Skating Into a Child s Wonderland: Kristi Yamaguchi

Bill Thompson

Do you remember the 1992 Winter Olympics? That was the year that skater Kristi Yamaguchi became the first Asian American to come home with a gold medal from the Winter games.

That was a high point, but After her retirement from amateur competition following the Olympics there were many other championship titles over the years.

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In 2011 she published her first children’s book, Dream Big Little Pig. The main character, Poppy, finds success as a figure skater. That little book became a New York Times best seller, and it inspired a sequel the following year called It’s a Big World, Little Pig.

I met Kristi when she was on a book tour – we did the interview just before a talk at a jam packed bookstore in suburban Washington D.C..

So here now, from 2012, Kristi Yamaguchi.

Kristi Yamaguchi is 54 now. Mattel last year introduced the Yamaguchi Barbie doll.

Confessions Of An American Dissident: ’60s Leftist Leader Bill Ayers

Bill Thompson

Many people don’t know that the actor who provides many of the most popular

Bill Ayers is a radical. And that five-word sentence is about all that most people know about him.

When he was 24 Ayers co-founded the far left Weather Underground, whose aim was to overthrow the U.S. government. The group set off bombs at public buildings, And the FBI labeled them domestic terrorists.

Ayers became a fugitive for the better part of 10 years. But later he re-emerged as a community organizer and became a professor at the University of Illinois in Chicago.

It was Bill Ayers’s casual connection with another Chicagoan that propelled him into the public spotlight once again in 2008.

After the New York Times reported a fleeting link between Ayers and Barack Obama early in Obama’s political career, Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin went on the attack:

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“Our opponent is someone who sees America as imperfect enough to pal around with terrorists who targeted their own country.”

Obama denounced Ayers and his radical past, and the episode was forgotten.

Back in 2001 Bill Ayers wrote a book about his radical past, called Fugitive Days. And in 2013 he wrote about it again in a book he called Public Enemy. I had the chance one day that November to meet with him when a book tour brought him to Washington DC.

So here now, from 2013, Bill Ayers.

Bill Ayers will be 81 next month. He is retired now.

Gambling on Satire: Actor-Writer Harry Shearer

Bill Thompson

Many people don’t know that the actor who provides many of the most popular character voices on “The Simpsons” was once a child actor who worked with Abbott and Costello and Jack Benny.

Harry Shearer was in movies and on TV in the 1950s. Of course for these last 36 years, TV audiences have known him for his many voices on “The Simpsons” – Principal Skinner, Ned Flanders, Mr. Burns, and Mr. Smithers, among many others.

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So that’s a long time to be polishing his skills as not just an actor but as a writer.

But it took until 2006 for him to write his first book of fiction, a satirical novel called Not Enough Indians The basic premise of the story is that a dying small town tries to turn itself into an Indian tribe to land a casino. What could possibly go wrong?

Harry and I met one afternoon In the fall of 2006 at a popular Washington D.C. hotel to talk about his book when he was on a book tour.

So here now, from 2006, Harry Shearer.
Harry Shearer will be 82 next month. He lives in New Orleans.

The U’Niquely Charming Actress Mo’Nique

Bill Thompson

Are you a skinny woman? If you said yes, some other women apparently consider you to be evil.

Not really, of course. It’s simply an exaggeration that once fueled the standup comedy of the performer known professionally as Mo’Nique.

Mo’Nique is a plus-sized woman, and makes no apologies for it. She has used her size as an asset, taking advice she says she once got from Martin Lawrence, to ignore people who would tell her what she couldn’t have.

As a result, Mo’Nique has won an Academy Award, and has been nominated for many honors, including Emmys and Grammys.

She’s been seen in dozens of movies, she starred as Nikki Parker in the TV series “The Parkers,” she had her own talk show, and in 2003 she wrote a book called Skinny Women Are Evil.

She and I met 1 day that spring to talk about her book.

So here now, from 2003, Mo’Nique.

Mo’Nique will be 58 next month. Her most recent movie role was in the supernatural horror film “The Deliverance” in 2024.

Murder On The Evening News: Bill O’Reilly Talks About His First Novel

Bill Thompson

We all know that network TV news is a cutthroat business. Big egos, big money, and big power collide every day. And in fiction, it can turn deadly.

For his first book, a mystery novel called Those Who Trespass, TV news anchor and commentator Bill O’Reilly assembled a cast of characters with big egos making big money and craving big power.

And, as in any good mystery novel, some wind up dead, and the story turns into not just a “whodunit” but a “whydunit.”

This was, of course, only Bill O’Reilly’s first book. He’s had a long string of bestsellers since then.

He and I met 1 day in the spring of 1998 to talk about Those Who Trespass.

So here now, from 1998, Bill O’Reilly.

Bill O’Reilly is 76 now. He hosts the No Spin News podcast and is often seen on Newsmax and News Nation.

The Not-So-Odd Couple: Jack Klugman and Tony Randall

Bill Thompson

Show business is full of stories of co-stars who didn’t get along. So it’s a refreshing change to hear about co-stars who not only got along, but formed a lasting bond.

Such was the case with Jack Klugman and Tony Randall, co-stars of the hit 1970s TV show “The Odd Couple.”

Now, were they in fact Oscar and Felix? There is evidence to suggest that was true. But just like their characters, Jack and Tony were bound by an underlying mutual love and respect.

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And the strength of that bond was tested when Jack Klugman was dealt what could have been a career-ending, even life-ending, blow by throat cancer.

Klugman told the story of this real life odd couple in a 2005 book called Tony And Me. And as you’re about to hear it was a book filled not only with this extraordinary friendship but a treasure trove of anecdotes of Jack Klugman’s long, storied, and award winning career.

So here now, from 2005, Jack Klugman.

Jack Klugman died on Christmas Eve 2012. He was 90.

It’s A Hardball Life: The Chris Matthews Book Where It Began

Bill Thompson

Chris Matthews says he has been a political junkie since childhood. And his career path would seem to back that up.

With a degree from Holy Cross, graduate work at the University of North Carolina, and a teaching position at Harvard, Matthews came to Washington while in his 20s and went to work on Capitol Hill.

And it was his years under some of Washington’s most powerful figures that he learned the tradecraft he calls hardball. It is, he says, not only how politics gets done, but how everything in business and elsewhere gets done..

After politics Matthews became a columnist, and ultimately a popular cable TV talk show host. A few years before he made that transition, he wrote his first book, which he called Hardball. That’s when I first met him.

And stick around for the second half of this interview as we talk about his predictions for the 1988 presidential race – and why we all need to master Hardball.

So here now, from 1988, Chris Matthews.

Chris Matthews will be 80 in December. He retired from his TV show in 2020 although he still appears from time to time as a guest commentator.

The Burden That Weighed On Popular Actress Delta Burke

Bill Thompson

Imagine being a young woman with a dream. Named Most Likely to Succeed by her high school class. The winner of a beauty state pageant at age 18. And then becoming a successful actress.

Then imagine that that young woman becomes one of the stars of a major network television series and is seen and admired by millions every week

But then imagine that, like so many of us, she gains some weight. And because of her very public persona, she becomes the target of ridicule.

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That’s actress Delta Burke. As the character Suzanne Sugarbaker in the hit TV series “Designing Women” Burke became a sensation. And so did her weight.

Her struggles ultimately inspired her to launch her own line of clothing for “real size” women. And it inspired her to write a book in 1998 called Delta Style. Its subtitle was Eve Wasn’t a Size 6 and Neither Am I.

I met her one afternoonIn the spring of ‘98 when she was on a book tour.

So here now from 1998, Delta Burke.

Delta Burke is 69 now. She and her husband actor Gerald McRaney live in Los Angeles.

One Of The Great Voices Of Baseball Broadcasting: Jon Miller

Bill Thompson

You may have heard that old saying “Find a job that you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.”

If that’s true, Jon Miller has never “worked” a day in his life. Now of course he is one of the hardest working broadcasters in all of sports, but it’s a job he has literally loved since he was a child.

Picture this: the young Jon Miller sitting In the stands at Candlestick Park in San Francisco watching the Giants play, and glancing up at the pressbox, watching the broadcasters do what they do.

He was so inspired that later at home he would recreate baseball games and tape record the play by play, complete with audience sounds and even commercials.

He broke into actual broadcasting in the early 1970s. And for over 50 years now he has been doing what he loves.

In 1998 Jon Miller wrote a book called Confessions of a Baseball Purist. His publisher put him out on a book tour just as spring training was getting underway, and he carved out a few minutes to speak with me.

And what you’re about to hear is an interesting snapshot of Major League Baseball 27 years ago, so the names will bring back memories, and some of the concepts may now seem a little quaint.. And oh yes, this was before Barry Bonds.

So here now, from 1998, Jon Miller.

Jon Miller turned 74 a couple of weeks ago. He lives near San Francisco.

No, Getting There Is Not Half the Fun, At Least As Far As Comedian David Brenner Was Concerned

Bill Thompson

You’ve heard it said that “getting there is half the fun.” Well, the people who say that never met David Brenner.

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Now here was a guy who was a well-regarded documentary producer for many years before turning to comedy in the late 1960s.

His standup career thrived for over three decades, as he became a hugely popular guest on TV talk shows including “The Tonight Show” where he made over 150 appearances.

So David Brenner did a lot of traveling, accumulating hundreds of hilarious stories that eventually formed the basis for his 1990 book If God Wanted Us To Travel….

I’d been a big fan for years so I jumped at the chance to talk with him when he was on the book tour.

So here now, from 1990, David Brenner.

David Brenner died from cancer in 2014. He was 78.