Podcasts about Zero Mostel

What does it take to keep your voice—and your purpose—strong through every season of life? In this episode of Unstoppable Mindset, I sit down with my friend Bill Ratner, one of Hollywood's most recognized voice actors, best known as Flint from GI Joe. Bill's voice has carried him through radio, animation, and narration, but what stands out most is how he's used that same voice to serve others through storytelling, teaching, and grief counseling. Together, we explore the heart behind his work—from bringing animated heroes to life to standing on The Moth stage and helping people find healing through poetry. Bill shares lessons from his own journey, including losing both parents early, finding family in unexpected places, and discovering how creative expression can rebuild what life breaks down. We also reflect on 9/11, preparedness, and the quiet confidence that comes from trusting your training—whether you're a first responder, a performer, or just navigating the unknown. This conversation isn't just about performance; it's about presence. It's about using your story, your craft, and your compassion to keep moving forward—unstoppable, one voice at a time. Highlights: 00:31 – Hear the Flint voice and what it takes to bring animated characters to life. 06:57 – Learn why an uneven college path still led to a lifelong acting career. 11:50 – Understand how GI Joe became a team and a toy phenomenon that shaped culture. 15:58 – See how comics and cartoons boosted classroom literacy when used well. 17:06 – Pick up simple ways parents can spark reading through shared stories. 19:29 – Discover how early, honest conversations about death can model resilience. 24:09 – Learn to critique ads and media like a pro to sharpen your own performance. 36:19 – Follow the pivot from radio to voiceover and why specialization pays. 47:48 – Hear practical editing approaches and accessible tools that keep shows tight. 49:38 – Learn how The Moth builds storytelling chops through timed, judged practice. 55:21 – See how poetry—and poetry therapy—support grief work with students. 59:39 – Take notes on memoir writing, emotional management, and one-person shows. About the Guest: Bill Ratner is one of America's best known voice actors and author of poetry collections Lamenting While Doing Laps in the Lake (Slow Lightning Lit 2024,) Fear of Fish (Alien Buddha Press 2021,) To Decorate a Casket (Finishing Line Press 2021,) and the non-fiction book Parenting For The Digital Age: The Truth Behind Media's Effect On Children and What To Do About It (Familius Books 2014.) He is a 9-time winner of the Moth StorySLAM, 2-time winner of Best of The Hollywood Fringe Extension Award for Solo Performance, Best of the Net Poetry Nominee 2023 (Lascaux Review,) and New Millennium "America One Year From Now" Writing Award Finalist. His writing appears in Best Small Fictions 2021 (Sonder Press,) Missouri Review (audio,) Baltimore Review, Chiron Review, Feminine Collective, and other journals. He is the voice of "Flint" in the TV cartoon G.I. Joe, "Donnell Udina" in the computer game Mass Effect, the voice of Air Disasters on Smithsonian Channel, NewsNation, and network TV affiliates across the country. He is a committee chair for his union, SAG-AFTRA, teaches Voiceovers for SAG-AFTRA Foundation, Media Awareness for Los Angeles Unified School District, and is a trained grief counsellor. Member: Actors Equity Association, Screen Actors Guild-AFTRA, National Storytelling Network • https://billratner.com • @billratner Ways to connect with Bill: https://soundcloud.com/bill-ratner https://www.instagram.com/billratner/ https://twitter.com/billratner https://www.threads.net/@billratner https://billratner.tumblr.com https://www.youtube.com/@billratner/videos https://www.facebook.com/billratner.voiceover.author https://bsky.app/profile/bilorat.bsky.social 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 ** 01:21 Well on a gracious hello to you, wherever you may be, I am your host. Mike hingson, and you are listening to unstoppable mindset. Today, we get to have a voice actor, person, Bill Ratner, who you want to know who Bill Radnor is, go back and watch the old GI Joe cartoons and listen to the voice of Flint.   Bill Ratner ** 01:42 All right. Lady Jay, you better get your battle gear on, because Cobra is on their way. And I can't bring up the Lacher threat weapon system. We got to get out of here. Yo, Joe,   Michael Hingson ** 01:52 there you go. I rest my case Well, Bill, welcome to unstoppable mindset.   Bill Ratner ** 02:00 We can't rest now. Michael, we've just begun. No, we've just begun.   Michael Hingson ** 02:04 We got to keep going here. Well, I'm really glad that you're here. Bill is another person who we inveigled to get on unstoppable mindset with the help of Walden Hughes. And so that means we can talk about Walden all we want today. Bill just saying, oh goodness. And I got a lot to say. Let me tell you perfect, perfect. Bring it on. So we are really grateful to Walden, although I hope he's not listening. We don't want to give him a big head. But no, seriously, we're really grateful. Ah, good point.   Bill Ratner ** 02:38 But his posture, oddly enough, is perfect.   Michael Hingson ** 02:40 Well, there you go. What do you do? He practiced. Well, anyway, we're glad you're here. Tell us about the early bill, growing up and all that stuff. It's always fun to start a good beginning.   Bill Ratner ** 02:54 Well, I was a very lucky little boy. I was born in Des Moines, Iowa in 1947 to two lovely people, professionals, both with master's degree out at University of Chicago. My mother was a social worker. My father had an MBA in business. He was managing editor of Better Homes and Gardens magazine. So I had the joy of living in a better home and living in a garden.   Michael Hingson ** 03:21 My mother. How long were you in Des Moines?   Bill Ratner ** 03:24 Five and a half years left before my sixth birthday. My dad got a fancy job at an ad agency in Minneapolis, and had a big brother named Pete and big handsome, curly haired boy with green eyes. And moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and was was brought up there.   Michael Hingson ** 03:45 Wow. So you went to school there and and chased the girls and all that stuff.   Bill Ratner ** 03:54 I went to school there at Blake School for Boys in Hopkins, Minnesota. Couldn't chase the girls day school, but the girls we are allowed to dance with certainly not chase. Michael was at woodhue dancing school, the Northrop girls from Northrop girls school and the Blake boys were put together in eighth grade and taught the Cha Cha Cha, the waltz, the Charleston, and we danced together, and the girls wore white gloves, and we sniffed their perfume, and we all learned how to be lovers when we were 45   Michael Hingson ** 04:37 There you are. Well, as long as you learned at some point, that's a good start.   Bill Ratner ** 04:44 It's a weird generation. Michael,   Michael Hingson ** 04:46 I've been to Des Moines before. I was born in Chicago, but moved out to California when I was five, but I did some work with the National Federation of the Blind in the mid 19. 1970s 1976 into 1978 so spent time at the Iowa Commission for the Blind in Des Moines, which became a top agency for the Blind in well, the late 50s into the to the 60s and so on. So   Bill Ratner ** 05:15 both my parents are from Chicago. My father from the south side of Chicago, 44th and Kenzie, which was a Irish, Polish, Italian, Jewish, Ukrainian neighborhood. And my mother from Glencoe, which was a middle class suburb above Northwestern University in Evanston.   Michael Hingson ** 05:34 I Where were you born? 57th and union, north, south side, no, South   Bill Ratner ** 05:42 57th union is that? Is that west of Kenzie?   Michael Hingson ** 05:46 You know, I don't remember the geography well enough to know, but I know that it was, I think, Mount Sinai Hospital where I was born. But it was, it's, it's, it's a pretty tough neighborhood today. So I understand,   Bill Ratner ** 06:00 yeah, yeah, my it was tough, then it's tough now,   Michael Hingson ** 06:03 yeah, I think it's tougher, supposedly, than it was. But we lived there for five years, and then we we moved to California, and I remember some things about Chicago. I remember walking down to the local candy store most days, and had no problem doing that. My parents were told they should shut me away at a home somewhere, because no blind child could ever grow up to amount to anything. And my parents said, You guys are you're totally wrong. And they brought me up with that attitude. So, you   Bill Ratner ** 06:32 know who said that the school says school so that   Michael Hingson ** 06:35 doctors doctors when they discovered I was blind with the   Bill Ratner ** 06:38 kid, goodness gracious, horrified.   Michael Hingson ** 06:44 Well, my parents said absolutely not, and they brought me up, and they actually worked with other parents of premature kids who became blind, and when kindergarten started in for us in in the age of four, they actually had a special kindergarten class for blind kids at the Perry School, which is where I went. And so I did that for a year, learn braille and some other things. Then we moved to California, but yeah, and I go back to Chicago every so often. And when I do nowadays, they I one of my favorite places to migrate in Chicago is Garrett Popcorn.   Bill Ratner ** 07:21 Ah, yes, with caramel corn, regular corn, the   Michael Hingson ** 07:25 Chicago blend, which is a mixture, yeah, the Chicago blend is cheese corn, well, as it is with caramel corn, and they put much other mozzarella on it as well. It's really good.   Bill Ratner ** 07:39 Yeah, so we're on the air. Michael, what do you call your what do you call your program? Here I am your new friend, and I can't even announce your program because I don't know   Michael Hingson ** 07:48 the name, unstoppable mindset. This   Bill Ratner ** 07:51 is unstoppable mindset.   Michael Hingson ** 07:56 We're back. Well, we're back already. We're fast. So you, you, you moved off elsewhere, out of Des Moines and all that. And where did you go to college?   Bill Ratner ** 08:09 Well, this is like, why did you this is, this is a bit like talking about the Vietnam War. Looking back on my college career is like looking back on the Vietnam War series, a series of delusions and defeats. By the time I the time i for college, by the time I was applying for college, I was an orphan, orphan, having been born to fabulous parents who died too young of natural causes. So my grades in high school were my mediocre. I couldn't get into the Ivy Leagues. I got into the big 10 schools. My stepmother said, you're going to Michigan State in East Lansing because your cousin Eddie became a successful realtor. And Michigan State was known as mu u it was the most successful, largest agriculture college and university in the country. Kids from South Asia, China, Northern Europe, Southern Europe, South America all over the world came to Michigan State to study agricultural sciences, children of rich farmers all over the world and middle class farmers all over the world, and a huge police science department. Part of the campus was fenced off, and the young cadets, 1819, 20 years old, would practice on the rest of the student body, uniformed with hats and all right, excuse me, young man, we're just going to get some pizza at eight o'clock on Friday night. Stand against your car. Hands in your car. I said, Are you guys practicing again? Shut up and spread your legs. So that was that was Michigan State, and even though both my parents had master's degrees, I just found all the diversions available in the 1960s to be too interesting, and was not invited. Return after my sophomore year, and in order to flunk out of a big 10 University, and they're fine universities, all of them, you have to be either really determined or not so smart, not really capable of doing that level of study in undergraduate school. And I'd like to think that I was determined. I used to show up for my exams with a little blue book, and the only thing I would write is due to lack of knowledge, I am unable to complete this exam, sign Bill ranter and get up early and hand it in and go off. And so what was, what was left for a young man like that was the theater I'd seen the great Zero Mostel when I was 14 years old and on stage live, he looked just like my father, and he was funny, and if I Were a rich man, and that's the grade zero must tell. Yeah, and it took about five, no, it took about six, seven years to percolate inside my bread and my brain. In high school, I didn't want to do theater. The cheerleaders and guys who I had didn't happen to be friends with or doing theater. I took my girlfriends to see plays, but when I was 21 I started acting, and I've been an actor ever since. I'm a committee chair on the screen actors guild in Hollywood and Screen Actors Guild AFTRA, and work as a voice actor and collect my pensions and God bless the union.   Michael Hingson ** 11:44 Well, hey, as long as it works and you're making progress, you know you're still with it, right?   Bill Ratner ** 11:53 That's the that's the point. There's no accounting for taste in my business. Michael, you work for a few different broadcast entities at my age. And it's, you know, it's younger people. It's 18 to 3418 years to 34 years old is the ideal demographic for advertisers, Ford, Motor Company, Dove soap, Betty, Crocker, cake mixes and cereals, every conceivable product that sold online or sold on television and radio. This is my this is my meat, and I don't work for religion. However, if a religious organization calls, I call and say, I I'm not, not qualified or not have my divinity degree in order to sell your church to the public?   Michael Hingson ** 12:46 Yeah, yeah. Well, I, I can understand that. But you, you obviously do a lot, and as we talked about, you were Flint and GI Joe, which is kind of cool.   Bill Ratner ** 13:01 Flynn GI Joe was very cool. Hasbro Corporation, which was based in Providence, Rhode Island, had a huge success with GI Joe, the figure. The figure was about 11 and a half inches tall, like a Barbie, and was at first, was introduced to the public after the Korean War. There is a comic book that was that was also published about GI Joe. He was an individual figure. He was a figure, a sort of mythic cartoon figure during World War Two, GI Joe, generic American soldier, fighting man and but the Vietnam war dragged on for a long time, and the American buying public or buying kids toys got tired of GI Joe, got tired of a military figure in their household and stopped buying. And when Nixon ended the Vietnam War, or allotted to finish in 1974 Hasbro was in the tank. It's got its stock was cheap, and executives are getting nervous. And then came the Great George Lucas in Star Wars, who shrank all these action figures down from 11 and a half inches to three and a half inches, and went to China and had Chinese game and toy makers make Star Wars toys, and began to earn billions and billions dollars. And so Hasbro said, let's turn GI Joe into into a team. And the team began with flint and Lady J and Scarlett and Duke and Destro and cover commander, and grew to 85 different characters, because Hasbro and the toy maker partners could create 85 different sets of toys and action figures. So I was actor in this show and had a good time, and also a purveyor of a billion dollar industry of American toys. And the good news about these toys is I was at a conference where we signed autographs the voice actors, and we have supper with fans and so on. And I was sitting next to a 30 year old kid and his parents. And this kid was so knowledgeable about pop culture and every conceivable children's show and animated show that had ever been on the screen or on television. I turned to his mother and sort of being a wise acre, said, So ma'am, how do you feel about your 30 year old still playing with GI Joe action figures? And she said, Well, he and I both teach English in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania school system, and last year, the literacy level of my ninth graders was 50% 50% of those kids could not read in ninth grade. So I asked the principal if I could borrow my son's GI Joe, action figures, comic books and VHS tapes, recordings of the shows from TV. And he said, Sure, whatever you want to try. And so she did, and she played the video tapes, and these kids were thrilled. They'd never seen a GI Joe cartoon in class before. Passed out the comic books, let him read comics. And then she said, Okay, you guys. And passed out notebooks and pens and pencils, and said, I want you guys to make up some some shows, some GI Joe shows. And so they said, Yeah, we're ready. All right, Cobra, you better get into the barber shop, because the barber bill is no longer there and the fire engines are in the way. And wait a minute, there's a dog in the street. And so they're making this up, using their imagination, doing their schoolwork, by coming up with scenarios, imaginary fam fan fiction for GI Joe and she raised the literacy level in her classroom by 50% that year, by the end of that year, so, so that was the only story that I've ever heard about the sort of the efficacy of GI Joe, other than, you know, kids play with them. Do they? Are they shooting each other all the time? I certainly hope not. I hope not. Are they using the action figures? Do they strip their guns off and put them in a little, you know, stub over by the side and and have them do physical battle with each other, or have them hump the woods, or have them climb the stairs, or have them search the trees. Who knows what kids do? Same with same with girls and and Barbies. Barbie has been a source of fun and creativity for lots of girls, and the source of of worry and bother to a lot of parents as   Michael Hingson ** 17:54 well. Well, at the same time, though, when kids start to react and relate to some of these things. It's, it's pretty cool. I mean, look what's happened with the whole Harry Potter movement and craze. Harry Potter has probably done more in the last 20 or 25 years to promote reading for kids than most anything else, and   Bill Ratner ** 18:17 that's because it's such a good series of books. I read them to my daughters, yeah. And the quality of writing. She was a brilliant writer, not only just the stories and the storytelling, which is fun to watch in the movies, and you know, it's great for a parent to read. If there are any parents listening, I don't care how old your kids are. I don't care if they're 15. Offer to read to them. The 15 year old might, of course, say mom, but anybody younger than that might say either, all right, fine, which is, which means you better do it or read, read a book. To me, sure, it's fun for the parent, fun for the kid, and it makes the child a completely different kind of thinker and worker and earner.   Michael Hingson ** 19:05 Well, also the people who they got to read the books for the recordings Stephen Fry and in the US here, Jim Dale did such an incredible job as well. I've, I've read the whole Harry Potter series more than once, because I just enjoy them, and I enjoy listening to the the voices. They do such a good job. Yeah. And of course, for me, one of the interesting stories that I know about Jim Dale reading Harry Potter was since it was published by Scholastic he was actually scheduled to do a reading from one of the Harry from the new Harry Potter book that was coming out in 2001 on September 11, he was going to be at Scholastic reading. And of course, that didn't happen because of of everything that did occur. So I don't know whether I'm. I'm assuming at some point a little bit later, he did, but still he was scheduled to be there and read. But it they are there. They've done so much to help promote reading, and a lot of those kinds of cartoons and so on. Have done some of that, which is, which is pretty good. So it's good to, you know, to see that continue to happen. Well, so you've written several books on poetry and so on, and I know that you you've mentioned more than once grief and loss. How come those words keep coming up?   Bill Ratner ** 20:40 Well, I had an unusual childhood. Again. I mentioned earlier how, what a lucky kid I was. My parents were happy, educated, good people, not abusers. You know, I don't have a I don't have horror stories to tell about my mother or my father, until my mother grew sick with breast cancer and and it took about a year and a half or two years to die when I was seven years old. The good news is, because she was a sensitive, educated social worker, as she was actually dying, she arranged a death counseling session with me and my older brother and the Unitarian minister who was also a death counselor, and whom she was seeing to talk about, you know, what it was like to be dying of breast cancer with two young kids. And at this session, which was sort of surprised me, I was second grade, came home from school. In the living room was my mother and my brother looking a little nervous, and Dr Carl storm from the Unitarian Church, and she said, you know, Dr storm from church, but he's also my therapist. And we talk about my illness and how I feel, and we talk about how much I love you boys, and talk about how I worry about Daddy. And this is what one does when one is in crisis. That was a moment that was not traumatic for me. It's a moment I recalled hundreds of times, and one that has been a guiding light through my life. My mother's death was very difficult for my older brother, who was 13 who grew up in World War Two without without my father, it was just him and my mother when he was off in the Pacific fighting in World War Two. And then I was born after the war. And the loss of a mother in a family is like the bottom dropping out of a family. But luckily, my dad met a woman he worked with a highly placed advertising executive, which was unusual for a female in the 1950s and she became our stepmother a year later, and we had some very lovely, warm family years with her extended family and our extended family and all of us together until my brother got sick, came down with kidney disease a couple of years before kidney dialysis was invented, and a couple of years before kidney transplants were done, died at 19. Had been the captain of the swimming team at our high school, but did a year in college out in California and died on Halloween of 1960 my father was 51 years old. His eldest son had died. He had lost his wife six years earlier. He was working too hard in the advertising industry, successful man and dropped out of a heart attack 14th birthday. Gosh, I found him unconscious on the floor of our master bathroom in our house. So my life changed. I My life has taught me many, many things. It's taught me how the defense system works in trauma. It's taught me the resilience of a child. It's taught me the kindness of strangers. It's taught me the sadness of loss.   Michael Hingson ** 24:09 Well, you, you seem to come through all of it pretty well. Well, thank you. A question behind that, just an observation, but, but you do seem to, you know, obviously, cope with all of it and do pretty well. So you, you've always liked to be involved in acting and so on. How did you actually end up deciding to be a voice actor?   Bill Ratner ** 24:39 Well, my dad, after he was managing editor of Better Homes and Gardens magazine in Des Moines for Meredith publishing, got offered a fancy job as executive vice president of the flower and mix division for Campbell within advertising and later at General Mills Corporation. From Betty Crocker brand, and would bring me to work all the time, and would sit with me, and we'd watch the wonderful old westerns that were on prime time television, rawhide and Gunsmoke and the Virginian and sure   Michael Hingson ** 25:15 and all those. Yeah, during   Bill Ratner ** 25:17 the commercials, my father would make fun of the commercials. Oh, look at that guy. And number one, son, that's lousy acting. Number two, listen to that copy. It's the dumbest ad copy I've ever seen. The jingles and and then he would say, No, that's a good commercial, right there. And he wasn't always negative. He would he was just a good critic of advertising. So at a very young age, starting, you know, when we watch television, I think the first television ever, he bought us when I was five years old, I was around one of the most educated, active, funny, animated television critics I could hope to have in my life as a 56789, 1011, 12 year old. And so when I was 12, I became one of the founding members of the Brotherhood of radio stations with my friends John Waterhouse and John Barstow and Steve gray and Bill Connors in South Minneapolis. I named my five watt night kit am transmitter after my sixth grade teacher, Bob close this is wclo stereo radio. And when I was in sixth grade, I built myself a switch box, and I had a turntable and I had an intercom, and I wired my house for sound, as did all the other boys in the in the B, O, R, S, and that's brotherhood of radio stations. And we were guests on each other's shows, and we were obsessed, and we would go to the shopping malls whenever a local DJ was making an appearance and torture him and ask him dumb questions and listen obsessively to American am radio. And at the time for am radio, not FM like today, or internet on your little radio tuner, all the big old grandma and grandpa radios, the wooden ones, were AM, for amplitude modulated. You could get stations at night, once the sun went down and the later it got, the ionosphere would lift and the am radio signals would bounce higher and farther. And in Minneapolis, at age six and seven, I was able to to listen to stations out of Mexico and Texas and Chicago, and was absolutely fascinated with with what was being put out. And I would, I would switch my brother when I was about eight years old, gave me a transistor radio, which I hid under my bed covers. And at night, would turn on and listen for, who knows, hours at a time, and just tuning the dial and tuning the dial from country to rock and roll to hit parade to news to commercials to to agric agriculture reports to cow crossings in Kansas and grain harvesting and cheese making in Wisconsin, and on and on and on that made up the great medium of radio that was handing its power and its business over to television, just as I was growing As a child. Fast, fascinating transition   Michael Hingson ** 28:18 and well, but as it was transitioning, how did that affect you?   Bill Ratner ** 28:26 It made television the romantic, exciting, dynamic medium. It made radio seem a little limited and antiquated, and although I listened for environment and wasn't able to drag a television set under my covers. Yeah, and television became memorable with with everything from actual world war two battle footage being shown because there wasn't enough programming to 1930s Warner Brothers gangster movies with James Cagney, Edward G   Michael Hingson ** 29:01 Robinson and yeah   Bill Ratner ** 29:02 to all the sitcoms, Leave It to Beaver and television cartoons and on and on and on. And the most memorable elements to me were the personalities, and some of whom were invisible. Five years old, I was watching a Kids program after school, after kindergarten. We'll be back with more funny puppets, marionettes after this message and the first words that came on from an invisible voice of this D baritone voice, this commercial message will be 60 seconds long, Chrysler Dodge for 1954 blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And I watched hypnotized, hypnotized as a 1953 dodge drove across the screen with a happy family of four waving out the window. And at the end of the commercial, I ran into the kitchen said, Mom, mom, I know what a minute. Is, and it was said, it had suddenly come into my brain in one of those very rare and memorable moments in a person's life where your brain actually speaks to you in its own private language and says, Here is something very new and very true, that 60 seconds is in fact a minute. When someone says, See you in five minutes, they mean five times that, five times as long as that. Chrysler commercial, five times 60. That's 300 seconds. And she said, Did you learn it that that on T in kindergarten? And I said, No, I learned it from kangaroo Bob on TV, his announcer, oh, kangaroo Bob, no, but this guy was invisible. And so at five years of age, I was aware of the existence of the practice of the sound, of the magic of the seemingly unlimited access to facts, figures, products, brand names that these voices had and would say on the air in This sort of majestic, patriarchal way,   Michael Hingson ** 31:21 and just think 20 years later, then you had James Earl Jones,   Bill Ratner ** 31:26 the great dame. James Earl Jones, father was a star on stage at that time the 1950s James Earl Jones came of age in the 60s and became Broadway and off Broadway star.   Michael Hingson ** 31:38 I got to see him in Othello. He was playing Othello. What a powerful performance. It was   Bill Ratner ** 31:43 wonderful performer. Yeah, yeah. I got to see him as Big Daddy in Canada, Hot Tin Roof, ah, live and in person, he got front row seats for me and my family.   Michael Hingson ** 31:53 Yeah, we weren't in the front row, but we saw it. We saw it on on Broadway,   Bill Ratner ** 31:58 the closest I ever got to James Earl Jones. He and I had the same voice over agent, woman named Rita vinari of southern Barth and benare company. And I came into the agency to audition for Doritos, and I hear this magnificent voice coming from behind a closed voiceover booth, saying, with a with a Spanish accent, Doritos. I thought that's James Earl Jones. Why is he saying burritos? And he came out, and he bowed to me, nodded and smiled, and I said, hello and and the agent probably in the booth and shut the door. And she said, I said, that was James Earl Jones. What a voice. What she said, Oh, he's such a nice man. And she said, but I couldn't. I was too embarrassed. I was too afraid to stop him from saying, Doritos. And it turns out he didn't get the gig. So it is some other voice actor got it because he didn't say, had he said Doritos with the agent froze it froze up. That was as close as I ever got to did you get the gig? Oh goodness no,   Michael Hingson ** 33:01 no, you didn't, huh? Oh, well, well, yeah. I mean, it was a very, it was, it was wonderful. It was James Earl Jones and Christopher Plummer played Iago. Oh, goodness, oh, I know. What a what a combination. Well, so you, you did a lot of voiceover stuff. What did you do regarding radio moving forward? Or did you just go completely out of that and you were in TV? Or did you have any opportunity   Bill Ratner ** 33:33 for me to go back at age 15, my brother and father, who were big supporters of my radio. My dad would read my W, C, l, o, newsletter and need an initial, an excellent journalism son and my brother would bring his teenage friends up. He'd play the elderly brothers, man, you got an Elvis record, and I did. And you know, they were, they were big supporters for me as a 13 year old, but when I turned 14, and had lost my brother and my father, I lost my enthusiasm and put all of my radio equipment in a box intended to play with it later. Never, ever, ever did again. And when I was about 30 years old and I'd done years of acting in the theater, having a great time doing fun plays and small theaters in Minneapolis and South Dakota and and Oakland, California and San Francisco. I needed money, so I looked in the want ads and saw a job for telephone sales, and I thought, Well, I used to love the telephone. I used to make phony phone calls to people all the time. Used to call funeral homes. Hi Carson, funeral I help you. Yes, I'm calling to tell you that you have a you have a dark green slate tile. Roof, isn't that correct? Yes. Well, there's, there's a corpse on your roof. Lady for goodness sake, bring it down and we laugh and we record it and and so I thought, Well, gee, I used to have a lot of fun with the phone. And so I called the number of telephone sales and got hired to sell magazine subscriptions and dinner tickets to Union dinners and all kinds of things. And then I saw a new job at a radio station, suburban radio station out in Walnut Creek, California, a lovely Metro BART train ride. And so I got on the BART train, rode out there and walked in for the interview, and was told I was going to be selling small advertising packages on radio for the station on the phone. And so I called barber shops and beauty shops and gas stations in the area, and one guy picked up the phone and said, Wait a minute, wait a minute. Wait a minute. Are you on the radio right now? And I said, No, I'm just I'm in the sales room. Well, maybe you should be. And he slams the phone on me. He didn't want to talk to me anymore. It wasn't interested in buying advertising. I thought, gee. And I told somebody at the station, and they said, Well, you want to be in the radio? And he went, Yeah, I was on the radio when I was 13. And it just so happened that an older fellow was retiring from the 10am to 2pm slot. K I S King, kiss 99 and KD FM, Pittsburgh, California. And it was a beautiful music station. It was a music station. Remember, old enough will remember music that used to play in elevators that was like violin music, the Percy faith orchestra playing a Rolling Stone song here in the elevator. Yes, well, that's exactly what we played. And it would have been harder to get a job at the local rock stations because, you know, they were popular places. And so I applied for the job, and   Michael Hingson ** 37:06 could have lost your voice a lot sooner, and it would have been a lot harder if you had had to do Wolfman Jack. But that's another story.   Bill Ratner ** 37:13 Yeah, I used to listen to Wolf Man Jack. I worked in a studio in Hollywood. He became a studio. Yeah, big time.   Michael Hingson ** 37:22 Anyway, so you you got to work at the muzack station, got   Bill Ratner ** 37:27 to work at the muzack station, and I was moving to Los Angeles to go to a bigger market, to attempt to penetrate a bigger broadcast market. And one of the sales guys, a very nice guy named Ralph pizzella said, Well, when you get to La you should study with a friend of mine down to pie Troy, he teaches voiceovers. I said, What are voice overs? He said, You know that CVS Pharmacy commercial just carted up and did 75 tags, available in San Fernando, available in San Clemente, available in Los Angeles, available in Pasadena. And I said, Yeah. He said, Well, you didn't get paid any extra. You got paid your $165 a week. The guy who did that commercial for the ad agency got paid probably 300 bucks, plus extra for the tags, that's voiceovers. And I thought, why? There's an idea, what a concept. So he gave me the name and number of old friend acquaintance of his who he'd known in radio, named Don DiPietro, alias Johnny rabbit, who worked for the Dick Clark organization, had a big rock and roll station there. He'd come to LA was doing voiceovers and teaching voiceover classes in a little second story storefront out of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles. So I signed up for his class, and he was an experienced guy, and he liked me, and we all had fun, and I realized I was beginning to study like an actor at 1818, who goes to New York or goes to Los Angeles or Chicago or Atlanta or St Louis to act in the big theaters, and starts acting classes and realizes, oh my goodness, these people are truly professionals. I don't know how to do what they do. And so for six years, I took voice over classes, probably 4050, nights a year, and from disc jockeys, from ex show hosts, from actors, from animated cartoon voices, and put enough time in to get a degree in neurology in medical school. And worked my way up in radio in Los Angeles and had a morning show, a lovely show with a wonderful news man named Phil Reed, and we talked about things and reviewed movies and and played a lot of music. And then I realized, wait a minute, I'm earning three times the money in voiceovers as I am on the radio, and I have to get up at 430 in the morning to be on the radio. Uh, and a wonderful guy who was Johnny Carson's staff announcer named Jack angel said, You're not still on radio, are you? And I said, Well, yeah, I'm working in the morning. And Ka big, get out of there. Man, quit. Quit. And I thought, well, how can I quit? I've always wanted to be a radio announcer. And then there was another wonderful guy on the old am station, kmpc, sweet Dick Whittington. Whittington, right? And he said at a seminar that I went to at a union voice over training class, when you wake up at four in the morning and you swing your legs over the bed and your shoes hit the floor, and you put your head in your hands, and you say to yourself, I don't want to do this anymore. That's when you quit radio. Well, that hadn't happened to me. I was just getting up early to write some comedy segments and on and on and on, and then I was driving around town all day doing auditions and rented an ex girlfriend's second bedroom so that I could nap by myself during the day, when I had an hour in and I would as I would fall asleep, I'd picture myself every single day I'm in a dark voiceover studio, a microphone Is before me, a music stand is before the microphone, and on it is a piece of paper with advertising copy on it. On the other side of the large piece of glass of the recording booth are three individuals, my employers, I begin to read, and somehow the text leaps off the page, streams into my eyes, letter for letter, word for word, into a part of my back brain that I don't understand and can't describe. It is processed in my semi conscious mind with the help of voice over training and hope and faith, and comes out my mouth, goes into the microphone, is recorded in the digital recorder, and those three men, like little monkeys, lean forward and say, Wow, how do you do that? That was my daily creative visualization. Michael, that was my daily fantasy. And I had learned that from from Dale Carnegie, and I had learned that from Olympic athletes on NBC TV in the 60s and 70s, when the announcer would say, this young man you're seeing practicing his high jump is actually standing there. He's standing stationary, and the bouncing of the head is he's actually rehearsing in his mind running and running and leaping over the seven feet two inch bar and falling into the sawdust. And now he's doing it again, and you could just barely see the man nodding his head on camera at the exact rhythm that he would be running the 25 yards toward the high bar and leaping, and he raised his head up during the imaginary lead that he was visualizing, and then he actually jumped the seven foot two inches. That's how I learned about creative visualization from NBC sports on TV.   Michael Hingson ** 43:23 Channel Four in Los Angeles. There you go. Well, so you you broke into voice over, and that's what you did.   Bill Ratner ** 43:38 That's what I did, darn it, I ain't stopping now, there's a wonderful old actor named Bill Irwin. There two Bill Irwin's one is a younger actor in his 50s or 60s, a brilliant actor from Broadway to film and TV. There's an older William Irwin. They also named Bill Irwin, who's probably in his 90s now. And I went to a premiere of a film, and he was always showing up in these films as The senile stock broker who answers the phone upside down, or the senile board member who always asks inappropriate questions. And I went up to him and I said, you know, I see you in everything, man. I'm 85 years old. Some friends and associates of mine tell me I should slow down. I only got cast in movies and TV when I was 65 I ain't slowing down. If I tried to slow down at 85 I'd have to stop That's my philosophy. My hero is the great Don Pardo, the late great   Michael Hingson ** 44:42 for Saturday Night Live and Jeopardy   Bill Ratner ** 44:45 lives starring Bill Murray, Gilder Radner, and   Michael Hingson ** 44:49 he died for Jeopardy before that,   Bill Ratner ** 44:52 yeah, died at 92 with I picture him, whether it probably not, with a microphone and. His hand in his in his soundproof booth, in his in his garage, and I believe he lived in Arizona, although the show was aired and taped in New York, New York, right where he worked for for decades as a successful announcer. So that's the story.   Michael Hingson ** 45:16 Michael. Well, you know, I miss, very frankly, some of the the the days of radio back in the 60s and 70s and so on. We had, in LA what you mentioned, Dick Whittington, Dick whittinghill on kmpc, Gary Owens, you know, so many people who were such wonderful announcers and doing some wonderful things, and radio just isn't the same anymore. It's gone. It's   Bill Ratner ** 45:47 gone to Tiktok and YouTube. And the truth is, I'm not gonna whine about Tiktok or YouTube, because some of the most creative moments on camera are being done on Tiktok and YouTube by young quote influencers who hire themselves out to advertisers, everything from lipstick. You know,   Speaker 1 ** 46:09 when I went to a party last night was just wild and but this makeup look, watch me apply this lip remover and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, no, I have no lip.   Bill Ratner ** 46:20 You know, these are the people with the voices. These are the new voices. And then, of course, the faces. And so I would really advise before, before people who, in fact, use the internet. If you use the internet, you can't complain if you use the internet, if you go to Facebook or Instagram, or you get collect your email or Google, this or that, which most of us do, it's handy. You can't complain about tick tock, tick tock, tick tock. You can't complain about tick tock or YouTube, because it's what the younger generation is using, and it's what the younger generation advertisers and advertising executives and creators and musicians and actors are using to parade before us, as Gary Owens did, as Marlon Brando did, as Sarah Bernhardt did in the 19 so as all as you do, Michael, you're a parader. You're the head of the parade. You've been in on your own float for years. I read your your bio. I don't even know why you want to waste a minute talking to me for goodness sakes.   Michael Hingson ** 47:26 You know, the one thing about podcasts that I like over radio, and I did radio at kuci for seven years when I was in school, what I really like about podcasts is they're not and this is also would be true for Tiktok and YouTube. Primarily Tiktok, I would would say it isn't as structured. So if we don't finish in 60 minutes, and we finish in 61 minutes, no one's gonna shoot us.   Bill Ratner ** 47:53 Well, I beg to differ with you. Now. I'm gonna start a fight with you. Michael, yeah, we need conflict in this script. Is that it The Tick Tock is very structured. Six. No,   Michael Hingson ** 48:03 no, I understand that. I'm talking about podcasts,   Bill Ratner ** 48:07 though, but there's a problem. We gotta Tone It Up. We gotta pick it up. We gotta there's a lot of and I listen to what are otherwise really bright, wonderful personalities on screen, celebrities who have podcasts and the car sucks, and then I had meatballs for dinner, haha. And you know what my wife said? Why? You know? And there's just too much of that. And,   Michael Hingson ** 48:32 oh, I understand, yeah. I mean, it's like, like anything, but I'm just saying that's one of the reasons I love podcasting. So it's my way of continuing what I used to do in radio and having a lot of fun doing it   Bill Ratner ** 48:43 all right, let me ask you. Let me ask you a technical and editorial question. Let me ask you an artistic question. An artist, can you edit this podcast? Yeah. Are you? Do you plan to Nope.   Michael Hingson ** 48:56 I think conversations are conversations, but there is a but, I mean,   Bill Ratner ** 49:01 there have been starts and stops and I answer a question, and there's a long pause, and then, yeah, we can do you edit that stuff   Michael Hingson ** 49:08 out. We do, we do, edit some of that out. And I have somebody that that that does a lot of it, because I'm doing more podcasts, and also I travel and speak, but I can edit. There's a program called Reaper, which is really a very sophisticated   Bill Ratner ** 49:26 close up spaces. You   Michael Hingson ** 49:28 can close up spaces with it, yes, but the neat thing about Reaper is that somebody has written scripts to make it incredibly accessible for blind people using screen readers.   Bill Ratner ** 49:40 What does it do? What does it do? Give me the elevator pitch.   Michael Hingson ** 49:46 You've seen some of the the programs that people use, like computer vision and other things to do editing of videos and so on. Yeah.   Bill Ratner ** 49:55 Yeah. Even Apple. Apple edit. What is it called? Apple? Garage Band. No, that's audio. What's that   Michael Hingson ** 50:03 audio? Oh,   Bill Ratner ** 50:06 quick time is quick   Michael Hingson ** 50:07 time. But whether it's video or audio, the point is that Reaper allows me to do all of that. I can edit audio. I can insert, I can remove pauses. I can do anything with Reaper that anyone else can do editing audio, because it's been made completely accessible.   Bill Ratner ** 50:27 That's great. That's good. That's nice. Oh, it is. It's cool.   Michael Hingson ** 50:31 So so if I want, I can edit this and just have my questions and then silence when you're talking.   Bill Ratner ** 50:38 That might be best. Ladies and gentlemen, here's Bill Ratner,   Michael Hingson ** 50:46 yep, exactly, exactly. Now you have won the moth stories. Slam, what? Tell me about my story. Slam, you've won it nine times.   Bill Ratner ** 51:00 The Moth was started by a writer, a novelist who had lived in the South and moved to New York City, successful novelist named George Dawes green. And the inception of the moth, which many people listening are familiar with from the Moth Radio Hour. It was, I believe, either late 90s or early 2000s when he'd been in New York for a while and was was publishing as a fiction writer, and threw a party, and decided, instead of going to one of these dumb, boring parties or the same drinks being served and same cigarettes being smoked out in the veranda and the same orders. I'm going to ask people to bring a five minute story, a personal story, nature, a true story. You don't have to have one to get into the party, but I encourage you to. And so you know, the 3040, 50 people showed up, many of whom had stories, and they had a few drinks, and they had hors d'oeuvres. And then he said, Okay, ladies and gentlemen, take your seats. It's time for and then I picked names out of a hat, and person after person after person stood up in a very unusual setting, which was almost never done at parties. You How often do you see that happen? Suddenly, the room falls silent, and someone with permission being having been asked by the host to tell a personal story, some funny, some tragic, some complex, some embarrassing, some racy, some wild, some action filled. And afterward, the feedback he got from his friends was, this is the most amazing experience I've ever had in my life. And someone said, you need to do this. And he said, Well, you people left a lot of cigarette butts and beer cans around my apartment. And they said, well, let's do it at a coffee shop. Let's do it at a church basement. So slowly but surely, the moth storytelling, story slams, which were designed after the old poetry slams in the 50s and 60s, where they were judged contests like, like a dance contest. Everybody's familiar with dance contests? Well, there were, then came poetry contests with people singing and, you know, and singing and really energetically, really reading. There then came storytelling contests with people standing on a stage before a silent audience, telling a hopefully interesting, riveting story, beginning middle, end in five minutes. And so a coffee house was found. A monthly calendar was set up. Then came the internet. Then it was so popular standing room only that they had to open yet another and another, and today, some 20 years later, 20 some years later, from Austin, Texas to San Francisco, California to Minneapolis, Minnesota to New York City to Los Angeles. There are moth story slams available on online for you to schedule yourself to go live and in person at the moth.org as in the moth with wings. Friend of mine, I was in New York. He said, You can't believe it. This writer guy, a writer friend of mine who I had read, kind of an avant garde, strange, funny writer was was hosting something called the moth in New York, and we were texting each other. He said, Well, I want to go. The theme was show business. I was going to talk to my Uncle Bobby, who was the bell boy. And I Love Lucy. I'll tell a story. And I texted him that day. He said, Oh man, I'm so sorry. I had the day wrong. It's next week. Next week, I'm going to be back home. And so he said, Well, I think there's a moth in Los Angeles. So about 15 years ago, I searched it down and what? Went to a small Korean barbecue that had a tiny little stage that originally was for Korean musicians, and it was now being used for everything from stand up comedy to evenings of rock and roll to now moth storytelling once a month. And I think the theme was first time. And so I got up and told a silly story and didn't win first prize. They have judges that volunteer judges a table of three judges scoring, you like, at a swim meet or a track beat or, you know, and our gymnastics meet. So this is all sort of familiar territory for everybody, except it's storytelling and not high jumping or pull ups. And I kept going back. I was addicted to it. I would write a story and I'd memorize it, and I'd show up and try to make it four minutes and 50 seconds and try to make it sound like I was really telling a story and not reading from a script. And wish I wasn't, because I would throw the script away, and I knew the stories well enough. And then they created a radio show. And then I began to win slams and compete in the grand slams. And then I started submitting these 750 word, you know, two and a half page stories. Literary magazines got a few published and found a whole new way to spend my time and not make much   Michael Hingson ** 56:25 money. Then you went into poetry.   Bill Ratner ** 56:29 Then I got so bored with my prose writing that I took a poetry course from a wonderful guy in LA called Jack grapes, who had been an actor and a football player and come to Hollywood and did some TV, episodics and and some some episodic TV, and taught poetry. It was a poet in the schools, and I took his class of adults and got a poem published. And thought, wait a minute, these aren't even 750 words. They're like 75 words. I mean, you could write a 10,000 word poem if you want, but some people have, yeah, and it was complex, and there was so much to read and so much to learn and so much that was interesting and odd. And a daughter of a friend of mine is a poet, said, Mommy, are you going to read me one of those little word movies before I go to sleep?   Michael Hingson ** 57:23 A little word movie, word movie out of the   Bill Ratner ** 57:27 mouths of babes. Yeah, and so, so and I perform. You know, last night, I was in Orange County at a organization called ugly mug Cafe, and a bunch of us poets read from an anthology that was published, and we sold our books, and heard other young poets who were absolutely marvelous and and it's, you know, it's not for everybody, but it's one of the things I do.   Michael Hingson ** 57:54 Well, you sent me pictures of book covers, so they're going to be in the show notes. And I hope people will will go out and get them   Bill Ratner ** 58:01 cool. One of the one of the things that I did with poetry, in addition to wanting to get published and wanting to read before people, is wanting to see if there is a way. Because poetry was, was very satisfying, emotionally to me, intellectually very challenging and satisfying at times. And emotionally challenging and very satisfying at times, writing about things personal, writing about nature, writing about friends, writing about stories that I received some training from the National Association for poetry therapy. Poetry therapy is being used like art therapy, right? And have conducted some sessions and and participated in many and ended up working with eighth graders of kids who had lost someone to death in the past year of their lives. This is before covid in the public schools in Los Angeles. And so there's a lot of that kind of work that is being done by constable people, by writers, by poets, by playwrights,   Michael Hingson ** 59:09 and you became a grief counselor,   Bill Ratner ** 59:13 yes, and don't do that full time, because I do voiceovers full time, right? Write poetry and a grand. Am an active grandparent, but I do the occasional poetry session around around grief poetry.   Michael Hingson ** 59:31 So you're a grandparent, so you've had kids and all that. Yes, sir, well, that's is your wife still with us? Yes?   Bill Ratner ** 59:40 Oh, great, yeah, she's an artist and an art educator. Well, that   Michael Hingson ** 59:46 so the two of you can criticize each other's works, then, just   Bill Ratner ** 59:52 saying, we're actually pretty kind to each other. I Yeah, we have a lot of we have a lot of outside criticism. Them. So, yeah, you don't need to do it internally. We don't rely on it. What do you think of this although, although, more than occasionally, each of us will say, What do you think of this poem, honey? Or what do you think of this painting, honey? And my the favorite, favorite thing that my wife says that always thrills me and makes me very happy to be with her is, I'll come down and she's beginning a new work of a new piece of art for an exhibition somewhere. I'll say, what? Tell me about what's, what's going on with that, and she'll go, you know, I have no idea, but it'll tell me what to do.   Michael Hingson ** 1:00:33 Yeah, it's, it's like a lot of authors talk about the fact that their characters write the stories right, which, which makes a lot of sense. So with all that you've done, are you writing a memoir? By any chance, I   Bill Ratner ** 1:00:46 am writing a memoir, and writing has been interesting. I've been doing it for many years. I got it was my graduate thesis from University of California Riverside Palm Desert.   Michael Hingson ** 1:00:57 My wife was a UC Riverside graduate. Oh, hi. Well, they   Bill Ratner ** 1:01:01 have a low residency program where you go for 10 days in January, 10 days in June. The rest of it's online, which a lot of universities are doing, low residency programs for people who work and I got an MFA in creative writing nonfiction, had a book called parenting for the digital age, the truth about media's effect on children. And was halfway through it, the publisher liked it, but they said you got to double the length. So I went back to school to try to figure out how to double the length. And was was able to do it, and decided to move on to personal memoir and personal storytelling, such as goes on at the moth but a little more personal than that. Some of the material that I was reading in the memoir section of a bookstore was very, very personal and was very helpful to read about people who've gone through particular issues in their childhood. Mine not being physical abuse or sexual abuse, mine being death and loss, which is different. And so that became a focus of my graduate thesis, and many people were urging me to write a memoir. Someone said, you need to do a one man show. So I entered the Hollywood fringe and did a one man show and got good reviews and had a good time and did another one man show the next year and and so on. So But writing memoir as anybody knows, and they're probably listeners who are either taking memoir courses online or who may be actively writing memoirs or short memoir pieces, as everybody knows it, can put you through moods from absolutely ecstatic, oh my gosh, I got this done. I got this story told, and someone liked it, to oh my gosh, I'm so depressed I don't understand why. Oh, wait a minute, I was writing about such and such today. Yeah. So that's the challenge for the memoir is for the personal storyteller, it's also, you know, and it's more of a challenge than it is for the reader, unless it's bad writing and the reader can't stand that. For me as a reader, I'm fascinated by people's difficult stories, if they're well   Michael Hingson ** 1:03:24 told well, I know that when in 2002 I was advised to write a book about the World Trade Center experiences and all, and it took eight years to kind of pull it all together. And then I met a woman who actually I collaborated with, Susie Florey, and we wrote thunder dog. And her agent became my agent, who loved the proposal that we sent and actually got a contract within a week. So thunder dog came out in 2011 was a New York Times bestseller, and very blessed by that, and we're working toward the day that it will become a movie still, but it'll happen. And then I wrote a children's version of it, well, not a children's version of the book, but a children's book about me growing up in Roselle, growing up the guide dog who was with me in the World Trade Center, and that's been on Amazon. We self published it. Then last year, we published a new book called Live like a guide dog, which is all about controlling fear and teaching people lessons that I learned prior to September 11. That helped me focus and remain calm.   Bill Ratner ** 1:04:23 What happened to you on September 11,   Michael Hingson ** 1:04:27 I was in the World Trade Center. I worked on the 78th floor of Tower One.   Bill Ratner ** 1:04:32 And what happened? I mean, what happened to you?   Michael Hingson ** 1:04:36 Um, nothing that day. I mean, well, I got out. How did you get out? Down the stairs? That was the only way to go. So, so the real story is not doing it, but why it worked. And the real issue is that I spent a lot of time when I first went into the World Trade Center, learning all I could about what to do in an emergency, talking to police, port authorities. Security people, emergency preparedness people, and also just walking around the world trade center and learning the whole place, because I ran an office for a company, and I wasn't going to rely on someone else to, like, lead me around if we're going to go to lunch somewhere and take people out before we negotiated contracts. So I needed to know all of that, and I learned all I could, also realizing that if there ever was an emergency, I might be the only one in the office, or we might be in an area where people couldn't read the signs to know what to do anyway. And so I had to take the responsibility of learning all that, which I did. And then when the planes hit 18 floors above us on the other side of the building, we get we had some guests in the office. Got them out, and then another colleague, who was in from our corporate office, and I and my guide dog, Roselle, went to the stairs, and we started down. And   Bill Ratner ** 1:05:54 so, so what floor did the plane strike?   Michael Hingson ** 1:05:58 It struck and the NOR and the North Tower, between floors 93 and 99 so I just say 96 okay, and you were 20 floors down, 78 floors 78 so we were 18 floors below, and   Bill Ratner ** 1:06:09 at the moment of impact, what did you think?   Michael Hingson ** 1:06:13 Had no idea we heard a muffled kind of explosion, because the plane hit on the other side of the building, 18 floors above us. There was no way to know what was going on. Did you feel? Did you feel? Oh, the building literally tipped, probably about 20 feet. It kept tipping. And then we actually said goodbye to each other, and then the building came back upright. And then we went,   Bill Ratner ** 1:06:34 really you so you thought you were going to die?   Michael Hingson ** 1:06:38 David, my colleague who was with me, as I said, he was from our California office, and he was there to help with some seminars we were going to be doing. We actually were saying goodbye to each other because we thought we were about to take a 78 floor plunge to the street, when the building stopped tipping and it came back. Designed to do that by the architect. It was designed to do that, which is the point, the point.   Bill Ratner ** 1:07:02 Goodness, gracious. And then did you know how to get to the stairway?   Michael Hingson ** 1:07:04 Oh, absolutely. And did you do it with your friend? Yeah, the first thing we did, the first thing we did is I got him to get we had some guests, and I said, get him to the stairs. Don't let him take the elevators, because I knew he had seen fire above us, but that's all we knew. And but I said, don't take the elevators. Don't let them take elevators. Get them to the stairs and then come back and we'll leave. So he did all that, and then he came back, and we went to the stairs and started down.   Bill Ratner ** 1:07:33 Wow. Could you smell anything?   Michael Hingson ** 1:07:36 We smelled burning jet fuel fumes on the way down. And that's how we figured out an airplane must have hit the building, but we had no idea what happened. We didn't know what happened until the until both towers had collapsed, and I actually talked to my wife, and she's the one who told us how to aircraft have been crashed into the towers, one into the Pentagon, and a fourth, at that time, was still missing over Pennsylvania. Wow. So you'll have to go pick up a copy of thunder dog. Goodness. Good. Thunder dog. The name of the book is Thunder dog, and the book I wrote last year is called Live like a guide dog. It's le

durée : 00:22:55 - « Fiddler on the roof » (Un violon sur le toit), Original Broadway Cast avec Zero Mostel, 1964 - "Fiddler on the roof" (Un violon sur le toit) est créé en 1964 à Broadway, sur une musique de Jerry Block, des paroles de Sheldon Harnick et un livret de Joseph Stein. L'histoire est inspirée par les récits de Sholem Aleichem et son personnage principal, Tevye, un pauvre laitier juif. Vous aimez ce podcast ? Pour écouter tous les autres épisodes sans limite, rendez-vous sur Radio France.

It's ‘Springtime for Hitler' on Cocktails & Classics! This week, we're joined by the hilarious Frankie and Scott from the Shoot The Flick podcast to introduce us to this Mel Brooks' outrageous 1967 masterpiece, "The Producers." Join us as we unravel the comedic genius behind this satirical look at Broadway, bad taste, and toeing the edge of humor. We'll discuss Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel's iconic performances, Brooks' boundary-pushing humor, and the film's enduring legacy. Get ready for a laugh-filled discussion with our special guests as we explore this comedy classic and go completely off the rails. And don't forget to check out the fantastic Shoot The Flick Podcast. Topics: * Mel Brooks's Genius: Analyzing Brooks's unique comedic style, satire, and boundary-pushing humor in "The Producers." * Iconic Performances: Discussing the unforgettable chemistry and comedic brilliance of Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder. * "Springtime for Hitler": Examining the audacity and humor of the infamous musical within the movie. * Satire and Bad Taste: Exploring the film's satirical targets and its willingness to embrace "bad taste" for comedic effect. * Comparisons to Modern Comedy: How does the humor of "The Producers" hold up today?What's the most hilariously bad idea you've ever had? Share your thoughts on "The Producers" with us, @cocktailsandclassicspod and @ShootTheFlick on Instagram! Don't forget to share the laughs, subscribe, and leave a rating!

Is there anyone more wonderfully, vulnerably open-hearted than Gene Wilder? SUPPORT THE SHOW: PATREONSHOP THE SHOW: TEE PUBLICFOLLOW THE SHOW: INSTAGRAM // TIKTOK // YOUTUBEEMAIL THE SHOW: abreathoffreshmovie@gmail.com    

EPISODE 76 - “MEMORABLE OSCAR SPEECHES OF THE GOLDEN ERA OF HOLLYWOOD” - 2/24/2025 Winning an Oscar is a dream for most people who work in Hollywood. But you can't just win the Oscar, you have to have a good speech once your name is called and you head to the podium. There have been some great ones — OLIVIA COLEMAN's funny and cheeky speech hit the right tone and who can forget JACK PALANCE's one-arm push-ups or CUBA GOODING's exuberance? There have also been some bad ones — don't we all still cringe a little at SALLY FIELDS' “You like me” speech? As we prepare to celebrate the 97th annual Academy Award ceremony, Steve and Nan look back on some of their favorite Oscar speeches and why they resonate. So put on your tux, don the gown and jewels, pop the champagne, and join us for a fun talk about … well, people talking.  SHOW NOTES:  Sources: “Five Times The Oscars Made History,” January 20, 2017, www.nyfa.edu; “Hollywood History: How World War II Forced the Academy to Rethink the 1942 Oscars,” April 16, 2021, Entertainment Weekly; “Charlie Chaplin vs. America Explores the Accusations that Sent a Star Into Exile,” October 24, 2023, byTerry Gross, www.npr.com; “The Most Memorable Oscar Speeches in Oscar History,” March 6, 2024, by Shannon Carlin, www.time.com;   Wikipedia.com; TCM.com; IMDBPro.com; www.Oscars.org; Movies Mentioned:  Stella Dallas (1938), starring Barbara Stanwyck, John Boles, Anne Shirley, & Alan Hale; Gone With The Wind (1939), starring Vivian Leigh, Clark Gable, Olivia de Havilland, Leslie Howard, Hattie McDaniel, Butterfly McQueen, Thomas Mitchell, & Barbara O'Neil; How Green Was My Valley (1941), starring Walter Pidgeon, Maureen O'Hara, & Donald Crisp; Sergeant York (1941), starring Gary Cooper, Joan Leslie, & Walter Brennan;  The Devil and Miss Jones (1941), staring Jean Arthur Robert Cummings, & Charle Coburn; Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941), starring Robert Montgomery, Claude Rains, & Evelyn Keyes; Ball of Fire (1942), starring Barbara Stanwyck & Cary Cooper; Double Indemnity (1944), starring Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray & Edward G Robinson; Key Largo (1948); starring Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Edward G Robinson, Claire Trevor, & Lionel Barrymore; All The King's Men (1948), starring Broderick Crawford, John Ireland, Joanne Dru, & Mercedes McCambridge; Pinky (1949), starring Jeanne Crain, Ethel Waters, Ethel Barrymore, Nina Mae McKinney, & Wiliam Lundigan; Marty (1955); starring Ernest Borgnine. Betsy Blair, Joe Mantell, & Esther Minciotti; The King and I (1956), starring Yul Brenner, Deborah Kerr, Rita Moreno, & Rex Thompson; Elmer Gantry (1960), starring Burt Lancaster, Jean Simmons, Shirley Jones, Arthur Kennedy, Dean Jagger, and Patti Page; West Side Story (1961), Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Rita Moreno, George Chikiris, & Russ Tamblyn; Lillies of the Field (1963), starring Sidney Poitier;  In the Heat of the Night (1967)l starring Rod Steiger, Sidney Poitier, & Lee Grant; The Producers (1967), starring Zero Mostel & Gene Wilder; Rosemary's Baby (1968), starring Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon, & Charles Grodin; Faces (1968), starring Gena Rowlands, Lynn Carlin, Seymour Cassel, & John Farley;  The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (1968), staring Alan Arkin, Sondra Locke, Cecily Tyson, Stacey Keach, & Percy Rodrigues; The Last Picture Show (1971), starring Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd, Ellen Burstyn, Ben Johnson, Cloris Leachman, & Eileen Brennan; Murder on the Orient Express (1974), starring Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman, Sean Connery, Martin Balsam, & Jacqueline Bisset; --------------------------------- http://www.airwavemedia.com Please contact sales@advertisecast.com if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Next week, Scott and Mackenzie will be donning their togas alongside special guest Ryan Borochovitz, Co-Artistic Producer of Cup of Hemlock Theatre, as they delve into the world of Stephen Sondheim's musical comedy A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. The trio will take a deep dive into the ancient Roman plays of playwright Plautus and examine how his works influenced Sondheim, Shevelove, and Gelbart. They'll also explore the profound impact of lead actor Zero Mostel's portrayal of Pseudolus had on the shaping of the musical. Plus, Ryan will share his controversial perspective on why Forum is his favourite Sondheim musical. All of this and tragedy tomorrow and comedy on next Friday's all new episode! Don't forget to leave us a review and share your thoughts on this episode on our social media pages. Follow the links below to reach our pages. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

This week, Ryan and Brian try to warm up to Letter Boxed, look for hidden meaning in AI art, and remember things Zero Mostel wasn't famous for. If you get bored (how could you?!), write something for the Fill Me In wiki. And if you're feeling philanthropic, donate to our Patreon. Do you enjoy our show? Actually, it doesn't matter! Please consider leaving us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts. This will help new listeners find our show, and you'll be inducted into the Quintuple Decker Turkey Club. Drop us a note or a Tweet or a postcard or a phone call — we'd love to hear from you. Helpful links: Apple Podcasts link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fill-me-in/id1364379980 Google Play link: https://player.fm/series/fill-me-in-2151002 Amazon/Audible link: https://www.amazon.com/item_name/dp/B08JJRM927 RSS feed: http://bemoresmarter.libsyn.com/rss Contact us: Email (fmi@bemoresmarter.com) / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram We're putting these words here to help with search engine optimization. We don't think it will work, but you probably haven't read this far, so it doesn't matter: baseball, crossword, crosswords, etymology, game, hunt, kealoa, movies, musicals, mystery, oscar, pizza, puzzle, puzzles, sandwiches, soup, trivia, words

The Producers (1967)! Gene Wilder, Mel Brooks, and Zero Mostel aren't the only legendary performers joining us this week. Matthew Anderson, who is best known as a weapon of mass instruction and an videographer of the highest degree, enlightens us on the wonders of Wilder. Come hang with us as we discuss one of Mr. Brooks's finest pictures. And check us out on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. @moviesforwhen if ya nasty 8)

Chuck and Roxy are back and open this special Thanksgiving Day episode with some notes, a bowling segment, some announcements, and a few "Littles helping Littles" moments. Mike Mulvihill - ttps://toyawards.secure-platform.com/apply/gallery?roundId=82002 Rob Dundon - “My name is Rob Dundon and I'm raising money for the Alzheimer's Association under the name, “Cathy's Legacy”-“Finding laughter in every day” http://act.alz.org/goto/CathysLegacy2024 Next it's time for some Loyal Littles traditions and we start by welcoming back Episode 2 Steve (The Great and Flavorful) Ozbolt back to the show! (18:30) He gives us a quick and easy last minute recipe for cranberry sauce! WEBSITE: www.emeraldcitycatering.com Next we continue the traditions and welcome back Episode 23 Bob Sprole back to make his yearly Thanksgiving Day football picks. Twitter: @TheGrandstander BLOG: http://grandstander.blogspot.com JINGLE - Tradition! - A parody of a song by Zero Mostel.Recorded by Brad Weiss in Carrboro, NCRecorded: 02/12/2015  Released: 02/12/2015  First aired: unaired JINGLE - The TK Thanksgiving Song - A parody of a song by Poco.Recorded by joeythejammer in Ellicott City, MDRecorded: 11/24/2015  Released: 11/24/2015  First aired: 11/25/2015 Podcast Website - www.loyallittlespod.com   Podcast Email - WTFCPODNET@GMAIL.COM Twitter:@loyallittlespod Instagram: @theloyallittlespodcast PODCAST LOGO DESIGN by Eric Londergan www.redbubble.com Search: ericlondergan or copy and paste this link! https://www.redbubble.com/people/ericlondergan/shop --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/loyallittles/support

We're talking Mel Brooks movies on the newest Jagbags! Which movie is your favorite? What movies would you put in his all-time Top Five? Has he ever made a bad movie? (He has.) Where do you stand on Spaceballs? Or High Anxiety? Who gave the greatest comic performance in a Mel Brooks movie? We take on all these questions FEARLESSLY. Tune in for ultimate comedy discussion! SEDAGIVE?!??

In this gut-busting episode (we hope), Stuart and Jacob delve into the world of Broadway and film by comparing the original 1967 Mel Brooks classic "The Producers" with its 2005 musical adaptation. They explore the transition from a satirical comedy about a scheme to produce a Broadway flop into a full-fledged musical. How does the humor and satire of the original hold up against the more modern, song-filled remake? And what do these films say about our evolving approach to comedy and musicals? Anything? Anything at all? Also in this episode are discussions about the pronunciation of Zero Mostel's name, a dive into the deep-end with "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice", the question of when does satire stop being funny and start being hateful, and Stuart and Jacob creating their own musicals starring controversial figures. All this and more on They Remade It! Plot Synopsis Timestamps: 21:23 - 28:23 ---------- Socials ---------- @ItRemade on Twitter @theyremadeit.bsky.social on Bluesky theyremadeit@gmail.com

"Was 1 a good year?" A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966) directed by Richard Lester and starring Zero Mostel, Phil Silvers, Jack Gilford, Michael Hordern and Michael Crawford Next Time: Lady in the Lake (1947)

"Il Cinema deve riflettere l'umore del proprio tempo. Dobbiamo fare scelte non solo sulla base delle nostre personali sensazioni, ma anche a quelle del pubblico" Parole condivisibili o meno ma che rendono giustizia alla lunga e, tutto sommato, variegata carriera di Richard Lester, regista vivace e ironico che ha saputo intrattenere il pubblico con i suoi film a volte sanzonati e a volte teneri. Lester continua con il musical ma stavolta senza i Beatles. E il risultato è lo sfacciato e scatenato "Dolci vizi al Foro", adattamento dell'omonimo musical di Stephen Sondheim e con protagonista un esilarante Zero Mostel. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/madmike3/message

Jimmy Vivino is an All-Star Guitarist, Keyboard Player and Bandleader. He was the bandleader of Conan O'Brien's various television show bands; a member of the Fab Faux, the world's greatest Beatles tribute band, and currently a member of Canned Heat blues band. He talks about playing Tevye in “Fiddler On The Roof” in High School, his 15 year affiliation with Al Kooper of Blood Sweat and Tears and SuperSession fame, meeting and recording with Laura Nyro, and much more!My featured song is “I Wanna Be Your Girl” from the album East Side Sessions by my band, Project Grand Slam. Spotify link.---------------------------------------------The Follow Your Dream Podcast:Top 1% of all podcasts with Listeners in 200 countries!For more information and other episodes of the podcast click here. To subscribe to the podcast click here.To subscribe to our weekly Follow Your Dream Podcast email click here.To Rate and Review the podcast click here.“Dream With Robert”. Click here.—----------------------------------------“LOU'S BLUES” is Robert's new single. Called “Fantastic! Great playing and production!” (Mark Egan - Pat Metheny Group/Elements) and “Digging it!” (Peter Erskine - Weather Report)!Click HERE for all links.—----------------------------------------“THE RICH ONES”. Robert's recent single. With guest artist Randy Brecker (Blood Sweat & Tears) on flugelhorn. Click HERE for all links.—---------------------------------------“MILES BEHIND”, Robert's debut album, recorded in 1994, was “lost” for the last 30 years. It's now been released for streaming. Featuring Randy Brecker (Blood Sweat & Tears), Anton Fig (The David Letterman Show), Al Foster (Miles Davis), Tim Ries (The Rolling Stones), Jon Lucien and many more. Called “Hip, Tight and Edgy!” Click here for all links.—--------------------------------------“IT'S ALIVE!” is Robert's latest Project Grand Slam album. Featuring 13 of the band's Greatest Hits performed “live” at festivals in Pennsylvania and Serbia.Reviews:"An instant classic!" (Melody Maker)"Amazing record...Another win for the one and only Robert Miller!" (Hollywood Digest)"Close to perfect!" (Pop Icon)"A Masterpiece!" (Big Celebrity Buzz)"Sterling effort!" (Indie Pulse)"Another fusion wonder for Project Grand Slam!" (MobYorkCity)Click here for all links.Click here for song videos—-----------------------------------------Intro/Outro Voiceovers courtesy of:Jodi Krangle - Professional Voiceover Artisthttps://voiceoversandvocals.com Audio production:Jimmy RavenscroftKymera Films Connect with Jimmy at:www.cannedheatmusic.comwww.facebook.com/JimmyVivino Connect with the Follow Your Dream Podcast:Website - www.followyourdreampodcast.comEmail Robert - robert@followyourdreampodcast.com Follow Robert's band, Project Grand Slam, and his music:Website - www.projectgrandslam.comYouTubeSpotify MusicApple MusicEmail - pgs@projectgrandslam.com

This weeks Patreon choice comes courtesy of Matt Bates aka, Black Country Vlogger. Matt shares a passion for Las Vegas with Chris and you'll have to listen to see whether they also share a passion for 1960's musical comedies. Checkout Matt on https://www.youtube.com/@BlackCountryVlogger A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966) was a collaborative effort between director Richard Lester, screenwriter Melvin Frank, and a talented ensemble cast. Filming primarily took place on location in Madrid, Spain, providing the production with access to authentic Roman architecture and settings. This decision added to the film's visual authenticity and allowed the filmmakers to immerse audiences in the bustling streets of ancient Rome. The production also benefited from the participation of Broadway veterans like Zero Mostel, who reprised his Tony Award-winning role as the cunning slave Pseudolus, alongside a cast that included Phil Silvers, Buster Keaton, and Jack Gilford, all contributing their comedic talents to the ensemble. Despite facing challenges inherent in filming on location, such as coordinating logistics and navigating cultural differences, the production team successfully brought the lively and irreverent musical to life on the big screen. The film's elaborate sets, colorful costumes, and energetic choreography captured the essence of classical farce and delighted audiences with its witty humor and catchy musical numbers. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum remains a beloved adaptation of the Broadway hit, cherished for its spirited performances and timeless comedic appeal. If you enjoy the show we have a Patreon, so become a supporter. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.patreon.com/thevhsstrikesback⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Plot Summary: Pseudolus is a wily slave played by Zero Mostel and schemes to win his freedom by helping his young master, Hero win the heart of the beautiful courtesan Philia. Pseudolus's plans are complicated by a series of mistaken identities, romantic entanglements, and slapstick mishaps, all set against the backdrop of the chaotic streets of Rome. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thevhsstrikesback@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/vhsstrikesback⁠ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thevhsstrikesback/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thevhsstrikesback/support

Meet Leo Bloom, The Waco Kid, Willy Wonka, Dr. "Fronk-un-steen" and so many more when you meet this week's Legend -- actor, writer, and director Gene Wilder. From a serendipitous meeting with Mel Brooks, Gene would build an astounding career with characters that always balanced the comedy with some human heart. Gene made just 37 movies over the course of his career, but for people born in the 1950s he was seemingly ubiquitous. Gene ended his most active years with a series of films with fellow Legend Richard Pryor, and he went into semi-retirement after the tragic death of his wife Gilda Radner. But occasionally, Gene would pop up on television in small but juicy role such as his guest spot on Will and Grace which earned him an Emmy for best guest actor in a comedy series. As always find extra clips below and thanks for sharing our shows! Want more Wilder? Gene was essential to Mel Brooks' raunchiest and most provocative movie -- Blazing Saddles. Here's the full clip of Gene's Waco Kid explaining the facts to Cleavon Little's Sheriff Bart. https://youtu.be/hYTQ7__NNDI?si=qlE_g3kh6KHxZJoM Gene's breakout film role was as nervous accountant Leo Bloom in The Producers. Paired with Zero Mostel, the duo made a irresistible comedy movie team. https://youtu.be/QgJBvEMOpWQ?si=zccr3lJNF65XnTXW Young Frankenstein is the pinnacle of Gene's work with Mel Brooks -- it's elegant, even touching in places -- yet filled with the clever and often naughty comedy expected from the duo. https://youtu.be/2p5AG0Tqh3A?si=nSahuc1C_0Po-U6G Gene made a series of highly successful films with Richard Pryor including Stir Crazy in which their wildly different personalities come in handy when they are sent up the river for a robbery they didn't commit!https://youtu.be/oyU6En9HN8E?si=1M4iLuToIAhjsxmr

It's Springtime for Laci and Matt as film historian Harry Marks (@lobbyintros on TikTok) joins the show to go over Mel Brooks's first movie: the classic comedy The Producers (1968). Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder give two of the funniest performances ever… but what about the rest of the movie? Is it laugh-out-loud-funny in 2024? Or is it hopelessly dated? Or is there possibly a third option? Harry's making great videos about classic films on his TikTok. We'd like to point you specifically to his movie intros (https://bit.ly/3TB6KVV), his series on the Hollywood Blacklist (https://bit.ly/43EsswF), and his series on the WGA strike of 1960 (https://bit.ly/3TYksDP).  Next week: We're taking a week off. We'll be back on April 12, 2024 with an episode about Overboard (1987). Watch every episode of Load Bearing Beams on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@loadbearingbeamspod   Time stamps: 00:12:25 — Our personal histories with The Producers and Mel Brooks 00:20:30 — Pre-movie predictions 00:24:47 — History segment: Career overviews of Mel Brooks and Zero Mostel; development and legacy of The Producers 00:42:10 — In-depth movie discussion 01:23:10 — Final thoughts and star ratings   Artwork by Laci Roth.   Music by Rural Route Nine. Listen to their album The Joy of Averages on Spotify (https://bit.ly/48WBtUa), Apple Music (https://bit.ly/3Q6kOVC), or YouTube (https://bit.ly/3MbU6tC).   Songs by Rural Route Nine in this episode:  “Winston-Salem” - https://youtu.be/-acMutUf8IM “Snake Drama” - https://youtu.be/xrzz8_2Mqkg “The Bible Towers of Bluebonnet” - https://youtu.be/k7wlxTGGEIQ   Sources: All About Me by Mel Brooks - https://amzn.to/49l2i3o  Kiss Me Like a Stranger by Gene Wilder - https://amzn.to/3TV8Wcb 

GGACP celebrates the birthday (b. January 30) of a friend of the podcast, veteran character actor Gino Conforti ("Three's Company," "That Girl," "Man of La Mancha") with this ENCORE of an entertaining interview from 2018. In this episode, Gino talks about the life of a "journeyman" actor and looks back on his working relationships with Lucille Ball, Sammy Davis Jr., Zero Mostel, Debbie Reynolds and Orson Welles. Also, Sophia Loren takes a spill, Jerome Robbins takes a powder, Jonathan Winters comes to dinner and Gilbert and Gino remember the late, great John Ritter. PLUS: "Bungle Abbey"! Uncle Carl Laemmle! In praise of Tom Hanks! Gino "befriends" Sally Field! And the Golden Helmet of Mambrino!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

GGACP celebrates the birthday (b. January 30) of a friend of the podcast, veteran character actor Gino Conforti ("Three's Company," "That Girl," "Man of La Mancha") with this ENCORE of an entertaining interview from 2018. In this episode, Gino talks about the life of a "journeyman" actor and looks back on his working relationships with Lucille Ball, Sammy Davis Jr., Zero Mostel, Debbie Reynolds and Orson Welles. Also, Sophia Loren takes a spill, Jerome Robbins takes a powder, Jonathan Winters comes to dinner and Gilbert and Gino remember the late, great John Ritter. PLUS: "Bungle Abbey"! Uncle Carl Laemmle! In praise of Tom Hanks! Gino "befriends" Sally Field! And the Golden Helmet of Mambrino!   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was a year of political assassinations, unpopular wars, and global protests. Luckily, we can relive 1968 through movies alone. This week, Jake Ziegler recommended that Brad Garoon watch the Producers, the first of Mel Brooks' 11 feature films. After getting over how embarrassing it was for Brad to have not seen the film already, they talk about Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel's brilliant comedic performances, the legacy of character actor Kenneth Marz, and the allure of Lee Meredith. Things turn to the fantastic as Brad recommends Planet of the Apes for Jake, and Jake doesn't like it. They talk about the film's surprising courtroom setting, the bizarre plotting, the movie's important place in science fiction history, and the long-running Planet of the Apes franchise as a whole. Other movies mentioned in this episode: New Faces of 1937 (1937), The Great Dictator (1940), Rodan (1956), The Fortune Cookie (1966), Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), Romeo and Juliet (1968), Who's That Knocking at My Door (1968), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Barbarella (1968), Blackbeard's Ghost (1968), Night of the Living Dead (1968), Rosemary's Baby (1968), Hot Millions (1968), The Odd Couple (1968), The Twelve Chairs (1970), What's Up, Doc (1972), The Sunshine Boys (1975), Planet of the Apes (2001), The Producers (2005), Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014), War for the Planet of the Apes (2017), Jojo Rabbit (2019), Albert Brooks: Defending My Life (2023).

Watership Down is an adventure novel by English author Richard Adams, published by Rex Collings Ltd of London in 1972. Set in Hampshire in southern England, the story features a small group of rabbits. Although they live in their natural wild environment, with burrows, they are anthropomorphised, possessing their own culture, language, proverbs, poetry, and mythology. Evoking epic themes, the novel follows the rabbits as they escape the destruction of their warren and seek a place to establish a new home (the hill of Watership Down), encountering perils and temptations along the way.   Watership Down was Richard Adams' debut novel. It was rejected by several publishers before Collings accepted the manuscript; the published book then won the annual Carnegie Medal (UK), annual Guardian Prize (UK), and other book awards. The novel was adapted into an animated feature film in 1978 and, from 1999 to 2001, an animated children's television series. In 2018, a drama of the story was made, which both aired in the UK and was made available on Netflix.   Adams completed a sequel almost 25 years later, in 1996, Tales from Watership Down, constructed as a collection of 19 short stories about El-ahrairah and the rabbits of the Watership Down warren.     Watership Down is a 1978 British animated adventure-drama film, written, produced and directed by Martin Rosen and based on the 1972 novel by Richard Adams.  It was financed by a consortium of British financial institutions and was distributed by Cinema International Corporation in the United Kingdom. Released on 19 October 1978, the film was an immediate success and it became the sixth-most popular film of 1979 at the UK box office.   It features the voices of John Hurt, Richard Briers, Harry Andrews, Simon Cadell, Nigel Hawthorne and Roy Kinnear, among others, and was the last film work of Zero Mostel, as the voice of Kehaar the gull. The musical score was by Angela Morley and Malcolm Williamson. Art Garfunkel's hit song "Bright Eyes" was written by songwriter Mike Batt. It has garnered a cult following.     Opening Credits; Introduction (1.21); Background History (20.15); Watership Down Plot Synopsis (21.57); Book Thoughts (29.16); Let's Rate (50.29); Introducing a Film (52.51); Watership Down Film Trailer (1978) (56.13); Lights, Camera, Action (59.36); How Many Stars (1:40.44); End Credits (1:44.27); Closing Credits (1:45.25)   Opening Credits– Epidemic Sound – Copyright . All rights reserved   Closing Credits:  Bright Eyes from Watership Down by Art Garfunkel.  Taken from the album Fate for Breakfast.  Copyright 1978 Columbia Records.    Incidental Music:  Music from Watership Down by Angela Morley.  Available on the Watership Down 1978 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.  Copyright 1978 Vocation Records. ​ Original Music copyrighted 2020 Dan Hughes Music and the Literary License Podcast.    All rights reserved.  Used by Kind Permission.   All songs available through Amazon Music.

Premium Entertainment -------------------------------------------In dieser neuen Folge: Memories - Diffamierung - Tiraden - Mel Brooks - Things to do in Denver... - Fernsehschrott - Zero Mostel - Ideendiebstahl - Dom Deluise - Jackass - Kennedy uva.

It is impossible for me to overstate how special it was to speak with Austin Pendleton. An actor's actor, playwright, director, and a wonderfully kind human being. I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I do. Topics include: working with jazz artists, Salvador Dalí on the phone at 4:00am, trying to blow off Jerome Robbins (and failing), promises made to Zero Mostel, Barbara Harris & Hunter College, acting with Kermit the Frog, and Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad. Austin Pendleton's Wikipedia page Featured recordings: The Last Sweet Days of Isaac - Original Cast Recording (1970) • People - Barbra Streisand (1964) ORIGINAL CAST MERCH! Visit our Patreon for access to our monthly live stream The Original Cast at the Movies where 2023 is THE YEAR OF BARBRA celebrating the filmography of Ms. Barbra Joan Streisand! Patreon • Twitter • Facebook • Email

Grab your blue blanket and cardboard belt, it's The Producers! Is this the most disgusting hair in film history? Why is Seth driving without shoes on? Also: being the kind of guy that laughs at funerals, Mel Brooks goes to war and Michelle learns a little bit about herself as we learn a little bit about her cats. It's an exercise in bad taste from your pals at Movie Friends! Twitter @moviefriendspod Instagram @MovieFriendsPodcast Youtube Youtube.com/MovieFriendsPodcast Website https://www.moviefriendspodcast.com/ Send us an E-mail at MovieFriendsPodcast@Gmail.com tell us what you think and it may end up on the show! Wouldn't that be cool? Head over to our website at MovieFriendsPodcast.com and consider supporting our Patreon. Come on, you don't need that $5, but you do need our undying love and friendship!

Whatever Works is the 39th film written and directed by Woody Allen. ‘Whatever Works‘ sees Allen return to the US for the first time in many years. It was made amidst the writer's 07/08 strike, when Allen was unable to make a new script, so he used one he had previously discarded, originally written for Zero Mostel. Larry David stars as Boris Yelnikoff, as big a curmudgeon as you are likely to meet in cinema. The grumpy old man has his views challenged when he meets Melodie (Evan Rachel Wood) and forms an unlikely relationship. Welcome to the Woody Allen Pages Podcast. This week we look at 2009's Whatever Works. How it was conceived, how it was made and how it was a victim of circumstance. Spoilers are everywhere - so watch the film and then come back. So much more at our website – Woody Allen Pages. Find us at: Facebook Instagram Twitter Reddit Support us Patreon Buy a poster or t-shirt at Redbubble Buy out books – The Woody Allen Film Guides Buy Me A Coffee You can write to us at woodyallenpages [at] gmail [dot] com

The "Dirty Sons of Pitches" are halfway through the 1970s decade and discussing one of the most famous films of that decade, Mel Brook's Western comedy "Blazing Saddles," and a far lesser known movie based on a play, "Rhinoceros," which reteams the comedy duo from "The Producers." Can they make movies like this today?  Available on Apple and Spotify Episode 387 includes: -R.I.P. Paul Ruebens and Sincead O'Conner.  -Nate has seen the new disappointing "Project Greenlight" movie and lived to tell the tale.  -Ben finds the big "Barbie" movie to be a good time for all.  -By the Decade -- 1974 -- "Blazing Saddles" / "Rhinoceros" -Can you really not make movies like "Blazing Saddles" today, and the better question is, why would you want to? The guys reassess Mel Brooks' classic comedy and the artistic intent of "rhinoceros," a movie based upon a play, also starring Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel, about people turning into rhinos and how people view this. 

George Feltenstein joins the podcast to review three new July Blu-ray releases from the Warner Archive.  Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer made every effort to impress with its first talking motion picture, setting a new standard for big-budget films and establishing an archetype for decades of movie musicals to follow in "The Broadway Melody." The Great White Way truly becomes the Street of Broken Dreams when sisters Queenie and Hank Mahoney (Anita Page and Bessie Love) follow Hank's boyfriend, Eddie Kearns (Charles King), to Manhattan with visions of stardom. In New York, Eddie and Queenie are attracted to each other, but unwilling to betray her sister, Queenie dates a feckless cad. Now, Hank must sort out the tangle of aspirations and emotions that form this tragic love triangle. Filled with a memorable score of unforgettable songs by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed, this was the first sound film to win the Academy Award® for Best Picture (1929-30). Purchase THE BROADWAY MELODY"CIMARRON" the (1931) Academy Award®-winning adaptation of Edna Ferber's novel traces the lives of two people who are in love with each other--but in love with life even more--as they struggle to bring civilization to the Western frontier in Cimarron! 1898. The Oklahoma Land Rush. As thousands of would-be settlers race across a barren desert to be the first to stake their claim to a plot of land, Yancey Cravat (Richard Dix) is cheated out of his property by Dixie Lee (Estelle Taylor). Without the farm they had hoped to start, Yancey and his wife, Sabra (Irene Dunne), take over the local newspaper after the editor is assassinated. But as the newspaper helps bring order to a lawless land, Yancey feels the wanderlust to find new frontiers and new adventures, and Sabra stays to build a publishing empire. Always in love, frequently apart and destined for greatness, Yancey and Sabra lead lives as tempestuous as the land they have chosen for their home in this epic Western classic. Purchase CIMARRONDuBARRY WAS A LADY (1943)Hapless nightclub hatcheck boy Red Skelton loves glamorous chanteuse Lucille Ball. Handsome hoofer Gene Kelly loves her too. And Lucy? Lucy loves money. Then Red mistakenly gulps down a Mickey Finn and dreams he's in 18th-century France. Before you can powder your wig, a throng of suitors – Red, Gene, King Louis XV, a dashing rebel, a sinister duke and just about everybody – loves Lucy! This glittery, tune-filled bonbon features a supporting cast of wags and wits (including the inimitable Zero Mostel) and three Cole Porter songs from the original Broadway smash: “Friendship,” “Katie Went to Haiti” and “Do I Love You?” Cherchez la Lucy for comedy, music and star power from Hollywood's golden era. Purchase DuBARRY WAS A LADY The Extras Facebook pageThe Extras Twitter Warner Archive & Warner Bros Catalog GroupOtaku Media produces podcasts, behind-the-scenes extras, and media that connect creatives with their fans and businesses with their consumers. Contact us today to see how we can work together to achieve your goals. www.otakumedia.tv

On the seventh episode of The Most Sensational, Inspirational, Celebrational, Muppetational Podcast, Mirandia Berthold & Andy Atherton continue talking about their love for The Muppets and review episodes 1-4 of season two of The Muppet Show that featured guest stars: Don Knotts, Zero Mostel, Milton Berle & Rich Little. And give their thoughts on their favorite characters and sketches that appeared in each.

GGACP celebrates the birthday (May 3) of the late actor, author and Turner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne with this ENCORE of a memorable conversation from 2014. In this episode (a Gilbert favorite), Robert talks about long-forgotten character actors, the introduction of Cinemascope, the evils of colorization and "pan and scan" and his friendships with Lucille Ball, Bette Davis and Olivia de Havilland (to name a few). Also, Judy Garland holds court, Orson Welles disses Ted Turner, Vincent Price shares the screen with Art Linkletter and Robert appears in the "Beverly Hillbillies" pilot. PLUS: "The Wrong Box"! "Inside Daisy Clover"! Burgess Meredith directs! Zero Mostel acts out! And the greatest film school in the world! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 516 also includes an E.W. Essay titled "Intelligence." We share a piece from the March 2023 issue of the New Yorker Magazine titled "How to Tell If You Are in a TV Show," by Emma Rathbone. We have an E.W. Poem called "Paperboy." Our music this go round is provided by these wonderful artists: Thelonious Monk, the Who, Zero Mostel, Dorothy Collins, Nicole Atkins, Elliot Smith, Branford Marsalis and Terence Blanchard. Commercial Free, Small Batch Radio Crafted in the West Mountains of Northeastern Pennsylvania... Heard All Over The World. Tell Your Friends and Neighbors.

In this episode Tom and Bert review their favorite Movies of the 1960's. From Alfred Hitchcock's classic generational horror film, "Psycho" to other great films like "The Graduate", "The Manchurian Candidate", "The Odd Couple", Steve McQueen's "Bullitt" and many more as the guys give their reasons as to why these films and others are must see regardless of your age. The actors and actresses covered by the guys include, Anthony Perkins ("Psycho"), Paul Newman and Robert Redford ("The Sting"), Gregory Peck ("To Kill a Mockingbird"), Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger ("In the Heat of the Night"), Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman ("Midnight Cowboy"), Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder ("The Producers"), and Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn ("Charade"). Many Oscar winning performances made for a memorable decade of the 1960's! Lastly, Tom and Bert look at the other end of the spectrum when they review the "Worst Movies" of the decade in their opinion. Hope you enjoy the show and please rate and review the podcast. We would like your opinion as well.

This week we speak of the Russian Military Commander, Semyon Budyonny. We'll try to make his name easier to pronounce but we can't promise anything. We also discuss his involvement in the Protoss Dragoons, Zero Mostel being the best Tevye, and a bunch of other pseudo-related stuff. Enjoy.

GGACP celebrates the birthday (January 24) of the late, great character actor Marvin Kaplan with this ENCORE of a wildly entertaining conversation from 2016. In this episode, Marvin looks back on his memorable appearance in "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" and recalls working with screen legends Charlie Chaplin, Katharine Hepburn, Clark Gable, Jack Lemmon, Paul Newman and Lon Chaney Jr. (just to name a few). Also, Marvin praises Sam Jaffe, props up Broderick Crawford, remembers Zero Mostel and risks his life for Blake Edwards. PLUS: Fritz Feld! The talents of Strother Martin! Arnold Stang takes a fall! Stanley Kramer sacks Jackie Mason! And the return (once again) of Maria Ouspenskaya! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ben and Pete look at the posthumous release of the Muppet Show episode featuring Zero Mostel, discussing his maximalist performance, dissecting the show's spec script origins, and digressing into the depths of wordplay "betta" left unplumbed.

Cabaret ZaZou's “Luminaire,” an intimate, interactive cabaret/cirque production performed inside a European spiegeltent on the 14th floor of the Cambria Hotel in downtown Chicago, is one of Chicago's best-kept theatrical secrets. Frank Ferrante, the legendary actor and comedian who co-created the show and plays your host "Forte," discusses the origins of the piece; how one best describes this particular circus-music hall entertainment; not just playing but embodying Groucho Marx; the art of making audience “volunteers” look good; the mixed blessing of missing the glory days of vaudeville; receiving actual blessings from Groucho's son; admiring both the truth and range of Zero Mostel; celebrating the anarchy of the Marx Brothers; drawing on one's heritage for both comedy and truth; the ability to use all the skills in an actor's toolbag; and the power of an entire audience saying, as one, “All is forgiven.” (Length 20:27) (PICTURED: Frank Ferrante as Forte in Cabaret ZaZou's "Luminaire.")

In this week's episode, Daniel & Harry are joined by film critic Danielle Solzman to discuss 1967's “The Producers,” directed by Mel Brooks and starring Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder.They discuss how the film grapples with questions of how to joke about Nazis, marvel at the impressive musical numbers and choreography, and laugh along at the movies loud and brash comedy. As always, they close out the episode by ranking the film's "Jewishness" in terms of its cast & crew, content, and themes.IMDB - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105327/Movie Trailer - https://youtu.be/z51xeox0JlgFollow Danielle on Twitter - https://twitter.com/daniellesatmCheck out Danielle's blog Solzy At The Movies - https://www.solzyatthemovies.com/Connect with Jews on Film online:Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jewsonfilm/Twitter - https://twitter.com/jewsonfilmpodYouTube- https://www.youtube.com/@jewsonfilmTikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@jewsonfilmpod

Voici une comédie cultissime qui expose les manigances dʹun producteurs véreux et de son comptable qui montent une comédie musicale à Broadway. Ce film, Les Producteurs, The Producers, est signé Mel Brooks. Il sort en 1968 et fait un four. Cʹest lʹantithèse de ce qui se passe dans lʹhistoire où les producteurs cherchent à monter un spectacle qui sera un échec total pour empocher lʹargent de lʹassurance et des vieilles dames qui ont prêté leur pécule pour le monter. Mais cette comédie musicale improbable, intitulée Le Printemps dʹHitler, Springtime for Hitler, sera un succès phénoménal. Dʹabord choqué, le public voit un Hitler, poussé à lʹextrême dans la caricature, mener une campagne armée musicale de fort mauvais goût. Tout y passe, croix gammée faite par une quadrille de danseuses et danseurs et jeunes femmes avec costume de Bretzel ou de bière. Surtout, il faut dire que Zero Mostel et Gene Wilder sont absolument géniaux, campant qui le Max Bialystock, le Producteur, et qui Leopold Bloom, son timide comptable. Dans la vraie vie, le film qui raconte cette histoire nʹest pas bien reçu même si Mel Brooks a remporté l'Oscar du meilleur scénario original pour ce film en 1969. Mais petit à petit, à force de passages dans les salles, et à la télévision, il conquiert le monde. Jusquʹà ce quʹà lʹaube des années 2000, Mel Brooks nʹadapte ses Producteurs en comédie musicale, à Broadway…et là….là….cʹest lʹexplosion. Jamais une comédie musicale nʹaura reçu autant de prix, autant dʹéloges. Depuis, Les Producteurs sont entrés dans la légende. Et cʹest celle-ci que nous allons vous raconter aujourdʹhui. Ne tardons pas. Max Bialystock a rendez-vous avec une mécène octogénaire, en même temps quʹavec son comptable et son destin. REFERENCES The making of The Producers - Australia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMrU-MEFllI MEL BROOKS présente son film à la télévision https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uV8dXxpWUmI Le Making of du film https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMrU-MEFllI BROOKS, Mel, "All About Me ! My remarkable Life in Show Business", Ballantine Books, 2021

In this episode, Louis brings one of both his, and his dad's, very favourite classic comedies, 1967's The Producers, starring Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder. The film, about two people who decide to try and make more money with a musical flop than with a hit in a big grift, is the debut feature of American comedy legend Mel Brooks, of Spaceballs, Blazing Saddles and RObin Hood: Men In Tights fame. Louis basically simps over Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel, and there's even a surprise appearance from Ned Flanders' dad as well as the House Unamerican Activities Committee. INSTAGRAM @darlingwhypodcast @l.a.tsang --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/louis-tsangarides/message

What do, a clan of rabbits who brave the harsh world to find a new home, and a civilized group of intelligent rats who help a simple mother, have in common? This week on THE MOVIE CONNECTION: Jacob Watched: "WATERSHIP DOWN" (Directed Martin Rosen, John Hubley. Starring, John Hurt, Richjard Briers, Zero Mostel...) KC Watched: "THE SECRET OF NIMH" (Directed by, Don Bluth. Starring, Elizabeth Hartman, Dom DeLuise, Arthur Malet...) We are joined by friend of the show COLLEEN ALLAN to discuss these two different movies! Talking points include: Are Don Bluth's actors okay? Scariest part of these movies Favorite Don Bluth movies. and more!! Send us an email to let us know how we're doing: movieconnectionpodcast@gmail.com Follow us on Instagram Rate and Review on Apple Podcasts Check out more reviews from Jacob on Letterboxd Cover art by Austin Hillebrecht, Letters by KC Schwartz

Are you ready for the heart-stopping action of the totally true tale of Italian tradesman Marco Polo? Are you ready for Desi Arnaz Jr. riding on a kite? Or how about Zero Mostel as Kublai Khan? If you're not ready for all of that then you definitely can't handle the Rankin & Bass-produced epic MARCO from 1973.

A pretty good day, all in all.

Before we get started I want to thank everyone for listening not just to last week’s Big 100th episode but all the time, every week. Since I mentioned the 100th let me quickly explain the weirdness that went on with it. This was only a YT problem. Though displaying the full length, time-wise, it would only play for 2 seconds on desktop computers! Mobile phones worked with the YT app as well as all the other streaming services. We just may end up with a whole row of that broadcast until the issue is resolved. It’s silly but we wouldn’t have it any other way. I also want to thank Jack Harte again for stopping by. And another enormous thank you to Joan McCool. Her dedication and time she lovingly put in to recording Norm is really unsurpassed. And I know she’ll be pleased with what I have to say next… “Dia huit” to our new listeners in Ireland! We’re ‘lucky’ to have you. If you recall, last month we had a SMQ and it was mentioned that we were going to be back in August with another. As promised, we are back. This is from August 17th, 1995. And this one is direct from the Ed Mullen Collection (EMC)! After approximately 26 years, Ed and I met for lunch and he arrived baring gifts. A lovely box full of SMQ’s and other treasures. We will meet again and I plan on having Mr. Ed on the show. These SMQ’s will be titled “The Ed Mullen Collection (EMC)” This being Volume 1 – All-Star Callers. Not only because of the excellent questions but there were a couple who were of some notoriety. Here we find Uncle Norm filling in for Bob Raleigh. Mike Epstein is producing. BTW, Mike is on that future guest hit list too. The Esteemed Panel: Norm Ed Mullen Jack Harte Where’s Tony? Fear not as I do appear after receiving treatment in the trainer’s room for a pulled music muscle. You know the categories. As always, before we begin, Ed reads the rules and makes them as clear as ever. Norm reiterates the rules with even more clarity. Those rules plague us, well, plague Norm really, throughout. Let me note here that, for some reason, we were accepting requests for particular decades! And taking questions for fun. The callers were as follows… Kevin in RI Barbara from Brookline Virginia in Roslindale Ben from Hudson Deedee in W. VA Deborah from Malden Bill in JP Ed from Cambridge Dana in Salem Jay from Bridgewater Sal in NH Chris from Roslindale Ginny from East Bridgewater David in Quincy Jim from Boston Bruce in NJ Enos from PA Bill in NH Charles in Plymouth Jerry from Natick – who, at the end of his call, says something we completely missed. Listen closely as it would have generated a bunch of questions from us if we were paying attention. Phil in Johnstown Toni from Braintree Steve in VA – Colonial Beach VA is Norm Nathan Country! Fred from ME – needs another certificate to finish wallpaper his bathroom. Linda from Quincy Joe in Providence RI Joe from Hazelton, PA – Hazelton PA is NN Country! Jay in Arlington – sang on the Gleason Show! Jack from Springfield – with some information And Mike in Springfield Some other fun: Ed makes a reference to a since long closed store. Certificates have many uses...if you ever receive them. I contribute a little-known fact about Neil Diamond. Norm does impressions of Robert Goulet, Zero Mostel and Arthur Godfrey There’s mic trouble, audio trouble and operator error.

Today on the Rarified Heir Podcast, we bring you an encore edition with guest Joe Gilford, son of the great Jack Gilford. While most of you will remember Jack best from his role in the Ron Howard film Cocoon, there was a rich and varied career acting career that frankly almost wasn't. You see, Jack was blacklisted and was only able to work on stage and not in film or television for years. Joe's recollections of how the red scare, Joseph McCarthy and HUAC was frankly some of the most vivid and compelling first-hand accounts we've ever heard. Even to hear the word “Fink” aka someone who named names and also testified against others in Congress was eye opening. It's a real lesson of the devastation brought about by the U.S. Government's plan to root out communists on the backs of countless writers, actors, directors, producers in show business in the 1950s. Thankfully, there are many laughs too as Jack Gilford was a funny, funny guy. Joe gives us a great window into what it was like growing up as Jack's son and we hear stories about everyone from Zero Mostel and Josh's mom Edie Adams to Cracker Jack's and the explosive producer Joel Silver. We also hear antidotes about being a  working actor in New York in The 60s and 70s – from never waking your dad up while napping to never being able to see a Walt Disney film for reasons mentioned above. It's a fascinating listen. Another child of a celebrity interviewed by the child of a celebrity. Everyone has a story. This is the Rarified Heir Podcast.

Move over, Pickleball! Oven-roasted Corned Beef and Cabbage! DamnDelicious! Thank you, Chungah Rhee. More about the Peacocks.  Remembering George Wagner. Harry Zirlin muses on difference between Shakers and Peepers. Jerry Zaks introduces his folks to Zero Mostel. Credits: Talent:  Tamsen Granger and Dan Abuhoff Engineer:  Ellie Suttmeier Art:  Zeke Abuhoff

It's episode 28 of Muppetsational! The UK's biggest Muppet Show podcast. This week, The Muppets welcome Zero Mostel, who brings... culture to The Muppet Show? And on the podcast, Jade misses Mad Men, Emma uses her history degree and Lewis's son returns from war! Find out more about the podcast at muppetspodcast.com Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook! And read all about us in The Guardian! Editors: Lewis Chandler and Jade Turner Theme Music: Peppy Pepe by Kevin MacLeod Peppy Pepe License Artwork: Charlotte Rudge (Instagram: @Charlie_r_rudge)

To mark the 40th anniversary of the comedy classic "My Cousin Vinny," Gilbert and Frank present this encore from 2018 with actor-writer-director-raconteur Jonthan Lynn, who talks about iworking with legends Jerome Robbins and Tennessee Williams, sharing the stage with future Pythons John Cleese and Graham Chapman and the challenges of directing the memorable comedies "Clue" and "My Cousin Vinny." Also, Ed Sullivan loses his cool, Zero Mostel cracks wise, Steve Martin takes a crack at "Bilko" and Jonathan fights (and wins) for Marisa Tomei. PLUS: Chaplin comes to tea! Remembering Fred Gwynne! The genius of Madeline Kahn! Peter O'Toole goes Hollywood! And the truth behind the Orson Welles frozen peas ad! (Special thanks to our pal Rick Ungar!) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years. The CBS Special Presentation featured Jim Henson's Muppets, recounting the History of… The Muppets. Originally Aired January 21, 1986, the special is a celebration of all things Muppets featuring Muppets from The Muppet Show, Sesame Street, Sam and Friends, and Fraggle Rock. The Muppets are hosting a banquet to celebrate the 30th anniversary and present a retrospective of Muppet film and television appearances. The show starts with a montage of Muppet clips celebrating the first 30 years of Muppets (1955-1985). From Sam and Friends in 1957, the Jimmy Dean Show in 1963, Ed Sullivan Show in 1968, Cher Show 1975, and The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson 1979, the early years are all covered. Fozzie reminds us that it was Kermit that began their careers, complete with a clip of Kermit getting the Muppets their first big break in The Muppet Movie. What follows is the greatest hits of Muppet Show segments, musical acts, and memories. Including the sesame street gang, Muppet babies, Little Muppet Monsters, and Fraggle Rock. It's an amazing time capsule showcasing the first 30 years of the Muppets, all made possible by Jim Henson and the team. Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Dave Goetz, Steve Whitmire, and Carrol Spinney. Appearances by Steve Martin, Ethel Merman, Zero Mostel, Diana Ross, Lily Tomlin, Elton John, George Burns, Ray Charles, Ben Vereen, and others.). https://youtu.be/7OC-MibcJ84

When “Fiddler on the Roof” opened on Broadway in 1964, many thought that this Yiddish-inspired portrait of Jewish shtetl life in Tsarist Russia would be a huge flop. But audiences flocked to the musical, and its songbook soon entered the popular lexicon. Hollywood set its sights on a film version and United Artists signed the well-respected, but hardly household name, Norman Jewison to direct. The fascinating behind-the-scenes story of what happened next is the subject of Oscar-nominated director Daniel Raim's (“The Man on Lincoln's Nose”) delightful new documentary “Fiddler's Journey to the Big Screen”, which has its world premiere at the upcoming Palm Springs International Film Festival (Jan 6 – 17, 2022).   Mike and Ken's conversation with Daniel Raim marks the first in a series of interviews they will be having with documentary directors as part of a special Top Docs partnership with the 33rd annual Palm Springs International Film Festival. A formative musical and movie-going experience for both of them, Mike and Ken were very excited to chat with Daniel about Fiddler. What was the shocker that Jewison told the studio head that might have cost him this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity? How did the filmmakers try to be authentic to the Jewish lived experience and also appeal to a general audience? And casting Topol or Zero Mostel as Tevye? How did Jewison make the call? Find out the answers to these questions and more, plus discover what three albums Mike's parents had in the house when he was growing up. Please join us for this lively conversation. What better way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of this much beloved classic?   Follow on twitter: Daniel @DanielRaim The Palm Springs International Film Festival @PSfilmfest Top Docs @topdocspod   “Fiddler's Journey to the Big Screen” – Palm Springs International Film Festival Screenings Information: Sat. Jan. 8, 7:00 PM, Annenberg Theater Sun. Jan. 9, 9:45 AM, Regal Cinemas Sun. Jan 16, 9:00 AM, Mary Pickford is D'Place   Top Docs and the Palm Springs International Film Festival Top Docs is thrilled to announce that we are partnering with the 33rd Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (January 6 – 17, 2022) as a media sponsor, with the goal of spotlighting documentary filmmakers whose work is screening at the upcoming Festival. In the coming weeks, please look out for our interviews with filmmakers featured in this year's lineup, including Vivian Kleiman (“No Straight Lines: The Rise of Queer Comics”), Daniel Raim (“Fiddler's Journey to the Big Screen”), Lisa Hurwitz (“The Automat”) … and more! Check out the complete Festival lineup and information about pass and ticket sales at: https://www.psfilmfest.org/film-festival-2022   Hidden Gem:  ABC Africa   Influences mentioned in the pod: Sholom Aleichem Marc Chagall Roman Vishniac

Why did Zero Mostel need his own table at the Concord? Which swimming instructor went off to become a Hollywood Star in the 40's? What did it mean to “hustle” when working in the Borscht Belt? All these answers and more when Alan Barrish stops by! Click here for Alan's incredible video footage of the Concorde, filmed by his father, Abe Barrish (and featuring a very young Bob Hope, Tony Bennett and Sid Casesar). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7ZMNhhIRhkFollow us on Instagram: @borschtbeltpod Click here and leave a voice mail for the show! Grab your wearable memories from Yesteryear. Use code "urbanyenta15" to get 15% off. https://www.yesteryearwear.com/  Love our theme music? Discover Lorie Wolf and the Toronto Klezmer Society: https://www.loriewolf.com/ https://www.torontoklezmersociety.com/  Don't forget to rate, like and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen!Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/borschtbeltpod)

Season Two of The Muppet Show begins with a couple of big guests with big personalities: TV Star Don Knotts and the incomparable Zero Mostel! Fozzie loses his cool, Sam loses his patience, and Kermit-- I'm sorry. WHAT IS UP WITH THIS GINGERBREAD MAN NUMBER? WHY, JIM, WHY? WHY DID YOU DO THAT TO US? Hi-ho and welcome once again to A Feat of Lunatic Daring, the most sensational inspirational celebrational muppetational podcast about Jim Henson and his Muppets! Things are rough right now. Let's talk about something that makes us happy, namely in unmistakable genius of James Maury Henson. https://www.lunaticdaring.com/sources (Sources Page) https://twitter.com/LunaticDaring (Twitter) https://www.instagram.com/lunaticdaring/ (Instagram) https://www.facebook.com/lunaticdaring (Facebook) Also follow https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9DdpUYDBkCCM4BfGRJcpTg? (Antithesis Audio) on YouTube for future video content Chad Instagram & Twitter: https://my.captivate.fm/twitter.com/chadjshonk (@chadjshonk) Nick Twitter: @https://my.captivate.fm/twitter.com/ntjackson17 (ntjackson17) Music by Seth Podowitz https://twitter.com/audiobookseth (@audiobookseth) © Antithesis Audio