Q&A: Bucks County Native Richard Kind Talks Tomato Pie and BFF George Clooney

Richard Kind / Photograph by Emily Assiran

Netflix just released The Out-Laws, an Adam Sandler-produced comedy about a bank manager whose future in-laws may have robbed his bank. Bucks County native Richard Kind turns up as the father of said bank manager. So we sat down with Kind, whom you probably know from Spin City, Curb Your Enthusiasm, or a million other things.

When I was growing up, my friends called me … “Tortoise” when I was at camp, because I was always three or four steps behind everybody else. And my brothers at Sigma Alpha Epsilon called me “Dick,” of course.

I was born in … Trenton but grew up in Yardley.

My worst subject at Pennsbury High was … anything related to science. But my worst subject at Northwestern was economics. I still don’t understand why banks exist.

My first car was a … Chrysler canoe. Such a big car. It was terrible, but my grandparents gave it to me.

My first job in life was … working in the china and crystal department at Bamberger’s at the Oxford Valley Mall.

Richard Kind in The Out-Laws on Netflix

When I was a kid in Bucks County, I spent my free time … riding my bike with no helmet to 7-Eleven to get a Slurpee and playing in the streets with no streetlamps.

My big break … is something I’m still waiting for.

People would be surprised to know that I am … not funny during the day. Only when I’m working.

These days, I live in … sin. [laughs] I’m on the Upper West Side in New York.

My next big project is … The Out-Laws, a comedy on Netflix this month. I play Adam DeVine’s father and co-star with him, Pierce Brosnan and Ellen Barkin.

People who recognize me on the street know me from … Spin City if we’re in the Midwest. Curb Your Enthusiasm or A Serious Man when in New York. And kids recognize my voice from Inside Out.

My most famous pal is … George Clooney. We worked together years ago playing brothers in a failed TV pilot. He was the best man at my wedding.

George Clooney and Richard Kind in a 1987 publicity photo

The last time I was back in the Philly area was … Passover. I still have lots of relatives and friends in the area. And I spend a lot of time at my house in Margate, which is almost Philly.

My three kids are always telling me … “Daddy, you’re not funny!”

Whenever I’m back in the area, I like to go to … De Lorenzo’s in Yardley for tomato pie. Fantastic.

My favorite sports team is … the Giants. Wait — I can’t say that. This is Philly Mag!

One food I can’t stop eating but should is … Krispy Kreme doughnuts with the white filling. Not the custard. The white. Very important.

The movie I have seen the most times in my life is … The Apartment. One of the greatest movies of all time. Funny, sad, human, beautifully acted. It’s just a perfect movie.

I am deathly afraid of … heights, snakes and rats. I see a lot of rats in New York. I walk in the middle of streets so I don’t have to step over rats on the sidewalk. Really!

The furthest I’ve been from Philly is … Russia, when I was a teenager. And the February before COVID hit, I was 300 miles from Wuhan!

When I die, please make sure my tombstone reads … “What have you been in?”

Published as “One of Us: Richard Kind” in the July 2023 issue of Philadelphia magazine.