1 00:00:03,400 --> 00:00:15,239 Speaker 1: This is an I Heart original. It's Memorial Day weekend. 2 00:00:15,600 --> 00:00:19,600 Speaker 1: Seven people all over the country are having big celebrations, 3 00:00:20,040 --> 00:00:23,360 Speaker 1: but few are having as big or as loud as 4 00:00:23,360 --> 00:00:29,920 Speaker 1: celebration as Bruce Willis. The actor who was experiencing both 5 00:00:29,960 --> 00:00:33,960 Speaker 1: newfound fame and newfound wealth after years of trying to 6 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:38,000 Speaker 1: break into the entertainment business, is enjoying the fruits of 7 00:00:38,080 --> 00:00:42,440 Speaker 1: his labor. He's making fifty thousand dollars a week on 8 00:00:42,520 --> 00:00:47,640 Speaker 1: the hit ABC series Moonlighting. There are TV commercials and movies, 9 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:50,559 Speaker 1: and a script for an action film that's going to 10 00:00:50,680 --> 00:00:54,440 Speaker 1: change his life. His house in the Hollywood Hills is 11 00:00:54,480 --> 00:00:59,080 Speaker 1: packed to the rafters with friends. His expensive stereo system 12 00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:02,000 Speaker 1: is cranked up and playing a bunch of different albums, 13 00:01:02,120 --> 00:01:06,280 Speaker 1: including classics from the likes of Diana Ross. It's also 14 00:01:06,360 --> 00:01:10,440 Speaker 1: playing tracks from a new Motown Records release titled The 15 00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:16,240 Speaker 1: Return of Bruno. The album's most memorable single was under 16 00:01:16,280 --> 00:01:21,200 Speaker 1: the Boardwalk, a cover song featuring Bruno's tenor voice layered 17 00:01:21,280 --> 00:01:34,280 Speaker 1: over the deep bass of his backing Bandwalk When the Sun. 18 00:01:38,959 --> 00:01:43,479 Speaker 1: Bruno is Willis's musical alter ego, sort of the way 19 00:01:43,640 --> 00:01:47,440 Speaker 1: David Bowie went by Ziggy Stardust or Garth Brooks went 20 00:01:47,480 --> 00:01:51,800 Speaker 1: by Chris Gaines. Willis has toured as Bruno, played live 21 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:56,000 Speaker 1: dates as Bruno. When he's Bruno, he somehow possesses even 22 00:01:56,040 --> 00:02:01,000 Speaker 1: more swagger than usual. He's uninhibited, and now that he's 23 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:05,400 Speaker 1: got a record, he's going to play it. Hey, it's 24 00:02:05,400 --> 00:02:09,080 Speaker 1: a holiday weekend. There's nothing wrong with Bruce Willis playing 25 00:02:09,120 --> 00:02:12,960 Speaker 1: his own album at his own house, except it's loud. 26 00:02:13,639 --> 00:02:19,520 Speaker 1: Allegedly really loud. That's what Willis's neighbors tell the police 27 00:02:19,680 --> 00:02:25,480 Speaker 1: when they phone in a noise complaint, and so at 28 00:02:25,560 --> 00:02:28,799 Speaker 1: some point in the evening, Bruce Willis is greeted by 29 00:02:28,840 --> 00:02:32,000 Speaker 1: patrol officers who have come to ask him to turn 30 00:02:32,080 --> 00:02:36,680 Speaker 1: down the music, to turn down the brunow and appease 31 00:02:36,760 --> 00:02:41,800 Speaker 1: his neighbors. But Bruce Willis is not what law enforcement 32 00:02:41,840 --> 00:02:46,440 Speaker 1: would describe as cooperative. According to the police report, he 33 00:02:46,600 --> 00:02:50,239 Speaker 1: doesn't agree to turn down the music. Instead, he tells 34 00:02:50,240 --> 00:02:53,399 Speaker 1: the cops that they aren't invited, they don't have a warrant, 35 00:02:53,840 --> 00:02:58,160 Speaker 1: and to get the out of his house. The cops 36 00:02:58,200 --> 00:03:04,440 Speaker 1: do not comply. There is more yelling, posturing. Willis's friends 37 00:03:04,520 --> 00:03:13,040 Speaker 1: get involved, and then things escalate. What happens next can 38 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:19,359 Speaker 1: best be described as better. More cops show up, allegedly, 39 00:03:19,720 --> 00:03:26,840 Speaker 1: so do police helicopters. Willis is handcuffed, arrested, and the party, 40 00:03:27,240 --> 00:03:32,120 Speaker 1: at least for the moment, is open. There will be 41 00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:36,600 Speaker 1: a number of changes in Bruce Willis's life following this altercation. 42 00:03:37,400 --> 00:03:40,560 Speaker 1: The most important is that he'll soon decide life in 43 00:03:40,600 --> 00:03:45,400 Speaker 1: the Hollywood Hills. Life in Hollywood might not be for him. 44 00:03:45,440 --> 00:03:50,480 Speaker 1: Neither is fame. The arrest makes the tabloids, so does 45 00:03:50,560 --> 00:03:55,040 Speaker 1: his new relationship with actress Dummy Moore. Bruce Willis just 46 00:03:55,160 --> 00:03:58,000 Speaker 1: wants to be free, to make his music blast, his 47 00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:01,920 Speaker 1: music unwind, and to live his life without being put 48 00:04:02,080 --> 00:04:06,120 Speaker 1: under a microscope or in the back of a police car. 49 00:04:07,600 --> 00:04:12,000 Speaker 1: He was becoming too famous for comfort. And the worst part, 50 00:04:12,600 --> 00:04:17,719 Speaker 1: die Hard hadn't even come out yet. For I Heart Radio, 51 00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:23,320 Speaker 1: This is Haleywood and I Heart original podcast, I'm your 52 00:04:23,320 --> 00:04:27,640 Speaker 1: host Danis Schwartz, and this is episode two, Welcome to 53 00:04:27,680 --> 00:04:35,719 Speaker 1: the Party pal. At the beginning of the nine eighties, 54 00:04:35,920 --> 00:04:40,480 Speaker 1: Bruce Willis wasn't yet Bruce Willis home wasn't the Hollywood 55 00:04:40,560 --> 00:04:43,720 Speaker 1: Hills but a fifth floor walk up in Hell's Kitchen. 56 00:04:44,279 --> 00:04:46,760 Speaker 1: He was a struggling actor who had come out of 57 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:54,000 Speaker 1: the working class town of Penn's Grove, New Jersey. While 58 00:04:54,040 --> 00:04:57,440 Speaker 1: he was going to auditions, Willis supported himself like most 59 00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:01,279 Speaker 1: actors do in the service industry. He worked as a 60 00:05:01,320 --> 00:05:05,440 Speaker 1: bartender at Cafe Central, a hip New York City hang 61 00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:10,600 Speaker 1: out at the corner of Street and Amsterdam Avenue. For Willis, 62 00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:13,560 Speaker 1: it was an opportunity to catch some of New York's 63 00:05:13,640 --> 00:05:18,919 Speaker 1: most renowned actors off the clock. Al Pacino, Robert de Niro, 64 00:05:19,120 --> 00:05:22,960 Speaker 1: and Danny A. Yello were regulars. So was John Goodman, 65 00:05:23,080 --> 00:05:27,520 Speaker 1: who became a close friend of Willis's. But in some respects, 66 00:05:27,839 --> 00:05:31,359 Speaker 1: the real attraction of Cafe Central wasn't the opportunity to 67 00:05:31,440 --> 00:05:35,839 Speaker 1: catch Pacino or de Niro. It was Willis who applied 68 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:40,440 Speaker 1: his trade as a bartender by effortlessly charming everyone inside 69 00:05:43,400 --> 00:05:47,920 Speaker 1: in the bar. He was very cocky, very funny, kind 70 00:05:47,920 --> 00:05:51,200 Speaker 1: of allowed. You know, some more tenders want to lend 71 00:05:51,279 --> 00:05:53,760 Speaker 1: into the background, as some want to make an impression. 72 00:05:54,480 --> 00:05:57,520 Speaker 1: He sort of had even then, this thing that you 73 00:05:57,520 --> 00:06:01,479 Speaker 1: couldn't stop looking at him. That's Martha Frankel. You remember 74 00:06:01,560 --> 00:06:04,720 Speaker 1: Martha from her ill fated interview with Bruce Willis for 75 00:06:04,920 --> 00:06:07,720 Speaker 1: movie line The one where he forced a restaurant to 76 00:06:07,800 --> 00:06:09,880 Speaker 1: close so he wouldn't have to deal with the world 77 00:06:09,920 --> 00:06:13,360 Speaker 1: at large. But Martha also knew Willis long before then. 78 00:06:13,600 --> 00:06:15,359 Speaker 1: I mean, I was starting out as a writer and 79 00:06:15,400 --> 00:06:19,200 Speaker 1: a lot of my friends were upcoming actors. You watch, 80 00:06:19,600 --> 00:06:22,880 Speaker 1: you know, you see what's going on. She frequently stopped 81 00:06:22,880 --> 00:06:26,760 Speaker 1: into Cafe Central in the early nineteen eighties and witnessed 82 00:06:26,800 --> 00:06:31,200 Speaker 1: Willis in action, tossing around cocktail shakers and one liners, 83 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:36,400 Speaker 1: a lot of gorgeous young actors and actresses filling those boots, 84 00:06:37,640 --> 00:06:40,479 Speaker 1: and Bruce isn't you know, he's not. It's not that 85 00:06:40,560 --> 00:06:43,920 Speaker 1: he's such a show stop or physically. When you see 86 00:06:43,960 --> 00:06:48,120 Speaker 1: somebody like a young Aidan Quinn, a young Puccino, a 87 00:06:48,320 --> 00:06:53,919 Speaker 1: young Robert Duvaal, maybe you wouldn't notice Bruce as much. 88 00:06:54,640 --> 00:06:58,320 Speaker 1: But he had a personality, and he had a big personality. 89 00:06:58,400 --> 00:07:01,960 Speaker 1: So when he started making a people remembered him. For 90 00:07:02,120 --> 00:07:05,440 Speaker 1: Martha and everyone else in Willis's orbit in those days, 91 00:07:05,880 --> 00:07:09,480 Speaker 1: they could tell there was something about this guy. He 92 00:07:09,560 --> 00:07:13,840 Speaker 1: was quick, witty, and confident. If you went to Cafe Central, 93 00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:17,480 Speaker 1: he stood out. I liked him as a bartender. This 94 00:07:17,680 --> 00:07:21,720 Speaker 1: was somebody who came up in New York and you 95 00:07:21,760 --> 00:07:23,920 Speaker 1: know how to work for it. He he was not 96 00:07:24,080 --> 00:07:30,720 Speaker 1: handed anything. At the time. Willis went by a nickname. Yeah, 97 00:07:30,760 --> 00:07:34,360 Speaker 1: I think they called him Bruno. Bruno was a perfect 98 00:07:34,480 --> 00:07:37,360 Speaker 1: name for a charismatic bartender in a New York bar, 99 00:07:37,920 --> 00:07:43,400 Speaker 1: a character among characters. I can only imagine that it 100 00:07:43,520 --> 00:07:46,120 Speaker 1: was like a roll to him, and he was good 101 00:07:46,120 --> 00:07:50,920 Speaker 1: at it. He could like keep five conversations going. Bruss 102 00:07:50,920 --> 00:07:55,640 Speaker 1: always remembered your name, he remembered your backstory, he remembered 103 00:07:55,640 --> 00:07:58,680 Speaker 1: your friends. And that's you know, you make a lot 104 00:07:58,760 --> 00:08:01,560 Speaker 1: of tips when you do that. But I don't think 105 00:08:01,560 --> 00:08:07,480 Speaker 1: it was what he was looking to do. You got 106 00:08:07,520 --> 00:08:11,440 Speaker 1: the sense, Bruce or Bruno was destined for bigger and 107 00:08:11,600 --> 00:08:16,560 Speaker 1: better things. But Willis didn't tend bar as some actors do, 108 00:08:16,760 --> 00:08:19,960 Speaker 1: for a few months or even a year. He did 109 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:23,960 Speaker 1: it for at least six years, spending his nights watching 110 00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:28,000 Speaker 1: accomplished actors come and go while he auditioned during the day. 111 00:08:29,160 --> 00:08:32,720 Speaker 1: While bartending, he nabbed the Verdict and some other bit 112 00:08:32,840 --> 00:08:38,000 Speaker 1: and stage parts. The eighties war on. He eventually got 113 00:08:38,040 --> 00:08:42,040 Speaker 1: an agent, and that agent eventually sent him to audition 114 00:08:42,160 --> 00:08:46,120 Speaker 1: for a movie called Desperately Seeking Susan, which would go 115 00:08:46,160 --> 00:08:49,760 Speaker 1: on to star Madonna, but not co star Bruce Willis. 116 00:08:51,200 --> 00:08:55,760 Speaker 1: Then Willis landed an audition at ABC, where writer Glenn 117 00:08:55,840 --> 00:09:00,319 Speaker 1: Gordon Karen was mounting an hour long comedy titled moon Lighting. 118 00:09:02,400 --> 00:09:05,680 Speaker 1: Karen's idea was to take the detective format, which had 119 00:09:05,679 --> 00:09:10,640 Speaker 1: been popular on television practically since television was invented, and 120 00:09:10,760 --> 00:09:16,160 Speaker 1: turn it into a rapid fire, screwball comedy. His leads, 121 00:09:16,360 --> 00:09:20,040 Speaker 1: private detectives David Addison and Mattie Hayes, would be a 122 00:09:20,040 --> 00:09:24,360 Speaker 1: combustible pair working cases for their Blue Moon Detective Agency 123 00:09:24,679 --> 00:09:28,760 Speaker 1: while trying to ignore their mutual attraction. The dialogue would 124 00:09:28,760 --> 00:09:32,960 Speaker 1: come fast and furious. The pace would be snappy. The 125 00:09:33,040 --> 00:09:37,040 Speaker 1: idea was ambitious. At the time, Network TV was home 126 00:09:37,120 --> 00:09:41,240 Speaker 1: to the A Team, Who's the Boss, and other formulaic hits. 127 00:09:41,960 --> 00:09:46,040 Speaker 1: Moonlighting would be a step away from the usual. Karen 128 00:09:46,240 --> 00:09:50,400 Speaker 1: found his Maddie in Sybil Shepherd, an actress best known 129 00:09:50,480 --> 00:09:53,280 Speaker 1: at the time for appearing in The Last Picture Show 130 00:09:53,360 --> 00:10:01,640 Speaker 1: in and Taxi Driver in s But despite seeing hundreds 131 00:10:01,640 --> 00:10:06,400 Speaker 1: of actors, Karen hadn't yet found his David Addison. Addison 132 00:10:06,520 --> 00:10:11,000 Speaker 1: would have to be confident, brash, kind of cocky but 133 00:10:11,120 --> 00:10:15,960 Speaker 1: also funny and charming and gracious. Call it a Bruce 134 00:10:15,960 --> 00:10:20,360 Speaker 1: Willis type. The role he was already playing at Cafe Central. 135 00:10:20,920 --> 00:10:23,520 Speaker 1: I mean, he was so good at when lighting, and 136 00:10:24,120 --> 00:10:28,800 Speaker 1: you know, it's really like, wow, that guy is doing that. 137 00:10:28,960 --> 00:10:30,680 Speaker 1: He was funny, and he was sort of light on 138 00:10:30,760 --> 00:10:34,840 Speaker 1: his feet. There was something kind of shocking about how 139 00:10:34,920 --> 00:10:39,319 Speaker 1: great he was in that role. Just like that, Bruno's 140 00:10:39,360 --> 00:10:42,800 Speaker 1: bar attending days were over, and so were Willis's days 141 00:10:42,880 --> 00:10:48,240 Speaker 1: of blending into the background. It's a romantic comedy. Really 142 00:10:48,280 --> 00:10:51,640 Speaker 1: looking forward to working with you, kid. Boom Lighting premiering Sunday, 143 00:10:51,679 --> 00:10:58,920 Speaker 1: March three. Moonlighting premiered in March and was practically an 144 00:10:58,960 --> 00:11:03,280 Speaker 1: overnight hit. Critics and audiences fell in love with David 145 00:11:03,320 --> 00:11:08,600 Speaker 1: Addison and by extension, with Bruce Willis. Moonlighting didn't take 146 00:11:08,640 --> 00:11:12,720 Speaker 1: itself seriously. Sometimes Willis would turn directly to the camera 147 00:11:12,800 --> 00:11:15,160 Speaker 1: and break the fourth wall. You know, That's what I 148 00:11:15,200 --> 00:11:17,000 Speaker 1: like about this place. You learned something new every day. 149 00:11:17,040 --> 00:11:20,080 Speaker 1: But you get serious. I just had my hand on 150 00:11:20,120 --> 00:11:21,760 Speaker 1: your behind. If I get any more serious, we're gonna 151 00:11:21,760 --> 00:11:25,199 Speaker 1: moves to cable. A few shows. Few actors could get 152 00:11:25,240 --> 00:11:28,480 Speaker 1: away with something so brazen, but viewers were willing to 153 00:11:28,520 --> 00:11:32,440 Speaker 1: go with it. It scored multiple Emmy nominations, and by 154 00:11:32,480 --> 00:11:36,360 Speaker 1: season three rose as high as number nine in the ratings. 155 00:11:37,679 --> 00:11:41,720 Speaker 1: Moonlighting had a domino effect on Willis's career. During the 156 00:11:41,760 --> 00:11:45,480 Speaker 1: first season of Moonlighting, Willis was familiar to just seventeen 157 00:11:45,600 --> 00:11:49,600 Speaker 1: percent of the television viewing audience. Call it the oh 158 00:11:49,679 --> 00:11:54,199 Speaker 1: that guy factor. By the second season, his familiarity had 159 00:11:54,240 --> 00:12:01,600 Speaker 1: shot up to fifty seven percent. One of the people 160 00:12:01,640 --> 00:12:06,000 Speaker 1: getting familiar with Willis was a man named Edgar Bronfman Jr. 161 00:12:06,880 --> 00:12:10,439 Speaker 1: Bronfman was high up on the chain of command of Seagrams, 162 00:12:10,600 --> 00:12:13,680 Speaker 1: the adult beverage company that was getting ready to launch 163 00:12:13,760 --> 00:12:19,560 Speaker 1: a new alcohol brand, Seagram's Golden Wine Cooler. Bronfman needed 164 00:12:19,559 --> 00:12:24,720 Speaker 1: a spokesman who was hip, recognizable to audiences, someone you'd 165 00:12:24,760 --> 00:12:27,480 Speaker 1: want to hang out and have a drink with, and 166 00:12:27,679 --> 00:12:30,600 Speaker 1: someone manly enough to make the idea of sipping wine 167 00:12:30,600 --> 00:12:37,240 Speaker 1: coolers palatable or sexy. Even Moonlighting money was good, Seagram's 168 00:12:37,280 --> 00:12:43,080 Speaker 1: money was better. After negotiating with Willis's agent, Arnold Ritkin, 169 00:12:43,920 --> 00:12:48,040 Speaker 1: Bronkman agreed to pay Willis between five and seven million 170 00:12:48,080 --> 00:12:51,480 Speaker 1: dollars for appearing in the Wine cooler ads over a 171 00:12:51,520 --> 00:12:55,240 Speaker 1: two to three year period. Willis was all too happy 172 00:12:55,280 --> 00:12:59,200 Speaker 1: to agree. He had, after all, plenty of experience selling 173 00:12:59,280 --> 00:13:03,440 Speaker 1: drinks for a lot less in tips. Oddly enough, it 174 00:13:03,600 --> 00:13:07,679 Speaker 1: was Cafe Central's old patron, Martha Frankel, who wound up 175 00:13:07,720 --> 00:13:10,480 Speaker 1: writing some of the spots for Ogilvie and Mather, the 176 00:13:10,559 --> 00:13:14,000 Speaker 1: ad agency behind the campaign. Those ads were a big 177 00:13:14,040 --> 00:13:18,600 Speaker 1: deal for a while. Oh my god, I forgot about them. 178 00:13:18,600 --> 00:13:22,120 Speaker 1: Oh you know, I think I wrote one of them. Yeah, 179 00:13:22,280 --> 00:13:25,760 Speaker 1: I think I did. I worked for that company. Oh 180 00:13:25,800 --> 00:13:30,640 Speaker 1: my god, I've got about that. Holy Moley. The ads 181 00:13:30,640 --> 00:13:34,040 Speaker 1: featured Willis hanging out with his friends, sipping sea grooms 182 00:13:34,120 --> 00:13:38,599 Speaker 1: and naturally playing the harmonica and the slogan this is 183 00:13:38,640 --> 00:13:49,320 Speaker 1: where the fund starts. Another spot featured a then unknown 184 00:13:49,480 --> 00:13:53,840 Speaker 1: Sharon Stone, and another ad centered around a fictional wedding 185 00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:59,760 Speaker 1: and Willis's somewhat unethical attempts to pick up the bride. 186 00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:06,280 Speaker 1: Didn't the toast serious golden to it sious, because that's 187 00:14:06,280 --> 00:14:11,760 Speaker 1: the toasts. A commercial willis is now patented blend of humor, sex, 188 00:14:11,840 --> 00:14:16,280 Speaker 1: appeal and charm was condensed into a perfect thirty seconds. 189 00:14:17,080 --> 00:14:21,200 Speaker 1: It was a very nineteen eighties idea of what culture 190 00:14:21,680 --> 00:14:26,040 Speaker 1: and advertisers believed men should look like and what they 191 00:14:26,040 --> 00:14:30,240 Speaker 1: should sound like. Bruce was in control of the room, 192 00:14:30,840 --> 00:14:33,720 Speaker 1: just like he'd been the m C of Cafe Central. 193 00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:37,880 Speaker 1: The women in the commercials may not have literally swooned, 194 00:14:38,360 --> 00:14:42,480 Speaker 1: but they all seemed charmed by Willis. By his boldness, 195 00:14:43,840 --> 00:14:46,800 Speaker 1: sales of Seagram's went up, and people took to calling 196 00:14:46,880 --> 00:14:54,200 Speaker 1: it somewhat disturbingly Bruce Juice. Bruce's Brunos harmonica was beginning 197 00:14:54,240 --> 00:14:58,720 Speaker 1: to appear in other places. The musical interludes in Moonlighting, 198 00:14:59,040 --> 00:15:02,600 Speaker 1: where Willis even played the harmonica and the pilot, attracted 199 00:15:02,640 --> 00:15:07,320 Speaker 1: the attention of Motown Records president Jay Lasker. He invited 200 00:15:07,360 --> 00:15:10,760 Speaker 1: Willis out to dinner and asked him a pointed question, 201 00:15:11,320 --> 00:15:16,240 Speaker 1: did Willis want to record an album? The result was 202 00:15:16,520 --> 00:15:20,560 Speaker 1: the Return of Bruno, a Motown Records album released in 203 00:15:20,680 --> 00:15:25,680 Speaker 1: early seven that featured Willis backed by The Heaters, a 204 00:15:25,800 --> 00:15:31,720 Speaker 1: band he had discovered in a North Hollywood bar. It 205 00:15:31,880 --> 00:15:35,080 Speaker 1: was accompanied by an HBO special that was part music, 206 00:15:35,480 --> 00:15:40,120 Speaker 1: part comedy, and featured Willis slipping into his harmonizing alter ego. 207 00:15:40,920 --> 00:15:45,280 Speaker 1: He even created a fictional backstory celebrities like Michael J. 208 00:15:45,480 --> 00:15:48,640 Speaker 1: Fox and Elton John appeared in the special to sing 209 00:15:48,760 --> 00:15:52,360 Speaker 1: Bruno's praises. It was kind of like this is spinal 210 00:15:52,440 --> 00:15:57,520 Speaker 1: tap for his character a mockumentary. Here's Ringo star delivering 211 00:15:57,720 --> 00:16:01,080 Speaker 1: his line deadpan. Well, if it being for Bruno, there 212 00:16:01,080 --> 00:16:04,200 Speaker 1: would have been no Beatles, and if not for Bruce, 213 00:16:04,440 --> 00:16:09,840 Speaker 1: there might not have been a Haleywood either. The thing was, 214 00:16:10,360 --> 00:16:14,800 Speaker 1: Bruce Willis hadn't exactly fantasized about being the face of 215 00:16:14,920 --> 00:16:18,520 Speaker 1: wine coolers or even the face of a television network. 216 00:16:19,240 --> 00:16:24,880 Speaker 1: Being seen, recognized, even hunted by photographers was not suited 217 00:16:24,960 --> 00:16:28,880 Speaker 1: to his temperament. Sure, he was a natural on stage, 218 00:16:29,440 --> 00:16:31,960 Speaker 1: but that didn't mean the spotlight always had to be 219 00:16:32,080 --> 00:16:35,960 Speaker 1: on him, did it. Glenn Gordon Karen, who had launched 220 00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:39,160 Speaker 1: Willis's career, once said he felt like he had to 221 00:16:39,320 --> 00:16:43,440 Speaker 1: apologize to Willis for the crime, the crime of making 222 00:16:43,560 --> 00:16:48,360 Speaker 1: him famous. That's how much Willis resisted being a familiar face, 223 00:16:49,040 --> 00:16:51,720 Speaker 1: and a hint that he would go to some lengths 224 00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:55,240 Speaker 1: to avoid it if he could. He can't go back 225 00:16:55,320 --> 00:17:12,920 Speaker 1: to bartending, or maybe there's some way he can. Despite 226 00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:16,320 Speaker 1: his discomfort with his growing fame, a lot was going 227 00:17:16,480 --> 00:17:20,440 Speaker 1: right for Willis in. For one thing, he never got 228 00:17:20,640 --> 00:17:23,800 Speaker 1: charged for his run in with the cops, and for another, 229 00:17:24,240 --> 00:17:28,880 Speaker 1: he met Demi Moore. Moore had been working steadily, first 230 00:17:29,000 --> 00:17:32,400 Speaker 1: in the soap opera General Hospital, and then in Hollywood 231 00:17:32,480 --> 00:17:35,600 Speaker 1: in films like Saying Almost Fire and About Last Night. 232 00:17:36,240 --> 00:17:40,840 Speaker 1: Raised partly in small Pennsylvania towns Cannonsburg and Charleroy before 233 00:17:40,920 --> 00:17:44,720 Speaker 1: moving to California at age thirteen. She had a maturity 234 00:17:44,880 --> 00:17:48,159 Speaker 1: on screen that seemed counter to her age. She was 235 00:17:48,240 --> 00:17:55,560 Speaker 1: in her mid twenties. According to Moore's memoir Inside Out, 236 00:17:55,960 --> 00:17:59,159 Speaker 1: she had just split from actor Emilio Estevez when she 237 00:17:59,280 --> 00:18:02,920 Speaker 1: ran into will Us at a party. He was behind 238 00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:08,440 Speaker 1: the bar, shaking out cocktails just for fun. He was well. 239 00:18:08,720 --> 00:18:13,560 Speaker 1: He was Bruce Willis, charming and at least in this case, deferential. 240 00:18:14,880 --> 00:18:17,840 Speaker 1: The more said at that point she hadn't seen Moonlighting, 241 00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:24,360 Speaker 1: only his Seagram's commercials. Apparently Seagram's was where the funds started. 242 00:18:25,760 --> 00:18:28,480 Speaker 1: He asked for a number, walked her to her car, 243 00:18:29,200 --> 00:18:35,840 Speaker 1: and the two began dating. In November, they decided to 244 00:18:35,920 --> 00:18:41,120 Speaker 1: get married. The two became one of Hollywood's power couples, 245 00:18:41,520 --> 00:18:45,560 Speaker 1: doubly famous, but there was comfort in the fact that 246 00:18:45,680 --> 00:18:49,000 Speaker 1: they each knew the other didn't want status or money, 247 00:18:49,440 --> 00:18:52,560 Speaker 1: because each of them already had plenty of both. They 248 00:18:52,640 --> 00:18:55,960 Speaker 1: also had something else in common. They were from small towns. 249 00:18:56,600 --> 00:18:59,560 Speaker 1: Neither one had been raised, like Estevez, in a show 250 00:18:59,640 --> 00:19:03,720 Speaker 1: biz family, and when talk turned to wanting to raise children, 251 00:19:04,119 --> 00:19:06,800 Speaker 1: the idea of doing it among the artificial veneer of 252 00:19:06,880 --> 00:19:12,960 Speaker 1: Hollywood seemed counterintuitive. Willis said as much in interview with 253 00:19:13,040 --> 00:19:16,359 Speaker 1: The New York Times, where he described his dislike of 254 00:19:16,480 --> 00:19:20,800 Speaker 1: Los Angeles. I don't live in l A because it's 255 00:19:20,840 --> 00:19:23,280 Speaker 1: a pretty weird town, and I don't want to raise 256 00:19:23,359 --> 00:19:36,240 Speaker 1: my kids here, he said. But if not California, then 257 00:19:36,359 --> 00:19:40,440 Speaker 1: where where could Bruce Willis and Demi Moore retreat to 258 00:19:40,960 --> 00:19:43,840 Speaker 1: that would allow them to escape what was becoming an 259 00:19:43,920 --> 00:19:49,639 Speaker 1: increasing burden of being known. They soon got their answer, 260 00:19:50,840 --> 00:19:53,639 Speaker 1: It just took Willis breaking a bone to realize it. 261 00:19:56,800 --> 00:20:00,920 Speaker 1: In March seven, just two months before or Willis would 262 00:20:00,920 --> 00:20:03,520 Speaker 1: be shoved into a police car in the Hollywood Hills, 263 00:20:04,160 --> 00:20:08,000 Speaker 1: Willis went on vacation in Sun Valley, the posh ski 264 00:20:08,160 --> 00:20:11,960 Speaker 1: resort in the Wood River Valley area of Idaho. Thanks 265 00:20:12,040 --> 00:20:15,760 Speaker 1: to moonlighting, Willis was now in an exclusive club that 266 00:20:15,960 --> 00:20:19,800 Speaker 1: gathered in the area, the club that welcomed successful people 267 00:20:19,960 --> 00:20:25,040 Speaker 1: to fraternize in exclusive vacation spots. He tackled Sun Valley's 268 00:20:25,080 --> 00:20:29,240 Speaker 1: ski slope with real zeal And on his first trip 269 00:20:29,320 --> 00:20:33,399 Speaker 1: down that day, cruising over the immaculate white powder, he 270 00:20:33,600 --> 00:20:40,879 Speaker 1: fell and broke his collar bone. While Willis was recovering 271 00:20:41,280 --> 00:20:44,600 Speaker 1: hanging out with little else to do, he was properly 272 00:20:44,760 --> 00:20:49,160 Speaker 1: introduced to Wood River Valley to catch him the bustling 273 00:20:49,320 --> 00:20:53,359 Speaker 1: and expensive town where Clint Eastwood and Tom Hanks puttered around, 274 00:20:53,920 --> 00:21:02,280 Speaker 1: and to a town about fifteen miles down the road, Haley, Idaho. Well, 275 00:21:03,640 --> 00:21:08,240 Speaker 1: the north part around Catchem and Sun Valley. Um, those 276 00:21:08,280 --> 00:21:12,040 Speaker 1: are the two uh urban I'll put that in quotes. 277 00:21:12,560 --> 00:21:14,680 Speaker 1: Neither one are big enough to be urban, but they 278 00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:18,320 Speaker 1: are large because of the tourist industry. And then about 279 00:21:18,359 --> 00:21:21,160 Speaker 1: eleven miles south of that is where Haley is located. 280 00:21:22,040 --> 00:21:26,359 Speaker 1: That's Tom Blanchard, a one time county commissioner and Haley historian. 281 00:21:27,520 --> 00:21:29,880 Speaker 1: And as you move from north to south, you move 282 00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:33,399 Speaker 1: from greater wealth to lesser wealth. And so the valley 283 00:21:33,880 --> 00:21:37,440 Speaker 1: is structured in tiers in terms of its proximity to 284 00:21:37,560 --> 00:21:41,560 Speaker 1: the Sun Valley destination resort, both in terms of wealth 285 00:21:41,640 --> 00:21:45,720 Speaker 1: and class amenities, you know, other things that make a 286 00:21:45,800 --> 00:21:50,280 Speaker 1: community function and viable. The further you get from the resort, 287 00:21:50,440 --> 00:21:55,840 Speaker 1: the more modest your surroundings. Hailey was and is bordered 288 00:21:55,880 --> 00:21:59,240 Speaker 1: by a lot of public land nestled near the Big 289 00:21:59,320 --> 00:22:04,240 Speaker 1: Wood River. A simpler life echoed through its modest streets, 290 00:22:04,640 --> 00:22:08,400 Speaker 1: where lumber yards once sold groceries, and some small buildings 291 00:22:08,720 --> 00:22:15,280 Speaker 1: were erected from mail order kits. During Willis's accidental Hollywood hiatus, 292 00:22:15,640 --> 00:22:19,800 Speaker 1: he probably drove past the Haley Public Library, the J. J. 293 00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:24,200 Speaker 1: Tracy drug store, and the J. C. Fox Building, where 294 00:22:24,240 --> 00:22:27,920 Speaker 1: a beloved town doctor once made house calls on a snowmobile. 295 00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:32,600 Speaker 1: The Liberty Theater movie house, originally the site of an 296 00:22:32,640 --> 00:22:37,280 Speaker 1: ice skating rink. Freedman Memorial Airport, helped shuttle the nearby 297 00:22:37,359 --> 00:22:41,480 Speaker 1: movie stars to and from their ski retreats. It was 298 00:22:41,640 --> 00:22:49,240 Speaker 1: love at first sight ready in Willis quietly purchased a 299 00:22:49,359 --> 00:22:52,560 Speaker 1: twenty acre property on the edge of Haley, in a 300 00:22:52,640 --> 00:22:57,840 Speaker 1: housing development known as Flying Heart Ranch. He officially became 301 00:22:57,880 --> 00:23:04,359 Speaker 1: a resident of Haley. Willis and more were serious about 302 00:23:04,440 --> 00:23:09,879 Speaker 1: small town ambitions. Hailey seemed custom made for them, especially 303 00:23:10,080 --> 00:23:14,600 Speaker 1: for someone with a family. The community was known to 304 00:23:14,720 --> 00:23:17,399 Speaker 1: have a very good school system, so that was an 305 00:23:17,400 --> 00:23:21,280 Speaker 1: attractive thing right from the goal. At the time they 306 00:23:21,359 --> 00:23:24,560 Speaker 1: moved there, Hailey was home to over three thousand residents, 307 00:23:25,560 --> 00:23:28,080 Speaker 1: but at least for a little while, the fact that 308 00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:31,960 Speaker 1: Willis was a new resident seemed to escape notice. Why 309 00:23:32,320 --> 00:23:36,680 Speaker 1: you know, I'm not even sure when he came here. 310 00:23:36,760 --> 00:23:39,760 Speaker 1: I didn't know somehow, remember being in the late eighties, 311 00:23:39,880 --> 00:23:44,280 Speaker 1: but probably you know, I'd have to have to say 312 00:23:44,359 --> 00:23:49,080 Speaker 1: some time in the early nineties nineties, when he started 313 00:23:49,119 --> 00:23:54,639 Speaker 1: actually buying some Hailey property. It's probably my first awareness 314 00:23:54,720 --> 00:23:59,040 Speaker 1: of it. But there was no parade, no newspaper notice, 315 00:23:59,200 --> 00:24:03,200 Speaker 1: no grand proclamation that the two had arrived. If there 316 00:24:03,240 --> 00:24:06,240 Speaker 1: had been, it probably would have driven Willis right back 317 00:24:06,280 --> 00:24:09,679 Speaker 1: out of town. What he wanted was to be unseen, 318 00:24:10,560 --> 00:24:13,399 Speaker 1: at least that's what he said he wanted, you know, 319 00:24:13,680 --> 00:24:16,040 Speaker 1: the whole thing about he doesn't want to be recognized. 320 00:24:16,600 --> 00:24:18,480 Speaker 1: I've been through it Spike Lee a bunch of times, 321 00:24:18,560 --> 00:24:20,440 Speaker 1: and he says, you know, you pull down your baseball cap, 322 00:24:20,520 --> 00:24:22,560 Speaker 1: you get on the subway, nobody knows who you are. 323 00:24:23,240 --> 00:24:25,800 Speaker 1: I've been around de Niro, I've been around people who 324 00:24:25,800 --> 00:24:30,639 Speaker 1: are very famous, and they can blend in. Bruce wanted 325 00:24:30,680 --> 00:24:34,680 Speaker 1: to be noticed and left alone. I don't think that's 326 00:24:34,800 --> 00:24:40,119 Speaker 1: possible to be noticed and be left alone, a paradox 327 00:24:40,280 --> 00:24:42,760 Speaker 1: that would shape Bruce for the rest of his career. 328 00:24:46,119 --> 00:24:49,320 Speaker 1: After Willis moved in, he approached his neighbor, a local 329 00:24:49,400 --> 00:24:54,000 Speaker 1: lawyer named Ed Lawson. See Willis didn't really want a neighbor, 330 00:24:54,400 --> 00:24:58,760 Speaker 1: any neighbors really. Lawson didn't even live on the lot. 331 00:24:59,320 --> 00:25:02,280 Speaker 1: But if WILLI spot Lawson's lot, it would be a 332 00:25:02,440 --> 00:25:05,240 Speaker 1: kind of buffer zone to keep out the prying eyes 333 00:25:05,320 --> 00:25:09,560 Speaker 1: of the media. Lawson may or may not have hesitated, 334 00:25:10,080 --> 00:25:13,439 Speaker 1: but this was the lesson of success. If Bruce Willis 335 00:25:13,480 --> 00:25:17,119 Speaker 1: wants something, he can afford to be persistent. Lawson never 336 00:25:17,240 --> 00:25:20,320 Speaker 1: confirmed the story, but the rumor in Haley was that 337 00:25:20,520 --> 00:25:23,400 Speaker 1: laws and sold the lot to Willis and made two 338 00:25:23,600 --> 00:25:27,359 Speaker 1: hundred thousand dollars in profit for Willis. There was no 339 00:25:27,560 --> 00:25:34,080 Speaker 1: such thing as too high a price on privacy. Lawson 340 00:25:34,240 --> 00:25:38,000 Speaker 1: actually did business with Willis again. Lawson and his wife 341 00:25:38,080 --> 00:25:42,040 Speaker 1: Julie owned what was known as Freedman Mansion just off 342 00:25:42,119 --> 00:25:45,680 Speaker 1: of Main Street in town. It was a grand, old 343 00:25:45,800 --> 00:25:49,200 Speaker 1: place which once belonged to the Freedman family, who had 344 00:25:49,240 --> 00:25:57,000 Speaker 1: helped shape Haley decades prior. Again, Willis approached Lawson and 345 00:25:57,280 --> 00:26:01,000 Speaker 1: made him an offer he couldn't refuse, and he didn't. 346 00:26:02,280 --> 00:26:05,879 Speaker 1: The mansion wasn't really for Bruce, though, it was for Demi. 347 00:26:06,840 --> 00:26:11,800 Speaker 1: Before long, the mansion had over two thousand occupants, all 348 00:26:11,880 --> 00:26:17,119 Speaker 1: of them were Moore's porcelain dolls. Willis had bought her 349 00:26:17,359 --> 00:26:23,840 Speaker 1: a dollhouse, a really fancy dollhouse. This may have been 350 00:26:23,960 --> 00:26:26,639 Speaker 1: the first sign that things in Haley we're going to 351 00:26:26,720 --> 00:26:32,520 Speaker 1: start looking and feeling a little different. What Bruce Willis wants, 352 00:26:32,920 --> 00:26:37,760 Speaker 1: Lawson said, Bruce Willis gets, and that would be especially 353 00:26:37,840 --> 00:26:41,880 Speaker 1: true when John McClain would send Willis into new levels 354 00:26:42,000 --> 00:26:45,920 Speaker 1: of wealth and influence, with a desire to escape getting 355 00:26:46,040 --> 00:26:50,240 Speaker 1: even stronger. The time was coming when Willis would have 356 00:26:50,320 --> 00:26:52,720 Speaker 1: the means to do a lot more in Haley than 357 00:26:52,800 --> 00:27:05,440 Speaker 1: buy a dollhouse. In nine eighty six, Willis was spending 358 00:27:05,520 --> 00:27:10,160 Speaker 1: his evenings recording his album The Return of Bruno. During 359 00:27:10,240 --> 00:27:13,000 Speaker 1: the day he was shooting a movie called Blind Date, 360 00:27:13,480 --> 00:27:16,920 Speaker 1: his first leading role and the first time audiences would 361 00:27:16,920 --> 00:27:19,520 Speaker 1: be tempted by the idea of seeing the star of 362 00:27:19,600 --> 00:27:23,200 Speaker 1: moonlighting on the big screen. It turned out not to 363 00:27:23,280 --> 00:27:27,640 Speaker 1: be a very compelling offer. Blind Date starred Willis as 364 00:27:27,760 --> 00:27:31,040 Speaker 1: Walter Davis, a mild mannered man who gets set up 365 00:27:31,119 --> 00:27:34,439 Speaker 1: with a woman named Nadia played by Kim Bay singer. 366 00:27:35,200 --> 00:27:39,440 Speaker 1: Nadia seems shy too, until she starts drinking. At that point, 367 00:27:39,600 --> 00:27:43,159 Speaker 1: the movie turns into a mad cap comedy, with Willis 368 00:27:43,359 --> 00:27:46,639 Speaker 1: trying frantically to keep up with an escalating series of 369 00:27:46,720 --> 00:27:51,239 Speaker 1: events caused by the perpetually intoxicated Nadia. There have been 370 00:27:51,320 --> 00:27:54,040 Speaker 1: high hopes for the movie, which was directed by Blake 371 00:27:54,160 --> 00:27:58,159 Speaker 1: Edwards of the Pink Panther fame. Madonna and her then 372 00:27:58,320 --> 00:28:02,359 Speaker 1: husband Sean Penn had only been set to star. Try Star, 373 00:28:02,560 --> 00:28:05,639 Speaker 1: which was making the movie, was so keen on getting 374 00:28:05,680 --> 00:28:08,800 Speaker 1: Willis that they gave the movie a green light without 375 00:28:08,920 --> 00:28:13,960 Speaker 1: a completed script. Blind Date actually didn't do too badly. 376 00:28:14,400 --> 00:28:19,159 Speaker 1: It opened in March at number one, knocking Lethal Weapon 377 00:28:19,280 --> 00:28:22,199 Speaker 1: off its perch, but it was a busy season at 378 00:28:22,240 --> 00:28:26,320 Speaker 1: the movies, with films like Platoon dominating the conversation and 379 00:28:26,640 --> 00:28:30,520 Speaker 1: guaranteed hits like Beverly Hill's Cop Two taking over the 380 00:28:30,600 --> 00:28:35,119 Speaker 1: summer months. Blind Date did edge out Spaceballs, making around 381 00:28:35,200 --> 00:28:38,680 Speaker 1: thirty nine million dollars, but it couldn't outpace hits like 382 00:28:38,840 --> 00:28:43,520 Speaker 1: Dirty Dancing or RoboCop. A second movie with the Edwards 383 00:28:43,600 --> 00:28:49,080 Speaker 1: Willis combo, a Western titled Sunset, fared poorly too. It 384 00:28:49,280 --> 00:28:53,440 Speaker 1: was released the following year and barely made five million dollars. 385 00:28:54,760 --> 00:28:57,000 Speaker 1: At least he got to ride a horse, though maybe 386 00:28:57,080 --> 00:29:00,400 Speaker 1: even got to keep the cowboy outfit for later. But 387 00:29:00,840 --> 00:29:05,120 Speaker 1: so far, audiences were uncertain about Willis on the big screen, 388 00:29:06,920 --> 00:29:11,680 Speaker 1: and increasingly they were having concerns about Moonlighting two. The 389 00:29:11,840 --> 00:29:15,480 Speaker 1: central conceit of the show was the ongoing sexual tension 390 00:29:15,680 --> 00:29:19,680 Speaker 1: between David Addison and Maddie Hayes, and the will they 391 00:29:19,760 --> 00:29:23,240 Speaker 1: or won't they conflict that fueled their on screen relationship. 392 00:29:24,200 --> 00:29:29,680 Speaker 1: In March, viewers found out they would new Moonlighting, I 393 00:29:29,760 --> 00:29:36,120 Speaker 1: feel reckless, and suddenly the air had left the room. 394 00:29:36,560 --> 00:29:39,360 Speaker 1: The two were now a couple, an item, and all 395 00:29:39,440 --> 00:29:46,640 Speaker 1: of that dramatic tension evaporated. So did ratings for decades afterward, 396 00:29:46,840 --> 00:29:51,560 Speaker 1: Whenever TV producers would talk about unconsummated sexual tension on screen, 397 00:29:52,080 --> 00:29:56,360 Speaker 1: they referenced Moonlighting as a kind of cautionary tale. Before 398 00:29:56,520 --> 00:29:59,800 Speaker 1: jumping the shark entered the pop culture lexicon, you would 399 00:30:00,040 --> 00:30:03,520 Speaker 1: we want to pull a Moonlighting and a racist shows 400 00:30:03,600 --> 00:30:08,040 Speaker 1: reason for existing. It wasn't yet time for a sad 401 00:30:08,120 --> 00:30:11,200 Speaker 1: Harmonica solo, But this was a turning point in the 402 00:30:11,280 --> 00:30:15,520 Speaker 1: career of Bruce Willis. Moonlighting wouldn't be around forever. His 403 00:30:15,680 --> 00:30:18,840 Speaker 1: first big screen role hadn't made much of an impression. 404 00:30:19,520 --> 00:30:23,520 Speaker 1: Sunset wasn't going to help. Maybe that's why Willis's agent, 405 00:30:23,760 --> 00:30:27,560 Speaker 1: Arnold Rifkin decided not to play it cool when twentieth 406 00:30:27,640 --> 00:30:31,640 Speaker 1: Century Fox came around wondering if Willis might be interested 407 00:30:31,720 --> 00:30:42,400 Speaker 1: in replacing Frank Sinatra. In ninety eight, Sinatra had starred 408 00:30:42,520 --> 00:30:46,280 Speaker 1: in The Detective, an adaptation of a novel by author 409 00:30:46,480 --> 00:30:50,200 Speaker 1: Roderick Thorpe. It was a pot boiler about a detective 410 00:30:50,320 --> 00:30:53,440 Speaker 1: hot on a murder case while dealing with marital issues 411 00:30:53,480 --> 00:30:57,840 Speaker 1: at home. Nothing to groundbreaking, But when Fox acquired the 412 00:30:57,960 --> 00:31:02,120 Speaker 1: right to Thorpe's sequel, Nothing Las Forever over ten years later, 413 00:31:02,560 --> 00:31:06,040 Speaker 1: they were contractually obliged to offer the lead role to Sinatra, 414 00:31:07,240 --> 00:31:11,480 Speaker 1: but Sinatra was roughly seventy at the time, a problem 415 00:31:11,600 --> 00:31:15,320 Speaker 1: for what The role would require a lot of action, 416 00:31:15,520 --> 00:31:18,320 Speaker 1: a lot of guns, a lot of crawling through air 417 00:31:18,440 --> 00:31:22,560 Speaker 1: dunce in the book, Sinatra's character joe Leland, is up 418 00:31:22,600 --> 00:31:27,440 Speaker 1: against terrorists who take over a high rise building. So 419 00:31:27,600 --> 00:31:30,920 Speaker 1: Fox started looking for other actors. Some of the names 420 00:31:30,960 --> 00:31:35,680 Speaker 1: were predictable. Arnold Schwarzenegger, he said, no, Cafe Central customer, 421 00:31:35,760 --> 00:31:39,080 Speaker 1: Al Pacino. No. The list of people who turned the 422 00:31:39,120 --> 00:31:43,040 Speaker 1: movie down got longer and longer until Fox began talking 423 00:31:43,160 --> 00:31:47,640 Speaker 1: to Arnold Rifkin, who in turn started talking about Bruce Willis. 424 00:31:51,400 --> 00:31:55,520 Speaker 1: Instead of acknowledging Willis's star might be cooling, Rifkin took 425 00:31:55,600 --> 00:32:00,200 Speaker 1: the opposite approach. He demanded Fox pay Willis five millillion 426 00:32:00,240 --> 00:32:03,720 Speaker 1: dollars for the lead role, which was no longer joe Leland, 427 00:32:04,160 --> 00:32:08,440 Speaker 1: but John McClain Fox was taken aback. At the time 428 00:32:08,760 --> 00:32:12,520 Speaker 1: that kind of money it was virtually unheard of. Sylvester 429 00:32:12,640 --> 00:32:16,280 Speaker 1: Stallone had gotten seven million dollars to play Rambo in 430 00:32:16,400 --> 00:32:21,760 Speaker 1: the sequel with the laborious title of Rambo Colon First 431 00:32:21,800 --> 00:32:26,080 Speaker 1: Blood Part two, but those kinds of salaries were unusual 432 00:32:26,320 --> 00:32:29,880 Speaker 1: except for the biggest of the big screen guys, and 433 00:32:29,960 --> 00:32:33,800 Speaker 1: this was the eighties, Television was still seen as the 434 00:32:33,960 --> 00:32:37,680 Speaker 1: lesser of the two mediums. Willis was a small screen guy. 435 00:32:39,120 --> 00:32:43,360 Speaker 1: Fox countered Rifkin kept shaking his head. It was five 436 00:32:43,480 --> 00:32:48,000 Speaker 1: million dollars or have a nice day. Fox blinked. They 437 00:32:48,120 --> 00:32:52,960 Speaker 1: made the deal, and the entire film industry took notice. Sure, 438 00:32:53,200 --> 00:32:58,200 Speaker 1: Bruce Willis was popular, had charisma, but five million dollars 439 00:32:58,640 --> 00:33:03,719 Speaker 1: for the moonlighting guy. Willis began shooting Nothing Lasts Forever 440 00:33:04,280 --> 00:33:11,480 Speaker 1: under its new title die Hard, Written by Jeb Stewart 441 00:33:11,520 --> 00:33:15,240 Speaker 1: and Stephen Ee SUSA and directed by John McTiernan. It 442 00:33:15,400 --> 00:33:19,400 Speaker 1: became a lean, taught action thriller about an East Coast 443 00:33:19,480 --> 00:33:23,200 Speaker 1: cop up against the droll villain Hans Gruber played by 444 00:33:23,280 --> 00:33:27,840 Speaker 1: Alan Rickman. The craftsmanship of the movie, the dialogue, the 445 00:33:27,960 --> 00:33:33,440 Speaker 1: action scenes, the acting was firing on all cylinders. Production 446 00:33:33,560 --> 00:33:37,840 Speaker 1: went smoothly, although in one stunt Willis only narrowly avoided 447 00:33:37,920 --> 00:33:42,160 Speaker 1: disaster while jumping off a building tied to a fire hose. 448 00:33:43,160 --> 00:33:52,720 Speaker 1: It looked goal though Sunset was released while die Hard 449 00:33:52,800 --> 00:33:57,120 Speaker 1: was in production and it had bombed. An early trailer 450 00:33:57,200 --> 00:34:00,920 Speaker 1: for die Hard was met with a cool reception from audiences. 451 00:34:01,800 --> 00:34:05,200 Speaker 1: Was Willis trying to be arnold? The studio kept playing 452 00:34:05,280 --> 00:34:08,680 Speaker 1: with Willis's image on the posters, shrinking him down and 453 00:34:08,800 --> 00:34:12,520 Speaker 1: making the building bigger, Willis was in danger of being 454 00:34:12,640 --> 00:34:16,439 Speaker 1: outshone by a high rise. No one was really sure 455 00:34:16,560 --> 00:34:20,240 Speaker 1: what was going to happen. Until die Hard opened in July. 456 00:34:22,600 --> 00:34:28,560 Speaker 1: It was possible Fox had made a terrible decision. Instead, 457 00:34:28,960 --> 00:34:38,960 Speaker 1: die Hard exploded. It was all here, the everyman appeal, 458 00:34:39,280 --> 00:34:43,200 Speaker 1: the regular body fit but not superhuman, and most of 459 00:34:43,280 --> 00:34:47,520 Speaker 1: all of vulnerability. Looking back now, it's easy to see 460 00:34:47,600 --> 00:34:51,240 Speaker 1: Willis was a kind of modern progression of male action heroes. 461 00:34:52,160 --> 00:34:55,160 Speaker 1: Before him stood men with four percent body fat and 462 00:34:55,280 --> 00:35:01,320 Speaker 1: wooden line deliveries. Willis humanized action stars. After John McClean 463 00:35:01,600 --> 00:35:05,000 Speaker 1: walked through broken glass on bare feet, you knew you 464 00:35:05,080 --> 00:35:09,920 Speaker 1: weren't in the company of a guy with all the answers, John, 465 00:35:11,239 --> 00:35:16,320 Speaker 1: John McClean, you're still with us, ye little thing, Vidico, 466 00:35:16,400 --> 00:35:21,120 Speaker 1: I'd rather be in Philadelphia. Chalk up two more vague guys. 467 00:35:22,440 --> 00:35:24,279 Speaker 1: Well the boys down here'll be glad to hear that. 468 00:35:26,080 --> 00:35:28,320 Speaker 1: You know, we've got a pool going on. You what 469 00:35:28,480 --> 00:35:30,680 Speaker 1: kind of odds am I getting? You don't want to know? 470 00:35:31,640 --> 00:35:37,320 Speaker 1: Pulled me down for I'm good for all the casual 471 00:35:37,400 --> 00:35:40,960 Speaker 1: irreverence that actors like Chris Pratt and Ryan Reynolds inject 472 00:35:41,040 --> 00:35:50,520 Speaker 1: into movies today. Willis did it first. With the success 473 00:35:50,600 --> 00:35:54,359 Speaker 1: of die Hard, came a new level of stardom when 474 00:35:54,440 --> 00:35:59,919 Speaker 1: that vastly exceeded what David Addison, Bruno and a wine 475 00:36:00,040 --> 00:36:06,600 Speaker 1: cooler had afforded him. In Moonlighting, he played this sort 476 00:36:06,640 --> 00:36:09,959 Speaker 1: of romantic league that that wasn't really a romantic league. 477 00:36:10,000 --> 00:36:13,160 Speaker 1: But when the die Hard movies came out and he 478 00:36:13,400 --> 00:36:16,960 Speaker 1: was huge, and he was you know, he's sort of 479 00:36:17,040 --> 00:36:21,160 Speaker 1: like this average guy, average looking guy that all of 480 00:36:21,200 --> 00:36:24,040 Speaker 1: a sudden everybody wanted a piece of men wanted to 481 00:36:24,120 --> 00:36:27,480 Speaker 1: be friends with him, and women wanted to sleep with him, 482 00:36:27,800 --> 00:36:30,360 Speaker 1: which I don't think had been happening for him before that. 483 00:36:31,600 --> 00:36:35,080 Speaker 1: Willis obviously enjoyed being a matinee idol. It was what 484 00:36:35,239 --> 00:36:39,000 Speaker 1: he wanted. The dough was good too, but he bristled 485 00:36:39,080 --> 00:36:43,160 Speaker 1: at the off screen attention. It was like he went 486 00:36:43,239 --> 00:36:46,160 Speaker 1: from obscurity. You know, it's one thing to be the 487 00:36:46,239 --> 00:36:50,040 Speaker 1: hot blood tender at Cafe Central. It's another for people 488 00:36:50,160 --> 00:36:52,759 Speaker 1: to recognize you on the street. You have to either 489 00:36:52,920 --> 00:36:58,160 Speaker 1: be very humble, or you have to like it, or 490 00:36:58,280 --> 00:37:01,920 Speaker 1: you have to turn it off some now, and you know, 491 00:37:01,960 --> 00:37:04,279 Speaker 1: I've been around people who do all those six You know, 492 00:37:04,400 --> 00:37:06,279 Speaker 1: some days they're okay with it, and some days now 493 00:37:06,280 --> 00:37:07,759 Speaker 1: they want to take their kids to the park if 494 00:37:07,800 --> 00:37:10,920 Speaker 1: they don't want to sign autographs for you, And I 495 00:37:11,120 --> 00:37:15,120 Speaker 1: understand it. But he was like he was surly before 496 00:37:15,440 --> 00:37:20,040 Speaker 1: before being surly was okay. Die Hard became the seventh 497 00:37:20,160 --> 00:37:25,520 Speaker 1: highest grossing movie of ahead of Tom Cruise's Cocktail and 498 00:37:25,640 --> 00:37:30,760 Speaker 1: even Stallone's more tersely titled Rambo three. It also became 499 00:37:30,840 --> 00:37:34,879 Speaker 1: a genre unto itself, with dozens of movies copying it's 500 00:37:34,960 --> 00:37:39,080 Speaker 1: contained action premise formula. Speed is die Hard on a 501 00:37:39,160 --> 00:37:43,439 Speaker 1: bus under siege? Was die Hard on a boat? Die 502 00:37:43,480 --> 00:37:47,320 Speaker 1: Hard to released in? Was die Hard at an airport. 503 00:37:54,280 --> 00:37:58,239 Speaker 1: The film didn't just change Hollywood filmmaking or star salaries. 504 00:37:58,760 --> 00:38:02,520 Speaker 1: It fundamentally changed the career of Bruce Willis, who now 505 00:38:02,719 --> 00:38:06,120 Speaker 1: had the momentum of a massive box office hit behind him. 506 00:38:07,040 --> 00:38:10,360 Speaker 1: Moonlighting would last just one more season. There would be 507 00:38:10,520 --> 00:38:14,040 Speaker 1: no more commercials, not until Japan came calling with some 508 00:38:14,239 --> 00:38:19,640 Speaker 1: lucrative offers anyway, and financially, Bruce Willis had positioned himself 509 00:38:20,000 --> 00:38:22,759 Speaker 1: not only to be a well paid actor, but an 510 00:38:22,920 --> 00:38:27,360 Speaker 1: incredibly well paid actor, one wealthy enough to buy not 511 00:38:27,680 --> 00:38:31,040 Speaker 1: just a nice private property in Haley, but a good 512 00:38:31,200 --> 00:38:35,680 Speaker 1: chunk of Haley itself. In effect, Bruce Willis fell in 513 00:38:35,840 --> 00:38:42,120 Speaker 1: love twice in seven, once with More and again with Haley, Idaho. 514 00:38:42,800 --> 00:38:47,840 Speaker 1: And life was good. Haley was good. But as Willis 515 00:38:47,920 --> 00:38:51,880 Speaker 1: grew more and more successful, as more and more studio 516 00:38:52,000 --> 00:38:56,320 Speaker 1: paychecks were cashed, his desire to step outside the boundaries 517 00:38:56,360 --> 00:38:58,959 Speaker 1: of his home and make his mark, and Haley grew 518 00:39:00,200 --> 00:39:03,160 Speaker 1: and it wasn't going to stop with a giant dollhouse. 519 00:39:04,320 --> 00:39:08,920 Speaker 1: Haley was, for his purposes, the perfect town, because Haley 520 00:39:09,040 --> 00:39:12,839 Speaker 1: had something that made it unique, made it unlike any 521 00:39:12,920 --> 00:39:15,960 Speaker 1: other remote part of the country Willis could have retreated to. 522 00:39:17,360 --> 00:39:20,360 Speaker 1: It was a place that had an unspoken agreement to 523 00:39:20,520 --> 00:39:24,720 Speaker 1: protect the famous, to let them live in relative peace 524 00:39:24,880 --> 00:39:30,840 Speaker 1: and quiet, to be noticed and left alone. The question 525 00:39:31,080 --> 00:39:38,600 Speaker 1: was would Bruce Willis do the same for them next time? 526 00:39:38,680 --> 00:39:43,279 Speaker 1: On Haleywood. It wasn't really very much of a viable town, 527 00:39:43,360 --> 00:39:46,680 Speaker 1: and we're empty storefronts in downtown Haley. And then all 528 00:39:46,680 --> 00:39:49,520 Speaker 1: of a sudden we got Bruce Willis and somebody came 529 00:39:49,600 --> 00:39:53,840 Speaker 1: into my office, you know, to get your camera. Go 530 00:39:54,040 --> 00:39:56,960 Speaker 1: out into the alley. Bruce Willis has carried two by 531 00:39:57,080 --> 00:40:00,360 Speaker 1: fours over his shoulder that they helped the construction war workers, 532 00:40:00,560 --> 00:40:03,960 Speaker 1: and then he built right downtown Haley, and he spent 533 00:40:04,040 --> 00:40:06,520 Speaker 1: a couple of million bucks at least on renovating him. 534 00:40:07,440 --> 00:40:10,040 Speaker 1: It's stuck out like a sore thumb because it's a 535 00:40:10,160 --> 00:40:12,839 Speaker 1: kind of thing you would see in a major city. 536 00:40:13,520 --> 00:40:16,840 Speaker 1: Everything else is, you know, almost tie up your horse outside. 537 00:40:21,800 --> 00:40:25,920 Speaker 1: Haleywood is hosted by Danish Schwartz. This show is written 538 00:40:26,040 --> 00:40:30,000 Speaker 1: by Jake Rosson, Editing, sound design and mixing by me 539 00:40:30,480 --> 00:40:35,560 Speaker 1: Josh Fisher, Additional editing by Mary do original music by 540 00:40:35,680 --> 00:40:41,040 Speaker 1: Natasha Jacobs, mixing by Jeremy Thal, Research and fact checking 541 00:40:41,280 --> 00:40:45,880 Speaker 1: by Jake Rosson, Austin Thompson and Marissa Brown. Show logo 542 00:40:46,040 --> 00:40:50,160 Speaker 1: by Lucy Quentinia. Our senior producer is Ryan Murdoch and 543 00:40:50,200 --> 00:40:53,680 Speaker 1: our executive producer is Jason English. Special thanks to the 544 00:40:53,719 --> 00:40:57,240 Speaker 1: people of Hailey, Idaho and all those who shared their stories. 545 00:40:58,160 --> 00:41:02,279 Speaker 1: Haleywood is a production of Heart Radio. Until next Time, 546 00:41:09,360 --> 00:41:09,799 Speaker 1: m HM.