That last shot—sixty-seven-year-old Corky Lane, rhinestone glove catching the fluorescent light, finally laughing—became the closing frame of The Last Laugh .
Mira set up her camera. She didn’t ask about Buddy’s affairs or the network backstabbing. She asked about the cake.
The director, Mira Kasai, had spent three years chasing ghosts. Her documentary, The Last Laugh , was supposed to be a definitive autopsy of the 1990s late-night talk show wars—the hairspray, the cocaine, the smeared lipstick on water glasses. But the ghosts she wanted wouldn't speak. -GirlsDoPorn- 18 Years Old -Episode 359- SD --N...
He turned off the jukebox, and for the first time in the interview, he smiled. Not a show-business smile. A real one. Mira left her camera running.
Then he said, “You know what the problem is with the entertainment industry?” She asked about the cake
“Too many people trying to be the cake,” Corky said. “Not enough people willing to be the kid who climbs inside.”
He didn’t say a word. He just nodded.
The living legends refused. “Too soon,” said one geriatric producer who hadn’t had a credit since 1998. “I’ve already sold my memoir,” said another. So Mira went deeper. She chased the footnote. The sound guy. The cue card holder. The third assistant to the bandleader’s tailor.