Bill Thompson – Page 3 – Now I've Heard Everything

Marlo Thomas: Empowering Generations of Women

August 23, 2025Bill Thompson

In her decades-long career as an actress, an entertainer, a writer, and an activist, Marlo Thomas Has been all about empowering – starting with empowering girls and young women when she starred in “That Girl.” That was one of the first TV shows to feature a single woman living and supporting herself.

Of course that was just one of the dozens of professional roles Marlo Thomas has played.

You may have a copy of one of her “Free To Be, You And Me” books.

Thomas has embraced many feminist causes over the years, working alongside figures such as Gloria Steinem.

And in 2014 she wrote a book aimed at the older woman. Especially the older woman reinventing her life after some major life turning point. That book was called It Ain’t Over . . .Till It’s Over.

She and I talked about the book at an event she was holding at a Baltimore Library.

So here now, from 2014, Marlo Thomas.

Marlo Thomas is 88 now. She is National Outreach Director for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Inside the Mind of Bestselling Author Vince Flynn

August 23, 2025Bill Thompson

Back in the mid ’90s a bartender in Minnesota, with a degree in economics and business, came up with an idea for a political thriller. That idea turned into Vince Flynn’s first book, Term Limits, published in 1998.

It became a bestseller and launched a career that saw Vince Flynn write over two dozen more books

The hero of most of those books is a professional assassin, a character that Flynn named Mitch Rapp.

I interviewed Vince for that first book, and many more afterwards, including his 2009 book Pursuit of Honor. It was a fast-paced book that picked up where his previous book Extreme Measures left off.

Vince and I talked about Pursuit of Honor one fall day in Washington, DC when he was on the book tour. And as you’re about to hear the conversation sometimes turned to topics more than just writing books.

So here now, from 2009, Vince Flynn.

This interview was the last of nearly a dozen interviews I did with Vince Flynn. He died in 2013 from prostate cancer. He was 47.

Hulk Hogan: Behind the Persona in His Own Words

August 23, 2025Bill Thompson

Many people would say that when Hulk Hogan died last week he took a big piece of American culture with him.

Widely regarded as the world’s most recognized wrestling star, Hogan’s interest in wrestling blossomed when he was a teenager.

He first wrestled professionally in 1977 at age 24. But it was when he joined the World Wrestling Federation, then known as the WWF, that he became a star.

And it wasn’t just his proficiency as a wrestler that made him a star, it was his showmanship. Soon entire shows were built around Hulk.

And wouldn’t you know it, his showmanship also became a profession – Hulk Hogan became an actor.

But to those closest to him, Hulk Hogan was also Terry Bollea, the husband and family man.

In 2002 Hogan published his autobiography, a book called Hollywood Hulk Hogan. His publisher told me he was too busy for a traditional book tour, so I got a phone interview instead.

So here now, from 2002, Hulk Hogan.

Hulk Hogan passed away just days before his 72nd birthday.

A Lifetime of Becoming Someone Else: Actress Ellen Burstyn

August 23, 2025Bill Thompson

Detroit-born Ellen Burstyn Was president of her high school’s drama club. But she was not a very good student, and dropped out in her senior year.

She became a model and a dancer – even got a job dancing on the Jackie Gleason Show – before making her professional acting debut almost 70 years ago.

And since then, Ellen Burstyn has amassed a house full of awards, including acting’s Triple Crown: an Oscar, a Tony, and two Emmys.

She starred in movies ranging from “The Last Picture Show” to “The Exorcist” to “Requiem For a Dream.” She’s been in soap operas, mini-series, and “Law & Order SVU.”

In 2006 Burstyn wrote her autobiography, which she called Lessons in Becoming Myself. That’s when I had a few minutes with this extraordinary performer.

So here now, from 2006, Ellen Burstyn.

Ellen Burstyn is 92 now. She is co-president of The Actors Studio.

Behind the Lens of Laughter: Peter Funt on “Candid Camera” and His Father’s Enduring Legacy

July 24, 2025Bill Thompson

Long before “Punk’d” or “America’s Funniest Home Videos” there was “Candid Camera.” The premise was simple and popular: catch ordinary folks in funny and unusual situations, benign practical jokes as it were.

The show’s creator was a genial, soft-spoken man named Allen Funt.

His son Peter began visiting the set of the show at a very early age. And when his father suffered a major stroke in the early 1990s, Peter Funt stepped in and assumed the leadership role, hosting “Candid Camera” for several more years.

Peter Funt is also a thoughtful and respected essayist and columnist. And in 2013 he published a collection of his essays, a book he called Cautiously Optimistic. He and I talked one day that spring about his essays, and about” “Candid Camera.”

So here now, from 2013, Peter Funt.

Peter Funt is 78 now. He lives in California, and still writes a weekly newspaper column and is a popular public speaker.

Love Beyond Borders: How a Norwegian Makeup Artist & Italian-American Actor Built Forever

July 24, 2025Bill Thompson

Ernest Borgnine was a renowned and very popular Oscar and Emmy-winning actor who enjoyed decades of success in Show Business.

His success in marriage, however, was very rocky. Ernie was married four times before he met a Norwegian-born makeup artist named Tova. She was married once before.

They went into their marriage — his fifth, her second – with a new attitude. And it worked. The Norwegian immigrant and the son of Italian immigrants forged a solid partnership.

Their marriage was so successful, in fact, that in 1997 Tova Borgnine – the founder of Beauty by Tova – wrote a book that she called Being Married Happily Forever.

It was filled with what she called her secrets and strategies, and compromises. I met her when she was on a book tour.

So here now, from 1997, Tova Borgnine.

Ernest and Tova Borgnine were married for 39 years until his death in 2012. Tova died in 2022 at age 80.

The Fond Recollections of Hollywood Legend Garry Marshall

July 11, 2025Bill Thompson

If you’ve ever watched ”Happy Days,” ”Laverne & Shirley,” ”Mork & Mindy,” or any of a dozen other TV shows, you’ve seen the work of Garry Marshall.

If you’ve ever seen ”Pretty Woman”, ”Overboard,” ”The Princess Diaries,” or any of over a dozen other movies, you’ve seen the work of Garry Marshall.

For years one of Hollywood’s most successful, and most popular, producer-directors, you may also know Garry Marshall as an actor, on TVs ”Murphy Brown” and in his sister Penny Marshall’s movie “A League of Their Own.”

In 1995, not long after he turned 60, Garry Marshall wrote a book that was autobiographical-ish called Wake Me When It’s Funny. I got the chance to speak with him when he was on a book tour.

Here now, from 1995, Garry Marshall.

Garry Marshall died in 2016. He was 81.

What the Book of Revelation Reveals — Or Not

July 9, 2025Bill Thompson

There are 66 books in the Bible, but none is more controversial, more studied, and more debated than the final book, the book of Revelation.

Its author is commonly believed to be John, the Apostle of Jesus, but even this fact has been debated. And disputed by some.

Revelation is a book of powerful apocalyptic imagery and language that many see as metaphor, but which others take literally, especially in the context of current geopolitical events.

It was her own fascination with the book of Revelation that led noted Princeton University religion professor Elaine Pagels to take on the task of trying to put Revelation into historical, political, and spiritual context.

The result was her 2012 book called Revelations. She and I met one day early that spring to talk about it.

So here now, from 2012, Elaine Pagels.

Author Douglas Adams and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to An Incredible Literary Series

July 9, 2025Bill Thompson

As a writer and a radio and TV personality in the 1970s, Douglas Adams wasn’t having a great deal of success.

That is, until 1978 when he co-created a radio series called “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.”

And when that series became a book, , well, as they say, the rest is history. Millions of people around the world now have a copy of that book and its sequels, which have made Douglas Adams one of the most popular authors of the second half of the 20th century.

I first met him in 1987, when we talked about his book Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. Another time we talked about his nonfiction book Last Chance to See, and then in 1992 we met once again to talk about Mostly Harmless, which was, at the time, the latest in the Hitchhiker’s series.

So here now, from 1992, Douglas Adams.

Douglas Adams died in 2001 from a heart attack. He was 49.

Decoding the Life of Alexander Hamilton: Biographer Richard Brookhiser

July 9, 2025Bill Thompson

The smash Broadway play “Hamilton” brought a resurgence of interest in the founding father who helped shape the direction of the young nation.

Fifteen years before the play a book by noted biographer Richard Brookhiser brought Alexander Hamilton to life.

Brookhiser’s 1999 book Alexander Hamilton: American provided fresh perspective and insight to the life of the man who was barely out of his teens on this day in 1776.

Get your copy of Richard Brookhiser’s book

In his 30s Hamilton became America’s first Treasury Secretary. And in his 40s, he was famously shot dead in a duel with Aaron Burr.

But did you know he was also at the center of America’s first major political sex scandal?

So here now, from 1999 Richard Brookhiser.