As a young man, Gary Riley made a huge splash in Hollywood between 1984 and 1990.  Besides his famous role as the horror-obsessed high school student "Dave" in Summer School, Gary appeared as Charlie Hogan in Stand By Me.  He also popped up in Back to the Future, Ruthless People, The Jerk Too, Planes Trains and Automobiles, Charles in Charge, Silver Spoons, Airwolf and Knots Landing.

Then he just kind of vanished.  No acting, no press, nothing.  From the late 90's on, nobody really knew what ever happened to Gary.  One rumor circulated online for several years that he had died in a car accident in upstate New York while others believed he had been traveling around following the Grateful Dead.

Well, Gary is alive and on this episode we'll hear about some of the films he acted in and get to the bottom of what happened.  I also dive into some odd facts about Summer School.

Thanks for listening! 

www.facebook.com/oddpodcast

www.twitter.com/odd_podcast

Email [email protected] 

In September 1991, an album called "Nevermind" hit record stores and the cover featured a picture of a naked baby boy underwater in a swimming pool going after a dollar bill on a fish hook.  To the complete shock of everyone including the band's own record label, this album would go on to knock Michael Jackson from the #1 spot on the Billboard 200 chart and help bring "grunge" music into the mainstream.  By fall of 1992 the album was selling 300,000 copies every week. To date, over 30 Million copies of this album have been sold worldwide and it's know as one of the most influential albums of all time.  Everybody knows this album cover!

But what about that naked baby?  Well, his name is Spencer Eldon and I've tracked him down to hear what his life has been like since....which he obviously has had zero control over.  Spencer tells us about life as "the never mind baby", how it's affected him, his relationship with the members of Nirvana, what he's done with his life and his future plans.  Quite an interesting situation and quite a unique young man.

Thanks for listening!

This episode is brought to you by www.screenused.com 

Email [email protected]

www.facebook.com/oddpodcast

www.twitter.com/odd_podcast

You know actor Keith Coogan as "Kenny" in Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead and as "Brad" in Adventures in Babysitting.  From a very young age, Keith has been acting in Hollywood and as we learn, he comes from a very long line of entertainers.  We learn a bit about Keith's grandfather, actor Jackie Coogan and hear some fun behind the scenes stories from the sets of some of his biggest films.  We also fact-check some trivia about his films that is floating around online.  

Catch up with Keith and buy some of his awesome merchandise at www.keithcooganonline.com

This episode is sponsored by www.screenused.com 

www.facebookcom/oddpodcast

www.twitter.com/odd_podcast

Email: [email protected]

Thanks for listening!  Dishes are done, man!

A strange videotape showed up on the shelves of video stores across America back in 1994 called "The Stoned Age".  Its stars weren't necessarily known at the time and the film hadn't been promoted at all... but right across the top of the box was the quote "Better Than Dazed and Confused".  So you just had to check it out to see for yourself, right?  Well, like many other avid video renters in the mid 90's, I took a chance on it and quickly fell in love with this low budget, stoner buddy comedy set in late 1970's Los Angeles.  

Over the years, "The Stoned Age" has built up a very devoted cult following and for the last 23 years it's been sporadically appearing on cable tv and video on demand sites like Hulu.  

I decided to take a deep dive into this movie and learn everything there was to learn about it. In the process I tracked down Michael Koppolo who played "Joe", Bradford Tatum who played "Hubbs", Renee Allman who played "Lanie" and James Melkonian who wrote and directed the movie.  We'll hear in depth interviews with each of them on this unofficial Stoned Age reunion.

Enjoy.

-Joe Parisi

(Just some dude)

www.facebook.com/oddpodcast

www.twitter.com/odd_podcast

Email [email protected]

John Massari is a composer who has created hundreds of iconic scores for film and television.  I assure you that at some point you have been watching a movie or tv show and the music in the background was made by John.  One of my favorite scores that he handled was that of the incredible Killer Klowns from Outer Space.  

We learn all kinds of stuff about this part of the industry in this hour-long chat with John.  He explains how he got his start, how he gets approached to work on projects, what kind of information he is given to go off of when composing music and much much more.  We of course chat about Killer Klowns as well.

If you've ever wondered about this side of the entertainment industry, give this episode a listen!  It's very informational and John is a really fun guy to listen to.

Learn more about John on his IMDB page HERE

Thanks for listening!

www.oddpodcast.libsyn.com

www.facebook.com/oddpodcast

www.twitter.com/odd_podcast

Email: [email protected]

Derek Wayne Johnson is the filmmaker behind the 2017 documentary "John G. Avildsen: King of the Underdogs".  We chat about John's film career, documentary filmmaking in today's world, behind the scenes Karate Kid stories and more!  If you are interested in John's iconic films or are looking into making your own documentary films, there are some great pieces of info in this chat.

Learn more about Derek on his IMDB page HERE.

Email the show: [email protected]

www.facebook.com/oddpodcast

www.twitter.com/odd_podcast

www.oddpodcast.libsyn.com

Thanks for listening!

In 1964 a young actor named Butch Patrick landed a role that would change his life forever.  He became "Eddie Munster" on the hit new show "The Munsters".  The show aired for 2 seasons and 70 episodes and Butch became a legend.

We discuss his career as a child actor, starting out in commercials, up through his young adult years when he walked away from it all to go work in the gaming industry at a casino.

He catches us up on his latest excitement as well, which includes his recovery, beating cancer, getting married for the very first time and moving into a house that appears to be haunted.

Stay tuned, at the end of the episode I snuck in a commercial I found for an old 900 number that Grandpa Al Lewis was pitching for his "Junior Vampires of America" Club.

Catch up with Butch and all things Munsters at www.munsters.com

www.facebook.com/oddpodcast

www.twitter.com/odd_podcast

www.oddpodcast.libsyn.com

We're on iTunes

We're on Stitcher Radio

Email Joe Parisi: [email protected]

Thanks for listening!

The "Veteran Voice of the Octagon" is my guest on this episode.  Bruce is the wild announcer you've been seeing in the cage during UFC fights for years.  His signature style and "It's Time!" catchphrase have been getting fight fans pumped up for more than 20 years.  But what a lot of people don't know is that Bruce was a very successful business man long before he ever grabbed a microphone or stepped into a cage.  

We talk about what he was up to before the UFC came into his life, his various memorabilia collections, fight movies, appearing on the TV show "Friends" and what it takes to be a successful ring announcer.

This episode is sponsored by the Iron Fighting Alliance.  https://www.facebook.com/ironfightingalliance/

Thanks for listening!  -Joe Parisi

www.brucebuffer.com

www.facebook.com/oddpodcast

www.twitter.com/odd_podcast

Email Joe: [email protected]

We're on iTunes:https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-odd-podcast-with-joe-parisi/id1000745758?mt=2

and on Stitcher Radio: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-odd-podcast

www.oddpodcast.libsyn.com

My guest is Curtis Armstrong who famously played "Booger" in Revenge of the Nerds back in 1984.  Curtis tells us how he got started acting, we discuss his rather impressive theatrical training, the making of the Nerds movies and much much more.  We also talk about his upcoming book "Revenge of the Nerd:... or the singular adventures of the man who would be Booger".  Plus, plenty of Nerd film trivia! #mopery

It's a fun chat with a truly iconic actor.  Thanks for listening!

Find the book Curtis has coming out here: https://www.amazon.com/Revenge-Nerd-Singular-Adventures-Booger/dp/1250113946

www.oddpodcast.libsyn.com

www.facebook.com/oddpodcast

www.twitter.com/odd_podcast

Email the show: [email protected]

Odd Podcast T-Shirts: www.oddpodcast.spreadshirt.com

We're on iTunes and Stitcher Radio.

In the early 90's Fred Ottman made waves in the professional wrestling world as "Tugboat" in the WWF and then later "Typhoon".  He also appeared in WCW as an infamous character called "The Shockmaster" that has become a bit of a cult classic character.

I catch up with Fred while he's hanging out in Jacksonville, Florida.  He tells us how it all started, shares some stories about the WWF in the early 90's and his co-workers in the ring.  He tells us what happened with "The Shockmaster" and all about a hilarious run in he and his tag team partner "Earthquake" had with author Stephen King.

Thanks for listening!

Email the show: [email protected]

www.facebook.com/oddpodcast

www.twitter.com/odd_podcast

Get your Odd Podcast T-Shirt at www.oddpodcast.spreadshirt.com