November 15, 2023 • 32 mins
Dawnn Lewis is an accomplished actor, singer-songwriter and voice-over talent beloved for her role as Jaleesa on the classic sitcom “A Different World”, for which she composed the well-known theme song sung by Aretha Franklin. In this episode of The Uppity Knitter Podcast with Siedah Garrett, Brooklyn-native Dawnn Lewis shares her favorite hobbies, and recounts her captivating journey as a certified open water scuba diver, adding yet another dimension to her already impressive repertoire.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hello, I'm sayu to Garrett and Uppity Knitter and host
of The Uppity Knitter podcast Celebrity Hobbies Uncovered, a show
about your favorite celebrities and their unusual hobbies. Welcome. My
guest today is one of my favorite people in the
whole wide world and amazing actor, singer, songwriter, and voiceover talent.
(00:21):
A true renaissance woman. Her film and TV and live
on stage credits include Gray's Anatomy, The Simpsons, and Spider Man,
just to name a few. But she's probably best remembered
for her roles as Jalisa on the TV show A
Different World and as Robin on Hanging with Mister Cooper,
two shows that back in the day kept me in
(00:43):
front of my TV screen. Ladies and gents, please welcome
the beautiful and talented miss don Lewis. Hi, Donny, Hi,
sit doing so good, so good? Listen before we get started.
A lot of people have asked, including you, why I
know this podcast The Uppity Knitter. Well, although I'm very
well known as a singer songwriter, my favorite hobbies are
(01:06):
knitting and crocheting with Some of my fans are really
surprised to learn the name came to me from a
personal experience that I had one day on LA's West
Side in a knitting shop. So I sat in a
knitting circle with a group of white ladies, and sitting
next to me was a woman who was knitting with
some yarn that I thought was really pretty. I said, Wow,
(01:27):
that's that's really pretty. What are you knitting with? She said, oh,
this is just cotton. Then she looked in my lap.
She said what are you knitting with? I said, this
is Kashmir. She said, oh, aren't you an uppity knitter?
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Ah?
Speaker 1 (01:41):
I said, what did you call me? She said nitter?
Speaker 2 (01:48):
I said, nitter.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
You've been pronounce some teas. Come on now, Oh my god.
So every time I hear that phrase, it just cracks
me up, and I just I just love it. So
don yes tell us what hobbies do you have that
those fans of your acting would consider outside of the
box or unusual for you? Unusual?
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Well, they're not unusual to me because I'm a bit
of a thrill seeker and a self motivating challenger person.
So like the lady who assumed certain things about knitting
and the kinds of things that you should be ninnitting
with as of whatever but I like to do things
because I challenged myself all of the time. And back
(02:34):
in the day, I dated somebody who used to be
in the Navy and they wanted to go scuba diving,
and I was like, yeah, sure, well I'll do that.
And not only did I go scuba diving, I have
to admit the first time I went, I went as
part of a TV show and I could not do it.
They gave you one of those real quick resort courses
and you jump in the water, and I couldn't equalize.
(02:55):
My ears kept popping. I said, why don't we just
shoot me jumping into water and shoot me coming out
of the water, and let's pretend that I actually did it.
But since then I went on and got regular certified
and now I'm deep open water certified so I can
dive rex and caves inside God. And another thing, I
(03:15):
love to play golf.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
Well, let's talk. Let's let's start with the Scooba with
the scuba. Okay, crazy, because I didn't know black people's scuba.
I thought that was why we.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
Did scuba dive. There are a whole Scooba clubs across
around the planet where people like colored Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am, some.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
Very how many drowned?
Speaker 2 (03:38):
Beautiful. I don't keep track of who drowns, track of
who drowns. Nobody says that that's not a thing. We
keep track of all the amazing and interesting places you go,
and the different reefs and fish and things that you
can see experience down under the depths of the ocean.
(03:59):
What I do know about myself is I do not
like diving in cold water. That's the no, no no.
And I had a friend trick me into diving in
Catalina once, and they're not my friend anymore.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
I understand. Yes, So do you not find scuba diving challenging?
Speaker 2 (04:17):
No, not at all. The most the most challenging part
is your sense of direction, because it's very easy to
get turned around with the currents under the water. That's
why you dive with a compass, and you keep record
of your depth, how long you've been under your oxygen,
whether you're going north, south, east west, however, and you
(04:37):
always dive with a buddy so that YouTube can keep
each other in check and in line and in accountable,
and say.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
Have you ever had any incident go wrong with the equipment?
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Never?
Speaker 1 (04:49):
I always thought that some some dude named scuba, you know,
invented this, this type of diving. But you know what
scuba stands for, right, you know?
Speaker 2 (04:58):
I used to It's some thing something underwater breathing apparatus. Yes,
self self contained underwater breathing.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
Apparatus, scuba. That's right. I love that. Yes, how long
have you been doing this?
Speaker 2 (05:13):
I've been diving now since the nineties, since the early nineties. Yeah, girl,
places like Grand Kman, the Bahamas, Bermude, all these warm babies,
all these very warm places, very warm places Hawaii. I
was surprised at how cold the water was down low
in Hawaii. And then of course there was that faded
(05:34):
Catalina experience. I never put on New York prem that thick.
It took me over half an hour just to put
the suit on because it is so thick. Wow, it
has little to no give to stretch.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
I understand to get over these.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
You know, Yes, you are in laced thighs and hippage.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
I was like, what in the world you're You're a
Guyanese African American girl from Brooklyn who's scuba dives.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Suba dive around the world where there's warm water, I'm
in it.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
So I have not tried scuba diving. I have, however,
tried snorkeling, okay, and I liked it. But what scared
me about the scuba thing was being in totally deep,
dark water and being completely dependent upon a machine, some
sort of apparatus so that I can breathe, and I
(06:31):
can't get That frightens me.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
It's not a bit to get comfortable with it.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
It does.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
When I first started diving, I literally almost bit through
a mouthpiece because I was clenching so tightly to make
sure that no water got in, et cetera. But once
you relax and you breathe, the current takes you, and
you'd be surprised at how much light is down in
the bottom of the ocean because there are so many
(06:57):
phosphorus plants and fish, and it's this amazing aura and
glow and experience that it's really very beautiful. Wow, it
really is. I hope you give it a chance. I
hope hope you're willing to try it again. No, ok, ok. Yeah,
But as anything.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
You learn, you get better the more you do it.
Of course, exactly do you take refresher courses for your scuba.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
I have not in a while. It's been a few
years since I have gone diving, you know, because of work.
So if I was to go again anytime soon, yeah,
I would, And that's for my safety and that of
everybody around me. Got yeah, no problem, not shy at all.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
What's the longest time that you've been underwater?
Speaker 2 (07:44):
I did a two tank dive once, well this particular one, yes,
because we were going pretty pretty deep and we were
going in a cave, and you want to make sure
you've got enough oxygen to equalize and to stay down
for as long as you want want to. So I
think that was made by like an hour, hour, hour
and fifteen minutes.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
Yeah. Do you get certificates of achievement as you as
you dive longer and now?
Speaker 2 (08:10):
Well, yes, you get certified is what it is, which
means you have proven that that you have the wearwithal
and the credentials to go that deep. And then you
have a diving log where you keep track of where
you've been and how deep you were and how long
you stay down.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
Wow, so your yours is about in an hour?
Speaker 2 (08:29):
You said an hour fifteen minutes or so, yeah, fifteen
twenty minutes.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
Yeah, as far as the equipment. Do you prefer the
half mask which covers your eyes and your nose, or
do you prefer the full face thing which covers your eyes,
your nose, your.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Mouth half the half half mask and a mouthpiece. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
You you ever get concerned about messing up your perm?
Speaker 2 (08:51):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (08:52):
You know.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
No, that's when you make sure your hair is braided.
You make sure you're wearing twist, some kind of all
natural style, and you're just going to get in it
because if you're going to you know whether you're vacation vacation,
so whether you're a school with diving in deep water
or you're swimming. The wet hair on the black woman.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
Is wet hair. Yeah, you just prepare accordingly. You said
you've gone diving in underwater caves. How how freaking scary
is that? Have you ever come face to face with
like an octopus or a tortoise or a shark.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
I've come face to face with eels. I went shark
diving once. But you do that in a in a cage, Yes, yeah,
you do that.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
In a cage.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
It's very very safe. I've been ish with stingrays and
manner rays and you let them swim over you and
it feels like soft swayed swimming over you as they
touch your hands, and they swim in pods in herds,
and it is one of the most beautiful things. And
(09:55):
you can just lay it and they and they will
swim by you and swim over you, these amazing groups.
But no, that's that's the most that Uh I heard? Well, pods, pods?
Do you know what a bunch of crows?
Speaker 1 (10:11):
It's called no, a murder of crows? Yeah, okay, I
love it.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
Whenever I see eel and sting ray and you think sushi,
I think you pers think handbags. No, No, have you
met who was the most interesting person that you've met
scuba diving? Oh gosh, I don't know that I've ever
really met anyone going scuba diving, because usually I go
(10:42):
with people that I know. Yeah, the person who certified
me was actually a retired Navy seal, so he had
all kinds of tricks. Little. Yeah, it was great, it was,
it was it was great. Wow. They had I'm sorry,
go ahead, I was gonna say. They had this whole
service where all you had to do is tell them
(11:03):
where you wanted to go and bring your gear and
they would arrange flights, hotels, travel, I mean, the boat, everything,
and once you landed wherever you were, they would take
your gear and you would never touch it again until
it was time to put it on on the boat
or time for you to get back on the plane
and leave. Do you check your own gear? Well, they
(11:23):
teach you how to sew. Yes, yes, even if somebody
else professionally checks it for you before you go down.
As the person going into the water, it behooves you
to be responsible, of course as well.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
Yeah, as your your skill as a scuba diver ever
won you a role in a film or TV show. Ever,
we don't work on that.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
We're gonna work on that. But nobody thinks I'm that cool.
I'm usually the responsible adult voice of reason.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
Did you put it on the resume? Though?
Speaker 2 (11:52):
Actually I did, Actually I did so.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
I learned that the world record for someone holds their
breath is twenty four minutes and three seconds, and that
Tom Cruise can hold his breath for seven minutes and
fourteen seconds.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
That's impressive.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
What's your personal I don't have You don't have kinds
of records? Now?
Speaker 2 (12:13):
No, no, why would I hold my breath? That's what
masks and snorkles. So for no, no, no, we're not
holding the breath to see how long before the head
pops off. We're not. I'm not I'm not participating in
those experiences.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
Yeah right now. Well, on another topic, many people are
not aware that you co wrote the theme song for
A Different World, right girl? I love that song.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
Thank you, songwriter's songwriter, There you go and there you go,
there you go.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
Is songwriting yet another hobby of yours or do you
consider it another career path and do you enjoy it
as much as your acting work and voiceover work.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
You know, as a songwriter. I really considered that another
career path for me before A Different World happened. That's
what I thought my career was going to be, was
that as a recording artist, composer, producer for other people.
That's what I was doing in New York, jingle writing,
jingles singing. I was a session singer and had my
(13:13):
own record out and was touring up and down the
East Coast. And the people who cast the Broadway show
I was doing at the time, the tapcance Kid, were
also casting the Cosby Show. So when they were going
to do the spinoff, that was just a natural thing,
you go on audition for the next show.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
Because we all know.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
The entertainment industry, every gig has a beginning and an end.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
Yes, nothing last forever.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
So you know, I was already accustomed to writing for
different recording artists and producing and such. So when they
approached me writing the theme song for a Different World,
it was because they knew me as a singer songwriter.
They didn't know me as an actor. So the musical
director hired me to work on the music, and the
casting directors hired me because I just was doing a
(13:56):
Broadway show for them, So neither of them knew they had.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
Hired you to be coming come on some deep level.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
So neither of them knew they had hired the same
person until after they had signed the paperwork and I
was like, oh, by the way, I love that. Yeah,
so that hasn't changed. So I've continued to write music
for different scores, different uh Disney movies. I've been in
different TV series, different commercial projects, different recording artists.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
So yeah, we're here with my girl, Don Lewis, and
we'll be right back after this short break. Welcome back
to the Up and Knitter podcast. We're here with miss
Don Lewis. Your acting career and your singing career has
also brought you really close to the life of another legend.
(14:44):
How did the Queen of Soul, the Divine Miss Aretha
Franklin and she rest in power? How did she come
to record the theme song A Different World? And how
did you feel when you first heard her incredible vocals
on your song?
Speaker 2 (15:00):
To be honest with you, I was not consulted about
who was going to sing the song because originally I
was going to be singing the song until they realized
I was the same person they hired to be in
the show and on the Yeah, that wasn't going to happen.
So what they did let me know is like their
(15:21):
first choice was actually going to be Al Green. So
I was in the recording studio with Al Green teaching
him the song. So I was like, Okay, no, Al,
it goes like this, So it's me Al. I was
singing backgrounds. We get to get this, Lynn Fiedmont and
Rachelle Farrell. That was where I met. Shelley was living
(15:42):
in Philly at the time. Uh so the three. So
that's how I met Al And then we started shooting
the pilot and when it was clear it was from
a female perspective. They thought, you know, no, we need
to have a female on this, so they brought in
Phoebe snow So. Phoebe was the first voice that the
(16:05):
world actually heard doing the theme song when we were
when I was jumping double Dutch in the opening of
the show, that was Phoebe snow So. The original idea
was to re record it every season, the same song,
but with a different person singing it. So second season
was when they brought in Arethallah. Yeah, once re reput
(16:27):
her thing on it, I don't think we need to
do this again, and it has been slamming. That's the
version that most people remember and sing. And then in
the final season of the series, they had Boys to
Men come in and re redo it. So it's in
(16:47):
honor to have had such amazing musicians record and put
their own stamp and their own vibe onto a song
that now thirty some years later, people are still listening
to schools and groups and are using it as a
foundation for recruiting tool for their schools. Nice they shoot
(17:10):
the ope opening credits with backdrops of their school and
campus and to encourage people to come to go to
their school. Or a group of high school students, that's
gotta feel good. It's amazing. Feel it's amazing. A group
of high school students, as their senior production project, choreographed
an entire dance suite to a different world theme song
(17:32):
version Aretha's version. No one ever heard my version. If
you come to my house, I'll play you.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
I know how you feel because Aunty re Ree also
recorded one of my songs and sang it. It's a
song called Mercy, and she killed it, killed it, So
I get that. I love it. So your acting and
singing career has also brought you really close to another legend,
and that's Miss Tina Turner. Tell us about that.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
Yes, in twenty nineteen. Well, in twenty eighteen, I got
approached to consider playing Tina Turner's mother in what was
then going to be the Broadway production. The show was
already running in London. It's Tina, the Tina Tearner Musical, Okay,
And I was like absolutely for a lot of different reasons.
(18:18):
One just because of who she is and what she
means to us and the world as an artist, and
her personal journey in her life as a survivor of
domestic violence, her story was very close to my story
in the fact that, yeah, myself and my brothers were
raised in a home where our dad was violent towards
(18:39):
our mother, and like Tina Turner's mother, Miss Zelma Bullock,
my mom had to leave in order to save her life.
And by today's standards, people may judge that and say, well,
I couldn't leave my kids if I was a mother,
et cetera, etc.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
So she left you with your dad.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
She left me and my brothers with my dad. We
didn't see my mom for about a year and a half,
almost two years. She left us with our dad.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
My dad because he wasn't violent towards you guys.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
Oh yeah he was. Oh yeah he was.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
He left you with him.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
She had to save her life after one more trip
to the hospital. It was, you know, it was.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
Like, I were you afraid left that he was going
to hurt you guys.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
It wouldn't have been anything new, right, I mean, that
was just.
Speaker 1 (19:21):
Part of the normal, Donnie. That was just part of
the norm. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
So my dad lasted about a month before he said,
you know what, I don't want to do this anymore
and tried to split us up into foster care. Now
at the time, my dad was head of the Department
of Homicide in Brooklyn, So when my mom would go
to the police to report that he had hit her
or harmed her, and they would base she was basically
reporting to his subordinates. So they were like, well, if
(19:48):
you would do what he told you, he wouldn't have.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
To hit you.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
Yeah, those were those days. So my mom left to
save her life. My dad was ready to release us
to not have the response and his mother, my grandmother,
found out what he was doing and she's not having
any part of it. So she owned a brownstone in Brooklyn.
She was renting out the upstairs apartment to some tenants.
(20:12):
She had the tenants move out and move myself and
my brothers in. So that's where we lived for almost
two years and before my mom was able to collect herself,
get a job and all of that and come back
and get us. So we went back to our mother.
So I know how easy it is to villainize someone
like that, but I also know what it is for
(20:34):
your survival, and a lot of women today can relate
to that need to survive. I'm no good for anyone
else if I myself am so damaged and tortured, so
being asked to play Zelma, I just came at it
with a completely different perspective, apparently than it had thought
I performed before. So I was part of the original
(20:56):
Broadway company and we ran from no We started rehearsals
in August of twenty nineteen, We opened first couple of
days of November, and like everything else, the pandemic shut
us down in March fourteenth, so it was about a
year and a half before Broadway was able to reopen.
So I reopened the show with the company in September
(21:18):
of twenty twenty one, and my contract ended at the
end of January twenty twenty two, and I'm back so
to be a part of even a small part of
keeping her legacy alive and keeping that story alive and
the importance of what it is to not just survive
but thrive when you put the right people in your
(21:41):
life and make healthy choices for yourself and for those
around you. I'm beyond honored to be a part of that.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
It's a big honor. Indeed. Well, last year you were
nominated for an NAACP Image Award for your voiceover work
Yes on Star Trek Lower Decks. Yes that must have
been really special to be noted in that way. It
was just to be a.
Speaker 2 (22:04):
Part of the Star Trek franchise. Let me just start there,
because I've been a fan ever since I was a child,
and to look into the future Jeene Roddenberry's future where
people of different species, different cultures, different genders, different races, different,
I mean all of that are not just working together,
(22:25):
but they're living together. This is what space looks like,
and everybody is excellent and amazing. And then there's this
one hot chick right there on the on the communications
console just given fire a week after week and you know,
talking about Michelle Nichols. No, I'm talking about the original
Star Trek where I am like inspired, like we are
(22:47):
in the future and we don't die in the first
five minutes.
Speaker 1 (22:51):
Yes, yes, And we are female.
Speaker 2 (22:53):
And we are female, and we're amazing and we're powerful.
We are like, we are badass. We're beaming down the
planets and and fix and stuff, and it's like, okay,
So to now fast forward and to now be a
part of that myself, and and as a ship's captain
and not just a captain, but I'm like the every
woman captain mama, you know, leader everything in this in
(23:19):
this world, and.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
So I am.
Speaker 2 (23:24):
I am absolutely thrilled and honored. And one of the
other series I do Karma's World for Netflix that was
created and executive produced by Ludicrous.
Speaker 1 (23:36):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
So we just got nominated for a series of awards
for that show and they started thank Youscles. So now
we have a big, huge display at FAO Schwartz because
they have Karma's dolls with the with hair that looks
like it's off of a beautiful little black child's natural head.
It is the most wonderful experience, it really is. So
(24:02):
I play Ms Washington on Karma's World. So in Star Trek,
I am stip a Starfleet captain. In Karma's World, I
am one of the seasoned citizens that Karma's magic and
music and effervescence touches. And it's just really that's for Dizzy, No,
that's for Netflixflix Netflix.
Speaker 1 (24:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
So they just launched season four, No. Three of car
Karma's World, and season three of Star Trek just dropped
a couple of days ago.
Speaker 1 (24:34):
But it works. Come on, you better work. Yes. One
of the reasons I developed this podcast is to encourage
listeners to think outside the box right and to use
their imagination and to not be afraid to explore new
things in their lives. Do you have any words of
(24:54):
encouragement for those people who may be feeling kind of
stuck in a rut in their lives or their career.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
I would encourage anyone if there's something that's ever peaked
your interest, or something that you or someone else has
convinced you is not for you, I would say, use
your own mind, use your own spirit, and decide if
you really want more information and explore, now is the.
Speaker 1 (25:22):
Time to do it. It is seasons.
Speaker 2 (25:25):
Are getting shorter and shorter. We are losing more and
more people daily for just a variety of reasons. So
tomorrow is not promised to anyone. So anyone who says
only white people do that, or only girls do that,
or only guys do that?
Speaker 1 (25:43):
You talking about my school, is that.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
You're not the only person I've heard say that. You know,
And like I mentioned, I played golf too, and people
are like, what what the last year I got my first?
Speaker 1 (25:56):
Holy one? It's like, come on now, now, how long
does it take for you to get How long did
it take for that hole in one? He's been golfing.
I've been golfling a while.
Speaker 2 (26:05):
It took the whole time, but I've known people who've
been golfing for more than thirty years and never gotten
a hole in one. I really was, and there were witnesses,
so they got it a video. I got a little certificate. Yes,
it was great, And I started playing golf because I
would always be invited to these celebrity tournaments and never
wanted people to say, oh god, we got the girl, right,
(26:27):
you know, it's like okay, but you know what, yes exactly.
So I showed up and took my lessons and just
went out and played. And I have to admit, I've
been playing for a while now, and I don't get
to play very often any anymore, just because of work.
Speaker 1 (26:43):
So you know, yeah, I used to do the tournaments a.
Speaker 2 (26:46):
Lot, a lot, and I don't so much anymore. I
get to play still every now and then, but I
don't get to play like every week, or you know,
et cetera. But I would say, go for it.
Speaker 1 (26:59):
Don't.
Speaker 2 (26:59):
Don't turned something off because of your preconception of anything.
Give yourself a chance to experience.
Speaker 1 (27:08):
Why not, that's great advice.
Speaker 2 (27:10):
Give yourself a chance to experience, go for it.
Speaker 1 (27:12):
Well, that's what I'm trying to do with my new
my new venture, and.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
You're doing it and doing it and doing it.
Speaker 1 (27:18):
Wow it doing it?
Speaker 2 (27:21):
Wow. Come on now.
Speaker 1 (27:23):
Finally, we like to end the show with a little
segment where I asked my guests to share something that
happened to them or something someone said or did that
came as a shock or a surprise, And we call
this segment Nedda What what say you?
Speaker 2 (27:41):
Don Lewis, I don't think we have enough time in
his podcast for thosele what up?
Speaker 1 (27:50):
What?
Speaker 2 (27:51):
Uh? Yeah, there's a few of those. There's a few
of those. One of the things in life, all right,
you asked me, has there ever been an opportunity to
play a scuba person in a film or whatever? Yeah, film, TV, whichever.
It's very interesting when people professionally have preconceived notions about
(28:15):
who we are and what our skill set must be
based on what they think we are exactly. So I've
actually had people say, see, like, the worst thing you
can do is tell me my limitations without even knowing me.
So you kind of get that look from me. I've
gotten a lot better at the verbal part, not coming out.
(28:39):
It just kind of stops at the look and you
see it behind Anyone who knows me can see it
behind my eyes before I formulate what actually comes out
of my mouth. But it's been it's been a few
of those opper tunities where people want you for what
you bring to the table, whether it's your celebrity or
(29:01):
your talent. Yet the way that they treat you is
to minimize you as though you are inconsequential.
Speaker 1 (29:07):
That's so they don't have to pay you, and rather.
Speaker 2 (29:09):
So they don't have to pay you. I think it
helps them feel better about themselves or their importance in
the scheme of things. But yeah, but that's like the
worst thing that you could do to me. It's like
what you're just saying?
Speaker 1 (29:23):
No, what what didn't you just say to me?
Speaker 2 (29:26):
It's like, okay, all right, yeah, so that even happened
recently and my response was, okay, you can send me
home now.
Speaker 1 (29:35):
But oh wow, yeah, but.
Speaker 2 (29:37):
We still have more stuff to do in the contract,
I said, Oh, the contract you want me to honor
that you're not going to honor yet that's not gonna happen.
I'm not that girl.
Speaker 1 (29:46):
That's a good niddle. What that's a.
Speaker 2 (29:48):
Good nittle what moment you think, because I should just
be happy to be in your production whatever it is.
They say, no, it doesn't work like that.
Speaker 1 (29:57):
It doesn't work like teach Donnie. Come on, Thank you
soa wormuch for joining us here today on the uppity Knitter,
My pleasure. I really appreciate your sharing your hobbies with us,
and your enthusiasm and your work on a daily basis
on film and TV and stuff we watch every day.
I just love it.
Speaker 2 (30:15):
Thank you, thank you, thank you real quick. It just
positions me to do what I'd love to do in
my heart, which is to give back. Yes, so, my
foundation a New Day Foundation. We do programmatic and financial
services and support for underserve youth and communities, not just
here in the US, but we've gone abroad as well,
like outfitted an entire school in India with backpacks, notebooks,
(30:38):
supplies the same in Guyana, South America, where my family
is from. We go where the need is. So we
just gave about eight scholarships of two thousand dollars each
and a new computer what college bound students. And that's
what we do every year with our conference.
Speaker 1 (30:55):
That's great.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
Thank you, God blesses me. He gets opportunities through me,
so we can he gets them to me, so he
can come through me to where they can be of
most youths. So I'm grateful. I'm so proud of.
Speaker 1 (31:07):
You're a good human. I'm proud of you. To sus
thank you long time.
Speaker 2 (31:11):
May love you long time.
Speaker 1 (31:15):
Let's get together and crochet.
Speaker 2 (31:17):
Yes, more crocheting. I made my first blanket thanks to you,
in just ten days. You want me to show you, okay,
all right, in just ten days. I was so interested
in learning how to crochet, and I bought this yarn
because I thought it was pretty and soft and fluffy.
And the first thing anxiety that says to me is, girl,
why'd you buy this yarn? This is like the most
(31:39):
difficult thing you could have given yourself. But I'm an
uppity knit, a crochet person, and I sat there and
gave myself a Charlie horse. I did it in not
even ten days. Good job, girl, Thank you.
Speaker 1 (31:52):
It is heavy, it's.
Speaker 2 (31:53):
Nice, nice and warm.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
I love it. I love it. I love it. Good job.
Speaker 2 (31:58):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (31:58):
Thanks Don Louis Hey Say Garrett, thank you so much
for joining us on the Uppity Knitter Podcast. Celebrity Hobbies
Uncovered a show where your favorite celebrities talk about their
unusual hobbies. Join us next time see you then.
Speaker 2 (32:14):
The Uppity Knitter Podcast is brought to you by Black
Chick Productions.
Speaker 1 (32:18):
Our show is hosted by Say De Garrett, our producer
is Eric Neurie, and we're recorded and edited by Felicia
Morris at Morris Media Studios in Los Angeles. Special thanks
go out to our friends at iHeartMedia and Seneca Women
Hello, I'm sayu to Garrett and Uppity Knitter and host
of The Uppity Knitter podcast Celebrity Hobbies Uncovered, a show
about your favorite celebrities and their unusual hobbies. Welcome. My
guest today is one of my favorite people in the
whole wide world and amazing actor, singer, songwriter, and voiceover talent.
(00:21):
A true renaissance woman. Her film and TV and live
on stage credits include Gray's Anatomy, The Simpsons, and Spider Man,
just to name a few. But she's probably best remembered
for her roles as Jalisa on the TV show A
Different World and as Robin on Hanging with Mister Cooper,
two shows that back in the day kept me in
(00:43):
front of my TV screen. Ladies and gents, please welcome
the beautiful and talented miss don Lewis. Hi, Donny, Hi,
sit doing so good, so good? Listen before we get started.
A lot of people have asked, including you, why I
know this podcast The Uppity Knitter. Well, although I'm very
well known as a singer songwriter, my favorite hobbies are
(01:06):
knitting and crocheting with Some of my fans are really
surprised to learn the name came to me from a
personal experience that I had one day on LA's West
Side in a knitting shop. So I sat in a
knitting circle with a group of white ladies, and sitting
next to me was a woman who was knitting with
some yarn that I thought was really pretty. I said, Wow,
(01:27):
that's that's really pretty. What are you knitting with? She said, oh,
this is just cotton. Then she looked in my lap.
She said what are you knitting with? I said, this
is Kashmir. She said, oh, aren't you an uppity knitter?
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Ah?
Speaker 1 (01:41):
I said, what did you call me? She said nitter?
Speaker 2 (01:48):
I said, nitter.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
You've been pronounce some teas. Come on now, Oh my god.
So every time I hear that phrase, it just cracks
me up, and I just I just love it. So
don yes tell us what hobbies do you have that
those fans of your acting would consider outside of the
box or unusual for you? Unusual?
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Well, they're not unusual to me because I'm a bit
of a thrill seeker and a self motivating challenger person.
So like the lady who assumed certain things about knitting
and the kinds of things that you should be ninnitting
with as of whatever but I like to do things
because I challenged myself all of the time. And back
(02:34):
in the day, I dated somebody who used to be
in the Navy and they wanted to go scuba diving,
and I was like, yeah, sure, well I'll do that.
And not only did I go scuba diving, I have
to admit the first time I went, I went as
part of a TV show and I could not do it.
They gave you one of those real quick resort courses
and you jump in the water, and I couldn't equalize.
(02:55):
My ears kept popping. I said, why don't we just
shoot me jumping into water and shoot me coming out
of the water, and let's pretend that I actually did it.
But since then I went on and got regular certified
and now I'm deep open water certified so I can
dive rex and caves inside God. And another thing, I
(03:15):
love to play golf.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
Well, let's talk. Let's let's start with the Scooba with
the scuba. Okay, crazy, because I didn't know black people's scuba.
I thought that was why we.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
Did scuba dive. There are a whole Scooba clubs across
around the planet where people like colored Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am, some.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
Very how many drowned?
Speaker 2 (03:38):
Beautiful. I don't keep track of who drowns, track of
who drowns. Nobody says that that's not a thing. We
keep track of all the amazing and interesting places you go,
and the different reefs and fish and things that you
can see experience down under the depths of the ocean.
(03:59):
What I do know about myself is I do not
like diving in cold water. That's the no, no no.
And I had a friend trick me into diving in
Catalina once, and they're not my friend anymore.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
I understand. Yes, So do you not find scuba diving challenging?
Speaker 2 (04:17):
No, not at all. The most the most challenging part
is your sense of direction, because it's very easy to
get turned around with the currents under the water. That's
why you dive with a compass, and you keep record
of your depth, how long you've been under your oxygen,
whether you're going north, south, east west, however, and you
(04:37):
always dive with a buddy so that YouTube can keep
each other in check and in line and in accountable,
and say.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
Have you ever had any incident go wrong with the equipment?
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Never?
Speaker 1 (04:49):
I always thought that some some dude named scuba, you know,
invented this, this type of diving. But you know what
scuba stands for, right, you know?
Speaker 2 (04:58):
I used to It's some thing something underwater breathing apparatus. Yes,
self self contained underwater breathing.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
Apparatus, scuba. That's right. I love that. Yes, how long
have you been doing this?
Speaker 2 (05:13):
I've been diving now since the nineties, since the early nineties. Yeah, girl,
places like Grand Kman, the Bahamas, Bermude, all these warm babies,
all these very warm places, very warm places Hawaii. I
was surprised at how cold the water was down low
in Hawaii. And then of course there was that faded
(05:34):
Catalina experience. I never put on New York prem that thick.
It took me over half an hour just to put
the suit on because it is so thick. Wow, it
has little to no give to stretch.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
I understand to get over these.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
You know, Yes, you are in laced thighs and hippage.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
I was like, what in the world you're You're a
Guyanese African American girl from Brooklyn who's scuba dives.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Suba dive around the world where there's warm water, I'm
in it.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
So I have not tried scuba diving. I have, however,
tried snorkeling, okay, and I liked it. But what scared
me about the scuba thing was being in totally deep,
dark water and being completely dependent upon a machine, some
sort of apparatus so that I can breathe, and I
(06:31):
can't get That frightens me.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
It's not a bit to get comfortable with it.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
It does.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
When I first started diving, I literally almost bit through
a mouthpiece because I was clenching so tightly to make
sure that no water got in, et cetera. But once
you relax and you breathe, the current takes you, and
you'd be surprised at how much light is down in
the bottom of the ocean because there are so many
(06:57):
phosphorus plants and fish, and it's this amazing aura and
glow and experience that it's really very beautiful. Wow, it
really is. I hope you give it a chance. I
hope hope you're willing to try it again. No, ok, ok. Yeah,
But as anything.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
You learn, you get better the more you do it.
Of course, exactly do you take refresher courses for your scuba.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
I have not in a while. It's been a few
years since I have gone diving, you know, because of work.
So if I was to go again anytime soon, yeah,
I would, And that's for my safety and that of
everybody around me. Got yeah, no problem, not shy at all.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
What's the longest time that you've been underwater?
Speaker 2 (07:44):
I did a two tank dive once, well this particular one, yes,
because we were going pretty pretty deep and we were
going in a cave, and you want to make sure
you've got enough oxygen to equalize and to stay down
for as long as you want want to. So I
think that was made by like an hour, hour, hour
and fifteen minutes.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
Yeah. Do you get certificates of achievement as you as
you dive longer and now?
Speaker 2 (08:10):
Well, yes, you get certified is what it is, which
means you have proven that that you have the wearwithal
and the credentials to go that deep. And then you
have a diving log where you keep track of where
you've been and how deep you were and how long
you stay down.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
Wow, so your yours is about in an hour?
Speaker 2 (08:29):
You said an hour fifteen minutes or so, yeah, fifteen
twenty minutes.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
Yeah, as far as the equipment. Do you prefer the
half mask which covers your eyes and your nose, or
do you prefer the full face thing which covers your eyes,
your nose, your.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Mouth half the half half mask and a mouthpiece. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
You you ever get concerned about messing up your perm?
Speaker 2 (08:51):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (08:52):
You know.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
No, that's when you make sure your hair is braided.
You make sure you're wearing twist, some kind of all
natural style, and you're just going to get in it
because if you're going to you know whether you're vacation vacation,
so whether you're a school with diving in deep water
or you're swimming. The wet hair on the black woman.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
Is wet hair. Yeah, you just prepare accordingly. You said
you've gone diving in underwater caves. How how freaking scary
is that? Have you ever come face to face with
like an octopus or a tortoise or a shark.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
I've come face to face with eels. I went shark
diving once. But you do that in a in a cage, Yes, yeah,
you do that.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
In a cage.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
It's very very safe. I've been ish with stingrays and
manner rays and you let them swim over you and
it feels like soft swayed swimming over you as they
touch your hands, and they swim in pods in herds,
and it is one of the most beautiful things. And
(09:55):
you can just lay it and they and they will
swim by you and swim over you, these amazing groups.
But no, that's that's the most that Uh I heard? Well, pods, pods?
Do you know what a bunch of crows?
Speaker 1 (10:11):
It's called no, a murder of crows? Yeah, okay, I
love it.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
Whenever I see eel and sting ray and you think sushi,
I think you pers think handbags. No, No, have you
met who was the most interesting person that you've met
scuba diving? Oh gosh, I don't know that I've ever
really met anyone going scuba diving, because usually I go
(10:42):
with people that I know. Yeah, the person who certified
me was actually a retired Navy seal, so he had
all kinds of tricks. Little. Yeah, it was great, it was,
it was it was great. Wow. They had I'm sorry,
go ahead, I was gonna say. They had this whole
service where all you had to do is tell them
(11:03):
where you wanted to go and bring your gear and
they would arrange flights, hotels, travel, I mean, the boat, everything,
and once you landed wherever you were, they would take
your gear and you would never touch it again until
it was time to put it on on the boat
or time for you to get back on the plane
and leave. Do you check your own gear? Well, they
(11:23):
teach you how to sew. Yes, yes, even if somebody
else professionally checks it for you before you go down.
As the person going into the water, it behooves you
to be responsible, of course as well.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
Yeah, as your your skill as a scuba diver ever
won you a role in a film or TV show. Ever,
we don't work on that.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
We're gonna work on that. But nobody thinks I'm that cool.
I'm usually the responsible adult voice of reason.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
Did you put it on the resume? Though?
Speaker 2 (11:52):
Actually I did, Actually I did so.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
I learned that the world record for someone holds their
breath is twenty four minutes and three seconds, and that
Tom Cruise can hold his breath for seven minutes and
fourteen seconds.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
That's impressive.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
What's your personal I don't have You don't have kinds
of records? Now?
Speaker 2 (12:13):
No, no, why would I hold my breath? That's what
masks and snorkles. So for no, no, no, we're not
holding the breath to see how long before the head
pops off. We're not. I'm not I'm not participating in
those experiences.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
Yeah right now. Well, on another topic, many people are
not aware that you co wrote the theme song for
A Different World, right girl? I love that song.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
Thank you, songwriter's songwriter, There you go and there you go,
there you go.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
Is songwriting yet another hobby of yours or do you
consider it another career path and do you enjoy it
as much as your acting work and voiceover work.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
You know, as a songwriter. I really considered that another
career path for me before A Different World happened. That's
what I thought my career was going to be, was
that as a recording artist, composer, producer for other people.
That's what I was doing in New York, jingle writing,
jingles singing. I was a session singer and had my
(13:13):
own record out and was touring up and down the
East Coast. And the people who cast the Broadway show
I was doing at the time, the tapcance Kid, were
also casting the Cosby Show. So when they were going
to do the spinoff, that was just a natural thing,
you go on audition for the next show.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
Because we all know.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
The entertainment industry, every gig has a beginning and an end.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
Yes, nothing last forever.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
So you know, I was already accustomed to writing for
different recording artists and producing and such. So when they
approached me writing the theme song for a Different World,
it was because they knew me as a singer songwriter.
They didn't know me as an actor. So the musical
director hired me to work on the music, and the
casting directors hired me because I just was doing a
(13:56):
Broadway show for them, So neither of them knew they had.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
Hired you to be coming come on some deep level.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
So neither of them knew they had hired the same
person until after they had signed the paperwork and I
was like, oh, by the way, I love that. Yeah,
so that hasn't changed. So I've continued to write music
for different scores, different uh Disney movies. I've been in
different TV series, different commercial projects, different recording artists.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
So yeah, we're here with my girl, Don Lewis, and
we'll be right back after this short break. Welcome back
to the Up and Knitter podcast. We're here with miss
Don Lewis. Your acting career and your singing career has
also brought you really close to the life of another legend.
(14:44):
How did the Queen of Soul, the Divine Miss Aretha
Franklin and she rest in power? How did she come
to record the theme song A Different World? And how
did you feel when you first heard her incredible vocals
on your song?
Speaker 2 (15:00):
To be honest with you, I was not consulted about
who was going to sing the song because originally I
was going to be singing the song until they realized
I was the same person they hired to be in
the show and on the Yeah, that wasn't going to happen.
So what they did let me know is like their
(15:21):
first choice was actually going to be Al Green. So
I was in the recording studio with Al Green teaching
him the song. So I was like, Okay, no, Al,
it goes like this, So it's me Al. I was
singing backgrounds. We get to get this, Lynn Fiedmont and
Rachelle Farrell. That was where I met. Shelley was living
(15:42):
in Philly at the time. Uh so the three. So
that's how I met Al And then we started shooting
the pilot and when it was clear it was from
a female perspective. They thought, you know, no, we need
to have a female on this, so they brought in
Phoebe snow So. Phoebe was the first voice that the
(16:05):
world actually heard doing the theme song when we were
when I was jumping double Dutch in the opening of
the show, that was Phoebe snow So. The original idea
was to re record it every season, the same song,
but with a different person singing it. So second season
was when they brought in Arethallah. Yeah, once re reput
(16:27):
her thing on it, I don't think we need to
do this again, and it has been slamming. That's the
version that most people remember and sing. And then in
the final season of the series, they had Boys to
Men come in and re redo it. So it's in
(16:47):
honor to have had such amazing musicians record and put
their own stamp and their own vibe onto a song
that now thirty some years later, people are still listening
to schools and groups and are using it as a
foundation for recruiting tool for their schools. Nice they shoot
(17:10):
the ope opening credits with backdrops of their school and
campus and to encourage people to come to go to
their school. Or a group of high school students, that's
gotta feel good. It's amazing. Feel it's amazing. A group
of high school students, as their senior production project, choreographed
an entire dance suite to a different world theme song
(17:32):
version Aretha's version. No one ever heard my version. If
you come to my house, I'll play you.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
I know how you feel because Aunty re Ree also
recorded one of my songs and sang it. It's a
song called Mercy, and she killed it, killed it, So
I get that. I love it. So your acting and
singing career has also brought you really close to another legend,
and that's Miss Tina Turner. Tell us about that.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
Yes, in twenty nineteen. Well, in twenty eighteen, I got
approached to consider playing Tina Turner's mother in what was
then going to be the Broadway production. The show was
already running in London. It's Tina, the Tina Tearner Musical, Okay,
And I was like absolutely for a lot of different reasons.
(18:18):
One just because of who she is and what she
means to us and the world as an artist, and
her personal journey in her life as a survivor of
domestic violence, her story was very close to my story
in the fact that, yeah, myself and my brothers were
raised in a home where our dad was violent towards
(18:39):
our mother, and like Tina Turner's mother, Miss Zelma Bullock,
my mom had to leave in order to save her life.
And by today's standards, people may judge that and say, well,
I couldn't leave my kids if I was a mother,
et cetera, etc.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
So she left you with your dad.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
She left me and my brothers with my dad. We
didn't see my mom for about a year and a half,
almost two years. She left us with our dad.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
My dad because he wasn't violent towards you guys.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
Oh yeah he was. Oh yeah he was.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
He left you with him.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
She had to save her life after one more trip
to the hospital. It was, you know, it was.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
Like, I were you afraid left that he was going
to hurt you guys.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
It wouldn't have been anything new, right, I mean, that
was just.
Speaker 1 (19:21):
Part of the normal, Donnie. That was just part of
the norm. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
So my dad lasted about a month before he said,
you know what, I don't want to do this anymore
and tried to split us up into foster care. Now
at the time, my dad was head of the Department
of Homicide in Brooklyn, So when my mom would go
to the police to report that he had hit her
or harmed her, and they would base she was basically
reporting to his subordinates. So they were like, well, if
(19:48):
you would do what he told you, he wouldn't have.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
To hit you.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
Yeah, those were those days. So my mom left to
save her life. My dad was ready to release us
to not have the response and his mother, my grandmother,
found out what he was doing and she's not having
any part of it. So she owned a brownstone in Brooklyn.
She was renting out the upstairs apartment to some tenants.
(20:12):
She had the tenants move out and move myself and
my brothers in. So that's where we lived for almost
two years and before my mom was able to collect herself,
get a job and all of that and come back
and get us. So we went back to our mother.
So I know how easy it is to villainize someone
like that, but I also know what it is for
(20:34):
your survival, and a lot of women today can relate
to that need to survive. I'm no good for anyone
else if I myself am so damaged and tortured, so
being asked to play Zelma, I just came at it
with a completely different perspective, apparently than it had thought
I performed before. So I was part of the original
(20:56):
Broadway company and we ran from no We started rehearsals
in August of twenty nineteen, We opened first couple of
days of November, and like everything else, the pandemic shut
us down in March fourteenth, so it was about a
year and a half before Broadway was able to reopen.
So I reopened the show with the company in September
(21:18):
of twenty twenty one, and my contract ended at the
end of January twenty twenty two, and I'm back so
to be a part of even a small part of
keeping her legacy alive and keeping that story alive and
the importance of what it is to not just survive
but thrive when you put the right people in your
(21:41):
life and make healthy choices for yourself and for those
around you. I'm beyond honored to be a part of that.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
It's a big honor. Indeed. Well, last year you were
nominated for an NAACP Image Award for your voiceover work
Yes on Star Trek Lower Decks. Yes that must have
been really special to be noted in that way. It
was just to be a.
Speaker 2 (22:04):
Part of the Star Trek franchise. Let me just start there,
because I've been a fan ever since I was a child,
and to look into the future Jeene Roddenberry's future where
people of different species, different cultures, different genders, different races, different,
I mean all of that are not just working together,
(22:25):
but they're living together. This is what space looks like,
and everybody is excellent and amazing. And then there's this
one hot chick right there on the on the communications
console just given fire a week after week and you know,
talking about Michelle Nichols. No, I'm talking about the original
Star Trek where I am like inspired, like we are
(22:47):
in the future and we don't die in the first
five minutes.
Speaker 1 (22:51):
Yes, yes, And we are female.
Speaker 2 (22:53):
And we are female, and we're amazing and we're powerful.
We are like, we are badass. We're beaming down the
planets and and fix and stuff, and it's like, okay,
So to now fast forward and to now be a
part of that myself, and and as a ship's captain
and not just a captain, but I'm like the every
woman captain mama, you know, leader everything in this in
(23:19):
this world, and.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
So I am.
Speaker 2 (23:24):
I am absolutely thrilled and honored. And one of the
other series I do Karma's World for Netflix that was
created and executive produced by Ludicrous.
Speaker 1 (23:36):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
So we just got nominated for a series of awards
for that show and they started thank Youscles. So now
we have a big, huge display at FAO Schwartz because
they have Karma's dolls with the with hair that looks
like it's off of a beautiful little black child's natural head.
It is the most wonderful experience, it really is. So
(24:02):
I play Ms Washington on Karma's World. So in Star Trek,
I am stip a Starfleet captain. In Karma's World, I
am one of the seasoned citizens that Karma's magic and
music and effervescence touches. And it's just really that's for Dizzy, No,
that's for Netflixflix Netflix.
Speaker 1 (24:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
So they just launched season four, No. Three of car
Karma's World, and season three of Star Trek just dropped
a couple of days ago.
Speaker 1 (24:34):
But it works. Come on, you better work. Yes. One
of the reasons I developed this podcast is to encourage
listeners to think outside the box right and to use
their imagination and to not be afraid to explore new
things in their lives. Do you have any words of
(24:54):
encouragement for those people who may be feeling kind of
stuck in a rut in their lives or their career.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
I would encourage anyone if there's something that's ever peaked
your interest, or something that you or someone else has
convinced you is not for you, I would say, use
your own mind, use your own spirit, and decide if
you really want more information and explore, now is the.
Speaker 1 (25:22):
Time to do it. It is seasons.
Speaker 2 (25:25):
Are getting shorter and shorter. We are losing more and
more people daily for just a variety of reasons. So
tomorrow is not promised to anyone. So anyone who says
only white people do that, or only girls do that,
or only guys do that?
Speaker 1 (25:43):
You talking about my school, is that.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
You're not the only person I've heard say that. You know,
And like I mentioned, I played golf too, and people
are like, what what the last year I got my first?
Speaker 1 (25:56):
Holy one? It's like, come on now, now, how long
does it take for you to get How long did
it take for that hole in one? He's been golfing.
I've been golfling a while.
Speaker 2 (26:05):
It took the whole time, but I've known people who've
been golfing for more than thirty years and never gotten
a hole in one. I really was, and there were witnesses,
so they got it a video. I got a little certificate. Yes,
it was great, And I started playing golf because I
would always be invited to these celebrity tournaments and never
wanted people to say, oh god, we got the girl, right,
(26:27):
you know, it's like okay, but you know what, yes exactly.
So I showed up and took my lessons and just
went out and played. And I have to admit, I've
been playing for a while now, and I don't get
to play very often any anymore, just because of work.
Speaker 1 (26:43):
So you know, yeah, I used to do the tournaments a.
Speaker 2 (26:46):
Lot, a lot, and I don't so much anymore. I
get to play still every now and then, but I
don't get to play like every week, or you know,
et cetera. But I would say, go for it.
Speaker 1 (26:59):
Don't.
Speaker 2 (26:59):
Don't turned something off because of your preconception of anything.
Give yourself a chance to experience.
Speaker 1 (27:08):
Why not, that's great advice.
Speaker 2 (27:10):
Give yourself a chance to experience, go for it.
Speaker 1 (27:12):
Well, that's what I'm trying to do with my new
my new venture, and.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
You're doing it and doing it and doing it.
Speaker 1 (27:18):
Wow it doing it?
Speaker 2 (27:21):
Wow. Come on now.
Speaker 1 (27:23):
Finally, we like to end the show with a little
segment where I asked my guests to share something that
happened to them or something someone said or did that
came as a shock or a surprise, And we call
this segment Nedda What what say you?
Speaker 2 (27:41):
Don Lewis, I don't think we have enough time in
his podcast for thosele what up?
Speaker 1 (27:50):
What?
Speaker 2 (27:51):
Uh? Yeah, there's a few of those. There's a few
of those. One of the things in life, all right,
you asked me, has there ever been an opportunity to
play a scuba person in a film or whatever? Yeah, film, TV, whichever.
It's very interesting when people professionally have preconceived notions about
(28:15):
who we are and what our skill set must be
based on what they think we are exactly. So I've
actually had people say, see, like, the worst thing you
can do is tell me my limitations without even knowing me.
So you kind of get that look from me. I've
gotten a lot better at the verbal part, not coming out.
(28:39):
It just kind of stops at the look and you
see it behind Anyone who knows me can see it
behind my eyes before I formulate what actually comes out
of my mouth. But it's been it's been a few
of those opper tunities where people want you for what
you bring to the table, whether it's your celebrity or
(29:01):
your talent. Yet the way that they treat you is
to minimize you as though you are inconsequential.
Speaker 1 (29:07):
That's so they don't have to pay you, and rather.
Speaker 2 (29:09):
So they don't have to pay you. I think it
helps them feel better about themselves or their importance in
the scheme of things. But yeah, but that's like the
worst thing that you could do to me. It's like
what you're just saying?
Speaker 1 (29:23):
No, what what didn't you just say to me?
Speaker 2 (29:26):
It's like, okay, all right, yeah, so that even happened
recently and my response was, okay, you can send me
home now.
Speaker 1 (29:35):
But oh wow, yeah, but.
Speaker 2 (29:37):
We still have more stuff to do in the contract,
I said, Oh, the contract you want me to honor
that you're not going to honor yet that's not gonna happen.
I'm not that girl.
Speaker 1 (29:46):
That's a good niddle. What that's a.
Speaker 2 (29:48):
Good nittle what moment you think, because I should just
be happy to be in your production whatever it is.
They say, no, it doesn't work like that.
Speaker 1 (29:57):
It doesn't work like teach Donnie. Come on, Thank you
soa wormuch for joining us here today on the uppity Knitter,
My pleasure. I really appreciate your sharing your hobbies with us,
and your enthusiasm and your work on a daily basis
on film and TV and stuff we watch every day.
I just love it.
Speaker 2 (30:15):
Thank you, thank you, thank you real quick. It just
positions me to do what I'd love to do in
my heart, which is to give back. Yes, so, my
foundation a New Day Foundation. We do programmatic and financial
services and support for underserve youth and communities, not just
here in the US, but we've gone abroad as well,
like outfitted an entire school in India with backpacks, notebooks,
(30:38):
supplies the same in Guyana, South America, where my family
is from. We go where the need is. So we
just gave about eight scholarships of two thousand dollars each
and a new computer what college bound students. And that's
what we do every year with our conference.
Speaker 1 (30:55):
That's great.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
Thank you, God blesses me. He gets opportunities through me,
so we can he gets them to me, so he
can come through me to where they can be of
most youths. So I'm grateful. I'm so proud of.
Speaker 1 (31:07):
You're a good human. I'm proud of you. To sus
thank you long time.
Speaker 2 (31:11):
May love you long time.
Speaker 1 (31:15):
Let's get together and crochet.
Speaker 2 (31:17):
Yes, more crocheting. I made my first blanket thanks to you,
in just ten days. You want me to show you, okay,
all right, in just ten days. I was so interested
in learning how to crochet, and I bought this yarn
because I thought it was pretty and soft and fluffy.
And the first thing anxiety that says to me is, girl,
why'd you buy this yarn? This is like the most
(31:39):
difficult thing you could have given yourself. But I'm an
uppity knit, a crochet person, and I sat there and
gave myself a Charlie horse. I did it in not
even ten days. Good job, girl, Thank you.
Speaker 1 (31:52):
It is heavy, it's.
Speaker 2 (31:53):
Nice, nice and warm.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
I love it. I love it. I love it. Good job.
Speaker 2 (31:58):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (31:58):
Thanks Don Louis Hey Say Garrett, thank you so much
for joining us on the Uppity Knitter Podcast. Celebrity Hobbies
Uncovered a show where your favorite celebrities talk about their
unusual hobbies. Join us next time see you then.
Speaker 2 (32:14):
The Uppity Knitter Podcast is brought to you by Black
Chick Productions.
Speaker 1 (32:18):
Our show is hosted by Say De Garrett, our producer
is Eric Neurie, and we're recorded and edited by Felicia
Morris at Morris Media Studios in Los Angeles. Special thanks
go out to our friends at iHeartMedia and Seneca Women
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