Singer was inspired by Jerry Lewisโ€ฆ

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Bob Dylan conceived a surrealist comedy series for HBO in the Nineties, according to producer/writer Larry Charles.

Speaking to podcast You Made It Weird (via Rolling Stone), Charles โ€“ whose credits include Curb Your Enthusiasm and Borat โ€“ revealed Dylan had โ€œgotten deeply into Jerry Lewis, and he wanted to make a slapstick comedy.โ€

The two men worked up a treatment which they presented to HBOโ€˜s then-president, Chris Albrecht.

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โ€œI probably was having a nervous breakdown and didnโ€™t realize it, but I wore pajamas everywhere I went,โ€ Charles said. โ€œI was so comfortable. It was great. [Bob] shows up for the meeting at HBO in a black cowboy hat, a black floor-length duster, black boots. He looks like Cat Ballou or something. He looks like a Western guy whoโ€™s carrying six gunsโ€ฆ. My hairโ€™s super long, beard down to my belly button in fucking pajamas, and Bob Dylanโ€™s dressed like a cowboy from a movie.โ€

According to Charles, Albrecht presented his original tickets to Woodstock, to which Dylan said, โ€œI didnโ€™t play Woodstock.โ€ He spent the rest of the meeting looking out of the window.

Although Dylan ended up abandoning the idea, he and Charles later collaborated on the film, Masked & Anonymous.

Speaking to Uncut in 2003, Charles said, โ€œAt that time,โ€ Charles reveals, โ€œBob had gotten very heavily into comedy. When he was touring, heโ€™d watch a lot of comedy, got interested in that, and television. So, he decided maybe heโ€™d do a comedy show on TV. Yeah, I know. Bob Dylan? A comedy show? On TV? But thatโ€™s what he wanted to do. So he started meeting writers.โ€

Charles was originally introduced to Dylan by his friend, long-time Dylan associate, Jeff Rosen. โ€œJeff said, โ€˜Weโ€™ve been setting up these meetings with writers, but nothingโ€™s really coming โ€“ you wouldnโ€™t consider sitting down with Bob would you?โ€™ I was like, โ€˜Are you kidding?โ€™

โ€œI figured, Iโ€™ll have one meeting with Bob โ€“ he really insists on being called Bob, because Bob is the person; โ€œDylanโ€ is your problem โ€“ and I can tell all my friends, and that would be it. But we just immediately started riffing, and it developed into this very exhilarating verbal jam session. By the end of that meeting, we were working together. He walked me to my car, and I felt like I was on a date. Cars are driving by, Iโ€™m thinking, โ€˜Will someone please look and see โ€“ Iโ€™m with Bob Dylan!'โ€

You can read about Bob Dylanโ€™s The Complete Basement Tapes in this monthโ€™s here, in shops now