Author: Bill Thompson

Garrison Keillor

Bill Thompson
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Today, August 20th, is National radio day. Every year on this day, we recognize the contribution that this hundred-year-old medium has provided four generations.

For four decades, one of the most popular radio personalities in America was Garrison Keillor, Creator and host of public radio’s Prairie Home Companion. That live musical variety show was a Saturday evening fixture in millions of homes.

The Minnesota-born Keillor brought his Midwest sensibilities, and sense of humor, to the ongoing stories of Lake Wobegon.

In 2003, Keillor wrote a novel. So here now, from 2003, Garrison Keillor..

Garrison Keillor celebrated his 79th birthday last week.

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Andrew Cuomo

Bill Thompson

New York governor, or more precisely, soon-to-be ex governor, Andrew Cuomo has certainly had a rough few weeks.

In the face of a scathing report accusing him of sexual misconduct, Cuomo last week announced his resignation. It was a breathtaking fall from his Emmy award-winning performance during the pandemic in 2020.

And now the political future looks very murky for a man once considered the future of the Democratic Party.

I met Andrew Cuomo in 2003, when he was promoting a book, an anthology of essays by Democrats and Republicans on politics in America.

And Cuomo’s comments from 18 years ago still sounds very current.

So here now, from 2003, Andrew Cuomo.

Andrew Cuomo is 63. He’ll leave office nexxt week.

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Dr. Benjamin Spock

Bill Thompson

Perhaps no one has ever had a bigger impact on an entire generation of children than Dr. Benjamin Spock.

His book Baby and Child Care was published in 1946, just as the first baby boomers were being born. And his calm, reassuring tone quickly found an audience among new parents. Dr. Spock became the go-to guy for advice on child rearing.

Then, in the late 1960s, Dr. Spock became known for something else – his political activism. He even ran for president in 1972.

But Benjamin Spock had long resisted writing his autobiography. Finally, in the late 1980s, his second wife, Mary Morgan, persuaded him it was time. So, with her help, he finally wrote the book called Spock on Spock.

And that’s when I met him. So here now, from 1989, Dr Benjamin Spock.

Dr. Benjamin Spock died in 1998. He was 94 years old.

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Maxene Andrews

Bill Thompson

This weekend marks the 76th anniversary V-J Day, the day that the Japanese surrendered to the United States to end World War II.

And the interview you’re about to hear includes one of the most moving and poignant stories associated with that day. More on that in a minute…

For the entire duration of the war, America’s entertainers provided an invaluable service to their country, by putting on literally thousands of shows for servicemen and women in the US and abroad.

And one of the most popular entertainment Acts what’s The Andrews Sisters, a trio from Minnesota that included Laverne, Maxine, and Patti. To this day, they are known for a number of hit songs…

I met Maxine Andrews a 1993, when she wrote a book about The Andrews Sisters and their experience in the USO during World War II.

Along with her co-author, writer Bill Gilbert, Andrews described the long days and weeks and months of performing, which no one complained about.

And I promise you, the story Maxine Andrews tells about V-J day is a story you will always remember.

So here now, from 1993, Maxine Andrews.

Maexene Andrews died two years after this interview. She was 79.

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Alex Haley

Bill Thompson

It’s a rare privilege for an author to see, in their lifetime, the broad and deep social and cultural impact that one of their books has.

One of those who were so privileged was author Alex Haley. His meticulously researched 1976 book Roots, which traced his own family’s ancestry from Africa, became not just a best seller, but a cultural milepost.

It awakened a new pride of family and ancestry among millions of African-Americans, and it shone a harsh spotlight on the horrors of slavery, four black and white alike.

ABC TV recognized the power of Roots, and turned it into television’s first major miniseries. It was, and remains to this day, a landmark television achievement.

I met him almost 33 years ago, after he had just finished a novel based, in part, on the kind of characters he popularized in Roots.

So here now, from 1988, Alex Haley.

Today, August 11th 2021, would have been Alex Haley’s 100th birthday. He died in 1992 at the age of 70.

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Charlotte Church

Bill Thompson

A lot of people say that is the voice of an

It’s actually the voice of young Welsh soprano Charlotte Church. And when I say young, I mean Young. Charlotte got a record contract when she was just 11. By age 13 she was, literally, world-famous.

I met her when she was a grizzled old veteran of 15, in 2001. She had written a book called voice of an angel, with the subtitle, my life so far.

So here now, from 2001, Charlotte Church.

Charlotte Church is 35 now, married, and has three children.

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Polly Nelson

Bill Thompson

Name a famous serial killer.

There’s a good chance that one of the first names that came to your mind was Ted Bundy.

Over a period of years, mostly in the 1970’s, Ted Bundy killed at least 30 people that we know of, but probably more.

Finally, in 1979, the charismatic 33-year-old was caught, tried, and convicted in Florida.

He spent the next eight years in prison, as appeal after appeal went through the courts. Then, in 1987, he met the woman who would be his last lawyer: Polly Nelson.

A freshly minted lawyer with a big Washington law firm, Nelson was chosen to do some pro bono work – it turned out, it was the Bundy case.

For the next two years, Nelson worked on his case, trying to find some way to keep him off death row.

Bundy was executed in 1989, however, and five years later, I met Polly Nelson, when she wrote a book about the case.

So here now, from 1994, Polly Nelson.

Attorney Poly Nelson is 69 now.

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Tom Boswell

Bill Thompson

In 1969, shortly after he graduated from college, Thomas Boswell joined the staff of the Washington Post. Over the next 15 years he honed his craft as a sportswriter, eventually earning his own column in the post in 1984.

What Boswell brought to his columns was more than just an account of balls and Strikes, touchdowns and field goals, holes-in-one or hat-tricks.

He brought a literary sensibility, often diving deep into the personal lives of the sports stars, and would be stars, that he covered.

Oh, he knew all the technical stuff, but his real strength was his ability to bring out the personalities.

I interviewed Tom Boswell many times over the years, including this interview from 1994, for his book Crackimg The Show.

And, like all of Tom Boswell’s columns, I think this interview has stood the test of time. Well, you tell me.

So here now, from 1994, Tom Boswell.

Tom Boswell is 73 now. He retired from the Washington Post at the end of June this year, after 52 years never working for any paper other than the Washington Post.

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Robert Evans

Bill Thompson

As a Young Man, Robert Evans wasn’t even in Show Business.

Photo: Angela George

Then one day, just like something out of a storybook, actress Norma Shearer spot of him and thought he would be great to be in a movie.

The rest, as they say, well,…

From an acting career, Evans became a movie producer. And in the 60s and 70s some of his movies are now Classics. Movies like Rosemary’s Baby, Love Story, The Godfather, and Chinatown.

But a drug-related conviction in 1980 was a major setback to Evans, and he never came back to his former glory. His last movie in 2003 was How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.

In 1994, Evans wrote A Memoir, a book he had always thought about writing, and that’s when I met him.

And even if you somehow don’t find his stories interesting, I guarantee you’ll be mesmerised by this man’s magnificent voice.

So here now, from 1994, Robert Evans

Robert Evans died in 2019. He was 89.

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Martha Reeves

Bill Thompson
Photo: Aug856

When you think of the best of Motown in the late 1950s and early ‘60s, one of the names that has to be near the top of the list it Martha and the

Behind lead singer Martha Reeves, they racked up a series of hit singles.

Finally, 30 years after their heyday, Martha Reeves wrote a memoir. And that’s when I met her.

So here now, from 1994, Martha Reeves:

Martha Reeves celebrated her 80th birthday a couple of weeks ago. And she still tours and performs.

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