You're listening to KFI AM six forty wake Up Call with me Amy King on
demand on the iHeartRadio app KFI and KOST HD two Los Angeles, Orange County.
It's time for your morning wake up call. Here's Amy King. Good
morning. It's five o'clock. Straight up. I'm gonna get up, get
your day started. Got a lot going on today, so let's get right
to it. Here's what's ahead on wake up call. Cruise are making progress.
Did I say this is your wake up call? I think I just
skipped right over that. Oh okay, it's Wednesday. By the way.
Cruise are making progress on the nearly sixteen thousand acre fire burning near Gorma,
and the fire is now thirty one percent surrounded. Firefighters are still dealing with
red flight conditions late yet as of late yesterday, but the winds have died
down. They were blowing up to fifty five miles per hour. President Biden
has announced he will take executive action to grant temporary amnesty to more than a
half million illegal immigrants. The plan will protect the immigrants who are married to
US citizens and their kids from deportation. We'll be talking more about the ins
and outs of the executive Action with ABC's Karen travers As coming up in less
than five minutes. Baseball Hall of Famer Willie Mays has died. He spent
most of his twenty two season career with the San Francisco Giants. He racked
up six hundred and sixty home runs and a record tying twelve Gold Glove Awards.
He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in nineteen seventy nine and
is regarded as one of the greatest baseball players of all time. Willy Mays
was ninety three. At the bottom of the hour, we're going to be
talking with the one and only Michael Richards. You know him best as Kramer
from Seinfeld. He has a new book out called Entrances and Exits, and
we hope you'll stick around for that. That's coming up at five thirty.
Let's get started with some of the stories coming out of the KFI twenty four
hour newsroom. A man suspected of hurting a woman during a shooting on a
bus in Baldwin Park has been charged with attempted murder. CHP officer Joseph de
Vila says a fight broke out between two passengers Monday night, one of them
pulled out a gun. He says officers canvassed the area after the guy ran
off. They worked all through the night and we're able to uncover some leads
and ultimately we're able to identify the suspect as Juan Mario Trail, a thirty
year old out of West Covina, California. Divilla said the woman Hurd had
non life threatening injuries and was released from the hospital. Treo is being held
on a million dollars bail. The LAPD chief says he's concerned about a recent
spike in officer involved shooting nomin Nitoi didn't say how many of those shootings involved
fatality. Here to date, there have been sixteen officer involved shootings compared to
twenty twenty three, which only had nine. That's an increase of plus seven.
Joey told the Police Commission yesterday he wants to do a deeper dive on
why that number jumps. He had trans looking at type of weapons are faced
with. Andy says that includes the actions of both the suspects and officers.
Choi says non shooting use of force has been pretty stable. Steve Gregory,
King of I News. Firefighters from La City County and other public safety agencies
are set to form a procession to escort the body of a county firefighter from
the Medical Examiner's office to Forest Lawn Covina Hills Cemetery. Veteran firefighter Andrew Ponchus
was killed last week when a truck that caught fire at a quarry and Little
Rock exploded. Anchis also served in Elmonte, Rosemead, and San Fernando during
his career. The procession today is set to begin at eleven am. Russian
President Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong un have signed a partnership deal that
includes a vow of mutual aid if either country is attacked. Russia's already getting
weapons from North Korea to use in Ukraine. Putin says Russia would not rule
out developing military technical cooperation with North Korea as part of the new deal.
Today is June teenth, and as a newer national holiday, it's a paid
day off for the third time four millions, as the US commemorates the end
of slavery in the US. It actually marks the day in eighteen sixty five
when Major General Gordon Granger and his two thousand Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay,
Texas, and proclaimed that more than two hundred and fifty thousand enslaved black
people in Texas were free, the last slaves in Confederate Territory. It's five
seven on your wake up call. Let's say good morning now to ABC's Karen
Travers. Karen, yesterday we talked about the President getting ready to take executive
action, and then he did it. So let's dive in a bit to
what the plan is. Yeah, he did. You know, two executive
actions yesterday, the most sweeping protections for undocumented immigrants since banking the Obama administration.
This will, in the first one, I should say, we'll impact
about five hundred thousand immigrants, mostly from Mexico, who are married to US
citizen. They will now be eligible to apply for permanent residency through their spouses.
After three years as permanent residents, they can then apply for US citizenship.
The President said that this order would go into effect this summer, so
it's not immediate. They can't start applying today, but later this summer the
process will start getting underway. But a couple of things, you know,
One, they have to show that they've been living in the country for at
least a decade as of yesterday, have not been convicted of a crime.
Only people who are already married now would qualify, not people who are getting
get married in the future or start the process of getting married. And if
you're eligible, then you would then have three years to apply for a green
card. You know, the President really emphasizing that this is about keeping families
together because under current law, if you apply for a green card, you
would have to leave the country, go back to your home country, and
wait out the process. And he really emphasized this doesn't benefit people who recently
came to the US. The White House says that the people who were eligible
for this, that universe of about five hundred thousand that I mentioned, on
average, these people have been in the US for twenty three years, Okay,
And how long does the process normally take, like if they went under
the current law like you just said, where they'd have to leave after applying
and then stay in their country until they got the approval. You know,
we were told yesterday or two days ago. You know that it sometimes can
take up to a decade for you know, for some migrants like that,
you are you leave and it could take that long. So it's quite a
process. And you know that's a process than when you the spouse, husband
or wife is not there then with the family. So what the goal of
this, they say, is to get these people to apply and let them
stay here because, as the President put it, these people have been raising
families, sending their kids to church and school, and paying taxes and they
should be able to wait the process out with their family. Okay. And
then there was another executive action that one was on dreamers. Yeah, that
was on some dreamers. So this would help people who have gone to a
higher education accredited education university and receive that education and have a work offer from
an American employer in their field of study. It helps them more quickly get
a work visa. This is a non immigrant visa, so this isn't a
process towards citizenship, but enables them to get that job with a work visa
because of their education. So helping out some subset of the so called dreamers,
the undocumented migrants who came here as children who are now adults more easily
be able to work here legally. Okay. And we've talked about the path
to citizenship and this when we talked yesterday, we had said that there wasn't
one, but there is one. It just is going to take a little
while. Yeah, for the first part, for that marriage aspect, not
for the dreamer part, but yeah, it does. It would take a
while. So you know, you apply for the Green card, which does
take some time, and then after three years of that as a permanent resident,
then you can apply for US citizenship, which again still takes some time.
Okay, Then real quickly before you go, if it's an executive action,
could it be rescinded? Then if Biden doesn't get re elected. You
know, I think that's a great question in terms of the legality of this.
I would have to look into that. That could not come up in
any of our background calls with the White House. I'd have to check.
Okay, well cool, Then we get to talk to you again and you'll
have an answer for me. Adding it to my list for today. Karen
Travers, thank you so much for your time and information this morning. Thank
you. All right, let's get back to some of the stories coming out
of the KFI twenty four hour newsroom. The LA School Board has moved forward
with plans to ban cell phones on campuses to support students mental health. That
ban would make it so students can't use the phone during class or win at
lunch or on other breaks. Board member Nick Melboyne says the phones are getting
in the way of learning and students can't stay off of You had a vibration
and then you start thinking, oh as an emergency, as a my friend,
am I missing out? You know, we hear a lot from our
students about FOMA. Two board members voted against the ban yesterday, saying we'll
only create more work for teachers who are already stressed. The board will have
one hundred and twenty days to finalize details of the policy before it goes into
effect in January. Chris Adler KFI News LA is asking more landlords to open
their apartments to people with housing vouchers. Mayor Karen Bass and housing officials from
the city and county made a pitch to property owners at a special event at
the California Endowment Offices. Bass said at the meeting yesterday there are about three
thousand people in the city who have vouchers for subsidized rent, but no available
apartments having the vouchers that not being able to have an apartment for individuals.
You can imagine how tough that is. Housing officials set a record. Six
thousand people with vouchers got apartments last year, but the need remains for more
this year. In downtown La Michael Monks KFI News, a man in Oakland's
been arrested for allegedly firebombing a UC Berkeley police car. Police say Casey Gunan
is also suspected of three other arsons on campus, possibly in protest of the
Israel Hamas War. Some students say they're not surprised. That's exactly what protest
is supposed to be, supposed to make people uncomfortable. Groups against the war
reportedly claimed responsibility online for all the fires before Gunan was arrested, admitting it
was retaliation for how other student protesters have been treated. The US has denied
claims by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who says the Biden administration is withholding
weapons deliveries. The White House says only one shipment of weapons has been paused
to Israel, and that was in May. Since Hamas's vicious attack on October
seventh, we've rushed billions of dollars of security assistance to Israel to enable them
to defend themselves, and we're going to continue to provide them with the security
assistance they need again for defense. Pentagon Press Secretary Major General Pat Ryder says
the US government remains committed to Israel's right to defend itself. Kevin Costa says
he hasn't shut the door on returning to Yellowstone, despite earlier news that he
wouldn't be back. Costner told The Today Show he would return under the right
circumstances. Say there's a chance. There's always a chance. I love the
thing. That follows reports of a scheduling conflict as Costner worked on his Western
movie Horizon last year. Costner says he never shot the second half of season
five because there was no script. We lost an entire year at one point,
and I thought, well, that kind ever happened again. The Hollywood
strikes also put things on pause, but part two of the fifth and final
season is on track to premiere in November. Can't wait. We'll see if
John Dutton makes his way back to the ranch. Hey, did you know
that it's casual Friday at the Olympics. A Naboo Jean Ze naboomboojee Ze.
Ruff Loren has come out with the design for Team Usay's opening Olympic ceremony uniforms.
They'll be wearing snappy blue blazers and blue jeans from Ralph Florin just regular
everyday denim blue jeans. Ralph Lauren said it's unexpected yet classic. For the
closing ceremonies, they'll be wearing sharp white Moto style denim jeans with matching jackets
designed in red, white and blue jeans. Really, come on, maybe
you dress up a little bit. No, that's America. That's Murka right
there. Jeans Okay. The La School Board District has passed a plan to
ban cell phones and social media at school. The board passed it yesterday five
to two. It'll take a few months to finalize the policies, and the
band's expected to go into effect early next year. Governor Newsom is apparently refusing
to negotiate new crime bills unless a ballot measure to repeal parts of Prop forty
seven is dropped from the November ballot. CBS News California says the ultimatum is
in a leaked email. Prop forty sive passed by voters reduces thefts of nine
hundred and fifty dollars or less to misdemeanors. The California State Fair will be
the first in the nation to allow the sale and consumption of cannabis, and
exhibition hall will also be dedicated to cannabis. I just heard Cono cheer.
Their visitors will be able to learn more about California's history with cannabis and speak
with farmers from the state's top brands and farms. The California State Fair runs
from July twelfth through the twenty eighth at cal Expo at six oh five.
Is handle on the news. Israel's Prime Minister is calling foul on the US,
claiming it is withholding weapons which is slowing down. It's offensive in rafa.
Right now, let's say good morning to ABC's Michael Dubuski. Good morning,
Michael, Good morning, Amy. How are you good. The US
Surgeon General wants to put warning labels on social media apps. Yeah, that's
right. So this has been a big topic in the tech world all this
week since Vivek Murphy, the US Surgeon General, published this big op ed
in The New York Times on Monday, calling for essentially tobacco style warning labels
to appear on certain social media platforms, and he lays out a pretty frightening
portrait of what specifically young people are going through in the United States with regards
to social media. He lays out a few statistics here. He says adolescents
who spend more than three hours a day on social media face double the risk
of anxiety and depression, and the average amount of time that this age group
spends on social media every day four point eight hours, just under five hours
a day, so obviously a big concern there. He also said almost half
of adolescents say that social media makes them feel worse about their bodies. That's
why he is now calling for these warning labels, which again he sees kind
of acting like the warning labels you see on a packet of cigarettes, kind
of obscuring part of the branding, part of the packaging. These would appear
either in front of certain content or as a pop up or in the feed
on certain social media platforms. Adolescens and their parents about the potential dangers of
the technology they're using. So it just seems I don't know, I've been
hearing about this and you're like, Okay, I get it with the cigarettes
because it's literally a physical thing with the social media apps, and they're all
their friends are on them, and so they're like, of course I'm going
to go on the social media apps. But maybe I don't know, Maybe
it does have an effect because it worked for cigarettes for a lot of people.
Absolutely, it's a very different animal, no doubt. But you're absolutely
right that these warning labels had a big impact on how people smoke in America
after they were introduced about fifty years ago. At that time, more than
forty percent of American adults smoked every day. In twenty twenty one, that
figure was just under twelve percent, so a very dramatic decline after these warning
labels were introduced. Now, of course, other policies and the federal government
made other efforts to curb American smoking habits during that time, and similarly,
vivecmurthy says that this warning label idea is just going to be one piece of
a larger puzzle. It's not going to be a be all and end all
solution. But given the nature of the threat, we have to do something.
Even still, though, we have to what the vecmurthy's idea kind of
precludes is congressional approval. This is not something that he can just do wholeheartedly.
He also says that more action is needed on the policy level. That's
going to require action from lawmakers. As of right now, we don't have
any federal level legislation aimed at addressing this issue of team mental health with regards
to social media. But a few other things that I think are worth pointing
out here. Despite the fact that we hear a lot about the negative impact
of social media on teens and how oftentimes we will see the leaders of these
companies appear before congress answering questions about the impact of their platforms on young people,
there is not a firm scientific link between social media companies and depression or
these negative health symptoms in young people. At the end of last year,
the National Academies of Sciences and Medicine came out with report that sort of accumulated
the results of many studies, and they found that the links between social media
and mental health are small and weak associations. So something is certainly going on,
but the role of social media in that something is still very much up
in the air. Okay, And I would imagine that social media apps or
the owners of the platforms aren't too happy about all this, certainly, and
they have not specifically addressed this warning label idea, but you can imagine that
if this were to move forward in Congress, and there is energy to do
so. Both Richard Blumenthal and Marsha Blackburrin, two senators from across the aisle,
have thrown their support behind this idea. You can imagine that they would
mount a respeech argument, as they have when confronted with other litigation and legislation
that has cropped up on the state and the local level against their platform,
saying that by limiting the reach of our platforms, you are limiting the amount
of communication that can happen between young people. Oftentimes they point to small businesses
that would otherwise not be able to operate on the level that they do well.
The TikTok argument exactly the TikTok argument there, as that platform has made
many times when they've confronted the sort of national security concerns with their platform.
But in addition to that, even the more broad social media landscape makes the
argument that hey, you know, if I'm an LGBTQ team that has grown
up in a community that does not accept me, Well, then I can
find that community on social media and that has been you know, a net
good for society is platforms, would argue, so very thorny issue, no
doubt, obviously. Yeah, and we'll be watching it. But before we
let you go, there is a new EV out on the market. And
if you're a speed dem at this speed demon, this one might not be
for you, but tell us about it. Yeah, that's right. So
I got a chance to have a go on what's called the Honda Moto Compacto
earlier this week. Wait, wait a second, you get to ride it?
I sure did. It is an electric scooter, so you think EV,
you think car, but this is actually a folding electric scooter. And
Amy, I want you to picture like a big pizza box in your mind,
because that's kind of the size and shape of this thing. It's all
white, and the handlebars sort of fold out of the top of it.
The wheels kind of unfurl from the bottom of it. You can fold and
unfold it within the space of a couple minutes. It's a pretty easy job
when you know what you're doing. It's a stand up scooter, so you
sit down. There's a little seat that comes out and you can kind of
put it there. It's got little foot pegs and a handlebar suit kind of
set up and you sit down on a top speed fifteen miles an hour,
so not very fast, but I have to say, if you're riding around
on what is essentially a small briefcase, it does feel pretty fast. You
know. We got a chance to take a ride on it on sort of
the river Promenade here in New York City, a couple of blocks from our
office, and yeah, it gets up there in speed. You were feeling
the wind. It was not so bad on a kind of hot day.
And Honda sees this as a last mile solution. Right, A lot of
people take the train into work, and that doesn't get them all the way
to work, right, they have to walk a little bit to get to
the office, or vice versa. You get the train home and that doesn't
take you all the way home. And instead of buying a now on average
fifty thousand dollars new car to take you those couple miles, well why don't
you buy this one thousand dollars a little scooter and that can kind of get
you there, and once you get to the office, you can fold it
up, bring it in, plug it in, and charge it up for
the ride home. The range is twelve miles and they say it's going to
start around nine hundred and ninety five dollars, a little bit less expensive than
an E bike, a little bit more expensive than an e scooter. Okay,
great, that sounds kind of fun. I don't know that it works
in LA definitely like New York's, but you know, we'll be watching it,
and I can't wait to see HM buzzing around town. Certainly. All
right, Mike Debuski, thank you so much. I have a good one,
all right, you two. Tonight the Dodgers take on the Rockies in
Colorado. First pitch goes out at five forty. You can listen to every
play of every Dodger's game on AM five to seventy LA Sports Live from the
Gallpin Motors Broadcast booth, and you can stream all the games in HD on
the iHeartRadio app Keyword AM five seventy LA Sports. Firefighters from La County,
LA Fire and other agencies will hold a procession to transport a County firefighter to
his final resting place at the Forest Lawn, Covina, Hills Cemetery. He
was killed Friday when part of a burning front loader exploded at a quarry in
Little Rock, southeast to Palmdale. Fifty two year old Andrew Ponchis was a
nineteen year veteran of La County Fire. Some schools in Massachusetts and New York
have switched to a snow day schedule because of the heat wave in the Midwest
and Northeast. Kids are going to be released early to avoid the hottest hours
of the day. The National Weather Service has million we'll see temperatures above ninety
and with humidity and cities like Chicago, Pittsburgh, and DC, it's going
to feel more like one hundred. LA has been named one of the top
ten impossibly unaffordable cities. A new study from Chapman University also put San Francisco,
San Diego, and San Jose on the top ten list based on average
income compared to average home prices. Hong Kong, by the way, number
one on the list at six oh five. It's handle on the news.
President Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong un have announced a deal to protect each
other if either is attacked. AMI on it Aami's on it's on Itami's on
it. What am I on? I'm generally on the couch watching TV or
reading, and I check out streaming movies or movies in theaters, and sometimes
I check out books, and this week we checked out a book. So
let's say good morning now to one of the stars of Seinfeld, three time
Emmy Award winner and now author of the new book Entrances and Exits. It's
Michael Richards. Oh, thank you, Amy. It's a pleasure to be
here. Truly, I am thrilled to talk to you because I have I
don't speed read, but I binged your book, so I've read it pretty
much cover to cover, and I think it gave me such an interesting insight
into you, because when you see an actor on stage or on screen,
you think that's who the person is. And I think this book shows that
there's so much more than that. Yeah, yes, yeah, I think.
So there's the actor that profession of mine, which I put aside for
a while, and there's the person or the face behind the mask. Yes,
yes, indeed, and I certainly got into the face and yes,
yes, yes. Jerry Seinfeld did a foreword of your book and he said
that all of the ingredients that went into the making of Seinfeld were fabulous,
But for him, he said, Michael will always be the bubbles that made
the drink so tickley and tingly. I think that after reading the book,
I see why he said that. Ah, yes, well, thank you,
Jerry. Ye yes, I certainly had a place in the show,
didn't I. You did. And the book is not only about the show.
It's about your life obviously. So for people who are first learning that
you have a book out, tell them what they can expect when they read
Entrances and Exits. Well, we mentioned the face. You'll certainly see the
person behind the television show Seinfeld, actually behind the whole body of work.
An actor. You had so much more than I didn't know about you.
I thought it was really fascinating. There was so much more before Seinfeld and
so much after. Well. Of course, as a human being, the
course of my life unfolding lots of entrances and exits, not just pertaining to
stage work, the actor's entrance and the actor's exit. Although, as Shakespeare
put it, all the world is a stage and we're all playing parts,
so to speak. So the task is to understand your part or the character
you're playing and the nature of your story. So it's a course that I'm
certainly on to this day, nearly seventy five, where I'm looking at the
story that I am. And that was my task in putting the book together,
is to bring about my story so that other could other people could see
this guy that has become so famous through a television character, Well, here's
some more to being the story that I am. Yeah, and when you
wrote that the book, lines from the show come up in the book,
not as quotes, but just as kind of part of the text, which
is and it just happens very naturally, And I really like that because it
then brings you back to the fabulousness that is Seinfeld. And so it's fun
how you just kind of weave that in and out of the story like it's
just part of the vernacular, you know. Yeah, as it continues to
weave in and out of my life, I'll never ever be able to get
rid of that weaving in view of what Seinfeld was and is still all about.
It's running very strong on Netflix, as you know, and as a
whole following that's coming up a new generation of a view. Yeah, So
I'll always be continuing to weave myself in and out of Kramer well. And
it's fun too, because when you when you're explaining things about the show and
just about you, you start getting this great visual, which I think is
what you did so well with writing the book that when you're talking about the
show Man, it takes me right back there and I'm like, yep,
I remember that, I remember that scene. I remember that episode. And
then when you were explaining other situations with other people in your life as you
were growing up that I was like, Okay, so was he like Kramer
then or was he a different form of that? You know I mean?
And because you weaved the two together, yeah, I do. Yet there
are other parts where we see I'm clearly standing apart from the character and the
effort to make people laugh, to bring about laugh the great haha, there
are times where I'm I'm more reflective and looking very very closely at why things
are the way they are and what do I what do I do with it?
How do I make sense out of this and that to understand the course
I'm on ultimately striving for understanding well. And you also learned from this book
that you you like to read and you like to do something thinking and diving,
which again was a surprise because what we know of you Michael is Kramer.
So it's really fun to get to see more sides of you. Oh
I'm I'm I'm touched by that. Uh yeah, yeah, I probe okay,
Yeah, that seems to be the The task in my life is to
ask why. I'll seeking for the meaning of one's I know this sounds huge,
but one's existence. How what's the point of being on this planet and
all that sort of thing. It's and that's seventy five you know, I
mean a reflective period of my life, particularly when I got the cancer,
you know, to understand, well, I live in a field that's full
of life and death and so the two go hand in hand. So I
got deeply involved in in philosophy and religion and psychology to understand the way of
my humanity. Ye yeah, I didn't know about the cancer until I read
the book. So and you're doing good now, yeah? Oh yeah,
yeah I am, yes indeed, yeah, yeah, I got through through
it. Yeah, yeah, I know it's Garry. I'm a fellow cancer
survivor, so I get you. I understand that, but yeah, you
deal with it. You face a lot of stuff and then you move on
with your life. So we all know that there's an event that dramatically changed
the trajectory of your career and your life. Michael, on November seventeenth,
two thousand and six, you got into it with a heckler at a comedy
club. There was a lot going on with the cancelation of your TV show,
and the guy said, of all things, you're not funny, which
led to an escalation. We know the words you said. What we don't
know is the story behind it or what happens next. So is there anything
you feel like saying about it, because otherwise I'll say, you know what,
read the book and learn about it. Yeah, yeah, it's all
in the book. Yeah. Indeed, the before, in the midst of,
and after, it's quite a course to attend to in seeking understanding and
moving on. But not until I get understanding, can I even go to
a place of forgiveness in the forgiving of myself. First comes understanding, then
you can let it go. Then you can move on. And I also
feel too that career, career that's a big word, and we also have
a career in living, so it's not like, well, I'm not working
in Hollywood, so I'm done. There's also the bigger, the bigger career
of just attending to one's life, you know, so stepping back from vocation
and seeing well, who I am I as a person, as a person
before I go to work and take on that kind of activity. There's also
the activity of knowing who the person is, really getting into the what that
reminded me of what you're talking about, getting to know the person is on
part of the book you talked about when going back to Seinfield. When it
first started, you were on the show, you weren't a huge part of
it. You didn't know the backstory of who this Kramer character was. And
what you said is I'm not the main character and that's going to be okay
because I want some time with Kramer. I don't want the focus on this
show. I want to be under the radar while I get to know who
Kramer is. So what did you do to find out who Kramer is?
Oh? Boy, it's a again. I go into this rather deeply in
the book. In the creation of a character, there's a lot to it,
and back to understanding, getting to the way I can understand Kramer as
a character, as an identity that everybody else can identify with everybody getting into
Kramer. There has to be a certain life in the character that I think
people can resonate with, even if it's so unconscious as to why do I
like this Kramer character? Why does he make me laugh? Attending to all
the mannerisms and the movements of this character, it's all manufactured from the standpoint
of creating a character. The way he looks, the way he dresses,
the way he stands around. You know, I really had to get into
these shoes literally finding the right shoes for this character. It was a deep
process, and I think it's well said in the book for actors who are
interested in character building and so forth, I think I'm making a contribute to
the actor's process in performance through through character. Yeah. Well yeah, I
think if somebody is looking to be an actor or learning about it, I
think that you do such a great job just kind of breaking it down and
talking about about again how you meld the two. And then you mentioned the
shoes, and there's a whole section in the in the book about shoes not
only for this character, but for so many others. What was the importance
of shoes. Yes, for me, it's a certain tick of mine.
It's just the way in which I go about feeling comfortable in how the character
stands within his shoes or slides into a room through the shoes. Yeah,
you know. I worked extensively with Stella, who was a remarkable acting teacher,
and Joanne Lynnville look along the way. You know. It's taking a
great deal experience to come to know myself as an actor, my process and
what I go through in order to bring about a character, whether it's on
stage, TV or motion pictures. So I'm an actor and I discovered that
at a very young age. And I talk about how I discovered this,
how I stepped into the complexity of being an actor, which of course is
the complexity of myself as an artist being touched by a talent. I discovered
this and it just opened up my way for entering the world. I think
that began when I was thirteen years old. Up to that point, I
had no real interest in attending school. And when I found drama, oh
my god, I took to it like, as they say, a duck
to water. It's fun when you find your calling, Like it's like,
oh, that's what I'm supposed to do. Yeah, And we all have
a calling and we're all supposed to find it where it comes about, in
what we notice that we're good at or or super interested in. Yeah,
and then the task of unfolding as an individual comes through these callings. I'm
fascinated with that, Amy just fascinated with being human and what a calling is
and how it provokes interest or inspiration or grace or yeah. Yeah, all
right, So Michael, what do you hope people are going to get out
of this book? Because I'm sure after hearing this a lot of people are
going to go get it. What do we hope they'll get out of it?
Yeah? Oh, it's just just the recognition that we're we're all in
this together. Okay, Well, I'm going to tell you, like I
said, I binge read it. Here's what I got that one. You're
immntally talented, thoughtful, you see your struggles. I think you're obviously very
well read and insightful and reflective, and I think you're funny. And I
thank you because I'm I'm I'm deeply touched by everyone's interest in knowing a little
bit about Kramer and about the guy behind it all. Thank you, thank
you well, and thank you because like I said, we all love Kramer.
Everybody knows that. But learning more about what inspired you, you know
what happened when you were thirteen, about your time in the army and your
life, and you know your entrances and your exits. It's really a good
good read. Oh thank you, yeah, thank you so much. It
was four years putting it together and always hoping that I'm I'm saying what I
mean. I think you did. I think you did. Michael Richards,
thank you so much for your time today. I appreciate it a time.
And Amy, thank you, thank you. Amy. The book is Entrances
and Exits, It's Michael Richards, and as I just told him, it's
really an interesting, fun book to read. And if you are a fan
of Seinfeld, a big chunk of it is Seinfeld and it takes you right
back. I want to go watch the series again. This is KFI and
kost HD two Los Angeles, Orange County. We lead local live from the
KFI twenty four hour newsroom. I'm Amy King. This has been your wake
up call. If you missed any wake up call, you can listen anytime
on the iHeartRadio app. You've been listening to Wake Up Call with me Amy
King. You can always hear Wake Up Call five to six am Monday through
Friday on KFI AM six forty and anytime on demand on the iHeartRadio app