August 6, 2024 • 52 mins
Today Alison interviews An award winning author, performer and motivational speaker, Geri Jewell
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Love.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Yes, Yes, it's the Alison Aringram Show and I'm Alison Argram. Okay,
well you know, probably a lot of you remember me
as evil Nellie Olsen, but luckily tonight I am Alison Aringram.
And here on The Alison Aringram Show we talked about
things that make you feel good, the TV shows and
the movies that made us feel good, and the people
who made them, and people who are doing things now
(00:40):
to make the world a better and more interesting place.
And I have someone who could do all of those
things at once. Yes, it's like I say, okay, we've
had her on before. In fact, I rerun our show
because I don't actually know that this is one of
my highest It may be the highest rated show of
the Alison Eringram Show episodes. It is absolutely in the
(01:01):
top three. I'll have to look and see if anybody
actually got more views than this woman when she's on
my show. Sometimes I just rerun her episode so that
people will do it in because her episode, which was
all was just like off the freaking charts, and I
think we're going to do it again cause she has
another book coming out.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
It's like that she does not stop. She doesn't stop.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Yes, Am I talking about Am I talking about cousin
Jerry from Facts of Life?
Speaker 3 (01:27):
Am I talking about? Yes? Deadwood? Yeah, and that's why
the dead Wood thing was blown up.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
We had our last And she wrote a book before
but I'm walking as straight as I can, which was
not very in both cases.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
And now she's got another book. This is amazing. She
has a book, and Jerry Jewel has a book called.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
Jerry's and Jewels and Gems. And I was like, what
where did she get? Like more material? Did you know
that Jerry Jewel wrote for a magazine called Ability Magazine?
How many of you knew there was something called Ability magazine?
Speaker 3 (01:57):
Hand? And now you know?
Speaker 2 (01:58):
And she wrote and she's got the articles from this
magazine plus all new photos, plus all it's and yeah,
yeah she got Norman Layers to the forward.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
Yeah yeah she did. She did because she's Jerry Jewel.
Ladies and Joe with Jerry Jewel.
Speaker 4 (02:12):
Yay.
Speaker 3 (02:14):
Yeah, oh my god. You are always amazing. You're always amazing.
How are you?
Speaker 4 (02:24):
I'm good? Thank you?
Speaker 3 (02:27):
This is great. This is great. So I have to
ask you and now have a new book. Oh and
tomorrow tomorrow now today today is Tuesday.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
So it's tomorrow is the Tomorrow's the seventh is the seventh, right,
so tomorrow if you're watching this live tomorrow August seventh,
at the Grove at the n LA, Yes, the Grove
down there in Fairfax, the Barnes and Nobles, she's having
the book signing you. So I'm gonna, I'm gonna, we're
all going. If you're watching this later, oh you missed it,
but maybe she'll do another one because the book of
Party Head so there see poster poster for it. So
(02:59):
in addition to everything you've done becoming a stand up
star and a television star and a movie star and
everything else and Norman Lears like bestie and all of
these insane things that have happened to you, and having
a fabulous book before, you also wrote for magazine Ability Magazine,
which I am like again in the dark, I'm going,
(03:20):
what's Ability Magazine? What the heck is Ability Magazine? And
when did you write for them?
Speaker 3 (03:24):
And how did this happen and when did you have time?
Speaker 4 (03:25):
My god, Ability Magazine is a great magazine and editor
is Check Cooper, and they interviewed me on my first book,
I'm walking as bit as I can back in two
thousand and twelve or twenty eleven, right, and he was
(03:47):
so impressed with by writing from that book that he
asked me if I would buy Verbility. Oh, so I
wrote Corrents and I also interviewed some celebrities, spent two
days with Norman Lea interviewing him Plability Magazine and Charlotte Rae,
oh other people. So it was a wonderful expelience. And
(04:12):
when twenty twenty came along and we had the lockdown
and we had COVID and everybody was just scared and
nobody could go out, and I, you know, we were.
I think there was a lot of depression. And I thought, yes,
oh god, yeah. And I have a lot of physical issues,
(04:37):
health issues that I dealt with, you know, every single year.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
I deal with I I made a store run.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
I came to your door and brought you in the
middle of twenty twenty when everyon's lockdown, I mean, it
was nuts, we all looking for stuff to do. And
I came over and I said, I know a guy
who has light soold has cleaning sticks.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
They's selling out everything.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
I came to your door with the back of life
lightsol and bathroom cleaner paper, talents and toilet paper, all
this card and you were like.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
Stead back stead but you had a mask and cowboy pajamas.
Speaker 4 (05:09):
You.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
Oh, it was hilarious.
Speaker 4 (05:15):
But I wanted to inspire people. I wanted to make
people laugh without having to go to the stage and
do it. And I thought about these clouds I wrote
for Ability, and I thought, wow, if I can get
checked to let me do a book. And yes, of course,
as long as you give Ability Magazine credit, and I will.
(05:38):
It's a great magazine. It's still available online. They interviewed
hundreds of celebrities over the years, and they have great
articles on overcoming and living with disabilities. But it's not
a downard, it's it's a really.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
No, it's like buying for people with different disabilities and stuff.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
So that's genius. Genius.
Speaker 4 (06:02):
So he said I could do it, and then I
needed someone to write the forward. I wrote a preface
for it and then afterwards, but I needed someone to
write the forward. So I called Norman and I said
Norman Lear and I said, Norman, I have a new
(06:25):
book coming out. Oh, we'll bring it over to the house, okay.
So so I brought it over and it was Randy
doctor Randall be album with me. He has the publishing
company that published this book. M uh huh. So we
(06:49):
went there together and it was an amazing afternoon. We
spent about two hours there with Norman Lear and Dustin
Hoffmann were there.
Speaker 3 (07:01):
Just like what he wandered in. He came more a
cup of sugar or what. He was just damped to
be there.
Speaker 4 (07:06):
I know, man, it was surreal, it was magical. And
I said, Norman, I know you really busy, and I
know you have a lot on your plate, but can
you add a bullet from my new book? It's a
coffee table book. And he said, but what if they
don't have a coffee table then.
Speaker 3 (07:26):
What do not give Norman Larry an opening like that
that you could get right?
Speaker 4 (07:34):
And he wrote that bullet and one hundred and one
and delivered it two weeks later.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
There are people in their thirties and forties who can't
meet a writing deadlines like that. Dude was one hundred
and one and he's like, yeah, y'let me get.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
That right back to you.
Speaker 4 (07:51):
I know. It was amazing and it was a last
gift given.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
Oh my god, Now you and you and Norman Lear
have this like unbelievable. You had this friendship, this unbelievable
relationship going back because you started, okay, you started doing
stand up. Now everyone, I think everyone knows.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
Yes, yes, cousin Jerry Fax of Life, Yes, yes, Deadwood.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Now for you, for you youngsters, you do know that
this woman was one of the pioneers in stand up
comedy in the nineteen seventies and in the late seventies
in LA and in New York stand up like just
like blow up. It was like the stand up thing
you've seen on like Missus maisl in sixties, but the
seventies with this explosion in LA of stand up and
you were one of the pioneers.
Speaker 3 (08:33):
You were there.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
It was in the mid seventies when a guy named
Jiguelen I want, a guy named David Letterman.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
And some dude named Chevy.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
I mean people who some guy named Robin Williams who
wore funny suspenders.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
We have a job.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Yet these people were just stand ups and hoping to
get good slots and stuff.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
At one time.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
It was literally that era. I was a teenager. I
was down there in my little jeans and sneakers, going, can.
Speaker 4 (08:56):
I go on?
Speaker 3 (08:57):
Gay?
Speaker 2 (08:57):
I try to get let'sighteen seventy eight, you were doing
stand up and knew were people with any kind of
disability doing stand up in nineteen seventy eight.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
Now, no, they were not.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
And you were live on stage at all the clubs
the Comedy Store. Tell everyone what that was like to
become a stand up comic in nineteen seventy eight, and
how old you were?
Speaker 3 (09:19):
Like a kid too, I.
Speaker 4 (09:21):
Was a kid kind of. I was twenty one in
nineteen seventy eight, but I was probably emotionally fourteen.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
I was possibly yeah.
Speaker 4 (09:42):
I alexadd introduced me to Danny Moore, who ran the
original room at the Comedy Store, and Danny had reservations
because he would he had never seen anybody quite like me, no,
(10:03):
and he didn't want to take the risk of having
me performed for Misty Shure and not doing a good
set and her saying no, you can't come back here.
He wanted me to be polished before Missy ever saw me,
just in case she had issues with the disabilities. Because
(10:26):
that was brand new beston.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
He's in nineteen seventy eight, people would just go, oh, yeah, no,
you're not doing that here.
Speaker 4 (10:33):
Exactly easily, exactly and so he said, what we'll do
instead of you standing in line on an amateur night,
you come to the back door and amateur night about
eleven thirty of midnight, knock on the door, tell him
to tell it. Tell God? Why did I just have
(10:55):
a brave fut? Was it? Da?
Speaker 3 (11:01):
Okay? Yeah, not August, thank god?
Speaker 4 (11:03):
Okay, down, Daddy, that Jerry's here. And as Sue his
mitsy leaves the room, will put.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
You on how many comics wish they could have waited
till Mitchie left the room to do their set?
Speaker 3 (11:18):
To say?
Speaker 4 (11:20):
And so she left the room the first time I
ever performed. And he comes running to the back door.
He runs up to the empty introduced Jay from one
county right now. But jers down on the lit introduced
JA right now. So because my name was Jay, he
(11:42):
assumed that I was a man. So he said, let's
give a big hand for j He drove all the way,
JI drove all the way from one county. Give give
him a begin And I was so movies I didn't
even correct color. Oh okay, thank so.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
Now did Mitchie ever come back in the room or
did you just did you crash the comedy store? You
just like hijack the freaking stage.
Speaker 4 (12:23):
I did. And when I got up on stage, there
was the audience. You could hear a pin glap and
I'm deaf and I could hear a pin gla It
was so quiet, m and they were going, oh my god,
it's a man. Oh oh, what's the matter, what's the matter,
(12:45):
what's the matter with that? And if it is a man,
he on some really strong gloves.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
This stood is stone.
Speaker 4 (12:57):
That was the beginning of my career. I ended up
getting a standing ovation that night.
Speaker 3 (13:03):
Oh my god.
Speaker 4 (13:05):
I wish that Missy within the room that night, but
she didn't see me until three months later.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
But that it's so I mean, you do that, You're
just like, well, I guess I'll go in the back door,
just tind to go in, find a way do it.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
But then you became known. Everyone's like, oh, yeah, Jerry,
you were a stand up comic.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
You were known, you were always and and it was
just it was hysterical because it was part of it
was the audacity for someone at that time to come
on stage and say, yes, this is me, Yes, yes
I have this condition and laugh.
Speaker 3 (13:39):
I go yes, it's hysterical. I fall down.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
Ah And like you know, make people work like, Okay,
do we laugh?
Speaker 3 (13:45):
Do we laugh? Oh my god, I'm terrified. What do
I say? Right?
Speaker 4 (13:50):
Well, I'm turning with god, oh.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
You have a you have a cast?
Speaker 4 (13:56):
Or what?
Speaker 3 (14:00):
I'll fix your thing?
Speaker 4 (14:02):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
So yeah, people were totally freaked out, but you became
well known. It's like I said, people didn't know where
to laugh or what or what they were supposed to do,
and they were. It was the audacity of it. To
just get up there and do that at that time
was shocking to people.
Speaker 4 (14:18):
It was, and some people didn't quite know how to
wrap their bin around me. And I remember when Norman
Lived met me for the first time after doing stand
up and he said, he came up to me and
he said, you know you're real fuy kid, but you're
way before your time. I said, so, so wait a
(14:40):
couple of.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
Months that was and that was still really early. That
was Oh my god, you met him.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
It was in in like the second annual Media Access Awards.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
This was still you were ahead of your time. It
was still at a time when nobody was doing this
and so and then is that how facts of life
came about?
Speaker 4 (14:58):
That?
Speaker 3 (14:58):
Then he from.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
How long between seeing you perform to when Norman Lair
puts you on TV?
Speaker 3 (15:04):
Did that take.
Speaker 4 (15:07):
Two months?
Speaker 2 (15:08):
I thought, okay, said.
Speaker 4 (15:12):
You wouldn't lie too much?
Speaker 3 (15:16):
And then what was the reception to that light?
Speaker 2 (15:19):
Because I mean I realized, I mean, I'm of the
age like oh, facts of Life, but for young people
it's like Facts of Life that was a long time ago.
It's what was the public reaction the reception to you
as cousin Jerry in.
Speaker 3 (15:30):
Facts of Life? I want to know did they think
it was real?
Speaker 2 (15:33):
Because back then the idea of disabled people playing disabled
people didn't exist.
Speaker 3 (15:38):
People came in and played. Did they think you were
putting it on? Or were you for real?
Speaker 4 (15:43):
Well, they thought I was putting it on. I should
have had any for it to hide. No, there were
a few people who didn't think it was real. Every
now and then I hear stories of that. You know.
(16:06):
One time I performed at the Comedy Store and this
man followed me from the audience to the back forward
and he was living with me. He said, I cannot
believe that you're making fun of people with cerebra posy.
I have a daughter with cerebral palsy and I don't
(16:26):
like it. Now cut out the app and I said,
it's not an app, I have it. No, I really
do have fable Parley. He thought that it wasn't.
Speaker 3 (16:38):
As that would be really like bad.
Speaker 4 (16:44):
You know, there's a funny story how I manned down
the first time that he ever did comedy. He followed
me the very first time he ever did it. Yeah,
and you know remember when he did that baby character
and he moved his hands like a baby. The audience
(17:08):
thought that he was making fun of me. No, oh
my god, and they were born out.
Speaker 1 (17:21):
But he finally have to stay and he said to
his boy and they were following you again, oh.
Speaker 3 (17:28):
Oh my god. Now facts of life, okay, has become legendary.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
And that's that raises a question. There are people who
do sketches about facts of life. Now it's it's like
there's drag facts of life. There's so many facts of
life comedy sketches have happened and running blaze of it
and they're hysterical. But they do often have usually a
dude come in and play cousin. Jerry, how do you
(17:53):
feel about this because obviously the depictions of kessingerry you,
they're totally sending the whole thing up and they're mocking
everyone in the show.
Speaker 3 (18:00):
But is that like weird.
Speaker 4 (18:01):
Well, it's fun, it's it's not malicious, it's cute. It's fun.
And their friends, you know, they became friends of mine
and I have no problem. I mean even when Heather
Donald used to do impressions of me all the time
(18:22):
on the Chelsey Handler Shaw. Yeah, she was always doing me.
And so I found out that she had a book signing.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
And Noble this things like tomorrow, okay, And so I showed.
Speaker 4 (18:41):
Up and I went to her with a book and
I said, did you please sign my book? And you
owe me? And she said, what a mean you owe me? Well,
you dound enough impressions of me and you stayable posity
(19:03):
even better than me, and I haven't. So you better
get me on the Chelsea Handler show.
Speaker 3 (19:11):
And she did again again. Audacity. It seems that.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
Your key tool to get a giver where it's just
complete balls out audacity.
Speaker 3 (19:24):
You need to have me on the show. You need
to give me a job.
Speaker 4 (19:29):
You know, I can be very shy and not know
what to say, and I can be boltingly go or no.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
Now I'm harping on tracts of life because facts of
Life is like, I don't know it's in this week
there's been much much gossip and drama on Instagram apparently
about who who is mean on Fracts of Life, because
like Mindy kN was going off on somebody and then
she's like, no, I don't want to say who it is,
so everyone's dishing now. I mean, as I've often said
(20:06):
about Little House, you're taking a group of teenage girls
and throwing them into a studio together and locking the door.
Chaos is going to ensue. Somebody is going to be unhappy.
Were there any diva actions, any sort of drama during
Facts of Life? You don't have to throw anybody under
the bus if you don't watch.
Speaker 4 (20:26):
So you're talking about on the actually show.
Speaker 3 (20:29):
You Yeah, there's been gossip that during Facts of Life
that there was some major diva drama. Oh you don't
have to name her, you don't watch it.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
But Mindy Conn was going on about and then everybody
tried to get Mindy Conn to say which one of
them it was, and she wouldn't see but everybody's guessed so.
Speaker 4 (20:47):
Well. The only I can't believe that Mindy said what
she said. I especial sense at dinner with Lisa well
to a last week.
Speaker 3 (21:04):
Don't see that's the thing. You never.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
I mean, when you're making a show and you have
a bunch of really young teenage girls, teenage girls can
be wretched. It's it's a thing, and so sometimes drama
goes on at the time, But that doesn't necessarily mean
that eight thousand years later that we're holding grudges.
Speaker 4 (21:26):
I don't know what it is that I honestly don't.
I mean, Lisa is the sweetest, kindest, we get along fine.
I don't know. I don't know that it was. It
could have been it could have been Naanty.
Speaker 2 (21:46):
So complications have now been thrown into the gossip stream
of Instagram, so now you all have to guess again
and try.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
To figure out who was awful. So you got people
even further.
Speaker 4 (22:01):
Now.
Speaker 3 (22:02):
You of course blew it up on Deadwood.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
That was amazing, and then came back to the Deadwood
movie and the thing, and that was just the most
incredible thing. I interviewed you when we're doing the Deadwood thing.
But they've actually had now Deadwood fan events, Deadwood autograph shows,
and it went well.
Speaker 4 (22:22):
They opened a new casino in Deadwood. That's Dakota, Mister
Woo's casino.
Speaker 3 (22:30):
That's great.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
So the actual Deadwood opened up a Mister Wuz of course,
so they're not crazy.
Speaker 3 (22:35):
They invited you. Who else did they get from the show?
Speaker 4 (22:40):
And kyote Yan, who played who actually back this kid
to go with him and Brown. We had the best time.
We had so much fun.
Speaker 3 (22:52):
Those are great, you know, with the fiftieth obviously with
Little House, we've been doing these things like, yeah, freaking weekend,
It's awesome. So did you enjoy the old fan event
signing autographs in South Dakota? You liked it? I did.
Speaker 4 (23:05):
There was you know, it was really hot and there
was one fan who was very good. Yes, he came
up to my table and need it all, loved you
so much? And did he passed out of my book
and I'm on top of my new bucket. I turned
(23:29):
to my friend David Zimmerman and I said, you know,
pe bobs that he's gonna buy it.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
Yeah, pew cut it, yeah, buy it people remember this
for tomorrow night. I had brunch with David Zimmerman in
San Francisco last week.
Speaker 3 (23:44):
Okay, I was up there.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
Doing a show and David was in down I was
like Oh my god, we're in the same city at
the same time. Let's go get eggs metadict. So we
hung out and it was awesome. But yeah, no, I
love doing these events, and I would imagine a Deadwood
event would attract a very diverse, interesting crowd.
Speaker 4 (24:05):
I like Deadwood. I mean I've been There's several times.
In fact, I did disability sensitivity training there for their schools,
and so I have a lot of friends in Deadwood,
so I'm going back. I love Deadwood. I think I
live in Deadwood in the past life, and this is
(24:25):
my comma.
Speaker 3 (24:27):
Maybe this is maybe maybe you were that woman or something.
I don't you know.
Speaker 4 (24:34):
I even wrote the bullet for another writer. Her name
is Chris Ins, and she wrote a whole book about
the plastitutes in Deadwood.
Speaker 3 (24:48):
Why did you write that? You wrote for the Why
is that coming up under Jerry's name? Oh my god,
you write forward for that?
Speaker 4 (24:54):
I wrote the bullets for it, and you know, I
I made a forward. I figured I might as well
write a pull for someone else because I'm going to
be asking Norman, beautiful.
Speaker 2 (25:08):
This is amazing, So I'm going to come to our
I have not gotten a copy of the book.
Speaker 3 (25:11):
Yet, I'm gonna come get a copy tomorrow. I'm gonna
look by a copy, have you sign it, and I
won't puke on it. I probably will not puke on it.
I will buy the book. I need to puke on it.
It includes photos as well. It says you got articles
that you wrote for ability plus photos. What kind of
stuff is in this book that we're all going to
buy tomorrow?
Speaker 4 (25:30):
Well? I tried to make it a fun book, a
very lighthearted book, and I wanted a photo that was
fun and interesting that some people hadn't seen before. And
I think it was sort of cazartics too, because it
it feels the pain of losing my sister to cancer
(25:51):
twenty seventeen, So there's a lot of pictures to boy
and there it was cathartics. You know, it was twenty twenty.
It was locked down. I was trying to make myself
feel good when I was depressed and scared like everybody else,
you know, all.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
Right, so well this is fair? And then the articles
that you wrote, what are are some of the articles included?
Are are there any of the celebrity interviews you did included?
Or are the articles on different topics?
Speaker 4 (26:18):
I didn't include any of my interviews with the celebrities.
But I figured that if this book sells, maybe I
can do it in the second edition and add the
celebrity interviews. I didn't even think of that. But the columns,
you know, I read the columns today, not today, but
(26:41):
opposed to what I wrote them years ago for ability,
and they apply even more today than they did then.
I mean, it's amazing. I mean I read it. I've gone,
oh my god. I wrote this in two thousand and
in seventeen, in two thousand and fifty and it fits today. Wow.
Speaker 2 (27:05):
Well, I mean that brings up the question, would you
I mean, obviously there's been improvements. Would you say that
the way society treats disabled people and the now at
least there's you know, Americans with Disability Act, there's curb
cuts and sidewalks, there's something. Would you say that the
accessibility and the stuff put in for people with different
(27:26):
disabilities is better.
Speaker 4 (27:30):
I didn't a lot about disability in this book, A
little about ethics that had nothing to do with one another.
That there was one column which I wrote call the
Jury is Out, and it was about my food experience
(27:52):
as a jury member.
Speaker 3 (27:56):
At all no, no, God, oh yeah, and.
Speaker 4 (28:01):
They've never asked me again. And when you read this
collared your crack up, because I mean, what did I know?
You had to understand I got automatically excused from all
(28:21):
Juy duty because I had a disability. You never saw
anybody with a disability on Juliy duty. And then when
the ADA path they had to see people with disabilities.
So I couldn't say, well, sorry, I have sable pod.
We'll get a note from my doctor. I mean I
(28:44):
called him and tried that. And I had just moved
to Vegas. I had just was a last Vegas, not
even ur and I said, I would love to serve
on your jewy, but I had sayable policies and she said,
well what does that have to do with your cognitive thinking?
Speaker 2 (29:03):
Oh my god, the progress we made an accessibility and
accommodations where he said, oh no, we can't exclude people
with cerebal palsy and disabilities from jury duty.
Speaker 3 (29:15):
They're American citizens.
Speaker 2 (29:17):
And there you are trying to get out of freaking
jury duty.
Speaker 4 (29:25):
What did I have to face it out? I had
no experience ever prior to that. I mean the only
thing I knew about was Perry Mason and Matt Rock.
Speaker 3 (29:39):
So yeah, what do you do like that?
Speaker 2 (29:40):
Do you just pretend you're like in an episode of
Perry Mason and like, I mean, you know, I have
mercifully I've never made it under jury duty. It's somewhere
I made it, like up to almost story duty where
they had me sit in the room and then say no,
you can go very often.
Speaker 3 (29:56):
If you say when they say what do you do
for a living? A shame and actress like.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
Next because they know lawyers have to act, both defense
attorneys and prosecutors and performance involved in trying to convince you,
and they're afraid that actors will see through the act
and know that they're lying.
Speaker 3 (30:15):
And they hate having a single hate it. They hate it.
Speaker 4 (30:20):
Well I think they even I got chosen work because
the Acuity for the for the Dependent asked me if
I thought that cops were always honest? Uh oh? And
I said, oh, no.
Speaker 5 (30:37):
Okay, okay, we'll take her.
Speaker 3 (30:52):
Makes you have in there you of jury duty?
Speaker 4 (30:54):
What else I'm afraid because I'm here, I have seventy
five hearing luck And that was my real insecurity, was
that I didn't responsibility of hearing something wrong. And saying, oh,
why think he's guilty.
Speaker 1 (31:14):
I didn't want to, not that I have no respect
for the system. I do, but person I didn't want
me or my assort.
Speaker 3 (31:32):
Well, okay, so things have changed. Do you think I mean,
as an actress and escumedian.
Speaker 2 (31:36):
Do you think people see disabled people differently today than
they did?
Speaker 3 (31:42):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (31:42):
But you know, we still have a long way to go.
But the Media Access Awards just got an immu issue.
Speaker 3 (31:50):
Okay, that's huge.
Speaker 4 (31:51):
That's never been done before, and it was the first
time that it would had television too.
Speaker 3 (31:59):
But that's right.
Speaker 2 (32:00):
I mean that many people again, okay, we have to
explain the ability to explain what the Media Access Awards are.
Speaker 3 (32:06):
To people who are going there's a Media Access Awards.
Speaker 4 (32:08):
The Media Access Awards is an award shows that awards
producers and actors and writers and directors, I'm using people
with disabilities in the entertainment industry, whether it's behind the
camera or in front of the camera. And one thing
that I love about it so is that there is
(32:31):
an award every year called the Norman Literature to An Award,
and I I can't believe I have that honor.
Speaker 3 (32:43):
Wow, literally have an award named after you.
Speaker 4 (32:48):
I know.
Speaker 3 (32:51):
That's crazy.
Speaker 2 (32:53):
Well, now, how do you feel about people who do
not have a disability portraying people with disabilities and TV
shows and movies?
Speaker 3 (33:00):
That's I think it.
Speaker 2 (33:01):
Used to be all that. I mean, come on a
little house in the Prairie. I think we had one
blind person once and two deaf guys who ever won
the show. We had an entire blind school, and I
think there were two children with like guests a guest
stars who were blind, and we did have an episode.
Speaker 3 (33:15):
About deaf people. We did have a deaf guy, but.
Speaker 2 (33:18):
That was like it in nine years and generally back
in the day, cited people play blind people, hearing people
play deaf people.
Speaker 3 (33:26):
People pretended to have serebal policy and pretended to have everything.
But now people are hired.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
With actual disabilities, and it's very rare that someone does
not have a disability to what do you think about that?
Speaker 4 (33:43):
I think playing someone with a disability and you don't
have it is challenging. I think that I personally wouldn't
take that away because someone as long as we even
the playing fields, I mean, let the auditions be equal,
Let the let qualified people with disabilities compete with actors.
(34:09):
Without disabilities and maybe they'll do a better job. You know,
I'm not one of these that think it shouldn't be
at all, because I think it would be a wonderful
experience for an actor. But on the same token, I
have to support employment of people with disabilities because we
(34:30):
have such marginal employment.
Speaker 2 (34:34):
Right Well, and you're saying it obviously, it's like, so
a character who may not be written is disabled. I mean,
now they've kind of like figured it out where they'll
sometimes there a character and say any race, the character
is not written as being specifically black or white, to
character anybody. So make it so this character is not
necessarily written with a disability. But should someone in a
wheelchair or with cerebral palsy say I think I want
(34:56):
to play the doctor and that they can't exactly exactly.
Speaker 4 (35:04):
I know, if they ever do a movie on my life,
they're going to have a very difficult time time funny
and act with with my kind of sayable policy and
who's funny too. At the same time, that's gonna be hard.
I mean, I don't know how they're going to do it.
Speaker 2 (35:25):
I think even if they hired someone without a disability,
I challenge them to like even play you for ten minutes.
As I said, the audacity, where are they going to
fix someone?
Speaker 4 (35:38):
I think what we're gonna have to do is, you know,
for people with disabilities in supporting roles in the movie,
but get a name to play me, because you're not
gonna find somebody with my kind of syllable polity, with
my kind of sense of humor perfect for the role.
(35:59):
It's this right, it's so individual. I mean, there are
so many different kinds of cps.
Speaker 2 (36:11):
How many different kinds I mean that's something that people
the average person is probably sitting on, goock, what boo wear?
How many kinds of serbra poles are there?
Speaker 4 (36:18):
Oh? Millions million the world? No, there's there's all kinds
of different Some people with sailable part of the are
non verbal. Some people weable part of your wheelchair uses
some people who were sellable part of your death like
(36:41):
we uh. And depending upon what part of the brain
was injured, it's oh wow, it's rain injury. It's how
it's going to manifest in the body, and that very
depending upon where the but it was injured and how
(37:02):
extensively injury was. I think that's a big answer in
stem cells, personal I don't think I'll see it in
my time, unfortunately, but I think it can. Sure there
will be a cure for say apartment we need themselves.
(37:22):
I really believe that.
Speaker 2 (37:25):
Because well they have I mean they've done stuff. I
know people with Parkinson's they've been stuff with the brain
implants with an electronic thing. Now you've got you've got
like what the fancy hearing aids to hook up with
the cell phone and stuff like that.
Speaker 4 (37:39):
Yes, I do do.
Speaker 3 (37:41):
And what other stuff do you use? What other gadgets
have you used to make a life?
Speaker 4 (37:47):
Well, I have a walk that I have a king,
I have friends that I came on to. You know,
it's CP and aging. We uh. The baby boot Moon
were the most progressive group of people with disabilities, especially
not especially including selber Farley, and before the Baby Boomers,
(38:13):
most people were sailber fry and never left home. They
never were employed or they were institutionalized. So then you
got the baby Boomer generation who was like creating the ABA,
go up there and do your stuff, get employed, do it.
And my body now is that the only thing I
(38:38):
can equate it to is an athlete or a dancer.
I have overwhooked my body so much just to function
that Now, when I had next surgery and ninety nine,
the surgeon told my sisters that if I didn't know
(38:59):
that your sister it was forty three and I just
opened her up, I would have thought she was a
woman of seventy five or eighty who did because of
her bones and are joints are so old, and they're
old because they're over warmed. It takes so much. Look
for me to walk a classroom, Alison, and for you
(39:22):
to walk a classroom, it takes me probably twenty thirty
times more brain power than it does you to do
the same thing.
Speaker 2 (39:33):
Well, you're working your muscles because there's all sorts of
you've mentioned before about sort of spasmy seizury things. The
muscles and the bones and the tens are doing stuff
even when you don't want to be doing stuff.
Speaker 3 (39:44):
Yeah, So it's like one two one. It's just like flexing, Like,
let's just sit here and flex all day.
Speaker 4 (39:49):
Yeah, I do it, nettaped every weak and out. Can
you rest for a minute. That's why sleeping is so
hard for me. I can't turn off that brain. That
brain is sending messages to move all the time, so
(40:11):
it's it's more than what people just see me out there.
It's except that I have to deal with privately on
a daily basis. I had an emma eye last week
on my lower back, and I have a doctor appointment
day after tomorrow to find out what's going on with
my lower back and my left leg and my left foot,
(40:33):
my left foot that I don't want.
Speaker 3 (40:36):
To make a movie, wasn't it?
Speaker 4 (40:37):
That was.
Speaker 3 (40:39):
Yeah, okay, And nobody our age everybody's back around are
I just like is it?
Speaker 4 (40:47):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (40:47):
So I can't imagine what's going on your well. This
is like when when I was told we were talking
about Deadwood, the Deadwood, and I was complcenting you on
this scene where you boldly went down the street and
they were throwing guarne abuse a you and you held
your head high and you said, yeah, I can't like
bend my neck. It doesn't.
Speaker 4 (41:08):
I can't.
Speaker 2 (41:10):
It's like a titanium rod or something, and there's like that,
who can move my ex I.
Speaker 4 (41:15):
Have two titanium flights and Scripps two and six scoos
six titanium scoos. Actually they're just seventh one that children
clapped inside of me. My why is that scoos in
my left foot, but I think it's there.
Speaker 3 (41:37):
It could have rattled down there. So wait, metal detectors
at the airport are completely out. How what do they
do with you at the airport?
Speaker 4 (41:42):
Even well, titanium cannot be detectable.
Speaker 3 (41:47):
Really, Oh so titanium is like secret weapons.
Speaker 4 (41:51):
You can go to medical titanium phones.
Speaker 3 (41:53):
Now, yeah, I did not know that.
Speaker 2 (41:59):
I've about like ghost guns and making you know, weapons
out of stuff. I did a titanium see, yeah, I
learned something new. Every tay titanium. It's not detected.
Speaker 3 (42:07):
That's kind of terrifying. Now, of course I have to
find a titanium type detector because yikes.
Speaker 4 (42:12):
Because it's a man made metal. It's not natural.
Speaker 3 (42:19):
So your chest, yeah, you're getting how much of you
is not man made? At this point?
Speaker 4 (42:23):
I mean.
Speaker 3 (42:27):
I don't know how you do it? How do you do?
I mean you're writing process. So when you go to write,
I mean knowing how hard that is to put other
things out of your mind and focus and put together
a book and write things and and sit there and write.
How do you do that? Do you sit at the computer?
How do you take like breaks every five minutes? How
do you write. What's your process for that?
Speaker 4 (42:50):
I can't take too many goods because I won't come back. No,
it's not the focusing that I have problems with. It's
my brain is so fast intellectually, but my fingers have
pp So I'm not going you slow the answer my
(43:11):
fitness and keep up with what I'm trying to write.
It's very frustrating because my mind is very fast and
my body is slowed trying to type, and I make
a million mistakes. And it's frustrating because I know that
I could do the same amount of work and that
(43:32):
took me three hours, and I could have done it
in thirty minutes if I didn't have CP oof oof.
Speaker 3 (43:38):
And yet you put out your second book. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (43:43):
I love to write. I don't have to worry about
holding the mic still, I don't have to worry about
voluntary movement. I just have to deliver a book. And
I love writing. My mother always said, I can't believe
you wouldn't the stand up. I thought for sure you
were going to be a professional writer, because you've been
(44:06):
writing since you were eight years old. I even wrote
for my high school newspapers. What so I just never
knew how to get into writing in the industry. I
probably would have done very well had I known how,
but I didn't. So, but I knew how to do
stand up and I knew how to be funny.
Speaker 2 (44:26):
Now you certainly do that part you've got to do.
So we're all going to come tomorrow and get the book.
So you're going to be doing a thing in conversation
at the Barnes and Noble, like a whole interview thing
and talking. Did we get to ask questions and stuff?
Speaker 4 (44:42):
I hope. So I'm looking forward to it. It's exciting.
And it was a gift that Randy Bell, doctor Randall Bell,
gave me to publish that book. He was a friend
of my sister's Glood, my sister glood friend, and he
took me under his and he said, I'm gonna I'm
gonna look after you and take care of you as
(45:04):
com and he's a manner that was.
Speaker 3 (45:08):
Wow. And what what I think I'm asking spoiler alerts?
What did Norman le Are say it is forward? Or
are you allowed to tell me?
Speaker 4 (45:17):
It's a beautiful world? It really is. One of the
things that's kind of funny. There's a there's a column
in there I wrote about crypto messages, and I knew
that he read the book because he put a crypto
message in the ward. He was upset because I wasn't
(45:39):
invited to his hundredth birthday parties, and we talked about
it like a week before, and so he couldn't believe
that I wasn't invited, and so he wrote in the
board he said, Jerry Jule is the life of the party,
whether she was invited or not.
Speaker 3 (46:02):
Form with your like crashing the stage at the company store.
Speaker 2 (46:05):
You are always select to the party, whether you're invited
or not, because you will invite yourself.
Speaker 3 (46:09):
In Yes, yes, we love that.
Speaker 2 (46:13):
Okay, yeah, I'm still looking forward to this. So now,
if people want the book right now, they can go
on Amazon and pre order, then go in Barnes and Noble.
Speaker 3 (46:20):
Where do they get this sucker?
Speaker 4 (46:22):
Well, if they want to go to Buns and the
Noble event, they have to buy some Buns and Noble.
But you can go yeah, Amazon, you can go to
my website. Many days of obtaining the book.
Speaker 3 (46:38):
I'm good now and you obvious are you going to
do the audio book?
Speaker 4 (46:46):
Oh? I did the audio book about that one.
Speaker 3 (46:51):
I went hours of the studio. Would that I.
Speaker 4 (46:56):
Suppose I could. I didn't think about that, and I
should think about that because there are a lot of
people in the disabled community were fine, so they would
appei audio books.
Speaker 3 (47:06):
Yeah, they do audio books. It's it's the rage and exactly.
And then there's people have various reading disabilities and they say, no,
I do all my stuff on.
Speaker 4 (47:14):
Audio exactly exactly. I'm only making one. I don't know
when I'm gonna have to talk to Randy about it.
Speaker 3 (47:23):
We will drag you into the studio, so I see
you as making this happen somehow.
Speaker 4 (47:30):
Actually, I'm walking as good as a candy. Audio didn't
come out until a year later.
Speaker 2 (47:37):
Well, I didn't do my audio two years later, or
like my book came out. Audio wasn't like the thing
that it is now. I mean, now people are recording
their audiobook before their book is even published. It's it's crazy.
They're like, still, just send it to the editor. They're
not even done yet, the cover's not ready, and they're
cranking out, you know, the audio before it's printed, whereas.
Speaker 3 (47:57):
Mine came out and then they get did kindle and
it did hardcover. It's over and then they're like, do
you want to do an audio book. I'm like, now,
oh god, yeah, okay, and and but people really liked it.
So people do love the do love the audio books.
Speaker 4 (48:10):
I know, I know, especially when it's our voice, you
know your Yeah, I can remember. They were kind of
stiffy about the audio book with the first book because
they were thinking of hiring another celebrity to read the book,
(48:31):
because I didn't think that my speech was clear enough.
And also I'm mading mistakes. Was that going to make
any how classling? Was that going to be ok?
Speaker 3 (48:43):
Yeah, yeah, maybe you could do it. They were like,
oh no, no, no, she's not gonna be able to
but I moved it wrong.
Speaker 4 (48:50):
I did it.
Speaker 3 (48:54):
Oh yeah, no, you got to do the audio for this.
Speaker 4 (48:56):
All right.
Speaker 2 (48:56):
Well I'm still looking forward tomorrow. And I said, this book,
Jerry's Jewels and Gems.
Speaker 3 (49:03):
It's got everything.
Speaker 2 (49:04):
It's got her articles from Ability Magazine, which, yes, although
it is absolutely about the magazine is buying for people
with disabilities and for everybody else who wants to learn
about stuff. The articles are about everything everything, including jury duty,
adventures and other insane things that have happened to her,
just generally in her totally insane life. And forward Yes
(49:25):
by Norman Lear, written at age one hundred and one.
Speaker 3 (49:29):
So you know we're out there saying I'm not sure.
I'm not sure I can write a book. I'm getting old.
Normally wrote a forward at one hundred and one. Every
oute this thing. I can't write a book. I have
a disability. Jerry Jewel just wrote too.
Speaker 4 (49:45):
And I'm writing a book.
Speaker 3 (49:51):
Oh no, what's the third one? Oh my god?
Speaker 4 (49:54):
Well, I'm writing a children's book. Pull my sister call
Buck up to cant and it's about it monkey overcoming cancer.
And Eloya wanted to write that book that I promised her.
On her bedside, she was crying because she knew she
wasn't going to make it. But I want to publish
my book, and I said, Loya, I promise you that
(50:18):
I will finish the book and you will become Buck
scouting angels in the book. So I have to do
that because I have to keep my promise to my
and hopefully it'll be a book that will I want
(50:38):
the money to go to Saint Jude, and I want
children with cancer to get hold of it and read it.
So it's going to be a fun book about a
monkey about it reading.
Speaker 2 (50:49):
A book like your interview in advance for the week
that comes out, so we'll test you this again.
Speaker 4 (50:56):
Well, oh my god, at the end of the year
before Buck comes out.
Speaker 3 (51:01):
You're relentless. You are relentless.
Speaker 4 (51:07):
Hey, I'm keeping myself busy in spite of the age
class of thing of meep. I'm still When this goes
then I'm in trouble. But my body I can work
with my body. I can deal with. It's hard sometimes,
(51:27):
but actually the creativity of anything of any pleget keep
your mind off of pain. That would.
Speaker 3 (51:39):
All right. You're amazing. You put me to shame. I
feel lazy. I feel lazy just even talking to you
about this. This is incredible. I will come tomorrow. I
hope everyone does.
Speaker 2 (51:49):
Everyone get this book and then get yourself in line
to preorder the third book, which will be next year.
Oh my god, you are relentless. Your audacity knows no bounds.
Speaker 3 (51:58):
I am so proud to know you. Thank you for
coming on.
Speaker 4 (52:03):
And I'm proud to know you too.
Speaker 3 (52:05):
I love you, I love you, thank you. And this
has been the Allison Ingram Show. And I'm Alison Ingram
Speaker 4 (52:14):
Co
Love.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Yes, Yes, it's the Alison Aringram Show and I'm Alison Argram. Okay,
well you know, probably a lot of you remember me
as evil Nellie Olsen, but luckily tonight I am Alison Aringram.
And here on The Alison Aringram Show we talked about
things that make you feel good, the TV shows and
the movies that made us feel good, and the people
who made them, and people who are doing things now
(00:40):
to make the world a better and more interesting place.
And I have someone who could do all of those
things at once. Yes, it's like I say, okay, we've
had her on before. In fact, I rerun our show
because I don't actually know that this is one of
my highest It may be the highest rated show of
the Alison Eringram Show episodes. It is absolutely in the
(01:01):
top three. I'll have to look and see if anybody
actually got more views than this woman when she's on
my show. Sometimes I just rerun her episode so that
people will do it in because her episode, which was
all was just like off the freaking charts, and I
think we're going to do it again cause she has
another book coming out.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
It's like that she does not stop. She doesn't stop.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Yes, Am I talking about Am I talking about cousin
Jerry from Facts of Life?
Speaker 3 (01:27):
Am I talking about? Yes? Deadwood? Yeah, and that's why
the dead Wood thing was blown up.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
We had our last And she wrote a book before
but I'm walking as straight as I can, which was
not very in both cases.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
And now she's got another book. This is amazing. She
has a book, and Jerry Jewel has a book called.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
Jerry's and Jewels and Gems. And I was like, what
where did she get? Like more material? Did you know
that Jerry Jewel wrote for a magazine called Ability Magazine?
How many of you knew there was something called Ability magazine?
Speaker 3 (01:57):
Hand? And now you know?
Speaker 2 (01:58):
And she wrote and she's got the articles from this
magazine plus all new photos, plus all it's and yeah,
yeah she got Norman Layers to the forward.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
Yeah yeah she did. She did because she's Jerry Jewel.
Ladies and Joe with Jerry Jewel.
Speaker 4 (02:12):
Yay.
Speaker 3 (02:14):
Yeah, oh my god. You are always amazing. You're always amazing.
How are you?
Speaker 4 (02:24):
I'm good? Thank you?
Speaker 3 (02:27):
This is great. This is great. So I have to
ask you and now have a new book. Oh and
tomorrow tomorrow now today today is Tuesday.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
So it's tomorrow is the Tomorrow's the seventh is the seventh, right,
so tomorrow if you're watching this live tomorrow August seventh,
at the Grove at the n LA, Yes, the Grove
down there in Fairfax, the Barnes and Nobles, she's having
the book signing you. So I'm gonna, I'm gonna, we're
all going. If you're watching this later, oh you missed it,
but maybe she'll do another one because the book of
Party Head so there see poster poster for it. So
(02:59):
in addition to everything you've done becoming a stand up
star and a television star and a movie star and
everything else and Norman Lears like bestie and all of
these insane things that have happened to you, and having
a fabulous book before, you also wrote for magazine Ability Magazine,
which I am like again in the dark, I'm going,
(03:20):
what's Ability Magazine? What the heck is Ability Magazine? And
when did you write for them?
Speaker 3 (03:24):
And how did this happen and when did you have time?
Speaker 4 (03:25):
My god, Ability Magazine is a great magazine and editor
is Check Cooper, and they interviewed me on my first book,
I'm walking as bit as I can back in two
thousand and twelve or twenty eleven, right, and he was
(03:47):
so impressed with by writing from that book that he
asked me if I would buy Verbility. Oh, so I
wrote Corrents and I also interviewed some celebrities, spent two
days with Norman Lea interviewing him Plability Magazine and Charlotte Rae,
oh other people. So it was a wonderful expelience. And
(04:12):
when twenty twenty came along and we had the lockdown
and we had COVID and everybody was just scared and
nobody could go out, and I, you know, we were.
I think there was a lot of depression. And I thought, yes,
oh god, yeah. And I have a lot of physical issues,
(04:37):
health issues that I dealt with, you know, every single year.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
I deal with I I made a store run.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
I came to your door and brought you in the
middle of twenty twenty when everyon's lockdown, I mean, it
was nuts, we all looking for stuff to do. And
I came over and I said, I know a guy
who has light soold has cleaning sticks.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
They's selling out everything.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
I came to your door with the back of life
lightsol and bathroom cleaner paper, talents and toilet paper, all
this card and you were like.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
Stead back stead but you had a mask and cowboy pajamas.
Speaker 4 (05:09):
You.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
Oh, it was hilarious.
Speaker 4 (05:15):
But I wanted to inspire people. I wanted to make
people laugh without having to go to the stage and
do it. And I thought about these clouds I wrote
for Ability, and I thought, wow, if I can get
checked to let me do a book. And yes, of course,
as long as you give Ability Magazine credit, and I will.
(05:38):
It's a great magazine. It's still available online. They interviewed
hundreds of celebrities over the years, and they have great
articles on overcoming and living with disabilities. But it's not
a downard, it's it's a really.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
No, it's like buying for people with different disabilities and stuff.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
So that's genius. Genius.
Speaker 4 (06:02):
So he said I could do it, and then I
needed someone to write the forward. I wrote a preface
for it and then afterwards, but I needed someone to
write the forward. So I called Norman and I said
Norman Lear and I said, Norman, I have a new
(06:25):
book coming out. Oh, we'll bring it over to the house, okay.
So so I brought it over and it was Randy
doctor Randall be album with me. He has the publishing
company that published this book. M uh huh. So we
(06:49):
went there together and it was an amazing afternoon. We
spent about two hours there with Norman Lear and Dustin
Hoffmann were there.
Speaker 3 (07:01):
Just like what he wandered in. He came more a
cup of sugar or what. He was just damped to
be there.
Speaker 4 (07:06):
I know, man, it was surreal, it was magical. And
I said, Norman, I know you really busy, and I
know you have a lot on your plate, but can
you add a bullet from my new book? It's a
coffee table book. And he said, but what if they
don't have a coffee table then.
Speaker 3 (07:26):
What do not give Norman Larry an opening like that
that you could get right?
Speaker 4 (07:34):
And he wrote that bullet and one hundred and one
and delivered it two weeks later.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
There are people in their thirties and forties who can't
meet a writing deadlines like that. Dude was one hundred
and one and he's like, yeah, y'let me get.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
That right back to you.
Speaker 4 (07:51):
I know. It was amazing and it was a last
gift given.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
Oh my god, Now you and you and Norman Lear
have this like unbelievable. You had this friendship, this unbelievable
relationship going back because you started, okay, you started doing
stand up. Now everyone, I think everyone knows.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
Yes, yes, cousin Jerry Fax of Life, Yes, yes, Deadwood.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Now for you, for you youngsters, you do know that
this woman was one of the pioneers in stand up
comedy in the nineteen seventies and in the late seventies
in LA and in New York stand up like just
like blow up. It was like the stand up thing
you've seen on like Missus maisl in sixties, but the
seventies with this explosion in LA of stand up and
you were one of the pioneers.
Speaker 3 (08:33):
You were there.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
It was in the mid seventies when a guy named
Jiguelen I want, a guy named David Letterman.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
And some dude named Chevy.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
I mean people who some guy named Robin Williams who
wore funny suspenders.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
We have a job.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Yet these people were just stand ups and hoping to
get good slots and stuff.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
At one time.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
It was literally that era. I was a teenager. I
was down there in my little jeans and sneakers, going, can.
Speaker 4 (08:56):
I go on?
Speaker 3 (08:57):
Gay?
Speaker 2 (08:57):
I try to get let'sighteen seventy eight, you were doing
stand up and knew were people with any kind of
disability doing stand up in nineteen seventy eight.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
Now, no, they were not.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
And you were live on stage at all the clubs
the Comedy Store. Tell everyone what that was like to
become a stand up comic in nineteen seventy eight, and
how old you were?
Speaker 3 (09:19):
Like a kid too, I.
Speaker 4 (09:21):
Was a kid kind of. I was twenty one in
nineteen seventy eight, but I was probably emotionally fourteen.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
I was possibly yeah.
Speaker 4 (09:42):
I alexadd introduced me to Danny Moore, who ran the
original room at the Comedy Store, and Danny had reservations
because he would he had never seen anybody quite like me, no,
(10:03):
and he didn't want to take the risk of having
me performed for Misty Shure and not doing a good
set and her saying no, you can't come back here.
He wanted me to be polished before Missy ever saw me,
just in case she had issues with the disabilities. Because
(10:26):
that was brand new beston.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
He's in nineteen seventy eight, people would just go, oh, yeah, no,
you're not doing that here.
Speaker 4 (10:33):
Exactly easily, exactly and so he said, what we'll do
instead of you standing in line on an amateur night,
you come to the back door and amateur night about
eleven thirty of midnight, knock on the door, tell him
to tell it. Tell God? Why did I just have
(10:55):
a brave fut? Was it? Da?
Speaker 3 (11:01):
Okay? Yeah, not August, thank god?
Speaker 4 (11:03):
Okay, down, Daddy, that Jerry's here. And as Sue his
mitsy leaves the room, will put.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
You on how many comics wish they could have waited
till Mitchie left the room to do their set?
Speaker 3 (11:18):
To say?
Speaker 4 (11:20):
And so she left the room the first time I
ever performed. And he comes running to the back door.
He runs up to the empty introduced Jay from one
county right now. But jers down on the lit introduced
JA right now. So because my name was Jay, he
(11:42):
assumed that I was a man. So he said, let's
give a big hand for j He drove all the way,
JI drove all the way from one county. Give give
him a begin And I was so movies I didn't
even correct color. Oh okay, thank so.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
Now did Mitchie ever come back in the room or
did you just did you crash the comedy store? You
just like hijack the freaking stage.
Speaker 4 (12:23):
I did. And when I got up on stage, there
was the audience. You could hear a pin glap and
I'm deaf and I could hear a pin gla It
was so quiet, m and they were going, oh my god,
it's a man. Oh oh, what's the matter, what's the matter,
(12:45):
what's the matter with that? And if it is a man,
he on some really strong gloves.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
This stood is stone.
Speaker 4 (12:57):
That was the beginning of my career. I ended up
getting a standing ovation that night.
Speaker 3 (13:03):
Oh my god.
Speaker 4 (13:05):
I wish that Missy within the room that night, but
she didn't see me until three months later.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
But that it's so I mean, you do that, You're
just like, well, I guess I'll go in the back door,
just tind to go in, find a way do it.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
But then you became known. Everyone's like, oh, yeah, Jerry,
you were a stand up comic.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
You were known, you were always and and it was
just it was hysterical because it was part of it
was the audacity for someone at that time to come
on stage and say, yes, this is me, Yes, yes
I have this condition and laugh.
Speaker 3 (13:39):
I go yes, it's hysterical. I fall down.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
Ah And like you know, make people work like, Okay,
do we laugh?
Speaker 3 (13:45):
Do we laugh? Oh my god, I'm terrified. What do
I say? Right?
Speaker 4 (13:50):
Well, I'm turning with god, oh.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
You have a you have a cast?
Speaker 4 (13:56):
Or what?
Speaker 3 (14:00):
I'll fix your thing?
Speaker 4 (14:02):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
So yeah, people were totally freaked out, but you became
well known. It's like I said, people didn't know where
to laugh or what or what they were supposed to do,
and they were. It was the audacity of it. To
just get up there and do that at that time
was shocking to people.
Speaker 4 (14:18):
It was, and some people didn't quite know how to
wrap their bin around me. And I remember when Norman
Lived met me for the first time after doing stand
up and he said, he came up to me and
he said, you know you're real fuy kid, but you're
way before your time. I said, so, so wait a
(14:40):
couple of.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
Months that was and that was still really early. That
was Oh my god, you met him.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
It was in in like the second annual Media Access Awards.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
This was still you were ahead of your time. It
was still at a time when nobody was doing this
and so and then is that how facts of life
came about?
Speaker 4 (14:58):
That?
Speaker 3 (14:58):
Then he from.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
How long between seeing you perform to when Norman Lair
puts you on TV?
Speaker 3 (15:04):
Did that take.
Speaker 4 (15:07):
Two months?
Speaker 2 (15:08):
I thought, okay, said.
Speaker 4 (15:12):
You wouldn't lie too much?
Speaker 3 (15:16):
And then what was the reception to that light?
Speaker 2 (15:19):
Because I mean I realized, I mean, I'm of the
age like oh, facts of Life, but for young people
it's like Facts of Life that was a long time ago.
It's what was the public reaction the reception to you
as cousin Jerry in.
Speaker 3 (15:30):
Facts of Life? I want to know did they think
it was real?
Speaker 2 (15:33):
Because back then the idea of disabled people playing disabled
people didn't exist.
Speaker 3 (15:38):
People came in and played. Did they think you were
putting it on? Or were you for real?
Speaker 4 (15:43):
Well, they thought I was putting it on. I should
have had any for it to hide. No, there were
a few people who didn't think it was real. Every
now and then I hear stories of that. You know.
(16:06):
One time I performed at the Comedy Store and this
man followed me from the audience to the back forward
and he was living with me. He said, I cannot
believe that you're making fun of people with cerebra posy.
I have a daughter with cerebral palsy and I don't
(16:26):
like it. Now cut out the app and I said,
it's not an app, I have it. No, I really
do have fable Parley. He thought that it wasn't.
Speaker 3 (16:38):
As that would be really like bad.
Speaker 4 (16:44):
You know, there's a funny story how I manned down
the first time that he ever did comedy. He followed
me the very first time he ever did it. Yeah,
and you know remember when he did that baby character
and he moved his hands like a baby. The audience
(17:08):
thought that he was making fun of me. No, oh
my god, and they were born out.
Speaker 1 (17:21):
But he finally have to stay and he said to
his boy and they were following you again, oh.
Speaker 3 (17:28):
Oh my god. Now facts of life, okay, has become legendary.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
And that's that raises a question. There are people who
do sketches about facts of life. Now it's it's like
there's drag facts of life. There's so many facts of
life comedy sketches have happened and running blaze of it
and they're hysterical. But they do often have usually a
dude come in and play cousin. Jerry, how do you
(17:53):
feel about this because obviously the depictions of kessingerry you,
they're totally sending the whole thing up and they're mocking
everyone in the show.
Speaker 3 (18:00):
But is that like weird.
Speaker 4 (18:01):
Well, it's fun, it's it's not malicious, it's cute. It's fun.
And their friends, you know, they became friends of mine
and I have no problem. I mean even when Heather
Donald used to do impressions of me all the time
(18:22):
on the Chelsey Handler Shaw. Yeah, she was always doing me.
And so I found out that she had a book signing.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
And Noble this things like tomorrow, okay, And so I showed.
Speaker 4 (18:41):
Up and I went to her with a book and
I said, did you please sign my book? And you
owe me? And she said, what a mean you owe me? Well,
you dound enough impressions of me and you stayable posity
(19:03):
even better than me, and I haven't. So you better
get me on the Chelsea Handler show.
Speaker 3 (19:11):
And she did again again. Audacity. It seems that.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
Your key tool to get a giver where it's just
complete balls out audacity.
Speaker 3 (19:24):
You need to have me on the show. You need
to give me a job.
Speaker 4 (19:29):
You know, I can be very shy and not know
what to say, and I can be boltingly go or no.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
Now I'm harping on tracts of life because facts of
Life is like, I don't know it's in this week
there's been much much gossip and drama on Instagram apparently
about who who is mean on Fracts of Life, because
like Mindy kN was going off on somebody and then
she's like, no, I don't want to say who it is,
so everyone's dishing now. I mean, as I've often said
(20:06):
about Little House, you're taking a group of teenage girls
and throwing them into a studio together and locking the door.
Chaos is going to ensue. Somebody is going to be unhappy.
Were there any diva actions, any sort of drama during
Facts of Life? You don't have to throw anybody under
the bus if you don't watch.
Speaker 4 (20:26):
So you're talking about on the actually show.
Speaker 3 (20:29):
You Yeah, there's been gossip that during Facts of Life
that there was some major diva drama. Oh you don't
have to name her, you don't watch it.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
But Mindy Conn was going on about and then everybody
tried to get Mindy Conn to say which one of
them it was, and she wouldn't see but everybody's guessed so.
Speaker 4 (20:47):
Well. The only I can't believe that Mindy said what
she said. I especial sense at dinner with Lisa well
to a last week.
Speaker 3 (21:04):
Don't see that's the thing. You never.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
I mean, when you're making a show and you have
a bunch of really young teenage girls, teenage girls can
be wretched. It's it's a thing, and so sometimes drama
goes on at the time, But that doesn't necessarily mean
that eight thousand years later that we're holding grudges.
Speaker 4 (21:26):
I don't know what it is that I honestly don't.
I mean, Lisa is the sweetest, kindest, we get along fine.
I don't know. I don't know that it was. It
could have been it could have been Naanty.
Speaker 2 (21:46):
So complications have now been thrown into the gossip stream
of Instagram, so now you all have to guess again
and try.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
To figure out who was awful. So you got people
even further.
Speaker 4 (22:01):
Now.
Speaker 3 (22:02):
You of course blew it up on Deadwood.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
That was amazing, and then came back to the Deadwood
movie and the thing, and that was just the most
incredible thing. I interviewed you when we're doing the Deadwood thing.
But they've actually had now Deadwood fan events, Deadwood autograph shows,
and it went well.
Speaker 4 (22:22):
They opened a new casino in Deadwood. That's Dakota, Mister
Woo's casino.
Speaker 3 (22:30):
That's great.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
So the actual Deadwood opened up a Mister Wuz of course,
so they're not crazy.
Speaker 3 (22:35):
They invited you. Who else did they get from the show?
Speaker 4 (22:40):
And kyote Yan, who played who actually back this kid
to go with him and Brown. We had the best time.
We had so much fun.
Speaker 3 (22:52):
Those are great, you know, with the fiftieth obviously with
Little House, we've been doing these things like, yeah, freaking weekend,
It's awesome. So did you enjoy the old fan event
signing autographs in South Dakota? You liked it? I did.
Speaker 4 (23:05):
There was you know, it was really hot and there
was one fan who was very good. Yes, he came
up to my table and need it all, loved you
so much? And did he passed out of my book
and I'm on top of my new bucket. I turned
(23:29):
to my friend David Zimmerman and I said, you know,
pe bobs that he's gonna buy it.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
Yeah, pew cut it, yeah, buy it people remember this
for tomorrow night. I had brunch with David Zimmerman in
San Francisco last week.
Speaker 3 (23:44):
Okay, I was up there.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
Doing a show and David was in down I was
like Oh my god, we're in the same city at
the same time. Let's go get eggs metadict. So we
hung out and it was awesome. But yeah, no, I
love doing these events, and I would imagine a Deadwood
event would attract a very diverse, interesting crowd.
Speaker 4 (24:05):
I like Deadwood. I mean I've been There's several times.
In fact, I did disability sensitivity training there for their schools,
and so I have a lot of friends in Deadwood,
so I'm going back. I love Deadwood. I think I
live in Deadwood in the past life, and this is
(24:25):
my comma.
Speaker 3 (24:27):
Maybe this is maybe maybe you were that woman or something.
I don't you know.
Speaker 4 (24:34):
I even wrote the bullet for another writer. Her name
is Chris Ins, and she wrote a whole book about
the plastitutes in Deadwood.
Speaker 3 (24:48):
Why did you write that? You wrote for the Why
is that coming up under Jerry's name? Oh my god,
you write forward for that?
Speaker 4 (24:54):
I wrote the bullets for it, and you know, I
I made a forward. I figured I might as well
write a pull for someone else because I'm going to
be asking Norman, beautiful.
Speaker 2 (25:08):
This is amazing, So I'm going to come to our
I have not gotten a copy of the book.
Speaker 3 (25:11):
Yet, I'm gonna come get a copy tomorrow. I'm gonna
look by a copy, have you sign it, and I
won't puke on it. I probably will not puke on it.
I will buy the book. I need to puke on it.
It includes photos as well. It says you got articles
that you wrote for ability plus photos. What kind of
stuff is in this book that we're all going to
buy tomorrow?
Speaker 4 (25:30):
Well? I tried to make it a fun book, a
very lighthearted book, and I wanted a photo that was
fun and interesting that some people hadn't seen before. And
I think it was sort of cazartics too, because it
it feels the pain of losing my sister to cancer
(25:51):
twenty seventeen, So there's a lot of pictures to boy
and there it was cathartics. You know, it was twenty twenty.
It was locked down. I was trying to make myself
feel good when I was depressed and scared like everybody else,
you know, all.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
Right, so well this is fair? And then the articles
that you wrote, what are are some of the articles included?
Are are there any of the celebrity interviews you did included?
Or are the articles on different topics?
Speaker 4 (26:18):
I didn't include any of my interviews with the celebrities.
But I figured that if this book sells, maybe I
can do it in the second edition and add the
celebrity interviews. I didn't even think of that. But the columns,
you know, I read the columns today, not today, but
(26:41):
opposed to what I wrote them years ago for ability,
and they apply even more today than they did then.
I mean, it's amazing. I mean I read it. I've gone,
oh my god. I wrote this in two thousand and
in seventeen, in two thousand and fifty and it fits today. Wow.
Speaker 2 (27:05):
Well, I mean that brings up the question, would you
I mean, obviously there's been improvements. Would you say that
the way society treats disabled people and the now at
least there's you know, Americans with Disability Act, there's curb
cuts and sidewalks, there's something. Would you say that the
accessibility and the stuff put in for people with different
(27:26):
disabilities is better.
Speaker 4 (27:30):
I didn't a lot about disability in this book, A
little about ethics that had nothing to do with one another.
That there was one column which I wrote call the
Jury is Out, and it was about my food experience
(27:52):
as a jury member.
Speaker 3 (27:56):
At all no, no, God, oh yeah, and.
Speaker 4 (28:01):
They've never asked me again. And when you read this
collared your crack up, because I mean, what did I know?
You had to understand I got automatically excused from all
(28:21):
Juy duty because I had a disability. You never saw
anybody with a disability on Juliy duty. And then when
the ADA path they had to see people with disabilities.
So I couldn't say, well, sorry, I have sable pod.
We'll get a note from my doctor. I mean I
(28:44):
called him and tried that. And I had just moved
to Vegas. I had just was a last Vegas, not
even ur and I said, I would love to serve
on your jewy, but I had sayable policies and she said,
well what does that have to do with your cognitive thinking?
Speaker 2 (29:03):
Oh my god, the progress we made an accessibility and
accommodations where he said, oh no, we can't exclude people
with cerebal palsy and disabilities from jury duty.
Speaker 3 (29:15):
They're American citizens.
Speaker 2 (29:17):
And there you are trying to get out of freaking
jury duty.
Speaker 4 (29:25):
What did I have to face it out? I had
no experience ever prior to that. I mean the only
thing I knew about was Perry Mason and Matt Rock.
Speaker 3 (29:39):
So yeah, what do you do like that?
Speaker 2 (29:40):
Do you just pretend you're like in an episode of
Perry Mason and like, I mean, you know, I have
mercifully I've never made it under jury duty. It's somewhere
I made it, like up to almost story duty where
they had me sit in the room and then say no,
you can go very often.
Speaker 3 (29:56):
If you say when they say what do you do
for a living? A shame and actress like.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
Next because they know lawyers have to act, both defense
attorneys and prosecutors and performance involved in trying to convince you,
and they're afraid that actors will see through the act
and know that they're lying.
Speaker 3 (30:15):
And they hate having a single hate it. They hate it.
Speaker 4 (30:20):
Well I think they even I got chosen work because
the Acuity for the for the Dependent asked me if
I thought that cops were always honest? Uh oh? And
I said, oh, no.
Speaker 5 (30:37):
Okay, okay, we'll take her.
Speaker 3 (30:52):
Makes you have in there you of jury duty?
Speaker 4 (30:54):
What else I'm afraid because I'm here, I have seventy
five hearing luck And that was my real insecurity, was
that I didn't responsibility of hearing something wrong. And saying, oh,
why think he's guilty.
Speaker 1 (31:14):
I didn't want to, not that I have no respect
for the system. I do, but person I didn't want
me or my assort.
Speaker 3 (31:32):
Well, okay, so things have changed. Do you think I mean,
as an actress and escumedian.
Speaker 2 (31:36):
Do you think people see disabled people differently today than
they did?
Speaker 3 (31:42):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (31:42):
But you know, we still have a long way to go.
But the Media Access Awards just got an immu issue.
Speaker 3 (31:50):
Okay, that's huge.
Speaker 4 (31:51):
That's never been done before, and it was the first
time that it would had television too.
Speaker 3 (31:59):
But that's right.
Speaker 2 (32:00):
I mean that many people again, okay, we have to
explain the ability to explain what the Media Access Awards are.
Speaker 3 (32:06):
To people who are going there's a Media Access Awards.
Speaker 4 (32:08):
The Media Access Awards is an award shows that awards
producers and actors and writers and directors, I'm using people
with disabilities in the entertainment industry, whether it's behind the
camera or in front of the camera. And one thing
that I love about it so is that there is
(32:31):
an award every year called the Norman Literature to An Award,
and I I can't believe I have that honor.
Speaker 3 (32:43):
Wow, literally have an award named after you.
Speaker 4 (32:48):
I know.
Speaker 3 (32:51):
That's crazy.
Speaker 2 (32:53):
Well, now, how do you feel about people who do
not have a disability portraying people with disabilities and TV
shows and movies?
Speaker 3 (33:00):
That's I think it.
Speaker 2 (33:01):
Used to be all that. I mean, come on a
little house in the Prairie. I think we had one
blind person once and two deaf guys who ever won
the show. We had an entire blind school, and I
think there were two children with like guests a guest
stars who were blind, and we did have an episode.
Speaker 3 (33:15):
About deaf people. We did have a deaf guy, but.
Speaker 2 (33:18):
That was like it in nine years and generally back
in the day, cited people play blind people, hearing people
play deaf people.
Speaker 3 (33:26):
People pretended to have serebal policy and pretended to have everything.
But now people are hired.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
With actual disabilities, and it's very rare that someone does
not have a disability to what do you think about that?
Speaker 4 (33:43):
I think playing someone with a disability and you don't
have it is challenging. I think that I personally wouldn't
take that away because someone as long as we even
the playing fields, I mean, let the auditions be equal,
Let the let qualified people with disabilities compete with actors.
(34:09):
Without disabilities and maybe they'll do a better job. You know,
I'm not one of these that think it shouldn't be
at all, because I think it would be a wonderful
experience for an actor. But on the same token, I
have to support employment of people with disabilities because we
(34:30):
have such marginal employment.
Speaker 2 (34:34):
Right Well, and you're saying it obviously, it's like, so
a character who may not be written is disabled. I mean,
now they've kind of like figured it out where they'll
sometimes there a character and say any race, the character
is not written as being specifically black or white, to
character anybody. So make it so this character is not
necessarily written with a disability. But should someone in a
wheelchair or with cerebral palsy say I think I want
(34:56):
to play the doctor and that they can't exactly exactly.
Speaker 4 (35:04):
I know, if they ever do a movie on my life,
they're going to have a very difficult time time funny
and act with with my kind of sayable policy and
who's funny too. At the same time, that's gonna be hard.
I mean, I don't know how they're going to do it.
Speaker 2 (35:25):
I think even if they hired someone without a disability,
I challenge them to like even play you for ten minutes.
As I said, the audacity, where are they going to
fix someone?
Speaker 4 (35:38):
I think what we're gonna have to do is, you know,
for people with disabilities in supporting roles in the movie,
but get a name to play me, because you're not
gonna find somebody with my kind of syllable polity, with
my kind of sense of humor perfect for the role.
(35:59):
It's this right, it's so individual. I mean, there are
so many different kinds of cps.
Speaker 2 (36:11):
How many different kinds I mean that's something that people
the average person is probably sitting on, goock, what boo wear?
How many kinds of serbra poles are there?
Speaker 4 (36:18):
Oh? Millions million the world? No, there's there's all kinds
of different Some people with sailable part of the are
non verbal. Some people weable part of your wheelchair uses
some people who were sellable part of your death like
(36:41):
we uh. And depending upon what part of the brain
was injured, it's oh wow, it's rain injury. It's how
it's going to manifest in the body, and that very
depending upon where the but it was injured and how
(37:02):
extensively injury was. I think that's a big answer in
stem cells, personal I don't think I'll see it in
my time, unfortunately, but I think it can. Sure there
will be a cure for say apartment we need themselves.
(37:22):
I really believe that.
Speaker 2 (37:25):
Because well they have I mean they've done stuff. I
know people with Parkinson's they've been stuff with the brain
implants with an electronic thing. Now you've got you've got
like what the fancy hearing aids to hook up with
the cell phone and stuff like that.
Speaker 4 (37:39):
Yes, I do do.
Speaker 3 (37:41):
And what other stuff do you use? What other gadgets
have you used to make a life?
Speaker 4 (37:47):
Well, I have a walk that I have a king,
I have friends that I came on to. You know,
it's CP and aging. We uh. The baby boot Moon
were the most progressive group of people with disabilities, especially
not especially including selber Farley, and before the Baby Boomers,
(38:13):
most people were sailber fry and never left home. They
never were employed or they were institutionalized. So then you
got the baby Boomer generation who was like creating the ABA,
go up there and do your stuff, get employed, do it.
And my body now is that the only thing I
(38:38):
can equate it to is an athlete or a dancer.
I have overwhooked my body so much just to function
that Now, when I had next surgery and ninety nine,
the surgeon told my sisters that if I didn't know
(38:59):
that your sister it was forty three and I just
opened her up, I would have thought she was a
woman of seventy five or eighty who did because of
her bones and are joints are so old, and they're
old because they're over warmed. It takes so much. Look
for me to walk a classroom, Alison, and for you
(39:22):
to walk a classroom, it takes me probably twenty thirty
times more brain power than it does you to do
the same thing.
Speaker 2 (39:33):
Well, you're working your muscles because there's all sorts of
you've mentioned before about sort of spasmy seizury things. The
muscles and the bones and the tens are doing stuff
even when you don't want to be doing stuff.
Speaker 3 (39:44):
Yeah, So it's like one two one. It's just like flexing, Like,
let's just sit here and flex all day.
Speaker 4 (39:49):
Yeah, I do it, nettaped every weak and out. Can
you rest for a minute. That's why sleeping is so
hard for me. I can't turn off that brain. That
brain is sending messages to move all the time, so
(40:11):
it's it's more than what people just see me out there.
It's except that I have to deal with privately on
a daily basis. I had an emma eye last week
on my lower back, and I have a doctor appointment
day after tomorrow to find out what's going on with
my lower back and my left leg and my left foot,
(40:33):
my left foot that I don't want.
Speaker 3 (40:36):
To make a movie, wasn't it?
Speaker 4 (40:37):
That was.
Speaker 3 (40:39):
Yeah, okay, And nobody our age everybody's back around are
I just like is it?
Speaker 4 (40:47):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (40:47):
So I can't imagine what's going on your well. This
is like when when I was told we were talking
about Deadwood, the Deadwood, and I was complcenting you on
this scene where you boldly went down the street and
they were throwing guarne abuse a you and you held
your head high and you said, yeah, I can't like
bend my neck. It doesn't.
Speaker 4 (41:08):
I can't.
Speaker 2 (41:10):
It's like a titanium rod or something, and there's like that,
who can move my ex I.
Speaker 4 (41:15):
Have two titanium flights and Scripps two and six scoos
six titanium scoos. Actually they're just seventh one that children
clapped inside of me. My why is that scoos in
my left foot, but I think it's there.
Speaker 3 (41:37):
It could have rattled down there. So wait, metal detectors
at the airport are completely out. How what do they
do with you at the airport?
Speaker 4 (41:42):
Even well, titanium cannot be detectable.
Speaker 3 (41:47):
Really, Oh so titanium is like secret weapons.
Speaker 4 (41:51):
You can go to medical titanium phones.
Speaker 3 (41:53):
Now, yeah, I did not know that.
Speaker 2 (41:59):
I've about like ghost guns and making you know, weapons
out of stuff. I did a titanium see, yeah, I
learned something new. Every tay titanium. It's not detected.
Speaker 3 (42:07):
That's kind of terrifying. Now, of course I have to
find a titanium type detector because yikes.
Speaker 4 (42:12):
Because it's a man made metal. It's not natural.
Speaker 3 (42:19):
So your chest, yeah, you're getting how much of you
is not man made? At this point?
Speaker 4 (42:23):
I mean.
Speaker 3 (42:27):
I don't know how you do it? How do you do?
I mean you're writing process. So when you go to write,
I mean knowing how hard that is to put other
things out of your mind and focus and put together
a book and write things and and sit there and write.
How do you do that? Do you sit at the computer?
How do you take like breaks every five minutes? How
do you write. What's your process for that?
Speaker 4 (42:50):
I can't take too many goods because I won't come back. No,
it's not the focusing that I have problems with. It's
my brain is so fast intellectually, but my fingers have
pp So I'm not going you slow the answer my
(43:11):
fitness and keep up with what I'm trying to write.
It's very frustrating because my mind is very fast and
my body is slowed trying to type, and I make
a million mistakes. And it's frustrating because I know that
I could do the same amount of work and that
(43:32):
took me three hours, and I could have done it
in thirty minutes if I didn't have CP oof oof.
Speaker 3 (43:38):
And yet you put out your second book. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (43:43):
I love to write. I don't have to worry about
holding the mic still, I don't have to worry about
voluntary movement. I just have to deliver a book. And
I love writing. My mother always said, I can't believe
you wouldn't the stand up. I thought for sure you
were going to be a professional writer, because you've been
(44:06):
writing since you were eight years old. I even wrote
for my high school newspapers. What so I just never
knew how to get into writing in the industry. I
probably would have done very well had I known how,
but I didn't. So, but I knew how to do
stand up and I knew how to be funny.
Speaker 2 (44:26):
Now you certainly do that part you've got to do.
So we're all going to come tomorrow and get the book.
So you're going to be doing a thing in conversation
at the Barnes and Noble, like a whole interview thing
and talking. Did we get to ask questions and stuff?
Speaker 4 (44:42):
I hope. So I'm looking forward to it. It's exciting.
And it was a gift that Randy Bell, doctor Randall Bell,
gave me to publish that book. He was a friend
of my sister's Glood, my sister glood friend, and he
took me under his and he said, I'm gonna I'm
gonna look after you and take care of you as
(45:04):
com and he's a manner that was.
Speaker 3 (45:08):
Wow. And what what I think I'm asking spoiler alerts?
What did Norman le Are say it is forward? Or
are you allowed to tell me?
Speaker 4 (45:17):
It's a beautiful world? It really is. One of the
things that's kind of funny. There's a there's a column
in there I wrote about crypto messages, and I knew
that he read the book because he put a crypto
message in the ward. He was upset because I wasn't
(45:39):
invited to his hundredth birthday parties, and we talked about
it like a week before, and so he couldn't believe
that I wasn't invited, and so he wrote in the
board he said, Jerry Jule is the life of the party,
whether she was invited or not.
Speaker 3 (46:02):
Form with your like crashing the stage at the company store.
Speaker 2 (46:05):
You are always select to the party, whether you're invited
or not, because you will invite yourself.
Speaker 3 (46:09):
In Yes, yes, we love that.
Speaker 2 (46:13):
Okay, yeah, I'm still looking forward to this. So now,
if people want the book right now, they can go
on Amazon and pre order, then go in Barnes and Noble.
Speaker 3 (46:20):
Where do they get this sucker?
Speaker 4 (46:22):
Well, if they want to go to Buns and the
Noble event, they have to buy some Buns and Noble.
But you can go yeah, Amazon, you can go to
my website. Many days of obtaining the book.
Speaker 3 (46:38):
I'm good now and you obvious are you going to
do the audio book?
Speaker 4 (46:46):
Oh? I did the audio book about that one.
Speaker 3 (46:51):
I went hours of the studio. Would that I.
Speaker 4 (46:56):
Suppose I could. I didn't think about that, and I
should think about that because there are a lot of
people in the disabled community were fine, so they would
appei audio books.
Speaker 3 (47:06):
Yeah, they do audio books. It's it's the rage and exactly.
And then there's people have various reading disabilities and they say, no,
I do all my stuff on.
Speaker 4 (47:14):
Audio exactly exactly. I'm only making one. I don't know
when I'm gonna have to talk to Randy about it.
Speaker 3 (47:23):
We will drag you into the studio, so I see
you as making this happen somehow.
Speaker 4 (47:30):
Actually, I'm walking as good as a candy. Audio didn't
come out until a year later.
Speaker 2 (47:37):
Well, I didn't do my audio two years later, or
like my book came out. Audio wasn't like the thing
that it is now. I mean, now people are recording
their audiobook before their book is even published. It's it's crazy.
They're like, still, just send it to the editor. They're
not even done yet, the cover's not ready, and they're
cranking out, you know, the audio before it's printed, whereas.
Speaker 3 (47:57):
Mine came out and then they get did kindle and
it did hardcover. It's over and then they're like, do
you want to do an audio book. I'm like, now,
oh god, yeah, okay, and and but people really liked it.
So people do love the do love the audio books.
Speaker 4 (48:10):
I know, I know, especially when it's our voice, you
know your Yeah, I can remember. They were kind of
stiffy about the audio book with the first book because
they were thinking of hiring another celebrity to read the book,
(48:31):
because I didn't think that my speech was clear enough.
And also I'm mading mistakes. Was that going to make
any how classling? Was that going to be ok?
Speaker 3 (48:43):
Yeah, yeah, maybe you could do it. They were like,
oh no, no, no, she's not gonna be able to
but I moved it wrong.
Speaker 4 (48:50):
I did it.
Speaker 3 (48:54):
Oh yeah, no, you got to do the audio for this.
Speaker 4 (48:56):
All right.
Speaker 2 (48:56):
Well I'm still looking forward tomorrow. And I said, this book,
Jerry's Jewels and Gems.
Speaker 3 (49:03):
It's got everything.
Speaker 2 (49:04):
It's got her articles from Ability Magazine, which, yes, although
it is absolutely about the magazine is buying for people
with disabilities and for everybody else who wants to learn
about stuff. The articles are about everything everything, including jury duty,
adventures and other insane things that have happened to her,
just generally in her totally insane life. And forward Yes
(49:25):
by Norman Lear, written at age one hundred and one.
Speaker 3 (49:29):
So you know we're out there saying I'm not sure.
I'm not sure I can write a book. I'm getting old.
Normally wrote a forward at one hundred and one. Every
oute this thing. I can't write a book. I have
a disability. Jerry Jewel just wrote too.
Speaker 4 (49:45):
And I'm writing a book.
Speaker 3 (49:51):
Oh no, what's the third one? Oh my god?
Speaker 4 (49:54):
Well, I'm writing a children's book. Pull my sister call
Buck up to cant and it's about it monkey overcoming cancer.
And Eloya wanted to write that book that I promised her.
On her bedside, she was crying because she knew she
wasn't going to make it. But I want to publish
my book, and I said, Loya, I promise you that
(50:18):
I will finish the book and you will become Buck
scouting angels in the book. So I have to do
that because I have to keep my promise to my
and hopefully it'll be a book that will I want
(50:38):
the money to go to Saint Jude, and I want
children with cancer to get hold of it and read it.
So it's going to be a fun book about a
monkey about it reading.
Speaker 2 (50:49):
A book like your interview in advance for the week
that comes out, so we'll test you this again.
Speaker 4 (50:56):
Well, oh my god, at the end of the year
before Buck comes out.
Speaker 3 (51:01):
You're relentless. You are relentless.
Speaker 4 (51:07):
Hey, I'm keeping myself busy in spite of the age
class of thing of meep. I'm still When this goes
then I'm in trouble. But my body I can work
with my body. I can deal with. It's hard sometimes,
(51:27):
but actually the creativity of anything of any pleget keep
your mind off of pain. That would.
Speaker 3 (51:39):
All right. You're amazing. You put me to shame. I
feel lazy. I feel lazy just even talking to you
about this. This is incredible. I will come tomorrow. I
hope everyone does.
Speaker 2 (51:49):
Everyone get this book and then get yourself in line
to preorder the third book, which will be next year.
Oh my god, you are relentless. Your audacity knows no bounds.
Speaker 3 (51:58):
I am so proud to know you. Thank you for
coming on.
Speaker 4 (52:03):
And I'm proud to know you too.
Speaker 3 (52:05):
I love you, I love you, thank you. And this
has been the Allison Ingram Show. And I'm Alison Ingram
Speaker 4 (52:14):
Co
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