George Clooney and actor-comedian Richard Kind’s friendship dates back decades, when Clooney had just started in Hollywood. Today, the duo share a very special bond, and Kind has enough stories to share about the actor for an entire podcast, which he did during his appearance on Still Here Hollywood with Steve Kmetko. Back when both men were just starting out in the industry, they would regularly meet at the Hollywood YMCA. Kind describes Clooney as “such a humanitarian, one of the most decent people I think I’ve ever met.”
When Hollywood was burning, George Clooney helped clean up
Today, apart from his acting gigs, George Clooney and his wife Amal are running multiple humanitarian efforts, but according to Richard Kind, this is not some after-success effect on the star, it started back in his early days. One such incident was during the 1992 LA riots. Kind recalled heading to a read-through for Mad About You, but then planned to escape the unrest by driving to Palm Springs with friends. “I was with Matt Perry, Hank Azaria and Craig Bierko, friends of mine at the time. We’re going to go to Palm Springs, you know, to wait out the fires that were brandishing in LA, and I called George and I said, ‘Listen George, I’ve got a read-through for Mad About You. It’s at John Feltimer’s house. Then I’m going to leave from there for Palm Springs. Do you want to—do you want to meet me?’” he recalled.
Kind said he insisted on driving to pick Clooney up and even gave an option whether he wanted to drive and come, expecting a yes. Instead, Clooney’s reply was immediate: “You’re not going to Palm Springs. You don’t go to Palm Springs while your city is on fire—you stay here and you help clean up.” And they followed the order. Kind said hours later Clooney showed up with garbage bags, shovels, rakes, and led a group of friends into the destroyed neighbourhoods of East LA to help people escape. Kind admitted, “In my heart it was a no-brainer… but I didn’t think of it—I’m too selfish. He thinks of it. He walks the walk.” That moment, says Kind, wasn’t a PR move or a celebrity gesture, that was a simple Clooney wanting to standup for soemthing he truly believes in.
During the conversation, Richard Kind also shared a fun story from years ago when he was staying at George Clooney’s old house in L.A., waiting for his car and chatting with Clooney. He suddenly remembered he had forgotten something and went into another room. After he returned, his car had arrived, his bag was loaded, and he was driven to the airport. But soon, at the TSA check, an agent called him aside and checked his bag. They opened his suitcase, and there was an Oscar and a SAG Award that Clooney had slipped in just before he left. “That SAG trophy is a beast, 12 pounds, and who knows how heavy the Oscar was,” Kind said. “There I am, hauling these trophies to Vegas. The TSA guy’s face, priceless,” Kind recalled, laughing.
