Before The Cheering Started with Budd Mishkin

Send us a textIn his 20's, Michael Giacchino had a love of movies and music and a job in marketing.  But he'd put himself in a position to succeed.  When the window of opportunity opened, he was ready.

Send us a textImagine movies without music.  Impossible.  It's part of the magic.  And Michael Giacchino creates that magic, in movies like Coco, The Batman, Ratatouille, Jojo Rabbit and his Oscar winner, Up.  A love of movies came early.  Michael was the kid in the neighborhood making super 8 films.  The love of music followed.  Eventually, his two loves met and thus a career was forged.  And now it's come full circle; Michael is making his feature directorial debut with a remake of the 1954 sci fi thriller Them.  Those super 8 films of his youth were a lifetime ago.  But his passion for making music and movies is as bright as ever.

Send us a textEd Burns has mined his experience growing up in an Irish American family on Long Island over the course of his long career as an independent filmmaker, most notably in his breakthrough film The Brothers McMullen in 1995.  He has written thousands of words on the page that end up on the screen.   Now the words are staying on the page in his novel “A Kid From Marlboro Road.”  It's hardly autobiographical but clearly influenced by those years long ago as a kid on Long Island.  His parents gave him roots and introduced him to the worlds of theater and writing and books.  Ed's career has taken him around the world while never straying far from home.

Send us a text For some 50 years, Jeff Greenfield has written about political campaigns.  He's reported on political campaigns.  He's analyzed political campaigns for viewers on CBS, ABC and CNN.  And he was a young speechwriter on one of the most compelling campaigns in American political history: the 1968 Presidential campaign of Bobby Kennedy that ended in Kennedy's assassination. So in the immediate aftermath of the 2024 Presidential campaign, who better to talk to than Jeff Greenfield.

Send us a text I first met Michael Byrne in the months after Hurricane Sandy in 2012.  Many parts of the New York area were still reeling from the hurricane.  Byrne was overseeing FEMA's response to the hurricane and he was serving the city where he was born and bred, just as he did after 9/11 working for the Department of Homeland Security, just as he had working for the city's Office of Emergency Management, just as he had as an FDNY firefighter, much like the uncles he watched as a young kid.     He learned the lessons of a life of service early and he's never forgotten them.

Send us a textJohn Hodgman always makes me laugh, in his books, on his podcast and certainly during his long run on The Daily Show.  He makes me laugh in interviews as well, but he is also an extremely thoughtful interview, especially about his many and varied influences and how they melded together into the career he's fashioned.  And so, there's a part two of our conversation.  Besides, you have to love any guy who was voted in 8th grade “most likely to become the editor of The New Yorker.”

Send us a textJohn Hodgman has made a wonderful career out of telling us things that are not true: as the “Resident Expert” and then “Deranged Millionaire” on The Daily Show and the author of three fun books of fake trivia.  His warm and clever wit are on display each week on the podcast Judge John Hodgman.  He is a thoughtful and compelling interview, especially when discussing his early influences, including the TV show Dr. Who, the writer Jorge Luis Borges and a Peter Cook/Dudley Moore comedy bit that “reshaped” his brain.  It all started in a Brookline, Massachusetts home where his parents allowed his creative side to flourish,  And it's never stopped.

Send us a textBarry Sonnenfeld is a storyteller.  In film.  And in conversation.   His journey has taken him from the streets of Washington Heights to the heights of Hollywood.  He tells hundreds of these stories in a new memoir, Best Possible Place, Worst Possible Time.”  He shared more than a few of them in our conversation.

Talk to Harry Teinowitz for ten seconds and it's easy to understand why he's had a successful career in Chicago sports talk radio.  There's a fun gift of gab, a solid sense of humor and a passionate love of sports.  He brought a lot of joy to Chicago sports fans.  But then came a DUI, rehab and a coming to terms with his alcohol problem.  The result? A play called “Another Shot” that is opening off Broadway in New York this fall.  Where once he provided laughs to his audience, now he's providing hope.  And a few laughs too.I hope you enjoy the latest episode of “Before The Cheering Started with Budd Mishkin.” If you like the episode, please rate and review it on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.  And please share it on social media and by old fashioned word of mouth.

Many of us grow up in homes with high expectations, but perhaps not the burden of expectation that Ben Mankiewicz experienced.  His grandfather and great uncle were prominent in Hollywood, his father in the world of politics.  Ben long ago dreamed of being a baseball broadcaster.  Along the way, he worked in sports media, hosted an eclectic news broadcast in Miami and eventually moved to California where he went on scores of auditions and batted .000.  But much like in his beloved baseball, it only takes one.  At the audition for Turner Classic Movies (TCM) in 2003, Mankiewicz hit it out of the park.  More than 20 years later, generations of classic movie fans are glad he did. I hope you enjoy the latest episode of “Before The Cheering Started with Budd Mishkin.” If you like the episode, please rate and review it on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.  And please share it on social media and by old fashioned word of mouth.

You never know what job you have that will teach you lessons that you'll use decades later.  Growing up as a theater loving kid, Frank Rich got a dream job as a ticket taker in a theater in his hometown of Washington, D.C.  And he watched as shows were changed, rewritten, shortened and lengthened from night to night in preparation for Broadway.  What he observed and the lessons he learned served him well later as the New York Times drama critic and much later as an executive producer on the HBO series Veep and Succession.I hope you enjoy the latest episode of “Before The Cheering Started with Budd Mishkin.”If you like the episode, please rate and review it on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.  And please share it on social media and by old fashioned word of mouth.

For much of his adult life as an athlete and attorney, Len Elmore has balanced academics and athletics.  That work continues to this day as a Senior Lecturer at Columbia University in the Sports Management program.  The balancing act began long ago growing up in New York City, then attending Power Memorial Academy, the University of Maryland, playing in the NBA, going to Harvard Law School, serving as an Assistant District Attorney in Brooklyn and beyond.   We are wowed by the big time nature of college sports and the gaudy salaries of the pros, where careers on average tend to be short.  The  lessons learned by balancing academics and athletics last a lifetime. I hope you enjoy the latest episode of “Before The Cheering Started with Budd Mishkin.” If you like the episode, please rate and review it on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.  And please share it on social media and by old fashioned word of mouth.

LUCY KAPLANSKYArt + Science = Sweet Music We've all come to crossroads in our lives and our careers.  Lucy Kaplansky initially chose music.  Then she chose school and a doctorate in clinical psychology.  She tried pursuing both passions, psychologist by day with a little music on the side.  But then came those crossroads.  Her many admirers are thankful that she chose a life in music.  Years ago she affected lives with her work as a therapist.  Now she's affecting lives with her songs. If you like the episode, please rate and review it on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.  And please share it on social media and by old fashioned word of mouth.

I first met Sebastian Junger in 2011, only months after the death of his friend and war reporting colleague Tim Hetherington in Libya.  Junger was at a crossroads, searching for an experience as intense as war but an experience that doesn't get you killed.   The passion he felt for war reporting has been replaced by the passion for his young family, and yet the opportunity to see his kids grow up almost vanished in the blink of an eye in 2020, the subject of his latest book “In My Time of Dying.” 

By 1975, Alan Zweibel had decided on a career in comedy writing. He'd written jokes for older borscht belt comics and become friendly with young comics like Billy Crystal. But then he faced a difficult career decision between a relatively sure thing and a leap into the unknown. The decision changed the rest of his life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them.” Shakespeare forgot about this one: “some are nudged by the rejection of numerous law schools.” Alan Zweibel has written so many words that have made us laugh, through the voices of Gilda Radner, Billy Crystal, Garry Shandling and his own. He was one of the original writers and creators of Saturday Night Live. The legal world's loss was clearly comedy's gain. Our's too. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ruth Reichl never thought she'd make a career out of writing about food. But she has, defying expectations and obliterating boundaries at august publications along the way. She's found joy and memory and escape in her writing about food: witness her latest book The Paris Novel. But there is also the theme that has stayed true to Reichl from Berkeley to the L.A. Times, The New York Times to Gourmet magazine and beyond; eating is a political issue. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I don't think it violates some journalistic Edward R. Murrow code to say that some interviews are a labor of love. And if it does, so be it. This is one of them. Paul Shaffer and Will Lee have put a lot of joyful music into the world. They are best known for their work in the Letterman bands, first on NBC and then on CBS, 33 years in all. But their compelling stories begin long before David Letterman. So too their friendship. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

By 1963, Bill Persky had already worked as a lifeguard at Grossinger's in the Catskill Mountains and watched the hotel's standup comics make people laugh. He'd written a show at Syracuse University that won a national collegiate award. He'd worked at an advertising agency and radio station in New York before moving to California to write for television. And then in 1963, everything changed. He and his writing partner Sam Denoff started writing for a show that is considered a classic: The Dick Van Dyke Show. A door had opened and on other side stood the rest of his life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is it like to create something early in your life and then watch as that creation has a tangible effect on people decades later? Musicians know the feeling. Actors and writers too. It's a feeling Bill Persky knows well. He and his writing partner Sam Denoff wrote many of the classic episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show, a 1960's show that is timeless and often held up as TV comedy writing at its best. 60 years later and we are still laughing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It seems easy for former professional athletes to live in the past. They practiced their whole lives to play the game and now it's gone. Fans are constantly reminding them of games long ago, occasionally waiting on long lines for a picture and an autograph at a card show. New York Rangers fans often remind Stephane Matteau of his Game 7 overtime goal against the New Jersey Devils that led the Rangers to the Stanley Cup Final, arguably the most important goal in franchise history. It was a life changing moment for the fans. And for Matteau too, but not for the reasons you might think. The goal gave Matteau the platform to focus on the present and the future. Not his: the present and future of thousands of kids. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jay Z once memorably rapped “if skills sold, truth be told, I'd probably be lyrically, Talib Kweli.” Many are the influences that have shaped Talib Kweli's words and music for decades: the Brooklyn of his youth, the ubiquitous books and records in that Brooklyn home, the academic careers of his parents as professors and administrators. He once told me “if you combine sociology and humanities and English language (his parents' academic specialties) with Brooklyn, you get hip hop. That was certainly the equation that worked for Talib Kweli. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Adriana Trigiani has had a long love affair with the written word. And she's pretty comfortable with the spoken word too.  She has quite a story to tell as a novelist/TV writer/film director/podcast host whose journey brought her from a small mining town in Virginia to New York. And she tells that story with insight and humor. Her thoughts on the lessons we learn growing up in our homes might be the most eloquent I've ever heard on the topic.   Adriana's beloved by many. Get ready to join the crowd. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shawn Colvin has been making music, beautiful music, for a long time. She's known the heights of winning Grammy Awards, including song of the year and record of the year for Sunny Came Home in 1998. She's known the hills and valleys of the business, especially early on, playing in cover bands, dive bars, taking day jobs before her career took off in New York City in the late 80's. And she's known the collective embrace of a beloved fan base that ho Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stan Fischler has been in the hockey world for 70 years, primarily as a writer and broadcaster.  His passion for the sport has never waned, even as a 92 year old who now covers and writes about hockey from a small village in northern Israel, where he lives with his son and family. He is the sport's connection, from Richard to Howe to Orr to Gretzky to Crosby to Ovechkin. And that is why Stan is “The Hockey Maven.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I first met Maurice Ashley in New York in 1994. He was announcing a chess tournament with all of the fervor and excitement of Marv Albert and John Madden. 30 years later, his passion for the sport is the same, perhaps greater. He's an historic figure in chess as the first African American grandmaster. But that's only a small part of Maurice's story. The game has brought him into schools around the world, preaching the love of the sport he first learned in the parks of Brooklyn. His passion for chess is limitless, initially preaching a joy of the game and then lessons beyond the board.

It was the writer F. Scott Fitzgerald who famously wrote “there are no second acts in America.” Scott, meet Steve Hindy.  He's had an amazing second act, made that much more compelling by his first act, covering wars and revolutions in the Middle East, the taking of the American hostages in Iran in 1979 and surviving the assassination of Anwar Sadat in 1981.  Less than a decade later, he co-founded an iconic brand: Brooklyn Brewery. Join us on his amazing journey, from foreign correspondent to Brooklyn brewer.

If we're lucky, we find work that is our passion. In a sense, it doesn't even feel like work. Long ago, Bill Raftery found that passion analyzing basketball games on TV. And we are the lucky ones. What we don't see is the immense amount of preparation he puts into every game. What millions of us do see and hear and experience is the joy, the excitement and the great sense of humor that comes with every broadcast with Bill Raftery. Before Bill Raftery broadcast the game, he played it (and how!) and coached it. The journey to analyzing games on TV was hardly direct. But he got there, and millions of us basketball fans are the better for it.

Growing up on Long Island, Bob Gruen's parents wanted him to work 9-5. And for much of his life, he did. 9PM-5AM. He's spent 60 years documenting rock ‘n roll through photographs. Bob wasn't photographing the scene. He was part of the scene, earning the trust of musicians, hanging out with them, touring with them, befriending them and photographing them in human, unscripted moments: Ike and Tina Turner, Elton John, Led Zeppelin, The Sex Pistols, The Clash. And his good friends, John and Yoko. His pictures of John at the Statue of Liberty and wearing the New York City shirt are iconic, seen around the world. 

Former athletes have all kinds of second careers once their playing days are over. There are lawyers and doctors, business people and broadcasters, lots and lots of broadcasters. But I know of no other former great athlete who has pursued the world of green technology. Mike Richter was always one of my favorite interviews during my sports reporting days, so I really enjoyed catching up with him. But there's no living in the past for Richter or his company Brightcore Energy, strictly focused on the present and the environmental solutions of tomorrow.

In the world of downtown cabaret and theater, Justin Vivian Bond is nothing less than an icon.  For more than 30 years, their performances have compelled audiences, initially in small performance spaces and eventually at Carnegie Hall and beyond.  They created their most memorable character while still in their 20's: a boozy, opinionated, aging lounge singer named Kiki Durane, one half (along with Kenny Mellman) of the beloved musical fictional duo Kiki and Herb.  Now known as Vivian, they have taught a lot of us about the trans world, through performance, activism, humor, anger, wisdom…all of it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lea Carpenter has had an unlikely and compelling path to becoming a writer of novels about espionage: Princeton and Harvard, working for both Senator Biden and Beau Biden and a 10 year magazine publishing career working for the likes of Francis Ford Coppola and John F. Kennedy Jr.  There is a powerful connection in her writing to a subject that was not discussed as she was growing up in Delaware: her father's work in military intelligence and special operations during World War Two.  Add up all of the disparate influences and experiences and you have a novelist who has received some serious acclaim.  Toni Morrison called her writing “elegant prose.”  The esteemed New York Times reviewer Michiko Kakutani has dubbed Lea Carpenter “an extraordinarily gifted writer.”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I first met Kenny Vance at one of the hardest times in his life.  It was a few months after Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and his house on the beach in the Rockaways of New York had been completely destroyed.  And yet even that couldn't dampen his sweet spirit, his good humor and the joy he has gotten out of a life in music. Kenny grew up in Brooklyn hearing music in the neighborhood, in all of the neighborhoods.  That eventually led to him being a co-founder and original member of a very successful 1960's vocal group, Jay and the Americans.  And now he's bringing it all back home, directing a documentary about his beloved doo wop, a love letter to those forgotten by time, but not by Kenny Vance.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's no need to categorize the music of Sarah Jarosz.  OK, you can put it in one category: good.  She has a contemporary sound and a sensibility that pays homage to the musical shoulders on which she stands.  She is thoughtful in music and conversation, about the musically vibrant Texas small town of her youth, her time at the New England Conservatory (where she had the rare freshman experience of getting a phone call telling her that she'd been nominated for a Grammy) and a career that has enchanted both her contemporaries and her musical heroes, so much so that they've recorded with her, produced her and toured with her.  It's already been quite a journey for Sarah Jarosz.   And it's just getting started.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Talent will always win out.  At least, I hope so.  Talent and creativity and humor and perseverance.  But all of us need a moment that opens the window to the rest of our lives.  That window opened for Nick Hornby during a conversation with an agent that was not going particularly well.  Nick decided “what the hell” at the end of the conversation and pitched a book idea that he knew would be rejected by the agent.   The agent loved the idea and Nick Hornby was off and running.  How lucky for us to be along for the ride. I hope you enjoy part 2 of my conversation with Nick Hornby.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nick Hornby has never written the phone book, to use an old expression.  But if he did, I'd read it.  Hornby is one of those writers who elicits unbridled enthusiasm from his unabashed admirers.  Count me in, thanks to books like High Fidelity, Fever Pitch and About A Boy.  He always had a love of reading and writing and music and sports.  But turning it into a lifetime of books and a way to make a living? That was more than a few years in coming.  But come it did.  How fortunate are we.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You don't need to be a great musician like Steven Van Zandt, Bruce Springsteen or Paul Shaffer to understand the greatness of Darlene Love.  Perhaps they understand it on a more musical level, but anyone who has ever heard that amazing voice gets it.  Her songs radiate joy, none more so than the classic of this season, “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).”  Darlene's musical journey has included glorious heights, stressful lows and one of the longest and most satisfying second acts in American musical history.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mike Massimino is smart.  No surprise there.  He's a graduate of Columbia, MIT and the NASA space program.  But he's also incredibly thoughtful about the lessons while preparing for his two space shuttle flights, the time he spent in space and the clarity it gave him about life back on earth.  And he's downright funny when talking about one of the perks of the job, specifically throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at a baseball game.  All of these elements are on display in his new book “Moon Shot: A NASA Astronaut's Guide To Achieving The Impossible.”  It's been quite a journey for Mike from Long Island to the stars.  Enjoy the ride.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lisa Lucas has many of the wonderful qualities that a compelling character in one of the books she publishes might have.  She's smart.  She's thoughtful.  And she's really funny.  Have you ever known anyone who breezily refers to the classic The Brothers Karamazov as “ The Brothers K?”  She's the Senior Vice President and Publisher of Pantheon Books and Schocken Books, taking an unorthodox path to the top of the publishing world.  Don't know Lisa?  Grab a coffee, settle in and enjoy getting to know her.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chandrika Tandon has a head for business and a soul for music.  She's reached incredible heights in both fields.  It's a remarkable story.  Where others see obstacles she sees opportunities, from growing up in India to coming to the United States and then realizing her dream of making music while raising a family and wielding influence in the business world.  Her latest album, “Ammu's Treasures” is a collection of songs that she's heard from her earliest years and now sings to her grandchildren, a musical hug from generation to generation.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At this profoundly dark time, a show of hope and wonder is taking place at a small and intimate theater in Greenwich Village.  The show is called “Asi Wind's Inner Circle.”  If you love magic, you'll love it.  If you hate magic, you'll love it.  It is unlike any show I've ever seen, where the audience plays an integral role in the entire evening.  It is a must see if you are in New York.  And Asi Wind's back story is as compelling as his show, a story of struggle, a second act in a new land and connection.  And some amazing magic.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nick Lowe has been writing and singing his songs for some 50 years. Some songs, like the exquisite “Stoplight Roses” are known by his ardent fans.  Others, like “(What's So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding” are known around the world.  More than a few iconic musicians have covered his songs, including Elvis Costello and Johnny Cash.  He's a marvelous and thoughtful storyteller.  I hope you enjoy part two of my conversation with Nick Lowe.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's something beautiful about a musician who has been writing and performing for decades and is still out there, finding inspiration to write and create special moments for the audience.  And yes, there is something beautiful about Nick Lowe.  There are the catchy songs that we first loved when we were younger and the poignant songs at every stage of his life and our lives ever since.  His music captures the moments of joy and humour (British spelling for the British musician).  No better example of that than “I Knew The Bride When She Used To Rock And Roll.”  And he also sings of times of struggle.  Listen to “Stoplight Roses.”  You're welcome.  To paraphrase another of his memorable songs, Nick Lowe continues to “write the book.”  His many admirers are more than happy to keep on reading it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From the outside, it seems that it's been a brilliant trajectory for Rob Simmelkjaer, from Ivy League college and law school to prestigious legal and media positions. But to steal a piece of wisdom from Rob himself, no one's trajectory is a straight line. The path has now led him to his “dream job” as the CEO of New York Road Runners, a position that synthesizes many of his passions and represents the end of one marathon for Simmelkjaer and the beginning of the next.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Spend 12 seconds talking to Gabi Conti and you get it, that California blast of energy born out of growing up in the Northeast.  She's written, directed and hosted new media and old.  She jokes that she peaked at Emerson College, where the window to the rest of her life opened.  In those early years in the business, when obstacles had the audacity to get in her way, she managed to see and utilize the opportunities. She's written articles, books and podcasts about dating and has more than a few stories from those not so halcyon days.  And now there's a new podcast, a nine-episode rom com called “Bad Influencer” that she co-created with the writer Jane Green.  Don't know Gabi? No problem. Strap in. You're going to enjoy getting to know her.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We all have books, music, movies, pieces of art that elate us in good times and sustain us in hard times.  The 1975 book "The Doonesbury Chronicles" is at the top of the list for me.  I frequently go back to it, rereading strips that I've read a hundred times.  Garry Trudeau created Doonesbury, initially called Bull Tales, at Yale in the late 60's.  Trudeau and Doonesbury have made us laugh and think and laugh again ever since.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's one thing to have a successful book, and Freaknomics, the 2005 book Stephen Dubner co-authored with economist Steven Levitt, is very successful, with million of copies sold and translated all over the world. But it's rare that a successful book becomes a radio show, a podcast and a small cottage industry. And it's even rarer that it becomes part of our vocabulary.Stephen Dubner has many qualities. He's smart. He's funny. And he's a terrific writer. He's made a living pursuing his passion, trying to find out how the world works, or doesn't work, or maybe doesn't work how most of us think it does. At his core, Stephen Dubner is curious.Endlessly curious.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's not every standup comedian who has the London School of Economics on the resume.  In fact, Hari Kondabolu may be the only standup who has the London School of Economics on his resume.  It may not reflect how funny he is, but it shines a bit of a light on how thoughtful his work is.  He is perhaps best known for creating the documentary “The Problem With Apu” about the character on The Simpsons.  But Hari had been doing this type of work, raising consciousness by being clever, for years before the 2017 film.  He successfully walks that fine line as a standup, making us laugh and making us think.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A poster changed Dr. Irwin Redlener's life.  Sure, he likely would have been a doctor that put good into the world.  But in the early 1970's, a poster he saw asking young doctors to go to a poor, rural county in Arkansas lit a fire inside him and set him on a path with no looking back, working as a team with his wife Karen, a health professional with an expertise in child health and development.  When kids in Arkansas needed help, they were there.  When kids in NewYork City needed help, they were there.  When Syrian refugee kids needed help, they were there.  And now, when Ukrainian kids need help, they are there.  Fifty plus years of the good fight and still ready to get on a plane and go, trying to make this world a better place for kids in unstable, unhealthy and unjust situations.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sports fans know Ian Eagle. They know him from announcing NFL football, NBA and college basketball, the Brooklyn Nets and so many other gigs. He adds to every broadcast with his great preparation, excitement and sharp sense of humor. But his fans might not know that Ian comes to the performance aspect of his work honestly. He grew up watching his parents perform on stage at what was known as “The Borscht Belt,” the hotels in New York's Catskill Mountains. Where once his parents entertained hundreds every weekend in the Catskills, the son now informs and entertains and excites millions on TV.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I had the pleasure and privilege of interviewing Clarence Jones for a NY1 profile in 2008. In 2013, it was an honor to share the stage at the 92nd St. Y and moderate a conversation with Clarence, Harry Belafonte and Julian Bond to commemorate 50 years since the 1963 March on Washington. And it was fascinating to speak with him this week, 60 years since the March and Dr. King's “I Have A Dream” speech, a speech Clarence helped write. He is one of the most important unsung heroes of the civil rights movement, a behind the scenes mover and shaker as attorney, advisor and occasional speechwriter for Dr. King. Now 92 years old, he is one of the last living lions of the civil rights movement.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.