December 29, 2025 • 15 mins
Curtis Sliwa fills in for Mark Simone and discusses a recent Hollywood Reporter article that highlights his signature habit of always asking new acquaintances where they are from. Curtis offers his perspective on the article and delves into why this personal touch matters to him. He also pays tribute to legendary French actress and animal rights activist Brigitte Bardot, who has passed away at 91. Curtis reflects on Bardot’s life, her dedication to animal welfare, and draws parallels to the animal advocacy work he and his wife, Nancy Sliwa, are passionate about.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Then and now the Guardian Angel of talk radio is here.
Curtis leewa guest host the Mark Simon Show on seven
ten WOO and this I final weeks up stooding for
Mark Simon. Nobody better in the business. What a smooth operator.
(00:23):
Think of that song by Shada nineteen eighty four. Think
of that in nineteen eighty four. It's going to come
back when I talk about the two books being written
by Bernard about Bernard Gets that are being published at
the same time the beginning of this year, forty one
years since the Subway Gumman. So we're going to connect
(00:44):
all the dots. But thanks to Mark Simon for giving
me this opportunity, Tom Cuddy, the program director, who I've
known for years from his stage over at WPLJ, and
of course the iHeart group of station's largest in the
nation doesn't get any better than this. This is like
(01:05):
a second birthday present for me, because I got the
Christmas present which was substituting the first week. This will
be my Birthday present March twenty six aries fire. You know,
I don't go over under, I go right through. And
who would have ever thought that I would have made
(01:25):
it to seventy two years old. So I got my
Christmas present substituting for Marquere and I'm getting my pre
birthday present. And then yesterday, because it's always busy in
my life, huge article came out. It had been done
weeks ago when it came out now and all of
a sudden, my phone was like blowing up from Hollywood.
(01:48):
Oh yeah, everybody out there on the West coast Hollywood
that I've known over the years, where I've met over
the years, was calling me about this article the Hollywood Reporter.
That's the bible for their business out there. So whether
it's movies, TV, whether it's streaming music, whatever it is,
(02:10):
that's their bible. And the article was Curtis Leewoo just
wants you to know, wants to know where are you from?
Because that's what I always asked, right is he? I
asked you where you're from? From? The Bronxes and No Jersey,
What high school do you go to? I always have
these series of questions because it tells me a lot
about who you are, where you're from, what your roots are.
(02:33):
And so it is a huge article and I got
this one call from a guy. Now, all of a sudden,
he's interested in Curtius Slawak, can I do this? Can
I do that? Can you know they're all they're all
schmoozing you. Uh, they're pulling your chain and chewing your shorts.
And he's like, hey, you remember me. Remember I grew
(02:53):
up in benson Hurst. Yeah, I remember you. Oh man,
I got I got ideas of what we can do.
I said, really, really, okay, Uh, could you share a
few with me? And he goes on and on things
he'd never be able to do in a month of Sundays.
But he's schnoring me. He snoring me, okay. And I
know this guy because in the midst of this mayoral
(03:16):
election he became a Cuomo sexual. He donated a lot
of money from Hollywood to Cuomo and he called me
a clown. He thinks I'm gonna forget that, right. So
he's going on and on. He's on the roll, doing
this typical routine they do out in Hollywood, And I said,
(03:36):
cause you hold a second, I gotta I gotta take
a call from mister click. And I hung up the
phone on him. Guy has no idea what it is,
so he must have assumed that there was a break.
He calls me right back, and I said, yeah, I
had a great conversation with mister Click. I'm sorry it
(03:56):
took me a little bit of time to get back
to your call, but I I want you to be
able to talk to mister Click now. And then hung
up on him. You think that's do not You think
he finally understood that you don't play with Curtis Lee right,
You don't stroke me and think I'm not gonna remember.
(04:18):
I don't forgive and I don't forget. Oh, by the way,
I hope Greg Kelly is listening over at WABC because
his show prep was always marked simone the best in
the business, and he's sort of been a dollar short
in a day late, not having a routine to be
able to pick pocket from. But that's okay. Why wouldn't
you listen to mark someone the best in the business.
(04:41):
I certainly have over the years. But let's talk about yesterday,
because it was a Hollywood day. My wife, Nancy, as
you know animal welfare activists, was quest for him by
the loss of Bridgiet Buddo. Now, obviously my wife is
a millennial. She didn't know Bridge Bardeaux from her liberated
(05:02):
sex bomb era of movies that she appeared in, especially
the ones that were made with Roger Vidim, who then
went on to marry years later Jane Fonda, Remember Barbarella. Yeah, okay,
but no, let's stick to Bridget Bardeus that one film
and God Created Woman. Right now, these are all in France,
(05:25):
so you gotta have subtitles to them, right God Created Woman.
It opens up with her sun bathing in the news.
This is nineteen fifty six. Think about that, nineteen fifty six,
and later she emerges from the sea in a clinging
wet dress. I'll never forget that scene, and at the
(05:47):
top of her career, with the paparazzi chasing her all over.
Remember this is the era Marilyn Monroe, so many other
sex bombs, but there was a certain sub a fair
about Bishard Bardell. So she's at the can Film Festival
(06:07):
right there off the Mediterranean. She's in demand and at
the top of her movie making career. She walks away
from it. She goes to Sanchope and she sets up
an animal welfare sanctuary. She goes out to the Arctic
(06:28):
and she confronts these barbarians who are clubbing baby seals
to death. Confronts them. Yeah, I'm sure some of them
are like Brigard Bardeaux my day. Who would ever think
you would see Bridget Bardeaux at the North Pole.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
But she was a fighter for animal welfare, and she
consistently railed against laboratory experiments against animals which are being
filtered out in the Trump administration in the Pentagon.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
Also and other federal agencies. Imagine it's still and you know,
testing on beagles like that that U discraciata Dr Fauci,
testing on beagles, sending them off to Tunisia, third world country,
and then putting cones around their heads and having sand
(07:27):
fleas eat the skin off their heads. For what purposes
we spent money on that? It was never explained, doctor Fauci.
You will burn in hell for that and many other things.
By the way, he's a boy from Bench and her
screw up pharmacy. Uh then went to Regis, the most
prestigious of Jesuit high schools, better than the one I
(07:47):
went to Brooklyn Prep. But he was a disgrace for
many many reasons. All right, let's stick with it with
Bridget Bartell. And then she says, I don't care about
my past glory. I am taking every franc, every euro
that I have, and I'm investing it in adopting unwanted
(08:10):
animal snowkill shelters Spain and neutering. Now, her politics was
extreme right. She was a follower of lapenn She hated Muslims.
She was cited for that many times for hate speech.
But yesterday, for those in the animal welfare community, it
was a reminder how so many who have done so
(08:33):
well in Hollywood in a movie making and in TV
production walked away or in their final years bequeathed all
their money to animal welfare. Now, the complete opposite of
Richard Bardot at that time was Dori Stay. She was
America's sweetheart. Remember Doris Stay. I remember seeing her in
Pillow Talk I think it was nineteen sixty with Rock Hudson.
(08:57):
Who know that Rock Hudson was gay, but he was.
These were great movies. But she was America's sweetheart. And
then while doing a film in about nineteen seventy one,
she saw some people abusing animals and immediately I think
(09:19):
she was doing the film The Man who Knew Too
Much nineteen seventy one, she established actors and others for animals.
No de fur, no defer, and who joined the Mary
Tyler Moore, Angie Dickenson, Jane Meadows, and of course Bob
Barker the price is right. If he saw you warring
wearing a fur, he would have punched your schnaz right
(09:41):
down your throat. And this became her passion. She lived
by Karmel by the Sea, you know Clint Eastwood where
he became mayor Karmel by the Sea, a lifelong Republican,
died at ninety seven, bequeathed all of her wealth to
her at almost sanctuary. And then, of course there was
(10:02):
Betty White. Betty White died at about a hundred. I
never forget seeing her on phil Donague in the afternoons
and she was talking about her animal welfare fund and
somebody was giving her a hard time. Yeah, look Betty White,
Golden Girls Hot in Cleveland, the Mary Tyler Moore Show.
Betty White an institution, bequeathed all her money to her
(10:27):
animal wildlife fund. And then, oh yeah, for the guys
out there, there's Wakie Phoenix. Remember that great movie, the
first one, the Joker, not not the second one with
Oh god, that was not a good one. No, no, no, no, no,
(10:48):
the second movie could not touch the first one that
was classic. So here's Joaquin Phoenix. He's receiving the Academy award. Uh,
he's speaking gibberish up there, who knew where his mind was,
like so many of these actors and actresses. And the
very next day he's out rescuing as she was known
(11:10):
to do animals in factory farms. He would actually go there.
He would say to those in charge of the farmers,
how much you want for that mother cow? How much
you want for that new born calf? Spending his wealth
to do that great actor? So many others, and think
(11:32):
of it, people make fun of you. Would you make
fun of Doris Day? Would you make fun of Betty White? Well,
they do make fun of Joaquin Phoenix. They say he
is looney Kazuni from parts on own great actor, no
doubt about it. And Bridget Bardeux, who when they said
(11:53):
are you a recluse, she said, no, I'm not a recluse.
I would rather deal with animals than with people. And
then the most recent maybe we'll get to it in
this week when I'm substituting for Mark Simoon pigeons, which
in my mind street pigeons should be the official bird
(12:17):
of New York City, right, Oh man, you get such battles.
Some people say they're nothing more than rats with wings.
You know, they put up spikes on their windows cells. Hey,
you don't want pigeons coming on your window cells. Put
up plastic owls. That's like a natural nemesis to them.
It sort of like when you go to a cornfield
(12:38):
and they put up scarecrows and keeps the crows who
have very smart. Pigeons very smart, but they will not
land on a window cell or any area that has
a plastic owl in. And boy, tremendous controversy raging because
another great actress actually came to the support the pigeons,
(13:05):
the actress Sarah Paulson. She did a podcast in what
she was saying, we shouldn't be torturing the street pigeons.
They're a part of our New York City heritage and legacy,
and they are and they have performed so many services
for us over the decades, without which we might have
(13:27):
suffered enormously. And I grew up with pigeons on the
roof of my grandfather and grandmother's house in Kannarci. My
uncle Vincenz used to have a pigeon coop. There were
a lot of pigeon coops back then, so I nurtured them,
I fed them, I trained them Boston Bulldies and Homer's,
(13:49):
so I have a direct infinity for pigeons. But boy,
you talk about mixing ammonian bleach and my own wife.
I'm so proud of her, Nancy, who stood up to
a comrade build a blasio back then, the part time mayor,
the dope from Park Slope, when he said, if you
feed pigeons, we are gonna find you and my wife, Nancy,
(14:14):
in classic Clint Eastwood terminology, turned to build a blasio
on the steps of city Hall when he was mayor
unfortunately for eight years, and said make my day as
she and others began feeding the pigeons right there. Oh
(14:34):
you can see all that. Just go to act Curtis Sliwer.
It's all posted there. But what a day following the
Hollywood Reporter, I mean, dissing and dismissing somebody of great renown.
Gotta know you don't play with Curtis Sliwa, You don't
play with me. Coming up next, so we got to
(14:57):
talk about two books that are being published by about
Bernard Gatz forty one years later coming out at the
same time by the same publishing house, and I guarantee
you because of that, it'll probably be a movie made
about what occurred forty one years ago in December of
(15:20):
the subways of New York City that I spend most
of my time in. Our number is eight hundred three
two one zero seven ten. That's eight hundred three two
one zero seven ten, because this is the place for
you to be heard. Now if you if you weren't
part of the WR seven ten listenership, you need to now.
(15:44):
I Annancy are, and there are a growing number of
people out there. Just uh dial right in at eight
hundred three two one zero seven ten.
Then and now the Guardian Angel of talk radio is here.
Curtis leewa guest host the Mark Simon Show on seven
ten WOO and this I final weeks up stooding for
Mark Simon. Nobody better in the business. What a smooth operator.
(00:23):
Think of that song by Shada nineteen eighty four. Think
of that in nineteen eighty four. It's going to come
back when I talk about the two books being written
by Bernard about Bernard Gets that are being published at
the same time the beginning of this year, forty one
years since the Subway Gumman. So we're going to connect
(00:44):
all the dots. But thanks to Mark Simon for giving
me this opportunity, Tom Cuddy, the program director, who I've
known for years from his stage over at WPLJ, and
of course the iHeart group of station's largest in the
nation doesn't get any better than this. This is like
(01:05):
a second birthday present for me, because I got the
Christmas present which was substituting the first week. This will
be my Birthday present March twenty six aries fire. You know,
I don't go over under, I go right through. And
who would have ever thought that I would have made
(01:25):
it to seventy two years old. So I got my
Christmas present substituting for Marquere and I'm getting my pre
birthday present. And then yesterday, because it's always busy in
my life, huge article came out. It had been done
weeks ago when it came out now and all of
a sudden, my phone was like blowing up from Hollywood.
(01:48):
Oh yeah, everybody out there on the West coast Hollywood
that I've known over the years, where I've met over
the years, was calling me about this article the Hollywood Reporter.
That's the bible for their business out there. So whether
it's movies, TV, whether it's streaming music, whatever it is,
(02:10):
that's their bible. And the article was Curtis Leewoo just
wants you to know, wants to know where are you from?
Because that's what I always asked, right is he? I
asked you where you're from? From? The Bronxes and No Jersey,
What high school do you go to? I always have
these series of questions because it tells me a lot
about who you are, where you're from, what your roots are.
(02:33):
And so it is a huge article and I got
this one call from a guy. Now, all of a sudden,
he's interested in Curtius Slawak, can I do this? Can
I do that? Can you know they're all they're all
schmoozing you. Uh, they're pulling your chain and chewing your shorts.
And he's like, hey, you remember me. Remember I grew
(02:53):
up in benson Hurst. Yeah, I remember you. Oh man,
I got I got ideas of what we can do.
I said, really, really, okay, Uh, could you share a
few with me? And he goes on and on things
he'd never be able to do in a month of Sundays.
But he's schnoring me. He snoring me, okay. And I
know this guy because in the midst of this mayoral
(03:16):
election he became a Cuomo sexual. He donated a lot
of money from Hollywood to Cuomo and he called me
a clown. He thinks I'm gonna forget that, right. So
he's going on and on. He's on the roll, doing
this typical routine they do out in Hollywood, And I said,
(03:36):
cause you hold a second, I gotta I gotta take
a call from mister click. And I hung up the
phone on him. Guy has no idea what it is,
so he must have assumed that there was a break.
He calls me right back, and I said, yeah, I
had a great conversation with mister Click. I'm sorry it
(03:56):
took me a little bit of time to get back
to your call, but I I want you to be
able to talk to mister Click now. And then hung
up on him. You think that's do not You think
he finally understood that you don't play with Curtis Lee right,
You don't stroke me and think I'm not gonna remember.
(04:18):
I don't forgive and I don't forget. Oh, by the way,
I hope Greg Kelly is listening over at WABC because
his show prep was always marked simone the best in
the business, and he's sort of been a dollar short
in a day late, not having a routine to be
able to pick pocket from. But that's okay. Why wouldn't
you listen to mark someone the best in the business.
(04:41):
I certainly have over the years. But let's talk about yesterday,
because it was a Hollywood day. My wife, Nancy, as
you know animal welfare activists, was quest for him by
the loss of Bridgiet Buddo. Now, obviously my wife is
a millennial. She didn't know Bridge Bardeaux from her liberated
(05:02):
sex bomb era of movies that she appeared in, especially
the ones that were made with Roger Vidim, who then
went on to marry years later Jane Fonda, Remember Barbarella. Yeah, okay,
but no, let's stick to Bridget Bardeus that one film
and God Created Woman. Right now, these are all in France,
(05:25):
so you gotta have subtitles to them, right God Created Woman.
It opens up with her sun bathing in the news.
This is nineteen fifty six. Think about that, nineteen fifty six,
and later she emerges from the sea in a clinging
wet dress. I'll never forget that scene, and at the
(05:47):
top of her career, with the paparazzi chasing her all over.
Remember this is the era Marilyn Monroe, so many other
sex bombs, but there was a certain sub a fair
about Bishard Bardell. So she's at the can Film Festival
(06:07):
right there off the Mediterranean. She's in demand and at
the top of her movie making career. She walks away
from it. She goes to Sanchope and she sets up
an animal welfare sanctuary. She goes out to the Arctic
(06:28):
and she confronts these barbarians who are clubbing baby seals
to death. Confronts them. Yeah, I'm sure some of them
are like Brigard Bardeaux my day. Who would ever think
you would see Bridget Bardeaux at the North Pole.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
But she was a fighter for animal welfare, and she
consistently railed against laboratory experiments against animals which are being
filtered out in the Trump administration in the Pentagon.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
Also and other federal agencies. Imagine it's still and you know,
testing on beagles like that that U discraciata Dr Fauci,
testing on beagles, sending them off to Tunisia, third world country,
and then putting cones around their heads and having sand
(07:27):
fleas eat the skin off their heads. For what purposes
we spent money on that? It was never explained, doctor Fauci.
You will burn in hell for that and many other things.
By the way, he's a boy from Bench and her
screw up pharmacy. Uh then went to Regis, the most
prestigious of Jesuit high schools, better than the one I
(07:47):
went to Brooklyn Prep. But he was a disgrace for
many many reasons. All right, let's stick with it with
Bridget Bartell. And then she says, I don't care about
my past glory. I am taking every franc, every euro
that I have, and I'm investing it in adopting unwanted
(08:10):
animal snowkill shelters Spain and neutering. Now, her politics was
extreme right. She was a follower of lapenn She hated Muslims.
She was cited for that many times for hate speech.
But yesterday, for those in the animal welfare community, it
was a reminder how so many who have done so
(08:33):
well in Hollywood in a movie making and in TV
production walked away or in their final years bequeathed all
their money to animal welfare. Now, the complete opposite of
Richard Bardot at that time was Dori Stay. She was
America's sweetheart. Remember Doris Stay. I remember seeing her in
Pillow Talk I think it was nineteen sixty with Rock Hudson.
(08:57):
Who know that Rock Hudson was gay, but he was.
These were great movies. But she was America's sweetheart. And
then while doing a film in about nineteen seventy one,
she saw some people abusing animals and immediately I think
(09:19):
she was doing the film The Man who Knew Too
Much nineteen seventy one, she established actors and others for animals.
No de fur, no defer, and who joined the Mary
Tyler Moore, Angie Dickenson, Jane Meadows, and of course Bob
Barker the price is right. If he saw you warring
wearing a fur, he would have punched your schnaz right
(09:41):
down your throat. And this became her passion. She lived
by Karmel by the Sea, you know Clint Eastwood where
he became mayor Karmel by the Sea, a lifelong Republican,
died at ninety seven, bequeathed all of her wealth to
her at almost sanctuary. And then, of course there was
(10:02):
Betty White. Betty White died at about a hundred. I
never forget seeing her on phil Donague in the afternoons
and she was talking about her animal welfare fund and
somebody was giving her a hard time. Yeah, look Betty White,
Golden Girls Hot in Cleveland, the Mary Tyler Moore Show.
Betty White an institution, bequeathed all her money to her
(10:27):
animal wildlife fund. And then, oh yeah, for the guys
out there, there's Wakie Phoenix. Remember that great movie, the
first one, the Joker, not not the second one with
Oh god, that was not a good one. No, no, no, no, no,
(10:48):
the second movie could not touch the first one that
was classic. So here's Joaquin Phoenix. He's receiving the Academy award. Uh,
he's speaking gibberish up there, who knew where his mind was,
like so many of these actors and actresses. And the
very next day he's out rescuing as she was known
(11:10):
to do animals in factory farms. He would actually go there.
He would say to those in charge of the farmers,
how much you want for that mother cow? How much
you want for that new born calf? Spending his wealth
to do that great actor? So many others, and think
(11:32):
of it, people make fun of you. Would you make
fun of Doris Day? Would you make fun of Betty White? Well,
they do make fun of Joaquin Phoenix. They say he
is looney Kazuni from parts on own great actor, no
doubt about it. And Bridget Bardeux, who when they said
(11:53):
are you a recluse, she said, no, I'm not a recluse.
I would rather deal with animals than with people. And
then the most recent maybe we'll get to it in
this week when I'm substituting for Mark Simoon pigeons, which
in my mind street pigeons should be the official bird
(12:17):
of New York City, right, Oh man, you get such battles.
Some people say they're nothing more than rats with wings.
You know, they put up spikes on their windows cells. Hey,
you don't want pigeons coming on your window cells. Put
up plastic owls. That's like a natural nemesis to them.
It sort of like when you go to a cornfield
(12:38):
and they put up scarecrows and keeps the crows who
have very smart. Pigeons very smart, but they will not
land on a window cell or any area that has
a plastic owl in. And boy, tremendous controversy raging because
another great actress actually came to the support the pigeons,
(13:05):
the actress Sarah Paulson. She did a podcast in what
she was saying, we shouldn't be torturing the street pigeons.
They're a part of our New York City heritage and legacy,
and they are and they have performed so many services
for us over the decades, without which we might have
(13:27):
suffered enormously. And I grew up with pigeons on the
roof of my grandfather and grandmother's house in Kannarci. My
uncle Vincenz used to have a pigeon coop. There were
a lot of pigeon coops back then, so I nurtured them,
I fed them, I trained them Boston Bulldies and Homer's,
(13:49):
so I have a direct infinity for pigeons. But boy,
you talk about mixing ammonian bleach and my own wife.
I'm so proud of her, Nancy, who stood up to
a comrade build a blasio back then, the part time mayor,
the dope from Park Slope, when he said, if you
feed pigeons, we are gonna find you and my wife, Nancy,
(14:14):
in classic Clint Eastwood terminology, turned to build a blasio
on the steps of city Hall when he was mayor
unfortunately for eight years, and said make my day as
she and others began feeding the pigeons right there. Oh
(14:34):
you can see all that. Just go to act Curtis Sliwer.
It's all posted there. But what a day following the
Hollywood Reporter, I mean, dissing and dismissing somebody of great renown.
Gotta know you don't play with Curtis Sliwa, You don't
play with me. Coming up next, so we got to
(14:57):
talk about two books that are being published by about
Bernard Gatz forty one years later coming out at the
same time by the same publishing house, and I guarantee
you because of that, it'll probably be a movie made
about what occurred forty one years ago in December of
(15:20):
the subways of New York City that I spend most
of my time in. Our number is eight hundred three
two one zero seven ten. That's eight hundred three two
one zero seven ten, because this is the place for
you to be heard. Now if you if you weren't
part of the WR seven ten listenership, you need to now.
(15:44):
I Annancy are, and there are a growing number of
people out there. Just uh dial right in at eight
hundred three two one zero seven ten.
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