WEBVTT - Best of 2023 - Pt. 2

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome back everybody, Thanks for joining me for another triumphant

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<v Speaker 1>episode of Off the Beat, where I am proud to

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<v Speaker 1>be your host, Brian Bumgartner. You know one thing that

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<v Speaker 1>really characterized twenty twenty three for me and well for

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<v Speaker 1>everyone else who works in entertainment or who simply enjoys

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<v Speaker 1>entertainment was the writers and Actors strike. It was a

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<v Speaker 1>historic moment that changed the landscape of film and television,

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<v Speaker 1>and it also changed this podcast just a little bit

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<v Speaker 1>because we were not allowed to promote or talk about

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<v Speaker 1>our work. Now, this was a curse, and it was

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<v Speaker 1>in fact a blessing for me because one, I couldn't

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<v Speaker 1>get to intervie you as many of my fellow actors,

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<v Speaker 1>which I typically do. But two, I was allowed to

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<v Speaker 1>lean into my love for and my rolodex of great

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<v Speaker 1>athletes and sports figures and learn more about how they

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<v Speaker 1>climbed their own ladder to success. So to get back

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<v Speaker 1>to our best of for this year, let's start with

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<v Speaker 1>well the goat himself here is Chicago Bulls guard Alex Caruso.

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<v Speaker 1>There's a lot of discussion, I feel like, in football

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<v Speaker 1>about schemes, how an offensive coordinator works, what their plan is,

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<v Speaker 1>defense the same thing having to make that adjustment. Is

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<v Speaker 1>that similar? Do you think in basketball? I mean, I

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<v Speaker 1>feel like what people think about in basketball is like

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<v Speaker 1>you got game or you don't, and you can more

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<v Speaker 1>easily walk into another system. But how have you found

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<v Speaker 1>or watched with other guys coming in and trying to

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<v Speaker 1>learn a different offense or a different a different way

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<v Speaker 1>of approaching the game.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, no, I think I think to the untrained eye,

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<v Speaker 2>it looks like basketball is just go out there and

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<v Speaker 2>make more shots or put up the other team right

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<v Speaker 2>than the other team.

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<v Speaker 1>But that's just the All star games.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it's just the pickup at your local lifetime. Like,

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<v Speaker 2>there's so much detail and timing that go into the

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<v Speaker 2>schemes of basketball that that people just they probably don't

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<v Speaker 2>see as much because there's less players, you know, which

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<v Speaker 2>which is kind of a you know, it's kind of

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<v Speaker 2>almost backwards. You think it'd be easier to see with

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<v Speaker 2>less players. But football they have such defined roles too,

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<v Speaker 2>Like you know, the linemen are going to block, and

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<v Speaker 2>there's different schemes for them to move, you know, you

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<v Speaker 2>know with the quarterbacks that they're going to do with

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<v Speaker 2>the timing and the receivers and stuff like that. But

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<v Speaker 2>for basketball, it's just it's so free flowing.

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<v Speaker 1>You have to.

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<v Speaker 2>Understand what you're trying to do to such a such

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<v Speaker 2>a high level that you're not thinking while you're out

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<v Speaker 2>there playing. Because if you're out there thinking while you're

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<v Speaker 2>playing in the NBA, you're you're getting beat because guys

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<v Speaker 2>are too good, they're too fast, they're too athletic, they're

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<v Speaker 2>too smart. It's the peak of professional basketball. It's so

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<v Speaker 2>detailed people don't really understand, and it's probably hard to

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<v Speaker 2>have that conversation unless you have a certain level of

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<v Speaker 2>basketball intelligence because there's just you know, you'd have to

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<v Speaker 2>break down so much and talk about so many things,

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<v Speaker 2>and it just moves so fast.

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<v Speaker 3>Man.

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<v Speaker 2>People don't realize how fast the NBA game moves. You know,

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<v Speaker 2>it looks slow on TV, and the guys don't look

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<v Speaker 2>that big. They're monsters out here that are moving.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh it's oh yeah, you get in the building and

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<v Speaker 1>you see it instantly. How fast? How physical? Yeah, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>the speed of it is. How fast?

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<v Speaker 4>How physical?

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<v Speaker 2>And people don't realize the size of some of these

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<v Speaker 2>guys that are moving around. That's that's the number one

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<v Speaker 2>thing that people tell me when they see me when

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<v Speaker 2>they've never met me before and they recognize me that

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<v Speaker 2>Oh wow, I didn't know you were that tall. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>I'm I'm six four, six ' five, and I'm the

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<v Speaker 2>small guy.

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<v Speaker 1>That's you look small to me. Yeah, you look small

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<v Speaker 1>to me, So I could take Yeah, I got that guy,

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<v Speaker 1>give him my fade away fade away jumper. When you're

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<v Speaker 1>watching a game on TV, are you breaking it down?

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<v Speaker 1>Are you looking and watching at what they're trying to

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<v Speaker 1>do to the other players? Yeah?

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<v Speaker 2>I can't watch for like pure entertainment anymore. I just

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<v Speaker 2>my brain doesn't work like that. Like I've lost the

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<v Speaker 2>ability to just sit down and watch a basketball game.

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<v Speaker 2>All I do is see the flaws of what they

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<v Speaker 2>should be doing, knowing actually like what teams like to

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<v Speaker 2>run in certain plays and being like defense didn't push

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<v Speaker 2>them to the right spot. It's it's very analytical, but

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<v Speaker 2>that's kind of my job.

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<v Speaker 1>So I do you put yourself there, like, are you like, okay,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm him, and imagine yourself moving within either an offense

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<v Speaker 1>or a defensive play. Do you go that far?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah? For the most part, Yeah, especially defensively, just because

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<v Speaker 2>that's kind of how my brain's wired. I get really

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<v Speaker 2>upset watching certain guys in the league because they do

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<v Speaker 2>their patent move whatever it is. You know, I know

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<v Speaker 2>that if they're in their left hand, they're going to

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<v Speaker 2>go between the legs and step back, or it's in

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<v Speaker 2>their right hand, they're going to go downhill. And I'm

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<v Speaker 2>like calling it out. I'm like, he's gonna go right,

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<v Speaker 2>He's gonna go right, and then the guy gets blown

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<v Speaker 2>by right and it's just it's it's hard to watch,

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<v Speaker 2>but that's that's the perfectionists, and the competitor in me

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<v Speaker 2>is like, I just don't see anything else.

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<v Speaker 1>Uh. By twenty nineteen, you're playing pretty damn well. You

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<v Speaker 1>are the only other Laker besides mister James to get

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<v Speaker 1>a game thirty points, ten rebounds, five assists. Did you

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<v Speaker 1>feel walking into Staples Center how much everybody loved you?

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<v Speaker 5>Uh?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, for sure?

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<v Speaker 1>Why did they? Aside from the fact that you're good.

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<v Speaker 2>Just to start? Staple Centers is like Staple Center and

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<v Speaker 2>in the Garden, those two places, it's it's different than

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<v Speaker 2>everywhere else because they it's almost like the court is

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<v Speaker 2>lit up, you know, like like a like a like

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<v Speaker 2>a performance, you know, like it's a stand up comedy special,

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<v Speaker 2>or it's a it's a concert, like it's dark. It's

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<v Speaker 2>dark in the crowd, all the lights are pointing towards there,

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<v Speaker 2>and there's this atmosphere about it that that just makes

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<v Speaker 2>it special to begin with, So that that already, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>gets the juices flown as a basketball player in general.

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<v Speaker 3>And and then.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm fighting for my life at this point, right I'm on,

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<v Speaker 2>I'm on two way contract. And the way that I

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<v Speaker 2>viewed it, like a lot of guys, you know, they

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<v Speaker 2>might get a two way contract or they might get

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<v Speaker 2>you know, the even the first deal I got in

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<v Speaker 2>LA it was a two year, five and a half

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<v Speaker 2>million dollar deal I had I had the awareness to understand,

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<v Speaker 2>like this isn't a guarantee into the league, Like this

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<v Speaker 2>is still like you get you gotta you gotta prove

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<v Speaker 2>it contra. And so every time I played like I

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<v Speaker 2>already have the mindset of being super competitive just because

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<v Speaker 2>I like to play like that and I just love basketball.

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<v Speaker 2>But now I have like almost a back against the

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<v Speaker 2>wall mentality going into it as well, to where it's like,

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<v Speaker 2>all right, I have to perform or else I'm not

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<v Speaker 2>going to be here, Like I'm not gonna I'm not

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<v Speaker 2>gonna have a job, and you mix those two things

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<v Speaker 2>together and you just had you had me playing at

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<v Speaker 2>a high level that I think a lot of NBA

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<v Speaker 2>players don't play at every night. And I was taking

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<v Speaker 2>advantage of guys taking plays off. And then even once

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<v Speaker 2>you know, I had the reputation, I think it was

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<v Speaker 2>still like a there's a lot of guys in the

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<v Speaker 2>league that didn't believe that I could play a little bit,

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<v Speaker 2>and it was still one of those okay, you got

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<v Speaker 2>to prove it things, And so my motivation just kept

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<v Speaker 2>moving and changing. And I think, you know, Lakers fans

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<v Speaker 2>are one of the more spoiled fan bases in pro

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<v Speaker 2>sports with as much success as they've had, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>but they they have high expectations and they just we

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<v Speaker 2>talk about and them we drink the kool Aid. Lakers

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<v Speaker 2>fans drink the kool Aid hard, and and they are

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<v Speaker 2>they if you go out there and you play to win,

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<v Speaker 2>and you play and you play hard, they just have

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<v Speaker 2>a certain appreciation for it. And this was you got

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<v Speaker 2>to remember the time, this was for the franchise, right,

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<v Speaker 2>this is coming off of after Kobe left. There wasn't

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<v Speaker 2>a lot of success. They had young players and they

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<v Speaker 2>were trying to find teams. It was it was a

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<v Speaker 2>really low period. They're bringing big names Bronze in a, DSN,

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<v Speaker 2>Rondos and Dwight, all these guys, the whole, the whole team,

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<v Speaker 2>and then you had me that was just you know,

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<v Speaker 2>kind of sprinkled in there on top, and it's like,

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<v Speaker 2>who's this. Who's this crazy white guy that's out here

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<v Speaker 2>just running around dunking on people getting steals, like playing

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<v Speaker 2>with this fiery energy. In my opinion, I think I represented,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, what a winning culture and winning is about.

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<v Speaker 2>And I think that they recognize that and appreciated it.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, I know that I appreciate it. I love that

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<v Speaker 1>fiery energy. As much as Korusi loves the game of basketball,

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<v Speaker 1>This next guest loves the game of soccer. Here is

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<v Speaker 1>the US goat of soccer, Landon Donovan, talking about trying

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<v Speaker 1>to get the whole of the United States to care

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<v Speaker 1>about soccer as much as he does. Talk to me

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<v Speaker 1>a little bit about what you just talked about about

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<v Speaker 1>the fans. I mean, we are obviously in close proximity

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<v Speaker 1>to Mexico, but this documentary Good Rivals, now it is

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<v Speaker 1>if you haven't checked it out. Came out last year

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<v Speaker 1>or earlier this year on Netflix. It is about the

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<v Speaker 1>rivalry between Mexico and the United States, greatest soccer rivalry

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<v Speaker 1>in the world, which is incredible because of how new

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<v Speaker 1>or young soccer is in the United States compared to

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<v Speaker 1>so much of the world. A lot is made about

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<v Speaker 1>two thousand, two thousand too, and beginning to change the pendulum,

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<v Speaker 1>beginning to switch from Mexico to the US. But how

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<v Speaker 1>difficult was it at the time to find fans and

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<v Speaker 1>support here that cared about what you guys were doing.

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<v Speaker 4>Yeah, incredibly it was. It's it's hard to compare the

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<v Speaker 4>fandom of the Mexican people with the fandom of the

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<v Speaker 4>American people at that time. Now it's it's pretty level now,

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<v Speaker 4>but at that time it just it was non existent.

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<v Speaker 4>And so I think the analogy, I mean, obviously you're

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<v Speaker 4>a baseball fan, is if not all of a sudden,

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<v Speaker 4>but relatively quickly, in the next five years or so,

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<v Speaker 4>Mexican Mexican baseball was way better than Major League Baseball

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<v Speaker 4>and way better than our players, American players. It's our

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<v Speaker 4>national pastime, right, So that would flip things on its

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<v Speaker 4>head and that would cause some problems. So what happened

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<v Speaker 4>in the early two thousands is a rivalry that was

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<v Speaker 4>completely one sided for a long time, with Mexico always

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<v Speaker 4>winning and them just dominating us, started to change and

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<v Speaker 4>we beat them in that game, that two thousand game.

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<v Speaker 4>We beat them a number of times over the next decade,

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<v Speaker 4>and that started to change the mentality of everybody involved.

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<v Speaker 4>Everybody looked at the rivalry differently. And then what's happened

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<v Speaker 4>in the last we'll call it seven years is there

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<v Speaker 4>are a lot of great rivalries around the world. What

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<v Speaker 4>makes this one unique and why good rivals? Is I

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<v Speaker 4>think so important that that film to watch and I'm

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<v Speaker 4>glad you watched it. We didn't even talk about that,

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<v Speaker 4>but I'm glad you watched it. Is there's also the

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<v Speaker 4>political component, right that's been exacerbated over the last seven years.

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<v Speaker 4>And there are so many Mexicans in our country, and

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<v Speaker 4>especially in southern California and where we live in San Diego.

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<v Speaker 4>There's a lot of Mexican Americans, a lot of American Mexicans,

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<v Speaker 4>and we coexist in a really harmonious way. But in

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<v Speaker 4>a lot of places in our country it doesn't happen

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<v Speaker 4>and so it's this rivalry is just it's heat it

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<v Speaker 4>up over the last seven years, and on the soccer field,

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<v Speaker 4>that's been a good thing because it makes it that

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<v Speaker 4>much more interesting for everyone involved.

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<v Speaker 1>Do you feel like there are fans of the American

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<v Speaker 1>team in Mexico or is that one sided?

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<v Speaker 4>That's a good question. I wouldn't say in Mexico. But

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<v Speaker 4>what I saw over and over and over in my

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<v Speaker 4>career is we would go into a stadium against play

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<v Speaker 4>against Mexico. It's called it Soldier Field in Chicago, right

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<v Speaker 4>and by the beginning of the game, it would there'd

0:12:31.800 --> 0:12:34.360
<v Speaker 4>be you would say, like seventy five percent of fans

0:12:34.360 --> 0:12:38.240
<v Speaker 4>were Mexican. And then as we would the end of

0:12:38.280 --> 0:12:40.360
<v Speaker 4>the game we were winning two zero, you'd look around

0:12:40.400 --> 0:12:43.120
<v Speaker 4>and somehow and we figured out later what it was,

0:12:43.400 --> 0:12:44.880
<v Speaker 4>but all of a sudden, it was flipped. There were

0:12:44.880 --> 0:12:47.560
<v Speaker 4>seventy five percent American fans. And what you realize is

0:12:47.640 --> 0:12:49.720
<v Speaker 4>they would walk in with a Mexican jersey.

0:12:49.480 --> 0:12:51.000
<v Speaker 3>Over a USA jersey.

0:12:51.520 --> 0:12:54.280
<v Speaker 4>Once the US started winning, they'd pull off the Mexican

0:12:54.360 --> 0:12:59.000
<v Speaker 4>jersey be American fans. So's the epitome of fairweather fans

0:12:59.080 --> 0:12:59.480
<v Speaker 4>right there.

0:13:00.240 --> 0:13:03.600
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, you do something that takes balls. But you know,

0:13:03.640 --> 0:13:08.960
<v Speaker 1>you talk about England and Europe. Obviously Central America where

0:13:09.000 --> 0:13:11.680
<v Speaker 1>soccer is so big. You're playing in Germany already. You

0:13:11.679 --> 0:13:15.160
<v Speaker 1>get offered a contract at seventeen, But in two thousand

0:13:15.160 --> 0:13:19.920
<v Speaker 1>and one, shortly after you begin playing for the US

0:13:20.000 --> 0:13:25.480
<v Speaker 1>national team, you return to the United States and essentially,

0:13:26.320 --> 0:13:30.600
<v Speaker 1>with some brief exceptions, you play out your entire career

0:13:31.000 --> 0:13:35.120
<v Speaker 1>at in the MLS in the United States. Talk to

0:13:35.120 --> 0:13:37.400
<v Speaker 1>me a little bit about that decision for you. Was

0:13:37.440 --> 0:13:40.160
<v Speaker 1>that difficult for you to make? Okay?

0:13:40.240 --> 0:13:44.720
<v Speaker 4>No, No, So what happens is in our sport, what

0:13:44.800 --> 0:13:48.240
<v Speaker 4>happens a lot is Europe is the holy Grail of

0:13:48.320 --> 0:13:52.160
<v Speaker 4>places to play, right. It's for the longest time, the

0:13:52.160 --> 0:13:56.679
<v Speaker 4>most money, most prestige, best competition, most eyeballs watching, et cetera.

0:13:57.320 --> 0:14:02.280
<v Speaker 4>And so for almost every player, that's where they want

0:14:02.320 --> 0:14:05.559
<v Speaker 4>to play. Whether you come from Argentina or Africa or California,

0:14:05.760 --> 0:14:09.360
<v Speaker 4>everybody wants to be in Europe, somewhere, France, England, Spain, whatever.

0:14:09.800 --> 0:14:14.400
<v Speaker 4>I never subscribe to that theory. I agree with all that,

0:14:14.520 --> 0:14:18.960
<v Speaker 4>but the most important thing to me was playing was

0:14:19.080 --> 0:14:23.080
<v Speaker 4>actually playing games. It'd be like they're like Brian for

0:14:23.160 --> 0:14:25.360
<v Speaker 4>the next decade. You're gonna you know, you're gonna go

0:14:25.400 --> 0:14:27.400
<v Speaker 4>to acting class and you're gonna practice, but you're never

0:14:27.440 --> 0:14:29.560
<v Speaker 4>gonna be on a show. You'd say, well, that's not right,

0:14:29.640 --> 0:14:30.560
<v Speaker 4>that's not why I do it.

0:14:30.760 --> 0:14:32.160
<v Speaker 3>I don't want to do that right.

0:14:32.240 --> 0:14:35.040
<v Speaker 4>And so I always wanted to play. And what the

0:14:35.120 --> 0:14:37.200
<v Speaker 4>mistake a lot of players make is they'll go to

0:14:37.320 --> 0:14:40.120
<v Speaker 4>Europe and I'm using quotes, they go to Europe. So

0:14:40.160 --> 0:14:41.840
<v Speaker 4>you go to a team in Europe and then you

0:14:41.840 --> 0:14:43.480
<v Speaker 4>sit on the bench and you never play a game,

0:14:43.480 --> 0:14:45.160
<v Speaker 4>and then you get three years into your career and

0:14:45.160 --> 0:14:47.040
<v Speaker 4>you go, shoot, what am I really doing here? Like

0:14:47.080 --> 0:14:49.920
<v Speaker 4>the paycheck's great, but this is my this is my life.

0:14:49.960 --> 0:14:52.480
<v Speaker 4>So I always say to people, you're not a soccer practicer,

0:14:52.560 --> 0:14:54.640
<v Speaker 4>You're a soccer player, right. Do you want to play

0:14:54.720 --> 0:14:57.480
<v Speaker 4>or do you want to practice? So my decision was

0:14:57.640 --> 0:15:00.360
<v Speaker 4>I just wanted to play, and we had this young

0:15:00.440 --> 0:15:03.480
<v Speaker 4>league at home that I think needed all of us

0:15:03.560 --> 0:15:07.520
<v Speaker 4>to help lift it, and it was it made sense

0:15:07.560 --> 0:15:09.400
<v Speaker 4>for me. And then I also got to play at

0:15:09.400 --> 0:15:11.240
<v Speaker 4>home in front of my friends and family in LA

0:15:11.560 --> 0:15:13.240
<v Speaker 4>and to me, that was a no brainer. You know,

0:15:13.280 --> 0:15:16.080
<v Speaker 4>a lot of people disagree with that and thought I

0:15:16.320 --> 0:15:18.560
<v Speaker 4>left some stuff on the table and I could have,

0:15:18.840 --> 0:15:21.000
<v Speaker 4>you know, played at a higher level in other places,

0:15:21.000 --> 0:15:23.920
<v Speaker 4>but I wanted to play, and that that's where I got.

0:15:23.800 --> 0:15:29.720
<v Speaker 1>My joint right. The MJ Michael Jordan, the goat of

0:15:30.240 --> 0:15:37.120
<v Speaker 1>US soccer, six time MLS Cup winner, fourteen consecutive All Star.

0:15:38.040 --> 0:15:40.000
<v Speaker 1>I mean, the list goes on and on. Two time

0:15:40.160 --> 0:15:45.040
<v Speaker 1>MLS MVP, two time MLS Cup MVP, Golden Boot, blah

0:15:45.120 --> 0:15:48.520
<v Speaker 1>blah blah blah blah. Clearly, you had opportunities to go

0:15:48.680 --> 0:15:50.960
<v Speaker 1>other places once you had established yourself. By the way,

0:15:51.000 --> 0:15:53.600
<v Speaker 1>what you say makes so much sense, like go where

0:15:53.640 --> 0:15:57.520
<v Speaker 1>you can play. Clearly you could have played anywhere at

0:15:57.560 --> 0:16:01.520
<v Speaker 1>a certain point. But did you feel a loyalty. Did

0:16:01.560 --> 0:16:05.160
<v Speaker 1>you feel like you were starting something that was important

0:16:05.520 --> 0:16:07.480
<v Speaker 1>with the MLA. I mean not that you started it,

0:16:07.520 --> 0:16:10.280
<v Speaker 1>but you know what, being a part of growing something

0:16:10.320 --> 0:16:13.880
<v Speaker 1>that was important here because you you know, you essentially

0:16:13.880 --> 0:16:14.880
<v Speaker 1>decide never to leave.

0:16:15.440 --> 0:16:15.840
<v Speaker 6>I did.

0:16:15.960 --> 0:16:21.800
<v Speaker 4>I felt like it was I don't know if responsibility

0:16:21.840 --> 0:16:23.760
<v Speaker 4>is the right word, but we grew up in a

0:16:23.800 --> 0:16:26.360
<v Speaker 4>time where we were all ambassadors for the game. So

0:16:26.880 --> 0:16:30.120
<v Speaker 4>it's not like in San Diego when Manny Machado and

0:16:30.160 --> 0:16:32.880
<v Speaker 4>Fernando Tatis show up to the baseball park play, they

0:16:32.880 --> 0:16:35.640
<v Speaker 4>go home, and you know, they do their thing. For us,

0:16:35.640 --> 0:16:38.800
<v Speaker 4>it was like go to practice, go to an appearance afterwards,

0:16:38.840 --> 0:16:41.560
<v Speaker 4>go talk to the media, go meet kids, to help

0:16:41.600 --> 0:16:44.400
<v Speaker 4>sell tickets. I mean, we were constantly my whole career

0:16:44.560 --> 0:16:45.640
<v Speaker 4>trying to sell the sport.

0:16:46.200 --> 0:16:47.160
<v Speaker 1>And it was just part of it.

0:16:47.360 --> 0:16:49.600
<v Speaker 4>Not complaining, It's just that's what it was for us,

0:16:49.640 --> 0:16:53.200
<v Speaker 4>and so I enjoyed that. It was exhausting, but I

0:16:53.320 --> 0:16:56.080
<v Speaker 4>enjoyed that. And when I look at Major League Soccer

0:16:56.120 --> 0:16:59.880
<v Speaker 4>today and the national team today, knowing that I had

0:17:00.080 --> 0:17:02.760
<v Speaker 4>a small part in that, you know, makes me prideful

0:17:02.920 --> 0:17:04.840
<v Speaker 4>because we worked hard to help build that.

0:17:05.600 --> 0:17:27.080
<v Speaker 1>I love that. We'll be right back here we are again.

0:17:27.640 --> 0:17:30.280
<v Speaker 1>And I have just a few more snippets for you,

0:17:30.400 --> 0:17:34.080
<v Speaker 1>and they're really good ones. This first last story is

0:17:34.200 --> 0:17:40.000
<v Speaker 1>from my new bestie, the amazing Eric McCormick, featuring some

0:17:40.240 --> 0:17:43.199
<v Speaker 1>other names that you might know. This is one of

0:17:43.200 --> 0:17:48.320
<v Speaker 1>my favorite stories all year. You talk about your piano.

0:17:49.160 --> 0:17:51.679
<v Speaker 1>You told me an amazing story I have to bring up.

0:17:51.920 --> 0:17:55.359
<v Speaker 1>Before you went to Ryerson Theater School, you went to

0:17:55.560 --> 0:18:00.480
<v Speaker 1>Sir John A. McDonald Collegiate Institute WOW, with a few

0:18:00.480 --> 0:18:03.320
<v Speaker 1>other notable people, Mike Myers being one.

0:18:03.560 --> 0:18:04.320
<v Speaker 3>Mike was there.

0:18:04.840 --> 0:18:06.400
<v Speaker 1>David Furnish.

0:18:06.840 --> 0:18:11.080
<v Speaker 7>David Furnish, Yes, David Furnish and I were in a

0:18:11.280 --> 0:18:15.840
<v Speaker 7>theater class together tenth, eleventh and twelfth grade and part

0:18:15.840 --> 0:18:21.000
<v Speaker 7>of a real little clique of three guys and my

0:18:21.000 --> 0:18:24.560
<v Speaker 7>friend Helga, and we did God's Spell and Pippin.

0:18:24.320 --> 0:18:28.000
<v Speaker 3>And the Fantastics together, and eventually he moved. We kept

0:18:28.000 --> 0:18:29.600
<v Speaker 3>in touch a little bit, then he moved to London,

0:18:29.640 --> 0:18:34.160
<v Speaker 3>we lost touch, and when we finally sort of reconnected again,

0:18:34.200 --> 0:18:36.320
<v Speaker 3>I was just starting to date my wife and he

0:18:36.520 --> 0:18:41.879
<v Speaker 3>was just starting to date Elton John, like mid nineties,

0:18:42.200 --> 0:18:45.160
<v Speaker 3>and then shortly thereafter Will and Grace happened and they

0:18:45.240 --> 0:18:48.720
<v Speaker 3>were the first. Elton and David were the first people,

0:18:48.840 --> 0:18:51.200
<v Speaker 3>I think in the UK to see it because it

0:18:51.240 --> 0:18:54.000
<v Speaker 3>didn't exist there yet, and I'd sent him a bunch

0:18:54.000 --> 0:18:57.480
<v Speaker 3>of videotapes of season one which they quite enjoyed, which

0:18:57.520 --> 0:19:01.639
<v Speaker 3>led eventually to Elton being on the show. My favorite

0:19:01.640 --> 0:19:03.560
<v Speaker 3>story that I'll tell till I die is is just

0:19:03.640 --> 0:19:06.480
<v Speaker 3>that I.

0:19:05.280 --> 0:19:10.080
<v Speaker 8>Elton asked me to host an event for Yamaha and

0:19:10.520 --> 0:19:13.880
<v Speaker 8>Yamaha's some payment to me. They paid me in piano,

0:19:14.080 --> 0:19:17.800
<v Speaker 8>so I was given a baby grand piano that.

0:19:17.880 --> 0:19:19.560
<v Speaker 7>Sits in the center of the living room to this day.

0:19:19.640 --> 0:19:23.359
<v Speaker 7>And shortly thereafter, and we'd only ever seen David and

0:19:23.440 --> 0:19:26.480
<v Speaker 7>Elton in the world at a restaurant and David call

0:19:26.600 --> 0:19:27.359
<v Speaker 7>said he was in town.

0:19:27.400 --> 0:19:28.919
<v Speaker 3>And Janet, my wife standa, said.

0:19:28.760 --> 0:19:31.359
<v Speaker 9>Well, tell David to come over. He said, well, why

0:19:31.359 --> 0:19:33.600
<v Speaker 9>should this come over see that house? He said, sure,

0:19:33.680 --> 0:19:38.439
<v Speaker 9>We'll be over at eight and I said, Janet, he

0:19:38.480 --> 0:19:41.119
<v Speaker 9>said we, He said we, did not say I he

0:19:41.160 --> 0:19:43.560
<v Speaker 9>said we, So sure enough, Elton and David came over

0:19:43.600 --> 0:19:46.320
<v Speaker 9>for dinner. My son was six months old at the time,

0:19:46.480 --> 0:19:49.480
<v Speaker 9>and I eventually just said, Elton, you know you're going

0:19:49.560 --> 0:19:52.680
<v Speaker 9>to have to christen the piano. He uh, Without a second,

0:19:52.720 --> 0:19:54.640
<v Speaker 9>Doot got up, walked into the living room, sat down

0:19:54.680 --> 0:19:56.480
<v Speaker 9>at the piano, looked up at me. He's wearing a

0:19:56.480 --> 0:20:00.200
<v Speaker 9>sweatshirt like a vluor a sweat outfit, and I said,

0:20:00.240 --> 0:20:02.760
<v Speaker 9>what would you want me to play? And I thought,

0:20:02.840 --> 0:20:04.159
<v Speaker 9>this is it. This is my chance.

0:20:04.400 --> 0:20:08.240
<v Speaker 3>It's my chance to show him that I'm serious here.

0:20:08.320 --> 0:20:09.840
<v Speaker 3>I know my shit. I'm not going to say rot

0:20:09.880 --> 0:20:12.280
<v Speaker 3>your band. I'm not going to say Rocket Band like

0:20:12.359 --> 0:20:16.880
<v Speaker 3>some schmuck. So I said, okay, I've.

0:20:16.720 --> 0:20:20.560
<v Speaker 7>Seen that movie too, from Goodbye Ellwick Road, and he

0:20:20.560 --> 0:20:23.600
<v Speaker 7>looked up at me and said, oh, fuck off, I

0:20:23.640 --> 0:20:24.720
<v Speaker 7>don't remember that song.

0:20:27.280 --> 0:20:33.240
<v Speaker 9>And I remember the moment, feeling incensed as a fan.

0:20:33.359 --> 0:20:36.320
<v Speaker 3>I was like, maybe you don't remember that. You're supposed

0:20:36.359 --> 0:20:38.800
<v Speaker 3>to know every song you wrote it.

0:20:39.320 --> 0:20:40.040
<v Speaker 1>You wrote it.

0:20:42.320 --> 0:20:44.800
<v Speaker 7>So he didn't play that song, But I tell that

0:20:44.840 --> 0:20:47.479
<v Speaker 7>story in my act occasionally, and then I do, I've

0:20:47.520 --> 0:20:50.040
<v Speaker 7>seen that movie too, which people don't remember, which.

0:20:49.920 --> 0:20:50.480
<v Speaker 3>Is a great song.

0:20:52.920 --> 0:20:53.800
<v Speaker 1>What did he play?

0:20:53.920 --> 0:20:56.240
<v Speaker 7>He played, Actually, he played another obscure song for me

0:20:56.400 --> 0:20:58.320
<v Speaker 7>because my son was There is a beautiful song called

0:20:58.359 --> 0:21:01.919
<v Speaker 7>the Greatest Discovery. It's about a little boy waking up

0:21:01.960 --> 0:21:04.800
<v Speaker 7>and hearing all this commotion, realizing that he has a

0:21:04.840 --> 0:21:08.360
<v Speaker 7>brand new baby brother, and it's I feel like it's

0:21:08.359 --> 0:21:10.920
<v Speaker 7>an impossible song to hear and not cry at the end.

0:21:11.080 --> 0:21:15.320
<v Speaker 7>It's just so it's Bernie Toffs' greatest lyrics, I think,

0:21:15.359 --> 0:21:17.440
<v Speaker 7>and I do that I've seen that one occasionally too.

0:21:17.480 --> 0:21:20.320
<v Speaker 7>But he sang that song at the piano. And then

0:21:20.760 --> 0:21:24.720
<v Speaker 7>the next day I saw my neighbor Thomas, and he

0:21:24.840 --> 0:21:26.280
<v Speaker 7>was aware we had this new piano.

0:21:26.320 --> 0:21:27.920
<v Speaker 3>We didn't know each other that well at the time,

0:21:28.400 --> 0:21:32.280
<v Speaker 3>but he'd seen the piano arrive and he said, I

0:21:32.320 --> 0:21:38.360
<v Speaker 3>couldn't help it over here last night. You're getting pretty good.

0:21:37.920 --> 0:21:38.760
<v Speaker 3>Thank you.

0:21:40.240 --> 0:21:43.679
<v Speaker 1>Yeah. I don't know how you keep that lie going,

0:21:44.000 --> 0:21:47.199
<v Speaker 1>but I kind of hope Eric never confessed who the

0:21:47.240 --> 0:21:50.760
<v Speaker 1>real piano player was. Now we're going to hear from

0:21:50.800 --> 0:21:53.399
<v Speaker 1>two people that I was so happy to talk to

0:21:53.520 --> 0:21:58.440
<v Speaker 1>this year, longtime best friends, Jason Alexander and Peter Tilden.

0:21:59.000 --> 0:22:03.439
<v Speaker 1>Let's just say Jason really bared his soul or his

0:22:03.600 --> 0:22:04.760
<v Speaker 1>head for this one.

0:22:05.200 --> 0:22:07.760
<v Speaker 5>If you're listening to this and haven't seen Jason on stage,

0:22:08.359 --> 0:22:10.840
<v Speaker 5>he's my buddy, He's my best friend. We argue all

0:22:10.880 --> 0:22:13.280
<v Speaker 5>the time, we have the podcast, we've done shows together.

0:22:13.840 --> 0:22:16.680
<v Speaker 5>I'm still in awe when he walks on stage, even

0:22:16.680 --> 0:22:19.800
<v Speaker 5>if I've helped write the piece. There's a different power

0:22:19.960 --> 0:22:22.399
<v Speaker 5>that happens. He just it, just this thing happens. And

0:22:22.440 --> 0:22:25.600
<v Speaker 5>you knows, Brian, how amazing that is to own a

0:22:25.640 --> 0:22:27.639
<v Speaker 5>piece of that stage for X amount of time and

0:22:27.680 --> 0:22:29.639
<v Speaker 5>it's yours. You own it and you can do with

0:22:29.680 --> 0:22:33.520
<v Speaker 5>it whatever you want. And not everybody succeeds and It

0:22:33.720 --> 0:22:36.119
<v Speaker 5>fascinates me when I watch him go out there and

0:22:36.200 --> 0:22:40.720
<v Speaker 5>he transforms into this thing. It's goosebump time. He does

0:22:40.720 --> 0:22:42.240
<v Speaker 5>it every time. Is really powerful.

0:22:42.560 --> 0:22:45.239
<v Speaker 6>Thanks Pety, and thank you Peter for not mentioning the

0:22:45.240 --> 0:22:46.639
<v Speaker 6>hairline that Brian and I.

0:22:47.000 --> 0:22:47.800
<v Speaker 1>Well, yeah you both have.

0:22:47.920 --> 0:22:50.919
<v Speaker 5>Okay, we both haven't, I don't, thank thank goodness, but

0:22:51.040 --> 0:22:53.520
<v Speaker 5>both which, by the way, must have played into both

0:22:53.560 --> 0:22:56.400
<v Speaker 5>of your psyches growing up young, because I remember everybody

0:22:56.400 --> 0:22:59.520
<v Speaker 5>around me. It's that age. I remember asking this this

0:22:59.600 --> 0:23:02.680
<v Speaker 5>girl who I was dating at the time, constantly at

0:23:02.680 --> 0:23:04.800
<v Speaker 5>the back, the back, standing. It's standing in it. It's standing,

0:23:04.840 --> 0:23:07.040
<v Speaker 5>isn't it. She say, you're neurotic. I go, no, I'm sinning.

0:23:07.080 --> 0:23:09.400
<v Speaker 5>I'm sinning. And she ran into me like thirty years

0:23:09.480 --> 0:23:11.440
<v Speaker 5>later and I said, look see she said, it's the same.

0:23:11.640 --> 0:23:15.600
<v Speaker 5>It's the same. But what age, Like, what age did

0:23:15.600 --> 0:23:16.280
<v Speaker 5>it happen to you?

0:23:17.600 --> 0:23:19.439
<v Speaker 1>Yeah? What? What? What about you? Jason?

0:23:19.480 --> 0:23:22.360
<v Speaker 6>I remember it almost of the day. I had braces

0:23:22.400 --> 0:23:25.440
<v Speaker 6>for nine years. I got them onf I came off.

0:23:25.560 --> 0:23:29.960
<v Speaker 6>I was seventeen, and uh, I remember the braces came

0:23:29.960 --> 0:23:32.439
<v Speaker 6>off and I had a date that evening. So I

0:23:32.560 --> 0:23:36.200
<v Speaker 6>went to the gym and I'm in the shower and I'm,

0:23:36.560 --> 0:23:38.679
<v Speaker 6>you know, coming out of the shower, and I'm drying

0:23:38.680 --> 0:23:40.719
<v Speaker 6>off my hair and I look in the mirror and

0:23:40.760 --> 0:23:43.600
<v Speaker 6>I see something like a thin spot at the very

0:23:43.680 --> 0:23:47.880
<v Speaker 6>very top, about the size of a quarter. And I went,

0:23:48.480 --> 0:23:51.440
<v Speaker 6>I literally said, are you freaking.

0:23:51.359 --> 0:23:55.080
<v Speaker 3>Didn't me I don't get a day one day?

0:23:59.040 --> 0:24:01.159
<v Speaker 6>And it was it really was the beginning by the

0:24:01.200 --> 0:24:03.840
<v Speaker 6>time I got to college, you know, my sophomore year

0:24:03.840 --> 0:24:07.879
<v Speaker 6>of college, I had you know, like like a solid

0:24:08.000 --> 0:24:12.920
<v Speaker 6>drinkcoaster spot up there, and you know, and and I

0:24:12.960 --> 0:24:15.359
<v Speaker 6>panicked over and I cried about it, and I really

0:24:15.880 --> 0:24:19.679
<v Speaker 6>really thought it was the end of everything. But you know,

0:24:20.440 --> 0:24:22.720
<v Speaker 6>if you always say, what do you want to tell

0:24:22.720 --> 0:24:25.840
<v Speaker 6>your younger self, if it hadn't happened, my career would

0:24:25.880 --> 0:24:27.600
<v Speaker 6>not have happened the way it did because I kept

0:24:27.600 --> 0:24:31.240
<v Speaker 6>getting cast much older than I was, which was far

0:24:31.320 --> 0:24:34.560
<v Speaker 6>more interesting roles, right, and I had an energy about

0:24:34.600 --> 0:24:38.159
<v Speaker 6>those roles that guys that age didn't have, so it

0:24:38.280 --> 0:24:41.040
<v Speaker 6>made me kind of unique. I met my wife when

0:24:41.080 --> 0:24:43.200
<v Speaker 6>I was twenty, so it wasn't like I was looking

0:24:43.240 --> 0:24:46.840
<v Speaker 6>good and she got fooled. She's was gone on with that.

0:24:46.960 --> 0:24:55.680
<v Speaker 1>Hell, did you ever I mean, this is I guess

0:24:55.680 --> 0:25:01.000
<v Speaker 1>this is personal. Did you ever or consider doing something

0:25:01.600 --> 0:25:02.280
<v Speaker 1>to change it?

0:25:02.359 --> 0:25:03.560
<v Speaker 3>Oh my god, you kidding.

0:25:03.760 --> 0:25:07.360
<v Speaker 6>First of all, I was one of the first rogaine users.

0:25:09.680 --> 0:25:13.159
<v Speaker 6>But rogaine, you know, rogain now comes in two forms.

0:25:13.160 --> 0:25:15.639
<v Speaker 6>There's a there's like an oil base and there's a

0:25:15.680 --> 0:25:18.439
<v Speaker 6>foam the oil base. Back in the beginning, it was

0:25:18.480 --> 0:25:20.280
<v Speaker 6>like all oil. So if you have thinning hair and

0:25:20.320 --> 0:25:22.320
<v Speaker 6>you put oil on your head, you look like you

0:25:22.480 --> 0:25:25.160
<v Speaker 6>belong on the street, you know, So that was not good.

0:25:25.480 --> 0:25:28.080
<v Speaker 6>Then I went to hair club for men for a

0:25:28.160 --> 0:25:30.720
<v Speaker 6>year and they had the thing where they make fishing

0:25:30.760 --> 0:25:32.560
<v Speaker 6>line and they take your hair and they make a

0:25:32.600 --> 0:25:35.639
<v Speaker 6>braid and then they sew the tupe onto that braid

0:25:35.680 --> 0:25:37.399
<v Speaker 6>and you have to go every four weeks to have

0:25:37.480 --> 0:25:40.719
<v Speaker 6>it to have the crud the cottage cheese scraped off

0:25:40.800 --> 0:25:42.880
<v Speaker 6>your head because you can't shampoo under that.

0:25:43.880 --> 0:25:45.200
<v Speaker 5>So, by the way, if they want to use that

0:25:45.280 --> 0:25:46.280
<v Speaker 5>as they're out. Yeah.

0:25:46.359 --> 0:25:53.119
<v Speaker 6>Right after Seinfeld, there was a period of time where

0:25:53.200 --> 0:25:55.040
<v Speaker 6>people where I got really close to a couple of

0:25:55.080 --> 0:25:57.640
<v Speaker 6>roles and they ultimately didn't go with me because they said,

0:25:57.640 --> 0:25:59.840
<v Speaker 6>he looks so much like his character on Seinfeld, And

0:25:59.840 --> 0:26:01.120
<v Speaker 6>I'm going you.

0:26:01.119 --> 0:26:02.159
<v Speaker 3>Honestly can't see me.

0:26:02.240 --> 0:26:03.879
<v Speaker 6>Like if I grow a mustache and I put on

0:26:03.920 --> 0:26:06.200
<v Speaker 6>a wig, you can't figure that out. So as a

0:26:06.280 --> 0:26:07.480
<v Speaker 6>sort of fu.

0:26:07.440 --> 0:26:12.520
<v Speaker 10>I wore to pay for two years publicly making no

0:26:12.640 --> 0:26:16.960
<v Speaker 10>bones about it, going see see it changed nothing right,

0:26:17.520 --> 0:26:20.880
<v Speaker 10>So if I could have changed it easily, I probably

0:26:20.960 --> 0:26:21.359
<v Speaker 10>would have.

0:26:22.200 --> 0:26:24.400
<v Speaker 6>But nothing was going to be easy.

0:26:24.560 --> 0:26:29.440
<v Speaker 3>And frankly, who you know, nobody cares anymore.

0:26:29.880 --> 0:26:33.200
<v Speaker 1>No I know. I mean, I'll tell you briefly mine

0:26:33.240 --> 0:26:37.159
<v Speaker 1>because it's similar in a way. Now, I already was

0:26:37.160 --> 0:26:42.600
<v Speaker 1>playing older roles. I'm convinced that it was sped up

0:26:42.880 --> 0:26:46.719
<v Speaker 1>by that old makeup company ben Nye. Remember ben Nye

0:26:46.760 --> 0:26:52.480
<v Speaker 1>does the theater makeup. And I convinced that cutting thinning

0:26:52.840 --> 0:26:56.280
<v Speaker 1>for older roles and putting makeup on did something because

0:26:56.320 --> 0:26:59.160
<v Speaker 1>it was right after that where it really took a turn.

0:26:59.720 --> 0:27:02.920
<v Speaker 1>So I went in the I got the prescription. I

0:27:02.920 --> 0:27:05.439
<v Speaker 1>had to get a prescription for the ro game. My

0:27:05.560 --> 0:27:09.640
<v Speaker 1>dad was a he is a doctor, and got a

0:27:09.680 --> 0:27:14.960
<v Speaker 1>dermatologist that was his like buddy, and got me the stuff.

0:27:15.480 --> 0:27:19.160
<v Speaker 1>And then it was explained to me that it could

0:27:19.359 --> 0:27:23.719
<v Speaker 1>have no effect. It could stop the loss, or it

0:27:23.760 --> 0:27:28.360
<v Speaker 1>could reverse like a clock. But then what was explained

0:27:28.359 --> 0:27:32.560
<v Speaker 1>to me was if you ever stop, the clock speeds

0:27:32.640 --> 0:27:35.000
<v Speaker 1>up to wherever you would say it leaves up. And

0:27:35.040 --> 0:27:38.880
<v Speaker 1>I thought, am I going to do this forever? Like

0:27:38.920 --> 0:27:41.840
<v Speaker 1>that was for me? That was the decision. And yeah,

0:27:41.840 --> 0:27:44.119
<v Speaker 1>it was oily back then at the time, at least

0:27:44.160 --> 0:27:51.080
<v Speaker 1>it kind of had a alcohol yes, kind of smell anyway,

0:27:51.400 --> 0:27:52.880
<v Speaker 1>So I stopped.

0:27:53.920 --> 0:27:58.680
<v Speaker 6>Did I blame the jew fro phenomena of nineteen seventy

0:27:58.720 --> 0:28:02.199
<v Speaker 6>six where every ouk joy was getting an afro? And

0:28:02.240 --> 0:28:05.600
<v Speaker 6>I did it? And that's what I noticed the spot.

0:28:06.080 --> 0:28:09.560
<v Speaker 6>Oh sure, I burnt every follicle. I ascid and heat

0:28:09.640 --> 0:28:10.880
<v Speaker 6>and I killed every follicle.

0:28:12.800 --> 0:28:17.400
<v Speaker 1>Look at us now, Jason, we get more beautiful with age.

0:28:17.840 --> 0:28:22.440
<v Speaker 1>Maybe a little more bald too, but definitely more beautiful.

0:28:23.200 --> 0:28:25.439
<v Speaker 1>I want to leave you all with one last clip

0:28:25.760 --> 0:28:29.919
<v Speaker 1>from Rosie O'Donnell. I still kind of can't believe I

0:28:29.960 --> 0:28:34.520
<v Speaker 1>got to hang out with the Rosie O'Donnell. Obviously she's

0:28:34.560 --> 0:28:37.359
<v Speaker 1>an icon who has made a lasting impression on a

0:28:37.400 --> 0:28:41.680
<v Speaker 1>whole generation of people. But don't take my word for it.

0:28:42.160 --> 0:28:46.400
<v Speaker 1>What do you see now as the show's legacy, after

0:28:46.440 --> 0:28:48.120
<v Speaker 1>it's it's now done.

0:28:48.880 --> 0:28:52.440
<v Speaker 11>I would say it was the time of the legacy

0:28:52.480 --> 0:28:56.920
<v Speaker 11>of the show. I think is love, because I think

0:28:56.960 --> 0:29:00.880
<v Speaker 11>the reason that I was successful is because I really

0:29:00.960 --> 0:29:04.480
<v Speaker 11>loved Florence Henderson. And when I had her on the show,

0:29:05.040 --> 0:29:06.960
<v Speaker 11>it was trippy to think that I would dream that

0:29:07.000 --> 0:29:09.440
<v Speaker 11>she would be my mom and that here she is

0:29:09.480 --> 0:29:13.800
<v Speaker 11>sitting next to me and being motherly. Florence Henderson would

0:29:13.880 --> 0:29:17.000
<v Speaker 11>come over to my house and play with Parker and

0:29:17.760 --> 0:29:21.160
<v Speaker 11>these older women who knew that I was a motherless child,

0:29:21.400 --> 0:29:27.040
<v Speaker 11>motherless child, you know, and stepped in in in a

0:29:27.120 --> 0:29:30.760
<v Speaker 11>magical way almost, you know, there was something magical about

0:29:30.800 --> 0:29:34.920
<v Speaker 11>the show. It was pure, and it was it was kind,

0:29:35.000 --> 0:29:39.360
<v Speaker 11>and it was it was fun. I think we had fun,

0:29:39.480 --> 0:29:43.560
<v Speaker 11>you know, and everybody wanted to be in the audience.

0:29:43.560 --> 0:29:47.479
<v Speaker 11>It was a tiny little studio with like two hundred seats,

0:29:47.480 --> 0:29:50.720
<v Speaker 11>and everybody wanted to be there. And then when I

0:29:50.760 --> 0:29:53.480
<v Speaker 11>did Tickle Me Elmo, I remember getting a call from

0:29:53.800 --> 0:29:57.960
<v Speaker 11>Aaron Spelling. Aaron Spelling, like one of the richest men

0:29:58.000 --> 0:30:01.080
<v Speaker 11>in the world, calls to ask me if I had

0:30:01.160 --> 0:30:06.120
<v Speaker 11>four Tickle Me Elmos for his grandchildren. I was like, okay, sir,

0:30:06.200 --> 0:30:09.760
<v Speaker 11>well listen, thank you for Dynasty. I enjoyed that so

0:30:09.960 --> 0:30:12.080
<v Speaker 11>much when I was a job. Let me get back

0:30:12.080 --> 0:30:14.000
<v Speaker 11>to you. And then I go to my assistant find

0:30:14.040 --> 0:30:16.960
<v Speaker 11>four fucking almost for Aaron spelling, like, and then I think,

0:30:17.000 --> 0:30:19.680
<v Speaker 11>whose life is this? This is a crazy life. You know,

0:30:21.040 --> 0:30:23.800
<v Speaker 11>it's a crazy life. And I never really believed at

0:30:23.800 --> 0:30:26.320
<v Speaker 11>the height of like when oh, you're the most influential,

0:30:26.360 --> 0:30:28.320
<v Speaker 11>You're on this list, You're on that list. You know,

0:30:29.000 --> 0:30:32.280
<v Speaker 11>I usually didn't go to the party, you know, I like,

0:30:32.720 --> 0:30:35.840
<v Speaker 11>I didn't always believe it, you know what I mean? Like,

0:30:35.280 --> 0:30:41.880
<v Speaker 11>I feel like I have a healthy amount of reality

0:30:41.880 --> 0:30:44.440
<v Speaker 11>in my show business. I don't know, is that weird

0:30:44.440 --> 0:30:44.800
<v Speaker 11>to say?

0:30:45.480 --> 0:30:45.680
<v Speaker 2>No?

0:30:45.880 --> 0:30:49.520
<v Speaker 1>I think I get it. But but you must be aware,

0:30:49.600 --> 0:30:54.480
<v Speaker 1>or you should be aware of the countless doors that

0:30:54.520 --> 0:31:00.360
<v Speaker 1>you opened in your career for other people in the

0:31:00.480 --> 0:31:05.680
<v Speaker 1>LGBTQ community. You opened up a lot of doors during

0:31:05.760 --> 0:31:09.320
<v Speaker 1>this time and after for people that came after you.

0:31:09.520 --> 0:31:13.040
<v Speaker 1>Do you are you proud of that? Do you acknowledge

0:31:13.080 --> 0:31:13.920
<v Speaker 1>that to yourself? Yes?

0:31:14.000 --> 0:31:17.440
<v Speaker 11>Yes, I definitely do. And I you know, I feel

0:31:17.560 --> 0:31:23.280
<v Speaker 11>that some people are marathon runners and some people are sprinters,

0:31:23.520 --> 0:31:26.400
<v Speaker 11>and I knew that I'm hardly a jogger, right, I

0:31:26.760 --> 0:31:29.440
<v Speaker 11>work very very hard, but I'm tired, you know, like

0:31:29.960 --> 0:31:32.680
<v Speaker 11>I want to lay down and watch something like I

0:31:33.040 --> 0:31:36.240
<v Speaker 11>don't have the kind of energy that that I did

0:31:36.280 --> 0:31:39.880
<v Speaker 11>back then, and it was a very large amount of work.

0:31:40.360 --> 0:31:43.480
<v Speaker 11>But I do realize that. And you know, I was

0:31:43.480 --> 0:31:46.360
<v Speaker 11>at Nobu yesterday and this is.

0:31:46.360 --> 0:31:48.760
<v Speaker 1>It's so funny because you're so not this. I'm going

0:31:48.840 --> 0:31:51.840
<v Speaker 1>to totally interrupt you that that is like the most

0:31:52.120 --> 0:31:52.920
<v Speaker 1>like Hollywood.

0:31:53.920 --> 0:31:54.760
<v Speaker 5>I know, I know.

0:31:56.560 --> 0:31:58.840
<v Speaker 11>Yesterday anyway, so I've never seen it.

0:31:58.920 --> 0:32:01.160
<v Speaker 1>You like the opposite of that, So I had to

0:32:01.200 --> 0:32:01.960
<v Speaker 1>at least call it.

0:32:02.080 --> 0:32:04.240
<v Speaker 11>You have to. I've never seen a Kardashian there. I

0:32:04.320 --> 0:32:06.120
<v Speaker 11>just want you to know. I go there like three

0:32:06.200 --> 0:32:08.680
<v Speaker 11>or four times a week. It's almost like my my

0:32:08.720 --> 0:32:12.000
<v Speaker 11>neighborhood restaurant. I'm right on the beach in Malibu and

0:32:12.120 --> 0:32:13.520
<v Speaker 11>right next door is Noboo.

0:32:14.160 --> 0:32:17.240
<v Speaker 1>I just ate at Nobuo two nights in a row

0:32:17.280 --> 0:32:17.720
<v Speaker 1>in Vegas.

0:32:18.280 --> 0:32:21.280
<v Speaker 11>Now, if I could eat it every day, I would

0:32:21.320 --> 0:32:23.880
<v Speaker 11>eat it every day. But can I read this to you?

0:32:23.920 --> 0:32:25.920
<v Speaker 11>What this this note that happened at Nobuo?

0:32:26.160 --> 0:32:26.320
<v Speaker 5>Yes.

0:32:26.480 --> 0:32:29.400
<v Speaker 11>So I see this family sitting in front of me,

0:32:29.640 --> 0:32:32.240
<v Speaker 11>and they're very young. I thought at first they were teenagers,

0:32:32.320 --> 0:32:36.000
<v Speaker 11>but very kind of good looking like like he looked

0:32:36.000 --> 0:32:37.920
<v Speaker 11>like an artist to me, Like I thought he had

0:32:37.960 --> 0:32:40.480
<v Speaker 11>one real funky clothes. I bet he's a fashion designer,

0:32:40.520 --> 0:32:43.000
<v Speaker 11>I thought to myself, and what a pretty wife. And

0:32:43.680 --> 0:32:46.760
<v Speaker 11>I go to get the check and the guy says, oh,

0:32:46.920 --> 0:32:51.240
<v Speaker 11>it's paid for. I said, what do you mean. He said, well,

0:32:51.760 --> 0:32:55.720
<v Speaker 11>there's a note for you. And apparently this young man

0:32:56.480 --> 0:32:59.120
<v Speaker 11>paid my bill and left with and never bothered me,

0:32:59.400 --> 0:33:02.360
<v Speaker 11>but he left me this note. Rosie, thank you for

0:33:02.400 --> 0:33:05.479
<v Speaker 11>being you and setting an example of what it means

0:33:05.560 --> 0:33:08.880
<v Speaker 11>to be yourself in the face of adversity and negativity.

0:33:09.400 --> 0:33:12.760
<v Speaker 11>Because of your strength and bravery, a little boy found

0:33:12.840 --> 0:33:16.200
<v Speaker 11>the light in a childhood riddled with violence, drug abuse,

0:33:16.560 --> 0:33:20.480
<v Speaker 11>and depression. And now I'm one of the biggest rappers

0:33:20.560 --> 0:33:26.240
<v Speaker 11>in the whole world. Thank you, with unconditional reverence. Logic

0:33:27.920 --> 0:33:31.840
<v Speaker 11>Bobby Hall. Now, I had no idea who logic was,

0:33:32.760 --> 0:33:35.800
<v Speaker 11>but I felt like this is the legacy of the show,

0:33:36.440 --> 0:33:41.800
<v Speaker 11>that there are millions of artists and they were inspired

0:33:41.920 --> 0:33:44.160
<v Speaker 11>and they knew to go there, and they knew what

0:33:44.200 --> 0:33:48.200
<v Speaker 11>we were selling was membership in this world. And uh,

0:33:50.440 --> 0:33:53.320
<v Speaker 11>I was so blown away. I go on to my

0:33:53.440 --> 0:33:57.000
<v Speaker 11>son who's twenty three, and my daughter who's twenty and

0:33:57.040 --> 0:33:59.920
<v Speaker 11>I send the copy of it to both of them

0:34:00.120 --> 0:34:04.640
<v Speaker 11>and they both call me screaming on the phone, screaming,

0:34:05.080 --> 0:34:08.720
<v Speaker 11>I am going to use this for the next three years.

0:34:08.960 --> 0:34:10.360
<v Speaker 11>Like Blake was like, do you want to keep it?

0:34:10.400 --> 0:34:12.640
<v Speaker 11>I'm like, yes, I'm keeping it. He's like, I want

0:34:12.680 --> 0:34:14.480
<v Speaker 11>to show my friends. I'm like, I'll send you a

0:34:14.520 --> 0:34:18.120
<v Speaker 11>picture of it. You know. But I was so, I

0:34:18.200 --> 0:34:20.160
<v Speaker 11>was so moved that.

0:34:20.120 --> 0:34:23.920
<v Speaker 1>Is I'm you know what I'm so that makes me

0:34:24.160 --> 0:34:28.480
<v Speaker 1>so happy. Yeah, for you, that makes me so happy

0:34:28.520 --> 0:34:33.520
<v Speaker 1>that that happened for you, obviously for logic as well,

0:34:34.320 --> 0:34:36.440
<v Speaker 1>that he was able to come out of a difficult

0:34:36.480 --> 0:34:38.600
<v Speaker 1>situation in part because of you. But for him to

0:34:38.719 --> 0:34:39.399
<v Speaker 1>tell you that.

0:34:40.880 --> 0:34:43.400
<v Speaker 11>And to buy me a very expensive dinner as well,

0:34:43.960 --> 0:34:46.040
<v Speaker 11>a lunch with a friend of mine who I knew

0:34:46.120 --> 0:34:48.880
<v Speaker 11>was a comedian years ago and I hadn't seen in

0:34:48.960 --> 0:34:51.799
<v Speaker 11>forty years. We had a lunch and talked about doing

0:34:51.840 --> 0:34:54.800
<v Speaker 11>stand up in the old days. But he did, And

0:34:55.400 --> 0:34:58.000
<v Speaker 11>I thought, you know, and I think to myself, every

0:34:58.040 --> 0:35:00.640
<v Speaker 11>time that somebody writes to me or ops me or

0:35:00.680 --> 0:35:05.240
<v Speaker 11>tells me, you know, is a gift. It's a gift.

0:35:05.320 --> 0:35:08.359
<v Speaker 11>And my children make fun of me because of the

0:35:08.520 --> 0:35:11.480
<v Speaker 11>difference between when they were little and we used to

0:35:11.480 --> 0:35:13.359
<v Speaker 11>go to the mall and going to the mall now,

0:35:13.920 --> 0:35:15.840
<v Speaker 11>and or we go to a baseball game or a

0:35:15.880 --> 0:35:20.479
<v Speaker 11>football game, and and my sons would totally rag on me, like, mom,

0:35:20.600 --> 0:35:21.840
<v Speaker 11>nobody recognized you.

0:35:22.040 --> 0:35:22.840
<v Speaker 6>The whole game.

0:35:23.440 --> 0:35:23.680
<v Speaker 5>You know.

0:35:24.160 --> 0:35:26.839
<v Speaker 11>I'm like, well, honey, Mommy's lost it. I got gray

0:35:26.880 --> 0:35:29.120
<v Speaker 11>hair now, and I don't know what to tell you.

0:35:29.160 --> 0:36:01.440
<v Speaker 12>Nobody knew you.

0:35:45.800 --> 0:35:49.320
<v Speaker 1>You know. I think my favorite thing about this job,

0:35:49.719 --> 0:35:53.640
<v Speaker 1>about art and entertainment in general, is how deeply it

0:35:53.680 --> 0:36:00.000
<v Speaker 1>can impact people. Television, film, music, they can change someone's life.

0:36:00.320 --> 0:36:04.759
<v Speaker 1>Rosie apparently did for Logic. You know. I was on

0:36:05.080 --> 0:36:08.719
<v Speaker 1>the Little show The Office. I have always said the

0:36:08.880 --> 0:36:13.320
<v Speaker 1>greatest gift that the show ever gave me was hearing

0:36:13.360 --> 0:36:17.560
<v Speaker 1>from people how much that work affected them. I consider

0:36:17.600 --> 0:36:21.880
<v Speaker 1>it a gift to me, the idea of making someone's

0:36:21.920 --> 0:36:26.240
<v Speaker 1>life better, even for just a day or a moment.

0:36:26.880 --> 0:36:30.680
<v Speaker 1>And you know what made my life better today listening

0:36:30.719 --> 0:36:33.719
<v Speaker 1>back to these great moments from twenty twenty three, with

0:36:33.920 --> 0:36:37.319
<v Speaker 1>all of the incredible guests that we've had, I want

0:36:37.320 --> 0:36:39.920
<v Speaker 1>to thank everyone who was a part of this podcast

0:36:40.080 --> 0:36:43.760
<v Speaker 1>this year, not just the guests, but the incredible crew

0:36:44.160 --> 0:36:46.880
<v Speaker 1>and production team that I get to work with, and

0:36:46.960 --> 0:36:50.880
<v Speaker 1>all of you, the listeners who truly allow me to

0:36:50.960 --> 0:36:56.080
<v Speaker 1>keep doing this. So Happy New Year to everyone, and yeah,

0:36:56.440 --> 0:37:06.280
<v Speaker 1>we'll see you next year. Off the Beat is hosted

0:37:06.320 --> 0:37:10.800
<v Speaker 1>and executive produced by me Brian Baumgartner, alongside our executive

0:37:10.800 --> 0:37:14.920
<v Speaker 1>producer Lang Lee. Our senior producer is Diego Tapia. Our

0:37:14.920 --> 0:37:18.839
<v Speaker 1>producers are Liz Hayes, Hannah Harris, and Emily Carr. Our

0:37:18.880 --> 0:37:22.960
<v Speaker 1>talent producer is Ryan Papa Zachary, and our intern is

0:37:23.000 --> 0:37:27.680
<v Speaker 1>Ali Amir Sahed. Our theme song Bubble and Squeak, performed

0:37:27.719 --> 0:37:30.240
<v Speaker 1>by the one and only Creed Bratton