Famous and Gravy

This person died in 2020 at age 93. He was the only child of a noted Beat poet. He won his first professional acting job in the 1940s, when he was cast in the live radio program “The Lone Ranger”. On several occasions he recounted a period of months he spent in Paris in the 1950s working as a “mec” – or pimp – for a legal prostitute. His association with the Actors Studio began in 1992. He was a knowledgeable interviewer who focused on craft while avoiding gossip. Beyond his globally successful Bravo TV program, he was as well known for being relentlessly lampooned by Will Ferrell on “Saturday Night Live”. Today’s dead celebrity is James Lipton.

If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like Episode 43 “Poetic Justice” (Maya Angelou) and Episode 18 “Darling’s Critic” (Roger Ebert). 

Famous & Gravy is created and co-hosted by Amit Kapoor and Michael Osborne. This episode was produced by Megan Palmer.

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New York Times Obituary for James Lipton

Will Ferrell impersonates James Lipton on SNL

James Lipton shotguns a beer on Conan

Lipton as Warden Gentles on “Arrested Development”

Why Bradley Cooper was James Lipton’s most memorable interview

Dead or Alive quiz game

Famous & Gravy on Facebook, LinkedIn, Threads

Famous & Gravy official website

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This person died in 2023 at age 70. A turning point in his career came shortly after a disappointing and unsuccessful audition for “Saturday Night Live” in 1980. He once said “Today, it’s a lot more difficult to stand out. You know, if you want to be weird, good luck.” He had scores of acting credits, including roles on “Murphy Brown,” “The Blacklist” and many other television series and in movies like “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Blow”. He was in a feature film directed by Tim Burton in 1985, after which he created a highly successful, live action Saturday morning kid’s series, both in character as his quirky alter-ego. The film followed him on a “Big Adventure” while the series took you inside a magical Playhouse. Today’s dead celebrity is Paul Reubens, aka Pee-wee Herman.

If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like Episode 80 “Super Funkhouser” (Bob Einstein) and Episode 26 “Wild Thing” (Maurice Sendak)

Famous & Gravy is created and co-hosted by Amit Kapoor and Michael Osborne. This episode was produced by Megan Palmer.

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Transcript of this episode

New York Times Obituary for Paul Reubens

“Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” official film trailer

Opening sequence for “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” TV series

Flight of the Navigator CGI Spaceship with Paul’s voice

Cheech and Chong “I’m sorry” scene with Paul

A conversation with Paul Reubens at SXSW

The origins of Pee-wee Herman article in ‘The New Yorker’

Dead or Alive quiz game

Famous & Gravy on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter

Famous & Gravy official website

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This person died in 2010 at age 84. His elder brother was deputy prime minister of Canada. Before his 18th birthday, he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force and trained as an aerial gunner during World War II. He had a matinee-idol profile, and was often cast as a serious and  earnest hero throughout much of his film career. His big break came in 1980 when he played a clueless doctor in the low-budget, disaster-movie parody “Airplane!” His line that became a catchphrase was “I am serious. And don’t call me Shirley.” His subsequent comedic acting successes included the very non-serious and highly successful movie trilogy “The Naked Gun” as well as the “Police Squad!” television series. Today’s dead celebrity is Leslie Nielsen. 

Famous & Gravy is created and co-hosted by Amit Kapoor and Michael Osborne. This episode was produced by Megan Palmer. Visit our website at famousandgravy.com and also enjoy our free mobile quiz game at deadoraliveapp.com

If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like Episode 61 Dame Detective (Angela Lansbury) and Episode 16 Quintessential Quizmaster (Alex Trebek).

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New York Times Obituary for Leslie Nielsen

“Don’t call me Shirley” clip from Airplane!

Arctic location of Nielsen’s log cabin home

Leslie Nielsen’s SNL Monologue in 1989

ESPN’s satirical obituary for Enrico Palazzo 

Dead or Alive quiz game

Famous & Gravy on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter

Famous & Gravy official website

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This person died in 2009 at age 57. His father was an engineer and a rodeo cowboy. He was a student athlete, and his dancing career was hampered by a severe football injury. In the 1970s he moved from Houston to New York to study dance, becoming a member of Eliot Feld Ballet. He was determined not to be typecast, and said in a 1989 interview, “The only plan I have is that every time people think they have me pegged, I’m going to come out of left field and do something unexpected.” The coming-of-age film “Dirty Dancing” established him as a romantic leading man. His other starring roles include “Roadhouse”, “Ghost”, and “Point Break”. Today’s dead celebrity biography is Patrick Swayze.

Famous & Gravy is created and co-hosted by Amit Kapoor and Michael Osborne. This episode was produced by Megan Palmer. Visit our website at famousandgravy.com and also enjoy our free mobile quiz game at deadoraliveapp.com

If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like Episode 57 Cool Hand Dylan (Luke Perry) and Episode 51 Goofball Stud (Bill Paxton).

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New York Times Obituary for Patrick Swayze

Dead or Alive quiz game

SNL Chippendales sketch with Swayze and Chris Farley

“Nobody wins a fight” and “Pain don’t hurt” scene from Roadhouse

Barbara Walters interview with Patrick in 2009

How Patrick Swayze Convinced Whoopi Goldberg to be in ‘Ghost’ article

Famous & Gravy on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter

Famous & Gravy official website

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This person died 2023 at age 83. In 2013, after demonstrating a proficiency in German, she became a citizen of Switzerland. In 1987, she appeared in a Pepsi commercial alongside David Bowie. She is credited with helping Mick Jagger learn to dance. In 1988, She held a concert for 180,000 people in Rio de Janeiro, breaking the record for the largest paying audience for a solo artist. Her first marriage provided much of the material for the 1993 film “What’s Love Got to Do With It”, starring Angela Bassett.  Her parade of solo hit songs include the classics “Private Dancer” and “The Best”. Today’s dead celebrity is Tina Turner.

Famous & Gravy is created and co-hosted by Amit Kapoor and Michael Osborne. This episode was produced by Megan Palmer. Visit our website at famousandgravy.com and also enjoy our free mobile quiz game at deadoraliveapp.com

If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like 084 Vocal Bedrock (Johnny Cash) and Episode 033 October Error (Bill Buckner)

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New York Times Obituary for Tina Turner

Pepsi commercial starring Tina and David Bowie

Tina Turner’s solo performance of ‘Proud Mary’

Photo of Tina, Keith Richards, and David Bowie in NYC 1983

“Australians Smash Nutbush World Record”

Tina’s schoolhouse at West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center

Dead or Alive quiz game

Famous & Gravy on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter

Famous & Gravy official website

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This person died in 2022 at age 93. In 1976, she became known as the “million-dollar baby” because of a contract with ABC that made her the highest-paid journalist, male or female, in television history. She was married three times, and between marriages she dated many prominent and powerful people, among them Senator John Warner and Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan. She drove a motorcycle with Sylvester Stallone, danced the mambo with Patrick Swayze, and rode a patrol boat with Fidel Castro across the Bay of Pigs. In 2007, she tried to intervene in a vitriolic spat between Rosie O’Donnell and Donald J. Trump.  She was perhaps best known for asking intimate interview questions, and as creator of the television “The View”. Today’s dead celebrity is Barbara Walters.

Famous & Gravy is created and co-hosted by Amit Kapoor and Michael Osborne. This episode was produced by Megan Palmer. Visit our website at famousandgravy.com and also enjoy our free mobile quiz game at deadoraliveapp.com

If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like Episode 47 “Proud Mary” (Mary Tyler Moore), and Episode 42 “Game Changer” (John Madden)

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New York Times Obituary for Barbara Walters

Gilda Radner’s SNL Impression

Cheri Oteri’s SNL Impression

Barbara Interviews Fidel Castro

Barbara’s last day on ‘The View’

Dead or Alive quiz game

Famous & Gravy on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter

Famous & Gravy official website

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This person died in 2004 at age 82. His big break came in 1967 when, at age 44 and relatively unknown, he won a spot on "The Ed Sullivan Show". At one point he quit show business for over a dozen years and worked as an aluminum salesman and house painter. On stage he portrayed a hapless, self-deprecating Everyman slapped around by life and searching for acceptance. He opened his own comedy club in New York, which gave early breaks to comedians including Jerry Seinfeld, Adam Sandler, and Jim Carrey. His first comedy album, "No Respect", won a Grammy Award in 1981. He starred in the classic comedy movies “Caddyshack” and “Back to School”. Today’s dead celebrity is Rodney Dangerfield.

Famous & Gravy is created and co-hosted by Amit Kapoor and Michael Osborne. This episode was produced by Megan Palmer. Visit our website at famousandgravy.com and also enjoy our free mobile quiz game at deadoraliveapp.com

If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like Episode 63 “America's Mustache” (Burt Reynolds), and Episode 58 “Best in Show” (Fred Willard)

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New York Times Obituary for Rodney Dangerfield

Top Rodney Dangerfield jokes superclip

Michael Bolton impersonates Rodney

Rodney Dangerfield Institute at LA Community College

Rodney’s Triple Lindy in “Back to School”

Dead or Alive quiz game

Famous & Gravy on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter

Famous & Gravy official website

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This person died in 2003 at age 71, He is considered a pioneer of rock 'n' roll, and in 1992 he was elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, after he had also been inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. In the early 2000s, a video of his won six nominations at the MTV Video Music Awards. He fought a long battle against addiction. His voice, which projected the fateful gravity of a country patriarch, and his signature look, which suggested a cowboy undertaker, led him to be known as “The Man in Black”. Today’s dead celebrity is Johnny Cash.

Famous & Gravy is created and co-hosted by Amit Kapoor and Michael Osborne. This episode was produced by Megan Palmer. Visit our website at famousandgravy.com and also enjoy our free mobile quiz game at deadoraliveapp.com

If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like Episode 50 “Golden Rose” (Betty White), Episode 36 “Singing Mailman” (John Prine), and episode 41 “Viva Bojangles” (Jerry Jeff Walker).

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New York Times Obituary for Johnny Cash

Johnny Cash’s video for “Hurt” 

Homer Simpson meets Johnny Cash’s Space Coyote

Photo of Johnny Cash jamming with Stephen King

“How Rick Rubin revitalized Johnny Cash’s career” video clip

Dead or Alive quiz game

Famous & Gravy on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter

Famous & Gravy official website

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We’re back, and we’re sharing the exciting news that Famous & Gravy is now part of Wondery! Amit and Michael also discuss some of the behind-the-scenes work they’ve been doing to better the show in the runup to this exciting announcement. New Famous & Gravy episodes will start releasing again every other Wednesday, and also will now be available one week early and ad-free on Wondery+. 

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List of Wondery shows

Famous & Gravy official website

Famous & Gravy on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter

Dead or Alive quiz game

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This person died 2016 at age 69. He suffered a blow in a teenage brawl that caused his left pupil to be permanently dilated. He experimented with startling transformations, often playing up an androgynous image. In the 1980s he had a Broadway run in the demanding title role of “The Elephant Man”. Nirvana chose to sing one of his songs in their legendary brief set on “MTV Unplugged” in 1993. He was the Thin White Duke, Aladdin Sane, Major Tom, and Ziggy Stardust. Today’s dead celebrity is David Bowie.

This episode originally published March 8, 2023.

Famous & Gravy is created and co-hosted by Amit Kapoor and Michael Osborne. This episode was produced by Jacob Weiss. Visit our website at famousandgravy.com and also enjoy our free mobile quiz game at deadoraliveapp.com

If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like Episode 66 “Let’s Get Metaphysical” (Olivia Newton-John) and Episode 32 “Hot Stuff” (Donna Summer)

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New York Times Obituary for David Bowie

17-year old David interviewed about Prevention of Cruelty to Long-Haired Men

Infamous Bowie Interview on Dick Cavett show in 1974

Bowie as musical guest on SNL in 1979

“Iman on LIfe with David Bowie” in Vanity Fair

Will Ferrell and John C Reilly play David Bowie and Bing Crosby

David Bowie scene on ‘Extras’ with Ricky Gervais

“Did David Bowie Say He Supports Fascism” article on Snopes

David Bowie predicted impact of the internet in 1999 BBC interview

Dead or Alive quiz game

Famous & Gravy on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter

Famous & Gravy official website

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.