American actor and film producer
POPULARITY
Categories
How can you harness your curiosity to grow your career? What are the most important questions to ask yourself when attempting to manage your money well?Guest Danielle Robay is a TV host, journalist, and content creator known for her open-hearted questions + compelling interview style. Noted by Forbes as a “game changer,” she is recognized for creating the podcast “PRETTYSMART,” the bestselling card game Question Everything, and hosting E!'s “While You Were Streaming.” She's chatted with everyone from Taylor Swift + Michael B. Jordan, to Viola Davis, Helen Mirren, Alexis Ohanian, +Tom Hanks. Even Larry King has commented on her compelling interview style: “Danielle is the millennial Barbara Walter's. She has the ability to make people feel seen.” With a loyal social media following of over 400,000 followers across platforms, Danielle's goal is that we learn to live better through each other's stories.This episode is a reply from Jan 10, 2024 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tim McGraw's daughter makes an appearance at one of his shows, Kraft is selling 'apple pie" mac n cheese, and Tom Hanks talks old Toy Story BTS. Are you okay with this? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Donna finished Nobody Wants This on Netflix, GenZ apparently thinks cash is "cringe" and Tom Hanks says Pixar scrapped the original idea for Toy Story after working on it for two years.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Colin Hanks joins Andy Richter to discuss his new film "John Candy: I Like Me," his unexpected and rewarding journey into documentary filmmaking, growing up in Sacramento, the acting advice he received from his father, Tom Hanks, and much more. Do you want to talk to Andy live on SiriusXM's Conan O'Brien Radio? Tell us your favorite dinner party story (about anything!) - leave a voicemail at 855-266-2604 or fill out our Google Form at BIT.LY/CALLANDYRICHTER. Listen to "The Andy Richter Call-In Show" every Wednesday at 1pm Pacific on SiriusXM's Conan O'Brien Channel. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
President Trump, who hosted a lavish Halloween party while refusing to fund SNAP benefits for needy American families, told Norah O'Donnell on “60 Minutes” that he pardoned a man he knows nothing about. In tech news, a robot named NEO might be the next big thing in house cleaning. As co-writer of the new play, “This World of Tomorrow,” Tom Hanks isn't in danger of getting fired if he messes up, but the shame of forgetting lines you wrote for yourself is punishment enough. Grab tickets to the play, opening on November 18th. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
A HALLOWEEN SHOW for the ages! Tom Hanks, Vince Vaughn, Joe Biden, Morgan Freeman, Anthony Bourdain, Seth Rogen, Dr. Phil, Donald Trump, Steve Buscemi, Steve Martin, Jeff Bridges and more! An hour of unhinged, full improvised comedy with the biggest stars, on the biggest holiday! Enjoy! Follow @jonthankite & @piotr.michael on IG! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
#realconversations #author #screenwriter #actor #Castaway#industrialdesigner #OhioState #director #standupcomedyCONVERSATIONS WITH CALVIN WE THE SPECIES with host CALVINSCHWARTZMeet MARK STEVEN PORRO: “Thinking about what to write aftermy interview with Mark. One word popped. Sonnet. Let me count the ways MarkSteven Porro amazed. A life beyond. A devoted son who became caretaker of his89-year-old mother. Yes, the word ‘Commode' is in his best-selling book title.More words. Stand-up comedian LA. Acting next to Tom Hanks in ‘Castaway' in theairplane crash scene. Hill Street Blues. The Ohio State University.Screenwriter. Residuals. South of France. Hospice. Industrial designer. No particular order tothese words. But powerful stuff. To induce listeners. One illuminating,introspective, rare interview. Mark Steven Porro is an unforgettable force. ‘ACup of Tea on the Commode' is a must-read. We all have parents. I'll be back withMark when I finish the read.” Calvinhttps://www.youtube.com/c/ConversationswithCalvinWetheSpecIEs651 Interviews/Videos 9200 SUBSCRIBERSGLOBAL Reach. Earth Life. Amazing People. PLEASE SUBSCRIBE and COMMENT**MARK STEVEN PORRO; Award Winning Designer; Writer; Director,Best Selling Author, “A Cup of Tea on the Commode” LIVE from South of Francewith host Calvin SchwartzYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWiqXlG-d4IBIO: Mark is an award-winning designer, writer, director,and now a best-selling, award-winning author. He has written lots of jokes,several screenplays, and one award-winning short film. A Cup of Tea on theCommode—a sad, sweet, and funny debut memoir—chronicles his multitaskingadventures of filling his mother's last years with love, laughter, and joy.Though not always successful, he came pretty damn close.LINKS:Social Media links:https://acupofteaonthecommode.orghttps://www.facebook.com/teaonthehttps://www.facebook.com/markporrohttps://www.youtube.com/@acupofteaonthecommodehttps://twitter.com/teaonthehttps://www.instagram.com/a_cup_of_tea_on_the_commodehttps://www.linkedin.com/in/markporrohttps://www.pinterest.fr/acupofteaonthecommodehttps://www.tumblr.com/acupofteaonthecommodehttps://www.tiktok.com/@markstevenporrohttps://bsky.app/profile/markporro.bsky.social**WE ARE ALSO ON AUDIOAUDIO “Conversations with Calvin; WE the SpecIEs”ANCHOR https://lnkd.in/g4jcUPqSPOTIFY https://lnkd.in/ghuMFeCAPPLE PODCASTSBREAKER https://lnkd.in/g62StzJGOOGLE PODCASTS https://lnkd.in/gpd3XfMPOCKET CASTS https://pca.st/bmjmzaitRADIO PUBLIC https://lnkd.in/gxueFZw
The Dingle Distillery International Film Festival returns this winter to venues around Dingle from 7 – 9 November. Renowned Hollywood screenwriter, director, producer and acclaimed novelist Todd Komarnicki will appear at the festival for ‘Writing and Directing Your Way To Success'. Todd will talk his creative process, pitching tips and working in Tinseltown, from writing the screenplay for Clint Eastwood and Tom Hanks blockbuster Sully, to co-producing Christmas hit Elf, and his most recent Hollywood film in 2024, Bonhoeffer, the true story of pastor turned WW2 spy, Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Ahead of his appearance Todd spoke to Pat this morning on the show.
The iconic Bob Roth joins Kelly to demystify meditation. Meditation Bob has helped quiet the minds of David Lynch, Oprah, Tom Hanks, Steve Martin, and now he's answering all of our questions. He weighs in on how often one should meditate, how to meditate and how to time your meditation. He shares the long term benefits of practicing and why mantras are secret, and he tells us how to quiet David Letterman's mind. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Votre podcast préféré Happy Hour fête son 100e numéro ! Pour l'occasion, il nous fallait une voix culte, un timbre qui fait frissonner. Nous avons donc convié le légendaire Jean-Philippe Puymartin pour nous parler de sa carrière et des voix pour lesquels il est célébré : Timon dans le Roi Lion, Tom Hanks et Tom Cruise dans presque tous leurs films et Woody dans la saga Toy Story.Dans l'émission, on parle de l'épineux sujet de l'IA dans le doublage. Vous pouvez signer la pétition du mouvement TouchePasAMaVF en cliquant ici et les suivre sur Instagram.https://c.org/LH8LzcWf69Ensemble, comme chaque mois, on fait le tour de nos coups de coeur du moment : des séries, de la musique, du théâtre et une BD.Programme : 00:00 Introduction02:23 La carrière de Jean-Philippe Puymartin30:56 Surprise : le message de Pumba à Timon32:45 La carrière de Jean-Philippe Puymartin - suite57:46 Introduction de la 2e partie58:49 Task (Série)1:09:45 Empathie (Série)1:19:01 L'Evènement (Théâtre)1:22:42 Lucky Luke, Dakota 1880 (BD)1:32:49 The Last Dinner Party - From the Pire (Musique)1:40:47 ConclusionAvec la participation amicale de Michel Elias. Merci !TracklistRandy Newman & Charlélie Couture - Je Suis Ton Ami The Last Dinner Party - Second Best The Last Dinner Party - The Scythe The Last Dinner Party - This is the Killer SpeakingHappy Hour est un podcast produit par CloneWeb.net et membre du label Bonus TracksHébergé par Ausha. Visitez ausha.co/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.
Attorney and success strategist Amber Fuhriman joins Lesley for a raw and empowering talk about perfectionism, people-pleasing, and the hidden fear behind our need for clarity. Amber opens up about how achievement became her coping mechanism and how trauma can disguise itself. Together, they unpack toxic positivity, hyper-independence, and what it really means to redefine success on your own terms. You'll walk away with Amber's SOS system to ask for help before burnout hits.If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at beit@lesleylogan.co mailto:beit@lesleylogan.co. And as always, if you're enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/#follow-subscribe-free.In this episode you will learn about:How people-pleasing can quietly sabotage your goals and boundaries.Why success and busyness often mask deeper emotional pain.How “seeking clarity” hides perfectionism and fear of making mistakes.The real cost of toxic positivity and how to embrace hard emotions.How Amber's SOS system helps you stop overthinking and take action.Episode References/Links:Break Your Bullshit Box Facebook Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/morethancorporateAmber Fuhriman's Website: https://www.successdevelopmentsolutions.com90-Day Success Jumpstart - https://jumpstart.successdevelopmentsolutions.comRory Vaden's TED Talk - https://youtu.be/y2X7c9TUQJ8?si=yV69LFYhwgBlc4zYTiny Habits by BJ Fogg - https://a.co/d/0MOylqVGuest Bio:Amber Fuhriman is an attorney, success strategist, and speaker who helps high achievers create success aligned with self-awareness and authenticity. She is a certified Trainer of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and uses mindset and communication tools to help clients overcome perfectionism and fear-based decision-making. Amber hosts the Break Your Bullshit Box* podcast, where she leads honest conversations about leadership, mindset, and the courage to live fully. Her work focuses on helping professionals bridge the gap between external achievement and internal fulfillment. Through her coaching and speaking, Amber empowers others to define success on their own terms and take purposeful action toward it. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure and give us a five star rating and leave us a review on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podchaser or Castbox. https://lovethepodcast.com/BITYSIDEALS! DEALS! DEALS! DEALS! https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/memberships/perks/#equipmentCheck out all our Preferred Vendors & Special Deals from Clair Sparrow, Sensate, Lyfefuel BeeKeeper's Naturals, Sauna Space, HigherDose, AG1 and ToeSox https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/memberships/perks/#equipmentBe in the know with all the workshops at OPC https://workshops.onlinepilatesclasses.com/lp-workshop-waitlistBe It Till You See It Podcast Survey https://pod.lesleylogan.co/be-it-podcasts-surveyBe a part of Lesley's Pilates Mentorship https://lesleylogan.co/elevate/FREE Ditching Busy Webinar https://ditchingbusy.com/Resources:Watch the Be It Till You See It podcast on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq08HES7xLMvVa3Fy5DR8-gLesley Logan website https://lesleylogan.co/Be It Till You See It Podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjogqXLnfyhS5VlU4rdzlnQProfitable Pilates https://profitablepilates.com/about/Follow Us on Social Media:Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lesley.logan/The Be It Till You See It Podcast YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq08HES7xLMvVa3Fy5DR8-gFacebook https://www.facebook.com/llogan.pilatesLinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesley-logan/The OPC YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@OnlinePilatesClasses Episode Transcript:Amber Fuhriman 0:00 If you took away our names and our identities and our genders and you looked at just the dots that were important to our identity, we both had a history of suicide in our family. We both lost our dads at the age of 18. We both had siblings that we felt like relied on us. There were these things that were identical to who we were, yet I went to law school and he went to jail. He became a drug addict. He has turned his life around now, and he's clean and sober, yet people look at him and they say, you're such a screw up. And people look at me and they say, you're so successful. What they don't realize is we were numbing the same thing. Academic accomplishment was my numbing mechanism. If I did enough, if I focused on something else, then I wouldn't have to feel what I was going through.Lesley Logan 0:49 Welcome to the Be It Till You See It podcast where we talk about taking messy action, knowing that perfect is boring. I'm Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor and fitness business coach. I've trained thousands of people around the world and the number one thing I see stopping people from achieving anything is self-doubt. My friends, action brings clarity and it's the antidote to fear. Each week, my guest will bring bold, executable, intrinsic and targeted steps that you can use to put yourself first and Be It Till You See It. It's a practice, not a perfect. Let's get started. Lesley Logan 1:32 All right, Be It babe, get ready. This interview, we go on the best journey. It's so good. The Be It Action Item was great. There's also some really good action steps to take within the interview. Amber Fuhriman is our guest today, and I wanted to have her on because I got to be on her amazing podcast. And I loved her questions so much. I loved her responses. I loved the conversation. I was like, she should be on this show, because if anyone's been being it it till you see it, it's her, and we talk about people pleasing and perfectionism and success. And I just think you're going to have a really great time. I think it's going to be really eye opening. Pay attention to the SOS thing. I think that's a killer. And let me know what your takeaways are. I want to hear about it. So here's Amber Fuhriman. Lesley Logan 2:10 All right, Be It babe. Get ready. I know this is going to be a great conversation, because I've already had the pleasure of meeting this woman on being on her podcast, and we could have gone on for hours. So I just decided, well, let's just continue the conversation over on my podcast. Amber Fuhriman, can you tell everyone who you are and what you rock at?Amber Fuhriman 2:27 I'm so excited to be here, and I agree with you. We could have talked forever, and you just meet people. It's crazy we're both in Vegas, because I think our response was, how have we not crossed paths? Like, how is two amazing people that it is fantastic not met before now, so I'm so excited. To sum it up, I'm a recovering perfectionist, a people pleaser that is learning how to not people please. I'm an attorney, a, it's a struggle, man, the struggle bus is big on the people-pleasing train, right? Yeah. I am a attorney, sometimes in recovery, sometimes not. And I do coaching and human behavior and podcasting and all of the things.Lesley Logan 3:05 Oh my gosh. I think everyone their ears perked up when they heard, oh, you're a recovering perfectionist and a recovering people-pleaser. like, hi, who are you, like, we're listening? Because the people-pleasing, looking to start there, it is really hard. And I think it's like, I think some people don't even realize they're people-pleasing. I think that they think they're being kind.Amber Fuhriman 3:24 Yeah. I think that's so true, and I also think we don't, we've never been told to talk about it, because people-pleasing is what we were told we were supposed to be as not even just women. I mean, I do think women have it more than men, but I don't want to exclude men from the conversation of people-pleasing, but I do think that we as women were told that our job is to be there for other people. We are traditionally put into nurturing roles. I remember being the only female attorney at the criminal defense firm I worked at before I started my business, and we had a really sensitive case, and I remember them coming in and saying, Amber, we need you. We need a woman's touch. And I said, you, and you asked me, like, have you not met me? Like, I'm so rough around the edges. If you need somebody that can nurture this poor woman, I should be your last choice. I can look at six men that will do a better nurturing job than I will, but there's this perception that we're just supposed to take care of other people.Lesley Logan 4:20 Yeah, yeah. And it's like, can you, do you know, like, what are, in case people don't know, what are some signs that they are a people-pleaser? Do you have that off the top of your head, like?Amber Fuhriman 4:30 Yeah, I think the one that's coming to my head the most right now is that you care about what somebody else is going to feel about your actions more than you care about what you're going to feel about your actions. So you go to say something or do something, and the first thought you have is, but what will the other person think? And I am, I want to clarify that there's zero part of me that's telling you to go around being an asshole, just for the purposes of being an asshole, but if your authentic self and you speaking your truth and who you are, is going to piss somebody else off, then let them fucking be pissed.Lesley Logan 5:05 Oh, okay, so here, my mind went so many places, because one of the things that, we coach Pilates studio owners a lot, and so we're small business owners, and, like, also just in life, go out, and I like talking to small business owners, and it is amazing how many people, like, don't want to change their policies, don't want to charge for a late cancelation and won't raise their rates because they are so concerned with how it's going to affect the other person that it's actually affecting their business from making the money it needs to make for them to stay in business. And it's like to your point, of course, I'm not an asshole who doesn't care how they feel, and I don't want to lose them as a client. But also, if I don't make enough money doing this, when I am working with clients, they are taking a spot from someone who could pay me so that I can actually provide for my family, so I cannot put their feelings so far ahead that I'm actually suffering.Amber Fuhriman 5:53 Yeah, and I don't think we think about it that much right, like if I am speaking my truth and I'm being me, and I'm being authentic to who I am, and that upsets somebody, and I think, oh my gosh, I can't say that, because they're going to be upset. Are they putting the same thought process into whether they're asking me to be somebody different than who I am? Right? Why is it that we are the ones that have to adjust and and I know this is going to trigger some people out there, so you're welcome and I love you, because the reality is one of my favorite sayings is that your actions are all about you, and their responses are all about them. So whenever I have somebody who responds emotionally to something that I'm doing, the first question I ask myself is, were the actions that I took in alignment with who I want to be as a human being. Do I need to adjust something? Are they rightfully upset? Did I act out of alignment with who I am? If I did, then I have some apologies to make. I have some internal work to do. I have some questions to ask, but if I can look back and say I am 100% congruent with the actions that I took, and yes, I want to repair this relationship, and I will be there for you when you're ready to have a conversation, but I will not apologize when I am 100% in alignment with my actions. This is a conversation you get to understand and accept me for who I am, or don't accept me, and it is a beautiful place to get to, but it's not easy. Lesley Logan 7:17 Yeah, thank you for clarifying, like how you can self-reflect, to just address and also double check what you're doing. Because I think especially if you are trying to not people-please as much, you're going to need that set of tools to help you get there, because you're going to have people who get pissed off. The first people who get pissed off are your close family and friends who will get that's who you're people-pleasing for so many years are not going to like when you start acting different.Amber Fuhriman 7:43 Yeah and I think family and friends is the hardest, because they're going to support you the least by nature, which is not all their fault. It's human behavior, right? We exist. So for the people that are listening, there's this term that I love in NLP, called perception is projection. And basically what that means is we project all of the things about ourselves out onto the world. So everybody that we come in contact with is meant to teach us a lesson, positive or constructive about ourselves, right? So we can only see the world as we are. So when we start making positive changes in our life, when we start becoming the next version of who we are. We are fucking with the perception that our friends and family have held of us for a really long time, and that messes with their identity, because now they're faced with, do I level up or do I stay and leveling up takes courage and getting out of a comfort zone and something that not everybody's ready to do. So when they're faced with that choice, sometimes it's easier for them to try to convince you not to change than it is for them to face their own bullshit of whether or not they're going to be willing to join you.Lesley Logan 8:54 Oh my gosh. Everyone rewind. Hear that one more time. It was so good. It's so good. We can keep going on this path. But I also wanted to say, like, maybe let's go on a journey with you. You like, have you always wanted to be a coach? Did you always want to, like, dive into helping people with success and things like that? Or was like being an attorney, like the thing you wanted to do? Like, what's the journey that got you to where you are today, podcasting and helping people like you do?Amber Fuhriman 9:18 Yeah, the answer is neither. So I will say that going to law school was a trauma response for me, and because it was a trauma response, the question I hated the most was, what made you decide to go to law school, or why did you go to law school? Because I never had an answer. For me, I grew up in, I was born in the '80s, grew up in the late '80s, early '90s. So I say that because that period of time, for those of us who were raised there, we were taught that we put in enough hard work and there was this level of payout that's gonna come at the end, right?.Lesley Logan 9:50 Oh yes, yes, you work hard and you're going to get rewarded, also. Amber Fuhriman 9:54 Hard work pays off, I fucking hate that phrase. Lesley Logan 9:56 If you add that, if you add a layer of religion in there, the same thing, like, there's a lot of gold at the end of all of this for the people who do everything perfectly right, and work harder than yesterday. And you know what? Also, also, you should do 110% at work just to prove that you deserve the paycheck you're getting, and then be happy that they didn't fire you and not give you, like, like, all these different things. But anyways, keep going.Amber Fuhriman 10:24 Yeah, yeah, no. So, so you get it. And then the second part of what I'm about to share is the reality that we often say what it is we want to have, but we don't articulate the reason those things are important to us. And so we never understand and get to make the connection of whether what we think we want is actually going to bring the payout that we think it's going to bring. So let me bring this down a little bit for you. So I grew up in the world where money equaled success, success equaled happiness, and I was in so much pain. So I talk about this in my book, when I decided to go to therapy in 2016 and decided is an overstatement, when I was suffering from panic attacks and had no choice but to go to therapy because I couldn't breathe, in 2016 it was the first time I had ever heard the term abandonment disorder. I didn't know what that meant. And then I started looking back at my life, and I started experiencing death for the first time at the age of seven. My cousin, I had two suicides in my family before the age of 14. My dad died when I was 18. Like our brains don't comprehend that somebody died. They just comprehend that somebody's gone, right? So for me, I was just so used to people leaving me that it created this belief that people aren't going to stick around, and I've got to be super hyper independent, along with that, after my dad passed away, when I went to a grief counselor for the first time, the first thing they did was try to put me on antidepressants. And I never wanted to be medicated, so in my brain, that connected if I talk to anybody about not being okay, they're going to medicate me, and I don't want that, so I just pretended I was good, until I couldn't pretend anymore. After my dad passed away, I failed out of undergrad. I was the first person in my family to go to college. I really struggled with this idea of grief and success at the same time. So when I was at my rock bottom, I thought, something's got to change. I've always loved legal thrillers. I fell into the trap of thinking that life as an attorney was a John Grisham book, which it is, sadly not. My dad and I talked about me going to going to law school. He thought I'd really like it. He was no longer here, so it was kind of a connection to him. But most importantly, it's the only way I knew to make six figures, and that money equals success. Success equals happiness. Happy people don't feel pain. So in 2016 after I'd gone to law school, I'd made my first six figure income. I had the respect in my profession, and I still hurt. I didn't know how to breathe, and that's when my panic attacks started. It was learning the human behavior behind choices, healing from my own choices, uncovering and dealing with the masks that I put on throughout my whole life as I saw the benefits of that. That's when coaching kind of opened its doors to me.Lesley Logan 13:22 Wow, thank you for that whole journey. And I think I can, I don't, I don't have, I didn't have the grief part of it in my childhood, but I definitely had the hyper independence, like, you know, I, I, there's pictures of me as a little girl, like, making my own breakfast, because my dad was, like, very into, like, build a bit, like, you have to be able to take care of yourself. And like, so like, as a three year old, like, the bowl of cereal was poured and the milk was in the fridge, and I had to grab the milk from the fridge, it's already poured in a cup for me to fill my bowl. And, like, I love the independence it taught, but also, layered with that whole, and my parents for good reason, like, they live in a small town. They do not have money. So if they're like, if you want to have a life that's not like this, you have to go to college, because college is going to guarantee a paycheck.Amber Fuhriman 14:12 It's so comical now, right?Lesley Logan 14:13 It guaranteed a lot of student loans. I'm glad, of course, I'm glad I went. I would not be here today had I not gone on that journey, because I don't believe anything happens without happening for us, but because I'm but I did laugh as like in the 2008 recession, when I was a full time Pilates instructor that is not why I went to school for, and I was like, well, this $700 month student loan bill sucks, but I wouldn't have found a Pilates had I not been there. So, like, all these different things happen for the way they go. But it took me a really long time, and I'm still learning today, it's probably the thing, the hardest thing I'll ever have to learn is like, I cannot do it all alone. So I'm constantly thanking my team. I'm constantly thinking, my team. I have to remind myself, my team. And then when things go wrong, I have to the my first reaction is like, I could have done it better, and I have to go, no, I could have explained it better. I could have, maybe I could reflect back and see where I could have checked things more. I could have. But, like, I that hyper independence is a really hard thing, I think for a lot of women, because what they do is they just do everything themselves, and then they're burnt out and they're pissed off, and they'are resentful. Amber Fuhriman 15:19 Yeah. Yeah. And I think so when you say I could have done it better, you're saying you could have done it better than the team or better than. Lesley Logan 15:26 Myself. I could have done it better myself. Amber Fuhriman 15:27 You could have done it better yourself. Lesley Logan 15:28 Yeah, which is not true, because I can't even do, I can't even like, do technology myself, so.Amber Fuhriman 15:34 Right. And I fall into that often. And the reason I asked for clarification was because I wanted to make sure I understood what you meant. And maybe we could have, right, done it better, but we can do it better once, and then they get to be better at it by doing it over and over again. But I think more importantly, have you ever heard Rory Vaden's TED Talk, Procrastinate on Purpose? Lesley Logan 15:56 Yes, yes. Amber Fuhriman 15:57 Oh my gosh. I love this so much. And one of the things that he says in there that really sticks with me is by saying yes to one thing, you're saying no to an infinite amount of other things that you don't even know yet. So when we say I could have done that thing better, maybe that's true, but what is the thing that we actually did better that we wouldn't have been able to do had we focused on that thing that we might have done better? Right?Lesley Logan 16:20 Yeah, yeah. I think that's so good. And I think, like, we, I, we all have our things that we are overcoming. And like, it'll think you, you're in the coaching world, so, like, maybe you can address this. I think the perfectionist in us, and in all the people listening, is that, like, we should get over it. And I've determined, or come to some comfort thinking that, like, nothing you're ever over it, you just get quicker at identifying that you're in it and that you have to deal with it. Amber Fuhriman 16:49 What is it, the perfectionism? Lesley Logan 16:51 The perfectionism or the thing that you're like, whatever your whatever your trigger is, so like, the hyper independence, or the people-pleasing, or it's not that you're like, you just like, overcome it and it's behind you and you'll never do it again. It's like, I think that, like, it still comes up in different levels or different ways, and you have to go, oh, I recognize it a little sooner. Like, instead of it taking days for me to get over it, like, whatever it is, like, I it takes me an hour, or takes me five minutes, I go, oh, that's me falling into that trap again.Amber Fuhriman 17:20 Yeah, I think it's so important to focus on that, because one of the things that we do in our trainings is we help people with some emotion-related conversations, which is basically every conversation we're ever going to have in life. So when we think about some of these perfectionism and people-pleasing and even overthinking or lack of delegation, or whatever the behavior is, usually that is tied to some emotional response that's usually tied to anger, sadness, fear, hurt or guilt, which are five major emotions. Normally when we're talking about what, what the purpose is of these behaviors, we can tie it back to one of those five emotions. So as we do the emotion work, the behaviors start to shift, and one of the biggest ones is fear, right? I'll ask people, what's the purpose of not delegating? Well, I'm afraid it won't get done as good if I do it, or I'm afraid like somebody will see it and it won't be mine, and then that'll trigger this imposter, or whatever it is, right? So when we're talking about this, understanding what we're actually feeling when we experience those behaviors is so incredibly important, so we can deal with those emotions, but I think also being able to tap into what the purpose of those behaviors are. So whenever somebody that I'm working with has a behavior like perfectionism or lack of delegation, or whatever the it is, I'll ask them, what's the purpose of this? And they're like, well, it doesn't serve a purpose. And my response is always, it must, or else you wouldn't do it, because every behavior has an intention. So what is it that you're gaining or avoiding by doing these behaviors, because that's where the real work is done.Lesley Logan 19:03 This, as a habits coach that's the same thing, like BJ Fogg, who I study with, he said there's no such thing as a bad habit, because every habit serves you. If you don't like a habit that you have, that's okay, but there's no there's they're not good or bad. It's just, like they all either they're providing certainty or safety or there's a actual positive feeling you're getting from it in your brain, even if you don't like that you do. If you don't like that, you scroll. There's something that you're getting that's a dopamine hit that your brain is like, this makes me feel good. Now, to unravel that, we have to figure out what the prompt is, and we have to figure out, you know, how do we get that same, a similar feeling with something else that you actually do want? But I, thank you for (inaudible) that journey. Can I ask, like, I think, like something that stuck out, and we don't have to talk about this, if you don't want to, but like, you mentioned that like going to law school is like a trauma response. I feel like most people wouldn't think that like going and taking yourself to school would be a trauma response. I guess I'm wondering, like, what are, what are some trauma responses that people might not realize that, like, that's a trauma response they'd be doing. Like, can we talk a little about trauma responses?Amber Fuhriman 20:06 Yeah, absolutely. And I'm an open book, so I will go anywhere you want to go. So let me give an example. This is when I started to realize that it was kind of a trauma response. I have a really good friend of mine that I did a podcast interview with about four years ago, when I first, first started my podcast, he's one of the first people that I met in the personal development space, and one of the reasons we connected is because we had so many similarities in our life. So if you took away our names and our identities and our genders, and you looked at just the dots that were important to our identity, we both had a history of suicide in our family. We both lost our dads at the age of 18. We both had siblings that we felt like relied on us. There were these things that were identical to who we were, yet I went to law school and he went to jail. He became a drug addict. He has turned his life around now, and he's clean and sober, yet people look at him and they say you're such a screw up, and people look at me and they say you're so successful. What they don't realize is we were numbing the same thing. Academic accomplishment was my numbing mechanism. If I did enough, if I focused on something else, then I wouldn't have to feel what I was going through. And I think that we fall into this trap of thinking that because our and I'm really careful when I compare this, because our addiction is socially acceptable. We convince ourselves that it's healthy, right? But it's not. We're still numbing. If you're I mean, obstacle course racing that I did for a really long time was a numbing mechanism for me when law school didn't work. At some point in time, we get to feel the feels. At some point in time, we get to just be human and be enough without feeling like we need to be or do or become something more when we feel that way, when we feel like I am enough right now, then the things that we want to do and become become additional exciting opportunities for us, instead of the thing that is going to fix us or heal us. And I think that's the difference. So when we, when I look at law school as a trauma response, the only reason I can say that it was one is because I didn't go to law school because I wanted to go to law school. I went to law school because it was supposed to fix or stop the pain of something, and anytime we do one thing because it's supposed to make us not hurt, I think that there's some trauma in there, and that doesn't mean it's a bad thing. It just means that we get to take it for what it is.Lesley Logan 22:46 Yeah, I think, my yoga teacher was I interviewed on my podcast, and his he was talking about, like, everyone's label things as good and or and bad. And he's like, that's just not really how it works. He's like, you can't have happiness without sadness. You can't, like, all these things have to exist for you to feel happy. You have to have felt pain. Like, that's the only way you can do it, which I think is really interesting, that we were taught like, success equals happiness and happy people don't feel pain. That's not true. But he also said, like, you know, in our society, we tend to think, oh, someone who drinks wine at the end of the night is numbing, and that's bad. But actually, like, there's been a lot of people who have even said like Mindy Pells, he said it there's someone else who's like, if that glass of wine helps you relax after a hard day and allows you to connect with your family, allows you to talk to them and to be fun, it might not be bad. Now, if it's you're doing it every night, too numb from the pain of work and also ignore your family, then it's not really serving you. Then it's so like, we do have responses to things, and as long as we're evaluating like, how is this actually serving us? Is it serving us? Is it actually serving the people that we say we love? Then we can't we need to stop being so hard on ourselves about some of the things that we're doing and that some things that we might not deem healthy aren't really healthy. Because I actually really liked that you told that story. You know, I have a real, after living in L.A. and living around unhoused people for as long as I did, just it's really, it's like nails on a chalkboard when someone says that they're lazy, why don't they go get help? Why don't they use resources? And it's just like we have no idea what their life was that led them here. Most people who are mentally healthy do not choose to live on the streets. You know, like, most people.Amber Fuhriman 24:27 And only that, like, I love that we went here, and I'm gonna piss some people off here in just a minute. So remember, you love me. I just did a keynote in Nashville in March, and my keynote is, every victim needs a villain, and it's so easy for us to look at people who live on the street as being a victim and be the person that's like, why don't you do this, or, why don't you do this? What about the person that wakes up pissed off at their job every single day and doesn't take control of their life? What about the person that wakes up and doesn't run their business the way that they want to do or that they could in order to make more money? What about the person that wakes up without good relationships with their family and then allows those relationships to destroy them inside? Because they have a roof over their head, doesn't mean that they're any less of a victim than anybody else. So we get to sit back and say, yeah, it's really easy for us to sit here and judge this type of victim, because we can look at them and we can identify that they are not societally acceptable. But your type of victim, whatever it is you're a victim of, because I promise you, every single person is a victim of something. It's a lot less easy for us to look internally and say what am I not taking control of in my own life?Lesley Logan 25:40 Yeah, Gosh, what a great TED Talk. And also, like, I think, like, what came to my mind is, like, a lot of people are like, well, my problems aren't as bad as so it's not that big a deal.Amber Fuhriman 25:50 And that works double sorted wise, right? Yeah, because, number one, my problems aren't as bad as this, so I don't need to deal with them. It's really unfortunate because the person who is living unhoused didn't wake up one day and live unhoused. There were not that bad problems that started it right. But second of all, the other side of that is when it comes time to become something great we also use that to say, well, my life didn't have the transforming moments because my problems weren't that bad, so I don't have anything to share with the world. So we get to just stop comparing ourselves in general, and say there's this thing that I don't like about what's going on right now, and regardless of whether somebody else has it worse, I still get to deal with this thing. And I want to tangent just a little bit, because you mentioned something earlier that I want to make sure that we dig into, which is the success happiness thing and it's toxic.Lesley Logan 26:46 You're reading my mind. Yeah, we're going here next.Amber Fuhriman 26:50 Toxic happiness and toxic positivity culture that some people live in, like I absolutely despise affirmations, the way that they are traditionally taught, which is stand in front of a mirror and tell yourself you're pretty until you believe it. Because this fake it till you make it mentality doesn't work. And if I don't think that I have self-worth, and I don't think I'm pretty, and I don't think like that I'm capable of whatever, then standing in front of a mirror and lying to myself about it isn't going to do a goddamn thing, except for convince myself I'm a liar, right, right? Lesley Logan 27:21 Well, the brain doesn't like distance, so you can't, that's why this is not called fake it till you make it, right, like, that's. Amber Fuhriman 27:26 Yeah, which I love. I love. So we get to pay attention to what that voice is. When you stand in front of a mirror and you say, I can have a seven figure business. I can have an eight figure business. What does that voice tell you? Because instead of just telling that voice it's wrong. We get to understand where does that voice's beliefs come from, and heal whatever that is that makes us believe that. So, and I'm not saying like so, the best way that I've ever seen affirmations done is to say this is who this is what I want to accomplish. This is who I need to be in order to accomplish it, and this is who I think I am now, so that you can see the gap between them to become it, and then your affirmations become things about yourself that you are in control of, that you are committed to being in order to level up to that next step of your life. So that's the first side. The other side is this toxic positivity and happiness. Like, if somebody else looks at me and says just think happy thoughts. I'm going to shove them through a glass window. Like, so I want people to hear this, because especially in the clickbait side of personal development, there's like, just feel better about yourself. Yeah, that's great. Like, thanks for the million dollar advice. Lesley Logan 28:38 It's like when someone says, well, you know, calm down. It's like the same, the same visceral response happens, I think, like, there, as we know, as you and I know, on the other side of things, yes, you can always look back on a rear view mirror and go, that shitty situation was a great thing to help me pivot. But while you're in the shitty situation, what you don't need to hear is just think happy thoughts. This is going to be great, like this is no no one needs to hear that from you. They can come up with that themselves, but at first they do have to feel the feelings of the shitty situation.Amber Fuhriman 29:16 Yeah and when I hear that, so the one for me that really resonates, and the reason I laughed is because when I was suffering from panic attacks, I would love it when people would say, Amber, just breathe. And I'm like, have you ever had a panic attack? I'm telling you, that's what I'm not capable of doing right now. Like, I would love to just breathe. You make it sound so simple. I like it takes every thought that I have in every ounce of focus to get air in my lungs right now. So just breathing doesn't seem as easy as you make it sound, but I think the other side of this just think happy thoughts, comment that you made is it makes us feel like we're doing something wrong, or that we are wrong because we're not okay. And it is okay to not be okay, it's just not okay to stay not okay, right? I got a. Water bottle at a conference I went to once that said nobody drowned by falling in the water. They drowned by staying there. So like we get to acknowledge like I'm not okay right now, how long am I going to allow myself to not be okay, and where do I need to be and who do I need to be around in order to be okay? So in this, in this vein, I encourage all of my clients to create an SOS list. And I actually encourage them, if they have an iPhone, to go into their text replacement and come up with an SOS phrase and replace SOS with their SOS phrase. So for example, mine is, I'm stuck at the airport because my so my SOS moments are normally overthinking. And I remember talking to a good friend of mine, and I was venting about what direction I was going to take my business. And I was tired of constantly feeling like I was having the same conversations about growth and not taking action and all the bullshit. And I said you know what I feel like? I said, I feel like I'm stuck at the airport. And she says what do you mean by that? And I said, I feel like somebody has given me an all expense golden ticket, paid vacation to anywhere that I want to go in the world. All I have to do is pick the plane that I'm going to get on. But instead of actually choosing a plane, I'm standing in front of the departures board looking at which one that I want to do, over analyzing every decision, and then I become Tom Hanks living in an airport, right? So for me, any choice I made would be a better choice than what I'm doing right now, but I'm so overthinking it that I can't express what I want. So I think that what's important is when we're in those moments we are sometimes so in our thoughts that we don't know how to ask for help. So if you have that close knit group of friends that you can say you are on my SOS list. If I text you and say I'm stuck at an airport, I am in my shit. So whatever your phrase is, what you'll find, and what's beautiful is that the moment you send that message, your brain knows that it's okay and you will normally have the answers that you're looking for before they even call you back. It's that decision to ask for help that allows your brain to say, okay, now I can see solutions. So if you if you find yourself in those places, pick two or three people, reach out to them, get their permission, I'm going to put you on what's called My SOS list. This is my SOS phrase. This is what it means to me. If I ever send this to you, it just means that in that moment, I really need somebody to check on me because I don't know how to ask for help.Lesley Logan 32:32 Oh, my god, that is so good. And I love that so much, because it makes me think of like Brené Brown said, like, I have five people. I have a name of five people in my life whose opinions of me matter, and they know that their opinions may matter, and if I have bad feedback or something comes up, I look at that list and it's like, okay, well, they're they're not my five person list. So who are they? So it makes me think of that. It's like having these lists of people that can help us, because it is, it is hard to fall in the water, not judge yourself for falling in the water, not get frustrated that you're back in the water and then, and then you're like, okay, I get to feel my feelings, and then somehow it gets becomes a habit, and you're still in the water, right? Like, so I really do like that like, we get to fall in the water, we can actually feel these feelings, and then when we're ready to get up and ask, like, we have a way of asking for help, which isn't like, I need help right now, because that is so the recovering perfectionist in the world, like that is like you that's like a that's a four letter word is I need (inaudible). Amber Fuhriman 33:30 Yes. Well, because a lot of this perfectionist thing comes from, you know, everybody's different, so I hate lumping behavioral traits into this is where they come from, but I've seen some trends, and a lot of it comes from believing that we had to be something in order to be valued and loved and worthy of connection, right? That just ourselves wasn't, so if we are imperfect, that means that we're unlovable, and I find that there's a lot of that connection between perfection end. And then the other thing that I love right now is the word clarity, that, because I see that everywhere, and I remember my coach telling me. Lesley Logan 34:10 (inaudible) having an authentic moment, clarity is. Amber Fuhriman 34:12 Yeah, yeah. Like my coach kept saying, so when are you going to take action? And I said, I just need some clarity. Just need some clarity. And I didn't realize how much I said it, and I'll never forget her telling me, Amber, you realize clarity is just the word perfectionist used to not use the word perfection. I'm like, I hate you right now, and I love you.Lesley Logan 34:29 I have a coach who said certainty is perfection in disguise. I'm like, fuck you. You're right. Like, like, I need it. Amber Fuhriman 34:39 I hate it when you're right. Lesley Logan 34:41 Yeah. You're like, I know that. I knew that. Amber Fuhriman 34:44 So, there's this, there's this video. This is what I feel like when I talk to my coach sometimes, there's this video of a little boy. I'll have to send it to you, and you can put it in the show notes. It's hilarious. A little boy, and you know those slides that we grew up with, like, not the safe ones that kids have today, but the metal ones that you were either going to burn your ass on when you go down, or you were going to end up bruised because you went so fast that you hit the gravel. Yeah, we didn't have those soft, padded, black, safe surfaces that kids get now. So I was watching a video of this little, maybe six year old boy, and he's walking towards this death slide that we grew up with, and he's carrying a blue toboggan behind him, and you can see that in his little six year old boy brain, he's going to climb up the stairs of the slide and ride the toboggan down this metal death slide. And his mom's videoing, and I love this so much, because his mom says, if you're going to be stupid, you better be tough. And his response is, I know you told me that lots of days. And so like I feel like every single time my coach says something to me that makes sense, I'm like, you tell me this all the time. I know I'm still going to take my blue toboggan up my death slide and figure out how this works in my own damn choices. And then you and I are going to figure out how to fix the outcome, right?Lesley Logan 36:07 Oh, my god, please send it. We have to link it. And also it's, it's, well, I mean, so as applied instructor, I was teaching someone in my group who's in my mentorship program who's trying to up level her teaching, and I was giving her some breakfast, like, I know, but like, I should be able to do it by now. And I'm like, okay, hold on. Like, I know that you know what the exercise is supposed to look like. I know that you've been doing this for years, and you, your body has been able to cheat its way through this. And I also know that you signed up to no longer do that. The problem is that your body wants to do the easiest thing, because it's just that's it's trained to conserve calories. It's literally trained to conserve calories. So we know that the new way, the better way, the more the stronger way, the more connected way is better. But to rewire our brain to do it that way, to do it that way is going to take more calories. So our body wants to do the easiest way. And I think, like us, you know, use clarity or certainty or have these other the perfectionist person of us is like, okay, I'm not. I'm going to work on being imperfect. And then our brain's like, oh, look at this thing over here. This is a great way to, like, hide out and take notice, because it's harder, it's more calorie-consuming. It's more awareness. It requires more thought to actually not like, to actually live in that imperfect place, and like be willing to make a mistake or be willing to get on the wrong flight, or be it requires more calories. So our brains and bodies are very good at sneaking around and taking shortcuts.Amber Fuhriman 37:41 Yeah, I love it. And one of the things that's coming to my mind right now, and I think I'm going to go do this. I've never done it before, and I think I'm going to, and I would encourage some of your listeners to do it and let me know how it goes. I want to leave my house without a plan one day, and I just want to, like, find out where I end up. And maybe, since we're both in Vegas, we can leave our houses without a plan together and just figure out what choices present themselves to us and where we end up when we don't have a expectation of how our day is going to turn out.Lesley Logan 38:12 Okay, we're, we're setting a date to do this. I have three months in town, so let's set a date where we do this, and then, and then we'll have a date the next day to talk about it.Amber Fuhriman 38:21 To talk about it, right, like, what opportunities do we miss? And I'm not telling people they shouldn't plan like my my schedule is like, completely planned out because it's important to but I also think that every now and then we need days where we just figure out where we would end up if we didn't have expectations about what the day would look like, what would we say yes to, and what opportunities do we miss when we're so focused on something else?Lesley Logan 38:46 Because, I mean, like when we go on vacation, some people can't have a vacation day that's not over planned. My husband, I went on vacation earlier this year after our big tour. Our tour was 8000 miles, like 22 cities, 47 events. Like every day is planned out. Otherwise we don't make it on the tour on time. So we have a vacation that's planned after every tour. And I took him to this hotel I love, and we literally laid by the pool, and I got so I read two books, and I got so bored. I was okay, I'm really bored now. It'd be a good time for us to, like, do something else. And he's like, what do you want to do? I'm like, I don't know. Why don't we just drive into town and see what we see. And like, had the best time wandering around a town, you know. But like, like, we do this when we're on vacations, ideally, you relax and you have but like, we don't ever do it like, on a on a day that normally we planned out or in our own towns. It makes me think of artist dates I'm in. I love it.Amber Fuhriman 39:35 Yeah, let's do it. I also want to share for those of like, because we've talked so much about perfection, I love, and I would encourage, if your listeners are artistic, they can they can do this, or they can go, like, find a picture on the internet. But whenever a friend of mine or a client of mine talks to me about perfection, I'll ask them to introduce me to their unicorn, and they'll be like, what are you talking about? And I said, Well, if we're gonna talk talk about things that don't exist, then we might as well talk about unicorns, right? So, like, just think about, like, we would never say, I can't go do something today because I have to take care of my unicorn. Everybody would be like, that is out, like, that's so dumb. Like, unicorns don't exist. Exactly, exactly, my friend.Lesley Logan 40:20 Okay, I have one more question, because I would love, I mean, I get, I feel like I get this asked all the time, and we brought up success, enough like, how, how do you define success now? Because I'm assuming it's changed since it's no longer get rich to be happy and not feel pain.Amber Fuhriman 40:38 Yes, it has absolutely changed. Yeah, freedom, which I know really isn't a definition. I love when people define words with other non-definable words. So I'll go a little bit deeper on that. For me, I love knowing that if I wanted to pick up and go to Nashville for a month, I can pick up and go to Nashville for a month if I have a friend who needs me, or if my family needs me, I my uncle passed away, or, I'm sorry, my cousin passed away in August, and I was able to just go stay with my aunt for I call him my uncle. This is why it's so hard. They're so much older than me. But either way, I was supposed I was able to go stay with his wife for a little bit and not have to worry about work, because I could travel so location, freedom and independence is so incredibly important to me, and then feeling like I'm in control, you know, not necessarily not having responsibilities. One of my coaches quotes that I steal from her all the time, so I'll give her credit, is choices of powerful things, suffering is always optional. So when I step back and I say, whatever happened today, I was in complete control of my choices in how I spent my day. So if I am not happy with the way my time was spent, then I get to look at my choices to determine how I'm going to avoid repeating that again in the future, where did I spend time that I didn't want to spend time? So time and location freedom is my definition of success right now. Lesley Logan 42:08 I do love that. I do love that. Okay, well, we could obviously talk for hours. We're gonna take a brief break, and then we're gonna find out how people can find you, follow you, work with you. Amber Fuhriman 42:15 Sounds good. Lesley Logan 42:16 All right, Amber, where'd you like to hang out? Where are all the places people can hear your amazing words of wisdom more.Amber Fuhriman 42:24 So first of all, the I have a free Facebook group, which we are revitalizing. It's been pretty dormant for a while, and I'm committed to changing that. So if you want to be a part of that revitalization, called the Break Your Bullshit Box Community on Facebook, so you can go check that out there, other than that, socials and the book and all of that stuff is on my website, at successdevelopmentsolutions.com.Lesley Logan 42:49 Amazing, amazing. Okay, you have actually given us so much. There's a few things I'm like, well, that's a Be It Action Item. Well, that's a Be It Action Item. But for the for the bold, executable, intrinsic, targeted steps people can take to be it till they see it, what do you have for us? You can take from what we've already gone over, or you can add more. Amber Fuhriman 43:04 Yeah, so I think the first thing that I would say is, if any of your listeners are interested in taking that next step, I do have an online 90-Day Success Jumpstart Training that starts to get you into some really actionable steps. So if they're interested in that, they can go to jumpstart.successdevelopmentsolutions.com. The actionable piece that I really want to leave people with is an understanding that you have complete control, like you make decisions every single day, whether you realize you make decisions and if there is anything that you are not 100% happy with in your life, then we get to dig into what decisions you're making to create that, because avoiding making a decision is still a decision. So what choices are you making? And how can we make different choices? So that's the actionable piece I would leave them with. Lesley Logan 43:54 Love, love, love. Amber, so fun. Okay, we have a date to make about our unplanned day, and then also a date just to be in person. You're wonderful, amazing. You guys, share this with a friend who needs to hear it. Share this with that people pleasing friend who doesn't realize that they are. They won't know that we told them to do that until they get to this part. And then, yes, that was for you. And make sure that you share any takeaways with Amber or the Be It Pod. We want to hear from you. We want to hear what your takeaways are. And until next time, you know what to do, Be It Till You See It. Lesley Logan 44:23 That's all I got for this episode of the Be It Till You See It Podcast. One thing that would help both myself and future listeners is for you to rate the show and leave a review and follow or subscribe for free wherever you listen to your podcast. Also, make sure to introduce yourself over at the Be It Pod on Instagram. I would love to know more about you. Share this episode with whoever you think needs to hear it. Help us and others Be It Till You See It. Have an awesome day. Be It Till You See It is a production of The Bloom Podcast Network. If you want to leave us a message or a question that we might read on another episode, you can text us at +1-310-905-5534 or send a DM on Instagram @BeItPod.Brad Crowell 45:06 It's written, filmed, and recorded by your host, Lesley Logan, and me, Brad Crowell.Lesley Logan 45:10 It is transcribed, produced and edited by the epic team at Disenyo.co.Brad Crowell 45:15 Our theme music is by Ali at Apex Production Music and our branding by designer and artist, Gianfranco Cioffi.Lesley Logan 45:21 Special thanks to Melissa Solomon for creating our visuals.Brad Crowell 45:25 Also to Angelina Herico for adding all of our content to our website. And finally to Meridith Root for keeping us all on point and on time.Transcribed by https://otter.aiSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/be-it-till-you-see-it/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
TVC 711.6: Paul Myers, author of John Candy: A Life in Comedy, talks to Ed about Candy's impact in the movies, particularly at a time when many major comedy stars were also huge box office stars. John Candy: A Life in Comedy tells the full story of the man behind the laughs from the people who knew him best, including Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase, Tom Hanks, Ron Howard, Steve Martin, Catherine O'Hara, Martin Short, Jennifer Candy, John Hughes III, James Hughes, Robert Crane, Mike Myers, and many, many others. The book is available wherever books are sold through House of Anansi Books, as well as Amazon.com. Paul Myers has several appearances in both the U.S. and Canada over the next several weeks. For details on these and other upcoming events, go to Houseof Anansi.com and type in John Candy A Life in Comedy Book Tour
Wrap up warm and fight off a cold with our episode on Stvene Spielberg's Cold War drama BRIDGE OF SPIES, released in 2015 with a script by Matt Charman and the Coen Brothers. The film charts the extraordinary true story of insurance lawyer James Donavan (played by Tom Hanks), who is charged with defending a captured Soviet spy (Mark Rylance), which leads to him become a key figure in the negotiations for a ‘spy swap' in the early 60s. To dive into Spielberg's murky world of espionage, government bureaucracy and one man's struggle to uphold American values we invite back Ramblin's resident bridge expert Rob Yeomans - line producer and co-host of the CineMortuary Podcast - to take the journey to East Germany with us in the hope of some successful negotiations. You can find CineMortuary wherever you get your podcasts. Follow the podcast on Twitter, Bluesky and Instagram and be sure to subscribe so you don't miss an episode! Get in touch with us either via socials or email rambinaboutamblin@gmail.com.Ramblin is created and produced by Andrew Gaudion and Joshua Glenn. A special thanks as always to Emily Tatham for the artwork, and Robert J. Hunter & Greg Sheffield for the theme music.
From his humble beginnings in sketch comedy with the Toronto branch of Second City, to his rise to fame in SCTV and Hollywood film classics like Planes, Trains and Automobiles, The Great Outdoors, and Uncle Buck, John Candy captivated audiences with his self-deprecating humour, emotional warmth, and gift for improvisation. Now, for the first time since Candy's tragic death, bestselling biographer Paul Myers tells the full story of the man behind the laughs.Drawing on extensive research and exclusive interviews with many of Candy's closest friends and colleagues, including Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase, Tom Hanks, Ron Howard, Steve Martin, Catherine O'Hara, Martin Short, and many more, John Candy: A Life in Comedy celebrates the comedian's unparalleled talent, infectious charm, and generosity of spirit. Through ups and downs, successes and failures, and struggles with anxiety and self-doubt, Candy faced the world with a big smile and a warm demeanour that earned him the love and adoration of fans around the world.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/arroe-collins-like-it-s-live--4113802/support.
Die Nostalgie ist ein Laster, welchem man sich versagen sollte. Denn für jedes Vergnügen, was uns im “Damals!!” genommen wurde, sagen wir: Rauchen in Flugzeugen, gibt es im Heute Ersatz. Hier: Internet in Flugzeugen! Ja, vorbei sind die Zeiten, in denen man sich in der Flughafenbuchhandlung eine Packung steuerfreie Lucky Strikes und einen dicken Dan Brown holte, um den Transatlantik-Flug zu überstehen. Heute kauft man sich für das gleiche Geld einen Internetpass und kocht sich über den Wolken das Hirn weich mit acht Stunden TikTok-Videos-Swipen. Das ist, zugegeben, deutlich gesundheitsschädigender als eine Schachtel Luckies (für alle Beteiligten), aber irgendwas ist ja immer.Dennoch kann ich nicht umhin, einen Verlust wirklich zu betrauern: den Verlust eines intellektuellen Vergnügens, einer albernen Freiheit, eines ungefährlichen Spaßes. Nein, Axel, Polenböller ist falsch. Es geht um die gute alte Verschwörungstheorie. Noch in den 2000ern habe ich Nächte damit verbracht, mir auf YouTube wilde Vorträge zu 9/11 anzuschauen. Tagelang hatten alte weiße Männer in Hobbykellern CNN-Footage solange zusammengetoastet, bis die Videorealität mit ihrem Weltbild in Kongruenz war und niemand hat sich einen Kopf gemacht, ob man beim Abrufen der Kunstwerke von Youtube getrackt wurde, denn, selbst wenn: Ja, Herr Falschgold kuckt alberne Amateurvideos, big deal. Aber es war auch eine den Kopf erwärmende Übung, sich in die zwei, drei Prozent der Leute reinzuversetzen, die die Filmchen kuckten und sich die Zeit nahmen, absatzweise Kommentare darunter zu schreiben. “Wieviel seines Hirns muss man ausschalten, bis 2+2 tatsächlich 5 ist?”, ist eine faszinierende Frage.Zwanzig Jahre später sind all diese Videos aus dem Normalo-Internet getilgt, zu groß ist der Hirnschwund in großen Teilen der Bevölkerung, sie könnte verunsichert werden, glaubt der Bürger doch heute wirklich jeden Scheiß und außerdem muss Platz gemacht werden im Internet für die wirklich manipulativen Kaliber, damit irgendwann auch der letzte Widerständige fünf Lichter sieht, statt vier.Stimmen uns Connaisseure der Kunstart “Verschwörungstheorie” diese Um- und Zustände traurig, wütend oder, s.o., einfach nur nostalgisch, so kann das für die professionellen Createure ruinös werden. Brachte Dan Brown nach seinem ersten Professor-Langdon-Buch “Illuminati” im Jahr 2000 die Fortsetzungen noch alle drei bis fünf Jahre heraus, brauchte er glatte acht für dessen jüngste Geschichte. Sie heißt “The Secrets of Secrets” und ich habe den Roman tatsächlich gelesen.Wollen wir doch mal spekulieren: Man kann vermuten, dass Dan Brown 2017, nach Veröffentlichung von Teil Fünf der Serie (”Origin”), kurz das Bankkonto gecheckt hat und sich an Teil Sechs machte. Kurz vor Fertigstellung zwang ihn dann Corona ins Homeoffice, wie den Rest der Weltbevölkerung. Für einen Schriftsteller ist das kein Problem, aber seine Zielgruppe, die Transatlantikfliegenden, brach komplett weg. Bummer. Wie er sich nun überrascht und leicht gelangweilt durch Facebook klickerte, wird ihm aufgefallen sein, dass die Menge und Verbreitung seines Markenzeichens, seines f*****g Spezialgebietes, des Dinges, in dem doch er die Koryphäe ist: die gemeine Verschwörungstheorie nämlich, dass diese sich so explosionsartig vergrößerten, dass vielleicht, so spekulieren wir, jemand zufällig auf genau die spinnerte Idee gekommen war, die er gerade in Buchform den Millionen schenken wollte. S**t. Was tun? Wahrscheinlich (wie gesagt, wir spekulieren hier nur) hat er nochmal von vorn angefangen und eine Story ersonnen, die in eine Gedankenlandschaft passt, wie wir sie alle seit dem Jahr 2020 ertragen müssen, eine Landschaft, die man im allgemeinen mit “Es ist eh alles egal” beschreibt. Weiß ist schwarz, gut ist böse, und alles ist erlaubt. Und alles ist egal.Alles? Nun, nicht alles, dachte sich Dan Brown und man muss ihm zugestehen, der Gedanke ist clever: Egal ist, ob sich die Börse von der Wirtschaft abkoppelt und deshalb alle ärmer werden; egal ist, ob sich das Weltklima um 1,5 Grad erhöht, während die USA Windparks verbieten; egal ist, ob Kinder an Masern sterben, weil ein Mann mit Wurm im Kopf Gesundheitsminister der reichsten Nation der Welt ist. Was nicht egal ist, selbst all den Wahnsinnigen, die an den drei vorbenannten Egalismen schuld sind: Ob man den s**t selbst noch erlebt. Einfacher: was niemandem egal ist, ist, dass man früher oder später sterben wird. Und dort setzt Dan Brown an und das ist brillant.Das schöne für diese Rezension ist, dass das gerade kein wirklicher Spoiler war, haut uns der Autor das doch so ziemlich auf den ersten Seiten vor die Füße. Wir wissen nur noch nicht: Warum? „Das entwickelt sich!“, wie Manfred Krug sagte, damals, und zwar gewohnt rasant. Die Story ist, von ein paar Rückblenden unterbrochen, eine, die sich über gerade mal einen Tag und einen halben erstreckt. Sie liest sich, wie man das von moderner Pageturnerware gewohnt ist, wie das Drehbuch für den zu erwartenden Film, in dem der mittlerweile neunundsechzigjährige Tom Hanks als Prof. Langdon definitiv ein Bodydouble brauchen wird, denn nicht nur rennt der Hauptheld mal locker früh halb sieben über die Karlsbrücke, nein, er rennt auch wieder zurück. Kurz danach schwimmt er dann, leicht unfreiwillig, in der Moldau. Im Februar. Zudem hat er sich verliebt, und zwar in seine ehemalige Professorin, ¡Holla! Wir werden im Kino also extrem weichgezeichnete GILFs sehen, bis uns der fade to black erlöst. Das wird hart. Ein Markenzeichen der Serie ist, dass Dan Brown seinen Protagonisten jetsetten lässt, wie seine primäre Zielgruppe. Von Rom, Paris, Florenz geht es diesmal nach, geographisch bewanderte Leserinnen haben es längst punktgenau verortet, ins goldene Prag, in die Stadt der hundert Türme. Wie Beate Baum letztens die Dresdner Neustadt als hyperlokales Setting benutzte, um Morde in deren Künstlerinnenmilieu aufzuklären, präsentiert Dan Brown uns auf der ersten Seite des Buches eine Karte der Prager Innenstadt und gibt den Fremdenführer. Im Schatten von Vyšehrad, Prager Burg und Veitsdom passieren die üblichen internationalen Intrigen, muss der Professor sich nur mithilfe seines genialen, rätsellösenden Kopfes aus brenzlichen Situationen befreien; Schießereien, Morde, Verfolgungsjagden halten uns am Ball, all das geschrieben in den mittlerweile üblichen minusklen Kapiteln von ein paar hundert Worten, über 137 sind es am Ende, auf dass man sich zwischen diesen Lesesnacks den Gargrad des Kopfinhalts mit zwei, drei Instareels auf “sehr soft” stellen kann. So soll das sein in einem Pageturner, so verlangt es der Lektor. Dan Browns real existierender bekommt übrigens in der Prof. Langdon Serie nicht zum ersten mal eine prominente Nebenrolle (was ich wirklich nice finde).Worauf der ganze Quatsch hinausläuft, ist lange unklar und nicht des Spoilerns Wert, denn die Story hat mit der Verschwörungstheorie nicht wirklich viel zu tun, letztere ist eher Mittel zum Zweck, der Hammer, der das Ding irgendwie passend machen soll. Was nicht heißt, dass Dan Brown nicht eine wirklich überraschende Wendung hat zum Schluss, da ist er schon Profi. Oder eben nicht zum Schluss. Irgendwie war der Lektor schon ein bisschen happy über seine Prominenz im Buch, so dass er sich selbst nicht aus den letzten fünfzig Seiten Abspann streichen wollte, die wir, nachdem schon alles klar war, überstehen müssen.Aber vielleicht hat Danny auch darauf bestanden, dass das alles drin bleibt, weil er da nochmal richtig seine Theorien ausbreiten kann. Denn Dan Brown ist, so weit ich das sehe, der einzige Erfolgsautor im Genre, der zu seinen absurden “Entdeckungen” steht und sich nicht dagegen wehrt, wenn Künstler und Werk in einen Topf geworfen werden. Das alles läuft natürlich unter “Anregung, den Status Quo zu überdenken” und ähnlichem Schwurbel (als würden Wissenschaftler das nicht den ganzen f*****g Tag lang machen), und das ist auch OK und war immer harmlos genug, bis es das nicht mehr war, siehe oben. Der zu hinterfragende Status Quo, den er sich in “The Secret of Secrets” herausgesucht hat, ist dankbarerweise ein recht harmloses Stück Pseudoscience. Zusammengefasst lautet seine These: “Die Realität ist nicht wie sie uns erscheint”. No s**t, sherlock. Gefühlt 1/3 aller TED-Talks in den 2010ern drehte sich genau darum. Dan Brown zitiert die üblichen Experimente, nach denen wir z.B. deutlich schneller auf externe Stimuli reagieren, als unser Hirn das eigentlich leisten kann. Er berichtet von den alten Programmen der CIA, in denen man “psychics” für das “remote viewing” züchten wollte, also, ein Medium in Langley verbindet sich mit einem Medium im Kreml und schon weiß LBJ, was Chruschtschow zum Frühstück hat. Er schreckt noch nicht mal vor dem in den 80ern allgegenwärtigen ESP zurück, über das sich schon die brillante TV Serie “The Americans” lustig gemacht hatte. Die Konsequenz aus all dem ist, irgendwie, lest den Humbug bitte selbst, dass wir alle unsterblich sind. Na also!All das wird ausgebreitet hinter einem Vorwort, welches behauptet, das alle im Buch erwähnten Experimente real wären. Nur dass halt die wenigsten davon reproduzierbar sind. Das spielt aber keine Rolle, so Dan Brown, denn die übergreifende Theorie im Buch erkläre ganz wundersam, dass all die Experimente gar nicht nachvollziehbar sein können! In der Wissenschaft nennt man das einen Zirkelschluss. Ich nenne es einen unterhaltsamen, mittelspannenden Pageturner zum Kopfausschalten in schweren, dunklen Zeiten. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit lobundverriss.substack.com
Oct. 10-16: No Doubt brings ska to the masses, Jack Black has goosebumps, Demi Moore destroys classic literature, Mad TV aims high, Keira Knightley is a bounty hunter, squids take over Adult Swim, Idris Elba goes to Netflix, Guillermo del Toro gets gothic, Tom Hanks goes to East Berlin, and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend's opening number. All that and more from 30, 20, and 10 years ago.
Your Film Freaks, Phoef Sutton and Mark Jordan Legan discuss the long, impressive, prolific career of Stephen King and the many, many film and TV adaptations of his work. Come join us as everything from “The Green Mile” to “Dolores Claiborne” to “The Long Walk” are analyzed and fascinating bits of trivia and backstory are revealed as only your Film Freak film historians can. Fun, interesting audio clips are played—some from the movies and TV series and some actual interviews with Mr. King himself. Performers such as Christopher Walken, Sissy Spacek, Tom Hanks, and Morgan Freeman are all part of the engaging conversation as some of the 80 or so adaptations are discussed and ranked. Notice: This episode has some adult language throughout. This episode is sponsored by: Libro.fm (FILMFREAKSFOREVER) | 2 audiobooks for the price of 1 when you start your membership The Writer's Bone Podcast Network
Is The 'Burbs a Halloween movie? We think so! Join us as explore the movie, The 'Burbs, with Tom Hanks. A microscopic look at the mundanity of the suburbs and how easy it is to imagine your neighbors are up to no good, even if they actually are. Directed by Joe Dante, with Bruce Dern, Carrie Fisher, Rick Ducommun, and Corey Feldman.
This week, we discuss the groundbreaking and enduringly popular computer-animated feature film, Toy Story.SPOILER ALERT We will be talking about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we strongly suggest you do so before listening to our takes.A Walt Disney Pictures release from Pixar Animation Studios. Released on November 22, 1995. Directed by John Lasseter. Written by Joss Whedon, Andrew Stanton, Joel Cohen, and Alec Sokolow, based on a story by John Lasseter, Pete Docter, Andrew Stanton, and Joe Ranft. Featuring the voices of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen. Edited by Robert Gordon and Lee Unkrich. Score and original songs by Randy Newman.
Life is like a box of chocolates — and this episode has a little bit of everything. Nathan is joined by longtime friend Abel Cass to revisit Forrest Gump, the 1994 Best Picture winner that defined a decade and divided movie fans ever since.Together they look back at what made Robert Zemeckis' sweeping Americana epic so unforgettable, from Tom Hanks' iconic performance to its groundbreaking special effects, timeless soundtrack and endlessly quotable lines. The two also reflect on how the film hits differently as adults and parents, why it resonated so deeply in the ‘90s and how its portrayal of love, history and innocence still sparks debate today.Plus, a nostalgic 90s Pop Quiz, memories of small-town movie theaters and a few laughs about homemade Forrest Gump reenactments.Run, Forrest, Run… back to 1994 with us.Read Nathan's thoughts on Forrest Gump.Support the podcast: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/moviesarelife
Full Episode - In this episode, we discuss the burglary of the Lourve(?) museum in France. Also, the Portland frogs.
We start off with a bit of a satirical interview where Banes and Tantz attempt to interrogate me over the slowness of the updates to the site. Banes asks the easy questions and Tantz hits me with a far more adversarial approach, I counter with all sorts of deflections like an annoying modern politician in order to show how people handle conflict. Here's Banes' explanation for his idea for the topic: I'll just say that the original idea was more standard conversation about how characters handle issues and how it shows their personalities and their nature - It would also go into how the way they handle conflict or problems changes in some stories as characters develop (if they develop), or as their hidden selves come out. American Beauty is all about that, with every character putting up a false front or performance to get through life, before all that stuff underneath comes out. Cast Away has a more subtle thing to it, where Tom Hanks can't handle his discomfort about his coworker's sick wife at the beginning, and is kind but sort of guarded – but at the end of the movie, he is able to connect and be more open with the guy. We also use our own comic characters to explore the idea and examine how THEY cope with conflict. How do your characters cope with conflict? This week Gunwallace has given us a featured theme to - Lavender - A chill, reflective, and somewhat triumphant piano heavy tune that slowly builds up and up into a positive resolve, like an explosion of water in a beautiful fountain. Topics and shownotes Links Featured comic: OCEANOGRONAUTS - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2025/oct/14/featured-comic-oceanogronauts/ Featured music: Lavender - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/LAVENDER/ - by DanG, rated T. Special thanks to: Gunwallace - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Gunwallace/ Tantz Aerine - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Tantz_Aerine/ Kawaiidaigakusei - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/kawaiidaigakusei Ozoneocean - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/ozoneocean Banes - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Banes/ Comics mentioned: Brave Resistance - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Brave_Resistance/ Wolf - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Wolf/ Typical Strange - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Typical_Strange/ Kaiju Valentine - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Kaiju_Valentine/ Bottomless Waitress - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Bottomless_Waitress/ Pinky TA - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Pinky_TA/ VIDEO exclusive! Become a subscriber on the $5 level and up to see our weekly Patreon video and get our advertising perks! - https://www.patreon.com/DrunkDuck Even at $1 you get your name with a link on the front page and a mention in the weekend newsposts! Join us on Discord - https://discordapp.com/invite/7NpJ8GS
I happen to catch the "I like me" documentary about #JohnCandy on Netflix, directed by Colin Hanks. It's a wonderful trip down memory lane. In my case, I studied at Second City in Chicago (took classes for a semester) before I moved to LA. I joined a group of improv actors in the Harvey Lembeck workshop, but was an avid fan of SCTV during my years at Boston University and beyond. Charles Grodin and I had that in common - he loved Johnny LaRue (John Candy) and all the other characters, and late in life, Chuck would make DVD copies of his favorite bits and send them to his pals. I have a dozen or so. As a film director I got to meet a bunch of people... and in this interview with John - you'll hear that I don't say the last name of the actors that I'm referring to, because it's more fun if Jennifer gets them accurately. And she does (once I let her know who we're talking to.) I had just watched the documentary, so the people in it are #SteveMartin (who needs to lighten up on the sobriety), #MartyShort (get your heart checked), Dave Thomas, Andrea Martin (who never changes), Joe Flaherty, #EugeneLevy (the skeptical one) #CatherineOHara (the dreamer he's visited) Harold Ramis... #BillMurray, #DanAykroyd, #JohnBelushi, #TomHanks... I remembered to mention his lovely wife Rosemary and his two children, both whom are very touching in the doc. (Sorry I didn't mention his brother in case he views this.) I asked these questions without Jennifer knowing who I was talking about (except she saw Tom Hanks and saw Bill Murray when I said their first names. That happens. So this is an extreme yet excellent example of what we've been doing for every week for over ten years. See the film HACKING THE AFTERLIFE on Gaia or Amazon prime for examples. Jennifer doesn't know anything about the doc about John's life, doesn't know anything about John Candy's life - and I made some errors, like giving Harold Ramis credit for directing Stripes which he cowrote (Ivan Reitman directed it) Harold directed him in Caddyshack, National Lampoon's Vacation. (A movie that John Hughes told me in person he hated the film but clearly he like John in the film). As noted, I went to high school with John Hughes, and he was pals with my brother, and super close friends with his wife - who was close to both John and Nancy. My brother was also pals with Bill Murray in high school, and although I didn't say it in the podcast, I'll say it here - Bill Murray gave me - a brother of his high school pal - free tickets to the dress rehearsal at SNL for years. I mean - for years -I took friends, including Luana Anders to the show. And once, had the chutzpa to wait to see him after the show, give him a bottle of wine, and introduce him to Luana... It was funny because he really didn't know me - I was just there to thank him for leaving tickets for "Elvis Martini" for all those years, and I think he was miffed I'd stuck around to thank him. Little did he know that the Luana he met - the very same Luana - is the moderator of our podcast from the flipside. If I was going to point to one show that demonstrates the ability of Jennifer talking to people offstage - it's this one. She works with members of the FBI, NYPD, LAPD on missing person cases, works pro bono a third of her practice, has been doing this for a long time, and indeed, they're making a show about her on Fox as we speak. I've written 13 books about the flipside, I do offer guided meditations, and Jennifer does these "wine and spirits" evenings in Manhattan beach that anyone can attend and isn't expensive, or they can book her directly. She works with members of Steve Jobs and Kobe Bryant's families - and they've given her permission to say so. So sit back, watch her talk to John Candy about all his pals onstage and off, mock Tom Hanks, tease Steve Martin, make fun of Bill Murray's golf game - all of it is not coming from me or Jennifer. I don't know how else to say it - have been filming people talking to their loved ones for over 15 years via hypnotherapy, guided meditation or mediums like Jennifer. The story never changes. They aren't gone; they just aren't here. Enjoy.
Ever wonder why Bob Hope still lands with new audiences today? I sit down with Bill Johnson, a gifted Bob Hope tribute artist who grew up in Wichita and found his way from dinner theater to USO stages around the world. We talk about radio roots, World War II entertainment, and how “history with humor” keeps veterans' stories alive. You'll hear how Bill built a respectful tribute, the line between tribute and impersonation, and why audience connection—timing, tone, and true care—matters more than perfect mimicry. I believe you'll enjoy this one; it's funny, warm, and full of the kind of details that make memories stick. Highlights: 00:10 - Hear how a Bob Hope tribute artist frames humor to build instant rapport. 01:41 - Learn how Wichita roots, a theater scholarship, and early TV/radio love shaped a performer. 10:37 - See why acting in Los Angeles led to dinner theater, directing, and meeting his future wife. 15:39 - Discover the Vegas break that sparked a Bob Hope character and a first World War II reunion show. 18:27 - Catch how a custom character (the Stradivarius) evolved into a Hope-style stage persona. 21:16 - Understand the “retirement home test” and how honest rooms sharpen a tribute act. 25:42 - Learn how younger audiences still laugh at classic material when context is set well. 30:18 - Hear the “history with humor” method and why dates, places, and accuracy earn trust. 31:59 - Explore Hope's USO tradition and how Bill carries it forward for veterans and families. 36:27 - Get the difference between a tribute and an impersonation and what makes audiences accept it. 41:40 - Pick up joke-craft insights on setup, economy of words, and fast recoveries when lines miss. 46:53 - Hear travel stories from Tokyo to Fort Hood and why small moments backstage matter. 50:01 - Learn the basics of using Hope's material within IP and public domain boundaries. 51:28 - See the ethical close: making sure a “reasonable person” knows they saw a tribute. About the Guest: With a career spanning over thirty years, Bill has forged his niche on stage, screen, and television as a dependable character actor. Bill's tribute to the late, great Bob Hope was showcased in New Orleans, LA at Experience the Victory, the grand opening of the National WWII Museum's first expansion project. In the ceremony, Bill introduced broadcaster Tom Brokaw, and performed a brief moment of comedy with Academy Award winning actor, Tom Hanks. Bill continues to appear regularly at the WWII Museum, most recently in On the Road with Bob Hope and Friends, which was under-written by the Bob & Dolores Hope Foundation. Highlights from over the years has included the 70th Anniversary of the End of WWII Celebration aboard the USS Midway in San Diego, and the Welcome Home Vietnam Parade in Tennessee. Additionally, Bill has been honored to appear around the world as Mr. Hope for the USO in locations such as the Bob Hope USO centers in Southern California, the USO Cincinnati Tribute to Veterans (appearing with Miss America 2016-Betty Cantrell), USO Ft. Hood (appearing with the legendary Wayne Newton), USO of Central and Southern Ohio, USO Puget Sound Area in Seattle, USO Guam, USO Tokyo, USO Holiday Shows in Virginia Beach for US Tours, and a Tribute to the USO on the island of Maui with country music superstar Lee Greenwood. Other notable appearances include Tribute Shows for Honor Flight chapters in Alabama, South Carolina, and Ohio, the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association, the US Army Ball, the annual 1940's Ball in Boulder, CO, “USO Cuties Show” at the Tropicana in Atlantic City, the Les Brown Jazz Festival in Tower City, PA, and Hosting “So Many Laughs: A Night of Comedy” at the National Veterans Memorial and Museum in Columbus, OH. Through the years, Bill has been “murdered” on CSI, portrayed Michael Imperioli's banker in High Roller: The Stu Unger Story, as well as, roles in films such as Ocean's 11, Three Days to Vegas, TV's Scare Tactics, Trick Shot, an award winning short film for Canon cameras, and the series finale of Dice, where Bill appeared as John Quincy Adams opposite Andrew Dice Clay. Bill is currently based out of Las Vegas, NV where he lives with his wife, author Rosemary Willhide, and rescue dog, Brownie. Ways to connect with Bill: http://www.billjohnsonentertainment.com http://www.GigSalad.com/williampatrickjohnson About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog. Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards. https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/ accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset . Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Transcription Notes: Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us. Michael Hingson ** 01:23 This is your host, Mike hingson, and you are listening to unstoppable mindset. You know, we have a saying here, unstoppable mindset, where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet, and we're going to definitely have unexpected today. This is also going to be a very fun episode. By the time you hear this, you will have heard a couple of conversations that I had with Walden Hughes, who is the president of the radio enthusiast of Puget Sound. And he's also on the on other boards dealing with old radio show. And he introduced me to Bill Johnson, who is a person that is well known for taking on the role of Bob Hope, and I'm sure that we're going to hear a bunch about that as we go forward here. But Bill is our guest today, and I just played a little segment of something for Bill with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, two characters by any standard. Well, anyway, we'll get to all that. Bill, I want to welcome you to unstoppable mindset, and I'm really honored that you're here with us today. Bill Johnson ** 02:31 Oh, thanks a million. Michael, it's such a pleasure to be here. Well, this is going to be a fun discussion. Michael Hingson ** 02:38 Oh, I think so. I think absolutely by any standard, it'll be fun. Well, why don't we start before it gets too fun with some of the early stories about Bill growing up and all that. Tell us about the early bill. Bill Johnson ** 02:52 Okay, well, I was born and raised in Wichita, Kansas, of all places. And I used to say, I used to Marvel watching Hope's Christmas specials with my family that sort of spurred my interest. But grew up in Midwest, went to Wichita State University, and then after graduation, I had a job with an independent film company and a move to Los Angeles seeking my fortune. Well, the film company pulled it in three months, as those things do, and so I was left with my, I guess, my pursuit of the entertainment career from there. Michael Hingson ** 03:42 So did you what you went to school and high school and all that stuff? Bill Johnson ** 03:46 Yes, oh yes, I went to Wichita East High I didn't graduate with honors, but I graduated with a B, Michael Hingson ** 03:56 that's fair B for Bob Hope, right? Yeah. Bill Johnson ** 04:01 And then I actually went to college under a theater scholarship, wow. And so that, in those days, that would pay for everything, books, class, which delighted my parents, because we were a family of simple means. So that was the only way I was going to go to college was having a scholarship and but as it turns out, it was for the best years of my humble life, because I got a lot of hands on experience in a Wichita State medium sized College, yeah, but back then it was Much smaller, so I had a lot of opportunity. Michael Hingson ** 04:43 I've actually been to Wichita State. I've been to Wichita and, oh, great, did some speaking back there. And we're probably going to be doing more in the future. But it's an it's a nice town. It's a great town to to be a part of. I think, Bill Johnson ** 04:56 yes, people are so nice there. And what I. I've noticed living in other places and then going home to visit Wichitas are cleaned. Just something you noticed, the streets are usually pretty clean and foliage is well manicured. So hats off to the city for keeping the place up to date or keeping it clean Michael Hingson ** 05:22 anyway. Well, yeah, you got to do what you got to do, and that's amazing. And in the winter, everything gets covered up by the snow. Bill Johnson ** 05:30 Yes, you do get all four seasons in Wichita, whether you like it or not. See there, yeah, it's one of those places where they have that saying, If you don't like the weather, wait 10 minutes and it'll change. Michael Hingson ** 05:43 Yeah. So, so, so there. So you majored in theater in college? Bill Johnson ** 05:49 Yes, I did. Actually, the official designation at Wichita State was speech communication, ah, so that's what I got my Bachelor of Arts Michael Hingson ** 06:02 degree in so what years? What years were you there? Bill Johnson ** 06:05 I was there in the fall of 75 and graduated a semester late. So I graduated in December of 79 Okay, Michael Hingson ** 06:17 yeah, but that was after basically the traditional golden days and golden age of radio, wasn't Bill Johnson ** 06:24 it? Yes, it was still in the days of black and white television. Michael Hingson ** 06:29 But yeah, there was a lot of black and white television, and there were some resurgence of radio, radio mystery theater CBS was on, and I think that was before, well, no, maybe later in 7879 I don't know when it was, but NPR did Star Wars. And so there were some radio, radio things, which was pretty good. Bill Johnson ** 06:53 And I think our friends in Lake will be gone began. Michael Hingson ** 06:56 Oh yeah, they were in, I think 71 garrison. Keillor, okay, it'll be quiet week in Lake will be gone my hometown. I know I listened every week. Oh, I Bill Johnson ** 07:06 did too. So my interest in radio was, I think, started back then. Michael Hingson ** 07:12 Yeah, I enjoyed him every week. As I love to describe him, he clearly was the modern Mark Twain of the United States and radio for that matter. Is that right? Bill Johnson ** 07:26 Oh, gosh, well, I, I'm, I'm, I'm glad to agree with you. And a lot of that wasn't it improvised to his weekly monolog. He'd have, oh, sure, yeah, Michael Hingson ** 07:39 he, had ideas. He may have had a couple notes, but primarily it was improvised. He just did it. He just did it. Bill Johnson ** 07:47 I let some of the episodes you take a lot of find a lot of humor in the fact he's kind of pleased with himself. And he goes, Well, look what we just said, or something. He'll do. Michael Hingson ** 07:57 Yeah, it was, it was fun. So what did you do after college? Well, Bill Johnson ** 08:03 after college, when I had moved to Los Angeles, after that, did not work out. I pursued my living as a as an actor, which didn't last long. So I of course, had to get a secondary job, I guess. Let me back up. It did last long, although I didn't have enough to pay my bills. Oh, well, there you go. I had a secondary job as whatever I could find, bartending. Usually, I did a lot of work as a bartender and but you get at least doing something like that. You get the people watch, yeah, oh. Michael Hingson ** 08:47 And, that's always entertaining, isn't Bill Johnson ** 08:49 it? Well, it can be, yeah, that's true. Back in my that's where I kind of develop your little stick you do for customers to get them to laugh and maybe tip you. My big thing was that you'd always see a couple, say, making out at the bar because it was kind of dark in there. And I would always say, Hey fellas, you want to meet my wife, Carol? Oh, that's her boss. Don't worry about it. They're having a good time or something like that, just to try to get a few laughs. Michael Hingson ** 09:23 I've done similar things at airports. I know that the TSA agents have a such a thankless job. And one of the things I decided fairly early on, after September 11, and you know, we got out, and most people, and most of the TSA people don't know it. But anyway, whenever I go through the airport, I love to try to make them laugh. So, you know, they'll say things like, oh, I need to see your ID, please. And, and I'll say things like, Well, why did you lose yours? Or, you know, or you why? I didn't want to see it. It's just a piece of paper, right? You know? But, and I get them to laugh. Mostly, there are few that don't, but mostly they they do. And then the other thing is, of course, going through with my guide dog. And we go through the portal. They have to search the dog because he's got the metal harness on that always sets off the detector. Oh my, yeah. And, and so they say, Well, we're going to have to pet your dog. I said, Well, just wait a minute. There's something you need to know. And I really sound very serious when I do this. You got to understand this before you do that. They go, oh yeah. And they back up, and I go, he only likes long searches. If you don't take a half hour, he's not happy because his tail is going 500 miles a second, you know? Oh, great coming. But it is fun, and we get him to laugh, which is, I think, important to do. We don't laugh at enough in life anyway. Bill Johnson ** 10:57 Amen to that. It's That's my philosophy as well, my friend. And there's not a lot to laugh about these days. And hopefully we can find the humor, even if we create it ourselves. Michael Hingson ** 11:11 Yeah, I think there's a lot to laugh at if we find it. You know, there are a lot of things that are not going very well right now, and there are way too many things that make it hard to laugh, but we can find things if we work at it. I wish more people would do that than than some of the things that they do. But what do you do? Bill Johnson ** 11:31 Yes, yeah, from from your mouth to God's ears, that's a great plan for the future. Michael Hingson ** 11:39 Well, we try so you you did some acting, and you had all sorts of other jobs. And then what happened? Bill Johnson ** 11:47 Well, I finally got fed up with the whole bartending thing and the rat race of trying to make it in Los Angeles. I did some commercials. I had a couple of small roles in some independent movies, as they say. But on my first love being theater, I hit the road again doing some regional theater shows to where I finally ended up back in Kansas, once again, that the there was a dinner theater in my hometown of Wichita, and I got hired to do shows there. Oh, so eventually becoming a resident director so and my my family was going through some challenges at the time, so it was good to be home, so I hadn't really abandoned the dream. I just refocused it, and I got a lot of great experience in directing plays, appearing in plays, and I met my white wife there. So so that was a win win on all counts. Michael Hingson ** 13:00 I first got exposed to dinner theater after college. I was in Iowa, in Des Moines, and the person who was reading the national magazine for the National Federation of the Blind, the magazine called the Braille monitor guy was Larry McKeever was, I think, owner of and very involved in a dinner theater called Charlie's show place, and I don't remember the history, but I went to several of the performances. And then he actually tried to create a serial to go on radio. And it didn't get very far, but it would have been fun if he had been able to do more with it, but he, he did do and there were people there who did the dinner theater, and that was a lot of fun. Bill Johnson ** 13:45 Oh, gosh, yeah, although I must say that I was sort of the black sheep of the family being in the arts. My My mom and dad came from rural communities, and so they didn't really understand this entertainment business, so that was always a challenge. But there's one footnote that I'm kind of proud of. My grandfather, who was a farmer all his life. He lived on a farm. He was raised on a farm. Every year at the Fourth of July Co Op picnic. The Co Op was a place where they would take the crops and get paid and get supplies and so forth. They would have a picnic for all the people that were their customers every year he would supposedly play the unscrupulous egg buyer or the egg salesman. And so he'd go to the routine, was an old vaudeville routine. He'd go to this poor farmer and say, Here, let me pay you for those eggs. That's here. There's one two. Say, how many kids do you guys have now? For the No, five. 678, say, How long have you and your wife been married? What is it? Seven years, eight, they get the guy go, no, 1011, 12, so that was the bit, and he would do it every year, because I guess he did it Michael Hingson ** 15:15 really well. Drove the farmers crazy. Bill Johnson ** 15:18 Yeah, so, so humble beginnings in the lineage, Michael Hingson ** 15:23 but on the other hand, once you started doing that, at least being in the theater was enough to pay the bills. Yes. Bill Johnson ** 15:30 So my parents really couldn't complain about that. Michael Hingson ** 15:34 Well, see, it worked Bill Johnson ** 15:36 out, yes indeed. And I met my wife, so I'm not complaining Michael Hingson ** 15:41 about any of it. Now, was she in the theater? Yes, she was a performer. Bill Johnson ** 15:46 We met in a show called lend me a tenor, and she was the lead, and I was at this point doing my stage management duties. But suffice to say we have gone on and done many shows together since then, and even had been able to play opposite each other a couple of times. So that cool, yeah, that's, that's a you can't ask for better memories than Michael Hingson ** 16:13 that. No, and you guys certainly knew each other and know each other well. So that works out really well. Bill Johnson ** 16:20 Yeah, that works out pretty good, except, you know, you sometimes you have to have a conversation and say, Okay, we're just going to leave the theater on the stage and at home. We're at home. Yeah? Michael Hingson ** 16:32 Well, yeah, there is that, but it's okay. So how did you get into the whole process of of portraying Bob Hope, for example, and did you do anything before Bob of the same sort of thing? Bill Johnson ** 16:51 Well, interestingly enough, to complete the whole circle of my experience, when I was performing in Wichita, I got a job opportunity here in Lacher. I'm living in Las Vegas now, to move out here and audition, or come out and audition for a new dinner show that was opening at Caesar's Palace. It was called Caesar's magical Empire, and it was, it was in 1996 and during that time, there was this big magic craze in Las Vegas. Everybody was doing magic Michael Hingson ** 17:27 shows. You had Siegfried and Roy and yeah. Bill Johnson ** 17:30 So I came out, I auditioned and got hired. And so then it was like, Well, now you got to move. So we moved on a just on hope and a prayer. And luckily, they eventually hired my wife, and so we got to work together there, and I eventually went on to become the, what they called the show director. I didn't do the original show direction, but it was my job to maintain the integrity of the attraction. So during those years it was that was kind of difficult, because you have to listen to being on the administrative team. You've got to listen to all the conflict that's going on, as well as and try to keep the waters calm, keep peace. Yes. So anyway, doing my show and being interactive, you talk back and forth to the audience, and after it was over, you take them out to a next the next experience in their night, when they would go see magic in a big showroom. And a lady came up to me and and she said, say, I've got this world war two reunion coming up next month. I'd like you to come and be, pretend to be Bob Hope. Do you know who that is? And I was like, yes, he's one of my heroes. And so that was the first opportunity, suffice to say, I guess I did. Should have prefaced it by saying, when the magical Empire first opened, we were all playing these mystical wizards and dark characters. Well, that didn't fly. That wasn't any fun. So then the directors, the producers said, well, everybody, come up with your own character, and we'll go from there. And so I created this character named the Stradivarius, because I like to fiddle the room. I get it and Michael Hingson ** 19:37 but I played it like Bobby and you like to stream people along. But anyway, hey, I wish I would have Bill Johnson ** 19:42 thought of that. My approach was like Bob Hope in one of the road pictures. So the show would be sort of a fish out of water type thing. Come on, folks. You know, I laughed when you came in that type of thing. Yeah. So when this lady saw the show that. How she got that inspiration? Michael Hingson ** 20:04 Well, your voice is close enough to his that I could, I could see that anyway. Bill Johnson ** 20:09 Oh, well, thank you. Sometimes I'd say it drives my wife nuts, because I'll come across an old archival material and say, Hey, honey, how about this one? So she's got to be the first audience, yeah. Michael Hingson ** 20:23 Well, I'm prejudiced, so you could tell her, I said, so okay, Bill Johnson ** 20:27 that you would, you'd love to hear it, right? Yeah. Michael Hingson ** 20:31 Well, absolutely. Well, so you went off and you did the the World War Two event. Bill Johnson ** 20:38 Did the World War Two event shortly after that, the met this, well, I should tell you another story, that shortly after that, a young man came to my show, and during the show, he stopped me and said, say, You remind me of someone very dear to me. Have you ever heard of Bob Hope? And I said, yeah, he's again. I said, one of my heroes. The guy said, Well, you kind of remind me of him. Went on his merry way, and I didn't think much of it. Well, it just so happens. The next day, I was watching the biography documentary of Bob Hope, and all of a sudden this talking head comes up, and it's the same guy I was just talking to in my show the day, the day before, it turns out that was, that was Bob's adopted son, Tony Tony hope. So I took that as a positive sign that maybe I was doing something similar to Mr. Hope, anyway. But then, as I said, The show closed very soon after that, sadly, Mr. Hope passed away. And 2003 right, and so there was, there was no real demand for anything like that. But I didn't let the idea go. I wanted something to do creatively. I continued to work for the same company, but I went over and ran the 3d movie at Eminem's world in Las Vegas 20 years. So I had plenty of time to think about doing Michael Hingson ** 22:26 something creative, and you got some Eminem's along the way. Bill Johnson ** 22:30 They keep them in the break room for the employees. So it's like, here's all the different brand I mean, here's all the different flavors and styles. So to have a way and you can tell guests, oh yeah, that's delicious. It tastes like, just like almonds or 22:45 something. Yeah. Bill Johnson ** 22:47 So based on that, I decided to pursue this, this tribute, and it, I'll tell you, it's difficult getting started at first, you got to practically pay people to let you come and do a show. I'd go to retirement homes and say, Hey, you want to show today. Sometimes they'd let me, sometimes they wouldn't. But the thing about doing a show at a retirement community is they will be very honest with you. If you ain't any good, they'll say, man, no, thanks. Oh, nice try. So know where my trouble spots were, Michael Hingson ** 23:29 but, but audiences don't treat you as the enemy, and I know that one of the things I hear regularly is, well, how do you speak so much and so well. You know the one of the greatest fears that we all have as a public speaking, and one of the things that I constantly tell people is, think about the audiences. They want you to succeed. They came because they want to hear you succeed, and you need to learn how to relate to them. But they're not out to get you. They want you to be successful and and they love it when you are and I learned that very early on and speaking has never been something that I've been afraid of. And I think it's so important that people recognize that the audiences want you to succeed anyway. Bill Johnson ** 24:17 That's so true. And you kind of touched on a quote I remember one of the books from Bob hopes. He said how he approaches it. He said, I consider the audience as my best friends, and who doesn't want to spend time with your best friend, right? Michael Hingson ** 24:34 And I and I believe that when I speak, I don't talk to an audience. I talk with the audience, and I will try to do some things to get them to react, and a lot of it is when I'm telling a story. I've learned to know how well I'm connecting by how the audience reacts, whether there's intakes of breath or or they're just very silent or whatever. And I think that's so important, but he's. Absolutely right. Who wouldn't want to spend time with your best friend? Yes, amen. Did you ever get to meet Bob? Hope Bill Johnson ** 25:07 you know I never did, although I at one point in my when I was living in Los Angeles, a friend of mine and I, we were in the over the San Fernando Valley, and they said, Hey, I think there's some stars homes near here. Let's see if we can find them. And we said, I think Bob Hope lives on this street. So we went down Moor Park Avenue in Toluca Lake, and we finally saw this home with a giant H on the gate. And it's like, Oh, I wonder. This has got to be it. Well, all of a sudden these gates began to open. And we, kind of, my friend and I were like, and here, here, Hope came driving home. He was, he arrived home in a very nicely appointed Chrysler Cordoba, remember those? And he had one, he just was just scowling at us, like, what are you doing in my life? You know, and they drove it. So that's as close as I got to the real guy. But I wish I could have had the pleasure of seeing him in person, but never, never was fortunate enough. Michael Hingson ** 26:18 Well, one of the things that's interesting is like with the World Trade Center, and I've realized over the past few years, we're in a world with a whole generation that has absolutely no direct Memory of the World Trade Center because they weren't born or they were too young to remember. And that goes even further back for Bob Hope. How does that work? Do you find that you're able to connect with younger audiences? Do they talk with you know? Do they do they react? Do they love it? How Bill Johnson ** 26:52 does that go? Well, interestingly enough, a lot of times, if there are younger people at shows, they're usually dragged there by their parents and I have found that they will start chuckling and giggling and laughing in spite of themselves, because that old humor of hopes that, granted, it is corny, but there's some great material there, if presented in the proper context. Yeah. I was funny story. I was doing a show at the National World War Two Museum in New Orleans. They were dedicating a new theater or something, and the color guard was a group of local leaf Marines that were serving in a local base, and they were standing there right before they went on, and this young man kept looking at me, and finally he said, very respectfully, says, I'm sorry, sir, but who are you? So I said, luckily, there was a picture of Bob Hope on the wall. And I said, Well, I'm trying to be that guy. And I said, Hang around a little bit. You'll hear some of the material so, but that's the thing I that you did bring up. An interesting point is how to keep your audience, I guess, interested, even though the humor is 4056, 70 years old, I call it like all my approach history with humor. The first time I did the Bob Hope, as in the national natural progression of things, I went to an open call, eventually here in Vegas to do they were looking for impersonators for an afternoon show at the Riviera in a place called Penny town. It was just a place for Penny slots. And they had, and they hired me. They said you can do your Bob Hope impression there. And so they had a stage that was on a one foot riser. You had a microphone and a speaker and a sound man, and you had to do a 10 Minute monolog six times a day every Yeah, do 10 minutes. You'd have about a 40 minute break. Do 10 more. And I didn't do it every day, but you would be scheduled. Maybe they'd have, you know, have a Reba McEntire one day. They'd have an Elvis one day. Well, so I would it was a great place to try your ad, because, and that's what turned me on to the whole idea of history with humor. Because when I started, I was just doing some of his material I'd found in a hope joke book that I thought were funny. Well, once in a while, people would be playing the slots. Granted, they were looking at the machines. Nobody was looking at me. And once, when I'd have somebody who. Ah, you know, crank the arm, one arm banded against and then, or I make the sound man laugh. And that was my goal. Well, there was a snack bar right in front of us with a rail that people. They weren't tables, but you could go, lean against the rail and eat your I think it was called Moon doggies hot dog stand so you could eat your hot dog and watch Bob. Hope so if I could make the moon doggy people hot dog folks choke on their hot dog while they were laughing. That was like a home run. Yeah. But to keep them interested, tell them something that they will know. For instance, Hope's first show for the troops was May 6, 1941 down in March field in Riverside California. And you start giving dates and specifics that i i can see the people in the audience go, oh yeah, in their mind's eye, they if they were around, then they will go back to that day. What was I doing then? Okay, and so you kind of make the world relevant for them. So that's how I approach World War Two, Korea and Vietnam. Is give dates and places, which you got to be accurate, because the veterans Michael Hingson ** 31:27 will set you straight. Oh yeah, because they do remember. Oh yes, they were there. Bill Johnson ** 31:33 So some of them and but it's, it's amazing, as you say, you can tell if the audience is engaged by if they inhale or if they make some complimentary noises during the show. Sometimes I'll get fellas who will sit there and ponder just looking at me, and then they'll come up afterwards and say, Man, I hadn't thought about that in years. Michael Hingson ** 32:04 Yeah, thank you. And you know you're connecting, yeah, yeah. Bill Johnson ** 32:09 And because hope represented, I think, a good memory in a kind of a rough time for a Michael Hingson ** 32:16 lot of folks. Well, he did. He did so much for the troops with the military. And as you said, May 6, 1941, and it went from there. And of course, during the whole war, he was all over and entertaining people and and he was also very active in radio as part of all that. Bill Johnson ** 32:38 Oh my goodness, I don't know how the man found time to sleep, because if he were alive today, he would love social media and podcasts and things, because he was always trying to get his name in the paper or get some publicity, but he never forgot about his audience. He would want to do a show for the troops, no matter where they were stationed or he said I couldn't look at myself in the mirror if I didn't try. Michael Hingson ** 33:10 Yeah, well, you do a lot with veterans and so on. So you've kind of kept up that tradition, haven't you? Bill Johnson ** 33:19 Yes, I have been fortunate enough to play a lot of reunions and some, maybe some uso themed shows, because that first show he did, hope did, in May of 1941 was they just was a radio show that his, one of his writers had a brother stationed it in Riverside, California, and the war hadn't started, so they had nothing to do, right? These guys were bored, and so he said, Let's take our show down there and hope. So hope didn't want to leave the comfort of his NBC studio. It's like, you know, what's the idea? And they said, how big is the crowd? And they said, Well, I don't know, maybe 1000 and of course, you know 1000 people. And you know, in Hope's mind, he says, I'd give my arm and a leg to hear 10 people laugh. 100 people is like a symphony, but 1000 people, yeah, sheer fantasy. So he said, Oh, wait a minute, are you 1000 people? Are you sure? And this guy, Al capstaff, said, Well, maybe two. So that was it. And they went down. And when the audience, of course, they were just hungry for anything, the response was just so great that hope said, well, where has this been? And he said, shortly after that, we teamed up with the USO and been going steady. Ever since, yeah, Michael Hingson ** 35:02 and that's so cool. And again, you've, you've kept a lot of that going to now, we've talked on this show with Walden about reps and the showcase and so on. Are you going to be up at the recreation in Washington in September? Bill Johnson ** 35:18 Yes, I am. I'll be there, and we're, I believe we're doing a one of the cavalcade of America shows that sort of incorporates a lot of his initial, well, one of his initial tours over in World War Two. But it's because a cavalcade is a recreation. A lot of it's drama, dramatized, but it's, it's and it's encapsulated you go bang, bang, bang across a big section of World War Two and Hope's experience in Europe. But it's, to me, as a fan of that genre, it's fascinating, so I just looking forward to it. I think it's going to be a lot of fun. Michael Hingson ** 36:04 Well, we ought to, one of these days, we need to just do a Bob Hope radio show or something like that, and get you to come on and get an audience and and, and just do a show. Bill Johnson ** 36:15 Oh, that would be great. I would love. That would be fun. That would be great, you know. And if there's any naysayers, you just say they said, Why do you want to do radio? Say, well, as hope would say, radio is just TV without the eye strain, Michael Hingson ** 36:30 yeah, and the reality, you know, I'm one of my favorite characters, and one of my favorite shows is Richard diamond private detective, and I was originally going to actually be at the showcase doing Richard diamond, but I've got a speaking engagement, so I won't be able to be there this time, so we'll do it another time. But I remember, you know, at the beginning of every show, the first thing that would happen is that the phone would ring and he would answer it and say something cute, and it was usually his girlfriend, Helen Asher, who is played by Virginia, or who is, yeah, played by Virginia. Greg and one of his shows started. The phone rang. He picked it up. Diamond detective agency, we can solve any crime except television. That's great. I love that one. I love to use that. Bill Johnson ** 37:20 I gotta remember that that's a great line, yeah, Michael Hingson ** 37:24 but it's really fun. Well, so you classify yourself as a tribute artist. How do you really get started in doing that, and how do you keep that going? Bill Johnson ** 37:38 Well, that's, that's a, that's the million dollar question. Basically, I I found all the archival material I could find, and there's a ton of information on Bob Hope on YouTube nowadays, and you need to decide, are you a tribute, or are you an impersonator? Because there is a slight difference. Michael Hingson ** 38:04 What difference a tribute? Bill Johnson ** 38:08 Well, first off, an impersonator is someone who resembles someone famous and dresses up in a manner as to portray them, and that can include a tribute artist who may not look identical to the person, but can capture a mannerism or a vocal vocal rhythm to suggest enough that the audience will accept it. I I do it. I am, I feel like I can capture a little bit of his face with some, you know, some of the expressions people have told me my eyes resemble his, as well as wear a hat or something from try to copy a costume from a picture that is very you feel like is iconic of this character. So if you can come out and present that, that's the battle hope would always he began his radio shows, as you recall, by saying where he was and like, how do you do ladies and gentlemen, this is Bob live from Santa Ana Air Base, hope and and then do a two, two line rhyme about his sponsor, usually Pepsodent, just to get on to start the show with a laugh like Pepsodent on your brush and use plenty of traction and none of Your teeth. They'll be missing in action. 39:39 Yeah. Bill Johnson ** 39:42 Huge, but, but you to to pursue it. As I said, you've just got to, you've got to kind of forage out in the real world and see if see somebody's looking for a show, and hopefully get someone to take a chance. Okay? Give you an opportunity. That's why I went to that open call to do that show at the Riviera. It is difficult to tell jokes at people that are chewing at you, but it's a good learning ground, plus doing the shows at the retirement homes made you prepared for anything because, but I found that I got the strongest response from veteran mentioned some of those history moments, historical moments. And so I thought maybe I'll just focus on this, not to put together the other comedy. And the other experiences are very important too. But the things I have found people remember the most were those shows for the troops. Yeah, and basically, in a nutshell, and they don't remember what did he What did he say? Do you remember a joke? Sometimes they'll tell me a joke, but most, most times, they don't remember what he said, but they remember how he made them feel, Michael Hingson ** 41:06 yeah, and the fact that he said it, yes, yeah, Bill Johnson ** 41:10 there's a there's a common joke I'd heard for years, and a friend of mine told me he was a 10 year old kid at Fort Levin fort, Leonard Wood, Missouri. And hope came out and told the joke. The guy goes into a bar. Oh, no, excuse me. Let me back up. A grasshopper goes into a bar. The bartender says, Hey, we got a drink named after you. The grasshopper says, you got a drink named Irving cute. And I'd heard that. Yeah, I guess hope told it and so you never know what what inspires your comedy, but there's a lot of common things I heard growing up that I will find hope said. Hope said it at one point or another in his either his radio show or on one of his specials. So Michael Hingson ** 41:58 do you think that a lot of what he did was ad lib, or do you think that it was mostly all written, and he just went from a script? Bill Johnson ** 42:07 That's a good point. He was one of the first performers to use cue cards, okay? And a lot of it was was written, but from what I've read is that he was also very fast on his feet. That's what I thought. Because if something happened, he would come in with a bang, with with another line to top it, yeah. Well, you know, like we were talking about that command performance, where with Lana Turner that he said, she said, Well, they've been looking at ham all night, and you're still here. Ah, big laugh. Haha, yeah. And he said, Now I'm bacon with the double entendre, you know, like, yeah, you burn me, whatever. But that was, I thought that was Michael Hingson ** 42:51 cute, yeah, and he, and he is, clearly there had to be a whole lot more to him than than writing. And so I absolutely am convinced that there was a lot of bad living. And there was just, he was fast, he was good at it and them, and the more he got comfortable, because of those big crowds that they got him started, the better he became Bill Johnson ** 43:16 absolutely you can there's a great book by, I know, do you know Bob mills? He was one, was one of Bob Hope's writers wrote a right and he explains the formula behind a lot of their jokes situation, and then it would have a payoff, you know, like, I don't know what happened, but now that you know this is set up in a setup and then the joke. Hope supposedly liked an economy of dialog. He didn't like a lot of language going from point A to point B to tell his joke. That's why the rapid fire delivery. And he had a lot of jokes in his shows. The radio shows had, at least, was it something like 10 jokes a minute? Michael Hingson ** 44:08 Well, they were, they were very fast. And there were, we've got a few rehearsals of Bob Hope shows. And clearly some of the things that he did, because at first he wasn't getting the reaction that he thought he was going to get, but he pulled it out. And again, it's all because he was fast. He was good. Bill Johnson ** 44:29 Yeah, I've got some blooper reels from some of the Christmas specials, and he'll try and try and try. And then finally, he'll say, take that card and tear it up, throw it away. And that's funnier than the joke itself. Michael Hingson ** 44:44 Yeah, than the joke itself. It's really cute. So you obviously like performing. Does that run in your family? Bill Johnson ** 44:55 Well, not necessarily, as I said, I'm kind of the black sheep of the. Family, because I was in the arts, they would rather have a more what do I want to say? A more safe career, a career choice as a you know, because entertaining, you're always wondering, well, where's my next job? Yeah, as opposed to something else, where you might have a better idea of what are your next paychecks coming? But I do have always had a day job, and this is sort of like my way to flex those creative muscles. Michael Hingson ** 45:33 So what's your day job today? My Bill Johnson ** 45:35 day job is I still do technical support for the good folks at Eminem's world on the script. Only they after covid happened, they closed the 3d movie that I was overseeing. And another fellow, when I do tech support, we just basically make sure the lights come on. And as well as I have a job at the College of Southern Nevada, on the support staff, trying to help folks who have English as a Second Language get a job. So I find those are both rewarding challenges. Michael Hingson ** 46:15 It's a good thing I don't go to Eminem's world because I don't really care if the lights are on or not. Bill Johnson ** 46:20 Oh, well, there you go. We need somebody here doing rim shots. Michael Hingson ** 46:26 Yeah, you like dependent people are all alike. You know, you got to have all those lights. Yes, I don't know that I've been to Eminem's world. I've been to the Eminem store in New York City, but I don't think I've been to the one in Las Vegas. Bill Johnson ** 46:40 I was actually at the opening of that Eminem store in New York City. Funny story, they know they have people that put on the character suits, right? And when I was there to help them kind of get their get acclimated to wearing those suits and then peering in front of people. Well, the kids were doing around, say, two in the afternoon. Well, the New York Times showed up at noon, one pick they wanted a picture of and so I had to put on the I was yellow, the peanut, and this other person that was there put on the red suit, and we walked down on 46th Street and started walking on the street, wave and and carrying on. I thought, Here I am. I finally made it to Broadway. Yeah, and I'm and I'm dressed as a nut so, Michael Hingson ** 47:30 and you had Hershey right across the street, Bill Johnson ** 47:32 right across the street, so I don't know. I imagine her, she's still there, probably still going head to head, to this Michael Hingson ** 47:40 day, the last time I heard they were so well, I don't know, I don't know whether anything really changed with covid, but the last I heard they were Bill Johnson ** 47:49 well, more powerful, Yeah, funny story. Michael Hingson ** 47:56 Well, so you will, you travel basically anywhere to do a show? Are there any limits? Bill Johnson ** 48:03 Or no, I'll go anywhere. My this tribute has taken me as far as Tokyo, Japan for the USO there. I've done shows in the Pacific and Guam I'm not too sure I want to travel internationally these days, but if somebody has an opportunity, I'll think about it. Funny thing happened at that, that show I did in Tokyo, I was, it was, it was a gala for the local uso honor the the troops who were serving in that area. So they had that representative from each branch that was serving our Navy, Marines and the Japan, nation of Japan now has what they call, this, the Civil Defense Group. I believe that's what they call because after World War Two, they signed that document saying they would not have an organized military. But right, they have their civil defense, and so we were honoring them, that there was a group, an Andrew sisters trio, performing, singing and dancing and and I was standing off off stage, just waiting to go on and finish the show. And this, this has been 20 years ago. Let me preface that this older Japanese gentleman came up to me, and he said, I would like to make a toast. And there was a lady in charge who, you know this was. There was some, some admirals there, and leaders of the Seventh Fleet were, were there. So everything had to be approved. Everything went according to schedule. The military events are just boom, boom, boom. And so I said, Well, okay, I need to ask Judy, when this Judy was in charge, when we can do this? And he just said, I want to make a tow. Toast. And I said, okay, but I have to clear it with Judy. Well, I finally got Judy and said that older Japanese man would like to make a toast. And she said, Yes, let him do whatever he wants. Turns out, he was an admiral in the Japanese Navy during during World War Two, and he was attending the event here, although these many years later, just as you know, everyone else was sure. So to bail myself out of it, I went back on said stage and said, And now, ladies and gentlemen, our honored guest would like to make a toast. And he, of course, I can't remember the toast, but as I at the time, I thought that was very sweet and very eloquent. So it's just these incredible little snippets of life you you go through. It's like, how could I ever know, when I was a five year old kid in Kansas, that Monday I'd be chatting with a world war two Admiral from the Japanese Navy, right? Just, it's just mind boggling. Michael Hingson ** 51:06 So I'm curious. Bob Hope copyrighted a lot of his jokes. Are you able to still use them? Well, that's a Bill Johnson ** 51:13 good question. Yes, he did. He copyrighted his jokes and everything, however, and I have spoken to the lawyer for the hope estate. There are the, what do you call that? It just flew out of my head that the the laws surrounding Michael Hingson ** 51:32 intellectual property, copyright laws and intellectual property and public domain, yeah, yeah. Bill Johnson ** 51:38 The song, thanks for the memory is in public domain, and hope would always change the lyrics to where he went because he hated the song. Supposedly he had, how did I get hung with that old dog of a song? Michael Hingson ** 51:52 Yeah, well, he kept using it every week, so I can't believe it was too anti song. Yeah, Bill Johnson ** 51:57 that's true, but the hope is they did copyright his jokes, but as long as I don't write a book and try to sell them as my jokes, I should be fine as well as I am. Allow you the those laws allow you to present impersonate someone, no matter who it is. You could impersonate your next door neighbor, even though he's not famous, as long as you do not do something to harm them, yeah, or represent it in an unflattering way Michael Hingson ** 52:28 well, and clearly, what you're doing is pretty obvious to anyone who knows at all that it's Bob Hope and that you're trying to do a tribute to him. So I would think it would make sense that that would work Bill Johnson ** 52:39 well it should and but the final caveat is that a reasonable person must come away from the show knowing full well they did not see the original. You must tell them. And Bob Hope's been gone for Michael Hingson ** 52:55 many years. Yeah, 22 years now. Bill Johnson ** 52:59 So that's usually not a problem, but that's how I finished my tribute as vice is, I usually wear a hat to complete the illusion, with the bill flecked up. I'll take the hat off and say, now if I could break character and tell about how hope was named an honorary veteran, and at the age of 94 it was an amendment passed by Congress designated him as an honorary veteran, and it was received unanimous bipartisan support Michael Hingson ** 53:30 as it should yes and Bill Johnson ** 53:33 Hope went on to say, sort of all the awards I've received in my lifetime being now being listed among the men and women I admire the most. This is my greatest honor, so that's a good way for me to wrap up my tributes whenever possible. Michael Hingson ** 53:54 Do you have, oh, go ahead, no, Bill Johnson ** 53:56 I was gonna say there's another funny story. You know, hope lived to be 100 Yeah, and George Burns. Michael Hingson ** 54:03 George Burns, lived to be 100 Bill Johnson ** 54:05 lived to be 100 Supposedly, the two of them had a bet as to who would live the longest. Now, the thing is, what were the stakes and how do you collect? Yeah, because some guy, you're not going to be there. But in any event, George Burns was born in the 1890s and so he was older than hope. Hope was born in 1903 George Burns lived to be 100 years and 10 days old. Bob Hope lived to be 100 years and 59 days 54:41 Oh, Bill Johnson ** 54:42 so hope. Well, the story goes that in his final, final months, he was just he was pretty much bedridden and slept and slept a lot. His wife, Dolores went to his bedside. He had that 100 years 10 day mark, and she said. Well, Bob, you won the bet. You have now lived longer than George Burns. And supposedly, even though he was fat, he was like they thought he was asleep, this huge smile just curled up his lips so he heard, that's great. Michael Hingson ** 55:18 That's great. Well, if, if you have, do you have something that you could do for us, or do you have something that you could play or something that would give us just a little flavor? Bill Johnson ** 55:28 Um, yeah, I Well, if you, I would tell your listeners that they want to catch a little bit more. They can go to my website, Bill Johnson entertainment.com, and there's some video clips there, but I like to do is that hope would always, he would always joke about traveling to the event, and that's how I like to begin my shows with him arriving. Since I just flew in on a wing of prayer. I was on the wing because as a soldier, I wouldn't have a prayer nicely. My flight was very nice, but the plane was rather old. In fact, the pilot sat behind me wearing goggles and a scarf. This plane was so old that Lindbergh's lunch was still on the seat. The fasten seat belt sign was in Latin. To get to the washroom, you had to crawl out on the wing. But I come on, folks, I said, to get to the washroom, you had to crawl out of the wing. But hey, I don't know about you, but I have a fear of flying that dates back to my childhood. See, when I was a baby being delivered by the stork, that blasted bird dropped me from 400 feet. Yeah, he did that to stay out of the range my father's shotgun. See, Dad already had my brothers, Eenie, Meenie and Miney. When I came along, he didn't want 56:55 no moat. I get it just Bill Johnson ** 57:00 it goes along in those words. Well, we are, Michael Hingson ** 57:05 we are definitely going to have to just work out doing a radio show and getting you to to do a whole show, and we'll have to get some other people to go along with it. We'll figure it out. Oh, that sounds great. I would buy a lot of fun to do. Count me in. Well, I want to thank you for being here. This has been absolutely wonderful to be able to talk about Bob Hope and to talk about you. Even more important, I'm sure that Bob Hope is monitoring from somewhere, but by the same token, you're here and we're here, so we do get to talk about you, which is important to do as Bill Johnson ** 57:41 well. Well, that's very kind, Michael. I was hopeful that you would be at the rips. Michael Hingson ** 57:47 I was planning on it because I wanted to, I want to really do the Richard diamond show. I'll, I told you I'd send you the command performance that we talked about Dick Tracy and B flat, or, for goodness sakes, is he ever going to marry Tess true heart? Oh yes. And I'll also send you the Richard diamond that we're going to do the next time I'm able to be at the rep show. It's, it's Bill Johnson ** 58:06 really hilarious. Oh, that sounds great. Michael Hingson ** 58:09 But I want to thank you for being here once again. Tell us your website. Bill Johnson ** 58:14 My website is, it's my name and followed by entertain Bill Johnson, entertainment.com there's there's some video clips there, and some great pictures of some of the folks I've had the pleasure of meeting and performing with. I don't want to name drop, but just to give the the act a little more credence, pictures with Les Brown Jr. Rest his soul. I did it floored. I was able to do a show with Lee Greenwood on the island of Maui Wow, as well as perform with Wayne Newton at Fort Hood, Texas. Wayne Newton actually took over for Bob Hope with the USO when Bob just got too old to travel. Yeah, so, so that's just for a humble, humble guy. It's some incredible stories Michael Hingson ** 59:19 well, and you're keeping some wonderful memories alive, and we'll definitely have to do something with that. But I want to thank you for for being here and again. Bill Johnson, entertainment.com, so go check it out, folks and and there's a lot of old radio out there online. We've talked about yesterday usa.com or yesterday usa.net they're the same. You can listen. You can go to reps online, R, E, P, S online, and listen to a lot of radio programs there. There are a number of people we've had Carl Amari on who several years ago, did come. Complete redos of all of the Twilight zones, and he made them scripts for radio, which was a lot of fun. Have you ever heard any of those? Bill Johnson ** 1:00:07 I've never heard. I was a big fan of the show when it was on TV, but I never heard any of the Michael Hingson ** 1:00:12 radio. Stacy Keach Jr is is the Rod Serling character, but, oh yeah, Twilight radio, Bill Johnson ** 1:00:19 that's great. I will check it out, Michael Hingson ** 1:00:22 or we'll send you some that's even better. But I want to thank you for being here, and thank you all for being here with us. I hope you had fun today. It's a little bit different than some of the things that we've done on the podcast, but I think it makes it all the more fun. So thanks for being here. Please let us know what you think. Email me. I'd love to hear from you. Michael, H, I m, I C, H, A, E, L, H, I at accessibe, A, C, C, E, S, S, i, b, e.com, love to get your thoughts wherever you're listening. Please give us a five star review. We appreciate those a lot. Tell other people about the podcast. We really would like to get as many people listening as we can, and we want to be sure to do the kinds of things you want on the podcast. So if you know anyone else who ought to be on the podcast, Bill, that goes for you as well, please introduce us. We're always looking for more people to come on unstoppable mindset that we get a chance to chat with. So hope that you'll all do that and again. Bill, I want to thank you one more time for being here. This has been fun. Bill Johnson ** 1:01:21 This has been a blast. Michael, thank you so much for having me. I really enjoyed it. Michael Hingson ** 1:01:32 You have been listening to the Unstoppable Mindset podcast. Thanks for dropping by. I hope that you'll join us again next week, and in future weeks for upcoming episodes. To subscribe to our podcast and to learn about upcoming episodes, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com slash podcast. Michael Hingson is spelled m i c h a e l h i n g s o n. While you're on the site., please use the form there to recommend people who we ought to interview in upcoming editions of the show. And also, we ask you and urge you to invite your friends to join us in the future. If you know of any one or any organization needing a speaker for an event, please email me at speaker at Michael hingson.com. I appreciate it very much. To learn more about the concept of blinded by fear, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com forward slash blinded by fear and while you're there, feel free to pick up a copy of my free eBook entitled blinded by fear. The unstoppable mindset podcast is provided by access cast an initiative of accessiBe and is sponsored by accessiBe. Please visit www.accessibe.com . AccessiBe is spelled a c c e s s i b e. There you can learn all about how you can make your website inclusive for all persons with disabilities and how you can help make the internet fully inclusive by 2025. Thanks again for Listening. Please come back and visit us again next week.
Happy Friday, Friends, and welcome to a special Bonus Episode of Whiskey Tequila Fridays! It's no secret the Boys love Tom Hanks. They talk about him almost every episode, but none of it makes the final cut. Until today. Today the Boys share two of those Tom Hanks Geek Outs from the many they have recorded! So grab a bottle of whiskey, a bottle of tequila, invite your friends, listen and sip along, ponder the wonder that is Tom Hanks, and Make It A Happy Friday!™
In this episode of Houselights, we explore Robert Zemeckis' "Cast Away." Join hosts John, Darren, and Tristan as they discuss Tom Hanks' remarkable portrayal of Chuck Noland, the film's innovative use of sound and visual design, and its cultural impact.
By all accounts, John Candy was such a decent and kind person that when Colin Hanks set out to direct the definitive documentary about his life and career, he knew there wouldn't be any “dirt” to uncover. In the words of Candy's friend Bill Murray, “I wish I had some more bad things to say about him.” But ‘John Candy: I Like Me' (streaming now on Amazon Prime Video) does explore the beloved comic actor's many personal demons. In this episode, Hanks breaks down why he wanted to make a film about Candy, including his personal connection to the comedy star through his father, Tom Hanks, and their shared struggles with issues of anxiety and mortality. Hanks discusses his heartbreaking interview with Macaulay Culkin, reveals the piece of archival footage he was most excited to uncover, and later, discusses his own journey from teen actor to filmmaker—including his first-ever response to the “nepo baby” discourse. Follow Matt Wilstein on Bluesky @mattwilstein Follow The Last Laugh on Instagram @lastlaughpodWatch full episodes of The Last Laugh podcast on the Daily Beast's YouTube channelHighlights from this episode and others at TheDailyBeast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In today's episode of The Opt-In Podcast, I'm taking inspiration from the unexpected king of business advice: Tom Hanks.His mantra, “This too shall pass” became my lifeline during one of the darkest moments of my entrepreneurial journey… and again during one of the best.Whether you're drowning in problems or overwhelmed by opportunities (yes, that kind of chaos exists too), this episode is your blueprint for getting grounded, getting clear, and getting back in control.I'll walk you through:The Exercise That Saved Me: The exact process I use, and now teach to move from panic to clarity in under 24 hours.Why Chaos Is Normal (and why you should stop trying to eliminate it)How to Separate Real Problems from Emotional NoiseThe Business Triage Method: How to quickly determine what to fix first (and what to completely ignore)My Own Story of Hitting Rock Bottom… and Hitting Capacity Overload Two Years LaterThis episode is both a pep talk and a practical framework for decision-making when everything feels urgent.
Is Tom Hanks too old to storm Omaha Beach?Host Paul Bavill welcomes Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon, hosts of the War Movie Theatre podcast, to kick off a series of previews for the Imperial War Museum's (IWM) Podcast Live Festival. This week, they are raising the curtain on movies in a historical setting with a fierce debate on the one historical inaccuracy that Hollywood keeps getting away with.Rob and Duncan unleash their rage on the persistent and problematic trend in war cinema: the casting of much older actors as young combat soldiers in World War II movies.The Saving Private Ryan Problem: Discover exactly why Tom Hanks (mid-to-late 40s) as a Ranger Captain, and Matt Damon (27) as Private Ryan, were both fundamentally too old for their D-Day roles—in some cases by 20 years.The hosts argue that casting older actors fundamentally changes how we perceive the Second World War, overshadowing the reality that the fighting was overwhelmingly done by fresh-faced 19-year-olds.But is historical accuracy the real goal? The discussion turns to the industry's love for "whizzy ideas" and the notorious trope of a writer or director "struggling to get the green light"—and whether this pursuit of a marketable story is the real reason historical truth gets sacrificed for Hollywood blockbusters.Find out which TV series, like Band of Brothers, got the ages right, and whether Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk managed to break the mold.Plus, a fascinating discussion on how the youthful, risk-taking mindset applies not just to infantry and Luftwaffe pilots, but even to Formula 1 drivers.Don't miss this heated discussion!Listen to War Movie Theatre: Find Rob and Duncan's podcast everywhere you get your podcasts and follow on all social media channels @warmovietheatreSee them Live: This episode previews the IWM Podcast Live Festival on the 1st of November. Be sure to grab your tickets for the live discussion on movies in a historical setting!Tickets available at: https://www.iwm.org.uk/events/podcast-liveSupport History Rage: Love the show? Check the links for how to support Paul Bavill's podcast, including getting ad-free listening and the coveted History Rage mug.Subscribe at www.patreon.com/historyrage Follow History Rage on Social Media @historyrage Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
It's award season and we are dishing out colonelships and medals - plus some West Wing stuff and an idea called “since when”.Catch the bonus Request Room episode here - https://www.patreon.com/posts/141116852Support us on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/unmadeFMJoin the discussion of this episode on our subreddit - https://www.reddit.com/r/Unmade_Podcast/Catch the podcast on YouTube where we often include accompanying videos and pictures - https://www.youtube.com/@unmadepodcastUSEFUL LINKSAlan Stewart - https://www.numberphile.com/podcast/alan-stewartThe Owl's spreadsheet - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1yBjcOPMrSETwZxiQTpupODC4EAYVZFSauuqJFKZIGcwTom Hanks - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000158/Tom Hanks filmography - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Tom_Hanks_performances_and_creditsKylie Pentelow receives The Brady Haran Medal - https://www.patreon.com/posts/kylie-receives-136923303Kylie's new podcast, Down With The Kids - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/down-with-the-kids/id1838412996Catch the bonus Request Room episode - https://www.patreon.com/posts/141116852
The McGuigan Brothers rewind to 1996 and the Playtone Galaxy where a fake band called The Wonders somehow scored a real hit! We dig into how Tom Hanks wrote, directed, and accidentally created one of the most convincing pop worlds ever to be put on film, complete with surf rock, girl groups, and a perfect two-minute-fifty-two second single.It's the story of how “That Thing You Do!” went from a movie prop to an Oscar-nominated song that still makes you clap on two and four.
It's the final Mighty Monday of 2025, and Ryan is closing things out with one of the most iconic sports movies of all time — A League of Their Own.ABOUT A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWNDuring World War II, when most of the men are off fighting overseas, two sisters join the first professional women's baseball league and struggle to help it succeed amid their growing rivalry.AIR DATE & PLATFORM FOR A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWNJuly 1, 1992 | Theatrical ReleaseCAST & CREW OF A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWNGeena Davis as Dottie HinsonTom Hanks as Jimmy DuganLori Petty as Kit KellerMadonna as “All the Way” Mae MordabitoRosie O'Donnell as Doris MurphyJon Lovitz as Ernie CapadinoDavid Strathairn as Ira LowensteinBill Pullman as Bob HinsonDirected by Penny MarshallBRAN'S A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN SYNOPSISThe movie kicks off in 1988 with Dottie Hinson attending the opening of a new exhibit at the Baseball Hall of Fame that celebrates the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.Suddenly, we're transported back to 1944 to learn how the league began. We meet a younger Dottie and her sister Kit, working hard on the dairy farm. A scout named Ernie arrives and tries to convince Dottie to join the league, but she agrees only if Kit can come too.Off to Chicago they go to try out for the league — and they make the Rockford Peaches.But who's going to manage this squad? Former star player Jimmy Dugan. Jimmy Dugan sucks. He's an alcoholic who only takes the gig to make some money so he can buy more booze. He doesn't want to be there, which forces Dottie to step up as the team's leader.As the league grows more and more popular, the stadiums start selling out. The teammates bond, and everything is going great — until the guy running the league makes Dottie the face of it, which upsets her sister and ultimately leads to Kit getting traded.The Peaches finish the season with the league's best record, qualifying for the World Series. That evening, Dottie gets a surprise when her husband, Bob, shows up — wounded and discharged from the Army.Jimmy discovers that Dottie plans to go home with Bob. He tries to talk her out of it, telling her she'll regret not staying.Before the final game of the World Series, Dottie rejoins the team, while Kit is the starting pitcher for the opposing team. Dottie and the Peaches end up winning, and the sisters reconcile afterward.Back in the present at Cooperstown, Dottie is reunited with the other players — including Kit. They all sing the team song and pose for a photo. Watch the show on Youtube - www.deckthehallmark.com/youtubeInterested in advertising on the show? Email bran@deckthehallmark.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
On this Friday's Feels ep, J&J review You've Got Mail, the iconic Upper West Side rom-com starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, diving into the movie that kicked off the era of online dating while nostalgically saying goodbye to small bookstores. They explore the magic of falling in love online before apps made dating complicated, from over-30 chat rooms to the classic AOL dial-up sound that defined a generation. From slow, meaningful email connections to Joe Fox's low-pressure dating style, they debate whether this vintage romance still holds lessons for modern love. Plus, they question if Kathleen was actually forced to fall for Joe after his store puts hers out of business, wondering if romance can survive a little ruthless competition. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
It's amazing to think that bounty hunter Jack Walsh was a consolation prize for Robert DeNiro after he lost the starring role in “Big” to Tom Hanks. It worked out for both of them - and for us, luckily - as 1988's “Midnight Run” would become an adored masterpiece of the buddy action genre. Television development executive (and former colleague) Hugh Fitzpatrick joins Dennis to savor every morsel of this superb, odd couple road trip. So sit down, relax, have a sandwich, drink a glass of milk, do some effin' thing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Make sure to wet your sponge this week before strapping in and joining us on the long walk down The Green Mile. Did anyone else read this book when they were a little too young? Maybe just me? Intro clip of Trixie Mattel from this episode of UNHhhh Tom Hanks Movie Tier List (do your own ranking of Tom Hanks' sex appeal, and vew our lists on Instagram) Send us a textSWAMP stuff:TikTok: @theswamppodcastInstagram: @theswamppodBluesky: @theswamppodcast.bsky.socialYouTubeDara's Letterboxd Emily's Letterboxd Our website: https://www.the-swamp-podcast.com/Email: theswamppod@gmail.com
In this episode of ClassHorrorCast, I'm joined by the incredibly talented filmmaker Armand Mastroianni — a name that might not always make the headlines, but one that's had a lasting impact on both horror and television for over four decades.Armand's journey began with the cult slasher He Knows You're Alone (1980) — a tense, atmospheric film best remembered for introducing a young Tom Hanks to cinema audiences.From there, he continued to build a fascinating and varied career directing thrillers, supernatural dramas, and emotional character pieces, including The Clairvoyant, Cameron's Closet, and the spiritually charged The Celestine Prophecy. Across our conversation, Armand opens up about his early days in the business, the unpredictable nature of filmmaking, and how he's managed to stay inspired and relevant through so many changes in the industry. He shares incredible behind-the-scenes stories, reflections on the horror genre, and powerful advice for anyone pursuing a creative path — whether you're making movies, podcasts, music, or any form of art.This episode isn't just about films — it's about perseverance, passion, and the creative mindset needed to turn ideas into reality. Armand's wisdom and warmth make this one of the most inspiring and eye-opening conversations I've had so far.If you love horror history, filmmaking insight, or stories from the trenches of Hollywood, you won't want to miss this one. If you want more of my content - Click Here!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/class-horror-cast--4295531/support.
I hope this quote from Tom Hanks helps you overcome difficulty to become great. Join the FREE Facebook group for The Michael Brian Show at https://www.facebook.com/groups/themichaelbrianshow Follow Mike on Facebook Instagram & Twitter
A new column in The Times asks whether the public is growing weary of Prince Harry's steady stream of grievances, with royal experts warning he is entering “high-risk territory.” Elsewhere, King Charles is reportedly allowing Prince Andrew to continue hosting shooting parties despite public unease, leaving Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie caught between family loyalty and Sandringham tradition. Commentators say Sarah Ferguson's troubled royal history should serve as a warning for Meghan Markle, while Prince William lightened the mood by sharing Tom Hanks's unlikely reason for becoming an Aston Villa supporter. Also today, locals near Windsor grumble as William and Kate's move to Forest Lodge closes off long-treasured dog walking paths. And in Luxembourg, Grand Duke Henri formally abdicates after 25 years, with Prince Guillaume stepping into his new role.
Subscribe to Throwing Fits on Patreon. On our weekly mini ep, the boyz are diving deep on this week's guest and touching on a variety of things we might have missed or simply must know more about, including but not limited to: What kind of milks are you fucking with, Tom Hank's filmography, and the best new chicken tenders in NYC that are also Mark Ronson approved.
Catch Me if you Conclave Ron Howard follows up his biggest box office hit with a 2009 Da Vinci Code sequel that sends Tom Hanks and Ewan McGregor racing through Rome on a mission to solve more ancient riddles. Will taking time for some Vatican cardio in between his Louvre lectures make the Harvard symbologist fit enough to stop an Illuminati bomb plot? Arnie, Jason, and Justin try not to suffocate in St. Peter's Square as they determine whether Angels & Demons is a divine thriller, or just Dan Brown's humblebragging about his Italian vacation. Listen Now!
Labour has staked its future on building hundreds of thousand of homes and fixing up crumbling communities. But does “regeneration” actually work? Housing expert and author of Big Capital: Who Is London For? Anna Minton joins OGWN regular and development wonk Hannah Fearn to look at the nightmare of trying to build houses in a system designed to inhibit it. Includes regeneration horror stories from Baltimore to Canary Wharf to Liverpool's Albert Dock. ESCAPE ROUTES • Anna recommends The Hostage with Suranne Jones on Netflix. • Hannah has been reading The Vast Extent by Lavinia Greenlaw. • Andrew was blindsided by the 2019 movie A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood with Tom Hanks. Buy any book through our affiliate bookshop and you'll help fund OGWN by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org's fees help support independent bookshops too. • Advertisers! Want to reach smart, engaged, influential people with money to spend? (Yes, they do exist). Some 3.5 MILLION people download and watch our podcasts every month – and they love our shows. Why not get YOUR brand in front of our influential listeners with podcast advertising? Contact ads@podmasters.co.uk to find out more • Back us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow for ad-free listening, bonus materials and more. Written and presented by Andrew Harrison with Hannah Fearn. Audio/Video production by Chris Jones. Theme music by Cornershop. Art direction: James Parrett. Produced by Chris Jones. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production. www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks was cast away by Kirsty Young in 2016.Tom's parents split up when he was five, and he went to live with his father. By the age of 10 he'd lived in 10 different houses in five different cities.Tom spoke to Kirsty about his complicated childhood, his parents' divorce and how he managed his overwhelming feelings of loneliness.You can listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds.
09-26-25 - Guad Squares - w/Jonathan Kite - Anthony Bourdain - Mickey Rourke - Trump - Mike Lindell - Pythagoras Brady - Tom Hanks - Jeff And Beau BridgesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
In 2018, Isaac Kappy claimed certain Hollywood Actors and Celebrities were part of a Child Sex Trafficking Ring. Isaac claimed he was not suicidal and then Mysteriously died. Afterwards, a “deadman's switch” was posted on Isaac's Social Media Accounts. We go over his Claims, Videos, Death, Tom Hanks, the Deadman switch, and a Weird Campground in Arizona. Join us as we Investigate these claims and Uncover some Shocking Truths. To watch the podcast on YouTube: https://bit.ly/TheoriesOfTheThirdKindYT - Get instant access to 200+ bonus Audio episodes - Sign up here: https://theoriesofthethirdkind.supercast.com To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
This week, Kat and Jocelyn discuss Tom Hanks' masterpiece (sort of) THAT THING YOU DO! We talk about working with 16 year olds, ice cream law, and Kat shocks Jocelyn to her very core. Produced by Andrew Ivimey as part of The From Superheroes Network Visit www.FromSuperheroes.com for more podcasts, articles, video series, web comics, and more.
We must have waffles forthwith! We must also have Connor Ratliff on the pod to talk about Tom Hanks for the first time since the completion of his Dead Eyes series! Join us for a spirited discussion about 2004's The Ladykillers, a film that is universally regarded as the Coens' worst, and is also the film that ended Hanks' legendary decade-long boffo box office streak. We're getting into defining the parameters of the world of “Weird Hanks.” We're getting into the…uh…uncomfortable racial depictions that mar this movie. We're getting to the “Root of the Matter,” and we're getting Connor to softlaunch an incredible new term - “Mooseporting.” Listen to Dead Eyes Listen to the Audiobook for The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece Watch the second David S. Pumpkins Listen to Connor talk to Bobby Moynihan about David S. Pumpkins Read the David S. Pumpkins Oral History Check out Does the Dog Die Sign up for Check Book, the Blank Check newsletter featuring even more “real nerdy shit” to feed your pop culture obsession. Dossier excerpts, film biz AND burger reports, and even more exclusive content you won't want to miss out on. Join our Patreon for franchise commentaries and bonus episodes. Follow us @blankcheckpod on Twitter, Instagram, Threads and Facebook! Buy some real nerdy merch Connect with other Blankies on our Reddit or Discord For anything else, check out BlankCheckPod.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Thanks to our awesome Patrons, we're proud to present another episode of Mediasplode! What's a Mediasplode? It's a monthly special edition show in which we talk about what we are enjoying in media outside of the realm of comic books. It's like our All Media Year End Round-Up but in a shorter, monthly format. Note: Time codes are estimates due to dynamic ad insertion by the distributor. SPOILERS BELOW! Running Time: 01:14:40 This month, Josh Flanagan and Conor Kilpatrick are joined by their original Pick of the Week co-host Ron Richards to discuss... What We've Been Enjoying:00:02:36 - Ron went to see Lurker and saw Oasis: Live '25 in Pasadena.00:12:58 - Josh went to see The Moonwalkers: A Journey with Tom Hanks in Boston and watched Friendship.00:20:36 - Conor is watching Task and went to see Caught Stealing (so did Ron). Discussion:00:27:34 - The Bear, Season 4 Discussion:00:36:07 - Our Top Ten Films of All-Time Intro00:39:54 - Josh's Top 10 Films of All-Time00:49:46 - Conor's Top 10 Films of All-Time00:56:27 - Ron's Top 10 Films of All-Time01:09:48 - Our Top Ten Films of All-Time Wrap-Up Music:"The Best of What's Around"Dave Matthews Band Listen to Conor, Josh, and Ron discuss Blade (1998) on Cradle to the Grave. Listen to Josh discuss Fargo on Movie of the Year: 1996. Listen to Conor discuss Swingers on Movie of the Year: 1996. Watch Ron talk about pinball technology on the Daily Tech News Show. Listen to Conor discuss Ghostbusters on Movie of the Year: 1984. Listen to Conor, Josh, and Ron discuss The Crow (1994) on Cradle to the Grave. Listen to Josh discuss Jaws 4: The Revenge (1987) on Cradle to the Grave. Listen to Josh discuss Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) on Cradle to the Grave. Watch Josh and Conor talk about how to start a podcast on OpenWater. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Start Your Transformation Now In this episode of the Transform Your Life from the Inside Out podcast, Jim Fortin reveals a trait that rarely makes the “top 20 lists” of success skills but is, in reality, a game-changer: resourcefulness. Through powerful stories—from Tom Hanks' Castaway to entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, and Susie Batiz—Jim shows how resourcefulness, not resources, is what separates those who thrive from those who stay stuck. Many people wait for the “perfect time” or for more money, connections, or opportunities to arrive. Jim challenges that mindset by making it clear: your life doesn't change when you get more resources; it changes when you choose to become more resourceful. Fear, excuses, and victimhood hold us back, but resourcefulness makes growth inevitable. If you've ever felt like you don't have what it takes to move forward, this episode will give you the clarity and inspiration to figure it out, break free from resignation, and finally create what you want. What You'll Discover in This Episode: Why Resourcefulness Matters More Than Resources (06:17) Jim defines resourcefulness and explains why it is the foundation of real success. Stories of Resourceful Entrepreneurs (08:00) How companies like Apple, Amazon, Subway, and Ring started with almost nothing but became billion-dollar brands. The Role of Fear and Victim Mentality (14:29) Why fear keeps you powerless and why shifting to resourcefulness transforms everything. Settling vs. Creating (18:00) How “agreeing” to your circumstances keeps you stuck—and how to stop settling. The Subconscious Mind as a Tool (21:00) How engaging your subconscious mind can unlock answers and creative solutions. Resourcefulness in Action (22:00) Jim's personal stories of becoming resourceful to create multimillion-dollar outcomes. Listen, apply, and enjoy! Transformational Takeaway Resourcefulness is more important than resources. If you want more in life, you must figure it out, get creative, and choose action over excuses. If you refuse to become resourceful, you are in silent agreement with your current reality. The truth stings, but freedom comes when you own it—and then act. Let's Connect: Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | LinkedIn LIKED THE EPISODE? If you're the kind of person who likes to help others, then share this with your friends and family. If you have found value, they will too. Please leave a review on Apple Podcasts so we can reach more people. Listening on Spotify? Please leave a comment below. We would love to hear from you! With gratitude, Jim