Author: Bill Thompson

Peter Bogdanovich

Bill Thompson

Peter Bogdanovich did a little bit of everything in Hollywood. He was a writer, an actor, a film historian, a director — I think he even got coffee sometimes.

His acclaimed movies include The Last Picture Show, Paper Moon, What’s Up Doc, and a host of others.

And along the way he met a number of Hollywood legends, the people he calls the original movie stars. People like John Wayne, Orson Welles, Cary Grant, and Jimmy Stewart.

In 2004, Bogdanovich published a book of his recollections of dealing with those movie stars, a book he called Who the Hell’s in It: Conversations with Hollywood’s Legendary Actors. And that’s when I met him.

So here now, from 2004, Peter Bogdanovich

Peter Bogdanovich died in 2022 at age 82.

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Glenn Levant

Bill Thompson

If you are of a certain age, there’s a good chance that you, or your kids, participated in the DARE program.

DARE stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education , and was launched in 1983 by Los Angeles police chief Daryl Gates.

Its first executive director was LAPD deputy chief Glenn Levant.

I met Glenn in 1998, when he and the DARE program published a book called Keeping Kids Drug Free.

So here now, from 1998, Glenn Levant

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Temple Grandin

Bill Thompson

Why do animals think and behave and react in the ways they do?

Animal behaviorist Temple Grandin has spent a lifetime finding answers. And for her, the journey has been a personal one, as well.

Grandin is autistic, and has found that animal behavior is not unlike that of some people with autism.

I first met her in 2005, when she published her book Animals in Translation.

So here now, from 2005, Temple Grandin.

Temple Grandin is 75 now, and still active in the field of animal behaviorism.

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Jim Valvano

Bill Thompson
Photo by The Chronicle

As UConn and San Diego State battle it out tonight for the NCAA men’s basketball title, today we are revisiting an interview I did a few years ago with the coach of a team that won one of the most thrilling NCAA victories ever.

Jim valvano was coach at North Carolina State when the team won the 1983 title in a thrilling game.

But by the end of the 1980s, valvano was out as NC State coach.

I met him in early 1991, when he wrote a book about his coaching experience.

So here now, from 1991, Jim valvano.

Jim valvano was diagnosed with cancer a little over a year after our interview, and he died in April of 1993, at the age of 47.

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Brigitte Weeks

Bill Thompson

About 100 years ago, an advertising executive had an idea. A book club, that would send members new books every month.

Photo by Jonathan Simcoe

If that sounds like a familiar idea, you’ve just heard the story of the Book Of The Month club.

Ernest Hemingway was among the first authors the club featured. Later, BOMC helped launch the careers of writers like Margaret Mitchell and Nelson DeMille.
The editor in chief of the book of the month club is a powerful executive, and from 1988 to 1994, that position was held by British-born

Brigitte Weeks.

She brought a deep experience in publishing to the position.

I met her in 1991, when we had a lively discussion about how BOMC operates .
So here now, from 1991,Brigitte Weeks

Brigitte Weeks is 79 now, and is still working with books, as head of crossings book club.

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Joe Garagiola

Bill Thompson

Tomorrow is Major League baseball’s opening day, the first day of the 2023 season.

On the first day of a 162 game schedule, every team is in first place. Any team can win the world series. And a batter can hit /400, and a picture can have a no-hitter.

The world is full of possibilities .

On the Opening Day roster for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1946 was a rookie catcher named Joe Garageola.

That year Joe played in his first, and only, World Series. He was a major leaguer for nine seasons, playing for the Cardinals, the Pirates, the Cubs, and the Giants.

But after his retirement from the game, Joe Garagiola found another career in which he had much greater success.

Television.

He did sports broadcasting, but also game shows, and even substitute hosting on the Tonight Show.

I met him in 1988, when he was promoting his book It’s Anybody’s Ballgame, about his post baseball career.

No, to add some context to the interview you’re about to hear. We talked just a couple of weeks into the 1988 season, but already by that time the hapless Baltimore Orioles had a 13 game losing streak, a major league record. Sadly he Os Went on to lose their first 21 games in a row, which still stands as the major league record.

So here now, from 1988, Joe Garagiola.

Joe Garagiola.died in 2016. He was 90.

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Ina Garten

Bill Thompson

Do you ever watch the Food Network? If so, you know who Ina Garten is.

But long before she became the channel’s most popular host, Garten worked in the White House, in the Office of Management and Budget.

That is, until the opportunity to buy a small rspecialty food store in New York’s Hamptons opened up. She kept the store’s name, Barefoot Contessa, and grew it very successfully.

When I met Ina Garten in 1999, she had finally been persuaded to write a cookbook, which turned out to be far, far more popular than even her publisher had hoped.

And three years after the interview you’re about to hear, garden joined the food Network, or her show was a fan favorite for nearly 20 years.

So , from the spring of 1999, Ina Garten.

Ina Garten is 75 now, and yes, still cooking, entertaining, and writing. Cookbooks.

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Louie Anderson

Bill Thompson
Phorto: Melly Allen

Today, March 24th 2023, would have been comedian Louie Anderson’s 70th birthday.
I first met Louie in 1989, when he published a book of letters to his alcoholic father, a book called Dear Dad. We talked again about that book a couple of years later, and then in 1993 I interviewed him again, for his book called Goodbye Jumbo, Hello Cruel World.

Louie struggled with his weight, and his self-image, for decades. Of course, he turned his weight problem into a source of comedy that made him immensely popular.

But it was in writing both those books that Louie Anderson really started to figure out who he was, and what he really wanted.

So I’ve decided today to offer you highlights of both interviews , starting with our conversation about Dear Dad. S

The next time I talked to Louie was in 1993. His book Goodbye Jumbo, Hello Cruel World was a chronicle of his struggles with weight. So here now, from 1993, Louie Anderson.

Louie Anderson died of cancer in January 2022.

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Jill Conner Browne

Bill Thompson

A 41-year tradition continues this weekend in Jackson, Mississippi, with the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade, featuring the sweet potato queens.

It all started when Jill Connor Browne and a few of her friends formed the Queens.

And in the years since then, it has become an honored tradition — and has spawned several bestselling books.

I first met Jill Conner Browne in 2001, after publication of her second book, God Save The Sweet Potato Queens.

So here now, from 2001, Jill Conner Browne.

Jill Conner Browne still reigns as the Queen Bee of the Sweet Potato Queens.

The Sweet Pottato Queens have chapters in over twenty countries.

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Lani Guinier

Bill Thompson
Photo: John Mathew Smith

In 1993, the term “woke” had not been invented yet. But a prominent law professor nominated for a high position in the US government Saw her nomination done in by what we would now know as “anti-woke” sentiment.

Her name was Lani Guinier. President Bill Clinton nominated her to be assistant attorney general for civil rights.

That’s, of course, when closer scrutiny of her past writings began. And, she says, that’s when the misrepresentations of her writings began.

Guinier was a strong advocate of voting rights, and a strong believer that all minority voices should be heard in a democracy.

Ultimately, her voice was drowned out by her critics’ voices, and President Clinton withdrew her nomination.

I met her the following year, when she was on a book tour. So here now, from 1994, Lani Guinier.

Lani Guinier died last year. She was 71.

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