Leachman zany offscreen, too

Cloris Leachman is in the middle of explaining how hard it was to replace Anne Bancroft in the 2004 film "Spanglish" when her call-waiting clicks.

"Oh, can you please hang on for a second?"

Sure.

"Thanks."

CLICK.

About 30 seconds pass.

CLICK.

"Hi. Anyway, as I was saying, Anne and I are different in how we look. She had darker hair and darker features. She was an amazing actress."

She continues talking about "Spanglish," how she was nervous about taking over for Bancroft, how director James Brooks at first thought she was "too old" for the part, how. . . .

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

"Oh my (gosh), somebody's at the door. Let me see, what will I do here? I don't even have on pants. Can you hold?"

No problem.

"Thanks."

The sound of rustling. The sound of her saying "I'm coming." Then, no sound. The rustling sound again.

Is she taking her pants off?

"I'm back. They were gone. Whenever I talk on the phone, I always take my pants off and jump into the bed and talk on the phone. I like to get comfortable."

This much we know: When Leachman is onscreen — as the boozy, funny Evelyn Norwich in "Spanglish," the hilarious Lynette Reynolds in "The Longest Yard," the quirky Nurse Spex in "Sky High" or the nutty grandmother in "Malcolm in the Middle" — she brings a lot of her own personality with her.

Trust us.

No, really. "Trust us."

It's all her: the zaniness. The rambling thoughts. The cackling laugh. It's all her, tucked inside and released at a whim, whenever she feels the need to relax and have fun.

Which is most of the time.

"I make fun wherever I go," Leachman says, laughing. "If I go to a restaurant by myself, rest assured, people will be talking about it. I always have a great deal of fun being with people. It's part of the journey."