Marlo Thomas talks charities and pantyhose on The Martha Stewart Show

Martha Stewart and Marlo Thomas are seen during the production of "The Martha Stewart Show" in New York on Wednesday, December 1, 2010. Photo: David E. Steele/The Martha Stewart Show

TV icon and long-time social activist, Marlo Thomas got her funny on for today’s edition of THE MARTHA STEWART SHOW (Hallmark Channel, 10 AM ET/9 AM C – same day encore airing, 2 PM ET/next day airing, 1 PM ET).  It was nothing but laughs when Marlo joined Martha to create Craft Felted Sheep, which required the use of some old pantyhose. Marlo was so utterly perplexed that she had to ask: “How did you invent this?  Did this just come to you in the middle of the night? She just took off her runned stockings and said, ‘I know just what I’ll do with these!’ You [to Martha] are perfect.”  Marlo also reminisced about where she ‘got her funny’ which she attributes to her “crazy, funny family, hysterical dad and growing up with George Burns and Milton Berle.” When she asked Martha the source of her funny bone, the daytime host said: “From watching those guys!”

On St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital starting in the south:

Marlo Thomas: St. Jude is in Memphis, Tennessee.  My father put it there because he was supposed to be in St. Louis or Boston, which has great medical centers and colleges around it, but my dad read in the paper about a black child who was 8 years old who was hit by a car, he was on his bike, in Mississippi.  And because no emergency room would take him, the child died.  So my father said ‘Ok, I’m putting my hospital in the south where every kid will have a fair shake.’

On how much was raised last year for St. Jude:

MT: While you’re out there shopping and you go to William Sonoma, or Kmart or CVS or…

MS:  Macys, Home Depot (laughs)

MT: Well, you have those, we don’t have those.  But we’ll go there anyway.  When you go to our places, and they’re going to ask you to put a dollar down for the kids of St. Jude, do it.  It’s a dollar.  Last year, CVS and Kmart, they raised like 7 million dollars a piece.  That means that 7 million Americans put down a dollar at CVS or Kmart.

On Martha’s inspiration process:

MT:  How did you invent this?  Did this just come to you in the middle of the night?

MS:  Oh, yes.  Totally.

MT:  She took off her runned stockings and said “I know what I’ll do with these!”

MS:  I do not throw my runned stockings away!  Because if you cut it, just let me give you one other little hint, if you cut it crossways, these are the best ties for your tomato plants you will ever have!  I’m not kidding.  They will never hurt your tomato plants.

MT:  You are perfect.

On where Marlo and Martha ‘Got their funny’:

MT:  My family was crazy funny.  My father was hysterical.  We grew up with George Burns and Milton Berle…

MS:  God, just hanging out in the living room?

MT:  Yeah!  All the time.

MS: Oh boy, what fun.

MT: When I was writing my book about my own life and realizing that’s how I got funny, from hanging out with these guys and my wonderful dad.  And I wondered how Jerry Seinfeld got it.  Where did he get the funny from?  And Whoopi Goldberg and all these other people.  So I interviewed Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock and Conan O’Brien….

MS:  You didn’t ask me where I got my funny!

MT:  Well where did you get it?

MS:  From watching those guys!

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