y'all ain't burning down *** no more.
On my way over here,
this white man say,
"Mr. Greene, why them ***
lose their mind
"and burn their *** down
that way?"
He called me "mister,"
but called us "***."
I say, "Hey, we ain't the ones
that pulled that trigger!
"And if you keep
calling us ***,
"your mothers, fathers,
sisters and brothers
"gonna have to call
the grave digger. "
I say, "Mr. Charlie,
"I ain't seen
no *** last night.
"I saw a bunch of beautiful, angry
black folk, down for the fight. "
But I'm here to tell y'all,
we ain't filled with hate.
And the killing of our great King
ain't gonna seal this kingdom's fate.
We're gonna pray together...
Yeah!
... stay together...
Yeah!
... jump up and sing...
Yeah!
... as we celebrate the memory
of Dr. Martin Luther King!
Now I want y'all to give
a big old P-Town welcome
to a bad ***.
Oh, he's a bad, bad man!
Ladies and gentlemen,
please welcome to the stage
the hardest-working man
in show business,
Mr. James Brown!
Look here, baby. You gonna
open me whenever I come to town.
James Brown!
Do your thing, yo!
Say it loud
I'm black
and I'm proud
Say it loud
I'm black and I'm proud
Say it loud
I'm black and I'm proud
Say it loud
I'm black and I'm proud
But I say we won't quit moving
till we get what we deserve
I worked *** a job
with my feet and with my hand
But all the work I did
was for the other man
Say it loud
I'm black and I'm proud
Say it loud
I'm black and I'm proud
Say it loud
I'm black and I'm proud
Say it loud
I'm black and I'm proud
... in Washington, faced with angry,
disgruntled citizens of the United States,
while the flag flew at
half-mast for Martin Luther King.
Amid the chaos today,
two local radio broadcasters,
Dewey Hughes and Petey Greene are
being credited with restoring calm
to the nation's capital.
Now, DC is Chocolate City,
y'all know that's right.
Now they wanna keep us down, 'cause
they afraid of what's gonna happen
if we stand up.
Why do you think
they send our boys off to war
instead of keeping them in school,
where they can learn to score?
Yeah!
Yeah!
Because the white folk know
that if we stand tall,
oh, buddy, we gonna have something
called Black Power, y'all!
Right? All of y'all
look beautiful today.
Psychologist asked me what I thought
about the word "***." I said...
Lady, "***" is the greatest
stress reliever ever invented.
See, white man say "***," he ready
for a six-month hibernation, am I right?
But, see, a black man,
he could say "honkey," "ofay,"
"cracker," "peckerwood"
a million times,
still wanna go out there
and kill somebody.
You're gonna to have to tone it down,
Petey. I've got the FCC all over my rear.
Well, with all due respect,
sir, the FCC can kiss my ***.
I ain't saying nothing
but the truth.
As long as the people
wanna hear it,
I'm gonna keep telling it.
I'm gonna talk it
on the radio,
and I'm gonna talk it
on the streets.
I'm gonna talk it
to the police,
and even that sucker,
Tricky ***!
This is P-Town, baby.
Talk to y'all tomorrow.
Now, that was a good one, Dew.
That was a great show, Petey.
Right on.
That was a great show.
Look at them.
They're still calling.
Oh man, what a day.
That was a hell of a day.
Thank you, man. Man,
you're incredible, you know?
I just see the things you do,
the effect you have on people...
It's amazing to me.
You got a gift.
You know? Something people
like me could only dream of.
I think you could go
all the way.
Let me be your manager.
Let me guide your career.
I'm talking stand-up, records, TV,
movies... I want the whole world
to be a part of P-Town.
Well, I don't think the whole
world is ready for a *** like me.
Well I think you're wrong.
I think the world's
been waiting
for a *** like you.
What you say?
All right.
All right.
You ladies ever been to vote?
How you doing, young brother?
Okay, vote for Shirley Chisholm.
Shirley Chisholm for President, 1972.
Over here, young man. Is your mom
registered? Are you registered?
Now the judge say,
"Petey Greene,
"why you rob everybody
in the house?"
I said, "Well, your honor, they
all seemed like such nice people,
"I didn't want anybody
to feel left out. "
And I'm looking out
amongst y'all,
and there's some good old robbing
*** out here tonight.
Watch your purse, baby.
Well, I'm looking
at the dates right now.
I got him at the Howard Theater
then the Crystal Room. He's booked.
Well, I can get you
a time next month.
Can't wait?
Y'all see the paper
this morning, P-Town?
Say "Petey Greene goes to the White
House and steals some silverware."
Now, come on,
that don't make no damn sense.
Imagine that,
a *** like me, ex-con,
get invited by the President
to the White House,
and I'm gonna run up in there
and take something?
Come on, y'all.
I ain't that crazy.
Well that's all we got.
There ain't no more.
My time is tight,
and that's the end of my show.
So grab your head and make a fist.
Listen to me and remember this,
I tell it to the hot,
I tell it to the cold.
I tell it to the young,
I tell it to the old.
Don't want no laughing,
don't want no crying.
And most of all,
no signifying.
Tune in next week. This is
Petey Greene's Washington.
Be cool, y'all.
And we're out!
We're clear!
Great show, everybody.
Great show.
We're good here.
We love it.
We'll pick you up
for 26 episodes.
Congratulations.
Thank you, sir.
They loved it. They loved it.
Local, then national.
We did it, man!
What?
I know it sounds crazy,
man, but I...
I kind of miss that little old
radio station back at Lorton, man.
And I know it wasn't nothing
but a room and a turntable
with about 58 records
in crates, but I...
Pete, you're...
You're a different man now,
okay? You're not gonna be...
You're not going to be defined by
your prison time. Not you, Petey!
This is Petey Greene. Oh, we
got a good one for you tonight.
My guest is the funniest man I
know besides me, Mr. *** Gregory.
How you doing, ***?
My guest tonight
is Reverend Jesse Jackson.
Now what is the state
of the dream, Rev?
You see, I've always had a special
gift for making people angry.
"P.O.P." Pissed-Off People.
Man, sometimes I feel like I
should have a Ph.D. In P.O.P.
And ain't that a wonderful
expression, y'all? "Pissed off"?
As opposed to what, man?
"Pissed on"?
Speaking of which...
I gotta apologize again.
Now, I know some of y'all heard
that I lost my mind last night.
Or as my Aunt Pig would say,
"Boy, you're crazy!"
And I was, too.
I was, I ain't lying.
See, I drank about
four gallons of Cold Duck,
and then I just walked right up on
stage and started ***, just...
Didn't even bother grabbing
it, just walked and...
Started skipping with it.
I said...
By the time I was through,
the stagehand was drunk.
And we had a whole row of white
folk too, all the way across.
Real important people, now.
We talking about the big shots,
you know, the muckety-mucks.
Not like you, sir, but...
I'm telling you, them crackers
dropped dead right on the spot.
All of them. Looked like a row
of albino dominoes, just...
Judge say, "Mr. Petey Greene, we
charging you with using your ***
"as a lethal weapon.
Now how do you plead?"
I said, "Your Honor! Not
guilty, Your Honor, not guilty!
"Come on now, I don't want no parts of
this. I use my *** to make love, not war!
"*** only look lethal
to white folk. "
Good evening, Petey. This
is Petey Greene's Washington.
Okay,
let's try that again.
For what?
You said, "Good evening, Petey Greene.
This is Petey Greene's Washington. "
No, I didn't.
Yeah, you did.
Dewey, I didn't say...
That's some stupid ***.
How many times
have we been doing this show?
I'm gonna say some stupid
*** like that? Come on, man.
Okay, my mistake. I didn't
say, "Good evening, Petey."
That's stupid. Okay,
let's try it again. Please.
Are you ready?
Born so.
Good evening...
Okay, let's try it again.
Let's try it again.
See what you did?
I *** up, is what I did!
Yep.
I gotta stop drinking. God damn! Maybe.
Good evening, Washington.
My guest tonight is a *** that
I wouldn't trust to wash my car,
but y'all done
elected him city official...
Cut!
Jesus Christ, Petey!
What?
Freda!
I love my job!
I love... Where's Petey?
Where's Petey, huh? Lay it
on me, now! Lay it on me!
Right on with the right-on!
You're not gonna
believe what's happening.
You're not gonna
believe it, man.
Was it Free *** Day
or something?
You are looking at the baddest
manager on the planet.
You, my man,
are doing The Tonight Show.
Next Tuesday, New York City,
live and in living color.
They had an act cancel
on The Tonight Show, baby!
You, me, Carson.
This is it, my man.
Yeah.
This is that moment that
I've been telling you about.
Yeah. Yeah!
Yeah, that's great, man. Yeah.
Yeah?
"Here's Petey!"
Yeah.
Yeah. Okay.
Yeah.
Okay.
New York, New York, y'all.
Like they say.
If you make it here...
I'll be a ***-*** ***.
There it is.
Dewey Hughes?
Yes, sir.
Fred De Cordova.
I know.
Glad you could make it
on such short notice.
If you called us twenty seconds
ago, sir, we would have been here.
And you must be Petey.
Hey.
Heard a lot about you.
Johnny's looking forward
to hearing your routine.
Well, I just hope
I don't disappoint him.
Oh, you'll be fine.
Oh, that's Vernell.
Hi.
So, dry run's at 10:00,
we're live at 11:30.
Hi!
Oh, thank you.
No, no, please...
That's
very interesting.
Oh, no!
Hey.
Don't worry. Everyone does it.
Should've seen Elvis.
Really?
Picking up some
cable noise from boom 1.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So Bette's going to do
two songs, eh? Bette Midler?
You should see
all the food...
Would you two relax?
Carson's gonna give you the
thumbs-up, he's gonna sit you down,
and then you
are gonna be a star.
Yeah, well, I don't know
about that, dude.
I don't know if I'm ready, is
what I'm trying to tell you.
Bette Midler to the stage,
please. Bette Midler to the stage.
You're ready.
And in exactly 30 minutes,
this whole country is gonna
know what I already know.
That Petey Greene is
the baddest comic in America.
Just keep it real,
like you do,
you'll be fine.
Excuse me.
Yes, sir?
Where's the green room? Oh,
sure thing, sir. Just follow me.
It's only New York, baby.
Just a suburb of P-Town.
Relax!
Over here, to your left.
Thank you.
Dewey!
Yeah?
You have to get him
out of this, man.
What? Are you nuts?
Listen to me, Dewey.
I know that man. Hell, you know that
man. And I know you saw that look.
I didn't see ***.
I saw nerves.
Dewey, baby. I know
how important this is to you.
He does, too! That's the
only reason why he's here!
To me? It has nothing to do
with me. ***, Vernell.
***! I mean, Cosby, Gregory,
Pryor, they've all been on that stage.
What comic in the world doesn't
want to be on The Tonight Show?
You see, he ain't a comic.
He ain't a comic, he ain't
a television personality,
he ain't a civic leader!
He's just a regular-***
*** from DC who...
He's just a regular-*** ***
from DC who likes to run his mouth.
And for some reason,
people respond! Vernell?
Vernell, you're wrong, okay?
Look where we are.
Look where we are.
He doesn't want to be here,
Dewey. I can see it in his eyes.
Just keep an eye on him.
Make sure he doesn't leave
that room. Okay?
Petey?
Oh, no! No, Petey.
McMAHON.: From New York, The
Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.
This is Ed McMahon, along with Doc
Severinsen and the NBC Orchestra,
inviting you to join Johnny and his
guests, Gig Young, Joe Garagiola,
Bette Midler,
Los Indios Tabajaras,
and comedian Petey Greene.
And now, here's Johnny!
Make sure you're watching him.
We'll be right on after Bette Midler.
Yeah. He's gonna be the greatest
thing to ever hit The Tonight Show.
Hi, I'm Johnny, and if you
have a few hours a week,
you could be a Big Brother
to somebody like me.
Move.
Did you see him? Did
he come out? No, sir.
Petey? Petey!
Thank you!
You're hot! You're hot!
You know, I said it before when you
were first on the show, and I mean it.
I said, "You are going
to be someone to contend with.
"You're going to be a big star
in this business,
"because you are unique,
and you're different. "
Hey, man.
***! Petey,
where have you been?
I'm here, ain't I?
All righty,
we're back.
Now, ladies and gentlemen, from
Washington, DC, Petey Greene.
Y'all gonna have to forgive me
if I'm a little nervous,
I just ain't never been in front
of this many white folk before.
I know my manager, Dewey, is backstage
right now about to have a heart attack,
saying, "Oh Lord, please don't let this
fool go out here and say something crazy."
But he knows
I always speak the truth.
Yeah.
Well, the truth is,
I'm just an ex-con, y'all.
And the people that live
in the world that I come from,
well, most of them
can't even afford TVs.
They listen to me
on the radio, and they do that
because I keeps it real.
When they out there laughing,
I know they laughing
with me, not at me.
But I look out here at y'all,
and all I see a room full of white
folk waiting to hear some *** jokes.
I ain't got nothing
to say to you people.
Y'all ain't ready for P-Town.
Sorry, Johnny.
I was being real, Dewey.
You ***!
No! Dewey!
*** you, man! *** you!
What the *** you doing?
*** you, man!
*** you!
You know, as far as jails
go, this one ain't too bad.
Dewey, man, I'm sorry, man.
Get the ***
away from me, man.
Look here. I ain't never
asked for this ***.
All I ever wanted to do was
my little thing on the radio.
All this other ***, this
Tonight Show, come on, man.
That ain't me.
I tried to tell you that.
The whole
*** world
was yours.
I could've
taken you right to the top.
But you just *** it up.
You're nothing but a con.
That's all you'll ever be,
just like Milo.
Just another no-good,
low-life
con.
I ain't your brother, man.
I also ain't the one
got us thrown in here tonight.
That was you.
So if I'm a con,
baby, you a con, too.
You two. You got bailed.
Quit trying to change me,
Dewey.
Hey, baby, let's just go home.
Carnac is attempting to divine an answer
while you're sitting here, giggling.
May I have silence, please?
Yes. You've had it
many times before.
What the ***?
You don't need Petey Greene.
You've got your own voice.
You've been on leave for months,
and our ratings are in the toilet.
But you want to came back now
and take a shot as a DJ?
Morning, DC, this is Dewey Hughes,
with a morning jam for your traffic jam.
Or if you're one of a whole lot of folks
that can't afford to fill your tank,
or don't even have a car to put that
jacked-up gas in, give me a call.
I'm here for all y'all.
So whether you're in your car, at work,
at home, or pissed off at the pump,
pump up the volume and give me
a shout! The woman said, "Listen,
"if you think I'm gonna gargle with that
*** after she's through washing her ***,
"you out of your mind."
Congratulations.
Well, DC,
it's Sunny Jim...
...Sounds of Soul.
I mentioned Oliver North...
If you want to let it out,
you give me a shout.
R&B hits from the '70s and
'80s. This is The Cathy Show...
Good morning, DC, this is WOL.
I'm Dewey Hughes, rocking
you to work this morning,
so take your hand off the horn
and turn up the volume,
'cause at WOL,
we love music.
Talk to me, Ralph!
Wake up, God damn it.
That's right, DC.
Ralph Waldo "Petey" Greene
is back on the scene.
Morning, everybody.
Hey, congratulations
on your show, there, Dewey.
Man, I gotta tell you,
I never would've believed it,
but you turned out to be
one hell of a DJ, man.
What you in the mood for,
Petey?
Why don't you play me
some of that old Sly Stone?
If You Want Me To Stay.
Hung up.
It's all right.
What's your job, man?
What's your job, man?
I'm sorry, man.
Screen the calls!
Shut up! Screen the calls!
God.
One minute.
How much is it?
Priceless,
but the pizza's on me.
I ran into
the delivery guy in the hall.
Nice!
So I hear you're
the man up in here now.
Cathy Show was a hit.
I bought the station.
Congratulations.
Is that enough milk?
Oh, that's fine, honey.
To your success.
Aren't you gonna
ask me how he is?
How is he?
Come on, Dewey.
He helped you build this
place. You can say his name.
How's Petey?
Well, you know,
all those years of hard
living'll catch up to you one day.
His time is tight.
He misses you.
You see this show?
My whole *** life
is this show.
I learned to walk,
talk and dress
watching The Tonight Show.
I can tell.
It showed me that there was a world
far away from the Anacostia projects.
He reminds me of my brothers.
Loud-*** ***-talkers.
Funny as hell.
Always had me cracking up.
Milo was the funniest.
He was my hero.
He could say anything, do
anything. He could've been a...
Well, he's at Morgan's
every Tuesday night,
waiting for somebody
to give him a good game.
Thanks for the drink.
I love you, Dewey.
You take care
of yourself, okay?
Tails.
So you the new
Blue Blazes, huh, man?
That's right.
You sure did it, Dewey. Took that
little old two-bit radio station
and turned it into
a powerhouse, man.
I couldn't have done it
without you.
No.
I could've never did
that *** you did.
Like you said, Dew,
I needed you to do all the things
that I was too afraid to do.
What about the other part?
What other part?
The part
when I said that I need you
to say all the things
that I'm afraid to say.
Oh, that part.
Not now.
Well, the truth is,
you ain't getting
no younger, man.
So I decided I'm gonna
cut you some slack.
Go on and forgive you.
Forgive me.
I love you
like a brother, man.
I know you love me, too.
Now, you too stubborn
to say it,
but I think you miss
old Petey Greene.
So I'm gonna give you
one last shot.
That's deep.
Yeah it was, wasn't it?
I might put that
in a card someday.
Good shot, Petey.
Everybody come back to the shop
with their eyes *** up...
Stop it!
I ain't nothing, man, I ain't
nothing but a con and a thief.
So I ain't up here trying
to be nobody's preacher.
I'm just trying to tell the truth
to y'all, like I promised I would.
Petey liked to say
that he was just a con.
Telling it like it is.
But he was more than that.
He said the things
that we were afraid to say.
I'm sorry, man.
He was the bravest man
that I ever met.
He was, and still is,
everything I'm not.
And that's why I love him.
Yeah.
So, in the words
of my best friend,
"That's all we got.
Yeah!
"There ain't no more.
That's right!
"Time is tight.
"It's the end of the show.
"So grab your head
and make a fist. "
"Listen to me
and remember this. "
...and remember this.
I tell it to the hot,
I tell it to the cold.
I tell it to the young,
I tell it to the old.
Don't want no laughing,
don't want no crying.
And most of all, no
signifying. "...no signifying!"
This is Petey Greene's
Washington, ladies and gentlemen.
This is P-Town!
Petey! Petey!
Petey! Petey!
Petey! Petey! Petey! Petey!
Be cool, y'all.
Wake up, God damn it!
Shirley Chisholm
for President, everybody!
Vote Shirley Chisholm
for President, 1972!
Why do you think
they send our boys off to war?
Look here. I ain't never
asked for this ***.