1 00:00:08,680 --> 00:00:13,240 Speaker 1: Welcome, Welcome, Welcome back to the Bob Leftst Podcast. My 2 00:00:13,400 --> 00:00:18,560 Speaker 1: guest today is Robin Greene, an executive producer of The Sopranos, 3 00:00:19,040 --> 00:00:22,480 Speaker 1: a writer for Rolling Stone, an author of the book 4 00:00:22,600 --> 00:00:24,160 Speaker 1: The Only Girl. 5 00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:26,800 Speaker 2: Why was the book called The Only Girl? Robin? 6 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:31,800 Speaker 3: I seem to be chronically the only girl. I was 7 00:00:31,840 --> 00:00:34,479 Speaker 3: the only girl at Rolling Stone, not working there, but 8 00:00:34,600 --> 00:00:37,080 Speaker 3: on the masthead with eight boys, you know, with Hunter 9 00:00:37,200 --> 00:00:40,320 Speaker 3: and the Tim's you know, Tim k Hill, Tim Krause 10 00:00:40,840 --> 00:00:43,720 Speaker 3: and all those, and David Felton and me. You know, 11 00:00:43,960 --> 00:00:46,960 Speaker 3: there were like eleven guys and me on the masthead, 12 00:00:48,120 --> 00:00:50,760 Speaker 3: just purely by accident, but there it was. And then, 13 00:00:51,640 --> 00:00:54,280 Speaker 3: you know, I was the only girl on the on 14 00:00:54,320 --> 00:00:57,520 Speaker 3: the paper at Brown too. I went to Brown University 15 00:00:57,560 --> 00:01:02,760 Speaker 3: of Pembroke then, and they were all men there except me. 16 00:01:03,360 --> 00:01:06,959 Speaker 3: I was the only female editor. Girls were just you know, 17 00:01:06,959 --> 00:01:10,399 Speaker 3: they were meeting husbands, they weren't necessarily writing anything or 18 00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:13,760 Speaker 3: anything like that. So I just seemed to find myself 19 00:01:13,800 --> 00:01:17,119 Speaker 3: in that position. And it's also when a Sopranos too, 20 00:01:17,720 --> 00:01:21,240 Speaker 3: it was mostly there were some girls that came through women, 21 00:01:21,560 --> 00:01:24,319 Speaker 3: you know. Tony calem came on, wrote a script and 22 00:01:24,360 --> 00:01:28,280 Speaker 3: a few other women later, but first, for years I 23 00:01:28,400 --> 00:01:31,480 Speaker 3: was the only girl, so that it was a natural. 24 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:34,200 Speaker 2: Okay, is that more a comment on you or the 25 00:01:34,280 --> 00:01:35,960 Speaker 2: other girls? 26 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:42,040 Speaker 3: Both? And probably me? You know, I don't I've never 27 00:01:42,120 --> 00:01:46,679 Speaker 3: had like a real me too moment, you know, so 28 00:01:47,600 --> 00:01:51,440 Speaker 3: maybe I just don't notice or something that that I'm 29 00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:54,840 Speaker 3: a girl. I don't know. That's not really true, but 30 00:01:56,200 --> 00:01:57,480 Speaker 3: I don't know. It's a good question. 31 00:01:58,360 --> 00:02:02,320 Speaker 2: Well, growing up, were you always a guy's girl? Were 32 00:02:02,360 --> 00:02:04,960 Speaker 2: you friends with the boys or friends with the girls? 33 00:02:04,960 --> 00:02:05,800 Speaker 2: How did it work out? 34 00:02:06,240 --> 00:02:11,239 Speaker 3: Girls? Definitely? Yeah, No, I was a teeny bopper and 35 00:02:11,480 --> 00:02:14,560 Speaker 3: I had a girlfriends. I had three close girlfriends in Providence, 36 00:02:14,639 --> 00:02:18,040 Speaker 3: Rhode Island. You know, the music was just starting to happen, 37 00:02:18,120 --> 00:02:20,560 Speaker 3: so you know, there was dancing on the board walk 38 00:02:20,600 --> 00:02:24,000 Speaker 3: at Scarborough and you know, sort of disgraceful bathing suits 39 00:02:24,040 --> 00:02:26,600 Speaker 3: for the time and stuff like that. But I was 40 00:02:26,639 --> 00:02:33,480 Speaker 3: definitely I had girlfriends. I did have girlfriends, and then yeah, 41 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:35,440 Speaker 3: I guess I started hanging out with guys, but not 42 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:37,160 Speaker 3: without the girls, you know. 43 00:02:38,200 --> 00:02:41,040 Speaker 2: Okay. You know one thing that's clear in the book, 44 00:02:41,080 --> 00:02:45,839 Speaker 2: which is your autobiography, is you make left field choices 45 00:02:46,120 --> 00:02:49,840 Speaker 2: all the time, whereas today's kids seem to know what 46 00:02:49,880 --> 00:02:51,839 Speaker 2: they're going to do, and I'm going by road. From 47 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:55,240 Speaker 2: a very young age, they see college as a trade school. 48 00:02:55,280 --> 00:02:56,920 Speaker 2: They go to work for the bank, they go to 49 00:02:56,960 --> 00:03:01,000 Speaker 2: work for Google. What'd your parents say about you? Constantly 50 00:03:01,040 --> 00:03:03,280 Speaker 2: sing we have an ivy leave education, but I'm going 51 00:03:03,280 --> 00:03:06,679 Speaker 2: with my boyfriend to Canada. You know I'm doing this. 52 00:03:07,639 --> 00:03:12,000 Speaker 3: They were horror horrified because, excuse me, I have a 53 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:14,800 Speaker 3: little frog in my throat allergies from the autumn in 54 00:03:14,840 --> 00:03:19,000 Speaker 3: the country. But I got out of Pembroke and I 55 00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:23,200 Speaker 3: went immediately to Martha's Vineyard with a boyfriend, you know. 56 00:03:23,280 --> 00:03:26,760 Speaker 3: With my college it which my Ivy League education. You know, 57 00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:29,600 Speaker 3: I was the first generation to go to college. My 58 00:03:29,680 --> 00:03:32,960 Speaker 3: grandparents were immigrants and they lived upstairs. It was their 59 00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:35,440 Speaker 3: house we had. They owned the house. We went to 60 00:03:35,480 --> 00:03:38,480 Speaker 3: the downstairs flat. But my parents didn't go to college 61 00:03:38,520 --> 00:03:41,680 Speaker 3: for various reasons. They were very bright and funny. But I, 62 00:03:41,880 --> 00:03:43,960 Speaker 3: you know, me and me and my brother were the 63 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:47,320 Speaker 3: ones that first went. It was very important for them 64 00:03:47,800 --> 00:03:50,120 Speaker 3: for me to go to an Ivy League school because 65 00:03:50,120 --> 00:03:54,280 Speaker 3: I had I had a free ride at full ride 66 00:03:54,280 --> 00:03:57,120 Speaker 3: at Risdie. You know that is an art. 67 00:03:57,000 --> 00:03:58,880 Speaker 2: School, Yeah, Road Island School Design. 68 00:03:59,040 --> 00:04:02,040 Speaker 3: So I got my Yes, so I got my because 69 00:04:02,080 --> 00:04:04,640 Speaker 3: I was a talented artist as a child, you know, girl. 70 00:04:05,320 --> 00:04:08,480 Speaker 3: But they wanted and also they didn't think I could 71 00:04:08,480 --> 00:04:10,440 Speaker 3: earn a living that way, and I had to take 72 00:04:10,480 --> 00:04:14,160 Speaker 3: typing and things like that because that's what girls did. 73 00:04:14,480 --> 00:04:17,040 Speaker 3: This was, you know, nineteen sixty three when I went 74 00:04:17,080 --> 00:04:21,120 Speaker 3: to college, so you know, the expectations and girls and 75 00:04:21,279 --> 00:04:24,880 Speaker 3: now they're like women are all my doctors practically, do 76 00:04:24,920 --> 00:04:27,520 Speaker 3: you know what I mean? Then it just wasn't so 77 00:04:27,720 --> 00:04:31,279 Speaker 3: at all. But anyway, I graduated and I went with 78 00:04:31,320 --> 00:04:36,440 Speaker 3: a boyfriend this sort of day class, a Greek American 79 00:04:36,600 --> 00:04:42,799 Speaker 3: from Providence, and we went to Martha's Vineyard and my waitress, 80 00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:48,200 Speaker 3: you know. So my parents were horrified whether that they 81 00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:56,000 Speaker 3: they they never withdrew their love. You know, they were 82 00:04:56,120 --> 00:04:59,359 Speaker 3: entertained by me. I brought home Jimmy Cliff's album and 83 00:04:59,600 --> 00:05:01,560 Speaker 3: showed them the dance and took them. I think they 84 00:05:01,560 --> 00:05:04,680 Speaker 3: took them to the movie Harder They Fall on, you know, 85 00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:07,720 Speaker 3: Providence on Fair Street, and they dug it, you know, 86 00:05:07,880 --> 00:05:09,720 Speaker 3: because so they were alive, you know, they used to 87 00:05:09,720 --> 00:05:12,760 Speaker 3: go down to New York and see plays and things. 88 00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:16,479 Speaker 3: So they sort of dug what happened to me, and 89 00:05:16,520 --> 00:05:19,960 Speaker 3: they were tolerant, although they'd make fun of me a 90 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:21,480 Speaker 3: lot to their friend. 91 00:05:21,520 --> 00:05:24,239 Speaker 2: Made fun of you. Tell us more about that, well. 92 00:05:24,080 --> 00:05:27,200 Speaker 3: I mean they would say, Robin's looking for herself. She 93 00:05:27,240 --> 00:05:31,520 Speaker 3: thinks now she's in California. Stuff like that, you know. 94 00:05:31,720 --> 00:05:35,080 Speaker 3: Or once I had I had knitted. I was a 95 00:05:35,120 --> 00:05:39,599 Speaker 3: knitter one winter and I knitted this scarf that I 96 00:05:39,839 --> 00:05:42,440 Speaker 3: wore as a shawl in Berkeley. And it was the 97 00:05:42,640 --> 00:05:44,120 Speaker 3: days in Berkeley dressing. 98 00:05:44,640 --> 00:05:44,800 Speaker 2: You know. 99 00:05:44,839 --> 00:05:49,560 Speaker 3: I had this maddress floor length Indian dress was stunning, 100 00:05:50,320 --> 00:05:52,880 Speaker 3: wraparound really and I looked great. You know, I had 101 00:05:52,920 --> 00:05:55,440 Speaker 3: such a good figure as a girl. I didn't know it, 102 00:05:55,480 --> 00:05:58,600 Speaker 3: but I did, And so I wore the you know, 103 00:05:58,640 --> 00:06:01,760 Speaker 3: I was back in Providence visiting my family, and I 104 00:06:01,839 --> 00:06:06,120 Speaker 3: wore the white nick shawl, and my mother took my 105 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:12,960 Speaker 3: grandmother's afghan that she had a crochet or something, you know, 106 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:16,039 Speaker 3: this white big afghan and mocking me war it to 107 00:06:16,120 --> 00:06:20,040 Speaker 3: the cookout at the Barad's house. Do you understand, just 108 00:06:20,080 --> 00:06:21,040 Speaker 3: making me? 109 00:06:21,160 --> 00:06:22,120 Speaker 2: I understand? 110 00:06:22,440 --> 00:06:24,880 Speaker 3: Okay, Well, she was making fun of the hippie look 111 00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:29,920 Speaker 3: and pearl Barad Ronnie's mother said to my mother, you're 112 00:06:29,960 --> 00:06:34,479 Speaker 3: making yourself look bad. Robin looks beautiful. But so my 113 00:06:34,560 --> 00:06:39,080 Speaker 3: mother was, Yeah, my mother was undermining my father was. 114 00:06:39,720 --> 00:06:41,680 Speaker 3: You know, he would just light up when I came 115 00:06:41,720 --> 00:06:45,279 Speaker 3: in the room, and she did too. Really they were great. 116 00:06:46,400 --> 00:06:49,640 Speaker 2: Okay, let's go sideways for a second. What did your 117 00:06:49,680 --> 00:06:50,960 Speaker 2: brother do in his life? 118 00:06:51,720 --> 00:06:55,320 Speaker 3: Oh God, thank God for Ronnie. He was two and 119 00:06:55,320 --> 00:07:01,120 Speaker 3: a half, two years four months older, and he was 120 00:07:01,200 --> 00:07:02,919 Speaker 3: kind of a real nerd. You know, I was the 121 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:05,960 Speaker 3: talented one, and he had no rhythm. You know, he 122 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:11,240 Speaker 3: wasn't good at piano hour. He was short, and then 123 00:07:11,280 --> 00:07:14,360 Speaker 3: he kind of blossomed in college. He didn't get into 124 00:07:14,440 --> 00:07:17,760 Speaker 3: hyvy league school. He went to u URI, you know. 125 00:07:17,880 --> 00:07:19,680 Speaker 2: U Uri University of Island. 126 00:07:20,600 --> 00:07:24,320 Speaker 3: It was an ivy league. He ended up by the well. 127 00:07:24,360 --> 00:07:27,520 Speaker 3: So he ended up by the way teaching a medicine 128 00:07:27,760 --> 00:07:31,040 Speaker 3: of all things. He's a neuroscientist, and he taught medicine 129 00:07:31,080 --> 00:07:34,160 Speaker 3: at Dartmouth his entire life. So he had this ivy 130 00:07:34,200 --> 00:07:37,960 Speaker 3: League experience. But the thing about him was he met 131 00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:41,800 Speaker 3: his wife while he was just coming into himself in 132 00:07:41,920 --> 00:07:45,560 Speaker 3: college in the biology lab. A friend of his parked 133 00:07:45,640 --> 00:07:47,920 Speaker 3: or with him, because you know, while he had to 134 00:07:47,960 --> 00:07:53,040 Speaker 3: go someplace on some weekend and you know, some kind 135 00:07:53,040 --> 00:07:55,920 Speaker 3: of homecoming weekend or something. But he parked his girlfriend, 136 00:07:55,960 --> 00:07:59,040 Speaker 3: Sue with Ronnie because he didn't consider Ronnie a threat. 137 00:08:00,680 --> 00:08:04,360 Speaker 3: Ronnie ended up marrying her and they've been married since 138 00:08:04,400 --> 00:08:07,320 Speaker 3: they were children, you know, and they have children. So 139 00:08:07,360 --> 00:08:09,760 Speaker 3: my brother had this. He was a doctor, which was 140 00:08:09,880 --> 00:08:14,840 Speaker 3: like god in the Jewish community, you know, you know, 141 00:08:14,840 --> 00:08:19,760 Speaker 3: we were all sort of all of the people in Providence, 142 00:08:20,080 --> 00:08:22,400 Speaker 3: especially in the Jewish community. I can't really speak for 143 00:08:22,440 --> 00:08:26,040 Speaker 3: any others. It was kind of an upscale Jewish part 144 00:08:26,080 --> 00:08:29,040 Speaker 3: of town. You know. The wasp fled when we moved 145 00:08:29,080 --> 00:08:33,080 Speaker 3: in in the fifties. They fled out to Barrington and 146 00:08:33,160 --> 00:08:37,200 Speaker 3: Bristol and stuff like that. But we were pawns in 147 00:08:37,240 --> 00:08:41,679 Speaker 3: their game, as Dylan I guest said, you know, and 148 00:08:42,320 --> 00:08:45,880 Speaker 3: so you know, it was important for you to be 149 00:08:45,920 --> 00:08:48,480 Speaker 3: a doctor or go to an Ivy League school just 150 00:08:48,520 --> 00:08:51,000 Speaker 3: to be in the sweepstakes, you know what I. 151 00:08:50,960 --> 00:08:53,520 Speaker 2: Mean, amplify pawns in their game. 152 00:08:54,040 --> 00:08:56,960 Speaker 3: Oh, isn't there like we were only pawns in their game. 153 00:08:57,120 --> 00:08:59,920 Speaker 2: No, that's definitely a Dylan line, but that it applied 154 00:08:59,920 --> 00:09:02,640 Speaker 2: to you in Providence because because. 155 00:09:02,360 --> 00:09:05,560 Speaker 3: You know, well, my daughter's going to Pembroke, my daughter, 156 00:09:06,120 --> 00:09:10,360 Speaker 3: my son is teaching at Dartmouth. Oh and where does 157 00:09:10,400 --> 00:09:13,000 Speaker 3: your girl go? Oh? Well, should be you? Oh that's 158 00:09:13,040 --> 00:09:16,040 Speaker 3: too bad, you know that sort of thing. There was 159 00:09:16,080 --> 00:09:19,920 Speaker 3: a contest and we won, My brother I won. We 160 00:09:20,040 --> 00:09:22,280 Speaker 3: were you know, we were the house. We didn't have 161 00:09:22,280 --> 00:09:24,560 Speaker 3: as much money as everybody else in that house. But 162 00:09:24,840 --> 00:09:27,560 Speaker 3: it was the smallest house in a good neighborhood, like 163 00:09:27,679 --> 00:09:31,199 Speaker 3: in like Who's the Who's the writer, you know, Jane 164 00:09:31,280 --> 00:09:36,120 Speaker 3: Austen or something novel, The smallest house in the nice neighborhood. 165 00:09:36,440 --> 00:09:38,959 Speaker 3: And we lived there. But it was to our house 166 00:09:39,040 --> 00:09:43,240 Speaker 3: that people came for fun. That's where the cocktails were happening, 167 00:09:43,679 --> 00:09:44,880 Speaker 3: do you know what I mean, That's where they were. 168 00:09:45,160 --> 00:09:47,720 Speaker 2: I grew up. I'm a little younger than you. But 169 00:09:47,800 --> 00:09:51,520 Speaker 2: it's amazing the life our parents led relative to ours. 170 00:09:51,800 --> 00:09:54,640 Speaker 2: It was like a floating party. They had a million friends. 171 00:09:54,679 --> 00:09:57,760 Speaker 2: They weren't looking to become famous, but the lifestyle was 172 00:09:57,800 --> 00:09:58,360 Speaker 2: pretty good. 173 00:09:58,800 --> 00:10:00,959 Speaker 3: Oh that's interesting. Where are you from. 174 00:10:01,200 --> 00:10:04,240 Speaker 2: I'm from Connecticut. I'm from Fairfield, Connecticut, which is fifteen 175 00:10:04,240 --> 00:10:07,120 Speaker 2: weeks from New York City. The most important thing that's 176 00:10:07,160 --> 00:10:09,760 Speaker 2: you know New York media. But I have an older 177 00:10:09,800 --> 00:10:11,719 Speaker 2: sister and a younger sister. We talk about it all 178 00:10:11,760 --> 00:10:13,800 Speaker 2: the time. They had a million friends. They were having 179 00:10:13,880 --> 00:10:17,359 Speaker 2: theme parties. How did your family end up in Providence? 180 00:10:19,960 --> 00:10:24,280 Speaker 3: Well, my grandmother it's like the Bayflowership. She actually was 181 00:10:24,280 --> 00:10:28,920 Speaker 3: born there, but no one else. Yeah, well that was one, 182 00:10:29,080 --> 00:10:32,559 Speaker 3: but the others were you know. You know, my grandfather 183 00:10:32,720 --> 00:10:37,760 Speaker 3: actually came from Russia. He was avoiding the draft, right, 184 00:10:37,880 --> 00:10:42,000 Speaker 3: Nicholas right, right? Yeah, So he's a Russian immigrant nineteen 185 00:10:42,120 --> 00:10:48,319 Speaker 3: seventeen draft dodger, and he came to Newark, Newark, New Jersey. 186 00:10:49,400 --> 00:10:52,760 Speaker 3: It was a butcher and I think that he killed 187 00:10:52,800 --> 00:10:57,360 Speaker 3: somebody there. Something happened and he had to get out, 188 00:10:57,440 --> 00:10:59,560 Speaker 3: and he came up to Providence. I guess, you know 189 00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:03,880 Speaker 3: Jewish people. That's how my grandmother came from Hungary and 190 00:11:03,920 --> 00:11:06,959 Speaker 3: she came to Providence because somebody else had come to Providence, 191 00:11:07,400 --> 00:11:09,280 Speaker 3: do you know what I mean? And she came illegally. 192 00:11:09,480 --> 00:11:12,120 Speaker 2: Wait wait too them, I know because all my mother's 193 00:11:12,120 --> 00:11:15,439 Speaker 2: family came to the Boston area. How did she come illegally? 194 00:11:16,440 --> 00:11:18,960 Speaker 3: Oh? She said she was someone's daughter and she wasn't 195 00:11:19,880 --> 00:11:23,840 Speaker 3: you know, I have actually she came with her with 196 00:11:23,880 --> 00:11:30,760 Speaker 3: her comforter, her down comforter, you know, Hungarian down, Hungarian down, Yeah, 197 00:11:30,760 --> 00:11:33,840 Speaker 3: a ghost down or something. My mother put it in 198 00:11:33,880 --> 00:11:37,120 Speaker 3: her couch, the goost down, and then I have it 199 00:11:37,320 --> 00:11:40,120 Speaker 3: in something here. I can't remember what exactly, but we 200 00:11:40,640 --> 00:11:44,120 Speaker 3: kept that down going, you know. But she came. She 201 00:11:44,200 --> 00:11:47,000 Speaker 3: had that's all she had. She has had a straw 202 00:11:47,040 --> 00:11:51,640 Speaker 3: hamper with this down down comforter in it, and she 203 00:11:51,760 --> 00:11:55,520 Speaker 3: was gorgeous. She was like six feet tall. My grandfather 204 00:11:55,679 --> 00:12:01,360 Speaker 3: was this little crude Jewish barrel chested criminal. Really he 205 00:12:01,520 --> 00:12:06,520 Speaker 3: was a bootlegger and he was a gangster. He was, 206 00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:10,840 Speaker 3: you know, he had I think he had a gun, 207 00:12:10,880 --> 00:12:13,240 Speaker 3: but you know there. I didn't put it together then, 208 00:12:13,360 --> 00:12:16,280 Speaker 3: but later in life when I worked for Sopranos, I 209 00:12:16,280 --> 00:12:18,200 Speaker 3: could see that's what he was, and I talked to 210 00:12:18,240 --> 00:12:21,719 Speaker 3: my mother about it, and for sure, you know, they 211 00:12:21,880 --> 00:12:25,240 Speaker 3: because she would live in many many places in Wickford, 212 00:12:25,280 --> 00:12:28,440 Speaker 3: for instance, because that the boats would come in from Canada. 213 00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:33,640 Speaker 3: So my grandfather, my little Jewish grandfather would go down 214 00:12:33,640 --> 00:12:36,240 Speaker 3: there with his men and his gun and receive the 215 00:12:36,280 --> 00:12:41,000 Speaker 3: barrels and protect the booze from you know, other gangsters. 216 00:12:41,040 --> 00:12:43,800 Speaker 3: I guess they would try to take it and then 217 00:12:44,160 --> 00:12:49,880 Speaker 3: they would actually make They had Gordon's gin labels and 218 00:12:49,920 --> 00:12:55,600 Speaker 3: so they would bottle the illegal gin in this you know, 219 00:12:55,679 --> 00:12:59,040 Speaker 3: these Gordon and put the Gordon and I drank Gordon's 220 00:12:59,080 --> 00:13:01,880 Speaker 3: gin to this day, and so did my parents did 221 00:13:02,960 --> 00:13:07,920 Speaker 3: so did your parents have cocktails and things? 222 00:13:08,240 --> 00:13:10,360 Speaker 2: My father owned a liquor store. That's how he earned 223 00:13:10,400 --> 00:13:11,319 Speaker 2: his living for a long time. 224 00:13:11,360 --> 00:13:15,320 Speaker 3: That's what Grandpa did. After proefficient ended, he had a 225 00:13:15,360 --> 00:13:18,440 Speaker 3: liquor store left to trade pictures, right. 226 00:13:19,120 --> 00:13:20,959 Speaker 2: What about the other side of your family. 227 00:13:22,160 --> 00:13:26,800 Speaker 3: Oh, they were kind of Jewish, you know, like Grandpa. 228 00:13:27,400 --> 00:13:33,440 Speaker 3: They were both named Morris, but that Grandpa Morris green Grenawskamshire. 229 00:13:33,480 --> 00:13:39,040 Speaker 3: At some point he was an immigrant, tall, handsome. He 230 00:13:39,080 --> 00:13:42,480 Speaker 3: had a cap factory and they had cars and they 231 00:13:42,520 --> 00:13:48,040 Speaker 3: were doing very well. And then my father's older brother 232 00:13:48,600 --> 00:13:52,520 Speaker 3: got epilepsy. He had a grandma seizure. But he was 233 00:13:52,520 --> 00:13:56,560 Speaker 3: giving the valedictorian speech at his high school and it 234 00:13:56,640 --> 00:14:01,520 Speaker 3: was there was no Ti Lanton then, and so he 235 00:14:01,600 --> 00:14:05,160 Speaker 3: was at Brown, which was very unusual for jew in 236 00:14:05,200 --> 00:14:08,160 Speaker 3: those days. It was the twenties, I think, and he 237 00:14:08,920 --> 00:14:14,120 Speaker 3: had to stop going to Brown because Brown University this 238 00:14:14,320 --> 00:14:17,480 Speaker 3: is where I went because it was freaking everybody out. 239 00:14:17,559 --> 00:14:22,400 Speaker 3: These seizures were so grotesque and scary. So he went 240 00:14:22,480 --> 00:14:25,200 Speaker 3: home and the family kind of failed after that. So 241 00:14:26,120 --> 00:14:32,080 Speaker 3: Dad stepped in. My charming, funny father, very talented performer, 242 00:14:33,320 --> 00:14:36,120 Speaker 3: and he supported the family however he could. Oh, then 243 00:14:36,880 --> 00:14:39,320 Speaker 3: he wanted to be in a stock market, but it 244 00:14:39,360 --> 00:14:45,160 Speaker 3: was nineteen twenty nine. But still he was the funniest. 245 00:14:45,760 --> 00:14:49,120 Speaker 3: You know. He loved people. He looked at people and 246 00:14:49,160 --> 00:14:54,080 Speaker 3: he appreciated them, and he ended up his life in 247 00:14:54,120 --> 00:14:58,200 Speaker 3: a happy job. He became a sales representative so he 248 00:14:58,240 --> 00:15:00,520 Speaker 3: could go in his car and charm people with his 249 00:15:00,600 --> 00:15:05,000 Speaker 3: sample cases. He was Willy Lowman, but without the Dan Draft. 250 00:15:05,040 --> 00:15:05,240 Speaker 3: You know. 251 00:15:06,680 --> 00:15:08,480 Speaker 2: Okay, you're in Providence. 252 00:15:08,520 --> 00:15:09,520 Speaker 3: We live in going. 253 00:15:10,280 --> 00:15:13,440 Speaker 2: No, it is perfect, perfect, you're in. 254 00:15:14,600 --> 00:15:16,800 Speaker 3: I get going. I don't shut up or something. 255 00:15:16,880 --> 00:15:21,520 Speaker 2: No, no, perfect, keep rolling all right. There are fifty 256 00:15:21,680 --> 00:15:27,320 Speaker 2: states in America. There are many institutions of higher learning. 257 00:15:27,640 --> 00:15:30,760 Speaker 2: Your brother and your yourself just end up in Providence. 258 00:15:30,800 --> 00:15:32,840 Speaker 2: You don't think, well, maybe I'll go to New York City, 259 00:15:32,920 --> 00:15:35,720 Speaker 2: I'll go to New Haven, I'll go somewhere else. 260 00:15:36,520 --> 00:15:40,800 Speaker 3: I means for college. Yeah, well no, I was scared 261 00:15:41,040 --> 00:15:43,720 Speaker 3: and uh, number one and number two I didn't get 262 00:15:43,720 --> 00:15:46,840 Speaker 3: into brandeis those pricks. 263 00:15:47,560 --> 00:15:50,560 Speaker 2: It's kind of interesting to get especially by today's standards, 264 00:15:50,880 --> 00:15:56,800 Speaker 2: because it's certainly reversed. Okay, many people there. The line 265 00:15:56,840 --> 00:16:01,320 Speaker 2: of demarcation is when the Beatles hit basically January of 266 00:16:01,400 --> 00:16:05,520 Speaker 2: sixty four. You were into music before that. For a 267 00:16:05,600 --> 00:16:07,680 Speaker 2: lot of people are unaware of what it was like. 268 00:16:08,280 --> 00:16:11,760 Speaker 2: Tell me about your interest in music then before the Beatles. 269 00:16:12,200 --> 00:16:16,640 Speaker 3: Oh, man, well, definitely, you know, I guess the first 270 00:16:16,720 --> 00:16:22,400 Speaker 3: thing I evers stole was Elvis Presley forty five, right, 271 00:16:22,640 --> 00:16:26,640 Speaker 3: Elvis Presley must have been thirteen. And my friend Ronnie 272 00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:29,200 Speaker 3: was a really talented singer, the one that killed herself. 273 00:16:29,400 --> 00:16:32,400 Speaker 3: She was also named Ronnie. As a matter of fact. 274 00:16:32,440 --> 00:16:35,960 Speaker 3: Her personality was so strong that we called my brother 275 00:16:36,120 --> 00:16:43,440 Speaker 3: Ronnie Green differentiated because there was only one Ronnie. But 276 00:16:43,560 --> 00:16:46,040 Speaker 3: she was my best friend. We were born two weeks apart, 277 00:16:46,080 --> 00:16:50,200 Speaker 3: and we you know, it was the Watusi. It was 278 00:16:50,280 --> 00:16:53,080 Speaker 3: all that kind of teeny bopper music. I know, the 279 00:16:53,160 --> 00:16:56,360 Speaker 3: lyrics to like a million songs, those teeny bopper songs. 280 00:16:56,560 --> 00:17:00,640 Speaker 3: And then oh then you know guys, the cool guys 281 00:17:00,640 --> 00:17:03,280 Speaker 3: at Moses Brown there was this one guy, Joel'sas I think. 282 00:17:03,160 --> 00:17:06,320 Speaker 2: Which is a private high school in the Rhode Island. 283 00:17:06,920 --> 00:17:11,359 Speaker 3: Yeah, it's where the which you know, which those who 284 00:17:11,400 --> 00:17:13,359 Speaker 3: could afford it, My friends, a lot of them went 285 00:17:13,400 --> 00:17:15,560 Speaker 3: to the private school. It was a girls was Lincoln 286 00:17:15,600 --> 00:17:21,119 Speaker 3: and the boys was Moses Brown and Wheeler. But Joel's 287 00:17:21,160 --> 00:17:23,280 Speaker 3: Auce I think he still plays around. Have you ever 288 00:17:23,320 --> 00:17:23,879 Speaker 3: heard that name? 289 00:17:23,920 --> 00:17:26,679 Speaker 2: Oh yeah, Joelsas wrote too Long at the Fear, the 290 00:17:26,720 --> 00:17:29,119 Speaker 2: opening song on the second side of the second Bonnie 291 00:17:29,160 --> 00:17:30,760 Speaker 2: Right album. Loved that song. 292 00:17:30,960 --> 00:17:32,199 Speaker 3: No, really, Joel. 293 00:17:32,640 --> 00:17:37,480 Speaker 2: That's wonderful about Joel Sauce and musicians cos s Absolutely, 294 00:17:37,520 --> 00:17:39,080 Speaker 2: I've heard from him a couple of times. 295 00:17:39,080 --> 00:17:41,639 Speaker 3: Oh my god. Well, I don't know if you'd remember me, 296 00:17:41,760 --> 00:17:43,760 Speaker 3: but he went to Moses Brown and he was a 297 00:17:43,760 --> 00:17:47,320 Speaker 3: friend of my boyfriend David Leech's, and so you know, 298 00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:50,880 Speaker 3: he was the barefoot kid with a guitar, you see, 299 00:17:50,920 --> 00:17:53,080 Speaker 3: And we would go to clubs and stuff, and I 300 00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:56,280 Speaker 3: was at the first row of the Newport Jazz Festival 301 00:17:56,280 --> 00:18:00,199 Speaker 3: with David. David was a huge music lover and of 302 00:18:00,280 --> 00:18:02,239 Speaker 3: jazz and he you know, when I lived with him 303 00:18:02,240 --> 00:18:06,600 Speaker 3: in Chicago. I can't remember exactly the details, but we 304 00:18:06,640 --> 00:18:11,000 Speaker 3: saw like Mangus or somebody, you know, really important jazz people. 305 00:18:11,040 --> 00:18:12,840 Speaker 3: I was so stoned all the time though. I just 306 00:18:12,840 --> 00:18:17,120 Speaker 3: don't remember the details unfortunately, but I know we did 307 00:18:17,200 --> 00:18:20,720 Speaker 3: go to clubs and black clubs and hear black musicians. 308 00:18:21,080 --> 00:18:24,720 Speaker 3: But you know, he took me to the Newport Jazz Festival. 309 00:18:24,720 --> 00:18:26,920 Speaker 3: We sat in the first row. You know. 310 00:18:33,920 --> 00:18:38,360 Speaker 2: Okay, you're in college when the Beatles hit? How did 311 00:18:38,400 --> 00:18:41,240 Speaker 2: you first hear the Beatles? Into? What impact did they 312 00:18:41,320 --> 00:18:43,040 Speaker 2: have for you and your friends? 313 00:18:45,040 --> 00:18:46,840 Speaker 3: Well? I didn't have any friends at college. 314 00:18:47,560 --> 00:18:49,919 Speaker 2: But wait, let's just slow that you were living at 315 00:18:49,920 --> 00:18:51,160 Speaker 2: home or living in the dorm. 316 00:18:51,240 --> 00:18:53,800 Speaker 3: Oh, I lived well, first of all, they had this 317 00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:57,600 Speaker 3: sort of dorm for townies, which I was that it was. 318 00:18:57,920 --> 00:19:03,600 Speaker 3: It was just a shithole. Now it's the like Vegan dorm. 319 00:19:03,880 --> 00:19:06,320 Speaker 3: You know. It was this old funky house, so they 320 00:19:06,359 --> 00:19:09,560 Speaker 3: would they let the towny stay there. And then after 321 00:19:10,320 --> 00:19:12,600 Speaker 3: a semester they let me. They gave me a room 322 00:19:12,680 --> 00:19:16,080 Speaker 3: at the actual college with others, you know, with four 323 00:19:16,200 --> 00:19:19,760 Speaker 3: three other girls. And the next year after that I 324 00:19:19,800 --> 00:19:23,080 Speaker 3: had a single. I mean, I rose very quickly at 325 00:19:23,119 --> 00:19:29,480 Speaker 3: the university, but I didn't have any friends really, and 326 00:19:29,720 --> 00:19:36,000 Speaker 3: I don't. I don't think music was. I know that 327 00:19:36,080 --> 00:19:40,000 Speaker 3: my one friend, one girl I did know, was really 328 00:19:40,040 --> 00:19:44,439 Speaker 3: into Dylan, but I wasn't at that point. But the 329 00:19:44,440 --> 00:19:50,119 Speaker 3: Beatles definitely, you know. I just remember which album was 330 00:19:50,200 --> 00:19:52,240 Speaker 3: Rubber Soul that was later, wasn't it. 331 00:19:52,440 --> 00:19:55,480 Speaker 2: Yeah, Rubber Soul was sixty five, So. 332 00:19:55,480 --> 00:19:57,680 Speaker 3: When did they show up? Sixty four? 333 00:19:57,840 --> 00:20:00,920 Speaker 2: They showed up in January of sixty four, and Rever 334 00:20:01,119 --> 00:20:05,439 Speaker 2: Seoul was the end of sixty five. Then Revolver was 335 00:20:05,480 --> 00:20:07,359 Speaker 2: sixty six, and Sergeant Pepper. 336 00:20:07,160 --> 00:20:10,160 Speaker 3: Was Yeah, no, yeah, I remember, I want to hold 337 00:20:10,200 --> 00:20:14,160 Speaker 3: your hand and all that. Sure, Yeah, I love it it, Okay? 338 00:20:14,240 --> 00:20:16,240 Speaker 2: How come you had no friends? Usually people go to 339 00:20:16,280 --> 00:20:17,720 Speaker 2: college and make friends. 340 00:20:19,520 --> 00:20:25,760 Speaker 3: Hmm. It just wasn't my scene. I didn't like it 341 00:20:25,920 --> 00:20:29,480 Speaker 3: very much the first year. I didn't the girls were 342 00:20:29,520 --> 00:20:35,600 Speaker 3: too preppy or something. I just didn't attach. And I 343 00:20:35,720 --> 00:20:39,919 Speaker 3: was very serious about school, you know, classes and things, 344 00:20:40,280 --> 00:20:44,439 Speaker 3: and you know, I had this kind of you know, 345 00:20:44,480 --> 00:20:48,000 Speaker 3: I wore jeans and black sweaters and black boots and 346 00:20:48,480 --> 00:20:50,800 Speaker 3: had an art board and went down the hill to 347 00:20:50,880 --> 00:20:53,879 Speaker 3: Rizdy to take courses. I was kind of a beatnik, 348 00:20:54,560 --> 00:20:59,560 Speaker 3: and so I I just wasn't, you know, I think 349 00:20:59,600 --> 00:21:01,560 Speaker 3: I went to a football game once and had a 350 00:21:01,640 --> 00:21:04,720 Speaker 3: date once, you know, it went to a fraternity party. 351 00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:07,600 Speaker 3: But I didn't like it. I just didn't like it. It 352 00:21:07,600 --> 00:21:11,840 Speaker 3: wasn't my scene. And I kept my Providence friends and 353 00:21:11,880 --> 00:21:16,280 Speaker 3: that actually led to you know, I was friends with 354 00:21:16,320 --> 00:21:20,080 Speaker 3: my boyfriend David. One of his friends at Moses Brown 355 00:21:20,160 --> 00:21:24,080 Speaker 3: was the Raymond Patriarch Junior. Raymond Patriarch Junior was the 356 00:21:24,119 --> 00:21:26,560 Speaker 3: son of the head of the New England mafia, Raymond 357 00:21:26,560 --> 00:21:27,520 Speaker 3: Patriarch Senior. 358 00:21:27,960 --> 00:21:30,360 Speaker 2: So you know, they did a whole podcast about that. 359 00:21:31,080 --> 00:21:35,600 Speaker 2: What do you mean about the patriarchis he did? Oh? Absolutely? 360 00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:36,520 Speaker 3: Oh my god? 361 00:21:36,800 --> 00:21:40,760 Speaker 2: A few years ago. You know why my podcast Who 362 00:21:40,800 --> 00:21:43,200 Speaker 2: Knows Why the people started doing there were multiple seasons 363 00:21:43,240 --> 00:21:47,520 Speaker 2: about the Patriarch family. You did no, I mean I 364 00:21:47,680 --> 00:21:49,360 Speaker 2: I listened to it. I didn't do it. 365 00:21:50,200 --> 00:21:53,399 Speaker 3: Oh you didn't do it. But there was one yes, Ah, 366 00:21:53,520 --> 00:21:56,400 Speaker 3: I say, well, you know, the Godfather book hadn't come 367 00:21:56,440 --> 00:21:59,679 Speaker 3: out yet. The movie of course hadn't come out yet. 368 00:22:00,359 --> 00:22:02,959 Speaker 3: But I was I didn't know my grandfather was a 369 00:22:02,960 --> 00:22:07,320 Speaker 3: small time gangster. But I was just so fascinated and 370 00:22:07,480 --> 00:22:10,680 Speaker 3: kind of excited by the whole scene, you know, because 371 00:22:12,040 --> 00:22:16,359 Speaker 3: Raymond Junior, who's a friend of my boyfriend. You know, 372 00:22:16,400 --> 00:22:19,760 Speaker 3: I got friends with his girlfriend, Rosemary Scanlon, and she 373 00:22:19,960 --> 00:22:23,280 Speaker 3: lived near Brown. So I just escaped Brown and went 374 00:22:23,320 --> 00:22:27,760 Speaker 3: and stayed with her down the hill with her and 375 00:22:27,800 --> 00:22:30,840 Speaker 3: her roommate, you know, in one room or something. You know, 376 00:22:30,920 --> 00:22:33,200 Speaker 3: she and ray Junior used to go into the closet 377 00:22:33,480 --> 00:22:36,480 Speaker 3: and have sex in there, and I wrote about it. 378 00:22:36,520 --> 00:22:39,320 Speaker 3: That was my first short story. Actually it was my 379 00:22:39,359 --> 00:22:42,280 Speaker 3: second short story, but nobody you know, I wrote this 380 00:22:43,040 --> 00:22:47,040 Speaker 3: pretty good short story that got me, you know, I 381 00:22:47,080 --> 00:22:52,280 Speaker 3: became the editor of the literary magazine. And they read 382 00:22:52,320 --> 00:22:58,119 Speaker 3: it at this huge convocation of blonde girls. Do you 383 00:22:58,160 --> 00:23:03,199 Speaker 3: understand I was understand. I keep saying that to you, 384 00:23:03,280 --> 00:23:06,200 Speaker 3: but you do understand. But I was alienated. I would 385 00:23:06,200 --> 00:23:11,240 Speaker 3: say I was scared alienated. So I pretended and I 386 00:23:11,280 --> 00:23:15,280 Speaker 3: guess maybe I was cool, you know, maybe I was hip. 387 00:23:15,720 --> 00:23:19,400 Speaker 2: It's possible, okay, if they read it at this convocation. 388 00:23:20,080 --> 00:23:22,280 Speaker 2: Did you envision yourself becoming a writer. 389 00:23:24,440 --> 00:23:32,800 Speaker 3: Yes, But then there was this magazine contest that Mademoiselle 390 00:23:32,920 --> 00:23:36,760 Speaker 3: magazine had a contest, so I entered it with this story, 391 00:23:37,640 --> 00:23:39,480 Speaker 3: you know, and when they read it in front of 392 00:23:39,520 --> 00:23:42,439 Speaker 3: three hundred people that it was an editor from the 393 00:23:42,560 --> 00:23:44,520 Speaker 3: New Yorker that came up and read it. It wasn't 394 00:23:44,560 --> 00:23:46,760 Speaker 3: some schmuck off the street, you know what I mean. 395 00:23:46,840 --> 00:23:51,200 Speaker 3: So it was really a big deal. So I sent 396 00:23:51,760 --> 00:23:56,480 Speaker 3: it off to the the Mademoiselle contest and I didn't win, 397 00:23:56,920 --> 00:23:59,320 Speaker 3: so I just gave it up as an idea. 398 00:24:00,840 --> 00:24:04,880 Speaker 2: Interesting. Okay, you've had these high points in your career. 399 00:24:05,760 --> 00:24:09,800 Speaker 2: Did Brown ever track you down after the fact to speak, 400 00:24:10,040 --> 00:24:12,880 Speaker 2: to give money, to give an award or anything like that. 401 00:24:13,640 --> 00:24:17,320 Speaker 3: Yes, I can't remember the award, but I did go 402 00:24:17,440 --> 00:24:20,760 Speaker 3: up there. Mitch was with me. I just remember it 403 00:24:20,760 --> 00:24:23,240 Speaker 3: because of the traffic jam was terrible. But I, you know, 404 00:24:23,280 --> 00:24:25,840 Speaker 3: I gave some kind of seminar and then the minute 405 00:24:25,840 --> 00:24:28,640 Speaker 3: I had any money at all, I gave them ten 406 00:24:28,720 --> 00:24:32,320 Speaker 3: thousand dollars. And that to me was just a lot 407 00:24:32,359 --> 00:24:37,040 Speaker 3: of money because I come, you know, my family, my father, 408 00:24:38,160 --> 00:24:40,720 Speaker 3: he lived in the future. There was debt, it was 409 00:24:40,800 --> 00:24:45,959 Speaker 3: credit card debt. There was no money at all. But 410 00:24:46,160 --> 00:24:50,960 Speaker 3: we lived very well somehow, you know, in the nice 411 00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:53,840 Speaker 3: house with beautiful furniture, nice friends and all that kind 412 00:24:53,880 --> 00:24:57,919 Speaker 3: of thing. And everyone knew, you know, we had no money. 413 00:24:57,960 --> 00:25:01,639 Speaker 3: But I don't know. So ten thousand dollars was you know, 414 00:25:01,680 --> 00:25:04,200 Speaker 3: that's what he made a year. My father made ten 415 00:25:04,800 --> 00:25:08,200 Speaker 3: dollars a year in the fifties, Sure he did, And 416 00:25:08,720 --> 00:25:10,919 Speaker 3: so I gave them. And then we went mentioned and 417 00:25:10,920 --> 00:25:15,479 Speaker 3: I went to some event at the Goggenheim. And you know, 418 00:25:15,560 --> 00:25:17,879 Speaker 3: now when we go to events at Iowa, we're a 419 00:25:17,880 --> 00:25:20,280 Speaker 3: big deal because we give them. I don't even want 420 00:25:20,320 --> 00:25:22,160 Speaker 3: to say how much, you know what. 421 00:25:22,040 --> 00:25:24,920 Speaker 2: I mean, everything the Iowa Writers' Workshop, the. 422 00:25:24,920 --> 00:25:28,080 Speaker 3: Iowa Writers Worship, but also the University of Iowa Public 423 00:25:28,119 --> 00:25:32,439 Speaker 3: Institution because and a lot of it is because Brown 424 00:25:32,680 --> 00:25:36,400 Speaker 3: was like, you know, fa fong gul. You know, I'll 425 00:25:36,440 --> 00:25:41,840 Speaker 3: show you. And also they have a huge endowment. They 426 00:25:41,840 --> 00:25:45,840 Speaker 3: didn't really need my ten thousand dollars, and they certainly don't. 427 00:25:45,920 --> 00:25:49,200 Speaker 3: They don't need my money now either. But Iowa does 428 00:25:49,560 --> 00:25:52,240 Speaker 3: you know, Irack can use it? 429 00:25:53,160 --> 00:25:56,320 Speaker 2: Okay? When you went to Brown, did your father pay 430 00:25:56,400 --> 00:25:57,800 Speaker 2: or did you get any help from Brown? 431 00:25:58,880 --> 00:26:03,600 Speaker 3: I got a scholar ship from the state of one 432 00:26:03,600 --> 00:26:06,520 Speaker 3: thousand dollars a year. The tuition was that it covered 433 00:26:06,560 --> 00:26:12,760 Speaker 3: a intuition, and I think my father paid for the dorm. 434 00:26:13,280 --> 00:26:16,520 Speaker 3: He did, he paid for the dorm I worked. Also, 435 00:26:16,720 --> 00:26:19,360 Speaker 3: I worked in a factory in the summer. I worked 436 00:26:19,000 --> 00:26:23,000 Speaker 3: at you know, I wasn't an intern somewhere with no pay. 437 00:26:23,359 --> 00:26:26,240 Speaker 3: I was a waitress or I was working. I like 438 00:26:26,320 --> 00:26:29,280 Speaker 3: to work. I like them. I like them. I like 439 00:26:29,359 --> 00:26:32,000 Speaker 3: waitressing because you pick up the money off the table. 440 00:26:32,320 --> 00:26:35,439 Speaker 3: Maybe you don't anymore, but I just like the cash 441 00:26:35,480 --> 00:26:36,480 Speaker 3: aspect to it. 442 00:26:38,000 --> 00:26:42,919 Speaker 2: Okay, you graduate from college, although you ultimately go to 443 00:26:42,960 --> 00:26:46,480 Speaker 2: the vineyard. I think you said, what was your intention? 444 00:26:46,760 --> 00:26:49,879 Speaker 2: What was your plan after graduating from college? 445 00:26:51,240 --> 00:26:55,119 Speaker 3: Well, I don't know. We stayed on a vineyard till November. 446 00:26:54,960 --> 00:26:58,200 Speaker 2: So, well that's way past the season. 447 00:26:58,440 --> 00:27:01,159 Speaker 3: Yeah, it is kind of past the season. And he 448 00:27:01,240 --> 00:27:04,040 Speaker 3: became a cook, so we lived upstairs in the restaurant 449 00:27:04,119 --> 00:27:07,199 Speaker 3: Louise Tate King. This kind of it was fun. And 450 00:27:07,240 --> 00:27:09,280 Speaker 3: then we moved to Boston. I thought I would go 451 00:27:09,320 --> 00:27:12,600 Speaker 3: into publishing, you know, so I did. I got a 452 00:27:12,720 --> 00:27:18,360 Speaker 3: job at Houghton Mifflin. That's a big house in Boston, 453 00:27:18,480 --> 00:27:23,160 Speaker 3: publishing house. And I got a job in the production department, 454 00:27:23,480 --> 00:27:27,280 Speaker 3: like with like figures and spreadsheets and stuff. I don't 455 00:27:27,320 --> 00:27:29,320 Speaker 3: even know what I was doing, but I took a 456 00:27:29,400 --> 00:27:31,919 Speaker 3: detour and I went and I checked out the editorial 457 00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:34,879 Speaker 3: department because that's sort of what I was aiming for. 458 00:27:35,240 --> 00:27:38,080 Speaker 3: This was an entry level job, and it just looked 459 00:27:38,080 --> 00:27:41,240 Speaker 3: like a drag. It looked like a drag, you know, 460 00:27:41,280 --> 00:27:44,600 Speaker 3: I was it was. It was you know, sixty seven. 461 00:27:45,240 --> 00:27:49,120 Speaker 3: It was you know, something was in the air, you know, 462 00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:52,679 Speaker 3: and it was too like straight. The men didn't appeal 463 00:27:52,720 --> 00:27:55,280 Speaker 3: to me. Nobody looked at me. Actually that was part 464 00:27:55,320 --> 00:27:57,880 Speaker 3: of it. Those men, they didn't even look up from 465 00:27:57,880 --> 00:28:01,400 Speaker 3: their desks, and they were all men behind those desks. 466 00:28:02,040 --> 00:28:06,560 Speaker 3: So I think I left my boyfriend. He worked at 467 00:28:06,560 --> 00:28:09,119 Speaker 3: a restaurant, managing a restaurant. I think I can't remember 468 00:28:09,119 --> 00:28:11,400 Speaker 3: if I waited. No, I was at my hoton Mifflin. 469 00:28:11,480 --> 00:28:14,080 Speaker 3: So he was working at the restaurant where I used 470 00:28:14,080 --> 00:28:18,000 Speaker 3: to waitress years ago before that. But he cheated on me. 471 00:28:18,119 --> 00:28:20,919 Speaker 3: He didn't come home one night, and he married that 472 00:28:21,040 --> 00:28:25,679 Speaker 3: girl and had four children with her. So it was 473 00:28:25,720 --> 00:28:28,720 Speaker 3: good for him because I didn't have good, pure intentions 474 00:28:28,760 --> 00:28:32,600 Speaker 3: towards him. Men functioned in my life as kind of 475 00:28:32,640 --> 00:28:37,199 Speaker 3: tickets out. I mean, I'm burying my soul to you 476 00:28:37,200 --> 00:28:40,400 Speaker 3: a little bit. But that's how I went to Cali. 477 00:28:40,480 --> 00:28:43,640 Speaker 3: I didn't go to California on my own. You know, 478 00:28:44,080 --> 00:28:49,000 Speaker 3: A man took me to New Poor Jazz Festival. You know, 479 00:28:49,080 --> 00:28:52,080 Speaker 3: a man put the headphones on my head and played 480 00:28:52,080 --> 00:28:56,120 Speaker 3: the records and chose the records. And so I had 481 00:28:56,240 --> 00:29:00,400 Speaker 3: music through men, and I had transportation through men. Or 482 00:29:00,440 --> 00:29:05,200 Speaker 3: I wouldn't go to cities alone, you know, I would go. 483 00:29:05,280 --> 00:29:08,680 Speaker 2: Well, was it more that you saw the opportunity or 484 00:29:08,720 --> 00:29:09,800 Speaker 2: that you were fearful? 485 00:29:14,640 --> 00:29:20,760 Speaker 3: Both? Although I did go to New York by myself, 486 00:29:20,800 --> 00:29:22,840 Speaker 3: I did, No, that's bullshit. I went to New York 487 00:29:22,880 --> 00:29:23,560 Speaker 3: by myself. 488 00:29:23,600 --> 00:29:26,440 Speaker 2: I did, Okay, your boyfriend cheats on you. You're working 489 00:29:26,480 --> 00:29:27,720 Speaker 2: it out, love Beflynn. 490 00:29:27,840 --> 00:29:29,480 Speaker 3: Oh well, first I had an affair with a guy 491 00:29:29,520 --> 00:29:32,320 Speaker 3: across the hall, and then I went home to Providence, 492 00:29:32,920 --> 00:29:35,800 Speaker 3: and it was December. This all took place like a month, 493 00:29:35,920 --> 00:29:40,120 Speaker 3: because then when you're young, time is very slow, you 494 00:29:40,200 --> 00:29:42,840 Speaker 3: know what I mean. A lot happens, like so much 495 00:29:42,920 --> 00:29:46,840 Speaker 3: happened in just nineteen sixty seven. In nineteen sixty eight, 496 00:29:47,600 --> 00:29:50,760 Speaker 3: you probably experienced that. You're vaguely my general. I think 497 00:29:50,800 --> 00:29:55,960 Speaker 3: you're my husband's generation. Actually, so you know, I don't 498 00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:58,440 Speaker 3: think it was that much different. It's still Vietnam, and 499 00:29:58,600 --> 00:30:02,480 Speaker 3: of Vietnam when you were coming up he wasted. Yeah, 500 00:30:03,120 --> 00:30:07,520 Speaker 3: so time was slow, and so I went back to Providence. 501 00:30:07,560 --> 00:30:11,640 Speaker 3: I played mel Brooks's two thousand year Old Man continually 502 00:30:11,760 --> 00:30:16,240 Speaker 3: on my Hi Fi on my turntable for like a week, 503 00:30:17,080 --> 00:30:19,880 Speaker 3: maybe more. You know, I just played that record over 504 00:30:19,920 --> 00:30:22,720 Speaker 3: and over again. I can't tell you why. I don't 505 00:30:22,760 --> 00:30:26,840 Speaker 3: have any idea, but then I was ready. I felt better. Oh, 506 00:30:26,880 --> 00:30:30,400 Speaker 3: my parents had given me luggage as a graduation president. 507 00:30:32,440 --> 00:30:34,360 Speaker 3: I guess that was their sense of humor. But it 508 00:30:34,400 --> 00:30:38,080 Speaker 3: was also very useful, you know, this blue American tourist set. 509 00:30:38,760 --> 00:30:40,800 Speaker 3: So I packed that up and I went down to 510 00:30:40,880 --> 00:30:44,360 Speaker 3: the Martha Washington Hotel for Women because I had read 511 00:30:44,400 --> 00:30:47,920 Speaker 3: about it in a book in Marjorie Morning Star. I mean, 512 00:30:48,240 --> 00:30:51,000 Speaker 3: this is this That's what got me. You know, that's 513 00:30:51,040 --> 00:30:58,040 Speaker 3: how sort of in cohateed and goalless. I was, oh, yeah, 514 00:30:58,040 --> 00:30:59,880 Speaker 3: i'll be like that, you know, I'll go to live 515 00:30:59,880 --> 00:31:02,040 Speaker 3: in in New York. And I forgot the part about 516 00:31:02,040 --> 00:31:04,920 Speaker 3: where she moves to Scarsdale and Mary's a doctor, you know, 517 00:31:05,440 --> 00:31:07,040 Speaker 3: I just got to the New York part. And I 518 00:31:07,040 --> 00:31:09,960 Speaker 3: went to New York and I rented one apartment and 519 00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:12,720 Speaker 3: then another apartment. I was there again. It was just 520 00:31:12,800 --> 00:31:16,959 Speaker 3: nine months, but it was a lifetime, you know. And 521 00:31:17,200 --> 00:31:19,160 Speaker 3: I got a job. I went to a temp agency. 522 00:31:20,480 --> 00:31:22,480 Speaker 3: I knew one person in New York, a girl that 523 00:31:22,560 --> 00:31:27,280 Speaker 3: I did know at Brown Pembroke. She lived in the 524 00:31:27,800 --> 00:31:29,920 Speaker 3: singles dorm next door to me, and she was the 525 00:31:29,960 --> 00:31:33,680 Speaker 3: one that liked Dylan and she remained a figure in 526 00:31:33,720 --> 00:31:36,280 Speaker 3: my life for a long time. But we don't, for 527 00:31:36,320 --> 00:31:40,160 Speaker 3: one reason or another, speak anymore. I'll speak to her, 528 00:31:40,240 --> 00:31:45,400 Speaker 3: but I think she's mad at me. But I knew 529 00:31:45,440 --> 00:31:48,640 Speaker 3: her in New York. But I also, oh, I just 530 00:31:49,000 --> 00:31:51,720 Speaker 3: remember some people came to a party that she gave 531 00:31:51,800 --> 00:31:57,200 Speaker 3: me and I went home with them to Brooklyn. I 532 00:31:57,280 --> 00:31:59,680 Speaker 3: knew this person later in life too, Vicky Robin and 533 00:31:59,720 --> 00:32:02,000 Speaker 3: Mark Ledgerd. I think they were married at that point. 534 00:32:02,040 --> 00:32:04,200 Speaker 3: Maybe anyway, I was at their house and they put 535 00:32:04,240 --> 00:32:10,360 Speaker 3: on my head earphones and it was Frank Zappa right 536 00:32:11,080 --> 00:32:14,200 Speaker 3: ime for that first record, and they said, you just 537 00:32:14,240 --> 00:32:16,000 Speaker 3: got to listen to this, you know. I think they 538 00:32:16,040 --> 00:32:18,640 Speaker 3: got me stoned, you know, and they made me listen 539 00:32:18,680 --> 00:32:22,680 Speaker 3: to this thing, and that was life changing. You know 540 00:32:23,520 --> 00:32:25,360 Speaker 3: what's this now? You know? 541 00:32:26,040 --> 00:32:28,320 Speaker 2: Well, I mean that first double album for weak out. 542 00:32:28,520 --> 00:32:31,640 Speaker 2: You didn't try to call me in trouble coming every day. 543 00:32:31,680 --> 00:32:34,480 Speaker 2: There was a subversiveness, a sense of humor, and an 544 00:32:34,520 --> 00:32:39,360 Speaker 2: attitude that we rarely see, certainly in music or any 545 00:32:39,440 --> 00:32:43,800 Speaker 2: mainstream movies. But okay, you're in New York. No was 546 00:32:43,960 --> 00:32:46,160 Speaker 2: Susie Susie cream cheese shirt shirt? 547 00:32:46,240 --> 00:32:50,440 Speaker 3: That was I remember. I can't remember what I ate 548 00:32:50,480 --> 00:32:54,800 Speaker 3: for dinner, not any any dinner for for like five years. 549 00:32:55,000 --> 00:32:56,960 Speaker 3: I was talking to my husband about that. Today. I 550 00:32:57,040 --> 00:33:00,480 Speaker 3: can't remember what David and I ate, you know, oh 551 00:33:00,680 --> 00:33:03,920 Speaker 3: we never cooked. We must have eaten something. But I 552 00:33:04,000 --> 00:33:07,920 Speaker 3: remember Susie Kuzzy cream Cheese and all the words to 553 00:33:08,080 --> 00:33:10,920 Speaker 3: all the songs because the music was so you know, 554 00:33:11,040 --> 00:33:13,720 Speaker 3: David would come through town, he'd come through New York 555 00:33:14,480 --> 00:33:17,959 Speaker 3: and take me to stuff. We went to the Fillmore East, 556 00:33:18,800 --> 00:33:23,040 Speaker 3: so Janice Joplin, you know that was my girl music. 557 00:33:23,240 --> 00:33:24,200 Speaker 3: That's what I liked. 558 00:33:24,960 --> 00:33:26,840 Speaker 2: So you're in New York City and you get a job. 559 00:33:27,440 --> 00:33:31,360 Speaker 3: Yeah, I got a job for work. I was well, 560 00:33:31,400 --> 00:33:33,239 Speaker 3: I was sent on three. I wanted to be an 561 00:33:33,440 --> 00:33:37,680 Speaker 3: editorial assistant because I had a liberal arts education and 562 00:33:37,760 --> 00:33:41,360 Speaker 3: so and you know, writing was like I wouldn't even 563 00:33:41,400 --> 00:33:48,400 Speaker 3: think about that. But they sent me to two advertising agencies, 564 00:33:49,040 --> 00:33:52,400 Speaker 3: and they sent me to Marvel Comics. You know, I 565 00:33:52,480 --> 00:33:55,800 Speaker 3: was the closest they came to a book and I 566 00:33:55,840 --> 00:33:59,200 Speaker 3: was hired. I didn't like the advertising agency and one 567 00:33:59,240 --> 00:34:03,640 Speaker 3: of them didn't like me, but they but Stanley hired me, 568 00:34:05,840 --> 00:34:10,359 Speaker 3: and phlo Steinberg was leaving. She she liked me, and 569 00:34:10,400 --> 00:34:13,000 Speaker 3: she introduced me to Stand and he took me on. 570 00:34:13,600 --> 00:34:15,759 Speaker 3: So I was with him. I was his you know, 571 00:34:16,160 --> 00:34:18,960 Speaker 3: his office was across the hall, like five feet away, 572 00:34:19,480 --> 00:34:22,360 Speaker 3: and I would answer the phone, you know. And I 573 00:34:22,400 --> 00:34:26,760 Speaker 3: was supposed to also communicate with fans, the fan club. 574 00:34:27,840 --> 00:34:30,360 Speaker 3: You know. I didn't like comics, so I didn't really 575 00:34:30,520 --> 00:34:33,080 Speaker 3: care what they said or but I suppose I did 576 00:34:33,120 --> 00:34:36,440 Speaker 3: my job. I don't remember. Really. It was kind of stupid. 577 00:34:36,440 --> 00:34:39,680 Speaker 3: But the people were nice, you know, they were square, 578 00:34:40,000 --> 00:34:42,799 Speaker 3: they were really square, and New York was square, and 579 00:34:42,920 --> 00:34:45,640 Speaker 3: I felt, again I didn't belong there. It was like 580 00:34:45,680 --> 00:34:49,200 Speaker 3: at Pembroke. I just you know, felt alienated, I guess, 581 00:34:49,400 --> 00:34:53,040 Speaker 3: but I wasn't unhappy. I just didn't It wasn't going 582 00:34:53,120 --> 00:34:54,839 Speaker 3: to work for me. It wasn't what I wanted. 583 00:34:54,880 --> 00:34:58,040 Speaker 2: Oh, okay, is that a theme throughout your life that 584 00:34:58,080 --> 00:35:00,520 Speaker 2: you're alienated or you still alien today. 585 00:35:01,520 --> 00:35:08,239 Speaker 3: I think alienated's probably the wrong word. Just gosh, here 586 00:35:08,280 --> 00:35:14,959 Speaker 3: I am supposed to be good with words. Just trying 587 00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:17,520 Speaker 3: to find myself. My parents were right, you know, where 588 00:35:17,520 --> 00:35:21,399 Speaker 3: did I fit in? Where do I belong? I saw 589 00:35:21,520 --> 00:35:25,239 Speaker 3: Rolling Stone magazine and I thought, well, that looks like 590 00:35:25,400 --> 00:35:29,200 Speaker 3: fun Boy. They're having fun out there on the Bay Area. 591 00:35:30,960 --> 00:35:33,879 Speaker 2: Well before we get there, you're working for stan Lee. 592 00:35:34,680 --> 00:35:36,600 Speaker 2: You go to Canada with your boyfriend and then you 593 00:35:36,719 --> 00:35:37,520 Speaker 2: just never go back. 594 00:35:38,960 --> 00:35:44,600 Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, that was bad. And this nice little apartment 595 00:35:44,600 --> 00:35:47,680 Speaker 3: on Bleeker Street, one room with like wal to well 596 00:35:47,719 --> 00:35:50,840 Speaker 3: cockroaches but beams in the ceilings. I hung a swing, 597 00:35:50,920 --> 00:35:55,839 Speaker 3: I had a fireplace. It was kind of cool. And 598 00:35:56,080 --> 00:35:58,680 Speaker 3: my parents helped me furniture. We got a trundle bed 599 00:35:58,760 --> 00:36:03,840 Speaker 3: and that was about it for furniture. But and I 600 00:36:03,880 --> 00:36:06,960 Speaker 3: got a cat, and David came through and he wanted 601 00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:08,760 Speaker 3: to go to Canada. And we went up to Canada 602 00:36:09,280 --> 00:36:11,239 Speaker 3: and we had a weekend there was I had never 603 00:36:11,280 --> 00:36:14,840 Speaker 3: been to a foreign country and they were like talking 604 00:36:14,960 --> 00:36:18,000 Speaker 3: French and stuff in Montreal. It blew my mind. And 605 00:36:18,239 --> 00:36:19,960 Speaker 3: you know that we stayed in a place that had 606 00:36:19,960 --> 00:36:22,319 Speaker 3: a sink in the room, in the bedroom that was 607 00:36:22,360 --> 00:36:26,959 Speaker 3: so exotic. And then it was time to go home. 608 00:36:27,080 --> 00:36:29,400 Speaker 3: He had to go back to Chicago, to the University 609 00:36:29,400 --> 00:36:32,520 Speaker 3: of Chicago where he was a student, and I had 610 00:36:32,560 --> 00:36:34,920 Speaker 3: to go back to my job in New York. We 611 00:36:34,960 --> 00:36:39,439 Speaker 3: went to the airport and they wouldn't take my check. 612 00:36:39,800 --> 00:36:42,279 Speaker 3: Hit my check, they wouldn't take his check. He didn't 613 00:36:42,320 --> 00:36:44,600 Speaker 3: want to use his father's credit card because his father 614 00:36:45,520 --> 00:36:49,040 Speaker 3: would know that he had bought me a plane ticket somewhere, 615 00:36:49,440 --> 00:36:53,759 Speaker 3: you know. So he said, well, you want to come 616 00:36:53,800 --> 00:36:56,480 Speaker 3: with me? And so I said, yeah, I do want 617 00:36:56,520 --> 00:36:58,560 Speaker 3: to go. So I went, I went. I guess. I 618 00:36:58,600 --> 00:37:01,000 Speaker 3: called Stan on Monday. This was a Sunday, and I 619 00:37:01,040 --> 00:37:05,080 Speaker 3: called on Monday from Chicago because I think it's very 620 00:37:05,080 --> 00:37:07,840 Speaker 3: close to Montreal, Chicago, right and. 621 00:37:08,920 --> 00:37:12,160 Speaker 2: Not really no, pretty far, but okay, like what. 622 00:37:12,360 --> 00:37:15,560 Speaker 3: Like twelve hours Yeah, yeah, okay, So I called it, 623 00:37:15,640 --> 00:37:19,640 Speaker 3: you know. So we drove and on Monday, when I 624 00:37:19,680 --> 00:37:22,440 Speaker 3: was supposed to go to work, I called Stan and 625 00:37:22,520 --> 00:37:25,759 Speaker 3: I told him I got hung up and I wasn't 626 00:37:25,760 --> 00:37:30,160 Speaker 3: going to come to work. And he he just he said, 627 00:37:30,640 --> 00:37:35,000 Speaker 3: because usually he just was very everything had an explanation point. 628 00:37:35,040 --> 00:37:38,520 Speaker 3: He was very effusive, but he was like, you got 629 00:37:38,600 --> 00:37:40,520 Speaker 3: hung up. What does that even mean? 630 00:37:40,680 --> 00:37:40,880 Speaker 1: You know? 631 00:37:41,560 --> 00:37:45,120 Speaker 3: And I just said, he said, you're not coming back 632 00:37:45,160 --> 00:37:49,440 Speaker 3: at all? I said no. I called my parents and 633 00:37:49,480 --> 00:37:53,239 Speaker 3: I told him I wasn't going back. And the cat was, Oh, 634 00:37:53,400 --> 00:37:55,760 Speaker 3: the cat was with somebody else by the one friend 635 00:37:55,800 --> 00:37:59,520 Speaker 3: I had, Tory, And would they pick up the cat 636 00:37:59,600 --> 00:38:02,880 Speaker 3: and the bundle bed and take them back to Providence? 637 00:38:03,160 --> 00:38:06,600 Speaker 3: And they did. That's the kind of parents they were. 638 00:38:06,239 --> 00:38:11,040 Speaker 3: They I don't know, I don't know. They were very 639 00:38:11,120 --> 00:38:14,000 Speaker 3: upset that I was living with David. What am I 640 00:38:14,000 --> 00:38:16,399 Speaker 3: going to tell my friends? You know? That kind of thing. 641 00:38:16,480 --> 00:38:20,879 Speaker 3: My mother said, because people didn't do that then at all. 642 00:38:21,200 --> 00:38:26,239 Speaker 3: It was just starting I expose. But they did that. 643 00:38:26,320 --> 00:38:28,680 Speaker 3: They were they were amused. I think I think it 644 00:38:28,880 --> 00:38:32,880 Speaker 3: just they loved that I was living. That's the feeling. Listen. 645 00:38:33,280 --> 00:38:35,160 Speaker 3: I don't know. I can't go into their heads. 646 00:38:35,200 --> 00:38:35,520 Speaker 2: I don't. 647 00:38:36,040 --> 00:38:39,120 Speaker 3: They never chastised me for they just went down. They 648 00:38:39,160 --> 00:38:42,600 Speaker 3: borrowed a friend's car of station wagon, drove it three 649 00:38:42,600 --> 00:38:44,279 Speaker 3: and a half hours to New York, picked up the 650 00:38:44,320 --> 00:38:47,080 Speaker 3: trundle bed and the cat. These are Jews who now 651 00:38:47,080 --> 00:38:50,080 Speaker 3: own a cat which was not done, and a black 652 00:38:50,080 --> 00:38:52,839 Speaker 3: and white cat. They knew some tuty and they kept 653 00:38:52,840 --> 00:38:54,960 Speaker 3: that cat and loved that cat. 654 00:39:02,160 --> 00:39:04,040 Speaker 2: Did you go to Chicago? How do you end up 655 00:39:04,080 --> 00:39:05,200 Speaker 2: in California? 656 00:39:05,280 --> 00:39:09,239 Speaker 3: Well? I was there. David, my boyfriend from Providence, was 657 00:39:09,280 --> 00:39:12,320 Speaker 3: a rich man's son, and he had just enough money 658 00:39:12,320 --> 00:39:15,560 Speaker 3: to live. He had enough money to buy lapsing sou 659 00:39:15,640 --> 00:39:20,520 Speaker 3: jong tea and pot and had a great car, you know, 660 00:39:20,640 --> 00:39:24,839 Speaker 3: a Firebird convertible remember those. Of course, first cart had 661 00:39:24,960 --> 00:39:27,680 Speaker 3: was even better. It was like a Chevy and pallet 662 00:39:27,800 --> 00:39:30,480 Speaker 3: was red with you know, the back wings and things. 663 00:39:30,480 --> 00:39:33,600 Speaker 3: A convertible just a tool around of that thing. But 664 00:39:33,680 --> 00:39:36,040 Speaker 3: when we went out to California in the Firebird, but 665 00:39:36,320 --> 00:39:39,080 Speaker 3: it was in Chicago the Firebird, I guess. We took 666 00:39:39,120 --> 00:39:45,040 Speaker 3: the Firebird from Montreal down to Chicago. And that's a 667 00:39:45,040 --> 00:39:48,200 Speaker 3: whole other story. Why he had to stay in school 668 00:39:48,239 --> 00:39:51,000 Speaker 3: that winter because he was just pretending to go to 669 00:39:51,080 --> 00:39:53,920 Speaker 3: graduate school. He used the money from graduate school to 670 00:39:53,960 --> 00:40:00,160 Speaker 3: pay lawyers because putting some pot in my mailbox in 671 00:40:00,200 --> 00:40:07,480 Speaker 3: New York City, he got arrested, was discovered, got arrested anyway, 672 00:40:07,520 --> 00:40:10,080 Speaker 3: So he had to go back to Chicago and pretend 673 00:40:10,120 --> 00:40:13,359 Speaker 3: to be going to graduate school, and I went with 674 00:40:13,440 --> 00:40:17,799 Speaker 3: him and I got a job. I was George Schultz's secretary, 675 00:40:18,360 --> 00:40:24,120 Speaker 3: you know who that is. I know, and David as 676 00:40:24,160 --> 00:40:26,479 Speaker 3: a rich man's son who didn't work at all. Ever, 677 00:40:26,880 --> 00:40:28,600 Speaker 3: he couldn't believe that I could go out in the 678 00:40:28,640 --> 00:40:30,880 Speaker 3: morning and come home and have a job, you know, 679 00:40:30,960 --> 00:40:33,319 Speaker 3: but I couldn't. I couldn't lead his life. It drove 680 00:40:33,360 --> 00:40:37,200 Speaker 3: me nuts, you know, to do nothing. And I wanted 681 00:40:37,200 --> 00:40:40,080 Speaker 3: to have my own money. I didn't have anything I had. 682 00:40:40,160 --> 00:40:42,359 Speaker 3: He used to joke about me that all I had 683 00:40:42,440 --> 00:40:45,600 Speaker 3: was a toothbrush and a pair of underpants, and that 684 00:40:45,840 --> 00:40:48,520 Speaker 3: was true, you know, I had like two skirts. I 685 00:40:48,520 --> 00:40:53,360 Speaker 3: didn't care. I just didn't care. I was just was 686 00:40:53,360 --> 00:40:56,600 Speaker 3: I an alienator, a loner? I don't know. Oh, I 687 00:40:56,640 --> 00:40:59,759 Speaker 3: won't tell my mother. I would tell my mother I'm 688 00:40:59,800 --> 00:41:04,520 Speaker 3: not like the other girls, and she would say, what 689 00:41:04,560 --> 00:41:08,320 Speaker 3: do you mean? Are you a lesbian? You know, because 690 00:41:08,600 --> 00:41:10,400 Speaker 3: you know that was her I guess that was what 691 00:41:10,520 --> 00:41:13,440 Speaker 3: she was afraid of, and maybe today I would have been, 692 00:41:13,520 --> 00:41:16,799 Speaker 3: but I said, no, it's not that they're all. All 693 00:41:16,800 --> 00:41:21,359 Speaker 3: they want is to get married. And I didn't want 694 00:41:21,400 --> 00:41:23,760 Speaker 3: my mother's life. I didn't want to spend my life 695 00:41:23,920 --> 00:41:29,759 Speaker 3: cooking dinner. I just didn't want to do it. So 696 00:41:29,840 --> 00:41:33,399 Speaker 3: what is that is that alienation? Is that because there's 697 00:41:33,400 --> 00:41:33,799 Speaker 3: a lot of. 698 00:41:33,719 --> 00:41:37,880 Speaker 2: Things going on, it's the era alienation really could be separate. 699 00:41:38,000 --> 00:41:39,960 Speaker 2: But how long are you in Chicago before you get to. 700 00:41:40,400 --> 00:41:41,360 Speaker 3: Northern nine months? 701 00:41:42,719 --> 00:41:44,840 Speaker 2: And then how do you end? What's the motivation for 702 00:41:44,920 --> 00:41:46,400 Speaker 2: the two of you to move to California? 703 00:41:46,680 --> 00:41:51,839 Speaker 3: Well, we didn't move to California. We got in the car. Well, 704 00:41:51,840 --> 00:41:54,640 Speaker 3: we did move. We didn't have any He had stuff, 705 00:41:54,719 --> 00:41:58,520 Speaker 3: actually had some things shipped out. I believe, yes, he 706 00:41:58,600 --> 00:42:01,880 Speaker 3: did furniture did of anything. We got in the car. 707 00:42:02,280 --> 00:42:04,200 Speaker 3: I think it took us six weeks to drive out 708 00:42:04,239 --> 00:42:08,360 Speaker 3: to California. It was a six week drive, you know, 709 00:42:08,400 --> 00:42:10,960 Speaker 3: it could take two days, but we went. That was 710 00:42:11,000 --> 00:42:14,120 Speaker 3: the thing about David and about being with them, is 711 00:42:14,160 --> 00:42:18,040 Speaker 3: that we went through Carbondale and grooved on the you know, 712 00:42:18,320 --> 00:42:21,120 Speaker 3: waterfalls there, and then we went to New Mexico and 713 00:42:21,160 --> 00:42:24,200 Speaker 3: stayed there for a week. And I had never camped, 714 00:42:25,200 --> 00:42:28,719 Speaker 3: you know, out We camped in the Hemez Mountains. We 715 00:42:29,200 --> 00:42:34,279 Speaker 3: grazed naked by a hot spring. There was a watercrest 716 00:42:34,360 --> 00:42:37,600 Speaker 3: growing and we grazed, stoned out of her mind. So 717 00:42:37,719 --> 00:42:41,080 Speaker 3: there was with another couple. There was no there was 718 00:42:41,120 --> 00:42:43,879 Speaker 3: no sex with the other couple or anything like that. 719 00:42:43,960 --> 00:42:46,839 Speaker 3: But we were just free. We were hippies. You know, 720 00:42:47,120 --> 00:42:49,400 Speaker 3: I had never shot in the woods. I didn't know 721 00:42:49,440 --> 00:43:00,160 Speaker 3: that was possible. It just you know, David was he's 722 00:43:00,200 --> 00:43:02,560 Speaker 3: gone now. He died, you know, he died of a 723 00:43:02,600 --> 00:43:07,640 Speaker 3: heart attack. But he he he was a philosopher, you know. 724 00:43:08,080 --> 00:43:13,880 Speaker 3: It was a sad, unrealized human being who was nonetheless 725 00:43:14,000 --> 00:43:20,520 Speaker 3: very interesting and fun and imaginative in terms of like 726 00:43:20,640 --> 00:43:23,360 Speaker 3: he took the back roads. He took the back roads. 727 00:43:23,560 --> 00:43:26,279 Speaker 3: And I went with him on the back roads in 728 00:43:26,360 --> 00:43:29,160 Speaker 3: the car, in the in the in the Firebird convertible, 729 00:43:29,520 --> 00:43:34,000 Speaker 3: and we stopped in New Mexico and and camped in 730 00:43:34,040 --> 00:43:37,040 Speaker 3: the mountains and met, you know, people who had been drunk, 731 00:43:37,080 --> 00:43:40,040 Speaker 3: you know, been heroin addicts actually, who had an opera 732 00:43:40,680 --> 00:43:44,520 Speaker 3: house in Cirios outside of Santa Fe. It was just 733 00:43:44,560 --> 00:43:47,120 Speaker 3: it was so exciting, all that shit, you know, because 734 00:43:47,320 --> 00:43:51,200 Speaker 3: communes were happening, it was starting, you know. And then 735 00:43:52,160 --> 00:43:54,560 Speaker 3: so we went to l A first because he because 736 00:43:54,680 --> 00:43:56,799 Speaker 3: he knew some people in la We stayed at their 737 00:43:56,840 --> 00:44:01,360 Speaker 3: house older people, you know, grown ups got I you know, 738 00:44:01,560 --> 00:44:06,440 Speaker 3: was what was his name, Murray Golden. He directed television shows. 739 00:44:06,880 --> 00:44:08,440 Speaker 3: And he said to me, what do you want in 740 00:44:08,480 --> 00:44:10,720 Speaker 3: your life? And I told him, and it was exactly 741 00:44:10,760 --> 00:44:15,239 Speaker 3: what happened. You know, I became a writer. I told 742 00:44:15,320 --> 00:44:17,879 Speaker 3: him I wanted to be a writer. So I must 743 00:44:17,960 --> 00:44:20,080 Speaker 3: have had it in my head, you know, I wrote 744 00:44:20,239 --> 00:44:26,040 Speaker 3: my short stories were really good at Brown, So you know, 745 00:44:26,080 --> 00:44:28,480 Speaker 3: I did have an idea that I would do that. 746 00:44:28,800 --> 00:44:31,880 Speaker 3: And I told Murray, who no one had really asked me, 747 00:44:32,200 --> 00:44:35,839 Speaker 3: I don't think, but you know he was. He was 748 00:44:35,880 --> 00:44:38,280 Speaker 3: directing television shows, so that was you know, I didn't 749 00:44:38,280 --> 00:44:39,880 Speaker 3: know you could do that, and I didn't know you 750 00:44:39,880 --> 00:44:42,200 Speaker 3: could get a house like that, you know on mulhulland 751 00:44:42,280 --> 00:44:45,319 Speaker 3: Drive and everything. That appealed to me a great deal. 752 00:44:45,360 --> 00:44:48,000 Speaker 3: And I returned to it later at life. But meanwhile, 753 00:44:48,080 --> 00:44:49,920 Speaker 3: David and I went up the coast, you know that 754 00:44:50,040 --> 00:44:53,600 Speaker 3: Route one in California, which I'm sure you know right 755 00:44:53,680 --> 00:44:58,200 Speaker 3: of course, of course, yeah, And we stopped in the 756 00:44:58,239 --> 00:45:02,560 Speaker 3: woods right outside of Big Her and we pulled the 757 00:45:02,640 --> 00:45:06,879 Speaker 3: car in to smoke a joint. You know, David was 758 00:45:06,920 --> 00:45:12,640 Speaker 3: always smoking a joint, and it was beautiful, you know, 759 00:45:12,960 --> 00:45:16,319 Speaker 3: was below with the redwoods in this little grove. And 760 00:45:16,600 --> 00:45:22,880 Speaker 3: I found a four leaf clover and I'm here. I 761 00:45:22,920 --> 00:45:25,919 Speaker 3: am moving to California and to find a four leaf 762 00:45:25,960 --> 00:45:28,600 Speaker 3: clover and to be stoned at the same time. You know, 763 00:45:28,960 --> 00:45:31,600 Speaker 3: what more could a girl want? You know, I was 764 00:45:31,719 --> 00:45:36,160 Speaker 3: still alienated is the wrong word. But I was lost 765 00:45:36,360 --> 00:45:41,160 Speaker 3: or shy or I could hardly speak. I didn't speak. 766 00:45:41,480 --> 00:45:44,200 Speaker 3: I didn't speak. Now I don't shut up, But then 767 00:45:44,239 --> 00:45:49,360 Speaker 3: I didn't talk. You know, David talked and he didn't 768 00:45:49,400 --> 00:45:52,960 Speaker 3: talk much. He didn't really I want to talk. He 769 00:45:53,000 --> 00:45:57,680 Speaker 3: wanted to groove. He wanted to eat Sarah leave palm 770 00:45:57,719 --> 00:46:02,000 Speaker 3: cake and drink laugh saying sudjong tea and smoke pot 771 00:46:02,440 --> 00:46:08,120 Speaker 3: and later cocaine. That's what happened to him. I'm digressing 772 00:46:08,360 --> 00:46:09,200 Speaker 3: wildly here. 773 00:46:09,600 --> 00:46:11,040 Speaker 2: You end up in the Bay Area. 774 00:46:11,520 --> 00:46:13,560 Speaker 3: We drove, but he knew people in the Bay Area. 775 00:46:13,920 --> 00:46:21,080 Speaker 3: He knew people. He did so and those and people 776 00:46:21,120 --> 00:46:25,400 Speaker 3: came and stayed with us in a little apartment on 777 00:46:26,280 --> 00:46:30,960 Speaker 3: University Avenue in Fox Court. Is really wonderful place, beautiful place. 778 00:46:31,880 --> 00:46:34,120 Speaker 3: But you know it's just one room in a kitchen, 779 00:46:34,680 --> 00:46:37,040 Speaker 3: but high enough to put a loft bed in, so 780 00:46:37,560 --> 00:46:40,040 Speaker 3: David had a friend build it. You know, he didn't 781 00:46:40,040 --> 00:46:43,360 Speaker 3: build it. He had a friend built the loft that 782 00:46:43,440 --> 00:46:47,239 Speaker 3: we slept in. But I got a job down at 783 00:46:47,480 --> 00:46:51,279 Speaker 3: his lordships in the Marena wearing a little tu two 784 00:46:51,640 --> 00:46:54,439 Speaker 3: you know, waitressing, but wearing a tutu in a little 785 00:46:54,440 --> 00:46:57,359 Speaker 3: push up bra and a little cap, you know, an 786 00:46:57,400 --> 00:47:00,920 Speaker 3: apron like a servant. And I did that for a 787 00:47:00,920 --> 00:47:04,680 Speaker 3: long time. You know. I learned how to make jewelry 788 00:47:05,120 --> 00:47:12,000 Speaker 3: and belly dance. I took belly dance lesson. Sorry, what 789 00:47:12,080 --> 00:47:15,080 Speaker 3: was the sixties? You know it was nineteen sixty nine. 790 00:47:15,200 --> 00:47:16,960 Speaker 2: How'd you end up at Rolling Stone? 791 00:47:17,080 --> 00:47:22,799 Speaker 3: Well, my friend Tory, the one friend I had that 792 00:47:23,040 --> 00:47:26,160 Speaker 3: loved Dylan and lived in the next room at a 793 00:47:26,480 --> 00:47:31,800 Speaker 3: single weird girl's dorm, said what are you doing with 794 00:47:31,960 --> 00:47:34,239 Speaker 3: your life? From? And you know, what are you doing? 795 00:47:34,320 --> 00:47:37,719 Speaker 3: She was getting married, So, you know, she initiated a 796 00:47:37,760 --> 00:47:43,080 Speaker 3: flurry of communication. She was on the ladder up in 797 00:47:43,160 --> 00:47:46,080 Speaker 3: the publishing world, and she later became, you know, she 798 00:47:46,160 --> 00:47:49,200 Speaker 3: was an agent in that segment of it, and she 799 00:47:49,239 --> 00:47:53,360 Speaker 3: became she had her own agency at the end of things. 800 00:47:54,040 --> 00:47:56,800 Speaker 3: But then she was working for a fellow named Alan Rinsler, 801 00:47:56,920 --> 00:48:01,000 Speaker 3: and he had just come to found Straight Arrow Books, 802 00:48:01,040 --> 00:48:03,959 Speaker 3: which was the book division of rolling Stone, and she said, 803 00:48:03,960 --> 00:48:06,640 Speaker 3: at least go be around it. You know, you wanted 804 00:48:06,680 --> 00:48:08,920 Speaker 3: to be in that world. Just go and talk to 805 00:48:08,960 --> 00:48:11,000 Speaker 3: Alan and see if he's got anything for you to 806 00:48:11,040 --> 00:48:15,760 Speaker 3: do in the office. So I did. I borrowed David's car, 807 00:48:16,000 --> 00:48:19,880 Speaker 3: and I went across the water, you know, across the 808 00:48:19,920 --> 00:48:23,280 Speaker 3: Bay Bridge, and parked the car on Third Street. Because 809 00:48:23,360 --> 00:48:26,680 Speaker 3: rolling Stone was in this industrial area. I don't know 810 00:48:26,719 --> 00:48:28,480 Speaker 3: what it is now, but it was in this brick 811 00:48:28,600 --> 00:48:31,160 Speaker 3: you know, it had been some kind of factory or something. 812 00:48:31,920 --> 00:48:35,200 Speaker 3: It was so cool. And I went up there and 813 00:48:35,719 --> 00:48:40,319 Speaker 3: I walked out. Oh no, Alan said, I'll set up 814 00:48:40,360 --> 00:48:43,240 Speaker 3: a meeting with Yawn Winner. Why don't you try writing? 815 00:48:43,320 --> 00:48:44,960 Speaker 3: Have you ever thought of that? Tory said, you were 816 00:48:44,960 --> 00:48:48,640 Speaker 3: a good writer. So that's how it happened. I mean 817 00:48:48,640 --> 00:48:51,200 Speaker 3: that happens in life, right, It's not how it goes. 818 00:48:51,400 --> 00:48:53,600 Speaker 3: But then when you get the chance, you have to 819 00:48:53,600 --> 00:48:56,520 Speaker 3: be able to produce. That's what happened in time. You 820 00:48:56,560 --> 00:48:59,319 Speaker 3: have to be half the goods as it were, you know, 821 00:48:59,840 --> 00:49:01,920 Speaker 3: or have somebody at least put up with you until 822 00:49:01,920 --> 00:49:07,239 Speaker 3: you proved you had the goods. So I went back 823 00:49:07,280 --> 00:49:14,320 Speaker 3: to Berkeley, and you know, and I made a box 824 00:49:14,520 --> 00:49:17,759 Speaker 3: to go into this. I made a box with all 825 00:49:17,800 --> 00:49:21,240 Speaker 3: my life in it, you know, my my Marvel comic books, 826 00:49:21,320 --> 00:49:26,840 Speaker 3: my magazine that I edited, the literary magazine from Brown 827 00:49:26,880 --> 00:49:29,680 Speaker 3: that I had a story and all that kind of thing, 828 00:49:30,400 --> 00:49:34,080 Speaker 3: and some cookies, and I sent it to Yan. Did 829 00:49:34,080 --> 00:49:36,680 Speaker 3: I send it or drop it off or something? Anyway, 830 00:49:37,280 --> 00:49:39,640 Speaker 3: I went in there to talk to y on winter 831 00:49:40,360 --> 00:49:46,319 Speaker 3: and I left with an assignment. You know, I left 832 00:49:46,360 --> 00:49:47,239 Speaker 3: with an assignment. 833 00:49:47,560 --> 00:49:50,560 Speaker 2: Well, you know it's in the book. Did he just 834 00:49:50,600 --> 00:49:54,440 Speaker 2: spontaneously say write something? Or did you have to convince them? 835 00:49:54,800 --> 00:50:00,680 Speaker 3: No? No, no, he said he. I don't know. I 836 00:50:00,719 --> 00:50:03,239 Speaker 3: think he was very impressed with the Brown thing. See, 837 00:50:03,280 --> 00:50:08,680 Speaker 3: my parents were right. He was impressed. You know, he 838 00:50:08,800 --> 00:50:13,759 Speaker 3: sort of got this prep school lockjaw tone when he 839 00:50:13,920 --> 00:50:17,400 Speaker 3: spoke about it, very eastern sort of thing that you 840 00:50:17,440 --> 00:50:22,440 Speaker 3: could see that he was impressed by that. So I 841 00:50:22,440 --> 00:50:25,080 Speaker 3: think that got his attention. I don't think he cared 842 00:50:25,080 --> 00:50:27,239 Speaker 3: about the box very much. And I don't think he 843 00:50:27,320 --> 00:50:30,200 Speaker 3: cared about my long legs very much either. I mean, 844 00:50:30,239 --> 00:50:34,480 Speaker 3: he came out later as gay, and so he just didn't. 845 00:50:35,480 --> 00:50:39,440 Speaker 3: You know, he didn't approach me that way. You know, 846 00:50:39,560 --> 00:50:42,680 Speaker 3: he didn't have any I didn't get a feeling that 847 00:50:42,760 --> 00:50:47,880 Speaker 3: he looked at me as a female, which was fine. 848 00:50:48,040 --> 00:50:50,680 Speaker 3: I wasn't that super aware of that sort of thing anyway. 849 00:50:51,280 --> 00:50:54,360 Speaker 3: But anyway, I left. I left with an assignment because 850 00:50:54,360 --> 00:50:58,719 Speaker 3: he said, you should write. Can you write something about 851 00:50:58,719 --> 00:51:02,000 Speaker 3: Marvel Comics? I always said, what was it like to 852 00:51:02,040 --> 00:51:06,120 Speaker 3: work at Marvel Comics? That's what he said, because that 853 00:51:06,200 --> 00:51:08,760 Speaker 3: was in the box. That's how it started. He said, 854 00:51:09,880 --> 00:51:11,520 Speaker 3: what was it like to work at Marvel Comics? So 855 00:51:11,520 --> 00:51:13,880 Speaker 3: I said, I don't know. They were kind of square, 856 00:51:14,160 --> 00:51:18,520 Speaker 3: you know. Whatever I said was interesting enough to him 857 00:51:18,920 --> 00:51:22,360 Speaker 3: or funny enough that he thought, okay, you know, because 858 00:51:22,400 --> 00:51:24,400 Speaker 3: he could see that I had been a writer and 859 00:51:24,440 --> 00:51:26,319 Speaker 3: that I had been an editor and all this sort 860 00:51:26,360 --> 00:51:28,399 Speaker 3: of thing. And I guess Alan and Rinsler told him 861 00:51:28,400 --> 00:51:32,360 Speaker 3: that I was a good writer at Brown and so 862 00:51:32,400 --> 00:51:35,120 Speaker 3: I left with an assignment, and I was just I 863 00:51:35,120 --> 00:51:38,240 Speaker 3: couldn't believe it. You know. I drove home. I get home, 864 00:51:39,200 --> 00:51:42,400 Speaker 3: David's there with this friend of his that's legally blind 865 00:51:42,800 --> 00:51:45,359 Speaker 3: was his name. He's dead now too. But and this 866 00:51:45,480 --> 00:51:48,240 Speaker 3: girl who didn't speak she was so stoned. The whole 867 00:51:48,320 --> 00:51:51,319 Speaker 3: room was like full of you know, pot smoke. It 868 00:51:51,400 --> 00:51:54,879 Speaker 3: was just like this cloud of pot smoke walking into 869 00:51:54,920 --> 00:51:58,640 Speaker 3: the room. I was so excited to have this assignment. 870 00:51:58,880 --> 00:52:01,680 Speaker 3: It was just like a amazing to me. But it 871 00:52:01,800 --> 00:52:09,000 Speaker 3: was uncool to show any evidence of excitement. Do you understand? 872 00:52:09,440 --> 00:52:15,360 Speaker 3: Absolutely it was not done to get to get an assignment. 873 00:52:16,320 --> 00:52:20,000 Speaker 3: These people were just cooler than that or something. You know, 874 00:52:20,280 --> 00:52:22,360 Speaker 3: work was not valued. 875 00:52:23,880 --> 00:52:26,400 Speaker 2: You write this piece, it takes a long time to 876 00:52:26,440 --> 00:52:29,720 Speaker 2: come out. Then you go to New Mexico to talk 877 00:52:29,760 --> 00:52:36,920 Speaker 2: to David Hopper about the last David. Of course it's Dennis. 878 00:52:37,880 --> 00:52:42,799 Speaker 2: That's the first thing that I remember reading that you wrote. 879 00:52:43,120 --> 00:52:47,479 Speaker 2: So Hopper had just come off Easy Rider, he had 880 00:52:47,600 --> 00:52:51,359 Speaker 2: Free Reign. Ultimately, the last movie was a disaster. No 881 00:52:51,400 --> 00:52:54,040 Speaker 2: one knew what he was doing. Now there you go 882 00:52:54,160 --> 00:52:56,799 Speaker 2: down to New Mexico and have an adventure, tell us 883 00:52:56,800 --> 00:53:00,719 Speaker 2: about that, and you. 884 00:53:00,719 --> 00:53:03,759 Speaker 3: Know it's a cult. It's a big cult movie. Now 885 00:53:03,960 --> 00:53:07,080 Speaker 3: the last pictures I've ever seen a movie? No, I 886 00:53:07,080 --> 00:53:10,040 Speaker 3: haven't either, No, and I didn't dig at me. You know, 887 00:53:10,120 --> 00:53:12,280 Speaker 3: it was just well, if I had done another piece 888 00:53:12,360 --> 00:53:16,160 Speaker 3: before that, I went and did a piece about the 889 00:53:16,200 --> 00:53:18,719 Speaker 3: bee gees of just a little tiny piece. But this 890 00:53:18,880 --> 00:53:21,279 Speaker 3: was my first assignment to get on a plane with 891 00:53:21,360 --> 00:53:24,399 Speaker 3: Annie Leebervit. She was just starting off there the same 892 00:53:24,440 --> 00:53:31,640 Speaker 3: as me, but a different type than me, well. 893 00:53:31,640 --> 00:53:33,560 Speaker 2: Just a little bit slower because you go into the 894 00:53:34,239 --> 00:53:36,600 Speaker 2: How would you describe her type? 895 00:53:36,880 --> 00:53:40,600 Speaker 3: Oh, well, you know, she was an army brat. She 896 00:53:40,680 --> 00:53:45,760 Speaker 3: was six feet tall. She wore like size eleven boots. 897 00:53:46,160 --> 00:53:53,839 Speaker 3: She sort of strode through life very singular. But as 898 00:53:53,880 --> 00:53:56,520 Speaker 3: an army brat, I think she was used to being 899 00:53:56,600 --> 00:54:01,920 Speaker 3: in different situations. She didn't need to please anyone. She 900 00:54:02,120 --> 00:54:07,680 Speaker 3: was just very unto herself, very contained. That was my 901 00:54:07,840 --> 00:54:11,360 Speaker 3: experience of her. And I was just like probably needy, 902 00:54:12,000 --> 00:54:18,480 Speaker 3: you know, emotional or just not not even emotional, just unexpressive, uptight, scared, 903 00:54:19,480 --> 00:54:25,680 Speaker 3: But she was much more at ease. But I endured 904 00:54:26,360 --> 00:54:32,400 Speaker 3: this very uncomfortable scene at Hopper's house. I was and 905 00:54:32,440 --> 00:54:35,680 Speaker 3: I'd been in that sort of scene before where I 906 00:54:35,760 --> 00:54:39,040 Speaker 3: was with a lot of really hip people and scared, 907 00:54:40,880 --> 00:54:46,400 Speaker 3: mute practically, but bearing it just curious, and in this 908 00:54:46,560 --> 00:54:48,959 Speaker 3: instance I was going to gain something from it because 909 00:54:48,960 --> 00:54:52,080 Speaker 3: I was going to write about it. So I had 910 00:54:52,120 --> 00:54:54,720 Speaker 3: my tape recorder Oh, it's one of those, he said, 911 00:54:55,200 --> 00:54:57,680 Speaker 3: you know, and then he started really he was so stoned. 912 00:54:58,000 --> 00:54:59,960 Speaker 3: I don't know what he was taking. They were passing 913 00:55:00,080 --> 00:55:05,160 Speaker 3: run some sort of bag full of ground up mushrooms. 914 00:55:05,320 --> 00:55:08,799 Speaker 3: You know. Everybody was just completely stoned. It was it 915 00:55:08,840 --> 00:55:14,560 Speaker 3: was Kit Carson's movie and Larry Schiller. You know those guys, right, 916 00:55:15,960 --> 00:55:19,160 Speaker 3: So that's who They were doing a documentary about Dennis 917 00:55:19,160 --> 00:55:24,080 Speaker 3: Hopper's making of the Last movie. And Dennis Hopper was 918 00:55:24,120 --> 00:55:29,279 Speaker 3: just really boring and boorish and and I've never really 919 00:55:29,280 --> 00:55:35,280 Speaker 3: been around a Hollywood scene, and it was ugly and scary, 920 00:55:37,680 --> 00:55:40,560 Speaker 3: and it was actually got so uncomfortable. What was it? 921 00:55:42,040 --> 00:55:45,400 Speaker 3: I got so uncomfortable with it? Oh, I know that 922 00:55:45,520 --> 00:55:50,160 Speaker 3: Dennis Hopper. And and immensuacious is that the word? You know, 923 00:55:50,320 --> 00:55:53,480 Speaker 3: the guy that kind of looked after him. They were 924 00:55:53,520 --> 00:55:55,759 Speaker 3: just so cruel to this one guy who was down 925 00:55:55,800 --> 00:55:57,760 Speaker 3: there was a junket, so there was all the cream 926 00:55:57,800 --> 00:56:01,360 Speaker 3: of the underground press, but its representative Rolling Stone. I 927 00:56:01,400 --> 00:56:05,000 Speaker 3: was like the cream de la creme, you know, And 928 00:56:06,400 --> 00:56:09,799 Speaker 3: I just wished to witness an act of cruelty that 929 00:56:10,880 --> 00:56:13,400 Speaker 3: they just were mean to this. I guess it was 930 00:56:13,440 --> 00:56:18,520 Speaker 3: a pr guy about his girlfriend, and they did this 931 00:56:18,680 --> 00:56:21,480 Speaker 3: joke in front of all the journalists, you know, like, 932 00:56:21,560 --> 00:56:25,160 Speaker 3: can I ask you a favor? I just was wondering, 933 00:56:25,480 --> 00:56:28,240 Speaker 3: Bill or whatever the kid's name was, if you would 934 00:56:28,239 --> 00:56:31,839 Speaker 3: mind leaving your secretary girlfriend with me for the night. 935 00:56:33,280 --> 00:56:35,920 Speaker 3: And he didn't know what to say, and he said, 936 00:56:38,040 --> 00:56:41,320 Speaker 3: I don't know where is she? And he and Dennis 937 00:56:41,320 --> 00:56:45,200 Speaker 3: Hopper said she's out there in her car getting her things. 938 00:56:45,719 --> 00:56:48,160 Speaker 3: It was a done deal, you see, And so everyone 939 00:56:48,360 --> 00:56:51,759 Speaker 3: laughed and I freaked out and I went out into 940 00:56:51,800 --> 00:56:54,080 Speaker 3: the desert. I don't know how I thought I was 941 00:56:54,120 --> 00:56:57,279 Speaker 3: going to get home, because he had he lived in 942 00:56:57,360 --> 00:57:00,640 Speaker 3: free To Dodge's house. Isn't it the person and Mabel 943 00:57:00,719 --> 00:57:07,279 Speaker 3: Dodge Freedom, Well, it was d H. Lawrence's house. That's 944 00:57:07,280 --> 00:57:09,680 Speaker 3: where he lived when he lived in New Mexico with 945 00:57:10,440 --> 00:57:14,960 Speaker 3: free To Dodge, Mabel Dodge something and so, you know, 946 00:57:15,000 --> 00:57:17,840 Speaker 3: and as a literature major, I was just like really 947 00:57:17,880 --> 00:57:20,040 Speaker 3: taken with that. But it was the opposite of that, 948 00:57:20,200 --> 00:57:22,240 Speaker 3: or maybe it was like that. I don't know, But anyway, 949 00:57:22,240 --> 00:57:24,880 Speaker 3: I was in the middle of nowhere and I went 950 00:57:25,080 --> 00:57:30,560 Speaker 3: out into the desert at night, and Kit Carson followed 951 00:57:30,560 --> 00:57:33,040 Speaker 3: me and he gave me a ride back to the motel. 952 00:57:33,160 --> 00:57:36,320 Speaker 3: Annie had already left because she was smart. She could 953 00:57:36,400 --> 00:57:39,200 Speaker 3: see she didn't have to do anything else. She'd already 954 00:57:39,360 --> 00:57:42,919 Speaker 3: got her pictures. Although Larry Shuley was critical of her 955 00:57:43,880 --> 00:57:46,680 Speaker 3: picture taking in that instance, she was just starting off 956 00:57:47,480 --> 00:57:51,800 Speaker 3: in her career. But so she shared a motel room. 957 00:57:51,960 --> 00:57:54,520 Speaker 3: She was back to the motel room. So he gave 958 00:57:54,640 --> 00:57:57,040 Speaker 3: me a ride, and I just wrote about it. I 959 00:57:57,080 --> 00:57:59,960 Speaker 3: wrote exactly what happened all of that that I've just 960 00:58:00,080 --> 00:58:03,960 Speaker 3: told you and more, because you know, the pieces were 961 00:58:04,000 --> 00:58:06,400 Speaker 3: you paid by the word, and they were from five 962 00:58:06,440 --> 00:58:09,760 Speaker 3: thousand to ten thousand words, so you could get some money, 963 00:58:09,840 --> 00:58:12,080 Speaker 3: you know, because it was ten cents a word. My 964 00:58:12,160 --> 00:58:14,760 Speaker 3: price went up from five cents to ten cents a word. 965 00:58:14,800 --> 00:58:18,560 Speaker 3: At that point, maybe you'd have a thousand dollars. But 966 00:58:18,600 --> 00:58:21,320 Speaker 3: I never had that much money at once, so that 967 00:58:21,440 --> 00:58:22,360 Speaker 3: was really something. 968 00:58:23,280 --> 00:58:25,120 Speaker 2: Okay, a couple of things. Did you live off the 969 00:58:25,160 --> 00:58:27,439 Speaker 2: money you were making from Rolling Stone? Was it enough? 970 00:58:28,480 --> 00:58:33,120 Speaker 3: Oh? Yeah, you didn't need anything? Then? Remember and I 971 00:58:33,160 --> 00:58:39,560 Speaker 3: broke up with my boyfriend David. I left, and it 972 00:58:39,640 --> 00:58:41,960 Speaker 3: got a little room up in the hills in somebody's 973 00:58:42,000 --> 00:58:46,920 Speaker 3: house to other people, you know, it wasn't hippie commune 974 00:58:47,000 --> 00:58:50,480 Speaker 3: or anything. We just shared this really nice house, a funky, funky, 975 00:58:50,520 --> 00:58:54,200 Speaker 3: funky house on a stream above the campus on tamil 976 00:58:54,240 --> 00:58:58,400 Speaker 3: Pias Road. Really beautiful, I mean, in my room was beautiful. 977 00:58:58,840 --> 00:59:02,280 Speaker 3: And up in that room, Kit Carson, who took me 978 00:59:02,360 --> 00:59:04,200 Speaker 3: home that night, you know who took me back to 979 00:59:04,240 --> 00:59:07,120 Speaker 3: the motel that night and dropped me off. He became 980 00:59:07,160 --> 00:59:10,680 Speaker 3: a friend, and he was at Joan Didion's house in 981 00:59:11,000 --> 00:59:14,880 Speaker 3: Malibu and he called me. He said, I have someone 982 00:59:14,920 --> 00:59:20,320 Speaker 3: here who read your piece on Dennis Hopper and she 983 00:59:20,400 --> 00:59:24,160 Speaker 3: wanted you to know how much she liked it. And 984 00:59:24,280 --> 00:59:26,400 Speaker 3: you know, I had June Didions all, you know, I 985 00:59:26,400 --> 00:59:28,720 Speaker 3: had her books, and it was just that was the 986 00:59:28,760 --> 00:59:33,440 Speaker 3: most wonderful thing that ever happened to me. Really, that 987 00:59:33,600 --> 00:59:37,120 Speaker 3: and that in the sopranos, right at the highlights. 988 00:59:37,960 --> 00:59:42,160 Speaker 2: But your pieces were a little different from the standard 989 00:59:42,240 --> 00:59:45,080 Speaker 2: fear and that you weren't sick a fantic, You were 990 00:59:45,160 --> 00:59:49,680 Speaker 2: somewhat from a distance. You weren't buying into the bs. 991 00:59:50,040 --> 00:59:52,120 Speaker 2: Would that be an accurate description. 992 00:59:54,200 --> 00:59:58,360 Speaker 3: Yeah, Irony, you know, to be an ironist, I called 993 00:59:58,400 --> 01:00:03,480 Speaker 3: it alienating. But isn't the writer always outside of things? 994 01:00:03,520 --> 01:00:08,040 Speaker 3: Looking in always, you know, an observer. And so it's 995 01:00:08,120 --> 01:00:11,360 Speaker 3: more that I was that kind of person. I was 996 01:00:11,480 --> 01:00:15,400 Speaker 3: raised that way. You know. We didn't we didn't speak. 997 01:00:15,440 --> 01:00:18,560 Speaker 3: We watched, we watched it, We took it all in. 998 01:00:19,280 --> 01:00:22,480 Speaker 3: You know. I was an observer. I was an observer 999 01:00:22,560 --> 01:00:26,120 Speaker 3: and so and it's not pleasant to be that person. 1000 01:00:26,240 --> 01:00:28,120 Speaker 3: You want to be part of things. I mean, that's 1001 01:00:28,120 --> 01:00:30,160 Speaker 3: the thing is Annie could really be part of things 1002 01:00:30,400 --> 01:00:33,760 Speaker 3: much later, to her detriment, because she became she went 1003 01:00:33,800 --> 01:00:36,320 Speaker 3: on the bus, if you know what I mean, And 1004 01:00:36,920 --> 01:00:40,280 Speaker 3: she came out of it okay, but for a while 1005 01:00:40,320 --> 01:00:44,880 Speaker 3: there she was lost in it. I could. I always 1006 01:00:44,920 --> 01:00:48,120 Speaker 3: had to be apart from it, and that was my thing. 1007 01:00:48,400 --> 01:00:51,280 Speaker 3: You know. Leon Winner and his book, you know, he 1008 01:00:51,320 --> 01:00:54,680 Speaker 3: had that book come out a while ago. Was it 1009 01:00:54,720 --> 01:00:59,520 Speaker 3: a memoir? I think it was, yeah, And I wasn't 1010 01:00:59,520 --> 01:01:01,880 Speaker 3: going to buy it, but I looked in the index. 1011 01:01:02,160 --> 01:01:04,600 Speaker 3: I wasn't, but he mentioned me twice, so I bought it, 1012 01:01:04,720 --> 01:01:10,560 Speaker 3: you know, and he called me relentless. So I guess 1013 01:01:10,600 --> 01:01:12,760 Speaker 3: that's what I was. You know. 1014 01:01:19,960 --> 01:01:22,000 Speaker 2: So, what are a couple of other things you wrote 1015 01:01:22,040 --> 01:01:22,840 Speaker 2: for Rolling Stone? 1016 01:01:24,520 --> 01:01:28,440 Speaker 3: Well, the Marvel piece became a cover that was a 1017 01:01:28,480 --> 01:01:33,000 Speaker 3: good piece, and I wrote, Uh, I just flew out 1018 01:01:33,040 --> 01:01:36,560 Speaker 3: of my head. Oh, I wrote, you know, I was 1019 01:01:36,560 --> 01:01:38,760 Speaker 3: in a book called the Mind Fuckers, along with the 1020 01:01:38,880 --> 01:01:43,000 Speaker 3: piece of David Felton and David Dalton's they wrote pieces 1021 01:01:43,040 --> 01:01:48,400 Speaker 3: on mel Lyman, uh and these gurus, you know, mel 1022 01:01:48,480 --> 01:01:52,760 Speaker 3: Lyman and Manson. But I wrote the you know, comic relief, 1023 01:01:52,840 --> 01:01:56,720 Speaker 3: ironic funny stuff, you know about Victor Bronco, who's like 1024 01:01:56,800 --> 01:02:00,800 Speaker 3: the Colonel Sanders of the Commune me I think that's 1025 01:02:00,800 --> 01:02:03,960 Speaker 3: what we called him. And so that was collected in 1026 01:02:04,000 --> 01:02:07,200 Speaker 3: a book called mind Fuckers, published by Straight or Oppress. 1027 01:02:07,400 --> 01:02:10,760 Speaker 3: But of course nobody could buy a book called mind Fuckers, 1028 01:02:11,800 --> 01:02:13,840 Speaker 3: and they disguised it on the cover with this kind 1029 01:02:13,880 --> 01:02:16,440 Speaker 3: of German type, so you couldn't even read it. You know. 1030 01:02:16,480 --> 01:02:18,320 Speaker 3: It's just like I know this guy out here now 1031 01:02:18,400 --> 01:02:22,000 Speaker 3: called Bob Lipsite. I get his name confused with yours. 1032 01:02:22,080 --> 01:02:24,280 Speaker 3: Do you know who he is. He's a sports the 1033 01:02:24,280 --> 01:02:26,880 Speaker 3: sports guy. Yeah, yeah, the sports writer. He's out here. 1034 01:02:27,160 --> 01:02:30,680 Speaker 3: It's Shelter Island, that's where I live now, and you know, 1035 01:02:31,040 --> 01:02:36,439 Speaker 3: among other places. But he wrote a book with Dick 1036 01:02:36,480 --> 01:02:42,800 Speaker 3: Gregory years ago called Nigger And yeah, now you know 1037 01:02:43,120 --> 01:02:45,000 Speaker 3: I can't even I have to hide it when the 1038 01:02:45,040 --> 01:02:46,960 Speaker 3: cleaning crew comes, you know what I mean, because I 1039 01:02:46,960 --> 01:02:50,040 Speaker 3: don't want to like of Knox anyone. Actually, it's just 1040 01:02:50,120 --> 01:02:52,480 Speaker 3: on the shelf. I don't think anyone notices it. I 1041 01:02:52,520 --> 01:02:54,480 Speaker 3: finally took it out and said, fuck it. You know 1042 01:02:54,640 --> 01:02:57,400 Speaker 3: that's what it's called them. But it's just you're not 1043 01:02:57,480 --> 01:02:59,560 Speaker 3: even supposed to say that word. It pains me to 1044 01:02:59,600 --> 01:03:03,200 Speaker 3: say it, so mind fuckers. Was that kind of bad mistake? 1045 01:03:03,520 --> 01:03:03,760 Speaker 2: You know? 1046 01:03:03,880 --> 01:03:06,800 Speaker 3: But I got a call from England just the other 1047 01:03:06,880 --> 01:03:10,960 Speaker 3: day wanting to interview with me about that book. You know, 1048 01:03:11,080 --> 01:03:14,080 Speaker 3: it still has a life because then after we came 1049 01:03:14,120 --> 01:03:20,080 Speaker 3: out with that book, Jim Jones happened, and these these 1050 01:03:20,080 --> 01:03:24,080 Speaker 3: scors were a precursor to that. So it didn't surprise 1051 01:03:24,160 --> 01:03:28,880 Speaker 3: me at all. You know that Manson was pretty horrible, 1052 01:03:28,920 --> 01:03:32,160 Speaker 3: but you know, the others were not nearly as odious. 1053 01:03:32,800 --> 01:03:35,560 Speaker 3: And I did some other stuff too, but nothing. Oh, 1054 01:03:35,760 --> 01:03:38,160 Speaker 3: I did Black Sabbath. You know, they just sick me 1055 01:03:38,240 --> 01:03:44,080 Speaker 3: on things to be funny, and finally I did the 1056 01:03:44,160 --> 01:03:45,000 Speaker 3: Kennedy story. 1057 01:03:45,080 --> 01:03:48,280 Speaker 2: Well, before you get there, were you part of the 1058 01:03:48,400 --> 01:03:51,080 Speaker 2: roving club? Did you go into the office or were 1059 01:03:51,120 --> 01:03:51,800 Speaker 2: you separate? 1060 01:03:52,680 --> 01:03:56,680 Speaker 3: M you know, at one point, no, it was separate. 1061 01:03:56,720 --> 01:03:59,640 Speaker 3: But at one point Johan and that's why, you know, 1062 01:03:59,680 --> 01:04:03,160 Speaker 3: he he just wasn't sexist at all. He wanted me 1063 01:04:03,280 --> 01:04:06,560 Speaker 3: there and he he invited me to come to the 1064 01:04:06,680 --> 01:04:13,680 Speaker 3: editorial meeting, which was all those men, and he set 1065 01:04:13,760 --> 01:04:16,640 Speaker 3: up a desk and he brought the lamp himself, right, 1066 01:04:16,760 --> 01:04:19,280 Speaker 3: you know, outside of this, you know, in the in 1067 01:04:19,320 --> 01:04:22,040 Speaker 3: the bullpen with the secretary and stuff. But you know, 1068 01:04:22,080 --> 01:04:24,680 Speaker 3: I didn't have my own cubicle. And I mean David 1069 01:04:24,680 --> 01:04:27,320 Speaker 3: Felton was, you know, an editor there, and he only 1070 01:04:27,360 --> 01:04:30,360 Speaker 3: had a tiny cubicle. Nobody had these offices. Only Yahn 1071 01:04:30,480 --> 01:04:35,200 Speaker 3: had and it wasn't even that fancy either. But so 1072 01:04:35,240 --> 01:04:37,320 Speaker 3: I was there, but I didn't like it at the 1073 01:04:37,440 --> 01:04:40,640 Speaker 3: editorial meeting. I didn't like it. I don't like the 1074 01:04:40,680 --> 01:04:45,480 Speaker 3: table that exists in comedy in television. I just don't 1075 01:04:45,560 --> 01:04:50,880 Speaker 3: like that jockeying for attention and haha stuff. I just 1076 01:04:51,000 --> 01:04:53,480 Speaker 3: I wasn't going to make it in that context. 1077 01:04:53,760 --> 01:04:56,920 Speaker 2: Well, one of the other things you talk about was 1078 01:04:57,960 --> 01:05:01,120 Speaker 2: the sexual element. There were people were married but sleeping 1079 01:05:01,160 --> 01:05:04,960 Speaker 2: with other people. Was that the nature of Rolling Stone 1080 01:05:05,040 --> 01:05:06,280 Speaker 2: or was it just the times? 1081 01:05:06,720 --> 01:05:09,640 Speaker 3: I think it was the Times, don't you Yeah, but 1082 01:05:09,720 --> 01:05:16,760 Speaker 3: I'm talking to you. I don't know what were you doing. Look, 1083 01:05:16,880 --> 01:05:21,479 Speaker 3: you know, Jan gave me from I thought he would 1084 01:05:21,520 --> 01:05:23,920 Speaker 3: be my editor. You know, I don't know why I 1085 01:05:23,960 --> 01:05:26,000 Speaker 3: thought that, because he had because he was the one 1086 01:05:26,040 --> 01:05:28,040 Speaker 3: I talked to. But he gave me to David Felton 1087 01:05:28,600 --> 01:05:32,000 Speaker 3: across the way. He introduced me, and that was pretty 1088 01:05:32,040 --> 01:05:35,240 Speaker 3: much it. You know. But David Felton's family, his wife 1089 01:05:35,360 --> 01:05:40,480 Speaker 3: was down in Los Angeles, and so I, you know, 1090 01:05:40,960 --> 01:05:45,000 Speaker 3: I began to have a relationship, shall we say, with 1091 01:05:45,120 --> 01:05:48,320 Speaker 3: David Felton. I was a single myself, and he didn't 1092 01:05:48,320 --> 01:05:54,800 Speaker 3: seem to uh mind that he was cheating on this 1093 01:05:55,000 --> 01:05:58,080 Speaker 3: family or he just they were very separate. It was 1094 01:05:58,120 --> 01:06:00,360 Speaker 3: a very separate deal and I didn't really know than 1095 01:06:00,440 --> 01:06:08,760 Speaker 3: how sort of you know, he had substance problems with 1096 01:06:08,840 --> 01:06:12,400 Speaker 3: alcohol and stuff. I wasn't aware of that. I just 1097 01:06:12,520 --> 01:06:16,520 Speaker 3: wasn't aware of it. So you know that that got 1098 01:06:16,520 --> 01:06:18,200 Speaker 3: worse as time went on, and it did for a 1099 01:06:18,240 --> 01:06:21,440 Speaker 3: lot of people that I knew at that point. I 1100 01:06:21,520 --> 01:06:24,080 Speaker 3: was never for some reason, I'm just not that kind 1101 01:06:24,160 --> 01:06:27,840 Speaker 3: of an addict. Drugs were just not you know. I 1102 01:06:27,880 --> 01:06:31,240 Speaker 3: remember at one point in Mexico, I got a hold 1103 01:06:31,280 --> 01:06:33,680 Speaker 3: of a hundred vallium and I took them, you know, 1104 01:06:35,280 --> 01:06:38,640 Speaker 3: week after week. You know, so I did. I like Valium. 1105 01:06:39,040 --> 01:06:41,640 Speaker 3: Thank goodness, nobody offered me heroin. I probably would have 1106 01:06:41,680 --> 01:06:45,080 Speaker 3: loved it. But I just wasn't that cool. I just wasn't. 1107 01:06:45,240 --> 01:06:48,960 Speaker 3: I wasn't really that. I wasn't that cool. I was 1108 01:06:49,240 --> 01:06:51,120 Speaker 3: I was, you know, valium cool. 1109 01:06:52,600 --> 01:06:56,160 Speaker 2: Okay, it ends Rolling Stone with the Kennedy story. Tell 1110 01:06:56,280 --> 01:06:57,000 Speaker 2: us that story. 1111 01:06:58,760 --> 01:07:01,160 Speaker 3: I guess it was Yon's idea that I should go 1112 01:07:01,200 --> 01:07:04,880 Speaker 3: and interview the children of Robert Kennedy. I don't think 1113 01:07:04,920 --> 01:07:07,680 Speaker 3: he said much more than that, but he wanted the Kennedys, 1114 01:07:08,440 --> 01:07:10,000 Speaker 3: you know, And if I had written this story, he 1115 01:07:10,000 --> 01:07:12,000 Speaker 3: wouldn't have been able to be friends with Jackie. So 1116 01:07:12,720 --> 01:07:14,960 Speaker 3: but it wasn't her kids. It was the other kids. 1117 01:07:15,000 --> 01:07:18,320 Speaker 3: But even still, you know, so I left the younger 1118 01:07:18,360 --> 01:07:20,760 Speaker 3: ones alone. I figured, you know, you can't be going 1119 01:07:20,800 --> 01:07:26,160 Speaker 3: after you know, elementary school children, but the ones in college, 1120 01:07:26,440 --> 01:07:29,640 Speaker 3: in the ones of college age, I did pursue. I 1121 01:07:29,680 --> 01:07:31,920 Speaker 3: don't even know what the idea was. I guess you wren't. 1122 01:07:32,720 --> 01:07:35,400 Speaker 3: And why he would send me, of all people, because 1123 01:07:35,440 --> 01:07:37,600 Speaker 3: of course I was going to find out like if 1124 01:07:37,600 --> 01:07:39,880 Speaker 3: they were you know, drugiaes or you know, I was 1125 01:07:39,920 --> 01:07:44,080 Speaker 3: going to get the dirt on them. They didn't particularly well. 1126 01:07:44,160 --> 01:07:47,400 Speaker 3: Joe actually Joe was a kid, Joe, right, the one 1127 01:07:47,440 --> 01:07:51,960 Speaker 3: who was in the accident that killed the girl. He 1128 01:07:52,040 --> 01:07:55,320 Speaker 3: was willing to be interviewed. And we met in San Francisco, 1129 01:07:55,920 --> 01:07:59,320 Speaker 3: and I knew it would be nervous, so I would. 1130 01:07:59,400 --> 01:08:02,360 Speaker 3: I had a tape recorder in my pocket book, and 1131 01:08:02,560 --> 01:08:05,600 Speaker 3: we went for a long walk all over in the 1132 01:08:05,680 --> 01:08:10,680 Speaker 3: hills of San Francisco, and we got to the marina 1133 01:08:11,480 --> 01:08:13,800 Speaker 3: and he turned to me and he said, do you sail? 1134 01:08:14,720 --> 01:08:18,000 Speaker 3: It was just it was perfect, you know, do I sail? 1135 01:08:18,200 --> 01:08:22,040 Speaker 3: You know, I have like fifty dollars you know, out sale. 1136 01:08:22,800 --> 01:08:26,080 Speaker 3: But that's who they were. They were, you know, very 1137 01:08:26,240 --> 01:08:31,240 Speaker 3: privileged kids ran amok in that place that they have 1138 01:08:31,320 --> 01:08:32,719 Speaker 3: on the is it the vineyard? 1139 01:08:32,800 --> 01:08:33,040 Speaker 2: Yeah? 1140 01:08:33,479 --> 01:08:34,360 Speaker 3: No, in the cape. 1141 01:08:34,840 --> 01:08:36,440 Speaker 2: Hyanna's port was where. 1142 01:08:36,360 --> 01:08:40,160 Speaker 3: Uh, Hyena's port, right, that's where the house was. You know. 1143 01:08:40,240 --> 01:08:46,560 Speaker 3: They kind of ran wild around there. And then I 1144 01:08:46,600 --> 01:08:48,520 Speaker 3: got home, of course, and I was going to transcribe 1145 01:08:48,520 --> 01:08:50,600 Speaker 3: the tape, because that's what I did. I transcribed the 1146 01:08:50,680 --> 01:08:54,439 Speaker 3: tapes and I used things pretty much verbatim that I 1147 01:08:54,479 --> 01:08:57,080 Speaker 3: got from those tapes. But the tape was all traffic 1148 01:08:57,160 --> 01:09:00,320 Speaker 3: noise in the pounding against my leg of so I 1149 01:09:00,320 --> 01:09:02,599 Speaker 3: don't have it. All I remember is that he said, 1150 01:09:02,600 --> 01:09:05,880 Speaker 3: do you sail? And it was kind of opaque as 1151 01:09:05,920 --> 01:09:08,880 Speaker 3: a human being. And then I went to Harvard where 1152 01:09:09,960 --> 01:09:17,800 Speaker 3: the girl was what's her name, Catherine, Catherine, I guess, yeah, 1153 01:09:18,120 --> 01:09:21,439 Speaker 3: and yeah, Catherine Kennedy. And I waited her, you know, 1154 01:09:21,479 --> 01:09:24,360 Speaker 3: I accosted her in her dorm room hallway. It was 1155 01:09:24,400 --> 01:09:27,760 Speaker 3: so obnoxious. Oh god, I just cringe. And she was 1156 01:09:27,760 --> 01:09:29,920 Speaker 3: this patient she could be, and she finally said, look, 1157 01:09:29,960 --> 01:09:32,200 Speaker 3: I just can't do this, and she took me into 1158 01:09:32,240 --> 01:09:34,840 Speaker 3: her room. I forget. I just it was never really 1159 01:09:34,840 --> 01:09:38,040 Speaker 3: prepared very much for interviews. I just wanted to, you know, 1160 01:09:38,080 --> 01:09:40,600 Speaker 3: see what happened. I was kind of a slob, and so, 1161 01:09:41,760 --> 01:09:44,200 Speaker 3: you know, I just that was my m O. I 1162 01:09:44,320 --> 01:09:47,080 Speaker 3: just experienced, had the experience, and then I wrote about it. 1163 01:09:47,240 --> 01:09:50,559 Speaker 3: I wasn't a slab, that was what I did. And 1164 01:09:50,800 --> 01:09:52,840 Speaker 3: you know, I was kind of disarming, so people would 1165 01:09:52,880 --> 01:09:56,280 Speaker 3: just blab and that's that would be my modus OPERENDI 1166 01:09:56,360 --> 01:10:00,320 Speaker 3: but that it just seemed so kind of harm lesson 1167 01:10:01,439 --> 01:10:06,400 Speaker 3: at shy or something. So anyway, she got rid of me, 1168 01:10:06,479 --> 01:10:09,280 Speaker 3: and then I I cost it. I waited for Robert 1169 01:10:09,360 --> 01:10:14,000 Speaker 3: Kennedy Jr. Outside his dorm room. Now Robert Kennedy Junr. 1170 01:10:14,680 --> 01:10:16,360 Speaker 3: Is the one who's running for president. 1171 01:10:16,479 --> 01:10:18,160 Speaker 2: I know we're going to get to that. 1172 01:10:18,640 --> 01:10:23,639 Speaker 3: I cannot believe it. It's just who he became is so bizarre. 1173 01:10:24,320 --> 01:10:28,080 Speaker 3: That skin and that stutter or something. I don't know 1174 01:10:28,120 --> 01:10:31,160 Speaker 3: what happened to him. He just is like calcified in 1175 01:10:31,240 --> 01:10:35,880 Speaker 3: some way. He was just this like really handsome, tall 1176 01:10:36,439 --> 01:10:43,120 Speaker 3: hippie kid with long hair and jeans. And it was 1177 01:10:43,200 --> 01:10:45,720 Speaker 3: and here I was a writer for Rolling Stone, like 1178 01:10:45,800 --> 01:10:48,080 Speaker 3: you saw in Almost Famous, you know, kind of this 1179 01:10:48,200 --> 01:10:50,960 Speaker 3: loose girl with a short skirt. I don't remember what 1180 01:10:51,080 --> 01:10:54,760 Speaker 3: I was wearing, but probably something like that. I mean, 1181 01:10:54,760 --> 01:10:57,960 Speaker 3: my nickname it Marvel Comics was Legs, So you can 1182 01:10:58,040 --> 01:11:01,360 Speaker 3: kind of imagine what my feature, best feature was in 1183 01:11:01,400 --> 01:11:05,920 Speaker 3: those days. But we went down. He said, I have 1184 01:11:06,000 --> 01:11:09,800 Speaker 3: to meet a guy for you know, then we can talk. 1185 01:11:10,120 --> 01:11:13,320 Speaker 3: And so we went down to right off Harvard Square 1186 01:11:13,360 --> 01:11:16,080 Speaker 3: in front of the Hazen's Diner, to that corner there, 1187 01:11:16,400 --> 01:11:24,479 Speaker 3: and he scored some die lauded, which is you know, 1188 01:11:24,880 --> 01:11:28,160 Speaker 3: I had an operation recently and it gave me some 1189 01:11:28,200 --> 01:11:31,479 Speaker 3: of that stuff. It's very heavy. I don't know why 1190 01:11:31,479 --> 01:11:34,719 Speaker 3: anyone would take it recreationally, but people like that stuff. 1191 01:11:36,800 --> 01:11:42,680 Speaker 3: So we went back to his dorm room and he 1192 01:11:42,720 --> 01:11:46,280 Speaker 3: had this waterbed on the floor, and he had the 1193 01:11:46,320 --> 01:11:50,000 Speaker 3: bust of his father on the credenza, and he had 1194 01:11:51,120 --> 01:11:58,080 Speaker 3: falconry equipment on the wall. That's falconry equipment. What's that 1195 01:11:58,640 --> 01:12:04,519 Speaker 3: falconry equipment? You know what? Who? And so naturally I 1196 01:12:04,600 --> 01:12:09,960 Speaker 3: ended up spending the night and and this is really 1197 01:12:10,160 --> 01:12:13,200 Speaker 3: my I mean, my husband doesn't like any of the 1198 01:12:13,320 --> 01:12:16,160 Speaker 3: stuff about what happened when I was on the loose 1199 01:12:17,920 --> 01:12:22,040 Speaker 3: because I spent like five days with David Cassidy touring 1200 01:12:22,640 --> 01:12:27,880 Speaker 3: in New York and in Wayne and Maine, Lewiston, Maine, 1201 01:12:27,920 --> 01:12:31,800 Speaker 3: was at someplace in Maine. You know, it was just 1202 01:12:31,840 --> 01:12:35,080 Speaker 3: on my own. Nothing happened with David Cassidy. But maybe 1203 01:12:35,200 --> 01:12:39,200 Speaker 3: it happened with somebody else there, but maybe a roadie 1204 01:12:39,240 --> 01:12:45,559 Speaker 3: or something. But my husband really doesn't like this part 1205 01:12:45,600 --> 01:12:49,519 Speaker 3: of the book. It doesn't want to know about this stuff. 1206 01:12:49,720 --> 01:12:53,920 Speaker 2: Okay, but let's let's let's zero what you did have 1207 01:12:54,000 --> 01:12:58,280 Speaker 2: sex with RFK Junior. I did, Okay, what was going 1208 01:12:58,439 --> 01:12:59,840 Speaker 2: through your mind? 1209 01:13:07,720 --> 01:13:08,320 Speaker 3: What do you mean? 1210 01:13:08,360 --> 01:13:13,400 Speaker 2: I mean you're in a situation. Okay, yeah, and you 1211 01:13:13,640 --> 01:13:17,719 Speaker 2: know that on one hand, you're in this situation, haven't urged, 1212 01:13:17,760 --> 01:13:20,920 Speaker 2: but you also established you're an observer and you know 1213 01:13:21,040 --> 01:13:24,880 Speaker 2: this is compromising, So there's a choice involved. You're an 1214 01:13:24,920 --> 01:13:27,479 Speaker 2: intelligent person. You can't see so well, I don't know. 1215 01:13:27,800 --> 01:13:31,920 Speaker 2: It just happened, yeah, kind of happened. But you were thinking. 1216 01:13:32,200 --> 01:13:36,000 Speaker 3: Now, I think that it was I frankly think in 1217 01:13:36,160 --> 01:13:39,560 Speaker 3: hindsight and even maybe at the time it was journalistic 1218 01:13:39,680 --> 01:13:45,960 Speaker 3: instinct that I would learn something about this clan and 1219 01:13:46,040 --> 01:13:46,400 Speaker 3: I did. 1220 01:13:47,720 --> 01:13:51,639 Speaker 2: Okay, But you did something, Okay, so then it's over. 1221 01:13:53,040 --> 01:13:56,200 Speaker 3: Do you I learned the source? I think of their 1222 01:13:56,240 --> 01:14:02,120 Speaker 3: of their general uh self, you know, confidence and cockiness, 1223 01:14:02,320 --> 01:14:08,000 Speaker 3: So what is it? Giant? You know? Remember this one 1224 01:14:08,040 --> 01:14:10,720 Speaker 3: person anyway? Just you know, you know what they say 1225 01:14:10,760 --> 01:14:17,240 Speaker 3: about Pete Davidson. I can't say it, you know, okay, okay, 1226 01:14:17,240 --> 01:14:20,559 Speaker 3: but I did the article, but maybe I don't even 1227 01:14:20,680 --> 01:14:21,320 Speaker 3: know if I did. 1228 01:14:21,439 --> 01:14:25,799 Speaker 2: You know, But did you see this as all? Because 1229 01:14:25,920 --> 01:14:28,280 Speaker 2: ultimately it does become an issue? You see this as 1230 01:14:28,360 --> 01:14:30,640 Speaker 2: all is a great story, but this is going to 1231 01:14:30,640 --> 01:14:31,599 Speaker 2: fuck up the article. 1232 01:14:32,000 --> 01:14:34,880 Speaker 3: You know. It wasn't just that. It wasn't just that 1233 01:14:35,120 --> 01:14:37,719 Speaker 3: it was everything that I had to say about those children, 1234 01:14:38,600 --> 01:14:46,559 Speaker 3: about the drug taking. It was assassin job. I didn't 1235 01:14:46,600 --> 01:14:52,639 Speaker 3: want to expose the that tragic family and these young people, 1236 01:14:52,720 --> 01:14:59,040 Speaker 3: these college aged people, to that kind of notice. It 1237 01:14:59,080 --> 01:15:00,840 Speaker 3: was really because I couldn't I have written about that. 1238 01:15:02,240 --> 01:15:04,400 Speaker 3: Maybe I did it so that I couldn't write about it. 1239 01:15:04,520 --> 01:15:07,439 Speaker 3: Maybe I did subconsciously. It's possible, but I don't think 1240 01:15:07,479 --> 01:15:08,880 Speaker 3: I was thinking that far ahead. 1241 01:15:09,439 --> 01:15:13,040 Speaker 2: But whatever happens there that ends up ending your tenure 1242 01:15:13,200 --> 01:15:15,160 Speaker 2: Rolling Stone. So why don't you tell us that? 1243 01:15:17,560 --> 01:15:22,000 Speaker 3: Well, I didn't write the story because I couldn't write 1244 01:15:22,000 --> 01:15:27,400 Speaker 3: the story without telling that. Right, Well, if I'm so honest, 1245 01:15:27,560 --> 01:15:30,360 Speaker 3: you know, if i'm you know, and that's what I think. 1246 01:15:30,439 --> 01:15:32,680 Speaker 3: I wanted the book to be honest, and it was 1247 01:15:32,720 --> 01:15:34,880 Speaker 3: for the most part. And there were things that I 1248 01:15:34,960 --> 01:15:39,960 Speaker 3: left out to protect myself, but not much, not much, 1249 01:15:40,000 --> 01:15:44,680 Speaker 3: but something some persons, just one big thing about me 1250 01:15:44,920 --> 01:15:49,720 Speaker 3: that I didn't want to talk is no, it is, 1251 01:15:49,880 --> 01:15:52,160 Speaker 3: It isn't it was. It was just because it was 1252 01:15:52,200 --> 01:15:58,600 Speaker 3: the reason that Annie. Annie didn't like it didn't like 1253 01:15:58,680 --> 01:16:03,800 Speaker 3: me because of it. But it just really that I 1254 01:16:03,840 --> 01:16:09,200 Speaker 3: had nose job when I was sixteen, And you know, 1255 01:16:09,200 --> 01:16:11,760 Speaker 3: I always thought I would write about it, because I 1256 01:16:11,760 --> 01:16:13,960 Speaker 3: didn't put it in the book because I didn't want 1257 01:16:14,600 --> 01:16:18,320 Speaker 3: because I was ashamed. I mean, now I'm telling you said, 1258 01:16:18,360 --> 01:16:20,720 Speaker 3: you go deep, this is it. Okay, that's it. 1259 01:16:20,800 --> 01:16:23,439 Speaker 2: Okay, As I say, I'm glad you told me, because 1260 01:16:23,479 --> 01:16:27,600 Speaker 2: one's imagined it should much wilder than that. 1261 01:16:28,320 --> 01:16:31,000 Speaker 3: No, No, it's really just it really is just that 1262 01:16:31,040 --> 01:16:37,120 Speaker 3: I was ashamed that. You know, my parents, they just 1263 01:16:37,280 --> 01:16:40,240 Speaker 3: was afraid that I looked like my father, do you 1264 01:16:40,280 --> 01:16:42,360 Speaker 3: know what I mean? My mother had this little nose. 1265 01:16:43,000 --> 01:16:46,479 Speaker 3: She was a model, you know, a fashion model and 1266 01:16:46,720 --> 01:16:51,240 Speaker 3: beautiful and beautiful, hungarian, little nose, straight nose, and I 1267 01:16:51,280 --> 01:16:52,679 Speaker 3: had my father's nose. 1268 01:16:52,760 --> 01:16:52,880 Speaker 2: You know. 1269 01:16:52,920 --> 01:16:57,519 Speaker 3: It wasn't like Lilian's Hellman's nose anything, or Annie's nose, 1270 01:16:57,680 --> 01:17:01,320 Speaker 3: you know. But when Annie heard that, maybe she even 1271 01:17:01,400 --> 01:17:05,280 Speaker 3: asked me, she just lost respect for me, and it 1272 01:17:05,360 --> 01:17:08,599 Speaker 3: was fairly painful, and I didn't want to. I didn't 1273 01:17:08,600 --> 01:17:10,920 Speaker 3: put that in the book, and I felt. 1274 01:17:11,040 --> 01:17:13,320 Speaker 2: How old were you when you had your nose jobs? 1275 01:17:13,439 --> 01:17:15,480 Speaker 3: Sixteen? I just turned seventeen. 1276 01:17:16,080 --> 01:17:18,400 Speaker 2: Did it change your life at all? 1277 01:17:18,439 --> 01:17:21,839 Speaker 3: Probably? I think that who knows what would have happened 1278 01:17:21,840 --> 01:17:24,240 Speaker 3: if I had to suffer that note. Maybe I would 1279 01:17:24,280 --> 01:17:27,800 Speaker 3: have stayed in Providence and been a real writer, a 1280 01:17:27,840 --> 01:17:32,040 Speaker 3: fiction writer. Maybe I would have been really great. Do 1281 01:17:32,040 --> 01:17:33,360 Speaker 3: you know what I mean? Maybe? 1282 01:17:33,640 --> 01:17:35,519 Speaker 2: Yeah, I know what you mean. But at this point, 1283 01:17:35,720 --> 01:17:38,200 Speaker 2: you know, I guess that you know. Now we live 1284 01:17:38,240 --> 01:17:41,920 Speaker 2: in the era of ozembic and you see these women 1285 01:17:42,000 --> 01:17:45,200 Speaker 2: who've lost a very significant amount of weight on TikTok 1286 01:17:45,880 --> 01:17:48,960 Speaker 2: and they say, you know, some express all this confidence, 1287 01:17:49,000 --> 01:17:52,719 Speaker 2: and people say they get plastic surgery for self confidence whatever. Well, 1288 01:17:52,800 --> 01:17:56,040 Speaker 2: people treat them differently. Did you find that people treat them? 1289 01:17:56,200 --> 01:17:59,840 Speaker 3: Yes? Absolutely, yes, I wanted you know, the doctor of 1290 01:18:00,479 --> 01:18:02,600 Speaker 3: my parents, who had no money, took me down to 1291 01:18:02,680 --> 01:18:05,679 Speaker 3: New York City and I had the most expensive nose 1292 01:18:05,760 --> 01:18:07,760 Speaker 3: job you could possibly buy, because they wanted it to 1293 01:18:07,800 --> 01:18:11,080 Speaker 3: be really good. And so was doctor ALFREDX, who invented 1294 01:18:11,120 --> 01:18:13,479 Speaker 3: the Afch method, and he had an office on Park 1295 01:18:13,520 --> 01:18:17,160 Speaker 3: Avenue and Australia Austrian accent, I guess our German as angels, 1296 01:18:17,240 --> 01:18:20,720 Speaker 3: tell me, why do you want to have this operation? 1297 01:18:21,560 --> 01:18:24,680 Speaker 3: He said? A sixteen year old girl, and I said 1298 01:18:26,000 --> 01:18:30,320 Speaker 3: I want to be pretty, you know. I mean if 1299 01:18:30,360 --> 01:18:31,960 Speaker 3: I had said I want to be an axe morder, 1300 01:18:31,960 --> 01:18:34,000 Speaker 3: he probably would have also done it. You know, I 1301 01:18:34,160 --> 01:18:36,160 Speaker 3: just looked kind of a thing is that It's like, well, 1302 01:18:36,200 --> 01:18:38,639 Speaker 3: don't you think you're pretty? You're perfectly I mean, any 1303 01:18:38,840 --> 01:18:45,519 Speaker 3: any mother or anybody, you know, anybody would say, well, 1304 01:18:45,520 --> 01:18:48,080 Speaker 3: you're beautiful the way you are. Isn't that what people 1305 01:18:48,120 --> 01:18:52,000 Speaker 3: say now, you know? And so I'll never know what 1306 01:18:52,040 --> 01:18:55,519 Speaker 3: I would have looked like, this is not my face. 1307 01:18:55,560 --> 01:18:59,960 Speaker 3: And you're like Marlo Thomas, you know, God bless her whatever, 1308 01:19:00,120 --> 01:19:03,880 Speaker 3: or you know that little nose doesn't change over time. 1309 01:19:04,280 --> 01:19:06,559 Speaker 3: I mean, I'll go on about this for an hour. 1310 01:19:06,880 --> 01:19:09,440 Speaker 3: You don't want me to, but it's a huge subject 1311 01:19:09,439 --> 01:19:11,680 Speaker 3: for me, and I always thought I would write about it, 1312 01:19:11,720 --> 01:19:12,320 Speaker 3: but I haven't. 1313 01:19:12,600 --> 01:19:16,160 Speaker 2: Wait. Wait, the huge subject is the nose job or 1314 01:19:16,240 --> 01:19:17,440 Speaker 2: cosmetic surgery. 1315 01:19:17,840 --> 01:19:21,880 Speaker 3: No, the nose job, cosmetic surgery. Who gives a ship? 1316 01:19:22,400 --> 01:19:24,960 Speaker 3: I mean, you have a facelift, God bless you know. 1317 01:19:25,320 --> 01:19:27,400 Speaker 3: It's just that when you go around fucking around with 1318 01:19:27,479 --> 01:19:31,680 Speaker 3: something like your nose, you change your face to the 1319 01:19:31,760 --> 01:19:35,560 Speaker 3: world and it's a damage that you can't undo. You 1320 01:19:36,160 --> 01:19:40,520 Speaker 3: and you don't. You don't. I didn't grow into myself. 1321 01:19:40,920 --> 01:19:44,120 Speaker 3: It was a way of escaping myself and my parents 1322 01:19:44,720 --> 01:19:48,680 Speaker 3: and my father colluded, he didn't, you know. And they 1323 01:19:48,680 --> 01:19:50,640 Speaker 3: did this in the advice of a friend of his, 1324 01:19:50,920 --> 01:19:56,240 Speaker 3: theirs from New York City, you know who. He said, 1325 01:19:56,479 --> 01:20:00,639 Speaker 3: Robin's so bright, but with that nose on her face, 1326 01:20:00,760 --> 01:20:03,559 Speaker 3: you know, she, you know, that will really be a 1327 01:20:03,640 --> 01:20:07,400 Speaker 3: hindrance for her. This radiologist, he was a doctor, you know, 1328 01:20:08,240 --> 01:20:10,479 Speaker 3: from New York City, a friend of theirs that moved 1329 01:20:10,520 --> 01:20:13,839 Speaker 3: to Providence, whose wife later committed suicide in the attic, 1330 01:20:13,960 --> 01:20:16,360 Speaker 3: you know, And because he was having an affair with 1331 01:20:17,320 --> 01:20:19,600 Speaker 3: you know. I mean, this is the person that my 1332 01:20:19,720 --> 01:20:23,080 Speaker 3: parents listened to. I didn't have like Annie had a 1333 01:20:23,240 --> 01:20:26,360 Speaker 3: spine enough, because I did. I wanted to be pretty. 1334 01:20:26,479 --> 01:20:28,880 Speaker 3: I wanted to look like Natalie, would you know? 1335 01:20:29,280 --> 01:20:32,320 Speaker 2: Okay, So just to be clear, the motivation for the 1336 01:20:32,400 --> 01:20:36,920 Speaker 2: nose job came from you or came from your parents. 1337 01:20:38,040 --> 01:20:41,120 Speaker 2: And if you could snap your fingers now, would you 1338 01:20:41,240 --> 01:20:43,080 Speaker 2: or would you have not gotten a nose job? 1339 01:20:44,000 --> 01:20:47,880 Speaker 3: I think that's an impossible question to answer, really, but no, 1340 01:20:48,040 --> 01:20:52,040 Speaker 3: I wouldn't have if I had it to do over again. No, 1341 01:20:52,280 --> 01:20:54,760 Speaker 3: because I don't. I see pictures of myself and I 1342 01:20:54,800 --> 01:20:57,679 Speaker 3: feel like tender towards that person. She I don't look 1343 01:20:57,720 --> 01:20:59,920 Speaker 3: that bad. I don't think. I don't know I should. 1344 01:21:00,080 --> 01:21:03,080 Speaker 3: I have the pictures, I have my medical pictures. I 1345 01:21:03,080 --> 01:21:06,799 Speaker 3: don't have any straight ant on. I don't have frontal pictures, 1346 01:21:06,800 --> 01:21:09,479 Speaker 3: so I can't age them, which I would love to do. 1347 01:21:10,800 --> 01:21:14,920 Speaker 3: It probably look like you, you know, I would look 1348 01:21:15,000 --> 01:21:18,439 Speaker 3: more like what I was supposed to look like or something. 1349 01:21:19,160 --> 01:21:21,960 Speaker 3: I just think I did that girl a disservice. 1350 01:21:23,439 --> 01:21:26,360 Speaker 2: Okay, just staying on something you said with your husband 1351 01:21:26,680 --> 01:21:31,640 Speaker 2: disapproving of you commenting about your prior life, especially involving 1352 01:21:32,439 --> 01:21:37,200 Speaker 2: sexual activity. Yeah, this is not the nineteen fifties. Never 1353 01:21:37,240 --> 01:21:41,479 Speaker 2: mind the nineteen forties. We all have a sexual past. 1354 01:21:42,120 --> 01:21:47,280 Speaker 2: Everybody we've been involved with has had multiple partners. Except 1355 01:21:47,280 --> 01:21:50,080 Speaker 2: for one person. Everybody who I've had a relationship with 1356 01:21:50,200 --> 01:21:53,480 Speaker 2: had an abortion. I mean, this is in all our histories. 1357 01:21:53,800 --> 01:21:56,400 Speaker 2: Why do you think he is anxious about it? 1358 01:22:05,280 --> 01:22:09,280 Speaker 3: I just don't think he finds it very admirable that 1359 01:22:09,360 --> 01:22:13,719 Speaker 3: I that I was so loose, or he just doesn't 1360 01:22:13,840 --> 01:22:17,519 Speaker 3: like to hear about it, and he didn't like it 1361 01:22:17,560 --> 01:22:23,360 Speaker 3: to be so public and he he had. He aside 1362 01:22:23,360 --> 01:22:32,800 Speaker 3: from that, is not that engaged in the book, has 1363 01:22:32,840 --> 01:22:36,200 Speaker 3: never said about the writing or anything like that. Nothing. 1364 01:22:37,800 --> 01:22:44,280 Speaker 2: You've expressed numerous times your Jewish background. Your husband is 1365 01:22:44,479 --> 01:22:47,599 Speaker 2: not Jewish. Do you think a Jewish guy would react differently. 1366 01:22:48,840 --> 01:22:53,559 Speaker 3: I have no idea. I don't know. That's you know, 1367 01:22:53,760 --> 01:23:00,200 Speaker 3: this is yeah maybe maybe, I don't know. I don't know. 1368 01:23:00,720 --> 01:23:03,200 Speaker 3: David was my Jewish guy, and he was really only 1369 01:23:03,280 --> 01:23:06,040 Speaker 3: half Jewish, the other half was Portuguese. 1370 01:23:07,320 --> 01:23:12,600 Speaker 2: So you had you know, you're someone who has had boyfriends, 1371 01:23:13,040 --> 01:23:16,320 Speaker 2: so all of your boyfriends were not Jewish, or just 1372 01:23:16,400 --> 01:23:18,560 Speaker 2: certain ones were and certain ones weren't. 1373 01:23:19,560 --> 01:23:24,040 Speaker 3: Well, David was my Jewish boyfriend. There was a pharmacist's son, 1374 01:23:24,479 --> 01:23:27,840 Speaker 3: Albert Toadman, who liked me at high school, who I 1375 01:23:27,880 --> 01:23:30,840 Speaker 3: could have had a future with as a pharmacist wife. 1376 01:23:30,960 --> 01:23:35,960 Speaker 3: He was Jewish, Albert Toba. But I didn't have that 1377 01:23:36,040 --> 01:23:37,160 Speaker 3: many boyfriends. 1378 01:23:37,920 --> 01:23:41,240 Speaker 2: I'm just talking. I'm not quantifying. It's just you referenced 1379 01:23:41,320 --> 01:23:44,400 Speaker 2: certain people. But didn't you get the message from the 1380 01:23:44,400 --> 01:23:46,360 Speaker 2: moment you grew up the how to marry a Jewish boy? 1381 01:23:47,160 --> 01:23:50,719 Speaker 3: Oh? Sure, well, you're not supposed to go outside the tribe. 1382 01:23:52,360 --> 01:23:54,639 Speaker 2: Okay, but let's put a bow on it. How does it? 1383 01:23:55,080 --> 01:23:59,680 Speaker 3: You know, I mean, Mitch is very who was an 1384 01:23:59,720 --> 01:24:04,400 Speaker 3: odd choice for me off the you know, just off 1385 01:24:04,439 --> 01:24:08,800 Speaker 3: from left field, you know, a Catholic working you know, 1386 01:24:08,880 --> 01:24:13,840 Speaker 3: the father was a factory worker. But with whole backstory. 1387 01:24:14,960 --> 01:24:21,360 Speaker 3: But you know what was I going to say? Just oh, 1388 01:24:21,520 --> 01:24:25,519 Speaker 3: I know, and it's just a stupid story. My mother 1389 01:24:25,600 --> 01:24:29,120 Speaker 3: and I was telling you before about how we were 1390 01:24:29,120 --> 01:24:31,479 Speaker 3: all in like the ponds in their game and this 1391 01:24:31,600 --> 01:24:34,360 Speaker 3: kind of race to succeed. My mother was walking in 1392 01:24:34,479 --> 01:24:38,479 Speaker 3: Providence down to Wayland Square and she ran into the 1393 01:24:38,800 --> 01:24:44,240 Speaker 3: woman who said, and this was like in the nineties, 1394 01:24:44,680 --> 01:24:47,240 Speaker 3: maybe it was in the thousands, actually in the early 1395 01:24:47,280 --> 01:24:51,759 Speaker 3: two thousands, and Robin never married, did she? The woman said, 1396 01:24:52,439 --> 01:24:55,040 Speaker 3: And my mother said, well, actually she just got married 1397 01:24:55,120 --> 01:25:01,280 Speaker 3: last week, because I'm married. I married Mitch much much later, 1398 01:25:01,439 --> 01:25:03,080 Speaker 3: you know, I married I knew I met him in 1399 01:25:03,120 --> 01:25:08,160 Speaker 3: seventy seven or seventy six, I think maybe seventy six, 1400 01:25:08,760 --> 01:25:13,240 Speaker 3: and we married in two thousand and two or three. 1401 01:25:13,560 --> 01:25:15,080 Speaker 2: Okay, there's a lot of stuff going there, but we 1402 01:25:15,160 --> 01:25:18,320 Speaker 2: got a time. Sorry, we'll get back to it. But 1403 01:25:19,280 --> 01:25:21,599 Speaker 2: how does it end with Yan and rolling stone. 1404 01:25:22,600 --> 01:25:26,200 Speaker 3: Oh, well, he was pissed off. You know. I didn't 1405 01:25:26,240 --> 01:25:29,400 Speaker 3: whack up much expenses, but there were some expenses, but 1406 01:25:29,439 --> 01:25:33,280 Speaker 3: nothing like one Hunter was or anything like that. But 1407 01:25:35,520 --> 01:25:41,320 Speaker 3: he wanted the piece. He wanted a piece. And we 1408 01:25:41,320 --> 01:25:44,720 Speaker 3: were in Israel. Jan was there with Max Polewski, who 1409 01:25:44,800 --> 01:25:48,000 Speaker 3: was dedicating a wing of the museum to his parents. 1410 01:25:49,320 --> 01:25:52,360 Speaker 3: Max was one of the people who funded the magazine 1411 01:25:52,400 --> 01:25:55,960 Speaker 3: at some point, wealthy and made money in computers early on. 1412 01:25:56,800 --> 01:26:02,600 Speaker 3: And we were at this nightclub. I slip with you 1413 01:26:02,640 --> 01:26:03,880 Speaker 3: on too, you know, so. 1414 01:26:05,439 --> 01:26:05,800 Speaker 2: But so. 1415 01:26:07,920 --> 01:26:10,080 Speaker 3: Or at this nightclub we went outside for a smoke 1416 01:26:10,800 --> 01:26:13,000 Speaker 3: and he said, are you going to give me the 1417 01:26:13,080 --> 01:26:16,320 Speaker 3: piece on the Kennedy's And I said, no, I guess not. 1418 01:26:16,760 --> 01:26:19,960 Speaker 3: I guess I'm not going to, you know. And he said, well, 1419 01:26:19,960 --> 01:26:23,120 Speaker 3: I'm going to have to take you off the masthead And 1420 01:26:23,200 --> 01:26:26,519 Speaker 3: I said, okay, I mean I was ready to move on. 1421 01:26:26,760 --> 01:26:29,360 Speaker 3: You know, that's how I move on. I've noticed that 1422 01:26:29,439 --> 01:26:32,639 Speaker 3: pattern in my life. I don't I usually get fired. 1423 01:26:32,640 --> 01:26:36,639 Speaker 3: I've been fired most time, you know, like three or four, 1424 01:26:36,840 --> 01:26:39,640 Speaker 3: three times that I can remember at the moment I 1425 01:26:39,680 --> 01:26:40,200 Speaker 3: get fired. 1426 01:26:40,240 --> 01:26:43,080 Speaker 2: Okay, So then you go to the Iowa Writers'. 1427 01:26:42,600 --> 01:26:46,479 Speaker 3: Workshop, well, I devolved a little, you know, I wrote 1428 01:26:46,520 --> 01:26:49,080 Speaker 3: for different magazines. I hung around Berkeley for a couple 1429 01:26:49,160 --> 01:26:51,280 Speaker 3: of years after that, and I wrote an article for 1430 01:26:51,720 --> 01:26:54,400 Speaker 3: Rolling Stone after that. He you know, he would let 1431 01:26:54,479 --> 01:26:56,120 Speaker 3: me write for them. He just took me off the 1432 01:26:56,160 --> 01:26:59,280 Speaker 3: mast head. It was like the sergeant losing his stripes 1433 01:26:59,360 --> 01:27:01,280 Speaker 3: or something. But I wrote, you know, a piece on 1434 01:27:03,240 --> 01:27:07,720 Speaker 3: nitrous oxide that I just loved doing, and some other things. 1435 01:27:07,760 --> 01:27:09,960 Speaker 3: And I wrote for other magazines too, you know, and 1436 01:27:10,040 --> 01:27:12,800 Speaker 3: all that. But my personal life, you know, I was 1437 01:27:12,880 --> 01:27:17,960 Speaker 3: alone in the world. David had married, and David felt 1438 01:27:17,960 --> 01:27:25,000 Speaker 3: in my married lover, you know, that ended, and so 1439 01:27:25,080 --> 01:27:27,479 Speaker 3: I went to Ioway. It sounded cushy, you know, and 1440 01:27:27,520 --> 01:27:30,599 Speaker 3: it was also where I felt safe last. I felt 1441 01:27:30,600 --> 01:27:33,120 Speaker 3: good in college in a way work wise, do you 1442 01:27:33,120 --> 01:27:35,360 Speaker 3: know what I mean. It's a you know, just to 1443 01:27:35,400 --> 01:27:37,960 Speaker 3: go and read books. It's a good thing to do. 1444 01:27:38,040 --> 01:27:41,240 Speaker 3: So I started my life again. And when I met Mitch, 1445 01:27:41,439 --> 01:27:44,000 Speaker 3: I was his teacher. He was just out of the 1446 01:27:44,080 --> 01:27:47,240 Speaker 3: Vietnam War, and you know, he didn't go to the war, 1447 01:27:47,280 --> 01:27:49,720 Speaker 3: but he was in the army and the gi Bill 1448 01:27:49,760 --> 01:27:52,680 Speaker 3: and he came to my class and that's how I 1449 01:27:52,720 --> 01:27:55,080 Speaker 3: met him. In nineteen I think seventy six. 1450 01:27:56,240 --> 01:28:01,120 Speaker 2: Okay, But going to the Iowa Writer's Workshop good or bad? 1451 01:28:02,520 --> 01:28:09,120 Speaker 3: Oh? Good? Because because because I could start my life 1452 01:28:09,160 --> 01:28:16,439 Speaker 3: there again. I could start my life there again. That's 1453 01:28:16,439 --> 01:28:20,280 Speaker 3: all I mean. It was just a wonderful place to be. 1454 01:28:20,960 --> 01:28:24,880 Speaker 3: And you know, you know that there once was an 1455 01:28:24,960 --> 01:28:29,080 Speaker 3: ugly duckling with feathers all something in brown blah blah blah, 1456 01:28:29,120 --> 01:28:33,080 Speaker 3: and it's a swan. You know. I loved that movie. 1457 01:28:33,240 --> 01:28:37,639 Speaker 3: And I loved being around writers because then I did belong. 1458 01:28:37,880 --> 01:28:38,000 Speaker 2: You know. 1459 01:28:38,040 --> 01:28:40,960 Speaker 3: It wasn't like being at Pembroke, where I didn't belong 1460 01:28:41,000 --> 01:28:44,839 Speaker 3: with all those blonde girls. At Iowa, everyone was fucked 1461 01:28:44,920 --> 01:28:48,519 Speaker 3: up or everyone was a writer. Everyone wanted to be 1462 01:28:48,560 --> 01:28:52,520 Speaker 3: a writer, so there was a commonality and a basis 1463 01:28:52,560 --> 01:28:57,400 Speaker 3: for conversation and hanging out and having you know, deep, 1464 01:28:57,800 --> 01:28:59,559 Speaker 3: deep kind of fun. 1465 01:29:00,760 --> 01:29:07,080 Speaker 2: You know, did you see The Girls arc about Can 1466 01:29:07,120 --> 01:29:09,719 Speaker 2: I guess the character's name was going to the Iowa 1467 01:29:09,800 --> 01:29:10,719 Speaker 2: Writer's Workshop? 1468 01:29:13,200 --> 01:29:16,559 Speaker 3: Oh? In The Girls? I guess, so yeah, I don't 1469 01:29:16,600 --> 01:29:17,479 Speaker 3: know if I don't remember. 1470 01:29:17,560 --> 01:29:22,280 Speaker 2: I mean, you go to the Iowa Writer's Workshop. It 1471 01:29:22,400 --> 01:29:25,400 Speaker 2: is probably the most difficult writing program to get into. 1472 01:29:26,280 --> 01:29:29,160 Speaker 2: And there's a lot of the tearing a part of 1473 01:29:29,280 --> 01:29:32,479 Speaker 2: one's writing, and you end up with a certain style 1474 01:29:32,600 --> 01:29:36,000 Speaker 2: in many cases, which is not my favorite, where it's 1475 01:29:36,040 --> 01:29:39,360 Speaker 2: all about rewriting in the sense become very dense as 1476 01:29:39,400 --> 01:29:42,240 Speaker 2: to the paragraph. You know, you'd already had a history writing. 1477 01:29:42,840 --> 01:29:47,320 Speaker 2: Did you feel any constriction, feeling like you were shoehorned 1478 01:29:47,360 --> 01:29:49,240 Speaker 2: into a style you may not have liked? 1479 01:29:49,760 --> 01:29:55,200 Speaker 3: No, not at all. No I I no I. 1480 01:29:55,320 --> 01:29:55,519 Speaker 2: You know. 1481 01:29:58,120 --> 01:30:01,320 Speaker 3: John Hawks was my teacher, and he actually had to 1482 01:30:01,360 --> 01:30:04,800 Speaker 3: pull a string to get me into Iowa because Alan 1483 01:30:04,840 --> 01:30:09,040 Speaker 3: Ganis thought my writing was thin. I heard later, But 1484 01:30:09,479 --> 01:30:11,799 Speaker 3: you know I rose there too. I became a teaching 1485 01:30:11,800 --> 01:30:18,599 Speaker 3: writing fellow. No. I wrote very conventional short stories, and 1486 01:30:18,640 --> 01:30:23,759 Speaker 3: I wrote just enough to get my MFA. I wasn't 1487 01:30:23,880 --> 01:30:25,800 Speaker 3: going to be a writer. I wasn't going to be 1488 01:30:25,840 --> 01:30:30,080 Speaker 3: that kind of writer. No, But you know, and there 1489 01:30:30,080 --> 01:30:34,040 Speaker 3: were teachers who were much more avant garde, like Riiseland Drexler, 1490 01:30:34,320 --> 01:30:38,360 Speaker 3: and they made fun of more conventional things. Not my stuff, 1491 01:30:38,400 --> 01:30:43,080 Speaker 3: but this guy, John Folsey's stuff. He wrote a conventional 1492 01:30:43,160 --> 01:30:46,559 Speaker 3: short story, which was the only thing. And now they 1493 01:30:46,600 --> 01:30:49,960 Speaker 3: published constantly in The New Yorker and everywhere else in books. 1494 01:30:50,280 --> 01:30:52,519 Speaker 3: But then to get something in the New York was huge, 1495 01:30:52,560 --> 01:30:55,479 Speaker 3: and John Falsey got something in the New Yorker and 1496 01:30:55,520 --> 01:30:58,080 Speaker 3: that's what brought him out to Hollywood. And he's the 1497 01:30:58,080 --> 01:31:01,519 Speaker 3: one who hired me in television years later. So I 1498 01:31:01,600 --> 01:31:04,800 Speaker 3: defended his short story in class against that kind of 1499 01:31:04,840 --> 01:31:08,200 Speaker 3: intrusion because I thought it was a really good short story. 1500 01:31:08,479 --> 01:31:11,320 Speaker 3: It wasn't really good short story, good enough to get 1501 01:31:11,360 --> 01:31:14,679 Speaker 3: into New Yorker and good enough to get him a 1502 01:31:14,800 --> 01:31:17,759 Speaker 3: life in the Hollywood, you know, career. 1503 01:31:25,120 --> 01:31:29,519 Speaker 2: So you ultimately leave Iowa, you come to la and 1504 01:31:29,600 --> 01:31:33,920 Speaker 2: once again you're doing the equivalent of like minimum wage jobs. 1505 01:31:34,160 --> 01:31:37,000 Speaker 3: Yeah, what else was going to do? I didn't have 1506 01:31:37,000 --> 01:31:40,120 Speaker 3: any money. I went with Mitch again with a man. 1507 01:31:40,240 --> 01:31:48,160 Speaker 3: Didn't want to go by myself, you know, And yeah 1508 01:31:48,240 --> 01:31:50,160 Speaker 3: we got we didn't have any money. We had thirteen 1509 01:31:50,240 --> 01:31:53,160 Speaker 3: hundred dollars, I said, saved my money. I worked in 1510 01:31:53,200 --> 01:31:57,759 Speaker 3: a hospital in Iowa. I mean, even after Rolling Stone, 1511 01:31:57,800 --> 01:32:01,840 Speaker 3: I was waitressing mid you know, graveyard shift at the 1512 01:32:01,840 --> 01:32:08,559 Speaker 3: Copper Penny on University Avenue. But I didn't mind. I 1513 01:32:08,600 --> 01:32:09,200 Speaker 3: didn't mind. 1514 01:32:09,479 --> 01:32:12,080 Speaker 2: Well, I mean, men, you know, if you listen to 1515 01:32:12,120 --> 01:32:15,840 Speaker 2: Deborah tan And, who wrote a definitive book about all this. 1516 01:32:16,120 --> 01:32:18,960 Speaker 2: You know, you just don't understand. Men tend to be 1517 01:32:19,000 --> 01:32:22,519 Speaker 2: more linear ascensions. So if a man has a big 1518 01:32:22,640 --> 01:32:24,799 Speaker 2: job and then, as you know, goes to a minimum 1519 01:32:24,800 --> 01:32:28,040 Speaker 2: wage job, their ego is crushed. But that was not 1520 01:32:28,120 --> 01:32:28,960 Speaker 2: your experience. 1521 01:32:29,439 --> 01:32:33,720 Speaker 3: No, because women aren't you know, especially my generation, we 1522 01:32:33,720 --> 01:32:38,599 Speaker 3: weren't expected. Nothing was expected of us, nothing to shut up, 1523 01:32:38,640 --> 01:32:41,240 Speaker 3: you know. But men were trained to They had to 1524 01:32:41,320 --> 01:32:43,400 Speaker 3: have the job and they had to support the family. 1525 01:32:43,880 --> 01:32:46,639 Speaker 3: And that's what a man did. So sure, you can't 1526 01:32:46,800 --> 01:32:50,439 Speaker 3: be fucking around. You got to go get a career. 1527 01:32:52,240 --> 01:32:56,360 Speaker 2: Okay, how do you ultimately get a job in television? 1528 01:32:58,000 --> 01:33:01,960 Speaker 3: Well, there were people that really sue it directly and 1529 01:33:02,040 --> 01:33:05,360 Speaker 3: this is their passion, and they write tempt they write 1530 01:33:05,400 --> 01:33:08,559 Speaker 3: spec scripts, and they go after it and they trust, 1531 01:33:08,840 --> 01:33:11,360 Speaker 3: you know, they work, and they get a job working 1532 01:33:11,720 --> 01:33:14,120 Speaker 3: on a show as a secretary or something like that, 1533 01:33:14,280 --> 01:33:17,200 Speaker 3: an assistant, and they worked their way. I just fell 1534 01:33:17,240 --> 01:33:20,040 Speaker 3: into it the same way I fell into Rolling Stone. 1535 01:33:21,080 --> 01:33:24,720 Speaker 3: John Folsey from Iowa had just created a show. I 1536 01:33:24,760 --> 01:33:28,960 Speaker 3: was writing. I was made this friend in la I 1537 01:33:29,040 --> 01:33:32,320 Speaker 3: was writing. You know, I had a job as a 1538 01:33:32,439 --> 01:33:35,640 Speaker 3: I finally got a job working for Harold Hayes, the 1539 01:33:35,720 --> 01:33:42,200 Speaker 3: great Esquire editor, a brilliant, wonderful, fantastic man, and he 1540 01:33:42,320 --> 01:33:44,680 Speaker 3: gave me. He took me in. You know, he liked 1541 01:33:44,680 --> 01:33:47,280 Speaker 3: something I wrote. I wrote him something as a kind 1542 01:33:47,320 --> 01:33:49,439 Speaker 3: of calling card, and they put it in the magazine 1543 01:33:49,439 --> 01:33:51,920 Speaker 3: and he hired me. It gave me a column. So 1544 01:33:51,920 --> 01:33:54,680 Speaker 3: I was working there as an editor at California Magazine 1545 01:33:54,680 --> 01:33:57,760 Speaker 3: and my friend Ruth Reischel took me in and she 1546 01:33:57,920 --> 01:34:01,120 Speaker 3: was the restaurant reviewer at the La Times, and she 1547 01:34:03,160 --> 01:34:05,280 Speaker 3: knew that I was a good writer because a friend 1548 01:34:05,280 --> 01:34:08,280 Speaker 3: of mine told her that, and she hired me to 1549 01:34:08,280 --> 01:34:11,720 Speaker 3: be a second string restaurant reviewer. So John Folsey, that 1550 01:34:11,800 --> 01:34:14,000 Speaker 3: I had known at Iowa, this is like seven or 1551 01:34:14,000 --> 01:34:19,320 Speaker 3: eight years after Mitch and I went to La he 1552 01:34:20,960 --> 01:34:24,799 Speaker 3: read one of my restaurant reviews told his partner in writing, 1553 01:34:26,000 --> 01:34:29,000 Speaker 3: Joshua Brand, she'd be good to write for our show. 1554 01:34:29,040 --> 01:34:31,479 Speaker 3: She's a really good writer because it was a show 1555 01:34:32,200 --> 01:34:34,960 Speaker 3: that was well, it was a show about a family 1556 01:34:35,400 --> 01:34:40,400 Speaker 3: who was that kind of conventional family story writing that 1557 01:34:40,479 --> 01:34:44,639 Speaker 3: I like to do. And so so it was because 1558 01:34:44,680 --> 01:34:47,559 Speaker 3: of that restaurant review that he brought me in and 1559 01:34:47,600 --> 01:34:49,840 Speaker 3: had josh meet me and They gave me a chance 1560 01:34:49,880 --> 01:34:52,040 Speaker 3: to write episode one of a show called Year in 1561 01:34:52,080 --> 01:34:56,320 Speaker 3: the Life with Richard Kylie and Sarah Jessica Parker at 1562 01:34:56,360 --> 01:35:00,479 Speaker 3: sixty years old, and you know, even Mary's sat was 1563 01:35:00,520 --> 01:35:03,880 Speaker 3: in the she was in the miniseries that won an Emmy. 1564 01:35:03,920 --> 01:35:06,639 Speaker 3: It was really, you know, the beginning of a kind 1565 01:35:06,680 --> 01:35:10,880 Speaker 3: of quality television. And so I got to I got 1566 01:35:10,880 --> 01:35:14,000 Speaker 3: to write the first episode of when it went to series, 1567 01:35:15,600 --> 01:35:20,160 Speaker 3: and it was terrible, and uh, John said, I know 1568 01:35:21,360 --> 01:35:25,240 Speaker 3: to Josh, I know she can do it. And they 1569 01:35:25,280 --> 01:35:29,599 Speaker 3: had me in and they said, we want updike. That's 1570 01:35:29,600 --> 01:35:32,120 Speaker 3: what we want the tone. And because I had a 1571 01:35:32,160 --> 01:35:34,960 Speaker 3: literature background, I knew what updyke was. Do you know 1572 01:35:35,000 --> 01:35:37,280 Speaker 3: what I mean? I knew, I understand what they were 1573 01:35:37,320 --> 01:35:40,559 Speaker 3: asking of me. And so I was able to deliver 1574 01:35:40,800 --> 01:35:44,160 Speaker 3: an updike in with with that kind of humor. I 1575 01:35:44,240 --> 01:35:47,840 Speaker 3: gave them some dyke and ship and it was episode 1576 01:35:47,840 --> 01:35:51,000 Speaker 3: one a Year in the Life. And then I worked 1577 01:35:51,000 --> 01:35:55,679 Speaker 3: from then on. I went from you know Josh and John. 1578 01:35:55,960 --> 01:35:56,280 Speaker 2: Josh. 1579 01:35:56,439 --> 01:35:59,800 Speaker 3: John particularly was like, do you believe how much money? 1580 01:35:59,840 --> 01:36:02,519 Speaker 3: Or he was very I mean, I had a nice 1581 01:36:02,600 --> 01:36:05,639 Speaker 3: life without the money, you know, I had a nice 1582 01:36:05,680 --> 01:36:07,799 Speaker 3: little apartment and I had split up at that point 1583 01:36:07,840 --> 01:36:10,600 Speaker 3: for a while, but for years, but I had a 1584 01:36:10,680 --> 01:36:14,599 Speaker 3: nice little apartment. I loved my job with Harold Hayes, 1585 01:36:14,920 --> 01:36:19,200 Speaker 3: although he died and so then it became problematic. But 1586 01:36:20,479 --> 01:36:23,920 Speaker 3: the magazine became an unhappy place to be, or maybe 1587 01:36:23,960 --> 01:36:29,080 Speaker 3: he was fired before he died. But but I was 1588 01:36:29,120 --> 01:36:31,559 Speaker 3: happy in my life, you know, at forty thousand dollars 1589 01:36:31,560 --> 01:36:33,960 Speaker 3: a year. But going from that to the kind of 1590 01:36:34,000 --> 01:36:37,160 Speaker 3: television money was a big, you know, big leap. I 1591 01:36:37,240 --> 01:36:41,639 Speaker 3: was forty forty years old by that, you know, and 1592 01:36:41,720 --> 01:36:46,920 Speaker 3: so you know, that was the beginning of the life 1593 01:36:47,000 --> 01:36:47,800 Speaker 3: that I have now. 1594 01:36:49,240 --> 01:36:50,920 Speaker 2: So where did it go? From that show? 1595 01:36:53,760 --> 01:36:55,559 Speaker 3: I was a year in the life was canceled after 1596 01:36:55,600 --> 01:36:59,280 Speaker 3: a year because the Networks was so stupid. They had 1597 01:36:59,600 --> 01:37:01,360 Speaker 3: they had a that was a winner, but it only 1598 01:37:01,439 --> 01:37:08,560 Speaker 3: lasted a year to replace it. I went from there to, oh, 1599 01:37:08,920 --> 01:37:16,400 Speaker 3: David Chase had a show called Almost Grown about music, 1600 01:37:17,360 --> 01:37:24,479 Speaker 3: and so I went and interviewed with David. And it 1601 01:37:24,520 --> 01:37:27,800 Speaker 3: was during the strike, and we had lunch and a 1602 01:37:27,920 --> 01:37:30,600 Speaker 3: Ventura Boulevard, you know, I was at this restaurant of 1603 01:37:30,680 --> 01:37:35,880 Speaker 3: Ventura Boulevard and David walks in and I think, oh fuck, 1604 01:37:36,120 --> 01:37:38,639 Speaker 3: he's like the most miserable looking person I've ever seen 1605 01:37:38,680 --> 01:37:42,080 Speaker 3: in my life, just so dour and oh Jesus. And 1606 01:37:42,120 --> 01:37:44,320 Speaker 3: I'm sitting there and there's no place to run, and 1607 01:37:44,360 --> 01:37:47,160 Speaker 3: he comes and he sits with me, and within ten 1608 01:37:47,200 --> 01:37:49,519 Speaker 3: minutes we were laughing so hard we had tears streaming 1609 01:37:49,560 --> 01:37:53,240 Speaker 3: down our cheeks. He was just like, so funny and 1610 01:37:53,360 --> 01:37:56,320 Speaker 3: so smart. It's just wonderful. So I went to work 1611 01:37:56,360 --> 01:38:00,680 Speaker 3: for him, and that show was canceled after fourteen episodes, 1612 01:38:00,680 --> 01:38:02,639 Speaker 3: but god, it was fun. You know, It's with Tim 1613 01:38:02,760 --> 01:38:06,880 Speaker 3: Daly and Eve Gordon, and it had musical cues. David 1614 01:38:06,960 --> 01:38:13,439 Speaker 3: was really into music. I mean, have you talked to 1615 01:38:13,520 --> 01:38:16,360 Speaker 3: him at all, He's not so into music. Music is 1616 01:38:16,400 --> 01:38:19,160 Speaker 3: such a big part of what he does all of 1617 01:38:19,200 --> 01:38:22,880 Speaker 3: the show, well sopranos, especially practical music. He likes to 1618 01:38:22,880 --> 01:38:26,600 Speaker 3: put practical music. It isn't like scores. So this was 1619 01:38:26,600 --> 01:38:30,120 Speaker 3: a show where musical cues brought this couple who was 1620 01:38:30,400 --> 01:38:33,840 Speaker 3: divorcing back to certain periods in their lives, and so 1621 01:38:33,880 --> 01:38:37,320 Speaker 3: you would go back into that period in the film, 1622 01:38:37,840 --> 01:38:41,720 Speaker 3: you know, flashbacks cued by music that was playing on 1623 01:38:41,720 --> 01:38:45,360 Speaker 3: the radio or wherever the music was playing. The character 1624 01:38:45,479 --> 01:38:49,599 Speaker 3: would start thinking about that time, and so you would 1625 01:38:49,640 --> 01:38:53,720 Speaker 3: have a whole plot at that time when they were 1626 01:38:53,760 --> 01:38:56,760 Speaker 3: happy maybe or stuff that happened back then with Eve 1627 01:38:56,800 --> 01:38:59,840 Speaker 3: and I can't remember the character's names, but Tim, Daly 1628 01:39:00,080 --> 01:39:03,519 Speaker 3: and Gordon, and then you would be back at the present, 1629 01:39:03,960 --> 01:39:06,640 Speaker 3: and that experience of going back with somehow inform on 1630 01:39:06,680 --> 01:39:09,240 Speaker 3: the present. It was a really good show. It's such 1631 01:39:09,240 --> 01:39:12,400 Speaker 3: a wonderful experience to work with him, to work with 1632 01:39:12,479 --> 01:39:16,679 Speaker 3: David and you know, and in his interviews he does 1633 01:39:16,720 --> 01:39:18,760 Speaker 3: say that it was a conversation we had that had 1634 01:39:18,760 --> 01:39:23,000 Speaker 3: a lot to do with his writing the Sopranos when 1635 01:39:23,080 --> 01:39:26,200 Speaker 3: we when I worked on that show, we became friends. 1636 01:39:27,080 --> 01:39:30,160 Speaker 2: Be a specific conversation, Yeah. 1637 01:39:30,400 --> 01:39:34,600 Speaker 3: You know, his mother had come to visit him and 1638 01:39:35,280 --> 01:39:38,160 Speaker 3: he and also in interviews he also says that his 1639 01:39:38,200 --> 01:39:40,559 Speaker 3: wife has always told him he should write about his mother. 1640 01:39:41,520 --> 01:39:45,000 Speaker 3: So but he told them just recently, they're doing a documentary. 1641 01:39:45,040 --> 01:39:48,519 Speaker 3: Alex Gibney's doing a documentary for HBO, and he talked 1642 01:39:48,520 --> 01:39:52,200 Speaker 3: to me and Mitch and he told me that David 1643 01:39:52,240 --> 01:39:54,880 Speaker 3: had said that he referred to that conversation that we 1644 01:39:54,920 --> 01:39:57,760 Speaker 3: had in the office. We had this great office and 1645 01:39:57,800 --> 01:40:00,479 Speaker 3: a lot at universal, just me and this other guy 1646 01:40:00,520 --> 01:40:03,280 Speaker 3: and David would come over and hang out and I 1647 01:40:03,920 --> 01:40:07,080 Speaker 3: and his mother. He was complaining about his mother and 1648 01:40:07,120 --> 01:40:08,960 Speaker 3: I said, it's just so amazing to me. I see 1649 01:40:08,960 --> 01:40:12,680 Speaker 3: you take on these powerful men, these suits over in 1650 01:40:12,760 --> 01:40:15,559 Speaker 3: the Black Tower over there, and you just reduce them 1651 01:40:15,600 --> 01:40:19,440 Speaker 3: to you know, Gerbils and your mother. It just reduces 1652 01:40:19,479 --> 01:40:22,720 Speaker 3: you to to like a little Gerbil. And it's just 1653 01:40:22,880 --> 01:40:26,760 Speaker 3: it's such a dichotomy to me, just like it's you know. 1654 01:40:26,840 --> 01:40:30,040 Speaker 3: And so that is a germ of what Tony Soprano is. 1655 01:40:30,040 --> 01:40:34,400 Speaker 3: He had this gangster thing in the drawer, but it 1656 01:40:34,520 --> 01:40:38,800 Speaker 3: was about a powerful man who had mother issues. I suppose, 1657 01:40:39,040 --> 01:40:41,960 Speaker 3: you know, not mother issues so much just as a 1658 01:40:42,000 --> 01:40:45,080 Speaker 3: looney mother, you know, difficult mother. 1659 01:40:45,720 --> 01:40:49,120 Speaker 2: Okay, so that show only last year? Then what next? 1660 01:40:49,520 --> 01:40:53,280 Speaker 3: Well then, because in their wisdom, CBS gave me my 1661 01:40:53,360 --> 01:40:57,080 Speaker 3: own show. Here I am three years in the business, 1662 01:40:57,760 --> 01:41:00,599 Speaker 3: so they paired me with and my agent was Elliot Webb. 1663 01:41:00,760 --> 01:41:03,760 Speaker 3: You know who's the agent of Gary Trudeau. He was 1664 01:41:03,880 --> 01:41:07,960 Speaker 3: like Sid Kibbets in the cartoon script. That's that's was Elliott. 1665 01:41:08,400 --> 01:41:13,040 Speaker 3: He's still around somewhere, but Elliott. But I think, but 1666 01:41:13,920 --> 01:41:16,880 Speaker 3: they paired me with Doug Kramer, who had you know, 1667 01:41:16,920 --> 01:41:20,400 Speaker 3: he and Aaron Spelling did the Love Boat, and I'm like, 1668 01:41:20,479 --> 01:41:22,400 Speaker 3: what am I doing with this guy? This is wrong, 1669 01:41:22,439 --> 01:41:24,960 Speaker 3: this is bad. He's like, come on, it's your own show. 1670 01:41:25,040 --> 01:41:28,280 Speaker 3: It's six in the summertime, it's a great opportunity, blah 1671 01:41:28,280 --> 01:41:31,440 Speaker 3: blah blah. And it was just it was a disaster. 1672 01:41:32,840 --> 01:41:36,760 Speaker 3: You know, Doug Kramer had a much different sensibility than 1673 01:41:36,800 --> 01:41:40,040 Speaker 3: I did, and it just wasn't going to work. We did, 1674 01:41:40,080 --> 01:41:42,680 Speaker 3: We made six of these things. I think it was 1675 01:41:42,720 --> 01:41:46,240 Speaker 3: a short order like that for the summer and it 1676 01:41:46,439 --> 01:41:49,639 Speaker 3: just was a disaster for various reasons. 1677 01:41:50,200 --> 01:41:52,080 Speaker 2: Did it every hear? Yeah? 1678 01:41:52,120 --> 01:41:56,320 Speaker 3: I did. My mother was like, what is this? What 1679 01:41:56,560 --> 01:41:59,280 Speaker 3: happened here? This isn't You're not here anywhere in This 1680 01:42:00,120 --> 01:42:03,280 Speaker 3: was awful, But there was one It just didn't work. 1681 01:42:03,320 --> 01:42:09,200 Speaker 3: And so the good news was that at the same time, 1682 01:42:09,320 --> 01:42:13,320 Speaker 3: Josh and John Folsey and Brand had created Northern Exposure 1683 01:42:13,360 --> 01:42:16,920 Speaker 3: as a summer show for CBS another and that show 1684 01:42:17,040 --> 01:42:20,360 Speaker 3: was going and because my show failed, I got to 1685 01:42:20,439 --> 01:42:23,559 Speaker 3: go on that show with them to see what I mean, 1686 01:42:24,840 --> 01:42:27,120 Speaker 3: you know, I had the six in the Summer that 1687 01:42:27,280 --> 01:42:30,840 Speaker 3: was gone. They had a fall an order for you know, 1688 01:42:30,880 --> 01:42:33,479 Speaker 3: the coming season, and so they hired me to go 1689 01:42:33,560 --> 01:42:37,360 Speaker 3: on Northern Exposure and then I was there five years. 1690 01:42:37,400 --> 01:42:40,040 Speaker 3: I was there longer than Josh and John. You know. 1691 01:42:40,120 --> 01:42:42,559 Speaker 3: David Chase came on at one point when Josh and 1692 01:42:42,640 --> 01:42:45,280 Speaker 3: John went off to do commercials and movies and stuff. 1693 01:42:47,240 --> 01:42:49,880 Speaker 3: So that's really what happened to me. I mean, Northern 1694 01:42:49,920 --> 01:42:53,800 Speaker 3: Exposure was real. It was wonderful. And then I was 1695 01:42:53,840 --> 01:42:56,639 Speaker 3: having trouble at work and Mitch started we started seeing 1696 01:42:56,680 --> 01:42:59,479 Speaker 3: each other again, or really we started working together a 1697 01:42:59,520 --> 01:43:04,000 Speaker 3: little bit. I was having trouble and Mitch, you know, 1698 01:43:04,160 --> 01:43:07,120 Speaker 3: was a really good writer, and I remembered that from 1699 01:43:07,120 --> 01:43:11,840 Speaker 3: my days. He was my student. But I needed ideas. 1700 01:43:11,960 --> 01:43:14,920 Speaker 3: I needed to come in with ideas, and Mitch had 1701 01:43:14,920 --> 01:43:17,320 Speaker 3: three or I had two and I had one, but 1702 01:43:17,840 --> 01:43:19,599 Speaker 3: they all want Emmy's, do you know what I mean? 1703 01:43:19,640 --> 01:43:22,280 Speaker 3: They were really good ideas. It kind of saved my ass. 1704 01:43:22,360 --> 01:43:25,519 Speaker 3: At Northern Exposure. We started writing together, me and Mitch, 1705 01:43:25,560 --> 01:43:28,840 Speaker 3: and then of course one thing led to another. So 1706 01:43:28,880 --> 01:43:30,560 Speaker 3: we did that for five years. 1707 01:43:31,040 --> 01:43:37,480 Speaker 2: Okay, that show, David Chase took over the lead character changed. 1708 01:43:37,960 --> 01:43:41,559 Speaker 2: You were there in both halves. Yeah, it was very 1709 01:43:41,600 --> 01:43:44,080 Speaker 2: different as if you were. What was it like working 1710 01:43:44,120 --> 01:43:45,160 Speaker 2: for the show David? 1711 01:43:45,160 --> 01:43:48,000 Speaker 3: Well, David hated the show. He had been in another 1712 01:43:48,080 --> 01:43:51,439 Speaker 3: Josh and John show called I'll Fly Away, you know, 1713 01:43:51,640 --> 01:43:57,400 Speaker 3: very earnest civil rights drama with Sam Waterston, and he 1714 01:43:57,479 --> 01:44:01,920 Speaker 3: thought that nor the exposure was just awful. What are 1715 01:44:01,960 --> 01:44:04,120 Speaker 3: you saying that the characters parcticularly come out of the 1716 01:44:04,200 --> 01:44:06,960 Speaker 3: TV said it lick your face? You know? How was 1717 01:44:07,040 --> 01:44:11,439 Speaker 3: David's humor? But he came on the show anyway because 1718 01:44:11,439 --> 01:44:15,439 Speaker 3: it was his first really big payday. Frankly, I think 1719 01:44:15,960 --> 01:44:19,200 Speaker 3: I think that's my sense of it, and I think 1720 01:44:19,240 --> 01:44:22,920 Speaker 3: that's true. But you know, it's not unusual either. So 1721 01:44:22,960 --> 01:44:25,000 Speaker 3: it came on the show and that's what happened, and 1722 01:44:25,080 --> 01:44:28,200 Speaker 3: he wrecked as far as I was concerned. But I 1723 01:44:28,240 --> 01:44:30,920 Speaker 3: don't know. We did some fun stuff even in the 1724 01:44:31,400 --> 01:44:33,840 Speaker 3: last couple of years, so I didn't like it much. 1725 01:44:34,479 --> 01:44:36,559 Speaker 3: That's kind of what happened in the Sopranos too. It 1726 01:44:36,640 --> 01:44:40,880 Speaker 3: kind of ran out for me. I didn't really like 1727 01:44:40,960 --> 01:44:41,639 Speaker 3: what it became. 1728 01:44:42,680 --> 01:44:44,680 Speaker 2: How did it change? And what didn't you like? 1729 01:44:45,320 --> 01:44:49,879 Speaker 3: What the Sopranos are? Yeah, well, you know, when I started, 1730 01:44:50,880 --> 01:44:53,040 Speaker 3: Mitch and I were the first people brought on after 1731 01:44:53,080 --> 01:44:58,519 Speaker 3: the pilot. You know, David call. We had been working 1732 01:44:58,560 --> 01:45:01,439 Speaker 3: with him. He didn't know whether the show was going 1733 01:45:01,520 --> 01:45:03,280 Speaker 3: to go, and we had been working with him at 1734 01:45:03,280 --> 01:45:05,680 Speaker 3: his office, which was a garage of his house in 1735 01:45:05,720 --> 01:45:09,000 Speaker 3: Santa Monica, and developing some other shows and talking. We 1736 01:45:09,080 --> 01:45:14,479 Speaker 3: had read Sopranos. He had several drafts, one for the 1737 01:45:14,520 --> 01:45:16,479 Speaker 3: one for the networks, and one for you know, the 1738 01:45:16,520 --> 01:45:19,000 Speaker 3: not networks, and they were all they were all really 1739 01:45:19,000 --> 01:45:23,719 Speaker 3: good and really wonderful. And so David made the pilot 1740 01:45:23,800 --> 01:45:28,200 Speaker 3: for Sopranos, and and he aired the pilot. He paid 1741 01:45:28,240 --> 01:45:30,880 Speaker 3: for the you know, the show. I think it was 1742 01:45:30,920 --> 01:45:35,280 Speaker 3: on a Sony lot in Culver City, maybe, yeah, And 1743 01:45:35,320 --> 01:45:39,400 Speaker 3: so he you know, he had food and the lobby 1744 01:45:39,439 --> 01:45:42,120 Speaker 3: for you know, the Italian food, and every we all 1745 01:45:42,600 --> 01:45:45,360 Speaker 3: went to the show and it was the pilot was wonderful, 1746 01:45:45,479 --> 01:45:49,439 Speaker 3: it was great. Mitch and I were working at uh 1747 01:45:49,960 --> 01:45:52,479 Speaker 3: Party of five, which was not a good match for us, 1748 01:45:53,120 --> 01:45:57,479 Speaker 3: and David called one night and asked me and Mitch, 1749 01:45:58,240 --> 01:46:00,439 Speaker 3: if the show went, if we'd come and work on it. 1750 01:46:01,400 --> 01:46:03,640 Speaker 3: Because he knew us from Northern Exposure. He knew our 1751 01:46:03,680 --> 01:46:06,000 Speaker 3: writing and work, and he knew me from his own show, 1752 01:46:06,600 --> 01:46:11,520 Speaker 3: and so nothing happened. This was I think in the summertime, 1753 01:46:12,040 --> 01:46:16,599 Speaker 3: and then in December, was right before Christmas vacation. We 1754 01:46:16,600 --> 01:46:19,840 Speaker 3: were at work and we were getting notes from the 1755 01:46:19,880 --> 01:46:23,840 Speaker 3: bosses at Party of Five, notes on a script that 1756 01:46:23,840 --> 01:46:27,280 Speaker 3: we had written, and the secretary, which was which it 1757 01:46:27,360 --> 01:46:30,519 Speaker 3: was called an assistant, opened the door and said, there's 1758 01:46:30,560 --> 01:46:34,519 Speaker 3: a Tommy Soprano on the phone for you. That was 1759 01:46:34,840 --> 01:46:40,160 Speaker 3: Tony's name before the network made him change it, or 1760 01:46:40,160 --> 01:46:44,760 Speaker 3: maybe he anyway, he and the Amy and Chris, the 1761 01:46:44,800 --> 01:46:47,599 Speaker 3: bosses said you know somebody like that, and they knew 1762 01:46:47,600 --> 01:46:50,599 Speaker 3: from the name it was, and Mitch and I knew. 1763 01:46:50,640 --> 01:46:52,479 Speaker 3: At that point we were saved that we were going 1764 01:46:52,479 --> 01:46:53,840 Speaker 3: to get to go to New York and we're going 1765 01:46:53,880 --> 01:46:57,439 Speaker 3: to do this show. And they let us go from 1766 01:46:57,479 --> 01:47:01,120 Speaker 3: Party of Five because it was like we were going 1767 01:47:01,240 --> 01:47:03,920 Speaker 3: into nowhere. We took a half pay cut to go 1768 01:47:04,000 --> 01:47:06,880 Speaker 3: on the show. We did it for fun. We just 1769 01:47:06,920 --> 01:47:09,439 Speaker 3: did it for fun. We just loved it, and we 1770 01:47:09,479 --> 01:47:12,120 Speaker 3: went there. We made them. We wrote them all and 1771 01:47:12,320 --> 01:47:16,320 Speaker 3: filled them all and cast them all, and David edited 1772 01:47:16,320 --> 01:47:20,479 Speaker 3: them all and did the post before they aired. So 1773 01:47:20,520 --> 01:47:25,440 Speaker 3: we had this like pure experience of just this experience 1774 01:47:25,520 --> 01:47:31,240 Speaker 3: of doing something for fun. You know, it wasn't about 1775 01:47:31,240 --> 01:47:34,160 Speaker 3: the money. It was just about the show, and everyone 1776 01:47:34,240 --> 01:47:36,880 Speaker 3: felt that way. The crew used to wait for the 1777 01:47:36,920 --> 01:47:39,280 Speaker 3: scripts to come out to read the scripts. This is 1778 01:47:39,400 --> 01:47:44,080 Speaker 3: very unusual because they were so funny and so compelling 1779 01:47:44,200 --> 01:47:47,599 Speaker 3: and so interesting. Something was happening, but we didn't. So 1780 01:47:47,640 --> 01:47:49,760 Speaker 3: we get back and Elliott says to us, we get 1781 01:47:49,760 --> 01:47:51,680 Speaker 3: back to LA because this is all in New York 1782 01:47:51,720 --> 01:47:55,320 Speaker 3: and New Jersey. Elliott says, so, now you've had your 1783 01:47:55,320 --> 01:47:58,519 Speaker 3: little artistic experience, you have to have to get a 1784 01:47:58,560 --> 01:48:03,120 Speaker 3: real job. And so we did. We tried to get 1785 01:48:03,160 --> 01:48:08,200 Speaker 3: a job, you know, all these soulless, miserable interviews, and 1786 01:48:08,240 --> 01:48:10,759 Speaker 3: I don't think we took a job. I can't remember. 1787 01:48:10,760 --> 01:48:17,400 Speaker 3: But the the thing aired in a basement, a sub basement. 1788 01:48:17,600 --> 01:48:20,840 Speaker 3: There was our premiere in January, after the year that 1789 01:48:20,880 --> 01:48:24,559 Speaker 3: we spent making it. It was just really June to January. 1790 01:48:24,600 --> 01:48:30,760 Speaker 3: I guess it happens pretty fast television. In January, we 1791 01:48:30,800 --> 01:48:33,479 Speaker 3: had the premiere in the sub basement of Tower Records 1792 01:48:33,520 --> 01:48:36,479 Speaker 3: and Times Square. But you know, because Stevie van Zant 1793 01:48:36,640 --> 01:48:39,400 Speaker 3: was there, Bruce Springsteen was there, so it had a 1794 01:48:39,439 --> 01:48:42,240 Speaker 3: little Jewish going on a little buzz. It was exciting 1795 01:48:42,880 --> 01:48:45,800 Speaker 3: to have a premier in New York and so we 1796 01:48:45,880 --> 01:48:49,880 Speaker 3: watch it with people and they're coming out. We're in 1797 01:48:49,920 --> 01:48:53,160 Speaker 3: the lobby, like you know, you see this about Broadway shows. 1798 01:48:53,520 --> 01:48:55,920 Speaker 3: The people that are coming out. We invited friends to this. 1799 01:48:56,080 --> 01:49:00,439 Speaker 3: We liked it so much, and they were beaming friends. 1800 01:49:01,520 --> 01:49:03,320 Speaker 3: Ruth is one of them, My friend that gave me 1801 01:49:03,360 --> 01:49:05,519 Speaker 3: the job in LA She was then working in New 1802 01:49:05,600 --> 01:49:09,080 Speaker 3: York as the New York Times restaurant critic, editor of 1803 01:49:09,120 --> 01:49:12,639 Speaker 3: Gourmet or something, but she did all that. But anyway, 1804 01:49:12,640 --> 01:49:16,000 Speaker 3: they were beaming her and Michael and everyone was just like, 1805 01:49:17,520 --> 01:49:21,160 Speaker 3: loved this show, you know, and we knew from that moment. 1806 01:49:21,760 --> 01:49:25,040 Speaker 3: You know, we had our after party and John's pizza 1807 01:49:25,120 --> 01:49:27,600 Speaker 3: around the corner. It was like freezy coal that we 1808 01:49:27,720 --> 01:49:30,639 Speaker 3: slept around the corner and had pizza. It was very 1809 01:49:30,960 --> 01:49:33,320 Speaker 3: it was very nothing, you know, it was just a 1810 01:49:33,360 --> 01:49:37,320 Speaker 3: little little camp of us. You know, it was really something. 1811 01:49:38,360 --> 01:49:40,679 Speaker 3: And then that was that after that, right. 1812 01:49:40,640 --> 01:49:46,200 Speaker 2: Okay, many series. The pilot is the first episode. What 1813 01:49:46,400 --> 01:49:48,840 Speaker 2: happened with the pilot of the Sopranos, Well. 1814 01:49:48,720 --> 01:49:50,799 Speaker 3: That was the pilot that everyone saw on the Cellar. 1815 01:49:52,160 --> 01:49:54,120 Speaker 3: No one had seen it at that point. 1816 01:49:54,360 --> 01:49:57,520 Speaker 2: Okay, so the pilot was the first episode. 1817 01:49:57,720 --> 01:50:00,240 Speaker 3: Oh yeah, and then Liz and I came on the 1818 01:50:00,280 --> 01:50:04,040 Speaker 3: second episode and you know, stayed for six years. 1819 01:50:04,520 --> 01:50:08,200 Speaker 2: Okay, so at this point in time, Sex and the 1820 01:50:08,240 --> 01:50:11,360 Speaker 2: City had launched, but that had it really blew up 1821 01:50:11,400 --> 01:50:16,439 Speaker 2: after being after the Sopranos. Ultimately they'd had dream on 1822 01:50:17,320 --> 01:50:21,599 Speaker 2: new series on cable, premium cable. We're in not really 1823 01:50:21,600 --> 01:50:24,400 Speaker 2: a big deal. I remember getting an email from somebody saying, 1824 01:50:24,400 --> 01:50:28,560 Speaker 2: you got to watch this show, and this is it 1825 01:50:28,720 --> 01:50:31,160 Speaker 2: A and R guy in the music business, you know. 1826 01:50:31,800 --> 01:50:35,240 Speaker 2: And I recorded it back in the VHS did when 1827 01:50:35,280 --> 01:50:38,400 Speaker 2: I watched it when I woke up on a Saturday 1828 01:50:38,400 --> 01:50:41,240 Speaker 2: at like eleven o'clock, and as soon as it started 1829 01:50:41,240 --> 01:50:44,200 Speaker 2: off with the Alabama three track, It's like, wow, I'm 1830 01:50:44,280 --> 01:50:48,240 Speaker 2: hooked here, right And then, you know, the first year 1831 01:50:48,439 --> 01:50:50,840 Speaker 2: it was a big cult thing. You know, it grew 1832 01:50:50,880 --> 01:50:52,720 Speaker 2: over time, so everywhere you went said, don't go to 1833 01:50:52,760 --> 01:50:56,680 Speaker 2: the movies, watch the Sopranos. So what was the experience 1834 01:50:56,840 --> 01:50:59,320 Speaker 2: like from the inside once it aired. 1835 01:51:05,720 --> 01:51:08,160 Speaker 3: Well, I mean it started at night in the basement. 1836 01:51:09,160 --> 01:51:17,720 Speaker 3: You know, it was wonderful. What's happened the reviews were spectacular. 1837 01:51:17,800 --> 01:51:19,839 Speaker 3: The one guy down in Florida, of course, I remember 1838 01:51:19,880 --> 01:51:22,840 Speaker 3: that one. They didn't like it, but everyone else just 1839 01:51:22,880 --> 01:51:26,200 Speaker 3: went nuts, you know that they called it. You know, 1840 01:51:27,960 --> 01:51:34,840 Speaker 3: I can't I'm tired. I guess Ballzakian something compared it 1841 01:51:34,880 --> 01:51:39,600 Speaker 3: to Ballsack or some shit. But it was wonderful. It 1842 01:51:39,680 --> 01:51:42,920 Speaker 3: was just, you know, it was wonderful to love something 1843 01:51:43,000 --> 01:51:46,080 Speaker 3: so much and have it responded to that way. We 1844 01:51:46,160 --> 01:51:50,040 Speaker 3: were all having so much fun. And David said at dinner, 1845 01:51:50,080 --> 01:51:51,800 Speaker 3: you know, we were out of dinner before it air, 1846 01:51:51,840 --> 01:51:53,640 Speaker 3: and he said, if this doesn't work, that's it for me. 1847 01:51:53,680 --> 01:51:55,920 Speaker 3: I'm out of television. He hated television. He wanted to 1848 01:51:55,920 --> 01:52:01,679 Speaker 3: be a movie writer. So and we just we really 1849 01:52:01,720 --> 01:52:05,120 Speaker 3: didn't know what was going to happen. And then that happened. 1850 01:52:05,320 --> 01:52:09,720 Speaker 3: But I always say, if Colin Bine had happened or 1851 01:52:09,800 --> 01:52:13,000 Speaker 3: shootings and that show had come out after that, people 1852 01:52:13,000 --> 01:52:15,760 Speaker 3: would have been disgusted by the show. That it's so 1853 01:52:15,880 --> 01:52:18,599 Speaker 3: much the Veltin Shop and it's so much what's going 1854 01:52:18,680 --> 01:52:23,200 Speaker 3: on that people had that it came at a time 1855 01:52:23,280 --> 01:52:26,640 Speaker 3: when it could be loved. I do believe that, I 1856 01:52:26,680 --> 01:52:29,200 Speaker 3: do believe that if there had been that kind of 1857 01:52:29,240 --> 01:52:34,479 Speaker 3: gun violence, you know, in January instead of April. It 1858 01:52:34,520 --> 01:52:37,160 Speaker 3: would have been a much different experience for people. 1859 01:52:37,680 --> 01:52:40,880 Speaker 2: Now you and Mitch are listed as executive producers. Is 1860 01:52:40,880 --> 01:52:43,200 Speaker 2: that from episode one? 1861 01:52:43,560 --> 01:52:48,320 Speaker 3: No, we started as I guess co executive producers. Yeah, 1862 01:52:48,560 --> 01:52:52,320 Speaker 3: and then we we were in a situation where we 1863 01:52:52,360 --> 01:52:57,240 Speaker 3: had to renew our contract I think every year, so 1864 01:52:58,400 --> 01:53:02,639 Speaker 3: you know, part of that negotiat would be beside the money, 1865 01:53:02,680 --> 01:53:07,479 Speaker 3: the title, you know, And then the negotiation wasn't going 1866 01:53:07,479 --> 01:53:10,200 Speaker 3: well I guess in the third year, maybe the second year, 1867 01:53:10,280 --> 01:53:13,720 Speaker 3: and we got a great offer NBC for a lot 1868 01:53:13,760 --> 01:53:18,880 Speaker 3: of money, and so HBO had to match that price 1869 01:53:18,960 --> 01:53:24,520 Speaker 3: and they did. You know, It's like a miracle. So 1870 01:53:24,520 --> 01:53:26,720 Speaker 3: so it was like that, you know, it was just 1871 01:53:26,840 --> 01:53:28,920 Speaker 3: was lucky and great. But mostly I have to tell 1872 01:53:28,960 --> 01:53:31,160 Speaker 3: you that it was so much fun in that writing room. 1873 01:53:31,200 --> 01:53:33,160 Speaker 3: It was fun when we read around the table, when 1874 01:53:33,200 --> 01:53:36,240 Speaker 3: the actors would come in for every episode and sit 1875 01:53:36,280 --> 01:53:39,640 Speaker 3: around the table. And the first episode, I guess it 1876 01:53:39,680 --> 01:53:43,960 Speaker 3: was the second episode, you know, after the pilot, Lorraine 1877 01:53:44,000 --> 01:53:47,960 Speaker 3: brack I said, look at us, We're all Italians. Because 1878 01:53:47,960 --> 01:53:50,960 Speaker 3: everybody was Italian except for Nancy Marshawan and me and 1879 01:53:51,040 --> 01:53:55,080 Speaker 3: Mitch you know, everyone was Italian. It was just it 1880 01:53:55,120 --> 01:53:56,160 Speaker 3: was great fun. 1881 01:53:57,120 --> 01:54:01,519 Speaker 2: Okay, if David Chase came up with the idea, he 1882 01:54:01,680 --> 01:54:06,800 Speaker 2: does the pilot, he brings you on board. Who comes 1883 01:54:06,880 --> 01:54:10,720 Speaker 2: up with the ideas for every episode? How do you 1884 01:54:10,800 --> 01:54:13,680 Speaker 2: decide who's going to write it? How involved are you 1885 01:54:13,800 --> 01:54:17,640 Speaker 2: in the overall direction of the show or are you 1886 01:54:17,800 --> 01:54:19,360 Speaker 2: just writing certain episodes. 1887 01:54:20,479 --> 01:54:23,920 Speaker 3: Well, it began with a bunch of There was me 1888 01:54:24,000 --> 01:54:28,040 Speaker 3: and Mitch and a bunch of people in la We met, well, 1889 01:54:28,200 --> 01:54:31,960 Speaker 3: Mitch and David and I met in a restaurant in 1890 01:54:32,000 --> 01:54:35,040 Speaker 3: the beginning before the offices opened up that we could 1891 01:54:35,080 --> 01:54:38,360 Speaker 3: all meet and and David was hiring writers, and he 1892 01:54:38,480 --> 01:54:42,400 Speaker 3: hired you know, television writers and people who were around 1893 01:54:42,560 --> 01:54:45,520 Speaker 3: to be at that table to see who could you know, 1894 01:54:45,560 --> 01:54:47,760 Speaker 3: who could work in the room the whole thing. It 1895 01:54:47,840 --> 01:54:54,920 Speaker 3: was in the editing suite of Oliver Stone's office in 1896 01:54:54,960 --> 01:54:57,560 Speaker 3: Santa Monica. I forget he had just an Nixon or something. 1897 01:54:58,240 --> 01:55:00,760 Speaker 3: And so we're back there and there's a lot of 1898 01:55:00,800 --> 01:55:03,920 Speaker 3: us around the table. Frank runs Zuli, who Mitch calls 1899 01:55:04,000 --> 01:55:06,920 Speaker 3: the mariner of the show because Frank had been you know, 1900 01:55:07,480 --> 01:55:10,560 Speaker 3: I think is it Whitey Bulger was he the Boston guy. 1901 01:55:10,760 --> 01:55:14,560 Speaker 3: But you know, Frank had been Spider, he had been 1902 01:55:14,640 --> 01:55:17,800 Speaker 3: that person in the Social Club in Boston, so he 1903 01:55:17,880 --> 01:55:22,200 Speaker 3: knew this world. And he's a crazy, fantastic writer. So 1904 01:55:22,280 --> 01:55:25,480 Speaker 3: he was around the table and there were a bunch 1905 01:55:25,560 --> 01:55:28,840 Speaker 3: of other writers, but it was me. It was just 1906 01:55:28,880 --> 01:55:30,920 Speaker 3: a few of us that went to New York with David. 1907 01:55:31,120 --> 01:55:34,080 Speaker 3: Frank couldn't go because he had four children in la 1908 01:55:34,160 --> 01:55:36,440 Speaker 3: and he didn't want to leave. But it was me 1909 01:55:36,480 --> 01:55:39,520 Speaker 3: and Mitch and a couple other writers. Not Terry Winter 1910 01:55:39,600 --> 01:55:42,720 Speaker 3: didn't come on until later. I think Jason Cahill was 1911 01:55:42,760 --> 01:55:46,000 Speaker 3: one of those original ones, and maybe there was another one. 1912 01:55:46,480 --> 01:55:48,800 Speaker 3: But you sit in a room, you start at ten 1913 01:55:48,880 --> 01:55:51,920 Speaker 3: in the morning. Lunch is brought in, really good lunches 1914 01:55:51,920 --> 01:55:53,800 Speaker 3: because David really likes to eat. So it would be 1915 01:55:53,840 --> 01:55:57,720 Speaker 3: like Viila Pacatta, you know, from the real Italian restaurant. 1916 01:55:57,720 --> 01:56:01,640 Speaker 3: And in Queens there was nobody out there and Queen's 1917 01:56:01,640 --> 01:56:04,840 Speaker 3: at that point, no buildings, nothing. The Silver Cup was 1918 01:56:04,880 --> 01:56:07,360 Speaker 3: a bread factory and that's where we had our offices, 1919 01:56:08,000 --> 01:56:11,200 Speaker 3: very modest to begin with and they became huge, but 1920 01:56:12,600 --> 01:56:15,040 Speaker 3: we just you're in the writing room, you're on the 1921 01:56:15,080 --> 01:56:19,600 Speaker 3: table and you're just David would have the arc of 1922 01:56:19,760 --> 01:56:23,560 Speaker 3: the season on the board, you know, he had he 1923 01:56:23,640 --> 01:56:26,680 Speaker 3: knew what the arc of that season was. That the 1924 01:56:26,720 --> 01:56:31,080 Speaker 3: first season would concern the mother and the plot against him, 1925 01:56:32,080 --> 01:56:37,200 Speaker 3: so we had that vague arc. But also each episode 1926 01:56:37,200 --> 01:56:40,240 Speaker 3: had to stand alone, David would say, like a little movie. 1927 01:56:40,800 --> 01:56:44,160 Speaker 3: So even though while you were serving the larger story 1928 01:56:44,640 --> 01:56:48,160 Speaker 3: and put pushing things in that direction, you'd still have 1929 01:56:48,280 --> 01:56:53,000 Speaker 3: to have a different episode every week, and you'd all 1930 01:56:53,760 --> 01:56:58,600 Speaker 3: you'd all work to develop ideas, you know, from your 1931 01:56:58,680 --> 01:57:03,320 Speaker 3: own experience, or you'd come up with ideas and pitch them. 1932 01:57:03,600 --> 01:57:06,960 Speaker 3: But not like in a comedy room where you're talking 1933 01:57:07,000 --> 01:57:09,800 Speaker 3: all the time and making jokes and jocking for attention. 1934 01:57:10,360 --> 01:57:13,920 Speaker 3: This was more a lot of sitting or a lot 1935 01:57:14,320 --> 01:57:17,600 Speaker 3: a lot of sitting around not talking. So when we 1936 01:57:17,640 --> 01:57:20,160 Speaker 3: had somebody finally Matt Weiner came in and I think 1937 01:57:20,160 --> 01:57:22,840 Speaker 3: the fourth or fifth year from comedy, he wouldn't shut 1938 01:57:22,920 --> 01:57:25,160 Speaker 3: up because he was used to that kind of atmosphere. 1939 01:57:25,160 --> 01:57:29,640 Speaker 3: But in our room, it was mostly sitting around until 1940 01:57:29,680 --> 01:57:33,160 Speaker 3: somebody said something that triggered some other thought from some 1941 01:57:33,320 --> 01:57:37,720 Speaker 3: other person. So it was a kind of organic creative process, 1942 01:57:38,000 --> 01:57:40,839 Speaker 3: and this would be every day from ten until seven 1943 01:57:41,720 --> 01:57:43,960 Speaker 3: in the room. You could go take a phone call 1944 01:57:44,120 --> 01:57:46,600 Speaker 3: or something, but that was it, you know, you had 1945 01:57:46,680 --> 01:57:53,600 Speaker 3: lunch at that table, and then at some point in 1946 01:57:54,040 --> 01:57:56,720 Speaker 3: talking about an episode, you'd have your three stories. That 1947 01:57:57,360 --> 01:58:01,280 Speaker 3: television is pretty much structured of A, B and C stories, 1948 01:58:01,320 --> 01:58:05,200 Speaker 3: and each story has like a certain number of beats 1949 01:58:06,160 --> 01:58:08,720 Speaker 3: in a more for HBO because there was no commercial, 1950 01:58:08,800 --> 01:58:13,480 Speaker 3: so we had actually fifty three or sixty pages, so 1951 01:58:13,920 --> 01:58:16,880 Speaker 3: say the A story would have twenty beats, beats meaning 1952 01:58:17,000 --> 01:58:20,480 Speaker 3: scenes that would tell the story. And so you'd have 1953 01:58:20,560 --> 01:58:23,200 Speaker 3: your story and you'd go to the board. David would 1954 01:58:23,240 --> 01:58:25,440 Speaker 3: usually go to the board with a piece of chalk. 1955 01:58:27,200 --> 01:58:29,520 Speaker 3: Is this what you're asking? Yes, yes, keep going this 1956 01:58:29,680 --> 01:58:32,920 Speaker 3: is this is the creative process. And so David would 1957 01:58:32,960 --> 01:58:35,080 Speaker 3: go to the board and he'd write down the beats 1958 01:58:35,080 --> 01:58:38,360 Speaker 3: of the story. He was really good at especially once 1959 01:58:38,400 --> 01:58:43,400 Speaker 3: you knew once like I could be specific about the 1960 01:58:43,400 --> 01:58:47,880 Speaker 3: college story because that was just such a I just 1961 01:58:47,920 --> 01:58:50,720 Speaker 3: remember that how that process when we came up with 1962 01:58:50,800 --> 01:58:54,880 Speaker 3: the college and I think that that happened in La 1963 01:58:55,160 --> 01:58:58,440 Speaker 3: who hadn't gone to New York yet when we did college. Yeah, 1964 01:58:58,760 --> 01:59:02,120 Speaker 3: I think that's true. David had this idea that he 1965 01:59:02,600 --> 01:59:05,440 Speaker 3: wanted to send Tony on a college tour because that's 1966 01:59:05,440 --> 01:59:11,040 Speaker 3: a funny situation. Yeah, it was in LA. It's a 1967 01:59:11,080 --> 01:59:13,800 Speaker 3: funny situation to begin with, to have a gangster going 1968 01:59:13,840 --> 01:59:17,000 Speaker 3: to these you know, institutions of hire learning and all 1969 01:59:17,080 --> 01:59:21,480 Speaker 3: that with his daughter. So, but you needed something to happen, 1970 01:59:22,720 --> 01:59:25,120 Speaker 3: and you know, it couldn't just be that. There had 1971 01:59:25,120 --> 01:59:27,480 Speaker 3: to be something had to happen. You know, it couldn't 1972 01:59:27,520 --> 01:59:30,920 Speaker 3: just be driving around. I mean, you could get plenty 1973 01:59:30,920 --> 01:59:33,280 Speaker 3: of humor out of that, but you don't have a story. 1974 01:59:33,920 --> 01:59:40,839 Speaker 3: So Frank win Zouli said, Tony sees somebody that turned 1975 01:59:41,120 --> 01:59:45,720 Speaker 3: a rat, who's you know, who's in the witness protection 1976 01:59:45,840 --> 01:59:49,760 Speaker 3: program in New Hampshire. Boom, there's your story. Now you 1977 01:59:49,840 --> 01:59:54,040 Speaker 3: have your story. That's it. See you get it. And 1978 01:59:54,080 --> 01:59:58,760 Speaker 3: so once David knew and David said, you know, I yes, 1979 01:59:58,960 --> 02:00:01,840 Speaker 3: I was, Yes, that's what I was thinking. But you know, 1980 02:00:02,440 --> 02:00:06,520 Speaker 3: Frank is the one who said, because once somebody tells 1981 02:00:06,520 --> 02:00:08,640 Speaker 3: you something like that, it may may have been in 1982 02:00:08,760 --> 02:00:12,080 Speaker 3: your in the cloud up there, but that was it. 1983 02:00:12,160 --> 02:00:14,320 Speaker 3: That was the story, that was like what was going 1984 02:00:14,400 --> 02:00:17,400 Speaker 3: to happen, And the whole thing just fell in from there, 1985 02:00:17,440 --> 02:00:20,080 Speaker 3: and David went to the board like I think right 1986 02:00:20,160 --> 02:00:25,880 Speaker 3: then boom boo boom. He did all the beats of 1987 02:00:25,920 --> 02:00:29,680 Speaker 3: the story. And then there was another story. There was 1988 02:00:29,760 --> 02:00:33,280 Speaker 3: you know, what's her name? Carmela is at home with 1989 02:00:32,840 --> 02:00:36,480 Speaker 3: a little boy and she has that flirtation with the priest. 1990 02:00:36,680 --> 02:00:38,960 Speaker 3: So Mitch and I went home, and at home we 1991 02:00:39,240 --> 02:00:41,760 Speaker 3: wrote the beats to that story separate, you know, because 1992 02:00:41,800 --> 02:00:44,640 Speaker 3: we were going to do that. We did that story. 1993 02:00:45,200 --> 02:00:48,120 Speaker 3: It was David and I forget the name of another 1994 02:00:48,160 --> 02:00:50,960 Speaker 3: writer who didn't stay with the show, but he wrote 1995 02:00:51,000 --> 02:00:55,600 Speaker 3: the show with that person, and it's decided just like 1996 02:00:55,640 --> 02:00:58,920 Speaker 3: who's who's up, you know, it's like who's kind of 1997 02:00:58,960 --> 02:01:02,720 Speaker 3: turned it is? Who suited to the story? I think 1998 02:01:02,800 --> 02:01:05,960 Speaker 3: David would probably decide. He ran the show. It was 1999 02:01:06,160 --> 02:01:08,840 Speaker 3: very hands on kind of guy. He worked so hard, 2000 02:01:09,560 --> 02:01:15,320 Speaker 3: he was so good at it, and so Jim McManus, 2001 02:01:15,320 --> 02:01:17,680 Speaker 3: that's who it was. So he and David wrote College 2002 02:01:18,400 --> 02:01:20,920 Speaker 3: and that was the only show that HBO ever gave 2003 02:01:21,000 --> 02:01:23,440 Speaker 3: us a note on. That's how great it was to 2004 02:01:23,520 --> 02:01:27,560 Speaker 3: work with them, because you know, in the network somebody said, 2005 02:01:27,600 --> 02:01:30,560 Speaker 3: it's like being pecked to death by ducks, you know, 2006 02:01:30,760 --> 02:01:32,800 Speaker 3: they just pick it. Why does he do that? 2007 02:01:32,800 --> 02:01:33,280 Speaker 2: Why did they? 2008 02:01:33,320 --> 02:01:36,960 Speaker 3: Why does that nothing from HBO? They just they gave 2009 02:01:37,080 --> 02:01:40,040 Speaker 3: all the money you wanted, and they gave permission. But 2010 02:01:40,120 --> 02:01:45,280 Speaker 3: they didn't want Tony to kill this guy because that 2011 02:01:45,400 --> 02:01:48,680 Speaker 3: was a big step for the star of the show 2012 02:01:48,720 --> 02:01:52,600 Speaker 3: to go to commit murder. So David did it was 2013 02:01:52,640 --> 02:01:56,320 Speaker 3: the only time, you know, it was the only note. 2014 02:01:56,360 --> 02:02:00,360 Speaker 3: But David heard it, and he made a scene where 2015 02:02:01,040 --> 02:02:06,640 Speaker 3: that the rat that Tony's going to kill almost gets 2016 02:02:06,680 --> 02:02:08,760 Speaker 3: a beat on Tony to kill him. Do you know 2017 02:02:08,800 --> 02:02:10,800 Speaker 3: what I mean, So that you know that this is 2018 02:02:10,840 --> 02:02:14,800 Speaker 3: a dangerous guy who spotted Tony. So now Tony kind 2019 02:02:14,800 --> 02:02:17,480 Speaker 3: of has no choice or something. You know. I can't 2020 02:02:17,520 --> 02:02:19,720 Speaker 3: remember if Tony knew the guy was trying to kill him, 2021 02:02:19,760 --> 02:02:23,000 Speaker 3: but the audience did. I can't remember that part. But 2022 02:02:23,440 --> 02:02:27,360 Speaker 3: that's the process, you know. And and you know the 2023 02:02:27,440 --> 02:02:30,000 Speaker 3: show where it wasn't the first year, but the show 2024 02:02:30,040 --> 02:02:38,240 Speaker 3: where where Paulie and and as Michael Imperial is Christopher Peons. Yeah, 2025 02:02:38,400 --> 02:02:42,160 Speaker 3: Pine Barrens there in the woods. You know, we held 2026 02:02:42,200 --> 02:02:46,480 Speaker 3: that that episode for a year because it didn't find 2027 02:02:46,480 --> 02:02:50,080 Speaker 3: the place in the season somehow. What was I going 2028 02:02:50,160 --> 02:02:53,880 Speaker 3: to say about it. Oh, you know, we all broke 2029 02:02:53,960 --> 02:02:56,480 Speaker 3: that story in the room, you know, so you could 2030 02:02:56,480 --> 02:02:59,760 Speaker 3: sit there and now you know, you're sitting there with 2031 02:02:59,800 --> 02:03:03,960 Speaker 3: these really funny people, really funny smart people, what fun 2032 02:03:04,640 --> 02:03:06,880 Speaker 3: and you're trying to think what could happen out there 2033 02:03:06,880 --> 02:03:10,600 Speaker 3: in the woods, you know, and you know, you know 2034 02:03:10,840 --> 02:03:14,000 Speaker 3: Christopher loses a shoe and then he makes a sho 2035 02:03:14,080 --> 02:03:15,919 Speaker 3: He's going to make a shoe out of a carpet. 2036 02:03:16,040 --> 02:03:18,520 Speaker 3: But it's that kind of creative stuff where you go 2037 02:03:19,000 --> 02:03:21,960 Speaker 3: like fiction writing, where you actually go into the scene, 2038 02:03:22,600 --> 02:03:26,680 Speaker 3: you know, and you're there playing really seeing what's there, 2039 02:03:26,800 --> 02:03:29,680 Speaker 3: what you can fuck around with, you know, and you 2040 02:03:29,680 --> 02:03:32,440 Speaker 3: could do anything on that show. You know. I remember 2041 02:03:32,480 --> 02:03:36,960 Speaker 3: when you know, when Ralphie killed the stripper. I remember 2042 02:03:37,000 --> 02:03:40,160 Speaker 3: that process, you know, and that was like, we needed 2043 02:03:40,200 --> 02:03:43,440 Speaker 3: a story where Ralphie has to do you know, we 2044 02:03:43,520 --> 02:03:45,640 Speaker 3: had to get rid of you know, Ralfie was going 2045 02:03:45,720 --> 02:03:48,920 Speaker 3: to die one way or the other, so he has 2046 02:03:49,000 --> 02:03:52,000 Speaker 3: to do something just oh, I know, David didn't want 2047 02:03:52,000 --> 02:03:55,160 Speaker 3: any like cuddly gangsters. He wanted these people to be shits, 2048 02:03:55,200 --> 02:03:58,880 Speaker 3: you know. So so then you know, so somebody says, well, 2049 02:04:00,720 --> 02:04:06,920 Speaker 3: Ralphie kills a dog, kills a stripper's dog, and we're like, no, 2050 02:04:06,960 --> 02:04:09,760 Speaker 3: you can't. You can't be killing a dog on television, 2051 02:04:09,920 --> 02:04:13,160 Speaker 3: just so you lose the audience with that. So Mick says, well, 2052 02:04:13,200 --> 02:04:15,400 Speaker 3: what about if he kills the stripper. Oh, that's fine, 2053 02:04:15,440 --> 02:04:19,200 Speaker 3: you know, you can kill the stripper. I mean, frankly, 2054 02:04:20,080 --> 02:04:23,160 Speaker 3: I don't think in today's PC atmosphere, I don't know 2055 02:04:23,400 --> 02:04:28,360 Speaker 3: if anything ever got out about the conversations in that room. 2056 02:04:28,560 --> 02:04:31,480 Speaker 3: You know, there were no governors on any of our motors, 2057 02:04:31,840 --> 02:04:34,920 Speaker 3: you know what I mean. Everyone got to play and 2058 02:04:35,240 --> 02:04:41,200 Speaker 3: and and just be their worst. It's fun, you know. 2059 02:04:41,240 --> 02:04:46,640 Speaker 3: It was funny because you could say anything, and but 2060 02:04:46,720 --> 02:04:49,080 Speaker 3: you did edit yourself. You know, you didn't kill a dog, 2061 02:04:49,120 --> 02:04:51,240 Speaker 3: although later we did kill a dog. And then House 2062 02:04:51,280 --> 02:04:53,480 Speaker 3: of Cards or whatever that show was, they really killed 2063 02:04:53,480 --> 02:04:56,160 Speaker 3: a dog. So I guess that tampoo went too. 2064 02:04:58,120 --> 02:05:00,200 Speaker 2: It's still a rough one. But let's stay with the 2065 02:05:00,240 --> 02:05:05,320 Speaker 2: Pine Bearings, which was a phenomenal episode. Always bothered me 2066 02:05:05,480 --> 02:05:07,320 Speaker 2: that the Russian never reappeared. 2067 02:05:09,040 --> 02:05:12,800 Speaker 3: The worst part about that episode was that at one 2068 02:05:12,840 --> 02:05:15,960 Speaker 3: point the director, and I think it was Colder who 2069 02:05:16,000 --> 02:05:19,040 Speaker 3: directed it, maybe not, I can't remember who directed it, 2070 02:05:19,440 --> 02:05:23,120 Speaker 3: but he did a shot that was a point of 2071 02:05:23,200 --> 02:05:27,920 Speaker 3: view from a tree looking down. Do you understand he 2072 02:05:27,960 --> 02:05:32,280 Speaker 3: put a camera up looking down that gave the impression 2073 02:05:32,680 --> 02:05:34,240 Speaker 3: that it was from the point of view of the 2074 02:05:34,320 --> 02:05:38,480 Speaker 3: Russian and that the Russian had lived, which was just wrong. 2075 02:05:38,920 --> 02:05:42,160 Speaker 3: It was just a really wrong. It really bumped. You know, 2076 02:05:42,200 --> 02:05:44,800 Speaker 3: I'm not critical about much, but I remember thinking, this 2077 02:05:44,840 --> 02:05:47,200 Speaker 3: is a mistake. He should not have stayed in the picture, 2078 02:05:47,960 --> 02:05:50,840 Speaker 3: because it's kind of absurd to think that the guy 2079 02:05:51,600 --> 02:05:54,520 Speaker 3: would reappear. You know, he was shot in the head. 2080 02:05:56,440 --> 02:05:59,040 Speaker 2: I say, that's what I think. 2081 02:05:59,080 --> 02:06:00,520 Speaker 3: It's hilarious show. 2082 02:06:01,880 --> 02:06:06,960 Speaker 2: Okay, So the episodes were pretty fleshed out before someone 2083 02:06:07,000 --> 02:06:08,000 Speaker 2: went away and wrote them. 2084 02:06:08,160 --> 02:06:11,840 Speaker 3: Oh god, yes, you break them. You have okay, you 2085 02:06:11,880 --> 02:06:14,760 Speaker 3: want to know what really happens. So there's like an 2086 02:06:14,800 --> 02:06:17,520 Speaker 3: A story of B story, C story, sometimes a D story. 2087 02:06:17,960 --> 02:06:21,200 Speaker 3: You take the beats, you type them up. Somebody types 2088 02:06:21,240 --> 02:06:24,680 Speaker 3: them up right. Then she or he brings the type 2089 02:06:24,760 --> 02:06:30,200 Speaker 3: of beats into the into the conference room where we 2090 02:06:30,320 --> 02:06:34,680 Speaker 3: sit our entire lives away, and I take a scissor 2091 02:06:35,880 --> 02:06:38,720 Speaker 3: me because I like to do this, I cut each 2092 02:06:39,040 --> 02:06:41,680 Speaker 3: piece of paper so that now there are strips which 2093 02:06:41,720 --> 02:06:44,960 Speaker 3: each other beats. So now I have to marry like 2094 02:06:45,880 --> 02:06:49,160 Speaker 3: forty pieces of paper together in order, you know, to 2095 02:06:49,200 --> 02:06:52,200 Speaker 3: make an arc, to make a shape of a story. 2096 02:06:52,440 --> 02:06:54,520 Speaker 3: But I was good at that. I like to I'm 2097 02:06:54,560 --> 02:06:56,560 Speaker 3: good at structure, do you know what I mean? And 2098 02:06:56,840 --> 02:07:00,880 Speaker 3: everything was already done so, and then you have all 2099 02:07:00,920 --> 02:07:03,520 Speaker 3: the little strips of paper arranged in the proper order, 2100 02:07:03,600 --> 02:07:06,640 Speaker 3: you know, one, two, three, four by sixt seventy eight, 2101 02:07:06,680 --> 02:07:09,680 Speaker 3: you know, like that, You take some scotch tape. This 2102 02:07:09,800 --> 02:07:12,640 Speaker 3: is very technical, and you lay it over the pieces 2103 02:07:12,720 --> 02:07:16,640 Speaker 3: of paper so that they're all, you know, together, and 2104 02:07:16,680 --> 02:07:19,560 Speaker 3: then you can give them back to the assistant so 2105 02:07:19,600 --> 02:07:24,000 Speaker 3: that he can type them up. And that's your outline, right, 2106 02:07:24,400 --> 02:07:26,120 Speaker 3: very very it's. 2107 02:07:26,040 --> 02:07:28,480 Speaker 2: Pretty fleshed out before you write it. 2108 02:07:28,920 --> 02:07:34,440 Speaker 3: Oh completely, yes, But that's that's only half the story. 2109 02:07:34,480 --> 02:07:37,160 Speaker 3: It still takes three weeks to do the script because 2110 02:07:37,280 --> 02:07:41,280 Speaker 3: you have to think about how to serve the scene 2111 02:07:42,280 --> 02:07:46,360 Speaker 3: that you've said is going to happen. In other words, 2112 02:07:46,360 --> 02:07:50,280 Speaker 3: you know, you know what's you know what the point 2113 02:07:50,800 --> 02:07:53,120 Speaker 3: of the scene is, but you don't know the dialogue. 2114 02:07:53,200 --> 02:07:56,240 Speaker 3: You don't know what I mean, you know lots of 2115 02:07:56,320 --> 02:07:59,200 Speaker 3: things about it, but you still have to write it. 2116 02:08:00,200 --> 02:08:03,120 Speaker 3: Not being very articulate, but no, I get it. 2117 02:08:03,160 --> 02:08:06,800 Speaker 2: Okay, the writer's room are you are the people writing 2118 02:08:06,960 --> 02:08:10,160 Speaker 2: scripts while the writer's room still takes place? 2119 02:08:10,320 --> 02:08:13,840 Speaker 3: Or yes, you take your outline and you go home, 2120 02:08:15,760 --> 02:08:21,040 Speaker 3: and then after you finish the script, you go with 2121 02:08:21,080 --> 02:08:23,960 Speaker 3: your script. Well, Mitch and I would split up and 2122 02:08:24,000 --> 02:08:26,560 Speaker 3: he would one of us would stay in the room, 2123 02:08:26,640 --> 02:08:30,760 Speaker 3: but one of us would would participate in costume in 2124 02:08:30,840 --> 02:08:35,120 Speaker 3: all of the meetings that go with each episode. You 2125 02:08:35,160 --> 02:08:38,800 Speaker 3: meet with costumes, you meet with, set design, you meet with. 2126 02:08:39,280 --> 02:08:42,120 Speaker 3: Casting is like huge. It takes a lot of time 2127 02:08:42,120 --> 02:08:44,880 Speaker 3: and it's the most fun probably of anything on earth. 2128 02:08:46,600 --> 02:08:50,040 Speaker 3: So you cast your show and David is there through 2129 02:08:50,080 --> 02:08:53,480 Speaker 3: it all. So when something important is going on, like 2130 02:08:53,560 --> 02:08:56,280 Speaker 3: those meetings, he will leave the story room and go 2131 02:08:56,400 --> 02:09:00,360 Speaker 3: and participate in the meeting with the writer and you know, 2132 02:09:00,400 --> 02:09:04,360 Speaker 3: the chief of that department, whatever the department is, like costumes, 2133 02:09:04,400 --> 02:09:04,920 Speaker 3: et cetera. 2134 02:09:05,440 --> 02:09:08,560 Speaker 2: Let me be very specific. If there are ten episodes, 2135 02:09:08,640 --> 02:09:12,800 Speaker 2: let's say, are all ten episodes laid out, and then 2136 02:09:12,840 --> 02:09:17,000 Speaker 2: everybody retweets and writes in this process, So people are 2137 02:09:17,080 --> 02:09:21,040 Speaker 2: still working out episodes while somebody's back home right in it? 2138 02:09:21,400 --> 02:09:24,960 Speaker 3: Oh yeah, yeah, I mean you're up against it all 2139 02:09:25,000 --> 02:09:30,360 Speaker 3: the time. You know, it takes like probably I can't remember, 2140 02:09:30,440 --> 02:09:33,880 Speaker 3: it's like five weeks to go from the story room 2141 02:09:34,240 --> 02:09:41,080 Speaker 3: to filming. But it's a you know, it's a demanding situation. 2142 02:09:41,480 --> 02:09:43,800 Speaker 3: That's one of the reasons David would take so long 2143 02:09:43,880 --> 02:09:46,400 Speaker 3: between seasons. You know, you go off to France and 2144 02:09:47,240 --> 02:09:50,920 Speaker 3: rest because because you're up against it all the time, 2145 02:09:51,520 --> 02:09:55,560 Speaker 3: you know, and also sopranos. You know, we were in 2146 02:09:55,720 --> 02:09:58,320 Speaker 3: Silver Cup, we were in Queen's We had to load 2147 02:09:58,520 --> 02:10:00,920 Speaker 3: you know, we filmed half the time. I'm in New Jersey. 2148 02:10:00,920 --> 02:10:04,600 Speaker 3: You had to load the trucks up, take them through Manhattan, 2149 02:10:04,800 --> 02:10:07,000 Speaker 3: then go through a tunnel over a bridge into New 2150 02:10:07,080 --> 02:10:10,040 Speaker 3: Jersey and be set up to film at six in 2151 02:10:10,080 --> 02:10:14,720 Speaker 3: the morning. So you're filming till midnight. You're lucky if 2152 02:10:14,760 --> 02:10:18,040 Speaker 3: you get six hours. It goes like that. You know, 2153 02:10:18,400 --> 02:10:21,560 Speaker 3: it was just your life. It's your life for those months. 2154 02:10:22,480 --> 02:10:27,320 Speaker 3: But you're not always on the set, meaning me, you're 2155 02:10:27,360 --> 02:10:29,600 Speaker 3: in the story room a lot, and you get really 2156 02:10:29,640 --> 02:10:31,320 Speaker 3: sick of that. You're glad to go on the set, 2157 02:10:31,320 --> 02:10:33,240 Speaker 3: and you get really sick of that, You're glad to 2158 02:10:33,240 --> 02:10:36,960 Speaker 3: go back in this story room and. 2159 02:10:36,720 --> 02:10:40,520 Speaker 2: Being an executive producer is that just the title and 2160 02:10:40,800 --> 02:10:43,280 Speaker 2: compensation or did it actually mean anything? 2161 02:10:46,440 --> 02:10:52,720 Speaker 3: Well, being a title and compensation is very meaningful, But it. 2162 02:10:52,680 --> 02:10:57,320 Speaker 2: Didn't change your responsibilities, is my point. 2163 02:10:59,600 --> 02:11:05,760 Speaker 3: Well, I don't know everybody in that room pretty much 2164 02:11:05,800 --> 02:11:09,480 Speaker 3: at the end, wasn't exactly because you know, I think 2165 02:11:09,560 --> 02:11:12,480 Speaker 3: Terry became one and Matt probably two. You know, there 2166 02:11:12,480 --> 02:11:16,280 Speaker 3: were only few people in the room, you know, the 2167 02:11:16,320 --> 02:11:18,640 Speaker 3: people that came with us from LA, they didn't stay. 2168 02:11:18,960 --> 02:11:21,040 Speaker 3: It was me and then Terry came. It was me 2169 02:11:21,120 --> 02:11:26,280 Speaker 3: and Mitch and David. Me and mentioned David and Terry. 2170 02:11:26,960 --> 02:11:30,880 Speaker 3: And maybe sometimes there would be freelance writers who'd come, 2171 02:11:31,400 --> 02:11:33,440 Speaker 3: and sometimes there would be writers, and maybe there were 2172 02:11:33,440 --> 02:11:35,840 Speaker 3: writers who were more there. I can't remember, you know, 2173 02:11:35,840 --> 02:11:38,160 Speaker 3: it's a long time ago. But you know, I don't 2174 02:11:38,200 --> 02:11:40,880 Speaker 3: want to hurt anyone's feelings. You know, when Frank would 2175 02:11:40,920 --> 02:11:43,840 Speaker 3: weigh in from LA, but he was only there for 2176 02:11:43,880 --> 02:11:47,240 Speaker 3: the first two or three years. But there weren't many 2177 02:11:47,240 --> 02:11:50,160 Speaker 3: people in the room. No, you know. 2178 02:11:50,840 --> 02:11:53,120 Speaker 2: Okay, So how does it end for you and Mitch 2179 02:11:53,280 --> 02:11:56,120 Speaker 2: with the sopranos. 2180 02:11:56,200 --> 02:12:01,080 Speaker 3: As per usual? I guess it's my charming, massive aggressive way. 2181 02:12:01,160 --> 02:12:06,240 Speaker 3: I just became disaffected. I didn't like what was happening 2182 02:12:06,240 --> 02:12:09,680 Speaker 3: in the room anymore. I didn't like all the gangster stuff. 2183 02:12:10,040 --> 02:12:12,720 Speaker 3: The thing became so much about gangsters and so much 2184 02:12:12,720 --> 02:12:19,760 Speaker 3: about silly guide jokes, and and Matt and David would 2185 02:12:19,800 --> 02:12:22,720 Speaker 3: talk about French foreign films until I just wanted to 2186 02:12:22,720 --> 02:12:27,120 Speaker 3: just scream, and I just wasn't enjoying myself. But rather 2187 02:12:27,200 --> 02:12:32,400 Speaker 3: than you know, David had this meeting after after season 2188 02:12:32,480 --> 02:12:34,800 Speaker 3: five where he called us all out on a Sunday. 2189 02:12:35,120 --> 02:12:38,560 Speaker 3: We went, we went of to uh it wasn't Matt 2190 02:12:38,800 --> 02:12:41,000 Speaker 3: wasn't there, but it was Terry Winter and Me and Mitch, 2191 02:12:42,000 --> 02:12:44,720 Speaker 3: David and his wife was there with him. He called 2192 02:12:44,800 --> 02:12:47,760 Speaker 3: us there on Sunday to have a meeting and he said, 2193 02:12:48,400 --> 02:12:51,760 Speaker 3: does anyone have it? Because does anyone have it in 2194 02:12:52,360 --> 02:12:56,520 Speaker 3: them to continue? Or have we done it? Because of 2195 02:12:56,680 --> 02:12:59,880 Speaker 3: HBO is backed up to the money truck to David's house. 2196 02:13:00,080 --> 02:13:01,920 Speaker 3: You know what I mean. They're just good to do anything, 2197 02:13:02,240 --> 02:13:06,680 Speaker 3: and so do you how do you all feel? And 2198 02:13:06,800 --> 02:13:09,600 Speaker 3: Terry Winter's arm shoots up and it's like, yeah, I 2199 02:13:09,600 --> 02:13:12,280 Speaker 3: can do it. And once that happens, you know, and 2200 02:13:12,960 --> 02:13:15,120 Speaker 3: you're sitting there and I'm sitting there and I'm thinking, 2201 02:13:15,160 --> 02:13:18,600 Speaker 3: I really don't want to do this anymore. But how 2202 02:13:18,600 --> 02:13:20,840 Speaker 3: can I leave this? You know, how can I leave 2203 02:13:21,280 --> 02:13:23,440 Speaker 3: this show that I love, the money that I love. 2204 02:13:26,280 --> 02:13:30,480 Speaker 3: I just didn't. I didn't have the I didn't say, 2205 02:13:30,960 --> 02:13:34,680 Speaker 3: you know what, I'm done. I didn't. I stayed, but 2206 02:13:34,800 --> 02:13:39,760 Speaker 3: I was done. And you know, that's a lesson that 2207 02:13:40,360 --> 02:13:43,080 Speaker 3: I probably won't pay attention to if it ever happens again, 2208 02:13:43,120 --> 02:13:46,000 Speaker 3: I'll do the same thing because I wanted to stay, 2209 02:13:47,400 --> 02:13:51,040 Speaker 3: but I but I really I don't think my heart 2210 02:13:51,080 --> 02:13:54,320 Speaker 3: was in it. And I just was not part of 2211 02:13:54,360 --> 02:13:59,640 Speaker 3: it anymore. The David had it started to kind of 2212 02:13:59,680 --> 02:14:03,040 Speaker 3: hate on me. I'd seen it happen with other people, 2213 02:14:03,120 --> 02:14:05,320 Speaker 3: but I think I brought a lot of it on myself. 2214 02:14:05,600 --> 02:14:08,360 Speaker 3: So that's what happened. It was just personal and it 2215 02:14:08,400 --> 02:14:10,960 Speaker 3: was just icky, and oh he brought these other people 2216 02:14:11,000 --> 02:14:14,840 Speaker 3: on that we'd worked with before. It just felt the 2217 02:14:14,880 --> 02:14:17,760 Speaker 3: tenor of the thing was changing. It wasn't very happy, 2218 02:14:18,280 --> 02:14:20,440 Speaker 3: and that is one thing that you don't want in 2219 02:14:20,480 --> 02:14:24,000 Speaker 3: your life. And it's me when I'm not happy. And 2220 02:14:24,040 --> 02:14:27,000 Speaker 3: so he fired me. He didn't fire Mitch, but he 2221 02:14:27,080 --> 02:14:27,480 Speaker 3: fired me. 2222 02:14:28,560 --> 02:14:29,560 Speaker 2: But Mitch left with you. 2223 02:14:30,320 --> 02:14:32,480 Speaker 3: Oh yeah, Mitch wasn't gonna State without me. 2224 02:14:33,040 --> 02:14:35,800 Speaker 2: But this was the final season, correct. 2225 02:14:35,800 --> 02:14:38,560 Speaker 3: Well, the season was split up in a couple of 2226 02:14:38,600 --> 02:14:41,160 Speaker 3: pieces because it was six it was season six. There 2227 02:14:41,200 --> 02:14:46,640 Speaker 3: were six seasons. But you know, I think the last 2228 02:14:46,680 --> 02:14:50,240 Speaker 3: part of the sixth season is what I missed, you know, 2229 02:14:50,360 --> 02:14:54,839 Speaker 3: the last six episodes or something. Yeah, David was afraid 2230 02:14:54,840 --> 02:14:58,040 Speaker 3: that I was going to sue him or something, you 2231 02:14:58,040 --> 02:14:59,960 Speaker 3: were going to You're going to hit him because you know, 2232 02:15:00,040 --> 02:15:02,200 Speaker 3: I said to him, I've seen you have this problem, 2233 02:15:02,600 --> 02:15:05,000 Speaker 3: you know, with a couple of women on the show, 2234 02:15:05,160 --> 02:15:08,600 Speaker 3: and he slammed the table so hard. I jumped and said, 2235 02:15:08,600 --> 02:15:10,600 Speaker 3: this has nothing to do with your being a woman. 2236 02:15:11,920 --> 02:15:15,120 Speaker 3: And I think it just occurred to me at that 2237 02:15:15,200 --> 02:15:18,880 Speaker 3: moment that he had probably talked to his HBO about 2238 02:15:18,880 --> 02:15:22,920 Speaker 3: this and they wanted to not be sued, you know, 2239 02:15:23,240 --> 02:15:25,520 Speaker 3: for you know, and I had said something about him 2240 02:15:25,560 --> 02:15:28,680 Speaker 3: and women. But I you know, I wasn't going to sue. 2241 02:15:29,200 --> 02:15:30,840 Speaker 3: I was just wanted to get out of there. I 2242 02:15:30,960 --> 02:15:36,840 Speaker 3: was devastating. Mitch and I it was awful to take 2243 02:15:36,880 --> 02:15:40,920 Speaker 3: our box and leave, you know, a few meager belongings 2244 02:15:40,960 --> 02:15:45,120 Speaker 3: and leave. I mean, what David said was that I 2245 02:15:45,200 --> 02:15:48,400 Speaker 3: couldn't didn't get the show that our writing was no 2246 02:15:48,560 --> 02:15:53,240 Speaker 3: good and forward anymore, and he didn't like it. That's 2247 02:15:53,360 --> 02:15:56,520 Speaker 3: that was the basis on which he fired me. And 2248 02:15:56,600 --> 02:16:00,280 Speaker 3: so we left and we went We felt really bad, 2249 02:16:00,360 --> 02:16:04,600 Speaker 3: you know, relieved bad, and we went to Gettysburg because 2250 02:16:04,640 --> 02:16:07,480 Speaker 3: Mitch is like a history major and he's been to 2251 02:16:07,560 --> 02:16:10,080 Speaker 3: all of the president's houses and stuff, and we knew 2252 02:16:10,080 --> 02:16:13,720 Speaker 3: if we went to Gettysburg that they would have had 2253 02:16:13,760 --> 02:16:19,560 Speaker 3: it worse than us Gettysburg. So that's I love Mitch 2254 02:16:19,600 --> 02:16:22,000 Speaker 3: for that. You know, He's taken me all kinds of 2255 02:16:22,040 --> 02:16:26,360 Speaker 3: places where I would never have gone for good reasons 2256 02:16:27,200 --> 02:16:30,320 Speaker 3: that he took me there. But anyway, that's what we 2257 02:16:30,360 --> 02:16:33,720 Speaker 3: did the weekend that we were fired. And you know, David, 2258 02:16:33,720 --> 02:16:36,039 Speaker 3: I didn't I would see him on the picket line 2259 02:16:36,120 --> 02:16:39,160 Speaker 3: or something and turned my back on him and just 2260 02:16:39,280 --> 02:16:43,640 Speaker 3: you know, act like drama queen. But fourteen years later 2261 02:16:43,680 --> 02:16:47,959 Speaker 3: he called me on the phone. Do you know who 2262 02:16:48,000 --> 02:16:51,720 Speaker 3: this is? Yes, I know who it is, And he 2263 02:16:51,800 --> 02:16:54,200 Speaker 3: wanted to tell me that he'd been reading some of 2264 02:16:54,240 --> 02:17:00,360 Speaker 3: the almost grown scripts and he just wanted to tell me, 2265 02:17:00,480 --> 02:17:02,840 Speaker 3: you know that I'd written fourteen years before or whatever 2266 02:17:02,879 --> 02:17:05,080 Speaker 3: it was, and he just wanted to tell me what 2267 02:17:05,160 --> 02:17:08,360 Speaker 3: a good writer he thought I was. So it was 2268 02:17:08,400 --> 02:17:12,480 Speaker 3: his way of making them you know, Amend's or something. 2269 02:17:12,520 --> 02:17:14,200 Speaker 3: I don't know what it was. I haven't talked to 2270 02:17:14,280 --> 02:17:19,200 Speaker 3: him since, but that's how that's how it ended. And 2271 02:17:19,280 --> 02:17:23,800 Speaker 3: Mitch said, you know, it's really remarkable that he called you. 2272 02:17:25,600 --> 02:17:28,240 Speaker 3: It's actually kind of a victory for you in a way. 2273 02:17:28,920 --> 02:17:30,879 Speaker 3: He said, just don't be a jerk about it. 2274 02:17:32,520 --> 02:17:37,800 Speaker 2: Okay, so the final season, you work on the first half, 2275 02:17:37,800 --> 02:17:40,800 Speaker 2: you don't work on the second half. Do you watch 2276 02:17:40,879 --> 02:17:43,720 Speaker 2: the second half? It is too painful to watch? 2277 02:17:43,879 --> 02:17:46,000 Speaker 3: It isn't painful. I just I was sick of it. 2278 02:17:46,200 --> 02:17:49,879 Speaker 3: I was sick of the gangsters running over heads, popping 2279 02:17:50,080 --> 02:17:53,280 Speaker 3: like melons. I just didn't like that part of it. 2280 02:17:53,320 --> 02:17:56,119 Speaker 3: I like the family part, and that had part had 2281 02:17:56,120 --> 02:17:59,280 Speaker 3: pretty much played out. By then, We've done everything we could. 2282 02:17:59,600 --> 02:18:03,400 Speaker 3: You know that great episode where they get the house 2283 02:18:03,400 --> 02:18:06,879 Speaker 3: in New Jersey, This happens Lee's house. We don't all 2284 02:18:06,879 --> 02:18:08,879 Speaker 3: the family stuff. It was over for me. 2285 02:18:09,040 --> 02:18:10,920 Speaker 2: Okay, then I have to ask. One of my favorite 2286 02:18:10,959 --> 02:18:18,959 Speaker 2: things is when Meadows being punished and Tony says, well, 2287 02:18:18,959 --> 02:18:20,520 Speaker 2: you know, why don't you come up with the idea 2288 02:18:20,720 --> 02:18:24,320 Speaker 2: just take away my gas credit card, and then she 2289 02:18:24,360 --> 02:18:27,160 Speaker 2: gets on the phone and tells her friend, Oh, man, 2290 02:18:27,200 --> 02:18:29,320 Speaker 2: I got them. So I got my parents so snowed. 2291 02:18:29,720 --> 02:18:30,480 Speaker 2: I just love that. 2292 02:18:31,400 --> 02:18:33,280 Speaker 3: I don't remember that. That's so funny. 2293 02:18:34,400 --> 02:18:36,520 Speaker 2: So it was the family stuff that made it great. 2294 02:18:36,720 --> 02:18:39,760 Speaker 2: But you did eventually watch the final episodes. 2295 02:18:40,480 --> 02:18:42,920 Speaker 3: I did. I watched the end of it. I just 2296 02:18:42,959 --> 02:18:44,080 Speaker 3: watched that last scene. 2297 02:18:45,440 --> 02:18:47,920 Speaker 2: I think, I don't really care, but I got to ask, 2298 02:18:48,640 --> 02:18:51,560 Speaker 2: what did you think the last scene represented. 2299 02:18:51,959 --> 02:18:58,200 Speaker 3: About Tony's future? Yeah, it was my idea that we 2300 02:18:58,200 --> 02:19:04,360 Speaker 3: should always live with anxiety in Tony's stomach. That's that 2301 02:19:04,520 --> 02:19:08,640 Speaker 3: was my feeling, and I would have maybe represented it differently, 2302 02:19:09,640 --> 02:19:12,920 Speaker 3: but I think that I think the effect that it 2303 02:19:13,000 --> 02:19:15,080 Speaker 3: had on me when I watched that last scene is 2304 02:19:15,120 --> 02:19:20,360 Speaker 3: that you just feel that anxiety, that constant terror that 2305 02:19:20,440 --> 02:19:26,040 Speaker 3: he felt the character. And you know, when I describe 2306 02:19:26,040 --> 02:19:30,199 Speaker 3: what happened to me there, the atmosphere had become toxic 2307 02:19:30,280 --> 02:19:34,280 Speaker 3: in some way. You know that the show, I don't 2308 02:19:34,280 --> 02:19:37,640 Speaker 3: think it did Jim that many favors either the character. 2309 02:19:38,760 --> 02:19:43,280 Speaker 2: Okay, you're done. How long are you depressed and licking 2310 02:19:43,320 --> 02:19:44,840 Speaker 2: your wounds till you do whatever? 2311 02:19:48,760 --> 02:19:54,400 Speaker 3: Well? Ah, I know we have a couple houses now three. 2312 02:19:54,560 --> 02:20:00,440 Speaker 3: Actually we created a show called Blue Bloods, and we 2313 02:20:00,480 --> 02:20:03,080 Speaker 3: had been pitched many things in many shows, because when 2314 02:20:03,080 --> 02:20:05,760 Speaker 3: you call off a show like Sopranos, I'm sorry if 2315 02:20:05,760 --> 02:20:09,920 Speaker 3: the sound is weird, my voice is so from all right, 2316 02:20:11,760 --> 02:20:14,640 Speaker 3: everybody wants you, you know, even though you've been fired. 2317 02:20:16,959 --> 02:20:19,680 Speaker 3: People got over that very quickly. But so we had 2318 02:20:19,720 --> 02:20:21,400 Speaker 3: lots of things that we could have done. We could 2319 02:20:21,440 --> 02:20:24,199 Speaker 3: have done the Americans, we could have run that show, 2320 02:20:24,480 --> 02:20:26,840 Speaker 3: or maybe we could have We were kind of offered 2321 02:20:27,120 --> 02:20:29,879 Speaker 3: to look at it. It looked too hard to me, 2322 02:20:30,160 --> 02:20:32,800 Speaker 3: you know, it looked like I couldn't be so hard. 2323 02:20:32,800 --> 02:20:35,280 Speaker 3: I couldn't wrap my hand around it. But friends went 2324 02:20:35,320 --> 02:20:41,200 Speaker 3: to work on it was a wonderful show. But we 2325 02:20:41,200 --> 02:20:43,920 Speaker 3: were pitched the show. Elliott called and he said, just 2326 02:20:43,959 --> 02:20:45,959 Speaker 3: listen to this pitch. You'll hate it. Just do me 2327 02:20:45,959 --> 02:20:48,520 Speaker 3: a favor. I owe this person a favor. Just listen. 2328 02:20:48,840 --> 02:20:51,200 Speaker 3: And it was Leonard Goldberg, who was also part of 2329 02:20:51,200 --> 02:20:55,400 Speaker 3: that like you know our in spelling world. But Leonard 2330 02:20:55,400 --> 02:20:58,640 Speaker 3: gets on the phone and we were in our living 2331 02:20:58,760 --> 02:21:01,440 Speaker 3: room in New York City, me and Mitch because we 2332 02:21:01,560 --> 02:21:03,920 Speaker 3: moved to New York by then. Do the Sopranos, and 2333 02:21:03,959 --> 02:21:08,360 Speaker 3: we lived there. We stayed and he pictures us this 2334 02:21:08,600 --> 02:21:13,200 Speaker 3: family drama that's a cop show, and he kind of 2335 02:21:13,240 --> 02:21:17,440 Speaker 3: had it. It was like a thirty second pitch and 2336 02:21:18,280 --> 02:21:20,160 Speaker 3: Mitch and I just looked at each other and said 2337 02:21:20,640 --> 02:21:22,840 Speaker 3: and called Elliott and said tell him we'll do it, 2338 02:21:23,400 --> 02:21:25,119 Speaker 3: because we knew we could do it. We knew how 2339 02:21:25,120 --> 02:21:27,800 Speaker 3: to do it, we saw it, we knew it was 2340 02:21:27,840 --> 02:21:29,800 Speaker 3: a good idea. I don't know why nobody thought of 2341 02:21:29,800 --> 02:21:32,840 Speaker 3: that it sooner, because it's a great idea and we 2342 02:21:32,920 --> 02:21:35,720 Speaker 3: knew we could do it. I went on, you know, 2343 02:21:36,040 --> 02:21:38,840 Speaker 3: I would the press tours. I would say things like 2344 02:21:38,959 --> 02:21:42,760 Speaker 3: to just infuriate David. Probably. I got tired of writing 2345 02:21:42,760 --> 02:21:45,160 Speaker 3: the anti hero and I wanted to see what it 2346 02:21:45,240 --> 02:21:47,760 Speaker 3: was to be a hero. And that was kind of true. 2347 02:21:48,840 --> 02:21:50,959 Speaker 3: I mean, my problem was that the hero turned out 2348 02:21:51,000 --> 02:21:54,200 Speaker 3: to be Tom Sellick, and then when we got him 2349 02:21:54,240 --> 02:21:56,720 Speaker 3: to come back to television to be on the show, 2350 02:21:57,280 --> 02:22:00,120 Speaker 3: it very quickly became his show, not my show, ye, 2351 02:22:01,120 --> 02:22:03,320 Speaker 3: and that that was untenable for me. 2352 02:22:05,640 --> 02:22:07,440 Speaker 2: And when you move on from there, so. 2353 02:22:07,480 --> 02:22:10,119 Speaker 3: We were fired from there too. So we were fired 2354 02:22:10,160 --> 02:22:12,360 Speaker 3: after a year because I couldn't get along with Tom 2355 02:22:12,840 --> 02:22:14,920 Speaker 3: But by then we owned a piece of the show 2356 02:22:15,200 --> 02:22:18,400 Speaker 3: because by then, you know, writer could do that, right. 2357 02:22:18,560 --> 02:22:21,480 Speaker 3: So that's so the show is in its fourteenth year. 2358 02:22:21,720 --> 02:22:24,760 Speaker 3: We have created by credit. God bless Leonard Goldberg, who's 2359 02:22:24,800 --> 02:22:29,560 Speaker 3: now you know, he's dead. What's a nice way to 2360 02:22:29,600 --> 02:22:33,680 Speaker 3: saying it. He's passed on, right, He's dead, he's gone. 2361 02:22:33,840 --> 02:22:34,200 Speaker 2: But so. 2362 02:22:36,480 --> 02:22:39,080 Speaker 3: He gave us created by credit because we did create it. 2363 02:22:39,120 --> 02:22:41,959 Speaker 3: You know, it wasn't that nailed down in terms of 2364 02:22:42,000 --> 02:22:44,640 Speaker 3: what city or any of that stuff, but it was 2365 02:22:44,640 --> 02:22:48,640 Speaker 3: his idea. But we so we and we owned a 2366 02:22:48,640 --> 02:22:53,000 Speaker 3: piece of it. Still we enjoy the benefits of having started, 2367 02:22:53,120 --> 02:22:56,360 Speaker 3: having created the show. And you know, we sold our 2368 02:22:56,400 --> 02:22:59,840 Speaker 3: ownership position and bought this house and the one in 2369 02:23:00,080 --> 02:23:00,920 Speaker 3: Saint John. 2370 02:23:01,680 --> 02:23:03,119 Speaker 2: And where's the third house? 2371 02:23:04,080 --> 02:23:05,640 Speaker 3: I have a little apartment in the city. 2372 02:23:06,760 --> 02:23:11,040 Speaker 2: And then you're off of that show? Do you say 2373 02:23:11,760 --> 02:23:12,920 Speaker 2: you're done? What do you do? 2374 02:23:16,560 --> 02:23:21,720 Speaker 3: Oh? I wrote my book? Okay, oh no, Because a 2375 02:23:21,760 --> 02:23:24,520 Speaker 3: girl that I knew back then had become a literary agent. 2376 02:23:24,560 --> 02:23:26,200 Speaker 3: I had lunch with her and she said, you're not 2377 02:23:26,280 --> 02:23:29,680 Speaker 3: doing anything. This is what you should do. She worked 2378 02:23:29,680 --> 02:23:32,400 Speaker 3: at Rolling Stone in the office then in the old days. 2379 02:23:32,920 --> 02:23:36,240 Speaker 3: So she said you know, and so that's what happened. 2380 02:23:36,280 --> 02:23:39,240 Speaker 3: I wrote the book, and I loved the book, and 2381 02:23:39,320 --> 02:23:43,039 Speaker 3: I felt just about it what you felt about So 2382 02:23:43,120 --> 02:23:45,640 Speaker 3: it was so wonderful to read what you had written. 2383 02:23:46,080 --> 02:23:47,360 Speaker 3: It meant everything to me. 2384 02:23:48,040 --> 02:23:51,279 Speaker 2: Well, the funny thing about it is I get anxious 2385 02:23:51,320 --> 02:23:56,440 Speaker 2: before doing these, and occasionally it involves a book that 2386 02:23:56,520 --> 02:24:00,360 Speaker 2: I've read month, two months, three months before, and I 2387 02:24:00,480 --> 02:24:02,560 Speaker 2: have to ski, you know, I skim the book just 2388 02:24:02,600 --> 02:24:05,360 Speaker 2: out of anxiety. And I was thinking about it with 2389 02:24:05,440 --> 02:24:08,120 Speaker 2: your book, and I said, I don't I remember everything 2390 02:24:08,120 --> 02:24:10,720 Speaker 2: in the book like it really had that much impact 2391 02:24:10,800 --> 02:24:16,320 Speaker 2: upon me. And there was similar sensibility, similar alienation. I 2392 02:24:16,360 --> 02:24:19,280 Speaker 2: don't have children this week go on and on forever. 2393 02:24:20,000 --> 02:24:23,279 Speaker 2: But okay, let's stay with the Sopranos for a minute. 2394 02:24:23,440 --> 02:24:26,360 Speaker 2: You know, we've just had the strike, et cetera. When 2395 02:24:26,360 --> 02:24:30,080 Speaker 2: you do something that's network television, there's all kinds of 2396 02:24:30,160 --> 02:24:34,920 Speaker 2: residuals involved. At this point with something like HBO and 2397 02:24:34,920 --> 02:24:38,240 Speaker 2: the Sopranos, is there any ongoing compensation? 2398 02:24:39,000 --> 02:24:44,640 Speaker 3: Oh sure, yeah, yeah, just those green envelopes come and 2399 02:24:44,879 --> 02:24:51,039 Speaker 3: just cheers you right up. You know, sure, you know, 2400 02:24:51,120 --> 02:24:56,080 Speaker 3: we get residuals, We got foreign sales, We've got royalties. Royalty, 2401 02:24:56,240 --> 02:24:58,879 Speaker 3: oh you know, royalties. You know, we make a living 2402 02:24:58,959 --> 02:25:03,560 Speaker 3: this way. You know, it keeps it keeps this thing going. 2403 02:25:04,760 --> 02:25:07,560 Speaker 3: As much says, it costs a lot of money to 2404 02:25:07,600 --> 02:25:11,240 Speaker 3: have money, you know. So yeah, we have these houses. 2405 02:25:11,320 --> 02:25:17,200 Speaker 3: They're not you know, they're they're just they're they're wonderful 2406 02:25:17,280 --> 02:25:21,200 Speaker 3: each they're wonderful places. All three of them were wonderful. 2407 02:25:22,080 --> 02:25:25,000 Speaker 3: So yeah, but now you know, I'm miserable because I'm 2408 02:25:25,040 --> 02:25:25,640 Speaker 3: not working. 2409 02:25:25,720 --> 02:25:30,000 Speaker 2: So there you go, and there's any plans. 2410 02:25:29,560 --> 02:25:32,680 Speaker 3: To work, Well, you got me thinking about it again. 2411 02:25:35,640 --> 02:25:39,520 Speaker 3: You know, I got to you know, people have wanted 2412 02:25:39,560 --> 02:25:42,039 Speaker 3: to adapt the book into some kind of TV or 2413 02:25:42,560 --> 02:25:46,000 Speaker 3: dramatic form. And somebody gave me a call about it 2414 02:25:46,000 --> 02:25:48,600 Speaker 3: from your what you wrote, but I don't see it. 2415 02:25:49,760 --> 02:25:50,600 Speaker 2: I don't see it either. 2416 02:25:51,280 --> 02:25:54,320 Speaker 3: Oh good, oh good, thank you, because I you know, 2417 02:25:54,400 --> 02:25:58,240 Speaker 3: if somebody tried and it was so stupid, it was this. 2418 02:25:58,400 --> 02:26:00,720 Speaker 3: I mean, she's she's a wonderful girl. Who who tried? 2419 02:26:01,000 --> 02:26:04,879 Speaker 3: But you know she'd have this writer and basically writers 2420 02:26:04,959 --> 02:26:09,120 Speaker 3: like running around with a notepad or recording device. There's 2421 02:26:09,160 --> 02:26:12,199 Speaker 3: nothing dramatic there. It's not like you know, this person 2422 02:26:12,240 --> 02:26:17,959 Speaker 3: wanted me to watch Daisy Jones and the six do 2423 02:26:18,080 --> 02:26:21,720 Speaker 3: something like that. Well, that'd be fine, but that's you know, 2424 02:26:21,800 --> 02:26:25,920 Speaker 3: that's got the advantage of having performance, you know, music 2425 02:26:26,040 --> 02:26:28,360 Speaker 3: in it. So no matter what you think of it, 2426 02:26:28,440 --> 02:26:29,800 Speaker 3: at least it had something. 2427 02:26:31,240 --> 02:26:35,879 Speaker 2: Okay, this is a tough question because it veers on sexism, 2428 02:26:35,879 --> 02:26:39,880 Speaker 2: and I will be criticized. But what about thinking about 2429 02:26:39,959 --> 02:26:43,480 Speaker 2: having children something you ever wanted, something you missed, something 2430 02:26:43,520 --> 02:26:44,400 Speaker 2: you never wanted. 2431 02:26:45,720 --> 02:26:48,680 Speaker 3: My strength tried to get me to confront this when 2432 02:26:48,720 --> 02:26:51,320 Speaker 3: I was forty, and I just couldn't do it. I 2433 02:26:51,360 --> 02:26:56,160 Speaker 3: just couldn't confront it. Even I'm sorry, I don't have children. 2434 02:26:56,200 --> 02:26:59,520 Speaker 3: I have a niece and nephew who fulfilled that for 2435 02:26:59,680 --> 02:27:02,320 Speaker 3: me and have children of their own, so I get 2436 02:27:02,360 --> 02:27:05,959 Speaker 3: all the pleasure of that. I don't know who. Somebody 2437 02:27:06,040 --> 02:27:07,800 Speaker 3: was saying they don't know who's going to take care 2438 02:27:07,840 --> 02:27:10,800 Speaker 3: of them when they're old. I don't really care, you 2439 02:27:10,840 --> 02:27:15,640 Speaker 3: know about that. So it's just I'm sorry I didn't. 2440 02:27:15,920 --> 02:27:18,560 Speaker 3: You know, people really seem to go nuts over it 2441 02:27:18,600 --> 02:27:19,080 Speaker 3: and love it. 2442 02:27:19,720 --> 02:27:19,920 Speaker 2: You know. 2443 02:27:20,440 --> 02:27:24,000 Speaker 3: I saw John Legend on Voice last night, and you 2444 02:27:24,040 --> 02:27:27,600 Speaker 3: know he said he never cried much until he had children, 2445 02:27:28,160 --> 02:27:31,080 Speaker 3: you know, because there's so much love there, and I'm 2446 02:27:31,120 --> 02:27:34,120 Speaker 3: sorry I missed that. Yeah, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I 2447 02:27:34,160 --> 02:27:35,480 Speaker 3: wish Yeah, I regret. 2448 02:27:36,640 --> 02:27:40,720 Speaker 2: Are you a big consumer of films or television at 2449 02:27:40,720 --> 02:27:41,480 Speaker 2: this point? 2450 02:27:43,440 --> 02:27:49,240 Speaker 3: I watched The Voice. I've watched The Voice. I like 2451 02:27:49,320 --> 02:27:52,480 Speaker 3: the I like to see those singers. I just don't, 2452 02:27:53,040 --> 02:27:55,000 Speaker 3: you know. And you'd think I'd get sick of it, 2453 02:27:55,080 --> 02:27:57,840 Speaker 3: but I just don't. I love the I love the coaches. 2454 02:27:58,120 --> 02:28:01,000 Speaker 3: I love how they coach. It's like really watching a 2455 02:28:01,040 --> 02:28:03,840 Speaker 3: creative process. I really enjoyed. There was this other show 2456 02:28:03,879 --> 02:28:07,320 Speaker 3: about people would come and pitch their songs. I loved 2457 02:28:07,360 --> 02:28:09,560 Speaker 3: that show. I wish they would come and do it again. 2458 02:28:09,879 --> 02:28:13,680 Speaker 3: It was another reality show. I forget the name of it. 2459 02:28:14,920 --> 02:28:20,000 Speaker 2: But that's kind of funny because that's not a show 2460 02:28:20,080 --> 02:28:20,520 Speaker 2: you made. 2461 02:28:22,560 --> 02:28:26,320 Speaker 3: Oh, I don't watch Blue Blood's either, you know, I just. 2462 02:28:27,879 --> 02:28:30,720 Speaker 2: You know it's funny. Mary kay Place told me the 2463 02:28:30,760 --> 02:28:33,520 Speaker 2: same thing. She watches The Voice, too, So maybe there's 2464 02:28:33,560 --> 02:28:34,840 Speaker 2: some element there. 2465 02:28:35,200 --> 02:28:39,520 Speaker 3: Oh I knew I liked that woman. Yeah, I do 2466 02:28:39,560 --> 02:28:43,120 Speaker 3: love it. But I don't think I want to write 2467 02:28:43,120 --> 02:28:46,160 Speaker 3: another television show. I don't know what to do. Frankly, 2468 02:28:46,360 --> 02:28:49,800 Speaker 3: I don't. It's horrible. Actually, these periods in my life. 2469 02:28:50,120 --> 02:28:53,680 Speaker 3: I mean I've had follow periods, but this one takes long, 2470 02:28:54,320 --> 02:28:54,879 Speaker 3: long one. 2471 02:28:55,040 --> 02:28:56,560 Speaker 2: So what eats up your time? 2472 02:29:00,160 --> 02:29:03,200 Speaker 3: Well, we have a country house now, so I've become 2473 02:29:04,280 --> 02:29:07,800 Speaker 3: you know, in the summertime, I did a lot of weading. 2474 02:29:08,080 --> 02:29:11,680 Speaker 3: That's w E E D I en G. The rest 2475 02:29:11,760 --> 02:29:17,840 Speaker 3: is reading, watching shitty television and no just reading weading, 2476 02:29:20,320 --> 02:29:22,720 Speaker 3: just nothing. 2477 02:29:24,000 --> 02:29:26,160 Speaker 2: What do you read right now? 2478 02:29:26,200 --> 02:29:32,039 Speaker 3: I'm into David Sedaris, who's a great companion, and I 2479 02:29:32,080 --> 02:29:35,640 Speaker 3: read a wonderful novel recently. I don't read fiction anymore much. 2480 02:29:36,640 --> 02:29:42,480 Speaker 3: I just don't care about it. So it depends. I 2481 02:29:42,520 --> 02:29:47,360 Speaker 3: was reading the Bokov's memoir, you know, I picked that up. 2482 02:29:47,440 --> 02:29:51,400 Speaker 3: I had a library library full of books here that 2483 02:29:51,440 --> 02:29:53,800 Speaker 3: I haven't read, so I'll just pick one up and 2484 02:29:53,879 --> 02:29:55,080 Speaker 3: read it. Whatever it is. 2485 02:29:55,920 --> 02:29:59,320 Speaker 2: Now, you have the three houses, you have a husband, 2486 02:30:00,200 --> 02:30:03,720 Speaker 2: We had you know, COVID, which made everything different. But 2487 02:30:03,840 --> 02:30:10,760 Speaker 2: how social are you at this point in your life. 2488 02:30:11,800 --> 02:30:14,760 Speaker 3: Compared to watch? Compared to you, I don't know. 2489 02:30:15,200 --> 02:30:17,320 Speaker 2: I mean, are you the type of person who's emailing 2490 02:30:17,360 --> 02:30:19,600 Speaker 2: and calling friends all the time going out? 2491 02:30:19,879 --> 02:30:23,280 Speaker 3: Are you more of a homebody? And it's like I'm 2492 02:30:23,280 --> 02:30:27,680 Speaker 3: a homebody. We have a lot of friends when we 2493 02:30:27,720 --> 02:30:29,320 Speaker 3: go to the city. We can't go to the city 2494 02:30:29,400 --> 02:30:32,080 Speaker 3: much because our dog is seventeen and a half plus, 2495 02:30:32,520 --> 02:30:34,800 Speaker 3: so we really are stuck here in the country with him, 2496 02:30:34,959 --> 02:30:38,000 Speaker 3: cleaning up after him and taking care of him, and 2497 02:30:38,040 --> 02:30:40,160 Speaker 3: we can't travel. We can't go to Paris, we can't 2498 02:30:40,160 --> 02:30:42,320 Speaker 3: do any of that stuff. So we're just basically here 2499 02:30:42,320 --> 02:30:45,640 Speaker 3: on Shelter Island. We have really good friends here that 2500 02:30:45,680 --> 02:30:48,680 Speaker 3: we've made. We bought the house right before COVID, and 2501 02:30:48,760 --> 02:30:52,040 Speaker 3: right we bought the house in Saint John right before COVID. 2502 02:30:52,040 --> 02:30:55,240 Speaker 3: It's just lucked out that way, so we spent COVID 2503 02:30:55,360 --> 02:30:59,360 Speaker 3: in both places, which was perfect because and you know, yeah, 2504 02:30:59,400 --> 02:31:03,440 Speaker 3: so we've just been out here in the country and 2505 02:31:03,520 --> 02:31:05,320 Speaker 3: I sold the place in the city and got a 2506 02:31:05,360 --> 02:31:07,600 Speaker 3: smaller place in the city. But we can't go there 2507 02:31:07,640 --> 02:31:11,080 Speaker 3: because it's the dog. Can't be there. It's too hard 2508 02:31:11,080 --> 02:31:12,039 Speaker 3: to have him there. 2509 02:31:12,240 --> 02:31:14,560 Speaker 2: One point of cleanup. And it's funny we're talking about 2510 02:31:14,560 --> 02:31:18,920 Speaker 2: the dog. You sold your interest in Blue Bloods. Yeah, 2511 02:31:18,959 --> 02:31:21,840 Speaker 2: this is a big thing in the music business. You 2512 02:31:21,959 --> 02:31:25,640 Speaker 2: sold your interest. Did you sell it back to the 2513 02:31:25,800 --> 02:31:27,400 Speaker 2: owners or to a party? 2514 02:31:28,000 --> 02:31:29,280 Speaker 3: No owners? 2515 02:31:30,080 --> 02:31:30,360 Speaker 2: Was it? 2516 02:31:31,080 --> 02:31:36,200 Speaker 3: God? Yeah, I think with CBS, right. I think they 2517 02:31:36,240 --> 02:31:40,840 Speaker 3: came to somebody at ICM with an offer. We don't 2518 02:31:40,879 --> 02:31:44,320 Speaker 3: have children, and so you know, it would have been 2519 02:31:44,360 --> 02:31:47,880 Speaker 3: a very valuable thing to you know, it's a lot 2520 02:31:47,879 --> 02:31:51,959 Speaker 3: of points less because I got fired after the first year. 2521 02:31:52,320 --> 02:31:54,879 Speaker 3: We would have a few more if I hadn't, but 2522 02:31:55,680 --> 02:31:59,000 Speaker 3: a significant amount and if it would have been a 2523 02:31:59,000 --> 02:32:04,440 Speaker 3: great thing to leave. But we just decided to take 2524 02:32:04,480 --> 02:32:06,760 Speaker 3: the money. And it's good we did because of COVID, 2525 02:32:07,360 --> 02:32:10,440 Speaker 3: because if COVID had happened, the networks, you know, they 2526 02:32:10,480 --> 02:32:14,120 Speaker 3: would have said, like they would have said, oh, we're 2527 02:32:14,160 --> 02:32:16,240 Speaker 3: not making any money now, there's no money. They wouldn't 2528 02:32:16,280 --> 02:32:18,880 Speaker 3: even give you the dribs and drags that they had 2529 02:32:18,920 --> 02:32:22,039 Speaker 3: to start giving us. So this was enough money so 2530 02:32:22,120 --> 02:32:25,360 Speaker 3: that we could change that would be meaningful. In other words, 2531 02:32:25,440 --> 02:32:27,800 Speaker 3: we could buy a summer house, which was meant to be, 2532 02:32:28,480 --> 02:32:30,960 Speaker 3: and we could buy the place we'd been renting for years, 2533 02:32:30,959 --> 02:32:34,879 Speaker 3: a very modest house in Saint John, but beautiful. You know, 2534 02:32:34,920 --> 02:32:37,959 Speaker 3: we're renting it. And so it just happened that people 2535 02:32:38,040 --> 02:32:41,200 Speaker 3: who were we rented it from, we're selling it. So 2536 02:32:41,240 --> 02:32:43,959 Speaker 3: we bought it. You know, it's nothing, it's you know, 2537 02:32:44,000 --> 02:32:47,840 Speaker 3: it's not like a manner in Scotland or something. You know, 2538 02:32:48,400 --> 02:32:51,240 Speaker 3: none of it is very grand, but it's just pretty great, 2539 02:32:51,520 --> 02:32:54,480 Speaker 3: you know. But still you have I've been painting, you know, 2540 02:32:54,560 --> 02:33:00,359 Speaker 3: I started life as a kind of artist. So I've 2541 02:33:00,400 --> 02:33:03,560 Speaker 3: been painting. So I have a painting studio. But this 2542 02:33:03,640 --> 02:33:07,360 Speaker 3: summer I came down with a case of cancer. So 2543 02:33:07,440 --> 02:33:15,959 Speaker 3: I really spent August and September dealing with that. So 2544 02:33:16,360 --> 02:33:18,800 Speaker 3: that was a surprise. You know, I'm seventy eight years old, 2545 02:33:19,240 --> 02:33:21,400 Speaker 3: so there was no reason that I would for me 2546 02:33:21,520 --> 02:33:23,680 Speaker 3: to think that I would escape this kind of thing. 2547 02:33:24,600 --> 02:33:27,560 Speaker 3: But they found, quite by accident, a small leision on 2548 02:33:27,600 --> 02:33:31,720 Speaker 3: my lung, in my lung which turned out after a 2549 02:33:31,760 --> 02:33:36,080 Speaker 3: biopsy to be cancer. I have a wonderful doctor at 2550 02:33:36,879 --> 02:33:41,920 Speaker 3: Mount Sinai, and he went in there and took it out. 2551 02:33:42,160 --> 02:33:45,160 Speaker 3: But still it was major surgery. And I had never 2552 02:33:45,400 --> 02:33:49,039 Speaker 3: had an experience like this, and so I look at myself. 2553 02:33:49,080 --> 02:33:51,960 Speaker 3: I'm so pale. I couldn't swim or anything, do you 2554 02:33:51,959 --> 02:33:54,520 Speaker 3: know what I mean. It really wiped me out. So 2555 02:33:54,560 --> 02:34:00,400 Speaker 3: I did paint. I'm not quite back, so I may 2556 02:34:00,440 --> 02:34:03,240 Speaker 3: paint again. I may. I have a studio here with 2557 02:34:03,480 --> 02:34:05,440 Speaker 3: you know, the paints and the easel in it. I 2558 02:34:05,520 --> 02:34:09,240 Speaker 3: might put right, I moved some of the furniture from 2559 02:34:09,240 --> 02:34:12,440 Speaker 3: New York City, and I might get a couch and 2560 02:34:12,760 --> 02:34:15,720 Speaker 3: go up there with my computer, you know, write something. 2561 02:34:15,760 --> 02:34:16,959 Speaker 3: But I just don't know what to write. 2562 02:34:17,000 --> 02:34:17,200 Speaker 2: Get. 2563 02:34:17,360 --> 02:34:19,160 Speaker 3: I was going to write about my nose job, but 2564 02:34:20,120 --> 02:34:23,199 Speaker 3: just said so dreadful. I just. 2565 02:34:24,879 --> 02:34:28,200 Speaker 2: You know, I can't talk about what you feel internally. 2566 02:34:29,200 --> 02:34:31,279 Speaker 2: But I have not read that book. 2567 02:34:31,920 --> 02:34:35,280 Speaker 3: Which book, the nose job book. You know, a friend 2568 02:34:35,320 --> 02:34:39,320 Speaker 3: out here is a psychoanalyst and he, you know, he 2569 02:34:39,400 --> 02:34:42,840 Speaker 3: has these patients, women you know, have had, has a 2570 02:34:42,840 --> 02:34:45,720 Speaker 3: couple of them, and they come to him and obviously 2571 02:34:45,840 --> 02:34:49,280 Speaker 3: they have nose jobs. But he can't b broach the subject. 2572 02:34:49,560 --> 02:34:52,160 Speaker 3: But they don't bring it up. So it is like 2573 02:34:52,240 --> 02:34:58,360 Speaker 3: this weird subject. And I wrote my thesis actually at 2574 02:34:58,400 --> 02:35:03,000 Speaker 3: IOWA is titled straight Nose, and it was a story 2575 02:35:03,040 --> 02:35:07,680 Speaker 3: about my nose job. But it's so self pitying and yucky. 2576 02:35:08,320 --> 02:35:09,920 Speaker 3: I just don't know how to do it. 2577 02:35:10,000 --> 02:35:11,680 Speaker 2: You know, I'm not telling you what to do, and 2578 02:35:11,760 --> 02:35:12,840 Speaker 2: I can't read about. 2579 02:35:12,600 --> 02:35:15,480 Speaker 3: But I wish you would, would you could. 2580 02:35:15,280 --> 02:35:17,520 Speaker 2: You well believe me, I got that instinct. I can 2581 02:35:17,520 --> 02:35:20,680 Speaker 2: tell you what to do all day long. But the 2582 02:35:20,879 --> 02:35:25,440 Speaker 2: point is, people have plastics. You know, it's one thing 2583 02:35:25,480 --> 02:35:27,760 Speaker 2: if you're in an accident or something. People who have 2584 02:35:27,800 --> 02:35:34,080 Speaker 2: elective surgery, cosmetic surgery, they are always hourly positive about it. 2585 02:35:34,400 --> 02:35:38,600 Speaker 2: Always they say they gave them confidence, the results were good. 2586 02:35:39,120 --> 02:35:41,720 Speaker 2: You never you might hear someone say I got a 2587 02:35:41,760 --> 02:35:44,800 Speaker 2: bad nose job, bad boob job, whatever, you do. Hear 2588 02:35:44,840 --> 02:35:48,800 Speaker 2: those stories, but everyone says how great it is. Not 2589 02:35:48,920 --> 02:35:51,040 Speaker 2: to mention the fact that people get older and then 2590 02:35:51,120 --> 02:35:53,280 Speaker 2: they go on a run of plastic surgery, just like 2591 02:35:53,320 --> 02:35:57,760 Speaker 2: people go on a run of tattoos. So the questions 2592 02:35:57,800 --> 02:36:02,320 Speaker 2: you raise have never been raised in public, you know. 2593 02:36:02,520 --> 02:36:07,000 Speaker 2: So for me, that's a fascinating subject. Having had family 2594 02:36:07,080 --> 02:36:10,879 Speaker 2: members who got those jobs. Believe me, I've heard their story. 2595 02:36:11,200 --> 02:36:15,480 Speaker 2: They have never expressed any regret. If anything, they tell 2596 02:36:15,520 --> 02:36:16,480 Speaker 2: other people to get one. 2597 02:36:16,680 --> 02:36:18,879 Speaker 3: Maybe they're mentally healthy human beings. 2598 02:36:19,280 --> 02:36:20,760 Speaker 2: Nobody's mentally healthy. 2599 02:36:20,800 --> 02:36:22,400 Speaker 3: Do you have to think of that? No, I don't know. 2600 02:36:23,080 --> 02:36:27,840 Speaker 3: If I had a daughter and I have counsels, one 2601 02:36:28,000 --> 02:36:31,840 Speaker 3: person specifically, do not want she got a nose job, 2602 02:36:31,879 --> 02:36:35,480 Speaker 3: and now she's so ordinary, you know, and she was 2603 02:36:35,520 --> 02:36:38,040 Speaker 3: so young when she got it. She's going off to college. 2604 02:36:38,160 --> 02:36:41,600 Speaker 3: You know, she wanted to be pretty. And you know 2605 02:36:43,280 --> 02:36:46,360 Speaker 3: you look at like Piedro Amaldebobar. However, you say it 2606 02:36:46,400 --> 02:36:50,520 Speaker 3: that woman in the Spanish movies with this sernazola, you 2607 02:36:50,600 --> 02:36:52,160 Speaker 3: know that's your face. 2608 02:36:53,000 --> 02:36:57,280 Speaker 2: How about the woman in Fouda. First season of Fouda? 2609 02:36:57,920 --> 02:36:58,600 Speaker 3: Can I watch that? 2610 02:37:00,080 --> 02:37:02,160 Speaker 2: You know, I don't know what kind of show you like? 2611 02:37:02,720 --> 02:37:02,879 Speaker 3: Good? 2612 02:37:03,200 --> 02:37:06,560 Speaker 2: Just Fauta is great. It's an action show, very visceral, 2613 02:37:06,920 --> 02:37:10,600 Speaker 2: and every season is good. If I'm talking about the 2614 02:37:10,640 --> 02:37:16,960 Speaker 2: best shows on streaming television, you know you're talking about 2615 02:37:17,000 --> 02:37:19,920 Speaker 2: Happy Valley, but the latest season wasn't as good as 2616 02:37:19,920 --> 02:37:22,840 Speaker 2: the early stuff. You're talking about the French show The 2617 02:37:23,000 --> 02:37:28,280 Speaker 2: Bureau the Fota is great, but later than that. And 2618 02:37:28,879 --> 02:37:31,560 Speaker 2: you know, the conventional wisdom is the Danes in these 2619 02:37:31,640 --> 02:37:34,080 Speaker 2: relas make the best television, and I would pretty much 2620 02:37:34,080 --> 02:37:34,720 Speaker 2: agree with that. 2621 02:37:35,120 --> 02:37:37,600 Speaker 3: Yeah. No, we went to Copenhagen and did a show 2622 02:37:39,320 --> 02:37:41,720 Speaker 3: with somebody there. You know, we tried to do the 2623 02:37:41,720 --> 02:37:44,480 Speaker 3: American version, so we had that deal. We did do that, 2624 02:37:45,080 --> 02:37:47,840 Speaker 3: and you know, they support their artists over there. All 2625 02:37:47,920 --> 02:37:52,920 Speaker 3: of the artists over there want to come to La experience. 2626 02:37:53,720 --> 02:37:57,680 Speaker 2: You know, there's this phenomenal show on Netflix. They just 2627 02:37:57,680 --> 02:38:01,040 Speaker 2: put out a prequel. Did you watch under Cover on Netflix? 2628 02:38:01,320 --> 02:38:03,320 Speaker 3: Now? Should I see? You know? 2629 02:38:03,440 --> 02:38:06,400 Speaker 2: As I say, this is a little difficult because it 2630 02:38:06,560 --> 02:38:11,280 Speaker 2: veers on your past history in that it is a 2631 02:38:11,400 --> 02:38:19,080 Speaker 2: dope dealer. It's a Belgian show, Belgian Dutch collaboration. But 2632 02:38:19,400 --> 02:38:26,160 Speaker 2: the lead actor is unique. I mean Tony Soprano evidenced 2633 02:38:26,520 --> 02:38:29,920 Speaker 2: and intelligence. This guy does not. This guy streetsmart It's 2634 02:38:30,000 --> 02:38:34,039 Speaker 2: far from dumb, and it's slow and it's tense, whereas 2635 02:38:34,040 --> 02:38:37,959 Speaker 2: the Soprano's more action. So you start by watching Undercover. 2636 02:38:38,400 --> 02:38:42,280 Speaker 2: There are three seasons of Undercover, Okay, Then there is 2637 02:38:42,360 --> 02:38:48,119 Speaker 2: a prequel movie called Ferry fe r r y, then 2638 02:38:48,680 --> 02:38:51,680 Speaker 2: two weeks ago or you know, whenever it's people listen 2639 02:38:51,720 --> 02:38:54,920 Speaker 2: to this. At the beginning of November, they launched a 2640 02:38:54,959 --> 02:38:58,959 Speaker 2: prequel series called Ferry The Series. But it turns me 2641 02:38:59,120 --> 02:39:03,640 Speaker 2: on is in Hens City anxiety. You rarely get that 2642 02:39:04,640 --> 02:39:09,840 Speaker 2: in television. Have you seen the Bureau? No, the Bureau, 2643 02:39:10,480 --> 02:39:13,119 Speaker 2: the Bureau. I mean you got to pay for some channel, 2644 02:39:13,160 --> 02:39:15,720 Speaker 2: I forget. No, we got a lot of stuff, but 2645 02:39:15,840 --> 02:39:17,720 Speaker 2: this is one of those unique channels. I don't know 2646 02:39:17,760 --> 02:39:21,440 Speaker 2: whether it's Mega Hurtz or Sundance now or something. But 2647 02:39:22,160 --> 02:39:27,120 Speaker 2: and this is a legendary show. But at times it's quiet. 2648 02:39:27,240 --> 02:39:31,400 Speaker 2: It's so intense. And in this latest series of Ferry, 2649 02:39:31,480 --> 02:39:34,480 Speaker 2: there are a couple of episodes that are so intense 2650 02:39:35,560 --> 02:39:38,920 Speaker 2: and they don't do the obvious thing. It's it's really good. 2651 02:39:39,400 --> 02:39:42,160 Speaker 3: Okay, I've written all this down. 2652 02:39:42,840 --> 02:39:45,039 Speaker 2: You know, I could go on and on streaming television. 2653 02:39:45,080 --> 02:39:49,879 Speaker 2: I do not find film satisfying anymore. It's, you know, forget. 2654 02:39:50,040 --> 02:39:52,640 Speaker 3: The do what do you watch? I just watching my 2655 02:39:52,720 --> 02:39:56,440 Speaker 3: gizmo in bed. Mitch. Mitch has a big TV down here, 2656 02:39:56,480 --> 02:39:57,360 Speaker 3: but I do it. 2657 02:39:57,560 --> 02:40:02,760 Speaker 2: Okay, you know, just you know, we got a Samsung 2658 02:40:02,879 --> 02:40:06,240 Speaker 2: television in two thousand and seven that was astoundingly good. 2659 02:40:07,200 --> 02:40:09,760 Speaker 2: And four years ago my girlfriend, who watches a lot 2660 02:40:09,760 --> 02:40:12,680 Speaker 2: of televisions, I want to get a new TV, said no, 2661 02:40:12,840 --> 02:40:15,879 Speaker 2: this TV is so good. Blah blah blah blah blah blah. 2662 02:40:16,760 --> 02:40:20,119 Speaker 2: We got this TV that is the standard, the one 2663 02:40:20,120 --> 02:40:27,119 Speaker 2: that everybody has at Hollywood. This lgo led mind blowing, wow, 2664 02:40:27,200 --> 02:40:27,879 Speaker 2: mind blowing. 2665 02:40:28,480 --> 02:40:31,880 Speaker 3: It's like not in a week goes by. When Mitch 2666 02:40:32,040 --> 02:40:35,280 Speaker 3: just says it wants a new TV, It's like, get it. 2667 02:40:35,640 --> 02:40:39,840 Speaker 2: Quest Now there's a Sony. You know, now there's a 2668 02:40:40,840 --> 02:40:42,920 Speaker 2: it used to be forever that was the standard and 2669 02:40:42,920 --> 02:40:45,560 Speaker 2: that's what everybody has. There's a competitive Sony now. But 2670 02:40:45,600 --> 02:40:49,440 Speaker 2: the differences are you know, when you watch in four K, 2671 02:40:50,480 --> 02:40:53,240 Speaker 2: which is only you know, a six percent difference, it's 2672 02:40:53,280 --> 02:40:55,920 Speaker 2: just mind blowing. I mean, as I say, I didn't 2673 02:40:55,920 --> 02:40:59,359 Speaker 2: want a new TV. You know, it's under two thousand 2674 02:40:59,360 --> 02:41:01,640 Speaker 2: dollars if you want sixty five or less if you 2675 02:41:01,640 --> 02:41:03,120 Speaker 2: want to. It's like anything. When you go to like 2676 02:41:03,160 --> 02:41:05,720 Speaker 2: seventy five, you pay an extra grand, but of course 2677 02:41:05,800 --> 02:41:08,240 Speaker 2: get the biggest size you can. I watch a certain 2678 02:41:08,240 --> 02:41:10,400 Speaker 2: amount of stuff on the iPad too. I find it 2679 02:41:10,600 --> 02:41:16,600 Speaker 2: very intimate. But then you know, these screens are big 2680 02:41:16,680 --> 02:41:19,680 Speaker 2: enough that it's like watching the movie. That's all it is. 2681 02:41:20,440 --> 02:41:22,879 Speaker 2: But I'm hearing from people all day long. There's so 2682 02:41:23,000 --> 02:41:25,760 Speaker 2: many opportunities. But to sit in front of the flat 2683 02:41:25,800 --> 02:41:28,360 Speaker 2: screen and get this is another thing makes me crazy. 2684 02:41:28,360 --> 02:41:31,400 Speaker 2: The week by week stuff. It's just fucking insane to 2685 02:41:31,680 --> 02:41:34,640 Speaker 2: marinate in a series. I just probably the thing I 2686 02:41:34,720 --> 02:41:36,360 Speaker 2: like to do most other than go skiing. 2687 02:41:39,400 --> 02:41:41,560 Speaker 3: Skiing. 2688 02:41:41,560 --> 02:41:44,440 Speaker 2: It is a separate conversation, Robin, I think it is. 2689 02:41:45,800 --> 02:41:47,600 Speaker 3: You're not gonna get very far talking. 2690 02:41:48,640 --> 02:41:52,520 Speaker 2: Okay, I'm gonna let the audience off. The look so 2691 02:41:52,840 --> 02:41:54,480 Speaker 2: Rob and I want to thank you so much for 2692 02:41:54,520 --> 02:41:56,760 Speaker 2: taking your time to talk to me and my audience. 2693 02:41:57,160 --> 02:41:59,480 Speaker 3: Well, it's been really fun. 2694 02:42:01,280 --> 02:42:26,560 Speaker 2: Until next time. This is Bob left sids