October 2025 – Now I've Heard Everything

Actress Diane Ladd’s “School of Life”: Lessons from a Hollywood Healer

October 9, 2025Bill Thompson

She has appeared in over 200 movies and television shows, nominated for multiple Oscars, Emmys, and Golden Globes. She’s been on Broadway.

But actress Diane Ladd is also a teacher and a healer. In her nearly 90 years, Ladd has absorbed a world of knowledge and experience.

And it was that that inspired her to write a book in 2006, that she called Spiraling Through the School of Life.

I had the chance to talk with her when she was on a book tour that summer.

So here now, from 2006, Diane Ladd.

Diane Ladd will be 90 next month. Her last film, in 2022, was “Gigi & Nate.” She was last seen on television in 2021 in an episode of “Young Sheldon.”

He Was a Genius With Coconuts And Bamboo: A Conversation With Actor Russell Johnson, The Professor From “Gilligan’s Island”

October 6, 2025Bill Thompson

For an actor in the 1960s, landing a permanent role in a new TV series was a big deal. But little did actor Russell Johnson know, when he took that role in 1963, that it would become his identity for the rest of his life.

Johnson was cast as Roy Hinckley, better known as The Professor on the brand new TV series “Gilligan’s Island.”

And over its three-year run, the almost-cartoon-like series about seven people stranded on a desert island after a shipwreck became a cultural phenomenon. Even more so when the show went into syndication after its network run. It’s still in reruns today, 60 years later.

And even though he went on to many television and movie roles after “Gilligan’s Island” Russell Johnson is still known primarily as The Professor.

By 1993, he had fully embraced the idea that that was going to be his identity. And that was the year he wrote a light-hearted memoir about the show, called Here On Gilligan’s Isle.

I had lots and lots of questions for him when we met one day that summer to talk about the book.

So here now, from 1993, Russell Johnson.

Russell Johnson died in 2014. He was 89.

A Renowned Film Director Pulls Back the Curtain to Show Us How the Magic is Made

October 5, 2025Bill Thompson

Sidney Lumet was born into a show business family in 1924. His father was an actor, producer, and director. His mother was a dancer. And young Sidney made his own acting debut at the age most kids are starting kindergarten. He was on Broadway by age 11.

But in his 20s Lumet found his real talent: directing. After several successful years in the young new medium of television, Lumet directed his first feature film in 1957, a little production you may have heard of called “Twelve Angry Men.”

In the years that followed Lumet made his mark in Hollywood directing such films as” Dog Day Afternoon,” “Network,” and “ Murder On The Orient Express,”

And then there was “Failsafe,” “Serpico,” and “The Wiz,” among many other notable films.

But after decades of successful filmmaking, Lumet came to realize how little most people actually know about how movies get made. So in 1995 Sidney Lumet wrote a book called Making Movies. It was his chance to pull back the curtain and show us what really goes on.

I met him 1 day that spring when he was on a book tour.

So here now, from 1995, Sidney Lumet.

Sidney Lumet died in 2011 at age 86.

Turning Her Inner Child Into a Bestselling Author: A Conversation With Jamie Lee Curtis

October 5, 2025Bill Thompson

Jamie Lee Curtis has been in professional acting for an almost unbelievable 50-plus years. She is one of America’s most recognizable stars, both for the horror movies that made her famous but also for the other roles she’s played, mostly comedies.

You probably also remember her for some of the TV commercials she’s seen in.

And she is also an author, specifically, a children’s book author. She’s written over a dozen, many of them bestsellers.

A book she wrote in 1998 was one of those bestsellers. She called it Today I Feel Silly & Other Moods That Make My Day.

It certainly made my day On That September afternoon when we met to talk about the book.

So here now, from 1998, Jamie Lee Curtis.

Jamie Lee Curtis is 66 now. She was named a “Disney Legend” last year.

If We All Speak English, Why Don’t We All Sound Alike? Robert MacNeil’s Exploration of Language

October 5, 2025Bill Thompson

Many people think English should be the official language of the United States. President Trump is trying to make it so, through an executive order.

But even if everyone spoke English that doesn’t mean we all sound alike. A native of Pittsburgh is going to sound different than a native of New Orleans, or Boston or Omaha.

It may seem like the regional differences in our language have become blurred over the decades, due to the influence of television and the media.

But experts say that’s not necessarily true.

And here’s where former PBS TV anchorman Robert MacNeil comes in. Back in 1986 MacNeil was co-author of a book, and companion TV series, called The Story of English.

And in 2005 he took it a step further, with a new book called Do You Speak American? That book was a detailed exploration of how regional dialects and accents continue to flourish.

I had gotten to know Robert MacNeil over the years, always looking up to him as a fellow broadcaster. We met one day in January of 2005 to talk about his new book.

So here now, from 2005, Robert MacNeil.

Robert MacNeil died in 2024. He was 93.