Tom Waits is beloved by his fans for several reasons. His edgy avante garde music, his dark yet poetic lyrics, his fashion sense, and his brooding yet nonchalant demeanor. Whenever he is interviewed, Tom Waits comes across as both a man who can laugh at himself and an intriguing and mysterious man.

Related: How Musician Tom Waits Gained His $25 Million Net Worth

There are so many hilarious and fascinating interview moments with Tom Waits, here are some of his most iconic moments on late night shows with Fallon and Letterman, talks shows, and more.

8 When He Brought A Rat Trap To David Letterman

One of the Waits' most frequent interviewers was David Letterman. Waits always had something to say in every Letterman interview, even though he rarely revealed much about his personal life. Although we did learn in one interview he was allegedly "born in the backseat of a taxi cab." In one famous Letterman interview, Waits revealed he had begun collecting. In the classic Waits way, he could not really put a label on what he collects, but he referred to it as "odds and ends." The oddity he decided to share with Letterman was a concrete, nonlethal rat trap, one made before the days of the lethal spring-loaded ones most are familiar with.

7 Going Out West On Arsenio Hall

No matter who interviews him, Waits never changes his demeanor. It is almost as if he is always in character. When appearing on The Arsenio Hall Show, we see a stark contrast between the show's host and the musician. Hall was always smiling, energetic, and quick to work in a joke. Waits got his jokes in too but in his famously subtle way. It's interesting to see a host who is always all smiles interview a man whose mood is always so famously mellow, yet still funny and entertaining. Waits was on the show to promote his album Bone Machine and he performed his hit "Going Out West," which Fight Club fans might recognize from the soundtrack of the 1999 film.

6 His Famous Fernwood Tonight Interview

Fernwood Tonight was the spoof talk show. The show mocked the talking heads of 1970s talk shows and it launched the careers of Fred Willard and Martin Mull. The show's interviews were all gags, and Waits got to show off his acting chops by getting in on the bit. The interview has some of Tom's most famous interview quotes, like "I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy," and "I've always maintained reality is for people who can't handle drugs." The interview opened with Waits freaking out the pompous host characters with a performance of "The Piano Has Been Drinking," putting Waits' famously raspy voice on display.

5 His Australian Television Interview

The Don Lane Show was a popular interview show in Australia, similar to Dick Cavett's in America. Waits made his way to Australia for an interview with Lane and was asked about his singing style, his rise to fame, and whether or not he "worries about achievement." To which Waits replied, "No. I worry about a lot of things, but I don't worry about achievement. I worry mostly about stuff like... are there nightclubs in heaven?"

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4 His Interview With Jimmy Fallon

People have very mixed feelings about how Fallon handles himself in interviews. But once again, we see a calm and collected, and highly quotable, Tom Waits shooting the breeze with no signs of annoyance at Fallon's jokes or his constant giggles. Waits was rather poetic when talking with Fallon, and he dropped some of his best quotes once again with hot takes like, "The people most qualified to run the country are usually cutting hair and driving cabs."

3 His Press Conference

Waits is not a regular on social media. There is a YouTube channel that promotes his music and the highlights of his career, but he has no account that he is running himself. But, he did have a great online moment when he held a "press conference" to promote his 2008 tour. After fielding questions from "reporters" and spewing a gibberish acronym about the constellation map that he used to plan his tour, Waits concludes the video. As it ends the camera pulls back to reveal waits is alone in a room full of empty chairs before he pulls a needle off a record player. The entire "press conference" was all an act for an online video.

2 The Last Time He Was On Letterman

Before David Letterman retired from The Late Show in 2015 Waits dedicated a performance to his friend. What was especially fun about the interview was he was on at the same time as George Clooney, who had handcuffed himself to the host for a bit. Once again, Waits came with his bag of quotes and jabbed at Letterman's coming retirement. "It's a good thing you're not in the tire business... you can't retire from the tire business. It just sounds like you're signing up for more time." He also introduced his new political cause, "Free The Glutens!"

Related: David Letterman Wanted To Skip Over To Commercial After He Almost Got Kicked In The Head By Crispin Glover

1 The Time He Made It Clear He Will Never Do Commercials Again

"I'd rather have a hot lead enema. I hate it." were Waits' exact words to NPR reporter Joel Rose. Waits did narrate one commercial for dog food in the 1980s and he hated the experience so much that he swore never to do commercials again, and he made a point of never allowing his songs to be used in them. When he refused an offer from Frito-Lay, the company went behind Waits' back to hire a singer who sounded like him, and they wrote a jingle that was dangerously similar to his hit "Step Right Up." Waits sued the company arguing that he "is not a jingle writer," and such an intentional commercial copy of his style damaged his anti-commercial image. The court sided with Waits and awarded him over $2 million in damages.