Rosa Parks

Bill Thompson

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the U.S. So I wanted to revisit an interview I did nearly 30 years ago with a woman whose actions helped propel Dr. King to national prominence.

In December 1955, a young woman named Rosa Parks was on her way home after a long hard day at work. She was on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, when she was ordered to the back of the bus so a white man could have her seat.

She refused to move, and was arrested and jailed.

Her arrest sparked outrage in Montgomery’s black community, and soon they organized a bus boycott, which lasted for more than a year.That boycott was led by a young preacher named Martin Luther King Jr.

I had the opportunity to interview Rosa Parks in 1992, after she had written a book for young readers.

So here now, from 1992, Rosa Parks.

Congress has called her “the first lady of civil rights” and “the mother of the freedom movement.”

Rosa Parks died in 2005. She was 92.

--------------------------------------------------------

You may also lik these episodes:
John Lewis

Coretta Scott King

Leonard Nimoy

Bill Thompson
Photo: Gage Skidmore

Many people may think Leonard Nimoy’s career started with Star Trek. But he was a serious actor for a number of years before that. He even appearing in other science fiction shows.

But of course it was Star Trek that propelled him not just to fame but to Iconic status. His portrayal of a half-human, half-Vulcan Spock practically launch a cottage industry.

In 1975, Nimoy wrote a book called I Am Not Spock. Fast forward 20 years to 1995 when I interviewed him for another book he written, called I Am Spock.

And as you’ll hear, there’s a reason for his change of heart.

So here now from 1995 Leonard Nimoy

Leonard Nimoy died in 2015. He was 83.

—————————————————————-

You may also lik these episodes:

George Tak

George Takei

Ann Richards

Bill Thompson
Photo: Kenneth C. Zirkel

In the summer of 1988 leaders of the Democratic party invited Texas State Treasurer Ann Richards to deliver a prime-time address at the Democratic National Convention.

Richards delivered. all right, in a big way, targeting Republican presidential nominee George H.W. Bush, who had just spent eight years as Ronald Reagan’s vice president. Richards delivered a takedown line that has lived forever: “He was born with a silver foot in his mouth.”

I met Ann Richards in the fall of 1989 when she had just launched her campaign for governor of Texas.

So here now from 1989 Ann Richards.

Ann Richards won the election for governor in 1990, but served just one term.

————————————

She died in 2006 at age 73.

—————————————–

You may also lik these episodes:
Bob Dole

Carroll O’Connor

Bill Thompson

It was on January 12th. 1971 — 50 years ago — that situation comedy changed in a big way, with the premiere of a controversial show called All in the Family.

At the center of the show was an irascible middle-aged blue collar worker named Archie Bunker. What made Archie so controversial, then and now, was how utterly unapologetic he was for his politically incorrect views.

The show was also controversial because CBS had just very publicly dumped its so-called “rural” comedies — The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, and Petticoat Junction — in favor of more modern and edgy shows like MAS*H and All In The Family.

Cast in the role of Archie Bunker was veteran actor Carroll O’Connor, who went on not only to win 4 Emmys as Archie but later starred in the series In The Heat of Tthe Night.

In 1998 O’Connor wrote A a memoir, and that’s when I got to meet and interview him.

TRIGGER WARNING: This interview that you’re about to hear includes talks about O’Connor’s adult son’s drug abuse and suicide.

So here now from 1998, Carroll O’Connor

And you can find easy links to (name’s) book(s) on Amazon ar HeardEverything.com.

—————————————————————–

You may also lik these episodes:
June Lockhart

Gladys Knight

Bill Thompson
Gladys Knight in 1974. Photo: CBS Television

Midnight Plane to Houston?

Doesn’t sound quite right, does it? And in her 1997 memoir, singer Gladys Knight told the story of how it became the Midnight Train to Georgia.

And in this interview you’re about to hear, she also tells about the connection that Danny Thomas has to another classic Gladys Knight and the Pips song.

So here now, from 1997, Gladys Knight:

Gladys Knight is now 76 years old.

———————————————-

Skidmore
Photo: Kingkongphoto

You may also lik these episodes:
Cissy Houston
Reba McEntire

Erin Brockovich

Bill Thompson

In 1993, a single mother with no legal training, no experikence as an attorney, helped bring a major corporation to its knees.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Erin Brockovich joined attorney Ed Masry in suing Pacific Gas & Electric, which was accused of poisoning the water supply in a small California town called Hinkley.

Soon, Hollywood heard about the story, and it was turned into a major Motion Picture in 2000, starring Julia Roberts as Erin Brockovich.

In 2001, Brockovich wrote a book about her experience. That’s when I met her.

So here, from 2001, Erin Brockovich.

Erin Brockovich is 60 now. Shes the president of a company called Brockovich Research & Consulting.

—————————————————————

You may also lik these episodes:
Jonnie Cochran

Don Knotts

Bill Thompson

Don Knotts is perhaps best know as Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife from The Andy Griffith Show. But you also remember him as Ralph Furley from Three’s Company. Maybe you remember him from The Apple Dumpling Gang movies, or The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, or The Shakiest Gun in the West. Or The Incredible Mr. Limpet.

Don Knotts had a decades-long entertainment career, which actually began soon after World War II, but which really took off when he reconnected with his old friend Andy Griffith.

I met Don Knotts in November 1999, when he wrote a book called Barney Fife And Other Characters I Have Known.

So here now, from 1999, Don Knotts.

Don Knotts died in 2006. He was 81.

—————————————–

You may also like these episodes:
George Lindsey

Dawn Wells

Mary Lou Retton

Bill Thompson

Did you know that December 21st is National Short Girl Appreciation Day? Ever since 1984, one of America’s favorite short girls has been Olympic gold medal gymnast Mary Lou Retton.

At the age of just 16, Retton became the first Anerucab woman to ever win the gold medal in all-around gymnastics competition at the Olympics. She also won two silver medals, and two bronze medals.

Her boundless energy and infectious smile made her one of America’s most famous, and most beloved, athletes.

I met her in the spring of 2000, when she wrote a motivational book on how to achieve happiness in life.

So here now, from 2000, Mary Lou Retton.

Mary Lout Retton will be 53 in January. She lives in Texas.

Egil Krogh

Bill Thompson
Egil “Bud” Krogh

Next Monday, December 21, marks the 50th anniversary of a very strange day in White House history.

It was on December 21, 1970 that the king of rock and roll, Elvis Presley, showed up unannounced at the White House gate, asking for a personal meeting with President Richard M.Nixon.

The man who put that meeting together that day was Nixon aide Egil “Bud” Krogh. Officially, Krogh was head of the White House special investigations unit, later colloquially known as the “Plumbers” – it was the unit assembled to plug leaks of information from the Nixon White House.

In 1994, krogh wrote a book about that famous 1970 meeting. And that’s when I met him.

So here now, from 1994, Egil “Bud” Krogh.

Egil “Bud” Krogh eventually was implicated in the Watergate scandal, and served a short prisoin sentence for his role in it.

He died earlier this year, at age 80.