David Spade remembers his Just Shoot Me! co-star George Seagal

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https://www.instagram.com/p/CMyW99fJ1Pe/

"met George Siegel (sic) on the table read of the first episode of Just Shoot Me. For those of you didn’t know, Just Shoot Me was a TV pilot that was already shot but I was added after the fact. I wasn’t sure how that would work and if everyone would be OK with it. But they were all very welcoming and turned out to be friends for life. George was someone we all really looked up to. He had done huge movies and was already legendary when we started. I was always trying to learn from him. About acting ,about life , anything. He would say that the show was 4 actors and a cartoon. About a week ago I realized I was the cartoon. ( true) I laughed the hardest with him. The show was a gift and it kept on giving after we wrapped. He will be missed by fans all over the world."

David Spade remembers working with "cool dude" and father figure George Segal on Just Shoot Me!

In an Instagram video, Spade called Segal, who died Tuesday at age 87, a "very warm and fuzzy guy" who was "sort of a dad figure" to him. They would have long chats after tapings of the NBC comedy. They remained good friends. They even had lunch a few months ago. Spade said the Just Shoot Me! cast was particularly tight-knit since everybody had been through the ups and down of show business.

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‘Just Shoot Me!’ Creator Steve Levitan Remembers George Segal, “One Of The Greats”

What I’ll miss most is his laugh. There was simply nothing better than the guffaw that came deep from the heart of George Segal. At table reads for Just Shoot Me, we had to keep a roll of paper towels near George because, inevitably, some line (usually a fellow actor’s line), would make him laugh so hard that tears would roll down his face. It was loud and joyous and generous, just like the man himself.

I first came to love George watching him with Johnny Carson on the Tonight Show. I found their dynamic hilarious, the way Johnny always seemed slightly annoyed by George’s asides or especially by his banjo, and the way George never seemed to give a damn. He just kept smiling that devilish smile because George was having more fun than anyone.

We were all so honored and thrilled when he agreed to join the Just Shoot Me cast. I was also nervous because here was an Oscar nominee and the star of some of my favorite movies. But in walked sweet George, all smiles, bursting with stories (so many stories), just happy as hell to be there.

George’s character on Just Shoot Me, magazine publisher Jack Gallo, was flawed. He hadn’t been a great father, he was shallow, impatient and he was full of himself. But George infused him with tenderness, vulnerability and charm. George was lovable so Jack was lovable. That, to me, was his greatest gift.

When we cast David Spade to play Dennis Finch, Jack Gallo’s assistant, we worried David and George wouldn’t jell. George was old school, animated and sentimental while David, fresh off SNL, was sarcastic and dry and guarded. But the minute David nailed his first big joke at the table read, George guffawed, grabbed a paper towel and a wonderful close friendship was born.

In fact, George was extremely close with the entire Just Shoot Me cast; Laura, Wendie, Enrico and our house director Pam Fryman. (You can get a glimpse of the love between everyone in a virtual reunion we all did last June – Google “Just Shoot Me Reunion”).

I think George had a happy third act. He loved to work and was proud to be a part of Just Shoot Me and The Goldbergs. Most of all, late in life, he married his high school sweetheart Sonia, who he always looked at like he was still a sixteen-year-old with a crush.

So, while we’re all feeling pretty lucky that we got to spend time with one of the greats, our friend George, it’s hard to accept that we’ll no longer get to hear that full-hearted, contagious laugh.

Today we’re all reaching for the paper towels.

Just Shoot Me stars pay tribute to former castmate George Segal: 'To be around him was a gift'

Segal's former costars Laura San Giacamo, David Spade, and more honor the actor.