May 12, 2025 • 8 mins
The Warden joins me ahead of his appearance in Omaha this Saturday. Visit OmahaFilmEvent.com for details.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Scott Vordiez.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
This Saturday, May seventeenth, the Omaha Community Playhouse is hosting
the latest film event by Omaha movie historian Bruce Crawford
and the Omaha Film Event dot com crew. It's going
to be at seven o'clock. It's a fundraiser for the
Omaha Parks Foundation, so you go ticket information at Omaha
(00:21):
Parksfoundation dot org. And the screening is of the incredibly
critically acclaimed and very popular Shawshank Redemption. The actor coming
in for the screening of the movie and a Q
and A with the audience is none other than the
Warden from Shawshank Redemption, actor Bob Gunton, who played Warden
(00:42):
Sam Norton, who in this scene goes to visit Tim
Robbins Andy Dufrain to threaten burning his library to the ground.
There at the jail, in.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
The library gone sealed off, brick Barbreck. We'll have us
a little book barbecue in the yard. I see the
flames for Miles well that surround it like wild engines.
Understand me?
Speaker 1 (01:13):
Catch him on drift.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
Or am I being obtuse?
Speaker 1 (01:20):
Or am I being obtuse?
Speaker 2 (01:21):
We welcome Bob Gunton onto the program here mister Guntan
is a pleasure to talk with you.
Speaker 4 (01:26):
Good morning, Oh, thank you, good morning, gott I know.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
That you're going to do a Q and A with
the audience on this movie. I don't want to ask
all of the million questions I have about Shawshank Redemption,
but I do have a couple, including what did you
think when you first saw the name of this movie
as being a potential film role for you?
Speaker 4 (01:49):
Ah? Well, I had no idea what it was about.
I hadn't read the novella by Stephen king right. But
after I read it, when I had been sent the script,
I said, whoa, this is one of the great scripts.
And indeed it was a great experience.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
I mean, what feelings did you have watching the movie
after it was all done? And they said, okay, we're
going to do a screening of it that first time
you saw it versus if you can watch it. And
some actors don't like to watch themselves in a movie,
But what do you feel like when you see it?
Speaker 1 (02:26):
Now? About about this movie.
Speaker 4 (02:30):
Well, I the first time I sew with a public audience.
When the warden lifts the gun to his chin and
blows himself away, I cheered, along with everybody else here.
But you know, as an actor, you have to love
(02:53):
the person that you're playing. You have to be there
the guardian angel or to have some kind of relationship.
And indeed I actually wrote a backstory for him that
to me anyway explained how he got to be who
he was.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Well, we'll have to hear that this coming Saturday, when
you come to Omaha. That will be a very interesting
way to delve into who this guy was. But for you,
as an actor, I'm sure that after you played Warden Norton,
you were just flooded with film roles and you had
to look at them and go, all right, I am
an evil, angry Warden. I'm an evil, angry judge. I'm
(03:33):
an evil overbearing father. Is there anything where I get
a chance to sing and dance and made people laugh
in any movie?
Speaker 4 (03:40):
Well, my next movie after Shawshank was a Spentura when
Nature something.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
When Nature calls the second one? Yes, right?
Speaker 4 (03:53):
And I played a funny idiot, which was a kind
of a now for something completely different. Once in a
while I get to do sometimes a bad guy who's funny.
In the case of Starshank Redemption, of course, there was
nothing funny about Warden.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
Norton, who was more difficult to work with, Jim Carrey
and Ace Ventura or Robin Williams and Patch Adams.
Speaker 4 (04:22):
They were both wonderful, wonderful not just actors but people.
And I have a story about about Jim Carrey that
connects with sharsh Ankredemption, but I think I'll save that
for Saturday.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
All right, what's your favorite story then about being with
Robin Williams and Patch Adams, Because I really really enjoyed
that movie.
Speaker 4 (04:46):
I did too, and I enjoyed being with Robin and
his then wife. They asked me out to dinner during
the shoot, and we really got to to talk in
some depth and Vietnam veteran and Robin was very interested
in that and hearing what that was like because he
(05:07):
had done the Vietnam Good Morning Vietnam. But he was
terrific and so easy to work with and also hysterical.
We were shooting a scene that it was kind of
in a courtroom setting, and when they would stop shooting
(05:28):
and move the lights and move on to the next scene,
he would turn around to the gallery of extras and
they would throw out a word like viagra, and Robin
would ten to fifteen minutes on just that word, and
all of us had aching stomachs on we left the
(05:50):
set after that day. He was just fantastic and on
this I'm a great deal.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
If you have not seen Patch Adams, I highly encourage
that it's starring Robin Williams and our guest on the
phone here, Bob Gunton, who's coming to Omaha for the
screening of the Shawshank Redemption. Omaha Parksfoundation dot org to
get tickets for this event and do a little Q
and A with Bob. All right, last question on Shawshank,
(06:17):
what's your problem with Raquel Welch throwing rocks at her?
Speaker 4 (06:23):
Well, this sort of hypocritical religious guy makes a big
problem out of having fuzzy breeches on a beautiful woman.
But it's at this point he is starting to become
unbound and unwind winded and then rosy. He throws rock
(06:45):
to everybody at that point, and then he meets his
fate when he sticks his finger to the poster and
seats what happened.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
I don't want to go into too much detail because
I know there'll be people who are seeing this for
the first time having not had the opportunity to see
it in theaters when it came out during up against
some of the most best loved films of all time
like Pulp Fiction and Forrest Gump, Shawshank. Redemption is kind
(07:14):
of like the little Engine that could. It just kept
chugging along, and it's a beloved movie. Now and Bob,
it'll be great to have you here in Omaha to
screen it for the audience of those who've seen it
a dozen times versus those who've seen it for the
first time this Saturday, seven o'clock at the Omaha Community
Playoffs Omaha Parksfoundation dot org. Bob, we asked all of
(07:36):
our favorite guests on this program to say a line
for us that we feel is the best thing to
hear first thing in the morning. The line is, good morning, honey,
I made you pancakes for breakfast. But I'm wondering if
you can do it a bit stylized as Warden Norton
as good morning Andy in Red, I made you pancakes
(07:57):
for breakfast. See you're nice. You're making them pancakes. It's
a nice deal. Would you say, good morning Andy? And Red,
I made you pancakes for breakfast.
Speaker 4 (08:07):
Good morning Andy, and Red, I made you pancakes for breakfast.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
There's some evil sounding pancakes. Bob Save travels to Omaha,
and I look forward to seeing you here in our
town this weekend. Okay Scott for these mornings nine to eleven,
our News Radio eleven ten KFAB
Scott Vordiez.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
This Saturday, May seventeenth, the Omaha Community Playhouse is hosting
the latest film event by Omaha movie historian Bruce Crawford
and the Omaha Film Event dot com crew. It's going
to be at seven o'clock. It's a fundraiser for the
Omaha Parks Foundation, so you go ticket information at Omaha
(00:21):
Parksfoundation dot org. And the screening is of the incredibly
critically acclaimed and very popular Shawshank Redemption. The actor coming
in for the screening of the movie and a Q
and A with the audience is none other than the
Warden from Shawshank Redemption, actor Bob Gunton, who played Warden
(00:42):
Sam Norton, who in this scene goes to visit Tim
Robbins Andy Dufrain to threaten burning his library to the ground.
There at the jail, in.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
The library gone sealed off, brick Barbreck. We'll have us
a little book barbecue in the yard. I see the
flames for Miles well that surround it like wild engines.
Understand me?
Speaker 1 (01:13):
Catch him on drift.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
Or am I being obtuse?
Speaker 1 (01:20):
Or am I being obtuse?
Speaker 2 (01:21):
We welcome Bob Gunton onto the program here mister Guntan
is a pleasure to talk with you.
Speaker 4 (01:26):
Good morning, Oh, thank you, good morning, gott I know.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
That you're going to do a Q and A with
the audience on this movie. I don't want to ask
all of the million questions I have about Shawshank Redemption,
but I do have a couple, including what did you
think when you first saw the name of this movie
as being a potential film role for you?
Speaker 4 (01:49):
Ah? Well, I had no idea what it was about.
I hadn't read the novella by Stephen king right. But
after I read it, when I had been sent the script,
I said, whoa, this is one of the great scripts.
And indeed it was a great experience.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
I mean, what feelings did you have watching the movie
after it was all done? And they said, okay, we're
going to do a screening of it that first time
you saw it versus if you can watch it. And
some actors don't like to watch themselves in a movie,
But what do you feel like when you see it?
Speaker 1 (02:26):
Now? About about this movie.
Speaker 4 (02:30):
Well, I the first time I sew with a public audience.
When the warden lifts the gun to his chin and
blows himself away, I cheered, along with everybody else here.
But you know, as an actor, you have to love
(02:53):
the person that you're playing. You have to be there
the guardian angel or to have some kind of relationship.
And indeed I actually wrote a backstory for him that
to me anyway explained how he got to be who
he was.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Well, we'll have to hear that this coming Saturday, when
you come to Omaha. That will be a very interesting
way to delve into who this guy was. But for you,
as an actor, I'm sure that after you played Warden Norton,
you were just flooded with film roles and you had
to look at them and go, all right, I am
an evil, angry Warden. I'm an evil, angry judge. I'm
(03:33):
an evil overbearing father. Is there anything where I get
a chance to sing and dance and made people laugh
in any movie?
Speaker 4 (03:40):
Well, my next movie after Shawshank was a Spentura when
Nature something.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
When Nature calls the second one? Yes, right?
Speaker 4 (03:53):
And I played a funny idiot, which was a kind
of a now for something completely different. Once in a
while I get to do sometimes a bad guy who's funny.
In the case of Starshank Redemption, of course, there was
nothing funny about Warden.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
Norton, who was more difficult to work with, Jim Carrey
and Ace Ventura or Robin Williams and Patch Adams.
Speaker 4 (04:22):
They were both wonderful, wonderful not just actors but people.
And I have a story about about Jim Carrey that
connects with sharsh Ankredemption, but I think I'll save that
for Saturday.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
All right, what's your favorite story then about being with
Robin Williams and Patch Adams, Because I really really enjoyed
that movie.
Speaker 4 (04:46):
I did too, and I enjoyed being with Robin and
his then wife. They asked me out to dinner during
the shoot, and we really got to to talk in
some depth and Vietnam veteran and Robin was very interested
in that and hearing what that was like because he
(05:07):
had done the Vietnam Good Morning Vietnam. But he was
terrific and so easy to work with and also hysterical.
We were shooting a scene that it was kind of
in a courtroom setting, and when they would stop shooting
(05:28):
and move the lights and move on to the next scene,
he would turn around to the gallery of extras and
they would throw out a word like viagra, and Robin
would ten to fifteen minutes on just that word, and
all of us had aching stomachs on we left the
(05:50):
set after that day. He was just fantastic and on
this I'm a great deal.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
If you have not seen Patch Adams, I highly encourage
that it's starring Robin Williams and our guest on the
phone here, Bob Gunton, who's coming to Omaha for the
screening of the Shawshank Redemption. Omaha Parksfoundation dot org to
get tickets for this event and do a little Q
and A with Bob. All right, last question on Shawshank,
(06:17):
what's your problem with Raquel Welch throwing rocks at her?
Speaker 4 (06:23):
Well, this sort of hypocritical religious guy makes a big
problem out of having fuzzy breeches on a beautiful woman.
But it's at this point he is starting to become
unbound and unwind winded and then rosy. He throws rock
(06:45):
to everybody at that point, and then he meets his
fate when he sticks his finger to the poster and
seats what happened.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
I don't want to go into too much detail because
I know there'll be people who are seeing this for
the first time having not had the opportunity to see
it in theaters when it came out during up against
some of the most best loved films of all time
like Pulp Fiction and Forrest Gump, Shawshank. Redemption is kind
(07:14):
of like the little Engine that could. It just kept
chugging along, and it's a beloved movie. Now and Bob,
it'll be great to have you here in Omaha to
screen it for the audience of those who've seen it
a dozen times versus those who've seen it for the
first time this Saturday, seven o'clock at the Omaha Community
Playoffs Omaha Parksfoundation dot org. Bob, we asked all of
(07:36):
our favorite guests on this program to say a line
for us that we feel is the best thing to
hear first thing in the morning. The line is, good morning, honey,
I made you pancakes for breakfast. But I'm wondering if
you can do it a bit stylized as Warden Norton
as good morning Andy in Red, I made you pancakes
(07:57):
for breakfast. See you're nice. You're making them pancakes. It's
a nice deal. Would you say, good morning Andy? And Red,
I made you pancakes for breakfast.
Speaker 4 (08:07):
Good morning Andy, and Red, I made you pancakes for breakfast.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
There's some evil sounding pancakes. Bob Save travels to Omaha,
and I look forward to seeing you here in our
town this weekend. Okay Scott for these mornings nine to eleven,
our News Radio eleven ten KFAB
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