November 30, 2021 • 40 mins
Brian takes us back to the very place where it all began, his second home, Scranton, PA. In this super special edition of the podcast, he talks with some of the people who have been on this journey with him since day one, and whose lives have been changed just as much by The Office as his own. So join us on a trip to the home of Dunder Mifflin, where everybody’s arms are always open to The Office family.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Oh my god, that's it right there, scrant the Electric City.
It's been seven years since The Office Finale aired and
we had the Scranton Rap Party here. I haven't been
back since, really and exploring anything about the Office, I
(00:22):
felt like it was important to come back here to
scrant It's not really where it all started, but it
somehow feels like it's where it all started. My name
is Michelle Dempsey and I'm a co chair of the
(00:43):
Office Convention in the Office Rap Party. My name is
Tim Holmes. I'm a co chair of the Office Convention
in the Office Rap Party. Hello everybody, and welcome to
a brand new and very close to my heart episode
(01:07):
of The Office Deep Dive. I am your host, Brian
baum Gartner. Now, I thought we could do something a
little bit different today, alright, something very special. If you've
been following me on Instagram, you know that I just
got back from my book tour, and let me tell
you it was freaking incredible, all right. I went all
(01:30):
the way back to Scranton, Pennsylvania, the Electric City, the
hometown of the Office, and I'm not even making this up.
I left Scranton with an honorary certificate in Scrantology from
the University of Scranton. I'm a doctor as far as
(01:51):
I'm concerned. Yes, I think I am the only person
to have ever been bestowed with such an honor. So
take that everybody else. Uh Now, as an honorary Scrantonian,
I thought I would take you back to Scranton with
me and introduce you to some of the amazing people
(02:12):
I have met in the town. I really have not
felt more welcome from any town or any group of
people ever. Scranton has become my second home, and it
is all because of the people. I am so excited
to introduce you to to such people, the incredible Tim
(02:35):
Holmes and Michelle Dempsey. These two were responsible for the
Office Convention in two thousand seven and the Rap Party
in two thousand thirteen. If you read our book or
listen to the podcast, you know how special those events were.
Tim and Michelle's love for the show and for their
(02:57):
town Scranton is so big that they volunteered to co
chair all of these spectacular office events. They have done
an amazing job every single time I have come, and
they have made those experiences extra special, not just for me,
but for everyone else who was there. Along with the
(03:20):
rest of the town. They keep the show's legacy going
and I could not be more grateful. So on this
very special edition of the podcast, please give a warm
Scrantonian welcome to the true keepers of the office. Tim Holmes,
Michelle Dempsey, and all of the people of Scranton. Bubble
(03:47):
and Squeak. I love it, Bubble and Squeak, Bubble and
Squeaker cooking at every month. Lift over from the night before.
(04:10):
I was driving down the highway here and we got
off and there was the mural there. I started, no joke,
I started getting emotional when I just like, I just
saw the sign. Honest to God, when Scranton heard you
were coming, you felt the electricity searched through the city.
(04:30):
I'm not kidding you. Every my phone hasn't stuffer ringing.
I'm sure Tim has been the same way it has
been and everybody and anybody who thinks they might be
you know, they it has just been on fire since
you're since your tweet. Yeah, we were trying to keep
it under the bottles. Were like yeah, and then your
(04:52):
tree went out. We're like, okay, it's on Well, John
just kind of he was because I talked to him
yesterday and then he was like, will you send me
a photo? Will you send me a photo? And I
sent John the picture. And the true story is I
like put my phone in my pocket and then it
like buzzes what seems like fourteen seconds later, and it's
(05:13):
I don't know if you guys remember Steve Socks. I
think he was here at the rap party. He was
like the long time stand in, like like he was
like Steve stand In anyone standing on the show. And
I look at my I'm like Steve Socks and he goes, hey,
if you're with Krasinski telling me it was a hundred
dollars for the fantasy football buy in this year because
(05:35):
he's like a missioner, and I'm like, how does he
know with Presinsky? And then suddenly my phone went like
you're with John tell him this you're blah blah blah,
and I was like, oh my god. He posted it
like so quickly after he got his hands. Yeah. And
now how did you first find out about the Office? Well?
I was a huge fan of the British version of
(05:56):
the Office, Okay, so when I heard that The Office
was coming to America, yea. And then when I heard
was Scranton. I actually panicked. I panic, I was. I went,
I didn't know the mayor well, but I like, like
march to city Hall, like this is not a good thing.
This is not a good thing because Slough. They're not
kind to Slough in that show. And the mayor was
trying to turn Scranton around and we were on this
(06:17):
upswing and and so I thought, you know, slow was
really the road to nowhere in that show. And um
and Chris Staherty, who's the mayor at the time, He's like, well,
I talked to Greg Daniels and who's the creator of
the American version, and he said, he's you know, it's
it'll be different, like he's going to be good to
the city. And I took a deep breath, like, okay,
that sounds good. And I hope this Greg Daniels everything
(06:42):
he told you he is, And like, could I think
higher of Greg Daniels, I don't think so. Like he
he made Granton like another quirky, lovable character on the show, right,
he captured the essence of who we are. And that,
you know, to me is because it's forever change the
perception on the outside. It finally let people like the
(07:04):
perception wasn't what the reality was to us, and now
they match, right, Like the perception is the reality, and
the Office was the springboard for that. Like it really
had an impact on Scranton, like huge, And I know
we'll talk about that a little bit, but there's the
before the office and after the Office for Scranton and
for when you leave Scranton and tell people where you're from.
(07:26):
What used to happen is like I'd say I'm from Scranton,
people be like, oh, I'm sorry, right right right, like really,
And I always I never knew what they were sorry
about because I always loved to hear and thought it
was a great place. But um, now it's I'm from
Scranton's like I love the office and it's your instant
bond across the world with everybody, and you'll hear from
all these people the connections and the love and the
(07:49):
interesting moments that they've had outside of the area telling
people that they're from Scranton. Right, And I think there's
a cool story about how Greg picked Scranton to that
folds into pace. Go ahead. Um so actually Tim tells
us better than I do. So so this is Greg's words,
not ours. And we're obviously paraphrasing, but it is our
understanding that he chose, you know, basically, when he's looking
(08:12):
where he's going to do a philosophically speaking, it's a
it's a satellite brand, so it's got to be a
kind of a smaller city. Uh. He felt it had
East Coast sensibility, so he was kind of looking at
the East coast. When he decided the home office would
be in New York City, he began to look at
cities with with our with with with our, which in
might be a two hour driving distance. So he looks
(08:33):
at Grand Pennsylvania, Stanford, Connecticut, Utica, New York, Nashua, New Hampshire.
These may all sound familiar because they all wind up
being the branches and so and that's when he sends
out these teams to go check out, and Johnny Kay
happens to be one of them coming into Scranton. So
you know, from what we understand, there was a lot
of little happy circumstances because it wasn't only pinn Paper.
(08:56):
There was another place here called paper Magic, which is
also a place that John visit. And paper Magic is
the one that had a like Greg remembers getting a
greeting card that had paper paper magic Scranton p A.
So he kind of had that in mind, you know,
and he's he he did say, you know, he might
have just been being nice to us, but he felt
Scranton was kind of the one to beat because he
(09:18):
felt it was a big enough name just because of
how big we were during the investoral Revolution and a
bunch of things, you know, for a little town, we
have a big name, um, you know. And ultimately everything
fell into place and it and it worked out wonderfully
for the show, for us, for everybody involved. Magic makes
all those Valentine's that used to give out in grades
(09:39):
magic scrant p A on the back of all of them,
and he remembered that. So it was a confluence of things, right,
and that was one of them. Yes, And he also
thought the name Scranton was a funny thing to say,
and it is. There's a lot of consonants all in
a row, and it works around in your a little bit.
(10:00):
And so that's that was the one thing. And if
you're from here, you don't pronounce the te right, so
so you, um, you were born here. I was born here. Yeah,
So that was how I heard about the office. And
then probably a few years into the show, I have
(10:22):
an architecture firm, and I was at work and I
opened up my web browser and there was just an article.
You know, they all populate. There was an article about
President Idaho getting this little economic boom from people who
were fans of the cult classical, the cult movie Napoleon
Dynamite going there to see all the sites, like we're
the fictional home of Donder Mifflin, right, Like that seems
(10:46):
like cooler. Um, we should invite everybody to come here
and like have like invite the actors to come here
and see the city and show people what it's like here,
and they'd have a great time. They'd meet with the fans,
the city you know, would be on displayed. Be a
win win win, which is what we ultimately That's that's
what we ultimately pitched, right, like the win win win, Right.
But that's where the idea came from, and it literally
(11:07):
went nowhere. And this is where Tim comes and went nowhere.
I I met with like three groups of people until
somebody was finally like, I have to introduce you to
Tim Holmes, right right, I didn't know you. I didn't
know each other at all, which is crazy to think
of a time I didn't know Tim and the Homes
family right right, uh. And so we were introduced, and
Tim instantly saw the you know, he was got it. Yep,
(11:31):
all right, here's what we're gonna do. And then he
went into Tim mode right right right now? Did you
know the show? Were you watching the show? So I
was definitely familiar with it, but I wasn't as immersed
in it as Michelle was, so I certainly saw the
value in it, but it was definitely something that we
were all beginning to see license plates from Ontario and
South Carolina and everything driving from town that doesn't happen
(11:51):
in Scranton, but it began to happen, and we're all like, yeah,
I guess what you're saying. Michelle is making an awful
lot of sense. So, and like we were doing things.
And just to be clear, Tim worked for the local
newspaper and I was an architect. We had no background
and anything like okay, like like Tim did planning events locally, right,
so he knew how to put an event together. But
this was going to be bigger than anything I think
(12:13):
you'd ever done, right, And so here I am an
architect and he's a marketing We come up with this
big idea. We got all these partners on board, I
remember at one point. Then then we had to go
through everybody's act like agents and managers, right, Like for
everybody I'm calling, I'm like, I don't hello, Hi, I'm
representing office convention, right, I'm I'm putting together contracts. I'm like,
(12:36):
I'm like, what am I doing staring at a piece
of paper? And I like negotiating Like this was crez
Like we had to do it all right. It was
like Tim and I had to do all of that,
which is exactly why I think Greg liked it because
he could see it wasn't like some outside group that
was coming in and trying to monetize this thing. It
was not set up to be a, you know, a
(12:57):
for profit thing, which is why you guys gave us
a ACN talent fees and you know, and they helped
with travel and all this other kind of stuff. They
could see right from the get go that it was
it was a partnership. The partnership was with the city
of granted, it was with the county. He was with
the Visitors Bureau. We weren't selling, you know, sponsorships where
you had to put a shirt on that said somebody Sunjoko.
We were gonna, you know, we knew enough not to
(13:19):
do any of that stuff. And I think, you know,
we would have conversations with to Wann Park and the
NBC Universal folks, and and truly they were kind of
put they were put on the sc Yeah, they didn't
open the door to the producers of the show and
to Greg and tell what they realized we really had
something that they're like, Okay, I think these guys have
(13:40):
their stuff together, right, so we're going to now make
this connection because we had to dream up the entire
like all the the office Olympic Games. The writer's blocked,
Like that just came out of our heads, right. That
was like it was maybe about seven or eight of
us that did it. Tuck our house, Matt Smith, you know,
Eric Devi and all these guys are building our websites
(14:00):
and everything. Uh, all of that stuff was critical because
they all played a certain role in it. And then
all the partners, the University of scrant and all these
guys tapping into all that. Once we had it all,
you have one of these conference calls. We had already
had a number of them, but I later found out
that at one of the big ones, when they were
deciding whether we're in or out, Kinsabornack had told me
when he came to Scranton that he was listening in
(14:22):
on the one and he just looking to hear if
we're just a bunch of fangirls we're gonna lose their
minds when you guys get to town, or if we're
actually going to hold this together and keep you guys
safe and have it lined up with the University of
scrand police and you know in the scrand Police and
the State police, and the Marshall's office. Like Michelle's brother
in laws a he's a worked here in downtown. We
(14:43):
had all of that, but it's such a small town
you can do something. And our whole pitch to Greg was,
you know, office fans are are unique. They need to
come together like Allah's Star Trek convention. But it can't
be done in l a. It cannot be done in
New York. It has to be done in scrant Because
it was such a part of the show interesting afterwards
(15:03):
became even more part of the show, which I thought
was was interesting because Greg had the foresight to bring
the writers here too. But but I think, but not
to get ahead. I think, so here we have we've
like sort of put this this agenda together. We have
this thing. The only thing we didn't have were the actors.
(15:38):
You and Angela had come in like that in May
to to say, hey, we're gonna there's gonna be the
office convention, like you sort of generously because at the
time all this could have backfired, right, kind of put
yourselves out in front. But come like a month before,
still there was nobody officially signed up to come of
the day that we got our first actual country, we
(16:02):
were panicking. We're like, we're gonna have a party no
matter what. And I remember you called me. You did, right, Brian,
And you called me when night You're like, how's it going?
And I was like, well, you know, it's going pretty well.
I'm trying to keep up the front, like it's come
pretty well. You know, all the planning seems to be happening.
You know, we got this, that got that, and um, yeah,
we just you we don't have any of the actors yet.
(16:22):
And you said something that made my stomach drop. First,
he said, I just want to start by apologizing I'm
just so sorry. And I was like, I'm like, okay,
it's cool, um trying to keep up, you know, with
the front again, and You're like, I've talked to my people,
and um, I can I can only convince thirteen of them.
(16:46):
I think I'm pretty sure. I started crying ran on
the phone, right, I was like so emotional. I don't
even know what I said after that, I just lost it.
And I was just like, because that was that, I
knew it was gonna happen. It was gonna be this thing,
and it was going to be unprecedented. You know. That
was everything that moment to me with with you on
the phone, it was just too much. It was awesome.
(17:08):
So just to put a timeline on this, So this
is two thousand six, so you're already in season three
at this point. We hosted it in October, late October,
but that was we all remember that day when you're like,
we got twelve. Now, the beauty of that. So you
may remember that none of the Fab four could make
it that year, right, So Steve, John, Jenna, and uh
and Rain could not make it, you know, just conflicts
(17:30):
and all that other kind of stuff. What we felt
from the very beginning is the actually convention was so
special because it celebrated the ensemble cast. Everybody else was there,
all the writers were there, so it really you know,
we you know, we're glad that we didn't want to distracted.
Jenny Tan was there, like Danster was there. But we
you know, we were able to build it and get
(17:51):
our hands around it, you know. And the people who
were they were truly office fans, you know, they weren't
four year old virgin fans. They were office fans. And
that was why the first one was so special, and
it was packed. It was packed. I was actually there, yes,
and I thought like it was one of the moments
to me because I was up in the balcony kind
(18:11):
of looking down and just enjoying it so much. And
each writer told episode that they wrote and and people
were like cheering for the episodes like I, you know,
I did the Baconator with the George forming girl that
was failing. And but the cool moment too, was at
the end. First everybody was so into it, but then
at the end they did a little clip of a
(18:32):
piece of a show that hadn't been seen yet, and
the crowd got to watch it live, and the actor
or the writers later told us they'd never like they'd
never gotten to see the fans watch the show and
get the reaction in real time, and that that was
like a really cool moment for them to hear them
laughing where they hope they would get a laugh and
(18:52):
like just so appreciating the beauty and the joy of it.
You know, well, I remember, I remember, I mean from
my side, and I don't even think that I was
aware that it was like a tryout. I remember coming
(19:12):
There was this brunch and I remember Tim saying, yeah,
you know, this was like for v I P things
and you know, I'm not sure how many people are
going to be there, but you know, then we've got this, this, this,
and Angela and I show up and I don't know
if you remember this, but like something happened and we
were walking into a room that was way over fire
(19:34):
code capacity of people and us walking in and like
you just like you feel a wave of heat from
bodies just walking into this room, and I like I
remember like my breath like being taken away, and like
where the fuck am I and I could say whatever
(19:57):
we want. I could say whatever I want I and
I I mean, I will never I will never forget.
I mean, I'll I will tell you right now. There
was a plan in place of the V I P.
And they were gonna be able to have a picture
with us. And then so many people came in. You
were like, okay, so here's the plan. You're gonna go
around to each table and they were like banquet tables
(20:19):
of like ten or twelve people. You're gonna go around
to each table and you're gonna say hi to each table,
and then they'll take a picture with you, and then
you'll move around to the next table. And what happened
was there were so many people that you you begin
I mean, this is a percent what happened. People started
thinking they're not going to get to us, like they're
gonna leave before it's our turn. And so then the
(20:41):
plan went awry and everybody stood up and started just
like descending into this corner. And I had Gen Garrity
police officer, police officer Gen Garrity four ft ten and
I was told could take me over her back if
she needed to body slam me um. And I remember
(21:06):
I was taking napkins off the table because it was
so hot and there were so many people and I
was like white base and she's like her eyes are big,
like whoa. And I turned around to her at one
point and I said, okay, and I, I mean, you
have to understand, I'm just a theater guy from Atlanta, Georgia.
(21:27):
Like this is I was like, what is going on?
I turned her at one point, I looked, I looked
in her eyes, and I said, okay, I just I
need I need to make sure you know you're watching
my back because I feel like I'm going to die.
I feel like I'm not going to make it out
of here. If I know you got my back, we're good. UM.
(21:47):
And just that whole trip, the um, you know, the
roof party and everything. So when we came, you had
this idea to do the convention, and then we came
and it was clearly I mean, I feel feel like
even then it was surpassing your expectation. Were you surprised
by people's reaction or was that had you come to
(22:10):
know that this was how it was going to be.
I think from your visits, we knew if everybody came
it would be something epic. It was even more epic.
It was just beyond like you can't imagine those things, right,
Like even when you try, it's like it's just because
there are so many stories from that visit. So the
(22:30):
Today Show came right and they filmed live at the
University of Scranton. And then we're realizing that everybody thinks
actors are like otherworldly and kind of whatever. And because
we had this him and I had this sort of
backstage access, we're realizing, my god, they're just people who
and this is kind of new to them too, right.
So Phillis was getting ready with Stanley to go out
(22:54):
and be interviewed by by All Broker and and when
she came out, the crowd went insane, insane, insane, and
she got very emotional because she never felt anything like that,
Like she wasn't she one of the people who helped casting. Yeah, yeah,
she she started out in casting, wasn't an actor, and
(23:16):
Ken Kappas and Greg Daniels and everybody just thought, well,
this is what we're looking for. We're looking for real people.
And yeah, she got cast. So she was here since
she was feeling this reaction, and right she was one
of the first famous faces the kids saw. So like
that was you guys had come on a Thursday night,
Friday night, we're about to go live. It's a three
day convention. And again this is October two thousand six,
(23:39):
season three, so we have we all stay out way
too late Thursday night, so you guys all come to
town birthday. It was Craig Robinson. So we you know,
we say at what was Whistles Pub back in the day,
and we're doing karaoke which just wounted to be in
a wild night. So now it's we've got to be
here at like six in the morning because we're going
(23:59):
live with local TV stations. So the students at the
University of Granton, about four thousand of them, camped outside,
so they are waiting all night long for this and
they are losing their minds. And so it's when we're pulling,
you know, out of the out of the kind of
the staging area. We're pulling fill us out of there,
she is like, if you remember, she had like a cane.
(24:20):
She had heard her ankle that we so she has
like this cane and she has her purse on her
arm like she's just like going to the store. And
as we're walking up the door, it's like go time.
We're gonna be live in about fifteen seconds, she starts
reaching in her purse to get out of camera to
take a picture for her mom. Again, that's that's the
part that she's a regular person, you know, And so
(24:41):
I like grab the camera and I'm like, I'll take
pictures for your mom. You gotta get on national TV.
So it's just those experiences. But everyone, you know, every
one of the folks at Helms is a young guy,
never been in the hangover, Like people don't know who
he is. And we have them playing a banjo at
the bog, which is legitimately about three square feet. So
(25:02):
many things that happened, but I remember, um, we were
actually in this room I think, or no, it was
another building at you and uh we had fireworks going
off and it was another really nice event. But a
gentleman came over to me and he said, are you
Michelle Dempsey? And I said yes, and he's like, I'm like,
who are you? And it was Greg Daniel's dad and
I was like, and he told me that he like
(25:29):
catching my breath right, and he's like, he's like, I
just want to let you know that I've been to
an oscars and I've been to an Emmy's and you know,
I've been a super Bowl. He's like, He's like, and
this is the best party I've ever been to. This
this weekend, it's now it was in his son's honor
and like a right but but like for us, I
(25:51):
think that mom was like, wow, like this did happen
and it came together and people are enjoying it. And
then the letters we got afterwards from the fans who
came that would just melt your heart about how is
the best weekending of lives or you know people who
came here who you know, we're special needs who got
to meet their their heroes right like it It really
(26:14):
was for some people they had the best day weekend
of their lives. In script because of the office, the
press was also a great thing. So you talked about
the letters we received and everything you know, we got.
We were in the China Times, like the got on
the ap wire. It was a sweetheart of a story.
So it was in every newspaper in the nation, you know,
back when people read newspapers. It was in I forget
(26:35):
what paper, but one of them said that it was
like a Star Trek convention with girls. But it just
it was just great group of people. Everybody was happy.
Now fast forward to two thousand thirteen with the rap
party that was bananas, that was everybody came for that.
(27:13):
How did you feel when you found out the show was?
Of course bittersweet? Right, it felt like it had this
amazing like if you go on too long, as like
knowing when to end. I guess it's as important as
anything else. Right, Um, So it was like sad, but
oh my god, the way the show ended was so
there's not a show in anywhere in TV history that
(27:34):
ended more beautifully in my personal opinion than the big
ending that you can talk about. But this was. This
was fantastic. So so we just I think a texted
um it's time and you were like, let's go or something.
It was like a real nice little We were both
almost like kid met like the same moment saying we've
got it. Take a deep breath, We're going to do
(27:54):
it again. So, just so you know, it didn't that
didn't just come out of thin air. So as we
were wrapping up the Sunday, Greg Daniels, you know, everybody
had already gotten off. Greg was on one of the
last flights out of Scranton. You know, we got to
have a moment with him where we just said, you know, hey,
this was awesome. You're welcome to do this anytime you
want to come on back. If we can't do something
(28:16):
like this every year every year, just at least consider
doing a rap party here, you know, and just instead
of going wherever you would normally go, just get on
an airplane party at thirty thousand feet and let's just
do it here. And instead of this crazy three day thing,
let's cram it into one super awesome day because we
already knew once it had started that was way too
big and unwieldy. You know. Just when I went out
(28:38):
and that was Steve Carrell, he was He's like, I'd
love to be in a parade and screened now here.
You have a big parade, right and you wanted to
be in a coffee cup world best boss. I like,
you want a parde and Scrien, You've got a parade,
say the word. And we did. We had a parade.
We had it all mapped out. It was a perfect,
like four block parade to this awesome thing. We had
(28:59):
set a right at Courthouse Square and everybody is off
on the streets easily twenty people on the streets and
just a very small area and everything is looking good.
I take a nice little picture of the parade route.
We've got everybody in, the beautiful open cars and everything.
The first guy we have gon down as Craig Robinson,
and he is on you know, on the back of
(29:20):
his pickup truck, and he just starts dancing. He's got
his arms and he starts waving the crowd to come in.
You're too far away, come on. That's how it happened.
And the whole the entire length of the parade route
all collapsed on the parade so we were literally elbowing
(29:41):
eighteen year old girls away from but Steve Carell we
could have never protected him. It was just again the
whole thing that that evening, and just the the genuine
smiles on the faces of everybody. Yes, the fans could not.
I mean I think they lost their months, like they
couldn't have if you that is what happiness looks like.
(30:05):
That's what joy looks like. That stadium is like what
joy looks like if you get to see it right,
And and everybody's faces were just lit up like and
including Steve's. He came out and hit. He just you
could tell, even at that level of fame, he genuinely
appreciates that those people were there, you know, to to
(30:29):
to to appreciate the body of work that was created,
you know, and and and you guys as individual actors,
and you're extreme and massive talent that brings. I was
thinking about the other night because I went home and
I was you know, it doesn't matter how your day is,
you put The Office on and you're gonna smile and
you're gonna laugh, you know. For me, I adopted two
boys three years ago from Kyrgyzstan, so they came over.
(30:50):
They spoke Russian in order of English, and um, we
were still using translators. Um. And my older son started
watching The Office, probably because it was in my saved programs, right,
and he just started binging it. And I'm like, well,
maybe there's a little inappropriate here and there, but what's
he going to know? Right, let him watch it, right,
And one day I'm sort of sitting there watching it
(31:10):
with him, and he's laughing at the jokes. He's laughing
at all the right not just the slapstick, he's laughing
at all the right spots and I'm like, he can't
talk to me yet, but he knows what's happening here, right.
I'm like, so he probably knows when I say clean
your room too, But like you, but it was the
the appeal was so unique, Like what is that? I
don't know. I can't see it ever ending because it's
(31:34):
just it's timeless. It is timeless. Well, Ken, today I
was talking about I said, what is the office done
for Scranton? Why is the office so special? Or why
is that bond there? And he just very plain spoken,
(31:57):
said well, what is your life and your career since
the office? And I said, well, it's completely and totally
changed me and and people's perception on me. And he said, yeah,
that's that's the town too. And I can't explain it
(32:25):
is it makes no sense to me. I'm a guy
from Georgia that now lives in California, but the the
bond that I feel to this place, it doesn't make
any sense. I am telling you. I said this, when
(32:49):
you got here like you are, your love is so
it's so real, it's so felt by us. And I
think maybe you're you're feeling that genuine love that people
have for you here because it is it's as real
as it as it gets for someone that you didn't
grow up with, who wasn't your family, do you know
what I mean? But they feel your your love, We
(33:12):
feel your love for us a town that wasn't loved
for a long time, right, And you came here and
you're like, I'm this is this is part of me now,
you know, and we get it and we love it. Yeah.
But the two of you and the initiative you showed,
and how respectful you were of the show as we
(33:33):
tried to be of Scranton, your love of the place,
and how hard I know you were. The show was
a little engine that could terrible ratings. We were trying
to do something new and different. And you know, my
my last impression or memory from the office convention was,
(33:57):
you know, they said yes, but did they think it
was going to be a success? And all I remember
is we had a three day convention, an NBC sent
only one semi truck of merchandise down and by halfway
through the first day everything was gone. And I think
(34:19):
we were under underestimated. You guys were underestimated, and our
fans were underestimated in a way, and you guys will
always have huge love in my heart and appreciation for
the two of you and what what you did for us.
I just want to thank you. That is wonderful, but
we certainly appreciate it. And as we said, without your connection,
(34:42):
it never happens. And uh, we all passed this way
but once and at the you know, my parents are
in a nursing home right now and they look back
and look at the fun times in their lives. We'll
all be doing that soon enough. And those real connections
that you create is all that matters, you know, And
this has been wonderful. I I said to um to
Greg after after I think after the originally convention, I said,
(35:05):
I said, thank you for the rocking chair stories. You know,
these are experiences and memories. When I'm an old lady
on the rocking chair and the old folks home, I'll
be still be telling people about until they don't want
to hear it anymore. But Mike, it's still good though,
and uh. And so we have these rocking chair stories
now thanks to the office, thanks to Greg's risk taking
belief in us. And we always tell people who ask us,
(35:27):
like these characters you love, they deserve your love because
as people through the exact same It's like you are
just salt to the earth. Amazing wonderful people too. And
and so where maybe I'll end it is sort of
what I heard um, Steve Kerl say to a little
group of people at the rap party. Um, he said,
don't be sad it's over. Be happy it happened. I
(35:50):
don't know. I'm a rocking chair. So I'm going to
feel about my life too, write And this is something
I always these these events and even these conversations like
don't gave us this and you just that's well, thank
you guys so much. No, and thank you for coming
(36:11):
and talking to me and being so open and letting me,
letting me come back again. I sopate always welcome. All right. Wow,
(36:33):
that got a little emotional there at the end. Thank you,
Tim and Michelle, I love you. Thank you for being
so open with us, and and thank you Scranton for
always welcoming me home. But before I wrap this episode up,
I just want to give a shout out to a
(36:55):
few of the other folks who made my last trip
to Scranton, oh special. First, I want to thank Ken,
the limo guy, who that he's my go to driver,
in Scranton and always make sure I get to all
of the planned destinations on time or at least fashionably late.
(37:16):
Two Mayor Page GEPHARDT. Cognetti, And to the Scranton Police Department,
especially my dear old friend Jen Garritty for keeping us safe.
The University of Scranton, who not only bestowed my new
certificate in Scrantology, but also helped us organize the Q
and A and the book signing for hundreds of students
(37:38):
who might I add, waited for hours in the rain.
Thank you to the President, Reverend Joseph Marina, the Executive
Director of Conferences and Events Services, Frannie Mancuso, the director
of News and Media Relations stand Sigmund, the Vice president
for Student Life Bobby Davis, and the Director of the
(38:00):
Center for Health, Education and Wellness, Stephanie Adamack, who very
kindly volunteered to moderate the Q and A. The bookstore
staff Lisa Mikhailo and Wayne Beach who stocked over a
thousand books for us. Also a big thank you to
the students who helped organize the event and to all
(38:20):
the fans who attended. Next my people from Cooper's Cooper's
Seafood House big thanks to Jack, Paul, Mark, Ryan, the
whole gang you open your doors for hundreds of fans
who wanted to get their books signed, including the bride
that I mentioned in the preface of the book, to
(38:42):
Patrick and Billy Nassair, Tony Potus, Eric Miller, the whole
crew at Backyard Ale House for well the most unforgettable
after party ever in the world, where I tended bar
into the wee hours of the night. It is, without
a doubt, my favorite hub in the entire world. Finally,
(39:04):
one more giant thank you to Tim and Michelle and
their families for greeting me with open arms and making
my trips back home to Scranton so special. So everyone listening,
I'm telling you, the next time you're in Scranton, all right,
you have to check out each and every one of
their establishments, get the full office experience, and you will
(39:28):
get a big Scranton welcome and listen. Just tell him
Brian send you. I hope you all have a fantastic Tuesday.
I will see you next week for another special edition
of The Office Deep Dive. Where are you guys from
(39:52):
Video Texas? Yeah, literally watched your show at least twenty
times character, and I'm about the priory own because I
loving him so much. I drove all the way from
show to meet you. I have an interview in the morning,
got to get back to it. Her brother got married
at the Ratis and when the convention was on, and
you and Awa came downstairs and you took a picture
with him and his wife and our wedding. We actually
(40:14):
walked into the office theme. I have a tattoo of
Jim Helper when he addresses this twe My mom would
not believe this because she thinks the Office of the
stupidest show up all time. Please cut that part. I
love
Oh my god, that's it right there, scrant the Electric City.
It's been seven years since The Office Finale aired and
we had the Scranton Rap Party here. I haven't been
back since, really and exploring anything about the Office, I
(00:22):
felt like it was important to come back here to
scrant It's not really where it all started, but it
somehow feels like it's where it all started. My name
is Michelle Dempsey and I'm a co chair of the
(00:43):
Office Convention in the Office Rap Party. My name is
Tim Holmes. I'm a co chair of the Office Convention
in the Office Rap Party. Hello everybody, and welcome to
a brand new and very close to my heart episode
(01:07):
of The Office Deep Dive. I am your host, Brian
baum Gartner. Now, I thought we could do something a
little bit different today, alright, something very special. If you've
been following me on Instagram, you know that I just
got back from my book tour, and let me tell
you it was freaking incredible, all right. I went all
(01:30):
the way back to Scranton, Pennsylvania, the Electric City, the
hometown of the Office, and I'm not even making this up.
I left Scranton with an honorary certificate in Scrantology from
the University of Scranton. I'm a doctor as far as
(01:51):
I'm concerned. Yes, I think I am the only person
to have ever been bestowed with such an honor. So
take that everybody else. Uh Now, as an honorary Scrantonian,
I thought I would take you back to Scranton with
me and introduce you to some of the amazing people
(02:12):
I have met in the town. I really have not
felt more welcome from any town or any group of
people ever. Scranton has become my second home, and it
is all because of the people. I am so excited
to introduce you to to such people, the incredible Tim
(02:35):
Holmes and Michelle Dempsey. These two were responsible for the
Office Convention in two thousand seven and the Rap Party
in two thousand thirteen. If you read our book or
listen to the podcast, you know how special those events were.
Tim and Michelle's love for the show and for their
(02:57):
town Scranton is so big that they volunteered to co
chair all of these spectacular office events. They have done
an amazing job every single time I have come, and
they have made those experiences extra special, not just for me,
but for everyone else who was there. Along with the
(03:20):
rest of the town. They keep the show's legacy going
and I could not be more grateful. So on this
very special edition of the podcast, please give a warm
Scrantonian welcome to the true keepers of the office. Tim Holmes,
Michelle Dempsey, and all of the people of Scranton. Bubble
(03:47):
and Squeak. I love it, Bubble and Squeak, Bubble and
Squeaker cooking at every month. Lift over from the night before.
(04:10):
I was driving down the highway here and we got
off and there was the mural there. I started, no joke,
I started getting emotional when I just like, I just
saw the sign. Honest to God, when Scranton heard you
were coming, you felt the electricity searched through the city.
(04:30):
I'm not kidding you. Every my phone hasn't stuffer ringing.
I'm sure Tim has been the same way it has
been and everybody and anybody who thinks they might be
you know, they it has just been on fire since
you're since your tweet. Yeah, we were trying to keep
it under the bottles. Were like yeah, and then your
(04:52):
tree went out. We're like, okay, it's on Well, John
just kind of he was because I talked to him
yesterday and then he was like, will you send me
a photo? Will you send me a photo? And I
sent John the picture. And the true story is I
like put my phone in my pocket and then it
like buzzes what seems like fourteen seconds later, and it's
(05:13):
I don't know if you guys remember Steve Socks. I
think he was here at the rap party. He was
like the long time stand in, like like he was
like Steve stand In anyone standing on the show. And
I look at my I'm like Steve Socks and he goes, hey,
if you're with Krasinski telling me it was a hundred
dollars for the fantasy football buy in this year because
(05:35):
he's like a missioner, and I'm like, how does he
know with Presinsky? And then suddenly my phone went like
you're with John tell him this you're blah blah blah,
and I was like, oh my god. He posted it
like so quickly after he got his hands. Yeah. And
now how did you first find out about the Office? Well?
I was a huge fan of the British version of
(05:56):
the Office, Okay, so when I heard that The Office
was coming to America, yea. And then when I heard
was Scranton. I actually panicked. I panic, I was. I went,
I didn't know the mayor well, but I like, like
march to city Hall, like this is not a good thing.
This is not a good thing because Slough. They're not
kind to Slough in that show. And the mayor was
trying to turn Scranton around and we were on this
(06:17):
upswing and and so I thought, you know, slow was
really the road to nowhere in that show. And um
and Chris Staherty, who's the mayor at the time, He's like, well,
I talked to Greg Daniels and who's the creator of
the American version, and he said, he's you know, it's
it'll be different, like he's going to be good to
the city. And I took a deep breath, like, okay,
that sounds good. And I hope this Greg Daniels everything
(06:42):
he told you he is, And like, could I think
higher of Greg Daniels, I don't think so. Like he
he made Granton like another quirky, lovable character on the show, right,
he captured the essence of who we are. And that,
you know, to me is because it's forever change the
perception on the outside. It finally let people like the
(07:04):
perception wasn't what the reality was to us, and now
they match, right, Like the perception is the reality, and
the Office was the springboard for that. Like it really
had an impact on Scranton, like huge, And I know
we'll talk about that a little bit, but there's the
before the office and after the Office for Scranton and
for when you leave Scranton and tell people where you're from.
(07:26):
What used to happen is like I'd say I'm from Scranton,
people be like, oh, I'm sorry, right right right, like really,
And I always I never knew what they were sorry
about because I always loved to hear and thought it
was a great place. But um, now it's I'm from
Scranton's like I love the office and it's your instant
bond across the world with everybody, and you'll hear from
all these people the connections and the love and the
(07:49):
interesting moments that they've had outside of the area telling
people that they're from Scranton. Right, And I think there's
a cool story about how Greg picked Scranton to that
folds into pace. Go ahead. Um so actually Tim tells
us better than I do. So so this is Greg's words,
not ours. And we're obviously paraphrasing, but it is our
understanding that he chose, you know, basically, when he's looking
(08:12):
where he's going to do a philosophically speaking, it's a
it's a satellite brand, so it's got to be a
kind of a smaller city. Uh. He felt it had
East Coast sensibility, so he was kind of looking at
the East coast. When he decided the home office would
be in New York City, he began to look at
cities with with our with with with our, which in
might be a two hour driving distance. So he looks
(08:33):
at Grand Pennsylvania, Stanford, Connecticut, Utica, New York, Nashua, New Hampshire.
These may all sound familiar because they all wind up
being the branches and so and that's when he sends
out these teams to go check out, and Johnny Kay
happens to be one of them coming into Scranton. So
you know, from what we understand, there was a lot
of little happy circumstances because it wasn't only pinn Paper.
(08:56):
There was another place here called paper Magic, which is
also a place that John visit. And paper Magic is
the one that had a like Greg remembers getting a
greeting card that had paper paper magic Scranton p A.
So he kind of had that in mind, you know,
and he's he he did say, you know, he might
have just been being nice to us, but he felt
Scranton was kind of the one to beat because he
(09:18):
felt it was a big enough name just because of
how big we were during the investoral Revolution and a
bunch of things, you know, for a little town, we
have a big name, um, you know. And ultimately everything
fell into place and it and it worked out wonderfully
for the show, for us, for everybody involved. Magic makes
all those Valentine's that used to give out in grades
(09:39):
magic scrant p A on the back of all of them,
and he remembered that. So it was a confluence of things, right,
and that was one of them. Yes, And he also
thought the name Scranton was a funny thing to say,
and it is. There's a lot of consonants all in
a row, and it works around in your a little bit.
(10:00):
And so that's that was the one thing. And if
you're from here, you don't pronounce the te right, so
so you, um, you were born here. I was born here. Yeah,
So that was how I heard about the office. And
then probably a few years into the show, I have
(10:22):
an architecture firm, and I was at work and I
opened up my web browser and there was just an article.
You know, they all populate. There was an article about
President Idaho getting this little economic boom from people who
were fans of the cult classical, the cult movie Napoleon
Dynamite going there to see all the sites, like we're
the fictional home of Donder Mifflin, right, Like that seems
(10:46):
like cooler. Um, we should invite everybody to come here
and like have like invite the actors to come here
and see the city and show people what it's like here,
and they'd have a great time. They'd meet with the fans,
the city you know, would be on displayed. Be a
win win win, which is what we ultimately That's that's
what we ultimately pitched, right, like the win win win, Right.
But that's where the idea came from, and it literally
(11:07):
went nowhere. And this is where Tim comes and went nowhere.
I I met with like three groups of people until
somebody was finally like, I have to introduce you to
Tim Holmes, right right, I didn't know you. I didn't
know each other at all, which is crazy to think
of a time I didn't know Tim and the Homes
family right right, uh. And so we were introduced, and
Tim instantly saw the you know, he was got it. Yep,
(11:31):
all right, here's what we're gonna do. And then he
went into Tim mode right right right now? Did you
know the show? Were you watching the show? So I
was definitely familiar with it, but I wasn't as immersed
in it as Michelle was, so I certainly saw the
value in it, but it was definitely something that we
were all beginning to see license plates from Ontario and
South Carolina and everything driving from town that doesn't happen
(11:51):
in Scranton, but it began to happen, and we're all like, yeah,
I guess what you're saying. Michelle is making an awful
lot of sense. So, and like we were doing things.
And just to be clear, Tim worked for the local
newspaper and I was an architect. We had no background
and anything like okay, like like Tim did planning events locally, right,
so he knew how to put an event together. But
this was going to be bigger than anything I think
(12:13):
you'd ever done, right, And so here I am an
architect and he's a marketing We come up with this
big idea. We got all these partners on board, I
remember at one point. Then then we had to go
through everybody's act like agents and managers, right, Like for
everybody I'm calling, I'm like, I don't hello, Hi, I'm
representing office convention, right, I'm I'm putting together contracts. I'm like,
(12:36):
I'm like, what am I doing staring at a piece
of paper? And I like negotiating Like this was crez
Like we had to do it all right. It was
like Tim and I had to do all of that,
which is exactly why I think Greg liked it because
he could see it wasn't like some outside group that
was coming in and trying to monetize this thing. It
was not set up to be a, you know, a
(12:57):
for profit thing, which is why you guys gave us
a ACN talent fees and you know, and they helped
with travel and all this other kind of stuff. They
could see right from the get go that it was
it was a partnership. The partnership was with the city
of granted, it was with the county. He was with
the Visitors Bureau. We weren't selling, you know, sponsorships where
you had to put a shirt on that said somebody Sunjoko.
We were gonna, you know, we knew enough not to
(13:19):
do any of that stuff. And I think, you know,
we would have conversations with to Wann Park and the
NBC Universal folks, and and truly they were kind of
put they were put on the sc Yeah, they didn't
open the door to the producers of the show and
to Greg and tell what they realized we really had
something that they're like, Okay, I think these guys have
(13:40):
their stuff together, right, so we're going to now make
this connection because we had to dream up the entire
like all the the office Olympic Games. The writer's blocked,
Like that just came out of our heads, right. That
was like it was maybe about seven or eight of
us that did it. Tuck our house, Matt Smith, you know,
Eric Devi and all these guys are building our websites
(14:00):
and everything. Uh, all of that stuff was critical because
they all played a certain role in it. And then
all the partners, the University of scrant and all these
guys tapping into all that. Once we had it all,
you have one of these conference calls. We had already
had a number of them, but I later found out
that at one of the big ones, when they were
deciding whether we're in or out, Kinsabornack had told me
when he came to Scranton that he was listening in
(14:22):
on the one and he just looking to hear if
we're just a bunch of fangirls we're gonna lose their
minds when you guys get to town, or if we're
actually going to hold this together and keep you guys
safe and have it lined up with the University of
scrand police and you know in the scrand Police and
the State police, and the Marshall's office. Like Michelle's brother
in laws a he's a worked here in downtown. We
(14:43):
had all of that, but it's such a small town
you can do something. And our whole pitch to Greg was,
you know, office fans are are unique. They need to
come together like Allah's Star Trek convention. But it can't
be done in l a. It cannot be done in
New York. It has to be done in scrant Because
it was such a part of the show interesting afterwards
(15:03):
became even more part of the show, which I thought
was was interesting because Greg had the foresight to bring
the writers here too. But but I think, but not
to get ahead. I think, so here we have we've
like sort of put this this agenda together. We have
this thing. The only thing we didn't have were the actors.
(15:38):
You and Angela had come in like that in May
to to say, hey, we're gonna there's gonna be the
office convention, like you sort of generously because at the
time all this could have backfired, right, kind of put
yourselves out in front. But come like a month before,
still there was nobody officially signed up to come of
the day that we got our first actual country, we
(16:02):
were panicking. We're like, we're gonna have a party no
matter what. And I remember you called me. You did, right, Brian,
And you called me when night You're like, how's it going?
And I was like, well, you know, it's going pretty well.
I'm trying to keep up the front, like it's come
pretty well. You know, all the planning seems to be happening.
You know, we got this, that got that, and um, yeah,
we just you we don't have any of the actors yet.
(16:22):
And you said something that made my stomach drop. First,
he said, I just want to start by apologizing I'm
just so sorry. And I was like, I'm like, okay,
it's cool, um trying to keep up, you know, with
the front again, and You're like, I've talked to my people,
and um, I can I can only convince thirteen of them.
(16:46):
I think I'm pretty sure. I started crying ran on
the phone, right, I was like so emotional. I don't
even know what I said after that, I just lost it.
And I was just like, because that was that, I
knew it was gonna happen. It was gonna be this thing,
and it was going to be unprecedented. You know. That
was everything that moment to me with with you on
the phone, it was just too much. It was awesome.
(17:08):
So just to put a timeline on this, So this
is two thousand six, so you're already in season three
at this point. We hosted it in October, late October,
but that was we all remember that day when you're like,
we got twelve. Now, the beauty of that. So you
may remember that none of the Fab four could make
it that year, right, So Steve, John, Jenna, and uh
and Rain could not make it, you know, just conflicts
(17:30):
and all that other kind of stuff. What we felt
from the very beginning is the actually convention was so
special because it celebrated the ensemble cast. Everybody else was there,
all the writers were there, so it really you know,
we you know, we're glad that we didn't want to distracted.
Jenny Tan was there, like Danster was there. But we
you know, we were able to build it and get
(17:51):
our hands around it, you know. And the people who
were they were truly office fans, you know, they weren't
four year old virgin fans. They were office fans. And
that was why the first one was so special, and
it was packed. It was packed. I was actually there, yes,
and I thought like it was one of the moments
to me because I was up in the balcony kind
(18:11):
of looking down and just enjoying it so much. And
each writer told episode that they wrote and and people
were like cheering for the episodes like I, you know,
I did the Baconator with the George forming girl that
was failing. And but the cool moment too, was at
the end. First everybody was so into it, but then
at the end they did a little clip of a
(18:32):
piece of a show that hadn't been seen yet, and
the crowd got to watch it live, and the actor
or the writers later told us they'd never like they'd
never gotten to see the fans watch the show and
get the reaction in real time, and that that was
like a really cool moment for them to hear them
laughing where they hope they would get a laugh and
(18:52):
like just so appreciating the beauty and the joy of it.
You know, well, I remember, I remember, I mean from
my side, and I don't even think that I was
aware that it was like a tryout. I remember coming
(19:12):
There was this brunch and I remember Tim saying, yeah,
you know, this was like for v I P things
and you know, I'm not sure how many people are
going to be there, but you know, then we've got this, this, this,
and Angela and I show up and I don't know
if you remember this, but like something happened and we
were walking into a room that was way over fire
(19:34):
code capacity of people and us walking in and like
you just like you feel a wave of heat from
bodies just walking into this room, and I like I
remember like my breath like being taken away, and like
where the fuck am I and I could say whatever
(19:57):
we want. I could say whatever I want I and
I I mean, I will never I will never forget.
I mean, I'll I will tell you right now. There
was a plan in place of the V I P.
And they were gonna be able to have a picture
with us. And then so many people came in. You
were like, okay, so here's the plan. You're gonna go
around to each table and they were like banquet tables
(20:19):
of like ten or twelve people. You're gonna go around
to each table and you're gonna say hi to each table,
and then they'll take a picture with you, and then
you'll move around to the next table. And what happened
was there were so many people that you you begin
I mean, this is a percent what happened. People started
thinking they're not going to get to us, like they're
gonna leave before it's our turn. And so then the
(20:41):
plan went awry and everybody stood up and started just
like descending into this corner. And I had Gen Garrity
police officer, police officer Gen Garrity four ft ten and
I was told could take me over her back if
she needed to body slam me um. And I remember
(21:06):
I was taking napkins off the table because it was
so hot and there were so many people and I
was like white base and she's like her eyes are big,
like whoa. And I turned around to her at one
point and I said, okay, and I, I mean, you
have to understand, I'm just a theater guy from Atlanta, Georgia.
(21:27):
Like this is I was like, what is going on?
I turned her at one point, I looked, I looked
in her eyes, and I said, okay, I just I
need I need to make sure you know you're watching
my back because I feel like I'm going to die.
I feel like I'm not going to make it out
of here. If I know you got my back, we're good. UM.
(21:47):
And just that whole trip, the um, you know, the
roof party and everything. So when we came, you had
this idea to do the convention, and then we came
and it was clearly I mean, I feel feel like
even then it was surpassing your expectation. Were you surprised
by people's reaction or was that had you come to
(22:10):
know that this was how it was going to be.
I think from your visits, we knew if everybody came
it would be something epic. It was even more epic.
It was just beyond like you can't imagine those things, right,
Like even when you try, it's like it's just because
there are so many stories from that visit. So the
(22:30):
Today Show came right and they filmed live at the
University of Scranton. And then we're realizing that everybody thinks
actors are like otherworldly and kind of whatever. And because
we had this him and I had this sort of
backstage access, we're realizing, my god, they're just people who
and this is kind of new to them too, right.
So Phillis was getting ready with Stanley to go out
(22:54):
and be interviewed by by All Broker and and when
she came out, the crowd went insane, insane, insane, and
she got very emotional because she never felt anything like that,
Like she wasn't she one of the people who helped casting. Yeah, yeah,
she she started out in casting, wasn't an actor, and
(23:16):
Ken Kappas and Greg Daniels and everybody just thought, well,
this is what we're looking for. We're looking for real people.
And yeah, she got cast. So she was here since
she was feeling this reaction, and right she was one
of the first famous faces the kids saw. So like
that was you guys had come on a Thursday night,
Friday night, we're about to go live. It's a three
day convention. And again this is October two thousand six,
(23:39):
season three, so we have we all stay out way
too late Thursday night, so you guys all come to
town birthday. It was Craig Robinson. So we you know,
we say at what was Whistles Pub back in the day,
and we're doing karaoke which just wounted to be in
a wild night. So now it's we've got to be
here at like six in the morning because we're going
(23:59):
live with local TV stations. So the students at the
University of Granton, about four thousand of them, camped outside,
so they are waiting all night long for this and
they are losing their minds. And so it's when we're pulling,
you know, out of the out of the kind of
the staging area. We're pulling fill us out of there,
she is like, if you remember, she had like a cane.
(24:20):
She had heard her ankle that we so she has
like this cane and she has her purse on her
arm like she's just like going to the store. And
as we're walking up the door, it's like go time.
We're gonna be live in about fifteen seconds, she starts
reaching in her purse to get out of camera to
take a picture for her mom. Again, that's that's the
part that she's a regular person, you know, And so
(24:41):
I like grab the camera and I'm like, I'll take
pictures for your mom. You gotta get on national TV.
So it's just those experiences. But everyone, you know, every
one of the folks at Helms is a young guy,
never been in the hangover, Like people don't know who
he is. And we have them playing a banjo at
the bog, which is legitimately about three square feet. So
(25:02):
many things that happened, but I remember, um, we were
actually in this room I think, or no, it was
another building at you and uh we had fireworks going
off and it was another really nice event. But a
gentleman came over to me and he said, are you
Michelle Dempsey? And I said yes, and he's like, I'm like,
who are you? And it was Greg Daniel's dad and
I was like, and he told me that he like
(25:29):
catching my breath right, and he's like, he's like, I
just want to let you know that I've been to
an oscars and I've been to an Emmy's and you know,
I've been a super Bowl. He's like, He's like, and
this is the best party I've ever been to. This
this weekend, it's now it was in his son's honor
and like a right but but like for us, I
(25:51):
think that mom was like, wow, like this did happen
and it came together and people are enjoying it. And
then the letters we got afterwards from the fans who
came that would just melt your heart about how is
the best weekending of lives or you know people who
came here who you know, we're special needs who got
to meet their their heroes right like it It really
(26:14):
was for some people they had the best day weekend
of their lives. In script because of the office, the
press was also a great thing. So you talked about
the letters we received and everything you know, we got.
We were in the China Times, like the got on
the ap wire. It was a sweetheart of a story.
So it was in every newspaper in the nation, you know,
back when people read newspapers. It was in I forget
(26:35):
what paper, but one of them said that it was
like a Star Trek convention with girls. But it just
it was just great group of people. Everybody was happy.
Now fast forward to two thousand thirteen with the rap
party that was bananas, that was everybody came for that.
(27:13):
How did you feel when you found out the show was?
Of course bittersweet? Right, it felt like it had this
amazing like if you go on too long, as like
knowing when to end. I guess it's as important as
anything else. Right, Um, So it was like sad, but
oh my god, the way the show ended was so
there's not a show in anywhere in TV history that
(27:34):
ended more beautifully in my personal opinion than the big
ending that you can talk about. But this was. This
was fantastic. So so we just I think a texted
um it's time and you were like, let's go or something.
It was like a real nice little We were both
almost like kid met like the same moment saying we've
got it. Take a deep breath, We're going to do
(27:54):
it again. So, just so you know, it didn't that
didn't just come out of thin air. So as we
were wrapping up the Sunday, Greg Daniels, you know, everybody
had already gotten off. Greg was on one of the
last flights out of Scranton. You know, we got to
have a moment with him where we just said, you know, hey,
this was awesome. You're welcome to do this anytime you
want to come on back. If we can't do something
(28:16):
like this every year every year, just at least consider
doing a rap party here, you know, and just instead
of going wherever you would normally go, just get on
an airplane party at thirty thousand feet and let's just
do it here. And instead of this crazy three day thing,
let's cram it into one super awesome day because we
already knew once it had started that was way too
big and unwieldy. You know. Just when I went out
(28:38):
and that was Steve Carrell, he was He's like, I'd
love to be in a parade and screened now here.
You have a big parade, right and you wanted to
be in a coffee cup world best boss. I like,
you want a parde and Scrien, You've got a parade,
say the word. And we did. We had a parade.
We had it all mapped out. It was a perfect,
like four block parade to this awesome thing. We had
(28:59):
set a right at Courthouse Square and everybody is off
on the streets easily twenty people on the streets and
just a very small area and everything is looking good.
I take a nice little picture of the parade route.
We've got everybody in, the beautiful open cars and everything.
The first guy we have gon down as Craig Robinson,
and he is on you know, on the back of
(29:20):
his pickup truck, and he just starts dancing. He's got
his arms and he starts waving the crowd to come in.
You're too far away, come on. That's how it happened.
And the whole the entire length of the parade route
all collapsed on the parade so we were literally elbowing
(29:41):
eighteen year old girls away from but Steve Carell we
could have never protected him. It was just again the
whole thing that that evening, and just the the genuine
smiles on the faces of everybody. Yes, the fans could not.
I mean I think they lost their months, like they
couldn't have if you that is what happiness looks like.
(30:05):
That's what joy looks like. That stadium is like what
joy looks like if you get to see it right,
And and everybody's faces were just lit up like and
including Steve's. He came out and hit. He just you
could tell, even at that level of fame, he genuinely
appreciates that those people were there, you know, to to
(30:29):
to to appreciate the body of work that was created,
you know, and and and you guys as individual actors,
and you're extreme and massive talent that brings. I was
thinking about the other night because I went home and
I was you know, it doesn't matter how your day is,
you put The Office on and you're gonna smile and
you're gonna laugh, you know. For me, I adopted two
boys three years ago from Kyrgyzstan, so they came over.
(30:50):
They spoke Russian in order of English, and um, we
were still using translators. Um. And my older son started
watching The Office, probably because it was in my saved programs, right,
and he just started binging it. And I'm like, well,
maybe there's a little inappropriate here and there, but what's
he going to know? Right, let him watch it, right,
And one day I'm sort of sitting there watching it
(31:10):
with him, and he's laughing at the jokes. He's laughing
at all the right not just the slapstick, he's laughing
at all the right spots and I'm like, he can't
talk to me yet, but he knows what's happening here, right.
I'm like, so he probably knows when I say clean
your room too, But like you, but it was the
the appeal was so unique, Like what is that? I
don't know. I can't see it ever ending because it's
(31:34):
just it's timeless. It is timeless. Well, Ken, today I
was talking about I said, what is the office done
for Scranton? Why is the office so special? Or why
is that bond there? And he just very plain spoken,
(31:57):
said well, what is your life and your career since
the office? And I said, well, it's completely and totally
changed me and and people's perception on me. And he said, yeah,
that's that's the town too. And I can't explain it
(32:25):
is it makes no sense to me. I'm a guy
from Georgia that now lives in California, but the the
bond that I feel to this place, it doesn't make
any sense. I am telling you. I said this, when
(32:49):
you got here like you are, your love is so
it's so real, it's so felt by us. And I
think maybe you're you're feeling that genuine love that people
have for you here because it is it's as real
as it as it gets for someone that you didn't
grow up with, who wasn't your family, do you know
what I mean? But they feel your your love, We
(33:12):
feel your love for us a town that wasn't loved
for a long time, right, And you came here and
you're like, I'm this is this is part of me now,
you know, and we get it and we love it. Yeah.
But the two of you and the initiative you showed,
and how respectful you were of the show as we
(33:33):
tried to be of Scranton, your love of the place,
and how hard I know you were. The show was
a little engine that could terrible ratings. We were trying
to do something new and different. And you know, my
my last impression or memory from the office convention was,
(33:57):
you know, they said yes, but did they think it
was going to be a success? And all I remember
is we had a three day convention, an NBC sent
only one semi truck of merchandise down and by halfway
through the first day everything was gone. And I think
(34:19):
we were under underestimated. You guys were underestimated, and our
fans were underestimated in a way, and you guys will
always have huge love in my heart and appreciation for
the two of you and what what you did for us.
I just want to thank you. That is wonderful, but
we certainly appreciate it. And as we said, without your connection,
(34:42):
it never happens. And uh, we all passed this way
but once and at the you know, my parents are
in a nursing home right now and they look back
and look at the fun times in their lives. We'll
all be doing that soon enough. And those real connections
that you create is all that matters, you know, And
this has been wonderful. I I said to um to
Greg after after I think after the originally convention, I said,
(35:05):
I said, thank you for the rocking chair stories. You know,
these are experiences and memories. When I'm an old lady
on the rocking chair and the old folks home, I'll
be still be telling people about until they don't want
to hear it anymore. But Mike, it's still good though,
and uh. And so we have these rocking chair stories
now thanks to the office, thanks to Greg's risk taking
belief in us. And we always tell people who ask us,
(35:27):
like these characters you love, they deserve your love because
as people through the exact same It's like you are
just salt to the earth. Amazing wonderful people too. And
and so where maybe I'll end it is sort of
what I heard um, Steve Kerl say to a little
group of people at the rap party. Um, he said,
don't be sad it's over. Be happy it happened. I
(35:50):
don't know. I'm a rocking chair. So I'm going to
feel about my life too, write And this is something
I always these these events and even these conversations like
don't gave us this and you just that's well, thank
you guys so much. No, and thank you for coming
(36:11):
and talking to me and being so open and letting me,
letting me come back again. I sopate always welcome. All right. Wow,
(36:33):
that got a little emotional there at the end. Thank you,
Tim and Michelle, I love you. Thank you for being
so open with us, and and thank you Scranton for
always welcoming me home. But before I wrap this episode up,
I just want to give a shout out to a
(36:55):
few of the other folks who made my last trip
to Scranton, oh special. First, I want to thank Ken,
the limo guy, who that he's my go to driver,
in Scranton and always make sure I get to all
of the planned destinations on time or at least fashionably late.
(37:16):
Two Mayor Page GEPHARDT. Cognetti, And to the Scranton Police Department,
especially my dear old friend Jen Garritty for keeping us safe.
The University of Scranton, who not only bestowed my new
certificate in Scrantology, but also helped us organize the Q
and A and the book signing for hundreds of students
(37:38):
who might I add, waited for hours in the rain.
Thank you to the President, Reverend Joseph Marina, the Executive
Director of Conferences and Events Services, Frannie Mancuso, the director
of News and Media Relations stand Sigmund, the Vice president
for Student Life Bobby Davis, and the Director of the
(38:00):
Center for Health, Education and Wellness, Stephanie Adamack, who very
kindly volunteered to moderate the Q and A. The bookstore
staff Lisa Mikhailo and Wayne Beach who stocked over a
thousand books for us. Also a big thank you to
the students who helped organize the event and to all
(38:20):
the fans who attended. Next my people from Cooper's Cooper's
Seafood House big thanks to Jack, Paul, Mark, Ryan, the
whole gang you open your doors for hundreds of fans
who wanted to get their books signed, including the bride
that I mentioned in the preface of the book, to
(38:42):
Patrick and Billy Nassair, Tony Potus, Eric Miller, the whole
crew at Backyard Ale House for well the most unforgettable
after party ever in the world, where I tended bar
into the wee hours of the night. It is, without
a doubt, my favorite hub in the entire world. Finally,
(39:04):
one more giant thank you to Tim and Michelle and
their families for greeting me with open arms and making
my trips back home to Scranton so special. So everyone listening,
I'm telling you, the next time you're in Scranton, all right,
you have to check out each and every one of
their establishments, get the full office experience, and you will
(39:28):
get a big Scranton welcome and listen. Just tell him
Brian send you. I hope you all have a fantastic Tuesday.
I will see you next week for another special edition
of The Office Deep Dive. Where are you guys from
(39:52):
Video Texas? Yeah, literally watched your show at least twenty
times character, and I'm about the priory own because I
loving him so much. I drove all the way from
show to meet you. I have an interview in the morning,
got to get back to it. Her brother got married
at the Ratis and when the convention was on, and
you and Awa came downstairs and you took a picture
with him and his wife and our wedding. We actually
(40:14):
walked into the office theme. I have a tattoo of
Jim Helper when he addresses this twe My mom would
not believe this because she thinks the Office of the
stupidest show up all time. Please cut that part. I
love
Host
Brian Baumgartner
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