Transcript: ‘You Guys Are All the Same’

Rob Long on not letting success — or faking it — mess with your head

This is Rob Long with Martini Shot for The Ankler.

There’s an old story about the comedian and actor Arte Johnson which is probably utterly untrue, but it illustrates an important point.

If you have no idea who Arte Johnson was — he died a few years ago — congratulations on being a young person. Enjoy it while you can.

If you’re old enough to know who Arte Johnson was, you’re probably already forgetting things, so here’s a reminder: Arte Johnson was a comic actor best known for his work on the comedy-variety hit, Laugh-In, which ran on NBC from 1968 to 1973. His most famous character was a German soldier from World War II who was unaware that the war was over. It was funny at the time but from the slightly more elevated perch of 2025 I can see how it might give off creepy vibes. But that’s not what this story is about.

The story goes like this, and again, it’s almost certainly false: