Podcast appearances and mentions of Michael Imperioli

www.patreon.com/dopeypodcast This week on Dopey! Dave opens the episode feeling sick, dreading his upcoming dental implants, and joking about painkillers, nitrous, and Tylenol PM. He congratulates longtime dopes Margaret Hernandez (36 years sober) and Mattie Veach (recovering from cancer surgery), prays for the Knicks, and introduces guest RJ Elizarraz, co-host of Against All Odds with Rachel Slocum and founder of Oak Forest Recovery.Before diving in, Dave reads Spotify comments from the Brace Belden episode — about therapy, high memories, Suboxone, and more — gives shoutouts to listeners, and pushes the legendary Dopey socks. He jokes about how each platform reacts differently: Patreon loves him, Reddit hates him, Facebook doesn't care.He plays an old Miles Davis clip about Charlie Parker doing drugs and sex in a taxi while eating fried chicken, and finds the recovery moral in it — acceptance is the key. A listener named Nathan from San Francisco sends a disgusting classic: at 12 he cooked and ate his own poop hoping it would make DMT. It didn't. He puked, got bullied, overdosed, and finally got sober. Dave laughs, calls it top-notch Dopey storytelling, and awards him socks. Then comes the main interview with RJ Elizares. They record in RJ's Westlake Village home — complete with an infrared sauna, cold plunge, and jade crystal massage bed. RJ also runs a marketing agency for medical clients and has a 13-year-old daughter.RJ tells his story:Grew up in Westlake, straight-edge nerd playing video games and paintball.Swore he'd never do drugs, then caved at 15 after a best-friend betrayal.Smoked weed with his stepbrother, laughed hysterically at Maury Povich, devoured frozen peas, and instantly became “the stoner.”Started selling weed and stealing paintball gear; pulled off a heist from an optometrist's back-room store until his stepbrother turned him in for the reward.Skipped school, bribed attendance clerks with weed, got caught high at a parent meeting, expelled.At continuation school, excelled while high, manipulated teachers, and got expelled again for lying.Ran away on a dirt bike, sold weed full-time, then transferred to another continuation school where a rival stabbed him in the arm with a pencil for “selling on his turf.”Graduated early by testing out, kept selling, moved out, and lived off weed money.With his girlfriend (later the mother of his daughter) did ecstasy, coke, Xanax, mushrooms, pills — everything but heroin.She overdosed on ecstasy and stopped breathing before being revived — a turning point moment. 

Widely hailed by critics, audiences, and artists alike as one of the greatest directors working today, Martin Scorsese—the subject of Rebecca Miller's monumental NYFF Spotlight selection Mr. Scorsese—is a lifelong trailblazer, a guiding light whose passionately committed artistic vision, ebullient cinephilia, and dedicated stewardship of film history (exemplified through his work with The Film Foundation and the World Cinema Project) have left an indelible mark on the terrain of American and global cinema for the last six decades. On the occasion of Mr. Scorsese's world premiere, the special panel discussion On Mr. Scorsese took viewers behind the scenes of Miller's comprehensive biographical portrait and celebrated the enduring influence and still-evolving legacy of this icon of American cinema. The discussion centered on his vibrant creative relationships with longtime collaborators in front of and behind the camera, placing those artists in conversation with fellow filmmakers whose own work bears the influence of the great auteur's artistry and mentorship. Panelists included Rebecca Miller, Ari Aster, Michael Imperioli, and Margaret Bodde (producer and Executive Director of the Film Foundation), moderated by NYFF Talks programmer Madeline Whittle. The 63rd New York Film Festival and On Mr. Scorsese are presented in partnership with Rolex.

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.

On this episode of The Pulse, Sopranos' star Steve Schirripa joins Bill Anderson.  Steve talks to Bill about "falling into" acting, making sure not to become typecast, and travelling the States "Talking Sopranos" alongside Michael Imperioli

Israel and Hamas have agreed to pause fighting in Gaza. It's part of the peace talks between Israel, Hamas, and the United States. According to President Trump, the peace plan includes the release of Palestinian and Israeli hostages. Governor Kathy Hochul had a joint press conference today to discuss 34 million dollars in federal transit funding cuts to New York. WFUVs Nora Malone has more on how it might impact commuters. FUV's Livia Regina shares an excerpt from Michael Imperioli's Live Session interview at the studio with his band Zopa. Also, Taylor Swift's release of “Life of a Showgirl” just made a new record. Host/Producer: Alexandra Pfau Editor: Tess Novotny Reporter: Nora Malone Reporter: Livia Regina Theme Music: Joe Bergsieker

Actor Steve Schirripa joins Bob Sirott to share how he got his big break in the movie “Casino,” how he found out his character would die on “The Sopranos,” and what it was like writing a book with Michael Imperioli. He also talks about who he originally auditioned for before getting the part of Bobby […]

Kerouac's Road: The Beat of a Nation explores how the legacy of Jack Kerouac's iconic novel On the Road reflects in today's America. The film interweaves stories of modern-day “on-the-roaders” who share connections to Kerouac's life, alongside those influenced by him or knew and loved him. Featured participants include Josh Brolin, W. Kamau Bell, Natalie Merchant, Matt Dillon, Jay McInerney and Joyce Johnson. On the Road remains as relevant today as it was in the 1950s, but both the book and Kerouac himself have never been explored in this way before. While based on the American road, On the Road inspired people globally to get out of where they are and engage in the world around them. In an era defined by screens and constant connectivity we can all still learn from the book and Kerouac's journey, and what it means to engage in real time with the path we're on.The documentary features Michael Imperioli, W. Kamau Bell, Josh Brolin, Matt Dillon, Natalie Merchant, Ann Charters, David Amram, Jay McInerney, Kim Jones, Jean-Christophe Cloutier, Joyce Johnson, Diana Langley, Tenaj Melendras, Faustino Melendras, Amir Staten, Angel Staten, and Karlynne Staten. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/arroe-collins-like-it-s-live--4113802/support.

Get access to this entire episode as well as all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.Writer, academic, and prestigious poster Peter Raleigh earns his hat trick, returning to the Factory Floor to discuss Abel Ferrara's philosophical vampire film The Addiction. Shot in stark, vivid black & white cinematography and featuring a breathtaking lead performance by the great Lili Taylor, the film explores vampirism as a natural extension of the maladies of the world, a physical expression of the spiritual sickness of existing in modernity as a subject of the American Empire.We begin with a discussion of Abel Ferrara as director, his unsparing eye for difficult subject matter, and the unexpected tenderness and humanism that emanates from such an exacting body of work. Then, we explore the film's multifaceted take on vampirism, simultaneously allegorizing addiction, spiritual retribution, and a subjective manifestation of imperial blowback. Finally, we discuss the potency of a film that locates a cutlural zeitgeist and comment on its afflictions through formalism rather than mimeography, conjuring the essence of a historical-material milieu rather than seeking shallow pattern recognition.Follow Peter Raleigh on Twitter.Read and Subscribe to Peter's Substack Long Library.Read Peter on Abel Ferrara's The Addiction.....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish

Kerouac's Road: The Beat of a Nation explores how the legacy of Jack Kerouac's iconic novel On the Road reflects in today's America. The film interweaves stories of modern-day “on-the-roaders” who share connections to Kerouac's life, alongside those influenced by him or knew and loved him. Featured participants include Josh Brolin, W. Kamau Bell, Natalie Merchant, Matt Dillon, Jay McInerney and Joyce Johnson. On the Road remains as relevant today as it was in the 1950s, but both the book and Kerouac himself have never been explored in this way before. While based on the American road, On the Road inspired people globally to get out of where they are and engage in the world around them. In an era defined by screens and constant connectivity we can all still learn from the book and Kerouac's journey, and what it means to engage in real time with the path we're on.The documentary features Michael Imperioli, W. Kamau Bell, Josh Brolin, Matt Dillon, Natalie Merchant, Ann Charters, David Amram, Jay McInerney, Kim Jones, Jean-Christophe Cloutier, Joyce Johnson, Diana Langley, Tenaj Melendras, Faustino Melendras, Amir Staten, Angel Staten, and Karlynne Staten. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/arroe-collins-unplugged-totally-uncut--994165/support.

Michael Imperioli, the actor known for his roles in The Sopranos and The White Lotus, is also the guitarist of a three-piece indie band called Zopa. Their latest album, Diamond Vehicle, came out in early 2025. KEXP’s Martin Douglas spoke with Imperioli about how he started playing music, the influence of Buddhism in his songwriting, and his fondness of The Beatles, Lou Reed, and The Smiths. “When you play with people for a long time, hopefully something gels,” Imperioli says of Zopa’s music. “It took a while to get there, but I’m happy with how it came out.” Support the show: kexp.org/deeper Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey everyone! Recently, we had the band ZOPA over to the studio for a listening party! Their new album, Diamond Vehicle, was produced, engineered, and mixed by our very own John Agnello. We had Michael Imperioli on the show in Episode 89 where he talked about his own creative process and the history of the band. In this episode, John sits down with ZOPA to listen through the album and give us a behind the scenes look at the recording, songwriting, creative process, and gear that went into this fantastic record.

Founder of the pioneering band Cro-Mags, Harley Flanagan is a punk rock/hardcore legend who's defied the odds - along with neglect, sexual abuse, drugs, violence and PTSD -- and lived to tell the tale. The feature-length documentary, HARLEY FLANAGAN: WIRED FOR CHAOS, dives headfirst into the wild life and times of this larger-than-life icon and is a no-holds-barred ride, that isn't just about the music; it's about a man forged in fire who's lived to tell the tale.Raised by a Warhol Factory "it" girl, Harley was thrown into the Lower East Side's underground scene in the '70s. Left to fend for himself, by his teens, he was squatting in Alphabet City, stealing food, dodging gangs, and living in a world that he describes as "some serious Lord of the Flies shit." But, as his life descended into a hellish day-to-day, he was simultaneously becoming a punk rock legend: at the age of 11, he was drumming at CBGBs and Max's Kansas City with his aunt's band, the Stimulators. Sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll weren't a choice - they were survival. But Harley was a fighter. Whether on stage, in the streets, or in the Jiu-Jitsu gym with Renzo Gracie, he never backed down. As the ferocious frontman of the Cro-Mags, he pushed NYC Hardcore into uncharted territory. But violence, addiction and a traumatic past left deep scars. The streets made him, but they also nearly destroyed him.Directed and Produced by Emmy and Peabody Award-winner Rex Miller (Citizen Ashe) for Rexpix Media, and produced by Laura Flanagan, HARLEY FLANAGAN: WIRED FOR CHAOS dives deep into Harley's past, but it's not just war stories. It's about what happens after. Friends like Flea, Henry Rollins, Ice T, Roger Miret, Keith Morris, Michael Imperioli, Matt Serra, Jocko Willink, Darryl Jenifer, Glenn Danzig, Brooke Smith, Marcia Resnick, Kate Schellenbach and the late Anthony Bourdain reveal the man behind the legend - confronting demons, raising a family, and sharing the knowledge of his experience to help others. Harley Flanagan didn't just live hardcore - he is hardcore, and WIRED FOR CHAOS is his story - loud, unfiltered, and real as hell.Here's the trailer;Https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojOfP12Glok Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/arroe-collins-unplugged-totally-uncut--994165/support.

Founder of the pioneering band Cro-Mags, Harley Flanagan is a punk rock/hardcore legend who's defied the odds - along with neglect, sexual abuse, drugs, violence and PTSD -- and lived to tell the tale. The feature-length documentary, HARLEY FLANAGAN: WIRED FOR CHAOS, dives headfirst into the wild life and times of this larger-than-life icon and is a no-holds-barred ride, that isn't just about the music; it's about a man forged in fire who's lived to tell the tale.Raised by a Warhol Factory "it" girl, Harley was thrown into the Lower East Side's underground scene in the '70s. Left to fend for himself, by his teens, he was squatting in Alphabet City, stealing food, dodging gangs, and living in a world that he describes as "some serious Lord of the Flies shit." But, as his life descended into a hellish day-to-day, he was simultaneously becoming a punk rock legend: at the age of 11, he was drumming at CBGBs and Max's Kansas City with his aunt's band, the Stimulators. Sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll weren't a choice - they were survival. But Harley was a fighter. Whether on stage, in the streets, or in the Jiu-Jitsu gym with Renzo Gracie, he never backed down. As the ferocious frontman of the Cro-Mags, he pushed NYC Hardcore into uncharted territory. But violence, addiction and a traumatic past left deep scars. The streets made him, but they also nearly destroyed him.Directed and Produced by Emmy and Peabody Award-winner Rex Miller (Citizen Ashe) for Rexpix Media, and produced by Laura Flanagan, HARLEY FLANAGAN: WIRED FOR CHAOS dives deep into Harley's past, but it's not just war stories. It's about what happens after. Friends like Flea, Henry Rollins, Ice T, Roger Miret, Keith Morris, Michael Imperioli, Matt Serra, Jocko Willink, Darryl Jenifer, Glenn Danzig, Brooke Smith, Marcia Resnick, Kate Schellenbach and the late Anthony Bourdain reveal the man behind the legend - confronting demons, raising a family, and sharing the knowledge of his experience to help others. Harley Flanagan didn't just live hardcore - he is hardcore, and WIRED FOR CHAOS is his story - loud, unfiltered, and real as hell.Here's the trailer;Https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojOfP12Glok Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/arroe-collins-unplugged-totally-uncut--994165/support.

Founder of the pioneering band Cro-Mags, Harley Flanagan is a punk rock/hardcore legend who's defied the odds - along with neglect, sexual abuse, drugs, violence and PTSD -- and lived to tell the tale. The feature-length documentary, HARLEY FLANAGAN: WIRED FOR CHAOS, dives headfirst into the wild life and times of this larger-than-life icon and is a no-holds-barred ride, that isn't just about the music; it's about a man forged in fire who's lived to tell the tale.Raised by a Warhol Factory "it" girl, Harley was thrown into the Lower East Side's underground scene in the '70s. Left to fend for himself, by his teens, he was squatting in Alphabet City, stealing food, dodging gangs, and living in a world that he describes as "some serious Lord of the Flies shit." But, as his life descended into a hellish day-to-day, he was simultaneously becoming a punk rock legend: at the age of 11, he was drumming at CBGBs and Max's Kansas City with his aunt's band, the Stimulators. Sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll weren't a choice - they were survival. But Harley was a fighter. Whether on stage, in the streets, or in the Jiu-Jitsu gym with Renzo Gracie, he never backed down. As the ferocious frontman of the Cro-Mags, he pushed NYC Hardcore into uncharted territory. But violence, addiction and a traumatic past left deep scars. The streets made him, but they also nearly destroyed him.Directed and Produced by Emmy and Peabody Award-winner Rex Miller (Citizen Ashe) for Rexpix Media, and produced by Laura Flanagan, HARLEY FLANAGAN: WIRED FOR CHAOS dives deep into Harley's past, but it's not just war stories. It's about what happens after. Friends like Flea, Henry Rollins, Ice T, Roger Miret, Keith Morris, Michael Imperioli, Matt Serra, Jocko Willink, Darryl Jenifer, Glenn Danzig, Brooke Smith, Marcia Resnick, Kate Schellenbach and the late Anthony Bourdain reveal the man behind the legend - confronting demons, raising a family, and sharing the knowledge of his experience to help others. Harley Flanagan didn't just live hardcore - he is hardcore, and WIRED FOR CHAOS is his story - loud, unfiltered, and real as hell.Here's the trailer;Https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojOfP12Glok Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/arroe-collins-like-it-s-live--4113802/support.

What do the Little Rascals, King Kong and the Sopranos have in common? Find out as Michael Imperioli and Steve Schirripa talk about some of their favorite clips, their latest projects and the BIG UK TOUR. A hilarious conversation as usual. Don't miss this episode of Talking Sopranos, and find out how you can see the guys live in the US and UK. Here's links to upcoming shows.  Tickets for 2026 UK Tour https://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/ Aug 16th Sony Hall - NYC https://sonyhall.com/shows/?eid=13705414 September 6th Athenaeum Center - Chicago IL https://athenaeumcenter.org/events/2025/talking-sopranos/ October 11th Shubert Theatre - Boston MA https://www.bochcenter.org/events/detail/talkingsopranos November 8th Rivers Casino - Philladelphia PA https://www.riverscasino.com/philadelphia/entertainment/the-event-center/InConversationwiththeSopranos November 29th Wellmont Theatre - Montclair NJ https://wellmonttheater.com/shows/talking-sopranos/ January 10th Warner Theatre -Washington DC  https://www.warnertheatredc.com/shows  

I had the chance to sit down with Harley Flanagan — punk pioneer, founding member of the Cro-Mags, and the subject of the new feature-length documentary, HARLEY FLANAGAN: WIRED FOR CHAOS. Directed by Emmy and Peabody Award-winner Rex Miller, this no-holds-barred film dives into Harley's life — from the violent streets of ‘70s New York to the hardcore scene that defined a generation.This isn't just about music — it's about survival. Abuse, addiction, squats, street fights, punk gigs, Jiu-Jitsu, fatherhood — Harley's lived through it all. And the film, which features interviews with Flea, Henry Rollins, Ice T, Michael Imperioli, and the late Anthony Bourdain, shows a side of him many haven't seen before.Now, quick heads up — there's a slight audio issue on my end during this episode. I didn't realize my mic wasn't plugged in, so you'll hear me through my laptop's onboard mic. It's definitely listenable, just a bit rougher than usual — but honestly, it kind of fits the vibe of this episode.So with that, let's get into it. This is Harley Flanagan — loud, raw, and real

Kerouac's Road: The Beat of a Nation debuted at the Tribeca Festival in New York City last night

Kerouac's Road: The Beat of a Nation debuted at the Tribeca Festival in New York City last night

Will and Alex break down reports of mutual interest between Giannis and the Raptors, and examine Masai Ujiri's ambition to reel in a “big fish” this summer. They serve up a generous slice of blame pie for the Knicks' playoff exit, dissecting Tom Thibodeau's rigid coaching, Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns' shortcomings, Timothée Chalamet's dream life, and Michael Imperioli (??). Then, they preview the unlikely NBA Finals matchup between the Thunder and Pacers before welcoming multi-time CSA winner Ennis Esmer for a conversation about male friendship and what movies to watch this summer.#raptors #torontoraptors #nbafinals #pacers #okcthunder #pascalsiakam #shaigilgeousalexanderReach out to the show by leaving a voicemail at hellowelcome.show or email the guys info@hellowelcome.showCheck out our merch! Visit hellowelcome.show and click on the merch link.Original Music by DIVISION 88.Hello and Welcome is presented by Betway. https://betway.ca- Only Available In Ontario, must be 19+. Please play responsibly.Download the Betway app: https://betway.onelink.me/3010529547/0mx1y6wbTangerine: www.tangerine.caReach out to sales@thenationnetwork.com to connect with our Sales Team and discuss opportunities to partner with us! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to another bite-sized episode of Look Behind the Look. Today, we're back with another obscure cinema excavation exploring Spike Lee's 1996 film, Girl 6. The film offers a unique take on the world of phone sex operators through the eyes of an aspiring actress in New York City and, of course, so much more than that. We'll explore how this film fell into obscurity...and the layered messages on race and female exploitation.Despite its ambitious narrative, the film received mixed reviews upon release and was a commercial disappointment, grossing approximately $4.9 million against a $12 million budget. Girl 6 was dismissed so hard when it came out; it's like it just vanished from Spike Lee's filmography. Reviewers like The Washington Post's Rita Kempley described it as "little more than a profane litany punctuated by Oscar-caliber orgasms," while the Post's Desson Howe stated that "it's enough to reduce expectations over him forever."Even when discussing He Got Game two years later, Spike wouldn't mention Girl 6…That's how much people sidelined it. It's wild because after Girl 6, Spike didn't make another film centered on a female perspective until Chi-Raq in 2015, almost 20 years later. You have to wonder if the reception to Girl 6 made Spike pull back from telling stories about women, especially Black women, navigating systems that weren't built for them. Girl 6 is one of Spike's most overlooked films, but also one of the most fascinating. That's exactly why it deserves a closer look behind the look.A Cultural ReassessmentIn 1996, people didn't know what to do with Girl 6. It barely made a dent at the box office, critics were lukewarm at best, and ultimately, it faded into obscurity. But here's the thing—Girl 6 wasn't a failure. It was a film about performance, sex, race, capitalism, and identity. It didn't fit the mold Hollywood—or even Spike Lee fans—wanted it to fit.This was Spike's first time directing a script he didn't write. The screenplay came from Pulitzer Prize-winner Suzan-Lori Parks, and what they created together was something totally different from the more straightforward sociopolitical narratives people had come to expect from Spike. Instead of overt protest, Girl 6 gives us a quiet, messy rebellion in the form of one Black woman trying to survive the film industry without selling her soul.Theresa Randle plays Judy, a struggling actress who ends up working as a phone sex operator to make ends meet. And that premise could've easily become male-gazey or exploitative in the wrong hands. But it doesn't. This is a story about the male gaze, not one that indulges it. The camera doesn't leer. It's observant. It's empathetic. It's watching Judy navigate objectification. Beyond general objectification, it shows how she manages which specific forms of objectification she subjugates herself to, like being told by her boss, Lil played by a perfectly cast, Hollywood legend, Jenifer Lewis, she needs to sound “Caucasian” on the phone, because that's what “the client likes.”The film also drops in these surreal, meta moments that throw you off, especially the interspersed news storyline of the young black girl who survived falling down the elevator shaft in her building, but that's the point. It draws a direct line from girlhood to adulthood—how young Black girls are burdened from the start with invisibility, impossible standards, and stereotypes they're expected to navigate alone just to survive. We see Judy auditioning for roles where she's told to be more "urban," more "real," while directors like Quentin Tarantino, in his now-infamous cameo, barks at Judy with lines laced in microaggressions that escalate—into full-blown aggression, unchecked racism, and flat-out exploitation as he demands she take her top off on camera. It's violent in its familiarity. And that's the point. Girl 6 doesn't flinch—it forces us to sit in the discomfort, to confront how easily Black women are dehumanized under the guise of “opportunity.” This isn't just a scene. It's a reckoning that begins Judy's arc. It's Spike and Suzan-Lori Parks holding up a mirror and asking, ‘How many times has this happened—and how many times did we call it art?' or better yet "This is what you do to Black women when you 'give them a chance.'"And that's why the ending hits so hard. Because after everything—after all that growth and pain and disillusionment—it's gutting to see Judy go back to Shoplifter. It's framed like a reunion, maybe even a resolution—but it isn't. It's a return to something familiar. Something that once had control over her.And when she heads to L.A. for her so-called fresh start, she walks right into the same kind of exploitative audition that launched this whole journey. The loop restarts. But this time—she doesn't freeze. She doesn't stay quiet. She doesn't submit. She assertively leaves. That moment shifts everything. Because even though the circumstances haven't evolved, she has. It's not loud. It's not celebrated. But it's powerful. It's self-possession. It's Judy refusing to play the part again, even if the script is exactly the same.So no, the ending isn't tied up in a bow. But it's not hopeless either. Girl 6 isn't offering a fantasy of escape—it's showing us what resistance looks like when the world and the people around you won't meet you halfway. Quiet, deliberate, exhausted… but still yours.So why did Girl 6 flop? Because audiences weren't ready for a Black feminist art film disguised as a phone-sex dramedy. It didn't check the boxes. It wasn't "important" in how people expected a Spike Lee joint to be. The film's portrayal of Judy's experiences resonates with contemporary discussions about the empowerment and exploitation inherent in everything we've come to understand about performance, labor, and digital sex work (hello, OnlyFans), Girl 6 feels prophetic. In recent years, Girl 6 has been reassessed for its ahead-of-its-time commentary on sex work and female agency.It's time we stop calling it a misstep. Girl 6 didn't fail. We did—for not seeing what it was trying to show us. With all that said, I do still think it's worth critiquing how a man directing the film despite having a female screenwriter is a statement and impression in and of itself that is left upon this film, and that's something we're still unpacking today.The wigs, costuming, and futuristic sets are all intentional and impeccably designed. Judy is a chameleon, adapting to the fantasies projected onto her. She tries never to lose herself, but as the film progresses, it becomes a hard line to walk. And Randle does it brilliantly. Her performance is nuanced, internal, and often quiet—maybe that's why it got overlooked. People expected something louder. But Judy's strength is in her stillness. I paused the film so many times in awe, wondering - how we didn't get Theresa Randle leading dozens of films post-Girl 6. Her performance has always stuck with me. She is the film.Girl 6 is a wig-lover's dream. Theresa Randle wears over 20 different wigs and styles throughout the film, and each one feels like a window into her state of mind or her persona at that moment. Her hair isn't just flair—it's fashion, character, power, and commentary all in one.There's the long honey-blonde crop she rocks in the phone booth—classic "sex symbol" vibes and we see everything from her an ode to Dorothy Dandridge, bantu knots, finger waves, a full-on Foxy Brown afro—it's a whiplash of transformations that, if you blink, you might miss one. Her hair becomes armor, a mask, a performance. And what's genius is that the wigs and styling reflect the emotional tone of each scene without her having to say a word.It also speaks to the fantasy that phone sex work sells. Every call, every client, is a role she steps into. And Theresa's ever-changing look mirrors that idea—who she is depends entirely on who's on the other end of the line and what they're paying for.Plus, let's give some flowers to the hairstyling team. There is not much information out there about who exactly was responsible. I tried to get in touch with Lisa Hazell, but could not reach her for an interview. The hair designs gave Theresa an entire visual vocabulary of Black femininity, expression, power, seduction, and identity.Theresa Randle played Judy, the lead role. Before this, Randle had appeared in supporting roles in Lee's "Jungle Fever" and "Malcolm X." Her performance as Judy marked her first leading role, showcasing her range and depth as an actress.And while a lot of this film wasn't exactly the norm for Spike, he still had a role, as he often does—but this time, it feels especially personal. He plays Judy's cousin and best friend, Jimmy, a comic book nerd obsessed with blaxploitation and sports memorabilia. It's sweet and totally feels like a little bit of an opportunity for Spike to get all his Brooklyn Dodgers gear into the production design. He's one of the only people in her life who doesn't sexualize Judy, who just wants to hang out and talk about old-school movies. It's giving Letterboxd boyfriend energy… uh if your boyfriend was your cousin and just wanted to debate Pam Grier films over pizza. Their friendship grounds the film, a reminder of who Judy is underneath all the wigs and roleplay.The opposite of Jimmy is Isaiah Washington's character—Judy's ex, known only as “Shoplifter.” And that name alone tells you everything. He's not even given the dignity of a real identity—just a label, a behavior, a red flag. He's controlling in the way so many men are: smiling, supportive on the surface, but constantly trying to reshape her into someone more manageable. He pushes her to get a “real job,” but what he really wants is her dependence. He wants her small.The tension between them is always there—quiet, but constant. And the way Spike shoots those scenes, you can feel the power imbalance. It's intimate, but it's not safe. These aren't just moments between two people with history. These are scenes about how easily women—especially Black women—are asked to compromise themselves in exchange for stability, approval, or love that's conditional.Both of these male characters exist to show us different versions of masculinity—Jimmy is supportive, if a little clueless, and Isaiah's character is the opposite: demanding, judgmental, and ultimately part of the reason Judy needs to reclaim her voice in the first place.The film is peppered with notable cameos, adding layers of meta-commentary. As mentioned previously, Quentin Tarantino appears as the self-absorbed director, and this collaboration, interestingly enough, occurred before the well-documented disagreements between Lee and Tarantino over the use of racial slurs in cinema.We also get Halle Berry, Debi Mazar, John Turturro, Ron Silver, John Cameron Mitchell, and Michael Imperioli giving their best, if not strangest, character acting bits to the film.Other notable appearances include Madonna as the competing strip club owner. She looked insanely good—possibly the best she's ever looked, and that's saying a lot for someone who literally invented iconic beauty in the 80s and 90s—and, of course, supermodel Naomi Campbell as a fellow phone sex operator, taking on a more demure and reserved role.Pete Travers at Rolling Stone called Girl 6 "the worst movie Spike Lee has ever made," one that "[resorts] to all-star cameos to disguise structural shortcomings." Still, I believe these cameos contribute to the film's commentary on fame, exploitation, and the blurred lines between reality and performance.The PRINCE SoundtrackI could never go without mentioning one of the film's most essential elements, being its soundtrack, composed entirely of songs by Prince. You can't say that about any other film outside of Purple Rain. The entire soundtrack is Prince. Yup. Not just a song or two—the whole thing. And it's not a greatest-hits situation either; We're talking deep cuts, unreleased tracks, B-sides, and songs he gave just to this movie. "She Spoke 2 Me"? Unreal. "Don't Talk 2 Strangers"? Are you kidding? These weren't just throwaways—he curated a whole vibe for Judy's world, and I can't even believe we aren't talking about this every day.Prince was famously selective about who he worked with, and it says a lot that he said yes to this film. You get the sense that he understood what the story was about—performance, femininity, identity, power. And that's all over his music, too. Prince elevates the whole damn film. That's the kind of creative alignment that doesn't happen often. Honestly, the Girl 6 soundtrack is one of the most slept-on parts of Prince's catalog—and of 90s cinema in general.How this happened still blows my mind and definitely leads me to believe that, aside from Spike distancing himself from the film, the complexity of continuing to secure rights to Prince's catalog may be why we haven't been able to stream the film. That's a whooooole other can of worms to dive into for another day…But I will get to the bottom of it.Girl 6's unique collaborations, themes, and the conversations it continues to inspire about representation, exploitation, and agency for Black women and in the entertainment industry are why it remains a fascinating entry in Spike Lee's filmography. Although its approach to these themes may have been clunky, convoluted—dare I say, disjointed—it's 1000% worth watching, studying, and taking the time to understand the story beyond traditional narrative form.Unless you own a VHS or DVD copy, it's a shame you can only find it for $100+ on eBay right now. Kelli and I mailed the DVD back and forth like it was 2006 to study and put this episode together. So, grab a friend or two and create an old-school Netflix sisterhood of the traveling DVD and watch for yourselves. If you do track down a copy, tag me @lookbehindthelook—I want to see your setups. As always, we love hearing your thoughts, what you want to hear more about, and what films you'd like us to dive into next.Thank you for joining me on another bite-sized episode of Look Behind the Look. Until next time...**At the time that I recorded this, the DVDs were $80-$100 on ebay but now it looks like it jumped to $225-$350! Keep your eyes on those DVD bins at the vintage stores, people!Girl 6 on eBaywritten by Kelli Reilly Get full access to Look Behind The Look's Substack at lookbehindthelook.substack.com/subscribe

Many know Michael Imperioli for his unforgettable roles in The Sopranos and The White Lotus, but his artistic reach extends far beyond the screen. In this episode, Michael opens up about the writing and recording of "A Still Life," the 2025 single from ZOPA's album Diamond Vehicle. He shares how his musical influences—from The Beatles to an array of 90s alternative bands—shaped the song, and how working with producer John Agnello helped bring the band's vision to life. Michael reflects on the intersection of his acting and music careers, the meditative themes of Mahayana Buddhism that weave into his lyrics, and the raw energy captured in live recording. From unique instrumentation to the balance between studio precision and stage spontaneity, this conversation offers a deep insight into his creative process and what's next for ZOPA. Chris DeMakes A Podcast is brought to you by DistroKid, the ultimate partner for taking your music to the next level. Get 30% off your first YEAR with DistroKid by signing up at http://distrokid.com/vip/demakes  For bonus episode of The After Party podcast, an extensive back catalog of past After Party episodes, early ad-free releases of new episodes of Chris DeMakes A Podcast, full video versions of episodes, and MUCH more, head to the Patreon at http://www.ChrisDeMakes.com  Follow Chris DeMakes A Podcast on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrisdemakesapodcast/ Join the Chris DeMakes A Podcast community on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2643961642526928/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SPONSORS: -Control Body Odor ANYWHERE with @‌shop.mando and get $5 off off your Starter Pack (that's over 40% off) with promo code NOTTODAY at https://Mandopodcast.com/NOTTODAY ! #mandopod -Sign up for a $1 per month trial period at https://shopify.com/nottoday , all lowercase It's called AI, T. You make a computer create art for you and take all the credit! Hopefully you imagined that in Christopher Moltisanti's voice. In this week's episode of Not Today Pal, Rob and Jamie check out the viral AI imagining of popular Sopranos characters as babies. This leads to a convo about ugly babies, before they TV sibs react to a clip from a protestor interrupting former co-star Michael Imperioli's play performance. They also discuss the recent Love Is Blind season, rough weddings, narcissistic cologne, and another offering from Cutter's Instagram algorithm. Have a question for Rob and Jamie? Reach out at nottodaypalpodcast@gmail.com Not Today, Pal Ep. 86 https://www.instagram.com/jamielynnsigler https://www.instagram.com/nottodaypalshow https://store.ymhstudios.com Chapters 00:00:00 - Intro 00:05:10 - Viral Baby Sopranos Clip 00:12:21 - Ugly Babies 00:17:01 - Michael Imperioli's Play Got Interrupted 00:21:41 - Love Is Blind 00:26:48 - Rough Weddings 00:31:59 - Only Narcissists Wear Sauvage 00:36:04 - Cutter's Weekly Instagram Clip Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Strike sells crack in the projects (do we still call it that?). He can score a promotion if he executes another member of this lil mafia. What's he gonna do? Whine to his brother. Clockers! This is based on a Richard Price novel. Spike is doing his version of a Scorcese movie. We get a whole bunch of talent like Delroy Lindo, Harvey Keitel, Michael Imperioli and Keith David. 12 year old Jason would have told you this movie and book are masterpieces. What does adult Jason think?

When actor Michael Imperioli isn't starring in shows like "The White Lotus," he's playing with his rock band Zopa, who put out a new album on Friday, Diamond Vehicle. Imperioli joins us with bandmates Olmo Tighe and Elijah Amitin for a Listening Party.

"Dom, Q, and ILL tackle The Basketball Diaries in this week's Say Whats Reel review. Join us as we dive into Leonardo DiCaprio's powerful performance in this gritty coming-of-age story. From the highs of basketball dreams to the lows of addiction, we explore the film's emotional depth, unforgettable scenes, and its impact on audiences over the years. Don't miss this in-depth discussion—like, comment, and subscribe for more reviewsThe Basketball Diaries is a 1995 American biographical crime drama film. The movie deals with drug addiction and its unfavorable outcome in lives of common people.[2] Directed by Scott Kalvert[3] in his feature directorial debut and based on an autobiographical novel by the same name written by Jim Carroll. It tells the story of Carroll's teenage years as a promising high school basketball player and writer who develops an addiction to heroin.[4] Distributed by New Line Cinema,[5] The Basketball Diaries stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Carroll, along with Bruno Kirby, Lorraine Bracco, Ernie Hudson, Patrick McGaw, James Madio, Michael Imperioli, and Mark Wahlberg in supporting roles.Find the SWR Crew DOM CRUZETwitter: https://twitter.com/itzdomcruzehoe Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itzdomcruzehoe/QTwitter: https://twitter.com/King_Quisemoe Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/king_quisemoe/We hope you enjoyed the video and the content we put out here at Say Whats Reel Thank you for watching!

Chaz and AJ spoke with Steve Schirripa, "Bobby Bacala" from "The Sopranos," coming to The Palace in Waterbury with Vincent Pastore and Michael Imperioli. Steve shared his unconvential path to acting, some fun behind-the-scenes stories from the set of "The Sopranos," and why he has changed his mind about the infamous ending of the show.  Photo credit: Reuters 

(00:00:00) News & Sports(00:16:23) Entertainment News(00:42:55) Stream of Consciousnessner(01:16:00) Bizarre File, Markus & Mark Feinman with ACS Bikeathon (01:32:58) Peter Mairhofer - the happy Austrian!(01:54:04) Ari Shaffir, Michael Imperioli & Steve Schirripa(02:37:16) Bizarre File(02:44:05) Hollywood Trash & Music News(02:56:26) Wrap Up

⭐The Sopranos Cast in Mob Movies: Exploring Their Impact on Mafia Cinema⭐

Welcome back to The Viall Files: Reality Recap!  Soooo… TikTok is back. And so are we! Today we discuss Justin Baldoni suing Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively, Matt James and Rachael Kirkconnell breaking up, Bob the Drag Queen being eliminated, the depression of slow walking, Southern Charm, White Lotus, the Sopranos, AND the explosive Real Housewives of Salt Lake City Finale. Is Lisa Barlow a hypocrite? Was Whitney Rose in the wrong? And did we cry with Angie Katsenevas? “And that's the whole gaslight thing about it.” Justin Baldoni's Lawsuit Against Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds: https://static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/01/justin-baldoni-sues-blake-lively.pdf  OUT NOW! Listen to Humble Brag with Cynthia Bailey and Crystal Kung Minkoff. Available wherever you get your podcasts and YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@humblebragpod https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/humble-brag-with-crystal-and-cynthia/id1774286896 Start your 7 Day Free Trial of Viall Files + here: https://viallfiles.supportingcast.fm/  Please make sure to subscribe so you don't miss an episode and as always send in your relationship questions to asknick@theviallfiles.com to be a part of our Monday episodes. Follow us on X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheViallFiles Listen To Disrespectfully now! Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/disrespectfully/id1516710301 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0J6DW1KeDX6SpoVEuQpl7z?si=c35995a56b8d4038 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCh8MqSsiGkfJcWhkan0D0w To Order Nick's Book Go To: http://www.viallfiles.com  If you would like to get some texting advice on Office Hours send an email to asknick@theviallfiles.com with “Texting Office Hours” in the subject line! To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://www.advertisecast.com/TheViallFiles  THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS: Quince - Upgrade your closet this year without the upgraded price tag. Go to https://www.Quince.com/viall for 365-day returns, plus free shipping on your order! 3 Day Blinds - Right now get quality window treatments that fit your budget with 3 Day Blinds. Head to https://www.3DayBlinds.com/viall for their buy one get one 50% off deal on custom blinds, shades, shutters, and drapery. Rocket Money - Cancel your unwanted subscriptions and reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money. Go to https://www.RocketMoney.com/viall today. Helix Sleep - MLK Flash Sale- through the 22nd, Helix is offering 27% off sitewide + 2 FREE Dream Pillows with all mattress orders! Go to https://www.HelixSleep.com/Viall  Timestamps: (00:00) - Intro (00:21) - Matt and Rachael (10:53) - Justin Baldoni (40:22) - Household Headlines (50:01) - Southern Charm (01:01:51) - Traitors with Wells Adams (01:37:20) - Michael Imperioli Joins (01:47:59) - RHOSLC (02:00:50) - Outro Episode Socials: @viallfiles @nickviall @nnataliejjoy @wellsadams @realmichaelimperioli @ciaracrobinson @justinkaphillips @the_mare_bare @leahgsilberstein @dereklanerussell   

Steve Schirripa: From Bobby Baccalieri to Hollywood Legend In this week's episode of The Chazz Palminteri Show, I sit down with the legendary Steve Schirripa, known worldwide for his role as Bobby Baccalieri on the iconic HBO series The Sopranos. Steve shares incredible stories from his career, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the making of one of television's greatest shows and his journey from Brooklyn to Hollywood. Here's what we discuss: Steve's early career in Las Vegas, working as a maître d' and booking comedy's biggest names

Best of Vincent Pastore Interviews: TSC News TV host Fred Richani interviews The Sopranos actor Vincent Pastore, world famous for his breakthrough role as Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero! Pastore discusses The Sopranos' enduring legacy as the greatest HBO (and TV series) of all-time, working with James Gandolfini, watching Michael Gandolfini carry on his father's legacy in The Many Saints of Newark prequel, how streaming has changed the industry, his fun voiceover role in Shark Tale, as well as his involvement in martial arts and the fantastic nonprofit organization Bullying We're Kickin' It! 00:00 2020 Vincent Pastore Interview 04:39 2018 Vincent Pastore Interview ✅Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/TSCGaming?sub_confirmation=1 ✅More Interviews: https://buff.ly/2ZXUtmt  ✅Official site: TSCNews.com   Vincent Pastore is also known for his roles in Carlito's Way and Goodfellas, and is currently on tour with fellow Sopranos actors Michael Imperioli and Steve Schirripa as part of the Talking Sopranos live shows.

it's a wild ride of mixology, memorable moments, and celebrity encounters! Tom and his longtime friend Mike share hilarious stories from their night out, including a visit to the swanky bar Scarlet—owned by none other than Michael Imperioli (Christopher Moltisanti from The Sopranos). Plus: Tom gets a new toilet seat and shares the hilarity behind the upgrade. Tom has a great time but turns into a Scrooge watching A Christmas Carol at Long Island's Argyle Theatre. A cautionary tale about the scam ticket website GoTickets.com and how to avoid getting ripped off.  

Pull up a chair, folks - it's time for our episode on Paul Schrader's "first post-mortem film," the Russell Banks adaptation OH, CANADA, fresh from the cinema. Joining us to unpack it is Final Boss of the podcast and real-life Canadian person Will Sloan! We talk about what we expect of the personal morality of political artists, Canada's relationship to her neighbor to the south, and the film's place in Schrader's filmography. We also got Will's thoughts on JUROR #2 while we had him on mic, because of course we did. Great conversation, great movie, great ep! Soderbergh episodes coming soon. Further Reading: Foregone by Russell Banks "Paul Schrader Thought He Was Dying. So He Made a Movie About It." by Bilge Ebiri "A Remembered World: On Russell Banks's 'Foregone'" by Rob Latham "Russell Banks, The Art of Fiction No. 152" by Robert Faggen Harry Knowles's review of HOLLYWOOD ENDING Further Viewing: AMERICAN GIGOLO (Schrader, 1980) AFFLICTION (Schrader, 1997) 24 HOURS OR MORE (Groulx, 1973) KANEHSATAKE: 270 YEARS OF RESISTANCE (Obomsawin, 1993) Follow Will Sloan: https://x.com/WillSloanEsq https://www.willsloan.ca/ Follow Pod Casty For Me: https://www.podcastyforme.com/ https://twitter.com/podcastyforme https://www.instagram.com/podcastyforme/ https://www.youtube.com/@podcastyforme Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/PodCastyForMe Artwork by Jeremy Allison: https://www.instagram.com/jeremyallisonart  

The Siblings sit down to discuss this Michael-Imperioli crafted episode, how much we relate to Carm preparing for this party, and our curiosity of why Tony B was invited in the first place.

2024 has been the year of the iconic lovers Romeo and Juliet, and director Sam Gold has brought a bold new production of the timeless tragedy to Broadway. With a fresh, contemporary approach, Gold transforms Shakespeare's classic love story into an immersive experience that features a dynamic young cast led by Rachel Zegler (West Side Story) and Kit Connor (Heartstopper) and an innovative score by Grammy-winning musician Jack Antonoff, blending live music seamlessly into the action. Gold discusses how he re-envisioned the play for today's world, capturing the urgency and intensity of youth while staying true to the emotional heart of the original. He reflects on the challenges and joys of reinterpreting a well-known story and shares the creative process behind staging a Romeo and Juliet that feels relevant to a whole new generation of theatergoers, many of whom may be seeing their first Broadway. Sam Gold is a Tony Award-winning director with an extensive Broadway and theater resume. His Broadway credits include An Enemy of the People (this season) with Jeremy Strong and Michael Imperioli, Macbeth with Daniel Craig and Ruth Negga, King Lear with Glenda Jackson, A Doll's House, Part 2 (Tony Award Nomination), The Glass Menagerie, Fun Home (Tony Award), The Real Thing, The Realistic Joneses, and Seminar. Recent credits include Hamlet at The Public Theater, Othello at New York Theatre Workshop, The Flick (Lucille Lortel Award nomination) at Playwrights Horizons, Barrow Street Theatre, and the National Theatre, The Glass Menagerie (Toneelgroep, Amsterdam), John (Signature Theatre; Obie Award, Lortel and Drama Desk Award nominations), The Village Bike (MCC Theatre), and Uncle Vanya (Soho Repertory Theatre; Drama Desk nomination), among many others. From the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast. Published December 16, 2024. © Folger Shakespeare Library. All rights reserved. This episode was produced by Matt Frassica. Garland Scott is the associate producer. It was edited by Gail Kern Paster. We had help with web production from Paola García Acuña. Leonor Fernandez edits our transcripts. Final mixing services are provided by Clean Cuts at Three Seas, Inc.

This week we're excited to present a conversation from the 62nd New York Film Festival with Oh, Canada director Paul Schrader. Oh, Canada is currently in select theaters, courtesy of Kino Lorber. In an unvarnished, commanding performance, Richard Gere plays Leonard Fife, a celebrated political documentarian who has reached the end of his life. Wracked with cancer, Leonard has agreed to appear in a film by a former protégé (Michael Imperioli) in the hopes of setting the record straight about himself. Cinema becomes a confessional space as Leonard, accompanied by his stalwart wife and former student, Emma (Uma Thurman), excavates his own past, facing down regrets and guilt, and interrogating his own career, personal life, and political courage. Constructed with nonlinear flashbacks featuring Jacob Elordi as a young Leonard, the film passes in and out of different time periods, back to the 1960s, matching the slippery consciousness of its storyteller. Adapted from the book Foregone by Russell Banks, Paul Schrader's emotionally naked drama feels like a direct address to the viewer, a filmmaker's reckoning with his formidable status and persona. This conversation was moderated by FLC Senior Director of Programming Florence Almozini.

Derreck & Ryan watch the 2019 action/thriller Primal that sees Nicolas Cage battle a trained assassin AND a CGI white leopard! It stars Famke Janssen, Kevin Durand, Michael Imperioli, LaMonica Garrett, and of course, Nicolas Cage, directed by Nick Powell! Thanks for joining us. Let's hit it. Then we run our little computer system thingy to find out what movie joins the Wheel-O-Cage next! Don't forget to check out our social media pages to see the next Wheel-O-Cage spin and find out what movie we're reviewing next on the show! Plus, CAGE-O Bingo! Links: ⁠⁠comingofcage.com⁠⁠ Merch Store: ⁠⁠https://www.teepublic.com/stores/derricostudios?ref_id=7261⁠⁠ Reddit: ⁠⁠https://www.reddit.com/r/comingofcage/⁠⁠ Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/coming-of-cage/id1625687655⁠⁠ Spotify: ⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/1mVw6A52QjbMeQicIlj4i7⁠⁠ Spreaker: ⁠⁠https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/coming-of-cage–6057154⁠⁠ RSS Feed: ⁠⁠https://anchor.fm/s/fbf3c75c/podcast/rss⁠⁠ Join our Film Forum for news, memes, spoiler conversations, tournaments, polls, and more: ⁠⁠Facebook.com/groups/ScreenHeroes⁠⁠ A Derrico Studios Production Hosted by Derreck Mayer & Ryan Couture Executive Producer & Editor: Derreck Mayer

On today's NYFF62 podcast, we welcome director Paul Schrader and cast members Uma Thurman and Michael Imperioli to discuss their film Oh, Canada, which made its U.S. Premiere in the Main Slate of this year's festival. The discussion was moderated by NYFF programmer K. Austin Collins. In an unvarnished, commanding performance, Richard Gere plays Leonard Fife, a celebrated political documentarian who has reached the end of his life. Constructed with nonlinear flashbacks featuring Jacob Elordi as a young Leonard, the film passes in and out of different time periods, back to the 1960s, matching the slippery consciousness of its storyteller. Adapted from the book Foregone by Russell Banks, Paul Schrader's emotionally naked drama feels like a direct address to the viewer, a filmmaker's reckoning with his formidable status and persona. Tickets to the New York Film Festival are moving fast! Get up-to-date information on all available tickets on a daily basis by visiting filmlinc.org/tix. Oh, Canada will be released in theaters on December 6, courtesy of Kino Lorber.

Meg Wolitzer presents two favorite Selected Shorts works in which food and nourishment figure both literally and symbolically.  The narrator of Haruki Murakami's “The Year of Spaghetti” seems to be just sharing pasta recipes, but it's the recipe for assuaging loneliness that may elude him.  The reader is Sopranos alum Michael Imperioli.  And unusual family dynamics shape Amy Bloom's “Love is Not a Pie,” performed by Hope Davis.  We also share a discussion of this work by the mother and daughter book club organized by our frequent reader Rita Wolf and her daughter Anjeli.

It's the 3rd episode of Sopranos September and this week we discuss a classic episode of television:  PINE BARRENS season 3, episode 11 of the hit HBO series The Sopranos. But first Cody gives a tour of his new layout for the podcast. Also shout out to a really cool & fun podcast Old Gods Of Appalachia. Is Anthony going to Chronic-Con?  Has Anthony been pushing his boundaries over the last few years? Is Cody throwing up Power Ranger poses?  How do we feel about traveling?  Did we cover a Sopranos episode that Rolling Stone put as the 4th best television episode of all time? Does Breaking Bad deserve to beat out The Sopranos? Is Pine Barrens regarded as one of the best television episodes of all time? Why does everyone have the flu in The Sopranos? Are we down with the sickness? Is Jackie Jr. dumb as fuck? Did the Russian guy from this episode live or die? Is Tony Soprano always fated to die? Is this episode pre Melfi being Nerfed?  Could Gloria Trillo survive the Pine Barrens? Is this one of the funniest Sopranos episodes?  Did Anthony get a new Funko Pop? Is David Chase & Michael Imperioli from Jake's neck of the woods? Did DMX talk to Satan? Are there stupid questions on Comics and Chronic? Which Sopranos characters can we beat in hand to hand combat? Is Bobby Baccala ‘The Thing' to Tony Soprano's ‘Hulk'? Is there such thing as a “Bad” Sopranos episode?  Do we only cover Sopranos every 2 years? Can Tony Soprano play Mario Kart 64 one handed?  Tune in this week! Check out our Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/ComicsandChronic⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Check out our website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.comicsandchronic.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ New episodes every THURSDAY Follow us on social media! Instagram // Twitter // TikTok : @comicsnchronic YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.youtube.com/channel/UC45vP6pBHZk9rZi_2X3VkzQ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ E-mail: comicsnchronicpodcast@gmail.com Cody Twitter: @Cody_Cannon Instagram: @walaka_cannon TikTok: @codywalakacannon Jake Instagram: @jakefhaha Anthony Instagram // Twitter // TikTok : ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@mrtonynacho⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ YouTube: youtube.com/nachocomedy

This week we're breaking down “Livin' the Dream, Pt 1” and the ladies chat with Michael Imperioli who played Sensei Billy! Jim comes back to Scranton to spend more time with Pam. Meanwhile Dwight gets his black belt in karate and Andy decides to quit his job to pursue acting leaving the manager role open. Michael shares with the ladies about a google search that led him to being cast on The Office, and then later Angela shares a promo video Jenna and Angela made for this episode back in 2013. The gals hear from Ed Helms about Andy's headshot photoshoot which leads Jenna and Angela to get deep with beginning actor headshots. And, there's some more Herr's potato chips tasting. This is a jammed pack ep, karate chop your boards quick so you can enjoy it! Check out the trailer for “Oh Canada” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAJVxCNcqH0 Check out Ed Helms' podcast, SNAFU: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-snafu-with-ed-helms-102539700/ Check out Office Ladies Merch at Podswag: https://www.podswag.com/collections/office-ladies    Office Ladies Website - Submit a fan question: https://officeladies.com/submitaquestion  Follow Us on Instagram: OfficeLadiesPod 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

Send us a textWhat if you could step into the mind of David Chase and uncover the origins of The Sopranos? Join us on the Oh Brother Podcast as we dissect the new documentary "Wise Guy: David Chase and the Sopranos," directed by Alex Gibney and now streaming on Max. We explore how this two-part series, originally envisioned as a feature film, captures Chase's journey and the show's creation. You'll discover how the documentary's unique set design mirrors Dr. Melfi's office and how "The Sopranos" found renewed life during the COVID-19 quarantine, largely thanks to the "Talking Sopranos" podcast by Michael Imperioli and Steve Schirripa.We then shift gears to discuss James Gandolfini's legacy, particularly through the lens of the Coen Brothers' film "The Man Who Wasn't There." Mistakes and corrections aside, we dive into Gandolfini's illustrious career and the fascinating casting choices that could have altered "The Sopranos" as we know it. Hear about Steve Van Zandt's near-casting as Tony Soprano, Lorraine Bracco's pivotal decision to play Dr. Melfi, and the technological hurdles faced after Nancy Marchand's untimely passing. The discussion also highlights the immense pressure Chase faced to maintain the show's success, fostering a tight-knit, trusting environment with his creative team.Finally, we delve into the complexity of Carmela Soprano and examine the tragic death of James Gandolfini. We reflect on the emotional weight of Gandolfini's role, his personal struggles, and the impact of his untimely passing on both the cast and the show. The documentary's innovative style is also a topic of interest, mirroring Tony Soprano's iconic drive while offering insights into David Chase's influences from classic filmmakers. We ponder the controversial ending of "The Sopranos" and speculate on what might have been if Gandolfini were still with us. Tune in for a richer, deeper appreciation of one of television's most groundbreaking series.Actress Karissa Lee Staples Support the showOh Brother Podcast: Subscribe on YouTube Listen on all podcast platforms Follow us on Instagram Leave a 5-star rating/review on Apple Podcasts

On the next episode of Sopranos September the guys discuss the Season 2 finale Funhouse. But first why is Jake's voice raspy? What should we discuss for episode 250? Are Jake and Cody a team like Kobe and Shaq? Why doesn't Anthony like Pussy? Is Melfi running at omega level? Is this the first really psychedelic dream based episode? Is Olivia Soprano a character you love to hate? What is our point of reference for a recast? Was the episode's funny moments involved with Artie? What is Michael Imperioli's theory on why Tony got sick? Are there signs Pussy is gonna die? How much info is Pussy giving up? Why did Tony light himself on fire during the dream? Is Satan coming for Jake? Does the word “boobies” turn Cody into a Manchurian Candidate? What is Paul Walker's dark secret? Find the answer to these and more on the newest episode of Comics and Chronic! Check out our Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/ComicsandChronic⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Check out our website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.comicsandchronic.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ New episodes every THURSDAY Follow us on social media! Instagram // Twitter // TikTok : @comicsnchronic YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.youtube.com/channel/UC45vP6pBHZk9rZi_2X3VkzQ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ E-mail: comicsnchronicpodcast@gmail.com Cody Twitter: @Cody_Cannon Instagram: @walaka_cannon TikTok: @codywalakacannon Jake Instagram: @jakefhaha Anthony Instagram // Twitter // TikTok : ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@mrtonynacho⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ YouTube: youtube.com/nachocomedy

WTOP's Jason Fraley interviews actor Michael Imperioli as the new two-part “Sopranos” docuseries “Wise Guy” premieres this weekend on HBO and Max. They hopped on the phone in April 2020, a month into the pandemic, when Imperioli launched his “Sopranos” watch-along podcast “Talking Sopranos.” They also discussed his early role in Martin Scorsese's "Goodfellas." (Theme Music: Scott Buckley's "Clarion") Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WTOP's Jason Fraley interviews actor Michael Imperioli as the new two-part “Sopranos” docuseries “Wise Guy” premieres this weekend on HBO and Max. They hopped on the phone in April 2020, a month into the pandemic, when Imperioli launched his “Sopranos” watch-along podcast “Talking Sopranos.” They also discussed his early role in Martin Scorsese's "Goodfellas." (Theme Music: Scott Buckley's "Clarion") Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

25 years ago, The Sopranos premiered on HBO and changed expectations of what TV could be. There's a new two-part documentary, called Wise Guy, about the making of the show, centering on the series creator and executive producer, David Chase. We're using that as an excuse to revisit our interviews with Chase, as well as Lorraine Bracco, who played Tony's psychiatrist, Dr. Melfi, and Michael Imperioli, who played Tony's impetuous nephew. Film critic Justin Chang reviews Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Best Of 08.02.24 (00:00:00) Gary Sinise(00:19:47) Dogs Eating Underwear(00:39:57) Jeff Ament(01:12:17) Bizarre File(01:21:34) Michael Imperioli(01:56:02) Best & Worst Philly Sports Movie(02:30:21) Bizarre File(02:38:06) Hollywood Trash and Glenn Howerton

Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) joins Meet the Press to discuss his position on former President Donald Trump's VP shortlist. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) talks about President Biden's actions at the border and in the Israel-Hamas war. Actor Michael Imperioli sat down with Kristen Welker in April for a pre-taped “Meet the Moment” conversation that aired on Meet the Press on June 16 ahead of the Tony Awards. Yamiche Alcindor joins the Meet the Press roundtable with new reporting on how the Biden campaign will mark the anniversary of the Dobbs decision.

This week we're checking in on a father and daughter who are obsessed with all things Disney. I don't know what the father is going to do when she goes off to college and he's forced to walk around Disneyland by himself. I'm pretty sure the park has people whose only job is to watch out for guys like this. Erik Nagel and Bryan Johnson both join the show to offer their unique perspectives on why an 18 year old girl would spend so much time making content about Disney with her father. After that, Opie embarrasses himself in front of Michael Imperioli and he posted it on his Instagram for some reason. Then we find out Scott the Engineer has no idea how to scroll on a web page. Drew Lane and Dick Masterson congratulate us on 500 episodes in their own unique ways and then we check in on episode 3 of Scorch's PFG-TV. I hope they figured out the audio problems. Joe Matarese quit podcasting this past week but then consulted with Kevin Brennan and changed his mind. Finally, Maribeth joins us for another round of To Catch An Alien and we check out your reviews and voicemails. Tickets to the live show in Florida on March 22nd! – http://watplive.com Tickets to the Vegas shows May 31st – June 2nd – https://www.hackamania.com/ https://tellemstevedave.com/ https://allmylinks.com/itseriknagel  https://onlyfans.com/maribethrosie  Support us, get bonus episodes, and watch live every Saturday and Wednesday: http://bit.ly/watp-patreon https://watp.supercast.tech/  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Megyn Kelly is joined by Maureen Callahan, Daily Mail columnist, to discuss the massive Super Bowl ratings that were the most since the moon landing, the Chiefs asking Taylor Swift not to attend the parade, breaking down the Swift hug with Travis Kelce after the game, Biden's memory issues and the media spin, whether Biden is being undermined by the left in order to get him to step away from the 2024 nomination, constant attempts to claim Biden is more fit privately than what everyone sees publicly, Harry and Meghan attempting a "Sussex" rebrand, what we know about Harry's very quick trip to visit his father King Charles, Meghan Markle's dubious claim that she's a feminist, "The View" host Sunny Hostin finding out her ancestors actually owned slaves, her co-host Joy Behar calling it a "bummer," her continued demand for reparations, the trans shooter at Joel Osteen's church, whether parents should be held responsible for their child's actions in a school shooting, and more. Then Drea de Matteo, actress and founder of ULTRAFREE, joins to discuss her iconic role on "The Sopranos," her experience working with James Gandolfini, why she no longer talks to Michael Imperioli, modern TV's refusal to take risks, why she went from voting for Biden to her political awakening during the COVID Era, the left's drift away from its principles, why she supports Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Hollywood actors' fear of speaking about politics, her decision to launch a freedom-focused clothing brand ULTRAFREE, and more. Follow The Megyn Kelly Show on all social platforms: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/MegynKellyTwitter: http://Twitter.com/MegynKellyShowInstagram: http://Instagram.com/MegynKellyShowFacebook: http://Facebook.com/MegynKellyShow Find out more information at: https://www.devilmaycaremedia.com/megynkellyshow