Author: Bill Thompson

Leah Rabin

Bill Thompson
Photo: Kingkongphoto

It was an iconic White House photo. Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, shaking hands on a peace deal at the White House, with a smiling President Bill Clinton looking on.

Just a couple of years later, in 1995 – on this day in 1995, November 4th – Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated.

Less than a year-and-a-half later, his widow, Leah Rabin, wrote a memoir. Not just a memoir of the military and political leader Yitzhak Rabin, but of the husband, father, and grandfather Yitzhak Rabin was.

So here now, from 1997, Leah Rabin

Leah Rabin died in 2000 at the age of 72.

Bob Dole

Bill Thompson

Tomorrow is the presidential election. It’s been a tough campaign, with not a lot of humor.

But politicians, and their constituents, need a good sense of humor. In 1998, Bob Dole, the unsuccessful GOP nominee in 1996, compiled a book of presidential and political humor.

Now, Dole himself was hardly known for his comic genius. But when I interviewed him in 1998, I found out how funny even conservative Republicans can be.

So here now, from 1998, Bob Dole.

Bob Dole is 97.

He was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal iun 2017.

Lorraine Warren

Bill Thompson
Photo: Gage Skidmore

It’s Halloween weekend, so, I have to give you a little bit of a scare, don’t I?

If you’ve ever seen the 2009 movie The Haunting in Connecticut, you know the story that you’re about to hear. That scary movie was koosely based on real events, in which a family moved into what used to be a funeral home in Connecticut.

Turned out, it was a haunted funeral home.

And that’s where Lorraine Warren comes in. She and her husband Ed, both paranormal investigators, or “ghostbusters,” were called in to help the family.

I met Lorraine Warren 28 years ago. In fact, 28 years ago today, as we talked about her experience in that real life Haunting in Connecticut.

So here now, from 1992, Lorraine Warren.

Ed Warren died in 2006.

Lorraine Warren died in 2019, at the age of 92.

“Cousin Brucie” Morrow

Bill Thompson

Some of you, if you’re old enough, grew up listening to Cousin Brucie on New York City radio from 1961 to 1974. Others remember him from the movie Dirty Dancing. And still others know him from his show on Sirius XM in the last 15 years.

Bruce Morrow, known on the air as Cousin Brucie, is one of America’s most famous, and most popular, disc jockeys.

I first met him in 1987, when he wrote A Memoir of his broadcast years.

And yes, he’s just as wacky and funny in person as you’d expect him to be.

So here now, from 1987, Cousin Brucie.

Cousin Brucie Morrow celebrated his 85th birthday a couple of weeks ago. And you can still hear him on New York WABC late night on Saturdays.

Jimmy Carter

Bill Thompson
Jimmy Carter with Bill’s daughters Jennifer (left) and Krystal

Next week is our presidential election, so I thought it appropriate today to hear from one of our former presidents.

I first met Jimmy Carter in 1987, and interviewed him several times over the years, including this conversation, from 1993.

Mr. Carter had just written a book for young people, about peace, and war. I brought both of my daughters, ages 11 and 13, with me that day to meet our 39th president.

And as you’re about to hear, it’s very apparent why this very good man has been a force for peace for decades.,

So here now, from 1993, Jimmy Carter.

Former president Jimmt Carter turned 96 on October 1st. And despite various health challenges, he remains very active in a number of Pursuits.

Robert Bork

Bill Thompson
Robert Bork with Ronald Reagan 1987

As the U.S. Senate moved closer to confirming Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, we’re reminded that not all nominees have such an easy ride.

In 1987, President Ronald Reagan nominated appeals court judge Robert Bork to the Supreme Court. But after a contentious hearing, the Senate rejected Bork’s nomination. And now, in fact, his name has become virtually synonymous with ignominious defeat, as in “he got borked.”

One of the several times I interviewed him was in 1991, not long after David Souter was confirmed to a seat on the high court. As you’ll hear in this interview.

So here now, from 1990 oh, Robert Bork.

Robert Bork retired from his seat on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 1988 and resumed his teaching career.

Bork died in 2012. He was 85.

Rita Rudner

Bill Thompson

I first saw Rita Rudner perform her comedy on an HBO special in the mid-1980s. And I immediately fell in love with her, and her comedy.

Her routine is so low-key, so dignified, yet so hilarious. So I was delighted to have the chance to interview her, in 1992, when she had written a book of essays called “Naked Beneath My Clothes.”

So here now, from 1992, Rita rudner.

Rita Rudner is 67 now.

She is currently the longest-running solo comedy show in Las Vegas, where she’s performed since 2001.

Marvin Hamlisch

Bill Thompson

What comes to mind when I say the name Marvin Hamlisch?

You may think of The Sting. Or Tthe Way We Were. Or A Chorus Line. Certainly Hamlisch is known for all of that, but much more.

I met him some 28 years ago, when he wrote A memoir of his decades in show business, starting with his early years at Juilliard.

So here now, from 1992, Marvin Hamlisch.

Marvin Hamlisch is one of only 16 people to have ever won an Oscar, an Emmy, a Grammy, and a Tony. And he is one of only two people to have won all four of those, plus a Pulitzer Prize.

Marvin Hamlisch died in 2012, at age 68.

Anatoli Gribkov & William Smith

Bill Thompson

For a few days in mid-October 1962, the world teetered on tghe brink of all-out nuclear war between the United States, led by President John F. Kennedy, and the Soviet Union, commanded by Premier Nikita Khrushchev.

Photo: CIA Map, 1962 Cuba

It began when U.S. spy planes detected Soviet missiles being shipped to, and installed in, Cuba.

President Kennedy weas determined not to allow what was seen as an act of Soviet aggression in our hemisphere, whil Khrushchev was acting in what he believed was defensed of Cuba against possihble U.S. aggression.

The situation quickly escalated into a showdown that brought us to the edge, but ultimately, cooler heads prevailed.

Wendy Williams

Bill Thompson

Every day millions of American TV viewers tune in to the syndicated Wendy WIlliams Show.

Wendy Williams in 2003

She’s been a fixture on daytime TV since 2008. But her media career began long before that.

Some have even called her a “shock jockette”.

When I met her in 2003, Williams was a major radio personality but had not yet broken out onto the national stage in a major way. She had just written her first book, Wendy’s Got The Heat.

So here now, from 2003, Wendy Williams.

Wendy Williams is 56 now. Her TV show is now in its 13th year, she has written several books, she has a line of fashions, wigs, and jewelry.