Beyond the Box Score w/ Jackie Rae & the Autobiography of Tommy Burke

ICYMI: Later, with Mo’Kelly Presents – A look ‘Beyond the Box Score’ with Long Beach Post/WNBA Reporter and host of NiteCast Media’s ‘Hardwood 94,’ Jackie Rae weighing in on Female Boxing Champion Claressa Shields’ response to USA Boxing allowing transgender women to participate in the female category AND College Football opt-outs and portal entries on teams playing in non-playoff bowl games…PLUS - Author Tommy Burke joins the program to introduce his new autobiography “Not Just Sunglasses and Autographs, 30 Years of Film & Television Production with Life (& Near Death) Lessons,” which follows Tommy’s journey from bar bouncing in Boston to working on award-winning television shows & movies and overcoming the odds through dark humor, tenacity, authenticity, and happiness - on KFI AM 640 – Live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
You're listening to Later with Moe Kellyon demand from KFI AM six forty.
Here you talk men a lot ofdisrespectful talk about your families, now your
kids. It's just disrespect to thegame, man. I think it's something
that needs to be brought up.Beyond the box Score with Jackie Ray when

(00:20):
it comes to a trans women inwomen's sports. Honestly, I've been against
it. I have always tried toprotect women and women's sports. But I
will always go back to why didpeople turn us on when Dan Patrick can
keep over whom we're hosting, andwhy are they turning us on now?
And in my opinion, it isnot to hear about Charlotte self. Beyond

(00:40):
the box Score with Jackie Ray,where sports and society meet k I AM
six forty. This is Later withmo Kelly. We're live everywhere on the
iHeartRadio app and let's go Beyond thebox Score with Jackie Ray, who joins
us now on the phone. Ididn't ask her to come in studio because
it is the first day of theyear is kind of a holiday for some
of us. Jackie Ray, thankyou for joining us, given that you

(01:03):
know you didn't have to come ontonight. But thank you for coming on.
I'm happy to be here. Wegot a new intro for the new
year. I'm excited. Hey,I'm excited as well. Let me just
jump into this story. USA Boxinghas ushered in a transgender policy into its
twenty twenty four rule book. Thisedition, which was written back in August

(01:26):
of twenty twenty two, explicitly outlinesthe eligibility of male boxers who undergo a
gender transition to compete in the femalecategory. Let me just back up and
give you the floor. What thehell is going on? You know,

(01:49):
I'm gonna just be honest. Thistopic is becoming truly mentally and emotionally and
spiritually exhausting because to me, itfeels like misogyny. I know a lot
of people will react when I saythat, but when I as a woman
who has who has competed in competitivesports, and know how hard I had
to work because then the reality ofit is basketball and volleyball was my sport.

(02:13):
Basketball that just became a professional sportin my lifetime, and fighting for
equality. Women had to fight justto play sports. We had to really
work hard just to be acknowledged inour talent and have the spaces to perform
within our talents, and now itjust feels like, okay, now that
we're just starting to break away,and we're still having conversations about why people

(02:38):
don't watch women's sports the way theyshould, why they don't watch that the
way that they watch men's sports,And now that we're just kind of coming
into our own and fighting so hardand just barely seeing the top of this
hill and getting over this hump.Now men are coming in and trying to
once again in friends their will andtheir ideology upon women's sports. And I

(03:00):
say that again. I know that'sgoing to upset people, but I want
to be clear where I'm a woman. I don't identify as a woman.
I didn't have to go through surgery, take medication to become a woman.
I am a woman full stop.We're talking about men who identify as women,

(03:21):
and this seems so unfair to mebecause women, we had to fight
for this space. When you're talkingabout paraplegics, they had to fight to
get their own competitions. Everyone hadto fight except for men. And now
they get to kind of just say, hey, you know what, we
identify as women, so we feellike we should be able to play with
women, and now we're literally changinglaws. The Vitamin Administration is really trying

(03:45):
to make sure Title nine does nothave the strength to exclude biological men from
women's sports. And it's so problematicto me because it basically undermines everything women
have fought for and it's difficult towatch in real time. Okay, there
are two things that I want toextract from what you said. Let's make
that delineation again explicitly. For people, there's a difference between sex and gender.

(04:13):
Sex is how you are born.Gender is how you present yourself to
the world, and we're talking aboutbiologically born men who wish to present themselves
in a societal construct sense as women. That's the first thing. And if
you going back to the story talkingabout USA Boxing, USA Boxing has always
been clear as far as their ownrules. The hypocrisy here is that women

(04:38):
cannot use hormones or any type ofenhancers which would change their biological chemistry because
of the supposed level playing field,and they're throwing that aside to then allow
biological male presenting themselves as women towho will be taking hormonal treatment to compete.

(05:01):
So even on a competition level,it doesn't make any sense. Have
I missed something here? We allhave. I feel like because I feel
like this is a very small percentageof the population, and I don't mean
that to be dismissive of this population. I would be all in favor of,
as I know a lot of womenwould be. I would be all
in favor in joining arms with thetransgender community to create a transgender league.

(05:27):
We've already fight, you know whatI mean, So we can help you
fight this fight. But you jumpinginto our fight literally in this sense is
it's very demeaning. Again, itfeels like misogyny to me, and I
really don't and this is probably wherepeople I don't care how you feel.
I don't care how you present yourself. I care about the fairness of the

(05:47):
sport. I'm not going to letmy sixteen year old nephew go play with
eight year olds because there's a differencein athleticism, there's a different in talent,
there's a different in physical ability.Not going to allow that happen.
And again to your point, ifI can't take because now I have to
even this playing field, because again, how you identify as your business but

(06:08):
I know biologically you are a man, and there is a difference between the
two of us, there will alwaysbe a difference between the two of us.
And if I can't take supplements tohelp mitigate that, but you can
take supplements because of how you identify, it's automatically unfair and it's not right.
Sports are supposedly predicated on this mythologicaleven playing field, and we try

(06:34):
as best we can to make itas equal as possible. It's the closest
thing we have in theory, intheory to a meritocracy where what happens between
the lines decides the outcome. AndI say this is someone who cares greatly
about the transgender community. This isnot in any way a criticism of the
people or the community. It wantto be one hundred percent clear. This

(06:57):
is about the issue of fairness withincompetitive sports. And if we're going to
have male and female sports, ifwe're going to have men's basketball and women's
basketball, and from what we're talkingabout, we're going to have men's boxing
and women's boxing, then we haveto still adhere or closely hue to the
idea of a level playing field andthe level playing field. And I'm just

(07:19):
a pontificating here the level playing fieldwas never predicated on how someone felt,
but how someone actually was. Sobefore we go to break, how do
we actually deal with this? Becausethis we've seen it in MMA, we've
seen it in swimming, We're nowseeing it in boxing. In two times

(07:41):
undisputed champion Claricious Shields has spoken outand said this is not right. Well,
it may not be right and itmay not be popular, but it's
still going to happen. So whathappens from here within competitive sports more broadly,
I'm going to take it a slightlydifferent in that I am going to
criticize the community. I am goingto criticize the transgender community because everything that

(08:07):
we're seeing happening right now is becauseof the transgender community. So I think
again, what the trans community shouldprobably say is, hey, there is
a difference. Obviously there's a difference. They have to do things medically again,
take pills that we don't have to. There's always going to be that
difference. So what I feel likethe transgender community really should do is again

(08:28):
say, hey, my sister isover here. We've seen that. You
guys have fought this fight. Youguys can't decades of fighting this fight,
lawsuits have been fought. Can youcome over here and help us out and
help us not only get our ownleague, but maybe give us a leg
up and as to how we canget some of these views, these television
sponsors, things of that nature.Give us a leg up that you didn't

(08:48):
have, so we can start havingour own sports and have the same way
you have yours. Let's make itequal like that. So I am going
to criticize the community on how they'rehandling this situation because I don't think it's
right, and I think it's goingto be up to them to change this
dynamic otherwise it's huge. It's goingto be up to biological women to make
sure that there's safe places for biologicalwomen, and then that's going to be

(09:09):
a whole, entirely different fight.When we come back, let's talk about
the transfer portal in football, howthat's fundamentally changed what we're looking at right
now in a bowl, since wesaw that Florida State got destroyed by Georgia
sixty three to three. But literallyhalf the team of Florida State wasn't playing
in part protests because they opted outor just did not want to play or

(09:33):
they claim injuries, and it's fundamentallychanging the sport. How players can decide
to play not to play, havingnothing to do with actual injuries or changing
schools willy nilly, and what thatmeans for the future of the sport.
Let's talk about that when we comeback. You're listening to Later with Moe
Kelly on demand from KFI AM sixforty. It's Later with Mo Kelly Live

(10:03):
everywhere on the iHeartRadio app Beyond thebox Score with Jackie Ray Jackie. Some
people may not understand how the transferportal works. It used to be where
if you transferred from a school,you'd have to sit out a year and
you couldn't play. It was usedas a deterrent to keep players and students

(10:26):
from skipping around from school to school, whichever may be best for them or
more advantageous for them. Now withthe rules which have changed, and some
of them I agree with, becauseyou'd have coaches leave and then students were
stuck in a scholarship that they didn'twant because they signed to play for a
certain person. Now students, studentathletes can leave and they're leaving in droves

(10:48):
from year to year. There's nocontinuity and it's impacting the bowl games.
In fact, George's coach Kirby Smart, the winning coach to the game to
the Orange Bowl, said the systemhas to be fixed because Florida State lost
twenty four players prior to the bowlgame. Part of it was a protest

(11:13):
because they Florida State thought that theyshould be in the college football playoff to
play for a national championship. Theyweren't even though they were undefeated, and
part of it was, well,they were thumbing their nose at the system
and just said, we just won'tplay. But if we have a team
out there, our school will stillget the revenue for showing up for the

(11:33):
bowl game. How do you fixsomething like this? Can you fix something
like this? I absolutely don't thinkyou can fix this if it remains the
way it is with a team playingthe way the Seminoles did going thirteen to
zero and then not being recognized forthat. Because at the end of the
day, we're talking about football.It's a very physical sport. So when

(11:56):
you put your body on the linelike that and you go out there and
then you have the people who makethe selection saying, oh, hey,
Jordan Travis, which is the Seminolesquarterback. He's not playing. We don't
really think you have a chance withouthim. So it's good job on winning,
but too little, too late,we don't care. So when you
have something like that, why wouldyou put your body on the line for
that? Why would you risk anythinginjury, concussion, getting hurt? If

(12:20):
you think you're going to go tothe league next year, why would you
do anything to jeopardize your well beingwhen you literally probably feel like when you
did do all that you were supposedto do, it wasn't recognized. And
I think, especially when you're talkingabout young people, you put them in
a very precarious situation. You wantthem to care about something that in a
situation where they don't feel that they'recared about, and it's impossible to do.

(12:41):
It's never going to work like that. Did the pendulum swing too far
in the other direction? We've heardfor years that the student athlete was getting
taken advantage of the school was makingmillions and millions of dollars. They get
some fifteen to twenty million for abowl appearance, but the student athletes weren't
getting anything. And we had theEdel benn And Anti Trust case and he

(13:05):
won that, and that gave usname, image and likeness, nil deals.
So these players now are getting paid, some are being paid better on
a college level than they would beas a rookie in the NFL or NBA,
depending on the sport. Did thependulum swing too far in the other
direction. I don't think it has. I get why people think that,
but we're literally talking about even whenwe're talking about these college athletes, high

(13:30):
level college athletes, one percent ofthem are actually going to go to the
league, so it's a very lowpercent. So to have them be able
to have more control over their collegecareer, I feel like it's very important.
That's number one. Number two.This is kind of mimicking what we
see in the pros. Guys askedto get out, especially in basketball more
so, but guys asked to leave, They request trade. You have the

(13:52):
disrespect that's happening to Russell Wilson inDenver. This happens a lot, So
I think it's kind of mimicking.But I think what college and college administrators
are used to is having that strongholdon athletes. You can never swing it
back now though, because now theathletes know they are making the money.
They're the driving force behind that,so you can't swing it back. You

(14:13):
just have to find a way tomake sure when a team goes out and
does what they're supposed to. It'snot like we're talking about a team who
fell short. We're talking about ateam that did what they were supposed to.
You can't have them do all thatand then not recognize them and say,
hey, still go out there andplay because we still have to make
money off of you. It's insulting. It's not going to work like that.
Okay, but does it matter?Given the current state of college football.

(14:39):
What I mean by that is thePac twelve will not exist next year.
They're basically folding themselves into the BigTen. It's going to be a
super conference. We don't know whatthe acc ACC is going to do given
what happened to Florida State. Nextyear they're going to go to a twelve
team tournament conference playoff. Some ofthe this was going to work itself out,

(15:01):
you know the words. If you'rethe thirteenth best team, you probably
don't deserve to go at all.So why some of us just take care
of itself? Because there won't bean undefeated ranked thirteenth team next year.
That's gonna matter, I hope,but I think it will work itself out.
I think that's probably part of theproblem. A lot of us are
just kind of reading the fine printas to how this is going to go

(15:22):
and what that's going to mean forteams. But like you said, I
think the Seminals wouldn't have been inthis situation had this happened next year.
But now the Seminos are also headingtowards a post Jordan Travis era. So
I think the kids did what theywere supposed to do. This is what
we're seeing throughout the country was nomatter what genre it is, from coffee

(15:43):
workers the fast food workers. Peopleare acting out when they don't feel like
they're being treated accordingly. So I'mnot upset at the kids doing this right
now. As far as how itcan be fixed in the future, I
think, like you said, someof it will be worked out. But
at the same time, I don'tthink you can go backwards and start making
people sit out for a year ifthey don't want to play. Maybe you

(16:04):
can do other things, you know, in lieu with that, but once
you kind of institute nil deals,now I don't know that's a good point.
Did it swing too far? I'mstill going to say no, because
all the powers and the people whoactually are making the money for the school,
and I think that's how it shouldbe. But I also don't think,
you know, the fix can't beHey, we need to restrict these

(16:26):
players from acting out. I thinkthe fix is exactly what you say.
What you said of Hey, thismight work itself out, but let's make
sure right now while we still havethis time, that it will work itself
out so that another team is notin this situation and then kids feel like
they need to act out in thefuture. Jackie Ray, the Long Beach

(16:48):
Posts WNBA, correspondent with Nightcast Media, also host of Hardwood ninety four.
Happy new year, Jackie Ray.You're still pretty damn busy. I am.
I'm going to busier in the newyear too, because I'm going to
restart my own podcast on that wellvery quickly in ten seconds or fewer.
Tell me what you think about theColorado Buffalo's and what they're looking like for

(17:12):
next year. I'm still excited.I know a lot of people are not,
but it's for those of us whoare familiar and from Colorado. The
atmosphere has changed, and that meansso much to that school, so much
to football there. I'm still excitedabout it, and I know Dion she
had to get a seat wet,so I'm excited about about what's coming up

(17:33):
next to them. All right,Jack Ray, We'll talk again next week.
See you next week, imperfect,That's right, See you then,
Laydell Kelly, Latedell, Latedell,Kelly KF I am six forty. It's

(17:56):
later with Mo Kelly. We're liveeverywhere on the Heart Radio app And with
more than thirty years of TV andfilm production experience, Tommy Burke has seen
more than a little bit in thisbusiness, with location spanning the country from
Boston to Los Angeles, from CSIMiami to Desperate Housewives, even Chicago PD,

(18:17):
one of my favorite shows. Hehas seen a lot. But the
life story is just not his timein the business, but his time in
life. Dealing with both Hodgkins lymphomaand Parkinson's disease, Tommy Burke has continued
to persevere. His new memoir isnot just sunglasses and autographs. Thirty years
of film and television production with lifeand near death lessons. Tommy Burke,

(18:40):
Welcome to the show, Happy NewYear. How you doing, sir,
I'm doing amazing. What a greatintro. Well, all of it's true,
and we're going to get into whyit's great and why it's true.
Oftentimes people grow up or come ofage thinking they will become this or that,
and then life takes you in areal different direction. You're a graduate
of Austin College. Was entertainment thegoal or some sort of diversion along the

(19:04):
way. Well, I always saythat they wanted their Irish Catholic kids go
it Susan ties when they graduated.Film is like you know, jeans and
T shirt. As my Master ofTelevision teacher said, film yuch chemicals.
So I fell into it. Iwent to Vermont to get a TV job,
missed it by a day, cameback down, sent out resumes,

(19:26):
member resumes. You mailed resumes.Oh I remember I'm getting to that next
go ahead. So I, uh, out of nine resumes, I said,
I got one uh one person guyat bill Weams he d be on
a nine eleven flight later. ButI didn't know anything about film. So
I was on the set said likea big goof and the director said,

(19:48):
I never want to see that kidagain everyone said. So I went went
to got a job at a griphouse with you know, equipment is lolly
lighting dollars and grips like that.So I worked. This time. I
knew what I was doing, soI started doing binners a PA. So
you want to b and ad,you gotta go to La. Went to
LA, and it's just a wholenother word of hurt. You actually took

(20:12):
my next question because I was goingto talk about your move to LA.
And I remember what it was likein LA at that time in nineteen ninety
and you said, you know,sending out resumes. There was no internet,
there was no easy way to communicateor find jobs in the industry.
So when you did get to LA, what was that time like for you?

(20:33):
I would go to the gym andI would come home and watch it
elsewhere every day to get my Bostonfixed. Where are you from? Born
and raised here in La? Oh? So, yeah, La is kind
of unique for a guy from Boston. Yeah. I mean, let me
just say this, and I meanthis respectfully. Go Lakers. Oh god,

(20:56):
Well, it's been a great interview. Thank you so much, Thank
you, good night. For thosewho don't know Lakers, fans and Celtics
fans are notorious for ribbing each otherand also playing each other. But y'all
just beat us on Christmas Day,so I can't say too much. It
could be worse. You could bea Yankees fan. That's true. That's
true. But tell me more aboutyour time when you first came to l

(21:18):
A. I just I my wholelife is yeah. Maybe because I've read
mystery novels as a kid. Youknow, mystery duct technics would jump in,
mess things up and try to geta lead. I always just jumped
in with both feet. I figureI'd figure it out as I go.
So I've got a job as aas a as a production runner, you
know, running things. I didn'tknow LA at all. I was a

(21:41):
production runner because I didn't have mycell phones. There are FedEx or you
know, anything like that. SoI just ran and what else I do?
I just busted my ass and andI understand that. And I can
appreciate that because you your situation andsometimes is what you make it. But

(22:02):
for people who don't know, workingin TV can be thankless, it can
be basically disrespectful. It is agrind. Anyone who's worked in TV.
Knows that you might have fourteen hourdays or more six seven days a week.
It's often not healthy for you,and it's almost impossible to navigate with
a personal life. How is itfor you? My first job in LA

(22:25):
was for free or thirty six hoursstraight. I mean, God blessed me
too. Now now PA's get hourlyrates. Back then, you've worked for
free and they said you don't,I can leave. So it was a
tough it was a tough business backthen. There's a lot of safeguards right
now, what did that time teachyou? You may have been working for

(22:45):
free, but I'm quite sure youdeveloped some relationships that you use later on
in your career. Is that fair? Yeah? I tell people in the
film business you're never going to meetany context in your living room, so
get out there take a job.It could be horribles. I've got more
connections on my free jobs than myregular jobs. Like one job I did

(23:06):
for free godsly Man and then thefather was famous Frank Farons Zurich producer.
I worked on a TV movie inSalt Lake City for Fox. I mean,
you never know what was that firstjob or moment or piece of validation
that said to you, Hey,I might be able to work in this

(23:26):
business. I might be able tomake it in Hollywood. There's a career,
there's a future for me. Wasthere a specific moment, Well,
there's little bits along the way atgrip house. I know how to wrap
cable, this cable that goes tothe lights, and Frank Farzerk, world
famous director, came after me saidI've been in this business thirty four forty

(23:49):
years. He said, I've neverseen an ad rap cable before. And
that kind of validation was good.I've always ads could gotta be stuck up.
Yeah. I come from work classfamily, so work class background,
so I knew I could make iton that end. Was there ever a
moment where you were really really discouragedto the point of quitting? And I

(24:11):
say that I came up in themusic industry. You talk about the me
too movement of now, the musicindustry was very similar. The amount of
disrespect that you had to put upwith, and there are many times where
I could either cust this person outand lose my job, or I could
put up with it and possibly moveahead in this business. Were you ever
so discouraged where you considered quitting no, I did a small side music videos.

(24:37):
I always say Satan was what hecould do. Next. He got
music and film together, two mostHATEUS industries in the world. Uh No,
I never gave up. I nevergave up. What was the one
person? Is there one person whoyou keep in your back pocket is like,
look, I'm going to make itin spite of this person. I'm
going to show that person on aand straight that I am far more than

(25:00):
what that person thinks I am.Is this an hour show? Oh?
I got you? There's a longlist. Huh. I had a lot
of heroes, a lot of Inmy book, I talk about all the
heroes. I talk about the upsand downs. I talk about jumping into.
My book's all about just go forit. You're gonna screw up,

(25:21):
and I script tons, tons,and I just kept coming back. If
you're just tuning in, my guestright now is Tommy Burke. His new
memoir is not just sunglasses and autographs, thirty years of film and television production
with life and Near Death Lessons.Will get into the life of near death
lessons. Next on Later with moKelly. You're listening to Later with Mo

(25:45):
Kelly on demand from KFI Am sixforty, KIM six forty, It's Later
with Mo Kelly. We're Life Everywhereon the iHeartRadio app and if you're just
tuning in, we're walking through thecolorful history of Tommy Burke. He has

(26:07):
more than thirty years in film andtelevision production and he's sharing some of those
great gyms with us. His newmemoir is not just sunglasses and autographs,
thirty years of film and television productionwith life and near death lessons and just
in case you want to know more, you don't have to wait till the
end of the conversation. You canlog on right now to Tommy Burke dot

(26:30):
com and follow along. But Tommy, let's get back into this. I
know that you've learned some very valuablelessons, You've learned some very painful lessons.
And that's just the business. There'swhat the business teaches you. And
also sometimes the business comes at theexpense of your personal life, personal relationships,
your personal health. How did thebusiness impact your health? Looking back,

(26:56):
well, I was doing pretty good. I got a couple of TV
shows. I was doing good anduh uh Brookheimer called I got a Brookhimmer
show, Jerry Yes, and itwas it was the It was the n
LBO and I found a lump undermy arm. I did a pilot.

(27:18):
They kept moving the pilot. Ihad surgery. One day. I had
surgery where my friend was. Aguy was supposed to pick me up from
the hospital didn't, So I drovemy car home after surgery because you gotta
make it. You don't, youdon't have an excuse. You can't fall
back, and uh, then Idid. Uh. I got cancer and
I was doing chemo Thursday nights,work at fourteen hour day Thursday day to

(27:42):
chemo midnight, come back the nextday, work and sleep all weekend.
And I broke it down. Everytwo weeks is chemo. So I didn't
look at the whole cancer. Ilooked at every two weeks getting to chemo.
I gotta imagine that back then,especially the benefits packages were either non
existent or not very good. AmI wrong? I should have. I

(28:06):
never looked into it because I couldgive it. If I didn't do the
brook Cover show, they get somebodyelse in five seconds, if I could
even say I can't, he didn'thave somebody in my doorstep, so I
just could give up. You maynot have given up, but I'm quite
sure. There were moments where youwere in despair and wonder like, hey,

(28:26):
is the job as im important asmy life? Or you know,
am I doing this and hurting family? Who's worried about me? What were
some of your thoughts? Then?Why at hotscause have forward which is not
as bad as cancer? And mydoctor said to me, I know you
get through this. I didn't knowyou're going to work to it. One
of my favorite expressions of the bookis I said to my doctor, my

(28:49):
ecologist, I said, doctor,am I normal? He said, Tommy,
You're never going to be normal,but your remission because you know all
this stuff I did during cancer?All right, so tell me what is
the new normal for you? That'ssaying nothing of also dealing with Parkinson's.
But what is it an average daylike for you? Tommy Burke, it's

(29:11):
exercising as a man who's I'm noteven worthy to mention his name, Jimmy
Troy is Parkinson's. He did AmericanNinja Warrior. This guy's amazing and it's
working out all day. I said, what am I gonna work out today?
Because a lot of Parkers is workingout. This book's also inspire people
they might be down and out,but keep going. I boxed three or

(29:34):
four times a week. I doall kinds of working out. I know
you're working out your physical body,but also Parkinson's. There is a cognitive
aspect or just keeping your brain sharp. What is it you may do to
intellectually stimulate yourself. Well, thissounds like you know I'm sucking up,
But these these interviews are great becauseI can gage or something. A smart

(29:59):
person that knows that it the businessthat like talking to about stuff like that.
I also read a lot. Thebook helps me a lot because it
gives me something to keep doing.I was my whole life is projects finding
good job, an a good job, finding a job. The book is
really good for me because it takesup my time. I get to see
things, do things I've ever seenbefore. It's a whole other world.

(30:22):
I know. In working in thisbusiness for more than thirty years, as
you have, I've learned that theonly thing that we have of value is
our health and our stories. Ourhealth allows us to keep going. Our
stories are kind of like the markers, and I would say the reward for
all the things that we've gone through. I know that you have some wonderful

(30:44):
stories about people that we may knowby name, people we don't know by
name. But here's the question,what is the one moment? If there's
just one moment that just sticks withyou or a time where you had a
moment with an actor or a directorwhich transformed your thing or helped you in
this business director from uh Burmaids,he was uh. He was a really

(31:08):
great guy. He showed me howyou could be a decent human being and
not be a jerk as at ad I don't you have You dealt with
a lot of ads. I've dealtwith a few, but not as many
as you. Oh yeah, soI'm dealing with John Sata was out Chicago
PDA. What a match. Thewhole Chicago b DS crewed casts were great.

(31:30):
I'm only sorry I delete because whenI got to Parkinston's I finally said
I was working out doors sometimes Januaryand one in the morning, I finally
said, okay, all right,I give I'm not laughing at you,
but I understand it's cold. Yeah, I've already proved myself. You know.

(31:51):
This is what I want to leaveyou with as we bring our conversation
to an end. You have allthis wonderful knowledge, all these wonderful experiences.
I know for a fact that thereis someone listening right now who wants
to get in this business. Andit's probably very different from when you got
in, But I know that there'sone piece of advice that you would give
him or her wanting to start out. They say they're probably hungry, But

(32:14):
what type of hungry do they needto be to enjoy this industry? What
I do? I love to speakto groups because I like no one was
there from in the business. Ihad no help at all. So I
like to speak to groups. Andwhen I do, a lot of time
these groups they want to they gota script. And I'll turn to someone
and said, you have a script. This guy's an actor, why don't

(32:35):
you working out the script? You'rea DP, why don't you should do
something? I mean anything. It'sa tipperic way. A lot of times
people just sit back, think theoptions is just dropping their lap and ain't
gonna happen that way. Got tokeep struggling. And I think Parks has
helped me. My film has helpedme with Parkers because I achieve Parks is
like a project. I learned things, I work out things. My work

(33:00):
has change. I'm shooting a videoin a month about never giving up,
so I hope to talk to alot of groups. You know, give
my two cents about the business.He is inspiring. You do well to
pick up Tommy Burke's new memoir notjust sunglasses and autographs, thirty years of
film and television production with life andnear death lessons, and as I said

(33:23):
earlier, all the details and morecan be found at his website at Tommy
Burke dot com. That's b Ur K dot com. Tommy, it's
been a wonderful conversation. Even thoughI have probably not the exact same experiences
as you, you still inspire me, and I know you inspire others.
Thank you for coming on this evening. Go Celtics. Ha ha, you

(33:46):
win with that one. Hits laterwith Mo Kelly, I am six forty.
I earned that, you know.I threw it at him and he
just threw it back at me atthe end to get the last shot right
as the buzzer sounded, CAF,I am six forty. We're live.
Everyone wear the iHeartRadio app Ignorance isbliss. We have zero bliss, completely

(34:06):
blissless. K f I and kO s t HD two Los Angeles,
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