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<v Speaker 1>Not any windows.

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<v Speaker 2>Dot any windows anywhere. Marcason, Marcison, you are right.

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<v Speaker 3>You were right.

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<v Speaker 1>People are alike.

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<v Speaker 2>People are alike everywhere. Consider a face that seems etched

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<v Speaker 2>in a permanent state of youthful curiosity, yet carries the

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<v Speaker 2>weight of a thousand lifetimes. You have seen this face before,

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<v Speaker 2>perhaps on a man dead to escape the confines of

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<v Speaker 2>a lunar zoo, or maybe hidden beneath the layers of

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<v Speaker 2>a Simian mask. And you certainly heard him calling the

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<v Speaker 2>name of his tortured butler, Porterfoy. The person I'm talking

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<v Speaker 2>about is, of course, Roddy McDowell. And while his contribution

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<v Speaker 2>to the Fifth Dimension was brief, a single haunting excursion

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<v Speaker 2>into a cosmic cage, he holds the distinction of making

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<v Speaker 2>an indelible mark on the Holy Trinity of rod sailing creations.

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<v Speaker 2>His career was a map of the sailing landscape, a

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<v Speaker 2>journey that led him not only into the Twilight Zone,

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<v Speaker 2>but into the shadows of the Night Gallery and onto

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<v Speaker 2>the shores of Planet of the Apes. But how much

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<v Speaker 2>do we understand about the man behind the masks? I

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<v Speaker 2>recently sat down with Samuel garzabairnsty, the author of an

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<v Speaker 2>upcoming book, Roddy McDowell, An Actor's Life, which chronicles the

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<v Speaker 2>life and legacy of a man whose life was lived

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<v Speaker 2>on the screen. So submitted for your approval, my conversation

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<v Speaker 2>with Samuel Garza Bernstein. Samuel, Welcome to the show. It's

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<v Speaker 2>so good to talk to you. Thank you for coming on.

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<v Speaker 1>Thank you so much for having me.

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<v Speaker 2>Could you maybe introduce yourself to the audience. Tell us

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<v Speaker 2>about some of the projects that you've worked on.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, I'm living in Portugal now, so I can

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<v Speaker 1>say a shamo, miss Samuel Garza Bernstein, saw escritor oor,

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<v Speaker 1>slivos ouma, televisao, cinema etiatro. I don't know what possessed

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<v Speaker 1>me to just say that. Anyway. I'm a writer for

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<v Speaker 1>I write books. I write for television and film and theater.

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<v Speaker 1>I have had a very long career. I have worked

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<v Speaker 1>in television for twenty years. I'll be so. My book,

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<v Speaker 1>Roddy Mcdollan Actor's Life, is coming out at the end

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<v Speaker 1>of May, and I'm writing the fourth series of a

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<v Speaker 1>show called After Forever that's on Amazon.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh cool, okay, all right, So I mean I've been

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<v Speaker 2>looking down some of your books Caesa Romero. That's definitely

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<v Speaker 2>one that I'm going to get to big Batman fans.

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<v Speaker 2>So I will go back and check that out. But

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<v Speaker 2>what inspired you to choose Roddy as the next focus

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<v Speaker 2>for a biography?

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<v Speaker 1>You know, with with any job that you do, there's

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<v Speaker 1>a certain amount of you know, this person suggested, this

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<v Speaker 1>person said they might be interested in buying. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>there's there's you know, there's a real world aspect to it.

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<v Speaker 1>So I was talking with my agent, Lee Sober, and

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<v Speaker 1>he mentioned to me that no one had ever done

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<v Speaker 1>a bio of of Roddy McDowell and someone. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>there's always been these things floating around that his archives

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<v Speaker 1>were closed for one hundred years until after his death.

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<v Speaker 1>And I had sort of vaguely heard that, and I thought, well,

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<v Speaker 1>is that true? So I called up Boston University and

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<v Speaker 1>I went, hey, can I see these archives? And they're

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<v Speaker 1>like sure, come on, And so, knowing that I had

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<v Speaker 1>access to that, pitched we pitched the idea to UH

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<v Speaker 1>to Kensington and lo and behold they said yes and

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<v Speaker 1>I started work.

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<v Speaker 2>So maybe that room awaked in your favor because no

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<v Speaker 2>one else did it.

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<v Speaker 1>In the meantime, Well, I think that did work in

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<v Speaker 1>my favor. But I also think think, you know, everyone

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<v Speaker 1>has always approached this idea of Roddy McDowell as the

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<v Speaker 1>keeper of everyone's secrets, everyone's best friend and all of

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<v Speaker 1>this stuff. I I mean, I fell in love with

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<v Speaker 1>Roddy McDowell when I was like a little kid, and

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<v Speaker 1>I mean I sort of wanted to grow up and

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<v Speaker 1>be Roddy McDowell, like, you know, seeing him on television.

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<v Speaker 1>And I'm never that interested in in the scandal quote

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<v Speaker 1>unquote part of it because to me, it's sort of like, well,

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<v Speaker 1>what are we going to reveal that Elizabeth Taylor liked sex? Oh, newsflash,

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<v Speaker 1>you know that, you know, there's there's there's not a

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<v Speaker 1>scandal kind of aspect to this that resonates with me.

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<v Speaker 1>Whereas really giving the respect to uh, to somebody who

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<v Speaker 1>who did nothing but worked hard his entire life and

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<v Speaker 1>his deserving of our respect and our attention, that made

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<v Speaker 1>me feel very, very satisfied to be able to do that.

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<v Speaker 2>I think in a similar sense for me, Roddy McDowell

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<v Speaker 2>was just one of those people who if you turned

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<v Speaker 2>on the TV and he was on whatever it was,

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<v Speaker 2>you would just immediately warn to him.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah.

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<v Speaker 2>Now I knew nothing about his private life or anything

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<v Speaker 2>like that, because you know, firstly, I was just a kid,

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<v Speaker 2>You're just watching TV. But I understand from you know,

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<v Speaker 2>the notes that you've supplied that in his private life

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<v Speaker 2>people did value his friendship a great deal. So what

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<v Speaker 2>was it about him that made them such a presence

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<v Speaker 2>in people's lives on and off screen? Do you think?

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<v Speaker 1>I think that he was genuinely interested in other people,

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<v Speaker 1>And especially for an actor, that's not always the case,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, you know the old joke about but enough

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<v Speaker 1>about me, what do you think of me? You know,

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<v Speaker 1>it's he was not like that. He was very curious

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<v Speaker 1>about the world. He was very curious about others, and

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<v Speaker 1>he took his friendships and his relationships very very seriously.

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<v Speaker 1>You know. It wasn't that he kept your secret because

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<v Speaker 1>he knew it was scandalous and could get somebody in trouble.

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<v Speaker 1>He kept your secret because he loved you, and you

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<v Speaker 1>trusted him, and he trusted you. And I also think that,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, he was a child star who had quite

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<v Speaker 1>the weight of the world sort of on his shoulders

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<v Speaker 1>from an early age. And I think in that sense

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<v Speaker 1>of being very reactive to what's going on around him. Know,

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<v Speaker 1>I think he really felt like he could see what

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<v Speaker 1>was going on with people, and he could see what

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<v Speaker 1>made what made things better and what made things worse.

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<v Speaker 1>And he decided, I'm going to make things better. So

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<v Speaker 1>he every situation he was in, whether it was meeting

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<v Speaker 1>a new person and having lunch, whether it was starting

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<v Speaker 1>a new job, whether it was whatever he looked for,

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<v Speaker 1>how can I come in here and make this situation

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<v Speaker 1>a little bit better?

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<v Speaker 2>Right right?

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<v Speaker 1>And that's just a really wonderful way I think to

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<v Speaker 1>be in the world.

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<v Speaker 2>So when you're getting to know Roddy, obviously you spoke

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<v Speaker 2>about the archives. Now, I love stories about authors go

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<v Speaker 2>into these archives because the paper trayal I'm not sure

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<v Speaker 2>that it exists in the same way anymore, but it's

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<v Speaker 2>all there. Could you tell us what's there? You know,

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<v Speaker 2>what particular got you excited?

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<v Speaker 1>Well, every piece of paper that Roddy McDowell ever touched

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<v Speaker 1>in his entire life, I mean, his driver's licenses, his

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<v Speaker 1>his acting you know, SAG cards, his I mean just

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<v Speaker 1>everything's there, all the scripts, all the photographs, all the correspondents.

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<v Speaker 1>And it's true, you know, before the advent of inexpensive

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<v Speaker 1>long distance. Everything was on paper, so there are just

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<v Speaker 1>hundreds and hundreds of letters between him and people, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>people like Noel Coward and just the person after person

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<v Speaker 1>after person. You know, of course Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton,

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<v Speaker 1>and but also friends that were not so well known,

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<v Speaker 1>and you really get a sense of how how important

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<v Speaker 1>he took those friendships, you know, really he asked questions

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<v Speaker 1>that were that were that were real, that were meaningful.

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<v Speaker 2>And.

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<v Speaker 1>He never There's a wonderful correspondence that goes on between

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<v Speaker 1>him and the English actor Dirk Boguard and a friend

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<v Speaker 1>of theirs named body Boatwright. She was a film executive

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<v Speaker 1>an agent, and it's wonderful to me that both Dirk

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<v Speaker 1>Boguard and body Boatwright are constantly saying funny things about

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<v Speaker 1>the other one and Roddy never you know, because there

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<v Speaker 1>were copies of Roddy's letters to them. Also, he would

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<v Speaker 1>make copies of his own letters before sending them, so

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<v Speaker 1>and you could see he doesn't divulge to either one

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<v Speaker 1>of them what the other one is saying about, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>what they're saying about each other, and it's nothing, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>it's nothing. Terrible, but it's it's it's just sort of

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<v Speaker 1>the funny kind of catty things that you know, that

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<v Speaker 1>we all would say to each other. And the other

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<v Speaker 1>part about a lot of that correspondence is that it

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<v Speaker 1>was really a lot of it was like being on Facebook.

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<v Speaker 1>It was very much about well, I'm going to be here,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm going to be at the Excelsior and if you're there,

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<v Speaker 1>and then oh, I think that George is going to

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<v Speaker 1>be there, but then Martha's coming and maybe we compare,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, and you know, and what they're eating, what

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<v Speaker 1>they're like. I mean, really, if they he would have

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<v Speaker 1>he would have loved.

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<v Speaker 2>Facebook wild That's brilliant. So I'm going to test your

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<v Speaker 2>memory a little here, Samuel. But I have to ask

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<v Speaker 2>the question, because Roddy is in the Holy Trinity of

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<v Speaker 2>Rod Saling projects, He's in the Twilight Zone, He's in

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<v Speaker 2>the Night Gallery, He's in Planets of the Apes. Is

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<v Speaker 2>there anything in the archives or elsewhere that you can

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<v Speaker 2>specifically relate to rod Sailing or the Twilight Zone.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, I you know, one of the first thing that

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<v Speaker 1>comes to mind for for Planet of the Apes is,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, the detail of Rowdy's script notes I could

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<v Speaker 1>have twentieth century Fox, wouldn't wet me. I was going

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<v Speaker 1>to print the in the biography, just a copy of

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<v Speaker 1>his notes on one page, you know, I mean, it

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<v Speaker 1>was not It wasn't like, you know, I'm going to

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<v Speaker 1>print the whole script or anything. And they get very

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<v Speaker 1>funny about that stuff. But he approached every moment of

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<v Speaker 1>that performance. This is from the original script, the original movie.

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<v Speaker 1>It's no different than doing Shakespeare for him, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>he took it so so very seriously. And the you know,

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<v Speaker 1>the the care with which he approached building a character

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<v Speaker 1>that anybody else might have looked at is like, well,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm playing an ape. I'm not even really an ape.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm a chimpanzee. But you know, the ape sarmon ape,

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<v Speaker 1>and you know, but he didn't look at it that way.

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<v Speaker 1>One funny thing about about the Night Gallery episode is

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<v Speaker 1>that the butler, Ossie Davis, plays the butler in the

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<v Speaker 1>episode that he's in the cemetery, and I think the

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<v Speaker 1>butler's name is Potiphoid. And so William Ragsdale, who did

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<v Speaker 1>Fright Night with Roddy, I interviewed him and one of

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<v Speaker 1>the things he talked about was that he was particularly

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<v Speaker 1>that was maybe the first time he remembered as a

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<v Speaker 1>kid seeing Roddy, and he was just the way that

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<v Speaker 1>Roddy kept calling out to Usye Davis going but Aphar

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<v Speaker 1>pophor so William Raxel would follow Roddy around the set

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<v Speaker 1>calling out, and to Roddy's credit, and he always took

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<v Speaker 1>it with a good deal of grace and laughed about

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<v Speaker 1>it instead of, you know, swatting the kid away and

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<v Speaker 1>saying stop that already, brilliant.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm particularly fascinating then about what you just said about

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<v Speaker 2>his notes about Planets of the Apes, and unfortunately you

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<v Speaker 2>haven't been able to reprint them or have you been

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<v Speaker 2>able to kind of give us a flavor of them

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<v Speaker 2>in the book? You know what kind of things he's saying.

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<v Speaker 4>Yeah, I mean he's really looking at well. The thing

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<v Speaker 4>is with Planet of the Apes he kind of invented

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<v Speaker 4>and was teaching other people how to act with all

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<v Speaker 4>this stuff all over you like, you know, how to

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<v Speaker 4>and so some of it is very technical about you know,

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<v Speaker 4>you know, surprised look and how to like do that

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<v Speaker 4>to you know, in response to this or into that,

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<v Speaker 4>because it got very very technical because you couldn't just

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<v Speaker 4>respond like a person because with all the prosthetics and stuff,

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<v Speaker 4>it didn't it didn't necessarily register.

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<v Speaker 1>So he actually on set was having these kind of

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<v Speaker 1>like little informal acting classes, you know, going, well, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>if you.

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<v Speaker 5>Go like this, if you go like this, you know,

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<v Speaker 5>and you're kind of like with your teeth like this,

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<v Speaker 5>you know, it makes it look like you're, you know,

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<v Speaker 5>doing fear or you're doing this or or It was

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<v Speaker 5>almost kind of like a.

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<v Speaker 1>Back in the silent movie days, they used to publish

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<v Speaker 1>these these very funny instructions on how to act and

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<v Speaker 1>how to make faces and they were like joy terror,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, and and so it was a little like

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<v Speaker 1>that because it was very rudimentary, but you know, kind

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<v Speaker 1>of needs must and he was very very i think,

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<v Speaker 1>very generous in terms of going, you know, this helps everyone. Yeah,

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00:16:26.480 --> 00:16:30.879
<v Speaker 1>you know, this isn't about me protecting my performance. This

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<v Speaker 1>is about making this a better experience for everyone. And

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<v Speaker 1>and you know, people were a little wigged out in

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<v Speaker 1>the well literally and figuratively and in in that shoot.

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<v Speaker 1>And you know, I mean Kim Hunter really struggled with

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<v Speaker 1>with being in the thing. Salmonio in the later one

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<v Speaker 1>in uh, what's that escape? Sal Minio was just like

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00:16:57.519 --> 00:17:01.080
<v Speaker 1>they had to cut his part short because he just

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<v Speaker 1>he couldn't, like, he just freaked out. It was the

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<v Speaker 1>makeup was so confining, and you know, he just it

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<v Speaker 1>really he just couldn't do it for as long as as,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, as he was supposed to.

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<v Speaker 2>That's fascinating because you know, these days Andy Saykis gets

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<v Speaker 2>quite rightly praised as a pioneer for his work in

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00:17:28.359 --> 00:17:31.640
<v Speaker 2>things like Plans of the Age Bought Roddy as this

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00:17:31.759 --> 00:17:34.960
<v Speaker 2>kind of figure helping everyone out saying Okay, this is

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<v Speaker 2>what you do, this is how you look like this.

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<v Speaker 2>That's such a lovely story. I'm glad to have heard

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<v Speaker 2>that from you. Thank you.

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<v Speaker 1>It's part of how I really grew to love this man,

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00:17:45.799 --> 00:17:49.960
<v Speaker 1>because there are just these instances over and over throughout

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00:17:49.960 --> 00:17:56.599
<v Speaker 1>his career where he showed how much he cared about

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00:17:57.440 --> 00:18:01.400
<v Speaker 1>the work as a whole. Yeah, he involved in the work.

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<v Speaker 1>And if if I mean, the one thing that would

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<v Speaker 1>make him, you know, really respond negatively to someone is

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<v Speaker 1>if he felt they had been unkind or rude or

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<v Speaker 1>obnoxious to someone, especially to somebody who couldn't fight back.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, he I mean, he he was world famous

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<v Speaker 1>at the age of twelve. Yeah. As much as his

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<v Speaker 1>career took a lot of ups and down subsequently, he

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00:18:31.160 --> 00:18:36.039
<v Speaker 1>always knew that he was, you know, in our parlance,

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<v Speaker 1>that he was privileged.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, and he was especially concerned that those who are

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<v Speaker 1>not privileged not be taken advantage of. And he he

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<v Speaker 1>was really that way in really all aspects of his life.

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<v Speaker 2>Again, with that level of preparation you talk about, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>fright night, that six page like a biography of the

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00:19:00.039 --> 00:19:02.880
<v Speaker 2>character that he was prior to doing it. And I

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00:19:02.920 --> 00:19:07.000
<v Speaker 2>look down his resume and I do't didn't realize how

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00:19:07.039 --> 00:19:10.160
<v Speaker 2>prolific he actually was even in his later years. This

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<v Speaker 2>just like bang bang bang, credit after credit. I mean,

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<v Speaker 2>did he always give that level of preparation to things.

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<v Speaker 1>I think he did. He Now, when he was a

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<v Speaker 1>little kid, he was curious about everything, but he didn't

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<v Speaker 1>really have technique. He was just a kid.

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<v Speaker 6>Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>And the way that I would describe it is to say,

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00:19:36.079 --> 00:19:39.680
<v Speaker 1>you know, generally speaking, this is a This is very

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00:19:39.799 --> 00:19:46.200
<v Speaker 1>much an overgeneralization, but generally speaking, a child is playing

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00:19:46.359 --> 00:19:49.559
<v Speaker 1>in the moment and playing the text. They're not playing

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of subtext. Usually it's very much like Okay,

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00:19:53.759 --> 00:19:57.000
<v Speaker 1>we're doing this. We're doing this, and if you can

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00:19:57.119 --> 00:20:02.079
<v Speaker 1>keep them kind of mindful and in the moment, you

285
00:20:02.119 --> 00:20:05.319
<v Speaker 1>can get that performance out of them. And he talks

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00:20:05.359 --> 00:20:08.519
<v Speaker 1>about the way that john Ford worked with him on

287
00:20:08.960 --> 00:20:12.799
<v Speaker 1>How Green was My Valley, and it was like, you know,

288
00:20:12.839 --> 00:20:14.839
<v Speaker 1>he referred to it as john Ford playing him like

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00:20:14.880 --> 00:20:18.880
<v Speaker 1>an instrument that he just I mean, he just it

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00:20:19.039 --> 00:20:23.119
<v Speaker 1>was all about sort of responding and reacting in the moment.

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<v Speaker 1>And you know, when he had that those giant eyes.

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<v Speaker 1>So you just go in for close up, you look

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00:20:29.319 --> 00:20:32.680
<v Speaker 1>at his eyes and you're like, boom, you know that's yours.

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<v Speaker 1>It hits you between the eyes. Emotionally, you look at

295
00:20:36.720 --> 00:20:39.160
<v Speaker 1>him and Lassie come home, You look at the dog,

296
00:20:39.480 --> 00:20:43.599
<v Speaker 1>you look at him, you start crying, right So you know, like,

297
00:20:43.720 --> 00:20:45.559
<v Speaker 1>you know, there's not a lot of there's not a

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00:20:45.640 --> 00:20:49.440
<v Speaker 1>lot of technique that's required in those kinds of jobs. Now,

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00:20:49.519 --> 00:20:54.839
<v Speaker 1>as he became an adult, he realized, Okay, now I

300
00:20:54.880 --> 00:20:58.039
<v Speaker 1>have no idea what I'm doing. Like I have, I

301
00:20:58.279 --> 00:21:03.920
<v Speaker 1>have a certain presence that I understand how to kind

302
00:21:03.920 --> 00:21:07.559
<v Speaker 1>of you know, work and how to use on a set,

303
00:21:07.599 --> 00:21:09.480
<v Speaker 1>but I don't really know what I'm doing. And he

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00:21:09.559 --> 00:21:14.720
<v Speaker 1>had to learn how to approach a character really from

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00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:18.559
<v Speaker 1>the bottom up. And he studied, you know, he studied

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00:21:18.599 --> 00:21:22.000
<v Speaker 1>with with Montgomery, Cliff's acting coach, and with some other

307
00:21:22.039 --> 00:21:25.599
<v Speaker 1>acting coaches, and he built a process that made sense

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00:21:25.640 --> 00:21:29.000
<v Speaker 1>to him. And I mean it's a little bit methody

309
00:21:29.319 --> 00:21:32.039
<v Speaker 1>in places, but not really. And it's a little bit

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00:21:32.039 --> 00:21:35.519
<v Speaker 1>of this, and it's a little bit of that. But

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00:21:35.599 --> 00:21:41.279
<v Speaker 1>what he would do is he would map out everything

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00:21:41.400 --> 00:21:45.319
<v Speaker 1>that he thought the character might be feeling and thinking

313
00:21:45.400 --> 00:21:49.039
<v Speaker 1>in response to everyone else, and that would all be

314
00:21:49.200 --> 00:21:53.079
<v Speaker 1>mapped out, and then he would forget it. Like it

315
00:21:53.200 --> 00:21:55.599
<v Speaker 1>was like he would do that work and then be

316
00:21:55.720 --> 00:21:59.759
<v Speaker 1>completely open to it being something completely different if that's

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00:21:59.799 --> 00:22:06.160
<v Speaker 1>what happens. But surrounding himself with all that work, then

318
00:22:06.200 --> 00:22:10.119
<v Speaker 1>he felt I think free to you know, to kind

319
00:22:10.119 --> 00:22:16.079
<v Speaker 1>of respond very in the moment, very organically. And so

320
00:22:16.200 --> 00:22:19.599
<v Speaker 1>it was kind of a way of preparing it all

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00:22:19.799 --> 00:22:24.759
<v Speaker 1>very much outside in and then allowing the inside to,

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00:22:25.480 --> 00:22:28.839
<v Speaker 1>you know, to inhabit the way that it wanted to.

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<v Speaker 2>Fascinating because he just makes it look so effortless, but

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00:22:32.160 --> 00:22:35.519
<v Speaker 2>there's all that work that's that's gone into it. Wonderful,

325
00:22:36.000 --> 00:22:36.480
<v Speaker 2>isn't there?

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<v Speaker 1>Usually for everybody. You know, the more effortless it is,

327
00:22:41.599 --> 00:22:45.680
<v Speaker 1>you know, the more the more hard work went into it.

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00:22:45.759 --> 00:22:47.200
<v Speaker 1>I think for most things.

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<v Speaker 2>You talk about, how Roddy found himself at the heart

330
00:22:52.359 --> 00:22:57.359
<v Speaker 2>of some really big pivotal Hollywood events, you know, Cleopatra,

331
00:22:57.599 --> 00:23:01.960
<v Speaker 2>the passing of Rockwoods, and Elizabeth Taylor's relationship with Sybil

332
00:23:02.079 --> 00:23:06.039
<v Speaker 2>Bett and Christopher. So why what was it about Roddy

333
00:23:06.119 --> 00:23:08.039
<v Speaker 2>that made him kind of be at the center of

334
00:23:08.079 --> 00:23:08.400
<v Speaker 2>all this?

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00:23:09.559 --> 00:23:15.039
<v Speaker 1>Well, I think I never underestimate the power of curiosity.

336
00:23:17.200 --> 00:23:19.119
<v Speaker 1>I think most of us and I don't, you know,

337
00:23:19.200 --> 00:23:20.920
<v Speaker 1>like I'm not putting the figure out other people. I'll

338
00:23:20.920 --> 00:23:22.720
<v Speaker 1>put the favorite myself, you know. I think most of

339
00:23:22.759 --> 00:23:26.799
<v Speaker 1>us we're like, we're curious about ourselves, you know, we

340
00:23:26.839 --> 00:23:30.519
<v Speaker 1>want to talk about our own stuff. And it's rare.

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00:23:30.680 --> 00:23:37.039
<v Speaker 1>I think when somebody is smart and funny and curious about, well,

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00:23:37.200 --> 00:23:38.680
<v Speaker 1>what do you really think?

343
00:23:39.599 --> 00:23:39.720
<v Speaker 3>Not?

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00:23:40.319 --> 00:23:43.440
<v Speaker 1>You know, not what do I think you think? So

345
00:23:43.480 --> 00:23:46.519
<v Speaker 1>that I can then come up with my smart, funny response.

346
00:23:47.359 --> 00:23:52.559
<v Speaker 1>I mean I think a lot of conversations, certainly. I mean,

347
00:23:52.599 --> 00:23:55.119
<v Speaker 1>I've been in the entertainment business my whole life, since

348
00:23:55.160 --> 00:24:00.799
<v Speaker 1>i was a little kid, and you know, most conversations are.

349
00:24:01.799 --> 00:24:04.440
<v Speaker 1>You know, one person is nodding their head, thinking up

350
00:24:04.480 --> 00:24:06.680
<v Speaker 1>the next clever thing that they're going to say. When

351
00:24:06.720 --> 00:24:08.279
<v Speaker 1>the other person takes a breath.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, yeah, and you know.

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<v Speaker 1>It's he just didn't want to live that way. And

354
00:24:17.279 --> 00:24:21.079
<v Speaker 1>he was a great storyteller, Like he remembered everything, and

355
00:24:21.319 --> 00:24:28.200
<v Speaker 1>he remembered everything about about about Hollywood and about you know,

356
00:24:28.400 --> 00:24:32.559
<v Speaker 1>the careers of people that he admired, and so you know,

357
00:24:32.799 --> 00:24:35.599
<v Speaker 1>he could meet you and tell you things about your

358
00:24:35.759 --> 00:24:40.880
<v Speaker 1>own work that you'd forgotten, you know, or or had

359
00:24:40.920 --> 00:24:43.000
<v Speaker 1>been too drunk to remember. I mean, don't forget. He

360
00:24:43.039 --> 00:24:45.839
<v Speaker 1>was hanging around with people like Richard Burton and Rex Harrison.

361
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<v Speaker 1>There was a lot of drinking going up, so you know,

362
00:24:48.839 --> 00:24:51.839
<v Speaker 1>he could remind Richard Burton how funny he had been

363
00:24:52.000 --> 00:24:54.279
<v Speaker 1>that night when he said you know this or that

364
00:24:54.480 --> 00:25:01.000
<v Speaker 1>or whatever. And I think he liked making people feel scene,

365
00:25:02.240 --> 00:25:04.319
<v Speaker 1>you know, I mean, that's that's how we that's how

366
00:25:04.359 --> 00:25:06.359
<v Speaker 1>we put it now. I think, you know, in his day,

367
00:25:06.400 --> 00:25:08.680
<v Speaker 1>you didn't talk about you know, I want to feel

368
00:25:08.759 --> 00:25:12.079
<v Speaker 1>seen or I want to but I think those that

369
00:25:12.279 --> 00:25:15.480
<v Speaker 1>was really one of his special gifts. You know, I

370
00:25:15.519 --> 00:25:20.079
<v Speaker 1>talked to Eleana Douglas and she was very close with

371
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<v Speaker 1>with Roddy and he gave her away at her wedding

372
00:25:24.759 --> 00:25:30.839
<v Speaker 1>to Jonathan axel Rod in the nineties and she was like,

373
00:25:31.960 --> 00:25:37.640
<v Speaker 1>he just got me, Like he we met and he

374
00:25:37.759 --> 00:25:41.880
<v Speaker 1>looked at me, and I felt like he saw everything

375
00:25:42.559 --> 00:25:45.559
<v Speaker 1>that I was and everything that I hoped to become.

376
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<v Speaker 1>And you know, and he wasn't interested in, you know,

377
00:25:53.200 --> 00:25:56.319
<v Speaker 1>telling you that you couldn't be what you wanted to be.

378
00:25:57.519 --> 00:25:59.720
<v Speaker 1>He wanted to find a way to help you become

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00:25:59.759 --> 00:26:03.240
<v Speaker 1>what ever it is that you that you thought you

380
00:26:03.240 --> 00:26:07.839
<v Speaker 1>could become. And uh, and it's really you know, I

381
00:26:08.279 --> 00:26:11.160
<v Speaker 1>interviewed a lot of people because unlike some of the

382
00:26:11.200 --> 00:26:14.000
<v Speaker 1>other people that I've written about, Roddy was sort of

383
00:26:14.079 --> 00:26:20.279
<v Speaker 1>multi generational. So in his older years he was still

384
00:26:20.680 --> 00:26:25.200
<v Speaker 1>making friends and putting you know, bridges out to younger generations,

385
00:26:25.440 --> 00:26:28.240
<v Speaker 1>where like you know, Caesar wasn't doing that. I've written

386
00:26:28.240 --> 00:26:30.759
<v Speaker 1>about John Crawford, she really wasn't doing that, you know,

387
00:26:30.880 --> 00:26:35.039
<v Speaker 1>like they were not interested in doing that. So when

388
00:26:35.039 --> 00:26:37.960
<v Speaker 1>it came down to to write those books, there weren't

389
00:26:38.000 --> 00:26:42.200
<v Speaker 1>a lot of people left, you know, that really remembered them. Roddy.

390
00:26:43.200 --> 00:26:45.720
<v Speaker 1>Tons of people are around and I mean, I spoke

391
00:26:45.759 --> 00:26:48.920
<v Speaker 1>with Chris Sarandon and William Ragsdale and Joanna Gleason and

392
00:26:49.359 --> 00:26:54.319
<v Speaker 1>you know, all of these people and everyone. I think,

393
00:26:55.559 --> 00:26:59.000
<v Speaker 1>I don't know if it's everyone everyone, but I think

394
00:26:59.039 --> 00:27:02.000
<v Speaker 1>I but in my mind, I think it's actually everyone

395
00:27:02.039 --> 00:27:05.839
<v Speaker 1>that I spoke with started crying when they talked about Roddy,

396
00:27:06.119 --> 00:27:09.200
<v Speaker 1>but tears of joy. Not like they weren't like, they

397
00:27:09.240 --> 00:27:12.640
<v Speaker 1>weren't like sad, they were just like it made them

398
00:27:12.839 --> 00:27:19.720
<v Speaker 1>feel so much to remember how special they felt in

399
00:27:19.799 --> 00:27:24.319
<v Speaker 1>his presence. And I think that is an enormous gift

400
00:27:25.359 --> 00:27:30.039
<v Speaker 1>of you know, right now, a number of people that

401
00:27:31.039 --> 00:27:36.119
<v Speaker 1>were not necessarily willing to talk to me when I

402
00:27:36.200 --> 00:27:40.480
<v Speaker 1>was writing are now coming forward because they can read

403
00:27:40.519 --> 00:27:43.039
<v Speaker 1>the book and see that it's not you know, it's

404
00:27:43.119 --> 00:27:47.039
<v Speaker 1>not doing anything. You know, I'm not you know, trying

405
00:27:47.079 --> 00:27:50.960
<v Speaker 1>to make a big scandal out of something. And you know,

406
00:27:51.119 --> 00:27:56.240
<v Speaker 1>people like Carol Burnett and Julie Andrews and they're really

407
00:27:57.359 --> 00:27:59.759
<v Speaker 1>you know, I am told so I don't know this

408
00:27:59.839 --> 00:28:03.160
<v Speaker 1>for fact yet, but I am told that, you know

409
00:28:03.359 --> 00:28:06.519
<v Speaker 1>that they're sort of loving the book and ready to

410
00:28:07.359 --> 00:28:14.319
<v Speaker 1>talk about it themselves because he was so special to them. Yeah,

411
00:28:15.319 --> 00:28:19.599
<v Speaker 1>you know, and it really is like that human. Sure

412
00:28:19.799 --> 00:28:23.079
<v Speaker 1>they respect his achievements and they want to see him

413
00:28:23.160 --> 00:28:27.279
<v Speaker 1>known for those achievements, but they just they loved him.

414
00:28:27.400 --> 00:28:33.960
<v Speaker 1>I mean Melissa Rivers, she Joan Rivers and Roddy were close,

415
00:28:33.960 --> 00:28:36.440
<v Speaker 1>and Melissa read the book and she was just like,

416
00:28:37.240 --> 00:28:39.519
<v Speaker 1>you know, I loved him and he was my godfather,

417
00:28:39.759 --> 00:28:42.200
<v Speaker 1>and I didn't know half this stuff, and it just

418
00:28:42.279 --> 00:28:46.519
<v Speaker 1>makes me love him even more to be able to

419
00:28:46.720 --> 00:28:49.880
<v Speaker 1>know these because he was somebody who lived very much

420
00:28:49.920 --> 00:28:53.039
<v Speaker 1>in the present, So he wasn't going on about you know,

421
00:28:53.119 --> 00:28:56.279
<v Speaker 1>this thing happened to me in nineteen forty six, you know,

422
00:28:56.319 --> 00:29:00.920
<v Speaker 1>with little Melissa Rivers when she's ten, you know. And

423
00:29:01.599 --> 00:29:05.160
<v Speaker 1>so so it's kind of a way that they're discovering

424
00:29:05.240 --> 00:29:09.319
<v Speaker 1>bits about his past that that that brings them close

425
00:29:09.400 --> 00:29:10.160
<v Speaker 1>to him as well.

426
00:29:10.799 --> 00:29:14.359
<v Speaker 2>So I wasn't aware until I actually read the material

427
00:29:14.400 --> 00:29:16.960
<v Speaker 2>about your book that Roddy was actually a gay man.

428
00:29:17.880 --> 00:29:21.160
<v Speaker 2>You know, for some people, especially during his you know,

429
00:29:21.240 --> 00:29:24.079
<v Speaker 2>most famous years. I suppose I could be you know,

430
00:29:24.279 --> 00:29:29.119
<v Speaker 2>career ending thing. People navigated that in various ways. How

431
00:29:29.160 --> 00:29:30.319
<v Speaker 2>did Roddy navigate it?

432
00:29:31.039 --> 00:29:33.160
<v Speaker 1>Well, I think it was lucky for him to a

433
00:29:33.279 --> 00:29:37.519
<v Speaker 1>degree that that he wasn't a leading man as an adult.

434
00:29:38.200 --> 00:29:41.000
<v Speaker 1>I mean he had some leading man characters.

435
00:29:41.039 --> 00:29:43.480
<v Speaker 3>I don't mean he wasn't the lead in anything, but

436
00:29:43.599 --> 00:29:47.440
<v Speaker 3>he wasn't you know, he wasn't in that in the sixties,

437
00:29:47.519 --> 00:29:51.359
<v Speaker 3>Like he wasn't George Papard or or you know, Robert

438
00:29:51.400 --> 00:29:52.279
<v Speaker 3>Redford or somebody.

439
00:29:52.359 --> 00:29:56.640
<v Speaker 1>He wasn't primarily a romantic lead. So I don't think

440
00:29:56.640 --> 00:30:00.440
<v Speaker 1>people were as interested in his personal life, so he

441
00:30:00.519 --> 00:30:06.200
<v Speaker 1>didn't really have to manufacture one. He Uh. One of

442
00:30:06.240 --> 00:30:10.119
<v Speaker 1>the one of the happiest discoveries that I that I

443
00:30:10.200 --> 00:30:14.960
<v Speaker 1>made in the archives was that throughout all of the

444
00:30:14.960 --> 00:30:20.599
<v Speaker 1>correspondence with his with his friends, with his family, uh,

445
00:30:21.000 --> 00:30:23.440
<v Speaker 1>not with his mother, but with everybody else in his

446
00:30:23.480 --> 00:30:29.599
<v Speaker 1>family and with agents and studio execs and directors and

447
00:30:29.640 --> 00:30:36.720
<v Speaker 1>other actors, his relationships were completely normalized. So you know,

448
00:30:37.759 --> 00:30:40.279
<v Speaker 1>when he was he had a long term relationship with

449
00:30:40.319 --> 00:30:46.599
<v Speaker 1>a man named John Varva Valvi. I'm sorry, in the sixties,

450
00:30:46.880 --> 00:30:51.480
<v Speaker 1>and you know, every letter from the agent or from

451
00:30:51.559 --> 00:30:54.400
<v Speaker 1>twenty century Fox, every letter was like, give my love

452
00:30:54.440 --> 00:30:57.599
<v Speaker 1>to John. John sent me the funniest card the other day.

453
00:30:57.759 --> 00:31:00.960
<v Speaker 1>Tell him it made me laugh. You know, just all

454
00:31:01.079 --> 00:31:06.319
<v Speaker 1>the regular day to day normal things that I think

455
00:31:07.920 --> 00:31:11.000
<v Speaker 1>I think those are among the most important things in

456
00:31:11.119 --> 00:31:16.759
<v Speaker 1>terms of normalizing one's relationships. That, you know, I don't

457
00:31:16.759 --> 00:31:19.119
<v Speaker 1>think it's so important that everyone can talk about their

458
00:31:19.160 --> 00:31:22.160
<v Speaker 1>sex life, but I think it's very important that they

459
00:31:22.160 --> 00:31:27.440
<v Speaker 1>can talk about their you know, their home life, their

460
00:31:27.480 --> 00:31:31.839
<v Speaker 1>partnerships there, you know, those kinds of things. And so

461
00:31:33.079 --> 00:31:38.359
<v Speaker 1>of the three relationships that I was able to you know,

462
00:31:38.480 --> 00:31:41.799
<v Speaker 1>kind of piece together through correspondence and stuff, all three

463
00:31:41.839 --> 00:31:47.359
<v Speaker 1>of those relationships were long term, were accepted by everyone

464
00:31:47.400 --> 00:31:50.839
<v Speaker 1>in his life. And uh, there was no you know,

465
00:31:50.880 --> 00:31:52.039
<v Speaker 1>there was no scandal.

466
00:31:52.480 --> 00:31:53.880
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, just wasn't a big deal.

467
00:31:54.599 --> 00:31:59.960
<v Speaker 1>No, And uh and I actually i'm very I'm there,

468
00:32:00.039 --> 00:32:03.400
<v Speaker 1>very adamant that I don't feel that, you know, I

469
00:32:03.440 --> 00:32:07.319
<v Speaker 1>don't feel like i'm outing Roddy McDowell, you know, like

470
00:32:07.599 --> 00:32:11.759
<v Speaker 1>I'm I'm First of all, he left his archives knowing

471
00:32:11.839 --> 00:32:15.119
<v Speaker 1>someone would read them. Sure, So if he didn't want

472
00:32:15.640 --> 00:32:18.880
<v Speaker 1>any of that information out there at any moment, he

473
00:32:18.880 --> 00:32:21.759
<v Speaker 1>could have destroyed any of it. So I feel like

474
00:32:22.400 --> 00:32:29.039
<v Speaker 1>there's a tacit approval of anything that is written about

475
00:32:29.240 --> 00:32:32.720
<v Speaker 1>from his own archives because he saved them, and he

476
00:32:32.839 --> 00:32:35.599
<v Speaker 1>saved them so that someone could research them. You know,

477
00:32:35.640 --> 00:32:39.119
<v Speaker 1>they're not they're not in an archive just you know,

478
00:32:39.200 --> 00:32:46.160
<v Speaker 1>to look pretty and be there. But it it, it

479
00:32:46.319 --> 00:32:49.640
<v Speaker 1>just made me very happy because it I you know,

480
00:32:49.680 --> 00:32:52.960
<v Speaker 1>you hate the idea of imagining that someone was sort

481
00:32:52.960 --> 00:32:57.920
<v Speaker 1>of tormented or felt badly about things or something, and

482
00:32:57.960 --> 00:33:01.920
<v Speaker 1>it doesn't seem that he did. And there's an there's

483
00:33:01.960 --> 00:33:05.680
<v Speaker 1>a very weird, uh sort of subplot that goes out

484
00:33:05.720 --> 00:33:10.200
<v Speaker 1>in the fifties though he his therapist at one point

485
00:33:10.720 --> 00:33:17.359
<v Speaker 1>was the same therapist who ended up writing about Sybil,

486
00:33:18.440 --> 00:33:21.559
<v Speaker 1>you know, the the most the slip personality, Sally Field.

487
00:33:22.319 --> 00:33:29.839
<v Speaker 1>All of that well, Doctor Wilbur wrote a not very

488
00:33:29.880 --> 00:33:35.680
<v Speaker 1>particularly disguised version of Roddy's case file that was printed

489
00:33:35.759 --> 00:33:41.000
<v Speaker 1>in a national magazine, and at the time it was

490
00:33:41.200 --> 00:33:47.839
<v Speaker 1>not necessarily I haven't been able to discover any anybody

491
00:33:47.880 --> 00:33:52.240
<v Speaker 1>putting those pieces together at the time, like publicly at

492
00:33:52.319 --> 00:33:57.039
<v Speaker 1>any rate. Now Roddy knew about it, and he did

493
00:33:57.079 --> 00:33:59.799
<v Speaker 1>not write about it in his archives, but I can

494
00:34:00.039 --> 00:34:04.599
<v Speaker 1>only imagine that he would have felt completely betrayed.

495
00:34:04.799 --> 00:34:05.440
<v Speaker 2>Absolutely.

496
00:34:05.599 --> 00:34:09.800
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, And doctor Wilber was kind of part of a

497
00:34:10.000 --> 00:34:14.559
<v Speaker 1>kind of conversion therapy kind of idea that that in

498
00:34:14.639 --> 00:34:18.159
<v Speaker 1>the fifties to be fair to her would not have

499
00:34:18.280 --> 00:34:21.960
<v Speaker 1>seemed a bad idea to most people, Like most people

500
00:34:22.000 --> 00:34:24.079
<v Speaker 1>would have thought, well, that's yeah, you want to make

501
00:34:24.159 --> 00:34:28.079
<v Speaker 1>you know, make people, you know normal. So I don't

502
00:34:28.079 --> 00:34:33.079
<v Speaker 1>want to vilify her for that being something that was

503
00:34:33.280 --> 00:34:35.920
<v Speaker 1>that was on her sort of agenda, but I will

504
00:34:36.079 --> 00:34:41.239
<v Speaker 1>vilify her for for betraying is his trust that way,

505
00:34:41.639 --> 00:34:46.440
<v Speaker 1>and it left him I think maybe in some ways

506
00:34:47.039 --> 00:34:50.320
<v Speaker 1>feeling very vulnerable, and he certainly couldn't sewer, because to

507
00:34:50.400 --> 00:34:53.119
<v Speaker 1>sewer would be to drag out in public that yes,

508
00:34:53.199 --> 00:34:53.679
<v Speaker 1>this is me.

509
00:34:54.159 --> 00:34:54.360
<v Speaker 2>Yeah.

510
00:34:54.440 --> 00:34:55.119
<v Speaker 6>Yeah.

511
00:34:55.679 --> 00:34:59.719
<v Speaker 1>But maybe once that moment had passed, and that would

512
00:34:59.719 --> 00:35:05.559
<v Speaker 1>have been I think around fifty eight, maybe, you know,

513
00:35:05.599 --> 00:35:08.320
<v Speaker 1>maybe with that, with that moment past, I think maybe

514
00:35:08.360 --> 00:35:11.119
<v Speaker 1>it gave him a little bit even more sense of

515
00:35:11.239 --> 00:35:15.519
<v Speaker 1>like fearlessness. You know, well, you know, if you can

516
00:35:15.559 --> 00:35:17.480
<v Speaker 1>get through that, then I guess nothing terrible is going

517
00:35:17.559 --> 00:35:24.079
<v Speaker 1>to happen. I mean, he's in a truly terrible movie

518
00:35:24.119 --> 00:35:28.719
<v Speaker 1>called Angel Angel Down we go in the late sixties

519
00:35:29.440 --> 00:35:35.079
<v Speaker 1>with Jordan Christopher Sybil Burton, Christopher's husband who was kind

520
00:35:35.079 --> 00:35:38.480
<v Speaker 1>of a nominal rock star and actor of the era.

521
00:35:38.960 --> 00:35:42.000
<v Speaker 1>So he's playing this this sort of rock star and

522
00:35:42.400 --> 00:35:48.159
<v Speaker 1>Robbie's playing this pan sexual kind of a hanger on

523
00:35:48.400 --> 00:35:51.639
<v Speaker 1>who has a whole monologue about how he doesn't care

524
00:35:53.039 --> 00:35:55.039
<v Speaker 1>and he's half naked most of the time, and he

525
00:35:55.119 --> 00:35:58.519
<v Speaker 1>does this whole monologue about how he'll sleep with anybody

526
00:35:58.840 --> 00:36:01.119
<v Speaker 1>that appeals to him and he doesn't care what their

527
00:36:01.239 --> 00:36:07.960
<v Speaker 1>gender is. And I'm like this, Wow. I mean, I

528
00:36:08.000 --> 00:36:10.639
<v Speaker 1>wish it were a better movie, because it's kind of crazy.

529
00:36:10.719 --> 00:36:13.400
<v Speaker 1>It's a crazily bad movie. It's Jennifer Jones. I think

530
00:36:13.440 --> 00:36:17.760
<v Speaker 1>it was the last movie, and that the lesbian focusing

531
00:36:17.800 --> 00:36:21.360
<v Speaker 1>are holly near is in it. It's just it's one

532
00:36:21.360 --> 00:36:24.639
<v Speaker 1>of those weird show business mashups where you just got

533
00:36:24.719 --> 00:36:28.079
<v Speaker 1>to go. I don't know what anyone was thinking. This

534
00:36:28.280 --> 00:36:31.320
<v Speaker 1>was a good idea, but it certainly didn't work.

535
00:36:32.000 --> 00:36:37.079
<v Speaker 2>So Roddy died in nineteen ninety eight, I believe, and

536
00:36:38.639 --> 00:36:41.159
<v Speaker 2>I'm gonna I'm going to tell you about my interaction

537
00:36:41.239 --> 00:36:43.000
<v Speaker 2>with him. You can use this in your next book

538
00:36:43.039 --> 00:36:46.519
<v Speaker 2>if you want. No such as it is. I don't

539
00:36:46.519 --> 00:36:49.199
<v Speaker 2>think anyone's going to write about this one. But in

540
00:36:49.280 --> 00:36:52.119
<v Speaker 2>nineteen ninety six, I was working in New York, and

541
00:36:52.519 --> 00:36:55.719
<v Speaker 2>I believe that Roddy was living in Sagharbor at that

542
00:36:55.800 --> 00:36:59.400
<v Speaker 2>time on Long Island, and I was working in a

543
00:36:59.440 --> 00:37:04.239
<v Speaker 2>restaurant in Sag Harbor, and I'm not sure what it was,

544
00:37:04.280 --> 00:37:06.880
<v Speaker 2>but for some reason I ran out of that restaurant.

545
00:37:06.960 --> 00:37:11.079
<v Speaker 2>I was the reason why I ran out, I cannot remember.

546
00:37:11.960 --> 00:37:14.440
<v Speaker 2>But when I came back, one of the chefs said

547
00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:17.440
<v Speaker 2>to me, do you realize who you just nearly knocked

548
00:37:17.440 --> 00:37:19.800
<v Speaker 2>over and then out of this place? And I'm like no,

549
00:37:20.199 --> 00:37:22.840
<v Speaker 2>And it's like you nearly just knocked over Roddy McDowell.

550
00:37:23.400 --> 00:37:26.400
<v Speaker 2>And first of all, I was devastated that I nearly

551
00:37:26.440 --> 00:37:30.199
<v Speaker 2>knocked him over. You know, I we never collided or

552
00:37:30.239 --> 00:37:32.400
<v Speaker 2>anything like that. I must have just ran past them

553
00:37:32.440 --> 00:37:36.920
<v Speaker 2>really fast. And secondly, I was devastated that I missed

554
00:37:36.920 --> 00:37:40.320
<v Speaker 2>my chance to meet Roddy McDowell, or you know, at

555
00:37:40.400 --> 00:37:42.760
<v Speaker 2>least I was within a couple of feet of them.

556
00:37:43.119 --> 00:37:44.719
<v Speaker 2>That's my Roddy mcdell's story.

557
00:37:45.480 --> 00:37:49.960
<v Speaker 1>Well, he was there actually the I can't remember the

558
00:37:50.039 --> 00:37:52.280
<v Speaker 1>name of the theater. I think it's the Bay Street Theater.

559
00:37:52.519 --> 00:37:52.679
<v Speaker 6>Yeah.

560
00:37:52.760 --> 00:37:56.079
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, he was very involved with that theater. So he

561
00:37:56.119 --> 00:37:59.159
<v Speaker 1>didn't live there, but he sometimes spent quite a lot

562
00:37:59.199 --> 00:38:01.880
<v Speaker 1>of time there and he did do things at the

563
00:38:01.880 --> 00:38:05.320
<v Speaker 1>theater and so you could find him there in the summers.

564
00:38:05.880 --> 00:38:09.840
<v Speaker 2>Obviously very sadly, you know, we passed away from cancer.

565
00:38:10.480 --> 00:38:14.559
<v Speaker 2>And I understand this is something that he kept to himself.

566
00:38:14.800 --> 00:38:16.800
<v Speaker 2>I mean, what's the story there.

567
00:38:17.320 --> 00:38:22.480
<v Speaker 1>It really it was fast. I mean, even though I

568
00:38:22.480 --> 00:38:24.559
<v Speaker 1>mean it's not he did keep it to himself, but

569
00:38:24.679 --> 00:38:27.760
<v Speaker 1>it was a fast thing. He was doing six shows

570
00:38:27.800 --> 00:38:32.679
<v Speaker 1>a week, seven shows a week at Madison Square Garden

571
00:38:32.800 --> 00:38:37.119
<v Speaker 1>in front of six thousand people, you know, doing a

572
00:38:37.239 --> 00:38:43.639
<v Speaker 1>Christmas Carol and he was alternating with Oh my gosh,

573
00:38:43.639 --> 00:38:46.920
<v Speaker 1>it slipped my mind. Oh how hal London they were.

574
00:38:47.119 --> 00:38:53.119
<v Speaker 1>They were alternating the role of Scrooge, and he he

575
00:38:53.280 --> 00:38:58.960
<v Speaker 1>struggled lifting tiny tim okay, and he like he he

576
00:38:59.039 --> 00:39:02.719
<v Speaker 1>wrenched something in back and he thought, oh, you know,

577
00:39:02.840 --> 00:39:04.360
<v Speaker 1>like I'm going to have to get that looked at.

578
00:39:04.599 --> 00:39:08.239
<v Speaker 1>And so that was you know, they closed the run,

579
00:39:09.079 --> 00:39:13.880
<v Speaker 1>I guess January first, and he went back to California,

580
00:39:14.079 --> 00:39:17.800
<v Speaker 1>went to his chiropractor, didn't help. He went to you know,

581
00:39:17.840 --> 00:39:22.480
<v Speaker 1>his massage therapist really didn't help. And he had late

582
00:39:22.519 --> 00:39:29.280
<v Speaker 1>stage lung cancer and you know, he it was diagnosed

583
00:39:29.360 --> 00:39:34.840
<v Speaker 1>I think in February, and he kept it to himself

584
00:39:34.960 --> 00:39:40.880
<v Speaker 1>until about I think it started getting out in about September,

585
00:39:42.360 --> 00:39:44.320
<v Speaker 1>and so he did keep it to himself for about

586
00:39:44.360 --> 00:39:49.440
<v Speaker 1>six months. And you know, it was appro He worked constantly,

587
00:39:50.039 --> 00:39:52.960
<v Speaker 1>you know, I mean constantly, he was traveling. There was

588
00:39:53.039 --> 00:39:56.480
<v Speaker 1>a I don't remember which anniversary edition, I guess it

589
00:39:56.480 --> 00:39:59.599
<v Speaker 1>would have been the thirtieth anniversary of Planet of the

590
00:39:59.599 --> 00:40:02.760
<v Speaker 1>Apes coming around. He was doing events in different cities

591
00:40:02.760 --> 00:40:05.800
<v Speaker 1>for that, and he was recording all of the animated

592
00:40:05.920 --> 00:40:09.960
<v Speaker 1>shows that he did voices for. You know, he just

593
00:40:10.400 --> 00:40:13.519
<v Speaker 1>and he did, you know, like seven hundred interviews for

594
00:40:14.519 --> 00:40:18.119
<v Speaker 1>A and E's biography. You know, he shows up for

595
00:40:18.360 --> 00:40:24.360
<v Speaker 1>every single you know, Shirley Temple, It's like he knew

596
00:40:24.360 --> 00:40:27.840
<v Speaker 1>them all. And so he was doing a lot of

597
00:40:27.880 --> 00:40:34.239
<v Speaker 1>those and it became clear relatively early on that it

598
00:40:34.320 --> 00:40:36.280
<v Speaker 1>was not, you know, that it was not going to

599
00:40:36.320 --> 00:40:36.760
<v Speaker 1>get better.

600
00:40:37.119 --> 00:40:37.480
<v Speaker 2>Yeah.

601
00:40:37.519 --> 00:40:41.320
<v Speaker 1>And one of the only people that he let in

602
00:40:41.440 --> 00:40:46.599
<v Speaker 1>on it was actually the actress Doris Roberts. They were close,

603
00:40:47.000 --> 00:40:53.400
<v Speaker 1>and he knew that Doris could keep it to herself

604
00:40:54.559 --> 00:40:59.039
<v Speaker 1>and not turn it into him taking care of her.

605
00:40:59.559 --> 00:40:59.679
<v Speaker 6>Right.

606
00:41:00.519 --> 00:41:02.920
<v Speaker 1>I think what he knew would happen, and I think

607
00:41:02.960 --> 00:41:06.760
<v Speaker 1>he was right is that because of the relationship that

608
00:41:06.800 --> 00:41:10.320
<v Speaker 1>he had with so many people, and because he was

609
00:41:10.440 --> 00:41:15.960
<v Speaker 1>such a person that people looked to for advice, for love,

610
00:41:16.079 --> 00:41:21.559
<v Speaker 1>for kindness, he was I think he understood that he

611
00:41:21.599 --> 00:41:24.159
<v Speaker 1>would not be able to do all the things that

612
00:41:24.239 --> 00:41:28.239
<v Speaker 1>he wanted to do before he died, getting ready, getting

613
00:41:28.280 --> 00:41:32.000
<v Speaker 1>all of his estate stuff ready, if he had to

614
00:41:32.079 --> 00:41:35.840
<v Speaker 1>take care of all of his friends and loved ones

615
00:41:36.320 --> 00:41:38.880
<v Speaker 1>who were going to be in you know, a very

616
00:41:38.880 --> 00:41:47.599
<v Speaker 1>difficult place emotionally. And it tortured Doris Roberts that because

617
00:41:47.639 --> 00:41:50.519
<v Speaker 1>she was just like, well, what about Elizabeth, what about Sybil?

618
00:41:50.639 --> 00:41:53.920
<v Speaker 1>You have to tell these people, I mean, and it's

619
00:41:54.840 --> 00:41:59.039
<v Speaker 1>kind of extraordinary that that really his two best friends

620
00:41:59.079 --> 00:42:02.519
<v Speaker 1>were these two women who were I mean, they weren't

621
00:42:02.599 --> 00:42:07.039
<v Speaker 1>mortal enemies or anything, but they were certainly not friends.

622
00:42:08.280 --> 00:42:11.000
<v Speaker 1>You know, Sybil had been married to Richard Burton when

623
00:42:11.760 --> 00:42:15.119
<v Speaker 1>when he started his affair with Elizabeth Taylor during Cleopatra,

624
00:42:15.800 --> 00:42:18.519
<v Speaker 1>they were all, I mean, these villas, this was a

625
00:42:18.599 --> 00:42:25.000
<v Speaker 1>hot bed of activity, and reportedly so Roddy and John

626
00:42:25.800 --> 00:42:31.199
<v Speaker 1>Valva were staying in the same villa with Richard and

627
00:42:31.320 --> 00:42:37.840
<v Speaker 1>Sybil Burton and their kids, and then Elizabeth Taylor was

628
00:42:37.880 --> 00:42:41.559
<v Speaker 1>with Eddie Fisher, like right next door in their villa,

629
00:42:42.199 --> 00:42:47.400
<v Speaker 1>and everyone was sleeping with everybody, And apparently John Valves

630
00:42:47.440 --> 00:42:51.000
<v Speaker 1>started an affair with Sybil Burton Well during that time,

631
00:42:51.119 --> 00:42:54.360
<v Speaker 1>so you know, so he was cheating on Roddy with Sybil.

632
00:42:56.199 --> 00:42:59.960
<v Speaker 1>This did not affect Roddy's love for Sybil in any way,

633
00:43:00.159 --> 00:43:04.159
<v Speaker 1>I guess. And all those years later, at his deathbed,

634
00:43:05.360 --> 00:43:08.239
<v Speaker 1>one of the last two people at his side were

635
00:43:08.280 --> 00:43:12.920
<v Speaker 1>Sybil and Elizabeth Taylor together and he told them that

636
00:43:13.039 --> 00:43:16.239
<v Speaker 1>he wanted them to do this thing for him. He

637
00:43:16.280 --> 00:43:20.679
<v Speaker 1>was a longtime supporter of the Motion Picture Television and

638
00:43:20.800 --> 00:43:24.280
<v Speaker 1>Film Film and Television Fund, you know where the country

639
00:43:24.320 --> 00:43:29.320
<v Speaker 1>homes in Woodland Hills where retired actors lived, and he

640
00:43:29.400 --> 00:43:34.280
<v Speaker 1>wanted them to create a rose garden in his memory.

641
00:43:34.960 --> 00:43:38.960
<v Speaker 1>And it's got the statue of him as Caesar from

642
00:43:39.000 --> 00:43:45.159
<v Speaker 1>the last two found of the Apes movies. And an

643
00:43:45.239 --> 00:43:48.119
<v Speaker 1>artist who was a friend of theirs named Adam Kurtzman

644
00:43:48.320 --> 00:43:51.519
<v Speaker 1>did a sculpture of Roddy that's at this pond where

645
00:43:51.599 --> 00:43:55.079
<v Speaker 1>you know, with this whole rose garden. And he told

646
00:43:55.199 --> 00:43:58.679
<v Speaker 1>Sybil and Elizabeth Taylor that they were going to raise

647
00:43:58.719 --> 00:44:01.920
<v Speaker 1>this money, We're gonna have this built together and if

648
00:44:01.960 --> 00:44:04.519
<v Speaker 1>they didn't do it together, and if they didn't get along,

649
00:44:04.679 --> 00:44:12.840
<v Speaker 1>he would haunt them, and he meant it. And I

650
00:44:13.079 --> 00:44:16.320
<v Speaker 1>have that from a man who was in the room

651
00:44:16.440 --> 00:44:20.280
<v Speaker 1>and heard him say it, So it's it's it's still

652
00:44:20.320 --> 00:44:23.840
<v Speaker 1>secondhand to me. I wasn't there, but it's but it's

653
00:44:24.199 --> 00:44:27.559
<v Speaker 1>from first hand somebody that was in that room and

654
00:44:27.639 --> 00:44:32.119
<v Speaker 1>heard him say, I will haunt you if you don't

655
00:44:32.199 --> 00:44:32.639
<v Speaker 1>do this.

656
00:44:33.480 --> 00:44:34.960
<v Speaker 2>Wonderful, wonderful.

657
00:44:35.400 --> 00:44:37.679
<v Speaker 1>And a couple of years later, when they when they

658
00:44:38.960 --> 00:44:41.880
<v Speaker 1>you know, when they opened the Rose Garden at the

659
00:44:41.920 --> 00:44:48.800
<v Speaker 1>induction of the ceremony and everything unscripted, total surprise to everyone,

660
00:44:49.639 --> 00:44:55.280
<v Speaker 1>Elizabeth Taylor publicly apologized to Sybil Burton for stealing her

661
00:44:55.400 --> 00:45:00.360
<v Speaker 1>husband forty five years before, which is its kind of

662
00:45:00.519 --> 00:45:03.039
<v Speaker 1>you know, mental when you think about it, like, oh

663
00:45:03.079 --> 00:45:07.480
<v Speaker 1>it was Does anyone even remember any of this? But

664
00:45:07.480 --> 00:45:09.840
<v Speaker 1>but I guess you know, people did, and it made

665
00:45:10.599 --> 00:45:13.280
<v Speaker 1>they made headlines all over again. Now.

666
00:45:13.400 --> 00:45:17.760
<v Speaker 2>I think when anyone writes a biography about someone, especially

667
00:45:17.840 --> 00:45:21.079
<v Speaker 2>if the person is no longer with us, there's a

668
00:45:21.159 --> 00:45:26.039
<v Speaker 2>huge responsibility to that person to do it well, to

669
00:45:26.119 --> 00:45:29.000
<v Speaker 2>do it right. And I think maybe a bit of

670
00:45:29.000 --> 00:45:33.480
<v Speaker 2>an extra responsibility for you in that Roddy quite famously,

671
00:45:33.559 --> 00:45:35.719
<v Speaker 2>I think, said that it was something that he never

672
00:45:35.760 --> 00:45:38.039
<v Speaker 2>wanted to happen because he was scared it would just

673
00:45:38.760 --> 00:45:43.199
<v Speaker 2>focus on the salacious nature of things. And so how

674
00:45:43.199 --> 00:45:45.559
<v Speaker 2>have you navigated this project?

675
00:45:45.960 --> 00:45:50.639
<v Speaker 1>Nobody who really doesn't want someone to write about them

676
00:45:51.280 --> 00:45:58.199
<v Speaker 1>has archive, like let's you know, like if you really

677
00:45:58.280 --> 00:46:01.159
<v Speaker 1>don't want a book about you, and maybe don't save

678
00:46:01.239 --> 00:46:08.480
<v Speaker 1>all your stuff, and so there's that. I hope that

679
00:46:08.480 --> 00:46:11.159
<v Speaker 1>that he would like the book. It is really a

680
00:46:11.199 --> 00:46:15.119
<v Speaker 1>celebration of his life and his achievements, and I couldn't

681
00:46:15.920 --> 00:46:19.800
<v Speaker 1>I couldn't possibly love him more than I do. So

682
00:46:20.199 --> 00:46:27.840
<v Speaker 1>it's you know it. I mean, I'm not unreservedly sort

683
00:46:27.880 --> 00:46:34.280
<v Speaker 1>of positive or you know, a cheerleader about each and

684
00:46:34.360 --> 00:46:38.039
<v Speaker 1>every project he ever did or anything like that. I mean,

685
00:46:38.039 --> 00:46:41.159
<v Speaker 1>I certainly look at his work with a critical eye,

686
00:46:41.840 --> 00:46:48.000
<v Speaker 1>But I think there's a real difference between people who

687
00:46:48.880 --> 00:46:53.639
<v Speaker 1>want to write about others in order to explore them

688
00:46:54.320 --> 00:46:58.239
<v Speaker 1>and to celebrate their achievements and people who want to

689
00:46:58.280 --> 00:47:04.679
<v Speaker 1>sort of dissect them and tear them apart. I'm I'm

690
00:47:04.719 --> 00:47:07.360
<v Speaker 1>not a fan of that approach to sort of life.

691
00:47:07.480 --> 00:47:10.320
<v Speaker 1>I think I'm sort of like Roddy in that way.

692
00:47:10.440 --> 00:47:16.960
<v Speaker 1>I want to feel like wherever I've been that that

693
00:47:17.360 --> 00:47:19.920
<v Speaker 1>I'm leaving whatever it is, I'm leaving it a little

694
00:47:19.920 --> 00:47:23.159
<v Speaker 1>bit better than I found it. Like I'm I'm you know, I'm,

695
00:47:23.360 --> 00:47:28.320
<v Speaker 1>I'm you know, first, do no harm, you know. And

696
00:47:28.320 --> 00:47:31.679
<v Speaker 1>and so I think he would like it. I have.

697
00:47:32.159 --> 00:47:35.519
<v Speaker 1>So I have a very bizarre I write about it

698
00:47:35.559 --> 00:47:37.239
<v Speaker 1>in the introduction, and I write about it with a

699
00:47:37.239 --> 00:47:39.960
<v Speaker 1>little bit of trepidation because it is so bizarre. But

700
00:47:42.199 --> 00:47:45.320
<v Speaker 1>so I have a friend here in Portugal who is

701
00:47:45.559 --> 00:47:54.440
<v Speaker 1>by trade. He works with yoga and tantra and all these,

702
00:47:54.559 --> 00:48:00.039
<v Speaker 1>you know, sort of spiritual things. But he also we

703
00:48:00.079 --> 00:48:02.360
<v Speaker 1>were having dinner one night and he looked over at

704
00:48:02.400 --> 00:48:05.119
<v Speaker 1>me and he goes, you know, he knew I was

705
00:48:05.119 --> 00:48:07.639
<v Speaker 1>writing about Rodney McDowell and he didn't know much about him.

706
00:48:08.119 --> 00:48:13.360
<v Speaker 1>And he said, did Rodney Mottewell smoke? And I'm like, yeah,

707
00:48:13.599 --> 00:48:16.599
<v Speaker 1>like a chimney. He died of lung cancer. Yes, he

708
00:48:16.639 --> 00:48:20.159
<v Speaker 1>smoked all the time. And he's like, and did he

709
00:48:20.239 --> 00:48:25.440
<v Speaker 1>wear scarves? And I go, well, yeah, he famously had

710
00:48:25.440 --> 00:48:30.519
<v Speaker 1>this collection of air mess scarves and why And so

711
00:48:30.679 --> 00:48:34.840
<v Speaker 1>my friend Jose he goes, oh, well, I think he

712
00:48:34.920 --> 00:48:38.480
<v Speaker 1>was in my bedroom last night and then he was like,

713
00:48:38.559 --> 00:48:41.480
<v Speaker 1>you know, past assault. It was like, oh no, no,

714
00:48:41.840 --> 00:48:47.559
<v Speaker 1>hold on, wait wait wait wait he what and so

715
00:48:47.559 --> 00:48:50.920
<v Speaker 1>so we had a seance and it was so not

716
00:48:51.119 --> 00:48:55.360
<v Speaker 1>like a seance, it was like just conversation. But but

717
00:48:55.880 --> 00:48:59.880
<v Speaker 1>he he said that apparently because I had been I

718
00:49:00.039 --> 00:49:03.320
<v Speaker 1>had gotten the galley's back on the Caesar Romero book

719
00:49:03.440 --> 00:49:07.000
<v Speaker 1>and was busy on that and had stopped working on

720
00:49:07.000 --> 00:49:12.199
<v Speaker 1>on the Roddy book. And he said that Roddy just

721
00:49:12.239 --> 00:49:16.039
<v Speaker 1>wanted to nudge me and that, you know, the esteemed

722
00:49:16.320 --> 00:49:21.159
<v Speaker 1>mister Romero. Notwithstanding this is you're on my time now.

723
00:49:21.719 --> 00:49:24.159
<v Speaker 2>And I thought it sounds legit.

724
00:49:26.400 --> 00:49:29.079
<v Speaker 1>You know. If he told me some other things and

725
00:49:29.159 --> 00:49:31.880
<v Speaker 1>some other you know, if I relied on any of

726
00:49:31.920 --> 00:49:35.199
<v Speaker 1>that as actual research for the book, I think I would,

727
00:49:35.280 --> 00:49:39.119
<v Speaker 1>you know, lose my writer's license or whatever. I do not,

728
00:49:40.639 --> 00:49:43.079
<v Speaker 1>and I certainly do not put that out there as

729
00:49:43.239 --> 00:49:47.360
<v Speaker 1>some kind of de facto saying that, oh, of course

730
00:49:47.599 --> 00:49:50.800
<v Speaker 1>Roddy approves. I don't know. I don't know if there's

731
00:49:50.880 --> 00:49:54.280
<v Speaker 1>life after death, you know, But I'm just a writer.

732
00:49:54.440 --> 00:49:58.840
<v Speaker 1>What do I know? But but I will confess that

733
00:49:58.920 --> 00:50:02.920
<v Speaker 1>I found it in normal Lee kind of you know,

734
00:50:03.280 --> 00:50:09.840
<v Speaker 1>happy to me that he told me that Roddy said

735
00:50:10.000 --> 00:50:14.119
<v Speaker 1>that he chose me. That he was like, I've been

736
00:50:14.159 --> 00:50:20.079
<v Speaker 1>waiting and I chose you. And like the thing about

737
00:50:20.119 --> 00:50:26.199
<v Speaker 1>that that I find so sweet is that, even if

738
00:50:26.239 --> 00:50:30.000
<v Speaker 1>it's a loadable and it's not real at all, it's

739
00:50:30.159 --> 00:50:36.280
<v Speaker 1>kind of the kind of affectionate sort of shot in

740
00:50:36.320 --> 00:50:40.639
<v Speaker 1>the arm that Roddy McDowell would give people like, you know,

741
00:50:40.800 --> 00:50:44.360
<v Speaker 1>like I chose you, like you're you know, you matter,

742
00:50:44.599 --> 00:50:48.800
<v Speaker 1>you're special and you know, so in that respect, it

743
00:50:48.880 --> 00:50:52.079
<v Speaker 1>feels to me a little bit like, uh, like something

744
00:50:52.119 --> 00:50:54.760
<v Speaker 1>that that is of him, even if I have no

745
00:50:54.840 --> 00:50:58.239
<v Speaker 1>earthly idea if it was you know, if it was true,

746
00:50:58.320 --> 00:51:01.760
<v Speaker 1>but it's but it certainly it certainly adds to the

747
00:51:01.800 --> 00:51:07.440
<v Speaker 1>Hollywood circus atmosphere, you know, of his life, of my life,

748
00:51:07.480 --> 00:51:08.480
<v Speaker 1>of all of our lives.

749
00:51:09.480 --> 00:51:12.119
<v Speaker 2>Well, I think that's a beautiful note to finish this

750
00:51:12.239 --> 00:51:15.000
<v Speaker 2>on Samuel. Where can people get the book anywhere?

751
00:51:15.880 --> 00:51:20.480
<v Speaker 1>Well, it's not actually out until May twenty sixth, but

752
00:51:20.679 --> 00:51:23.159
<v Speaker 1>you can pre order it now anywhere where you know.

753
00:51:23.239 --> 00:51:26.559
<v Speaker 1>Online books are available and it'll be in bookstores I

754
00:51:26.639 --> 00:51:30.280
<v Speaker 1>believe in the UK as well as the United states

755
00:51:30.960 --> 00:51:32.199
<v Speaker 1>at the end of May.

756
00:51:33.119 --> 00:51:38.239
<v Speaker 2>Wonderful. Well, Samuel. You know you talk about leaving things

757
00:51:38.280 --> 00:51:40.079
<v Speaker 2>a little better than you find and when I think

758
00:51:40.119 --> 00:51:43.639
<v Speaker 2>through my conversation with you today, that's certainly how I feel.

759
00:51:43.679 --> 00:51:46.519
<v Speaker 2>So thank you so much. It's been an absolute delight

760
00:51:46.599 --> 00:51:48.400
<v Speaker 2>to talk to you, and I can't wait to read

761
00:51:48.440 --> 00:51:48.800
<v Speaker 2>the book.

762
00:51:48.840 --> 00:52:04.119
<v Speaker 6>Thank you, thank you.

763
00:52:04.119 --> 00:52:08.280
<v Speaker 2>You know, I count myself very privileged to have the

764
00:52:08.360 --> 00:52:12.119
<v Speaker 2>conversations that I have with people, and that conversation was

765
00:52:12.159 --> 00:52:15.199
<v Speaker 2>no exception. What a delightful man, and I really enjoyed

766
00:52:15.280 --> 00:52:17.760
<v Speaker 2>talking to him, and I have pre ordered a copy

767
00:52:17.800 --> 00:52:19.519
<v Speaker 2>of the book, and I think it's a book that

768
00:52:19.639 --> 00:52:22.760
<v Speaker 2>I may have picked up anyway because I've always enjoyed

769
00:52:22.840 --> 00:52:25.599
<v Speaker 2>Roddy McDowell, but I'm definitely going to do that now

770
00:52:25.639 --> 00:52:29.440
<v Speaker 2>after that conversation with Samuel. So I'll put links in

771
00:52:29.480 --> 00:52:32.079
<v Speaker 2>the show notes about how you can get to Samuel's website,

772
00:52:32.519 --> 00:52:36.159
<v Speaker 2>and of course some links to buy the book. So

773
00:52:36.400 --> 00:52:38.480
<v Speaker 2>before we go, I just want to make a quick

774
00:52:38.559 --> 00:52:41.639
<v Speaker 2>mention that I recently announced that I'm going to be

775
00:52:41.679 --> 00:52:46.639
<v Speaker 2>at Sailing Fest in August twenty twenty six. Quite what

776
00:52:46.760 --> 00:52:49.119
<v Speaker 2>I'll be doing there yet, I don't know, but one

777
00:52:49.159 --> 00:52:51.800
<v Speaker 2>thing that I certainly will be doing is hanging out

778
00:52:51.840 --> 00:52:55.039
<v Speaker 2>speaking to people. And if you're going to Sailing Fest,

779
00:52:55.480 --> 00:52:57.639
<v Speaker 2>then I want to meet you there. And I'd like

780
00:52:57.719 --> 00:53:01.840
<v Speaker 2>to thank the following people whose kindness generosity means that

781
00:53:01.920 --> 00:53:05.239
<v Speaker 2>I will definitely be there, because now I've been able

782
00:53:05.280 --> 00:53:07.920
<v Speaker 2>to book my ticket and I'll be on that plane

783
00:53:07.960 --> 00:53:11.280
<v Speaker 2>to New York. So, first of all, Cassie, my good friend,

784
00:53:11.320 --> 00:53:13.599
<v Speaker 2>thank you so much for your contribution and I look

785
00:53:13.639 --> 00:53:17.480
<v Speaker 2>forward to seeing you at Sailing Fest again. My friend

786
00:53:17.519 --> 00:53:19.920
<v Speaker 2>Joe Mayer, who is the host of the Key of

787
00:53:19.920 --> 00:53:24.440
<v Speaker 2>Imagination YouTube show, a great show about the Twilight Zone.

788
00:53:24.639 --> 00:53:28.960
<v Speaker 2>Thank you so much, Joe, I really appreciate it. Jason Schwartz,

789
00:53:29.159 --> 00:53:34.039
<v Speaker 2>the host of The Twilight Zone Sandbox podcast. Thank you

790
00:53:34.079 --> 00:53:36.800
<v Speaker 2>so much, Jason. Again, I can't wait to see you there.

791
00:53:37.599 --> 00:53:41.480
<v Speaker 2>My friend Mark Ramsey, who is one of the best

792
00:53:41.480 --> 00:53:44.880
<v Speaker 2>in the business when it comes to podcasting and he's

793
00:53:44.920 --> 00:53:47.400
<v Speaker 2>always been a great supporter of this show. Thank you

794
00:53:47.440 --> 00:53:51.400
<v Speaker 2>so much, Mark, I really appreciate it. Maxwell Gabbis, thank

795
00:53:51.440 --> 00:53:54.679
<v Speaker 2>you so much for your contribution. I really appreciate it.

796
00:53:55.280 --> 00:53:58.199
<v Speaker 2>A longtime friends of the show, David Trimboli, Thank you

797
00:53:58.280 --> 00:54:03.159
<v Speaker 2>so much. I I really appreciate your contribution to my

798
00:54:03.199 --> 00:54:06.119
<v Speaker 2>old friend Harold Clark. Thank you for chipping in, Harold.

799
00:54:06.159 --> 00:54:08.199
<v Speaker 2>I really appreciate it and I cannot wait to see

800
00:54:08.239 --> 00:54:12.239
<v Speaker 2>you at sailing Fest again. Michael fairnback, Michael, thank you

801
00:54:12.280 --> 00:54:17.199
<v Speaker 2>so much. I really appreciate your contribution. Longtime friends of

802
00:54:17.239 --> 00:54:20.559
<v Speaker 2>the show, Drooman always popping up here and there. Thank

803
00:54:20.599 --> 00:54:23.440
<v Speaker 2>you so much. Drouman, and I understand you're going to

804
00:54:23.480 --> 00:54:26.239
<v Speaker 2>Sailing Fest too, so I can't wait to see you

805
00:54:26.320 --> 00:54:30.960
<v Speaker 2>there now. Josh and Rhode Island has been an amazing

806
00:54:32.159 --> 00:54:35.960
<v Speaker 2>generous supporter of the Twilight Zone podcast for a while now,

807
00:54:36.039 --> 00:54:41.840
<v Speaker 2>so Josh, thank you so much. Your generosity really kind

808
00:54:41.840 --> 00:54:45.639
<v Speaker 2>of s sent this fundraising over the edge and allowed

809
00:54:45.679 --> 00:54:47.199
<v Speaker 2>me to get to where I need to be. So

810
00:54:47.320 --> 00:54:50.159
<v Speaker 2>thank you, Josh. I understand you're going to Sailing Fest

811
00:54:50.199 --> 00:54:52.599
<v Speaker 2>two and I can't wait to break bread with you there.

812
00:54:53.559 --> 00:54:56.320
<v Speaker 2>Emma from London, Emma, thank you so much. It was

813
00:54:57.039 --> 00:55:00.559
<v Speaker 2>really generous of you and I appreciate it so much.

814
00:55:00.599 --> 00:55:04.960
<v Speaker 2>So thank you. Chris Jasinski. Chris, thank you so much

815
00:55:05.239 --> 00:55:08.960
<v Speaker 2>for your contribution and I appreciate your part in sending

816
00:55:09.000 --> 00:55:12.480
<v Speaker 2>me to Sailing Fest this year. My old friend benk

817
00:55:12.559 --> 00:55:16.000
<v Speaker 2>Cake and Ben, thank you so much for your contribution.

818
00:55:16.159 --> 00:55:19.679
<v Speaker 2>I really appreciate that too. I want to thank Andrew Neff,

819
00:55:19.719 --> 00:55:22.880
<v Speaker 2>thank you so much for your contribution. Andrew really generous

820
00:55:22.920 --> 00:55:25.719
<v Speaker 2>of you, and I appreciate you helping me make the journey.

821
00:55:26.440 --> 00:55:31.760
<v Speaker 2>My old friend Mark Barnhill. Mark another great supporter of

822
00:55:31.800 --> 00:55:34.840
<v Speaker 2>the show and of me over the years and one

823
00:55:34.880 --> 00:55:37.639
<v Speaker 2>of the funnest guys you're ever going to meet. I

824
00:55:37.679 --> 00:55:40.639
<v Speaker 2>look forward to getting back together with you at sailing

825
00:55:40.679 --> 00:55:43.840
<v Speaker 2>Fest this year. Mark. And Dane Bauman another one of

826
00:55:43.880 --> 00:55:49.280
<v Speaker 2>those people who has really delighted me with his generosity

827
00:55:49.320 --> 00:55:53.320
<v Speaker 2>over the years, and once again one of the major

828
00:55:53.360 --> 00:55:56.320
<v Speaker 2>contributors to my being able to go to Sailing Fest

829
00:55:56.360 --> 00:55:59.519
<v Speaker 2>this year. So thank you, Dane. I also want to

830
00:55:59.519 --> 00:56:01.800
<v Speaker 2>thank the men members over at the After Hours Club

831
00:56:01.840 --> 00:56:05.079
<v Speaker 2>who not only keep the lights on at the Twilight

832
00:56:05.159 --> 00:56:08.760
<v Speaker 2>Zone podcast, but also give me the ability to do

833
00:56:08.840 --> 00:56:11.960
<v Speaker 2>things like Sailing Fest. Now, I might have fallen behind

834
00:56:12.000 --> 00:56:13.719
<v Speaker 2>a bit with these, so I'm going to go back

835
00:56:14.039 --> 00:56:17.679
<v Speaker 2>and make sure that I've picked everyone up who's joined

836
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<v Speaker 2>in recent memory. So I want to thank Lisa, Thank you, Lisa,

837
00:56:22.119 --> 00:56:26.280
<v Speaker 2>Peter Gamble, Peter, thank you so much. Marvin Ducklow Marvin,

838
00:56:26.360 --> 00:56:29.960
<v Speaker 2>thank you for being there, Taylor Taylor, thank you so much,

839
00:56:30.199 --> 00:56:35.599
<v Speaker 2>and Robin Moore, Thank you, Robin. Also Josh, thank you, Josh, Emma,

840
00:56:35.760 --> 00:56:40.440
<v Speaker 2>thank you so much for joining, Emma, and Audrey Escalante. Audrey,

841
00:56:40.519 --> 00:56:44.079
<v Speaker 2>thank you so much for joining. Hack Torrance, thank you, Hack.

842
00:56:44.880 --> 00:56:47.800
<v Speaker 2>And Bucia seventy eight, thank you so much for joining.

843
00:56:48.320 --> 00:56:52.239
<v Speaker 2>Josh Anderson, Thank you, Josh. I appreciate it and ours

844
00:56:52.320 --> 00:56:56.000
<v Speaker 2>had a great conversation with ours over on Patreon. Thank

845
00:56:56.039 --> 00:56:59.880
<v Speaker 2>you so much. And then we have Dale Wagner, Thank you,

846
00:57:00.840 --> 00:57:04.119
<v Speaker 2>and also Clifford, thank you so much for joining at

847
00:57:04.119 --> 00:57:07.519
<v Speaker 2>the After Hours Club. Okay, so if you too want

848
00:57:07.519 --> 00:57:10.079
<v Speaker 2>to support the twilight Zone podcast or my trip to

849
00:57:10.159 --> 00:57:13.480
<v Speaker 2>Sailing Fest, then head over to the twilight Zone podcast

850
00:57:13.519 --> 00:57:18.400
<v Speaker 2>dot com slash donate. So the big question is when

851
00:57:18.440 --> 00:57:22.800
<v Speaker 2>are the episode reviews coming back the usual format of

852
00:57:22.840 --> 00:57:26.559
<v Speaker 2>the Twilight Zone podcast. Well, honestly, now that have cleared

853
00:57:26.599 --> 00:57:29.239
<v Speaker 2>the decks of a few things, it is my priority,

854
00:57:29.880 --> 00:57:32.639
<v Speaker 2>so hopefully it'll be in the not too distant future.

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00:57:32.719 --> 00:57:35.559
<v Speaker 2>So watch this space and I will speak to you soon.

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00:57:36.360 --> 00:58:28.840
<v Speaker 2>Bye for now, No