Jim Lampley | The Only Ball That Matters

I did seven interviews in Montreal in 1976 with Bruce Jenner, but

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at one point he said to me, we're on

camera so often here, people are going

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to think there's something going on.

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Announcer: Welcome to Story Craft.

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Now, here's your host, Marc Preston.

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Marc Preston: Okay, here we go.

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Another episode of Story Craft.

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Welcome back.

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Glad to have you.

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If this is your very first

episode, thank you very much for

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stopping by, checking it out.

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Do appreciate it.

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Uh, today we have a great episode, hall of

Fame, sportscaster and author Jim Lampley.

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Now Jim has covered everything,

uh, football, boxing, the

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Olympics, just all kinds of stuff.

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I mean, we covered like everything,

Mike Tyson, Muhammad Ali.

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Jim is such a great storyteller.

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Uh, a guy with a big heart

has a lot of stories to tell.

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No way we could fit them all.

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In this episode.

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So, uh, you ought to

check out his new book.

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It's, uh, available for

pre order right now.

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It is called It Happened, uh, Uniquely

Lucky Life in Sports Television.

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It is coming out April 15th, but

of course, pre order it right now,

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wherever you get, uh, your books.

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It was a great conversation.

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I really could have talked

to him all day long.

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Uh, just so many great stories

about his career, uh, and, uh,

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kind of what he's up to right now.

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Also, I want to drop a quick note

in, we had a conversation a few

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weeks back with actor Jordan Bridges.

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He was in Den of Thieves,

if you remember the sequel.

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He's also in the TV show Palm Royale, one

of my favorite characters in the show.

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Now we discussed during our episode with

him, he likes to put together playlists.

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And, uh, he said he was going to offer

up a custom playlist just for us.

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And it is available right now.

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He calls it Requiem for a Beach.

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Just go to storyandcraftpod.

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com and look up the episode with Jordan.

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It's only it's on the front page.

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It's only a few episodes ago.

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And in the description of the episode,

you will see a link right at the bottom.

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That's where you can check out.

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His, uh, his cool mix.

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He made up something very unique.

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Now he also sent me a few links where

you can help out the folks who were

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affected by the California wildfires.

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Just, uh, go take a look.

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Uh, it's on the front page.

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Look at the very top.

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It says California fire support.

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Just click on that link at the top

of the page and you will be taken

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to a page where you can go find a

few links to, uh, kind of help out.

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Help out the folks, uh, who were

affected and, uh, Jordan sent me some

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pictures of his backyard, uh, backyard.

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It's like more of a

Canyon ish looking thing.

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It was pretty wild.

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So hearts are with

everybody in California.

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Of course, that's the reason why we're

just now getting that link from Jordan.

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He's got a couple of

things he was working on.

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So, uh, go check out the, uh, music

link to Spotify, the playlist.

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So thank you to Jordan for sending

over that very cool Spotify link.

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And, uh, of course the links.

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So you can help out the

good folks in California.

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Okay.

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Also, uh, since you're going to be at the

website, by the way, storyandcraftpod.

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com.

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Go to storyandcraftpod.

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com slash rate.

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It's a small favor.

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I'm asking if you can just follow the

show that way you get notified every

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time there's a new episode, but also

leave a review, leave some stars.

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You can do that also in whatever

podcast app you listen to.

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It just helps folks to find the

show and so they can experience

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the mischief we have going on here.

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All right, so let's jump

right into it today.

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Love this conversation.

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I could talk to Jim.

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All day long.

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Uh, so many great stories.

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I've got to go get his book.

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It's coming out here in April because

I want to know more of the stories.

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So, uh, here we go today.

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It is Jim Lampley day right

now on story and craft.

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How are you doing?

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Very well.

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So I was running just two minutes behind.

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I have a rambunctious 10 month old

golden retriever who desperately wanted

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to stay down here with us, but I had

to scoot him upstairs cause he was,

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uh, He was wanting to sit on my lap.

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Jim Lampley: I first acquired a

golden retriever when I was living

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here in Chapel Hill in the, um,

early seventies, eventually took

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the golden retriever to New York,

eventually gave him to my mother.

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Uh, when she retired to the country,

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Marc Preston: his name was Ernie.

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We just had this little guy for I

think nine months now, but we're going

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through the adolescent teen years, the

rambunctious nonstop kind of a thing.

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So you're in Chapel Hill right now?

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I'm

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Jim Lampley: in Chapel Hill, yes.

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Marc Preston: So is that

where you're originally from?

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Jim Lampley: Return to Chapel

Hill is a frequent and widespread

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syndrome of Carolina grads, uh,

or Carolina dropouts, either one.

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Uh, it's, it's very hard once you

have been here, once you've lived

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here, once you have it in your

system, it's hard to get it out.

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You may know that just recently the

university signed Bill Belichick to be

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the head football coach here, right?

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No, I actually did not.

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Bill Belichick is coming to coach

the university of North Carolina.

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College football team, winner of

six Super Bowls, arguably the most

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successful coach in NFL history.

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Why in the world would he take

a head coaching job at the

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University of North Carolina in his

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Marc Preston: seventies at this point?

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Because of the aesthetic, uh, just that's

where he wants to be, or is he, uh,

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Jim Lampley: It's, it's a

Tar Heel coming home story.

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His father was an assistant

coach here in the fifties.

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He was a little boy here in the fifties.

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He won the news conference here.

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When he stood up at the podium and

said, you know, my parents always

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told me that the first words I ever

learned to say out loud were beat Duke.

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So with that, he instantly

cemented himself.

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Um, but yeah, it's, we all come

home at some time or another.

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Yeah,

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Marc Preston: I'm originally from

Dallas, but, uh, my, uh, I had,

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uh, worked in radio many moons ago.

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I made a swing through New Orleans

and my ex wife's from New Orleans.

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The same thing happens with a lot of folks

from New Orleans, or if you marry somebody

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from New Orleans, you're going to end up

living there at least a period of time.

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Now I'm back in Texas though,

on the coast, so there's always

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this idea from folks that I've

known that they're going to end up

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back there at some point in time.

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Jim Lampley: Well, I think this

happens with places that are

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arguably unusual or unique.

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And Chapel Hill has that identity.

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New Orleans has that identity.

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There aren't that many megalopoli,

big cities in the USA that can make

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that claim that they are unique

and different from other places.

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I think San Francisco can make that claim.

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I think New Orleans can

definitely make that claim.

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I think Boston can make

that claim in some ways.

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And obviously New York

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Marc Preston: is New York.

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There, there is no other New York.

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Was that the objective way, but way

back when, when you were deciding,

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okay, here's what I want to do.

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Here's what I aspire to do.

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Is, was it going to be sports

casting or were you thinking more

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just straight traditional journalism

or how did that manifest for you?

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It is all an accident.

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Jim Lampley: Okay.

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And the reason that the book is titled.

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It happened is because there was no plan.

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There was no roadmap.

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There was no, um, logical

way of constructing what

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was going to happen to me.

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I had very assertively

attempted to throw my life away.

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Um, when I was flunking out of.

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Undergraduate school and, um, sinking

my grades to a level where it would

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be almost impossible to come back and

graduate, uh, and getting into a position

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where I had to go home to my mother's

crappy rented apartment in Miami and

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work, uh, in the filing department

of a So, um, Um, a large bank and,

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uh, and I was, you know, I was gone.

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I had, I had no horizons, no prospects.

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Well, going back, what would you

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Marc Preston: ascribe

to being the, the issue?

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Was it just, you were having just so

much fun in college that the grades

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were secondary or maybe the academia

thing just wasn't how you were wired.

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Jim Lampley: I was having so much fun in

college that the grades were secondary

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and, um, and I was, Um, from pretty

much the moment I arrived here in Chapel

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Hill, I was a 17 year old alcoholic.

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I was spending all day drinking

beer and eventually bartending

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at a place called The Shack.

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Um, come down before it falls down.

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And, uh, and I didn't go to class for

about a year and a half for two years.

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So at one point I had taken,

um, you get this straight.

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I, at one point I had taken 25 courses.

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I had passed 16 or 17 of them.

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I had a 1.

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44 academic average.

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I had to make A's on two

correspondence courses, which was.

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mountainous work and almost

impossible to get back into

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school to regain my eligibility.

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And I did that.

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And I came back and I made, um,

a long string, uh, I think I

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made 24 straight A's to graduate.

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So, so my undergraduate career

is this unbelievable disconnect.

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Uh, between the first person

and the second person.

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Eventually I wound up applying

to graduate school in the radio,

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television, motion pictures department.

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And in those days to get into the

graduate program in that department,

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you had to meet with the chairman

of the department, very boisterous.

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Self important dude, and I had to go in

and sit at his desk and meet with him,

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have a personal interview to try to

get into the graduate school program.

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And when I arrived, I saw that

he had my transcript on his desk.

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So there was no way to hide any of this.

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And right in the middle of the

transcript, if he looked carefully,

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he would find where I had taken his

signature undergraduate course, RTVNP

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58, never attended a class session

and made an F. So he looked it all

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over while I was sitting there.

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He was, and I could see his eyes.

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Lighting up as he saw the RTB MP 58

and all the F's and that kind of stuff.

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And eventually he looked at me

and said, well, the army sure did

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you a world of good, didn't it?

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I'd never been in the army.

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Uh, and so when he said the army did

you a world of good and I'm thinking,

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okay, that's, that's positive.

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That cleans me up, but

I don't want to lie.

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So I, I gave him a kind of a. Head shake.

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It wasn't up and down.

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It wasn't anything that said yes or no.

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It was just a movement of the head.

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He bought it and we went on and I

wound up, uh, going to graduate school

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and being for a period of time, the

best graduate student in his program.

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Sometimes takes those

moments where things are on

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Marc Preston: the bottom, almost

falls out where you kind of

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see, Oh yeah, better course.

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Correct.

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Yeah.

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No.

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Jim Lampley: Uh, well, I was ashamed.

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Uh, and my, Um, double widowed,

single mother had sweated bullets and

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blood to, uh, get me through junior

high school in Miami and high school

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in Miami and put me in a position

to actually get into the university

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of North Carolina for out of state.

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And I had ruthlessly betrayed by

coming up here and dishonoring the

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whole thing, et cetera, et cetera.

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And I. Had gone home in shame and, um,

and, you know, had to watch her weep

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when I moved back into the apartment

and wound up with, um, job prospects of,

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I could either become a trainee at the

global headquarters of Burger King on,

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uh, Highway 1 in Miami, Or I could, uh, go

into the mortgage loan filing department

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at, uh, first national bank of Miami with

2, 500 feet of filing cabinets for women

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between the ages of 62 and 65 and me.

234

00:12:26,689 --> 00:12:30,039

And I took the bank job because

it seemed more glamorous.

235

00:12:30,479 --> 00:12:33,699

Uh, and, and I did a good job.

236

00:12:34,240 --> 00:12:41,340

Um, you know, catching the tiny errors

here and there on endlessly deep

237

00:12:41,370 --> 00:12:44,880

mortgage loan packages, FHA and VA loans.

238

00:12:45,299 --> 00:12:49,480

Um, and I did that for almost two years.

239

00:12:49,489 --> 00:12:49,890

No, no.

240

00:12:50,150 --> 00:12:52,249

This is after you got

your graduate degree?

241

00:12:52,330 --> 00:12:55,980

No, this is, this is while I

was flunked out, dropped out.

242

00:12:56,240 --> 00:12:57,580

This is in the middle of my own.

243

00:12:57,844 --> 00:13:01,775

This is when my undergraduate

transcript was all Fs and this is

244

00:13:01,775 --> 00:13:04,555

before I went back and made it all As.

245

00:13:04,814 --> 00:13:12,034

Uh, the purgatory in the bank filing room

is what motivated me to actually go back

246

00:13:12,035 --> 00:13:18,560

to school and, and try to succeed because

I recognized I eventually when I decided

247

00:13:18,560 --> 00:13:22,480

I was going to go back and the word got

around the department I got called into

248

00:13:22,480 --> 00:13:28,060

the um chief executive of the mortgage

loan department's office A guy I had

249

00:13:28,060 --> 00:13:31,810

never met named gene turkoski and uh, mr.

250

00:13:31,810 --> 00:13:36,910

Turkoski Was looking at my personnel

file and he looked across the desk and

251

00:13:36,910 --> 00:13:38,450

said, I hear you going back to college.

252

00:13:38,450 --> 00:13:40,540

I said, Yeah, he said,

Why would you do that?

253

00:13:40,849 --> 00:13:43,219

You have done so well here.

254

00:13:43,459 --> 00:13:48,089

You have gotten three

pay raises in 13 months.

255

00:13:48,310 --> 00:13:52,550

Um, you are really respected

within the department.

256

00:13:52,550 --> 00:13:58,055

If you stay here, you can Uh,

ultimately succeed to the level of

257

00:13:58,055 --> 00:14:02,714

becoming an assistant cashier, uh,

here in the mortgage loan department.

258

00:14:02,765 --> 00:14:06,844

And my thought was, Oh my God, he

thinks this is the best I can do.

259

00:14:07,214 --> 00:14:10,805

He thinks that this is

the limit of my horizons.

260

00:14:11,024 --> 00:14:12,724

Get me out of here.

261

00:14:13,184 --> 00:14:18,844

Uh, and I, and that I use that as

fuel to go ahead and follow through

262

00:14:18,844 --> 00:14:23,474

and, Come back to Chapel Hill and be

a completely different person and do,

263

00:14:23,885 --> 00:14:28,285

yeah, I mean, you know, cause this

is true Jekyll and Hyde type stuff.

264

00:14:28,464 --> 00:14:31,954

Uh, and, and I can honestly say

when I arrived here in Chapel

265

00:14:31,954 --> 00:14:37,744

Hill, my only real motivation was,

okay, the drinking age here is 18.

266

00:14:38,064 --> 00:14:42,594

I'm only 17, but I can get a fake

ID and I will be able to drink

267

00:14:42,594 --> 00:14:44,045

in these bars in Chapel Hill.

268

00:14:44,295 --> 00:14:46,535

And, you know, there are other.

269

00:14:46,830 --> 00:14:49,880

Um, really bloody elements

of the whole thing.

270

00:14:49,880 --> 00:14:56,370

I lost my mother's 1964 Oldsmobile

Cutlass in a poker game at the SAE house.

271

00:14:56,430 --> 00:14:59,939

Uh, and you know, it

goes on and on and on.

272

00:15:00,250 --> 00:15:06,020

And so no one would have foreseen that

this person would someday be writing.

273

00:15:06,354 --> 00:15:11,984

His autobiography about his

fairly successful and respected

274

00:15:11,984 --> 00:15:14,055

sports television broadcasting

275

00:15:14,055 --> 00:15:14,384

Marc Preston: career.

276

00:15:14,464 --> 00:15:15,564

No one would have foreseen that.

277

00:15:15,574 --> 00:15:18,295

Well, you're mentioning, uh, Miami.

278

00:15:18,305 --> 00:15:19,894

Is that where you grew up originally?

279

00:15:19,894 --> 00:15:22,604

Or I'm originally from

Hendersonville, North Carolina.

280

00:15:22,604 --> 00:15:22,854

Okay.

281

00:15:22,854 --> 00:15:23,204

Jim Lampley: Okay.

282

00:15:23,205 --> 00:15:23,919

Marc Preston: My

283

00:15:23,919 --> 00:15:25,664

Jim Lampley: mother was a double widow.

284

00:15:26,260 --> 00:15:32,460

Widowed to two World War II bomber

pilots, um, and the second one was a

285

00:15:32,650 --> 00:15:35,130

Hendersonville, North Carolina resident.

286

00:15:35,210 --> 00:15:40,709

She lived there for, uh, probably

10 or 12 years, uh, raising

287

00:15:40,709 --> 00:15:42,879

my older half brother and me.

288

00:15:43,329 --> 00:15:46,239

Uh, my father died when

I was five years old.

289

00:15:46,770 --> 00:15:53,369

Uh, and eventually, my, uh, his automobile

dealership failed, and my mother needed to

290

00:15:53,369 --> 00:15:58,875

find a way to earn money to Uh, support me

and my brother and get us through school.

291

00:15:59,215 --> 00:16:05,795

And she wound up choosing to go, uh, back

to South Florida where she had been during

292

00:16:05,805 --> 00:16:10,764

world war II when living on military bases

and learned how to sell life insurance.

293

00:16:10,765 --> 00:16:14,194

She was going to sell life insurance

to, uh, the people on military

294

00:16:14,195 --> 00:16:16,395

bases, uh, in and around Miami.

295

00:16:16,635 --> 00:16:17,735

That was the whole plan.

296

00:16:18,045 --> 00:16:22,365

So I went to junior high school

and high school in Miami after

297

00:16:22,375 --> 00:16:24,355

having left Hendersonville.

298

00:16:24,560 --> 00:16:25,060

In

299

00:16:25,220 --> 00:16:28,010

Marc Preston: seventh grade, was it

a big culture shock for you between

300

00:16:28,010 --> 00:16:31,420

North Carolina, which the only thing

I remember from North Carolina,

301

00:16:31,420 --> 00:16:35,099

very, you know, I'm around, almost

got a job in Charlotte back in 98.

302

00:16:35,099 --> 00:16:37,070

I remember, uh, it's a lot of trees.

303

00:16:37,320 --> 00:16:39,589

It aesthetically, it's just very relaxing.

304

00:16:39,589 --> 00:16:39,999

If you will.

305

00:16:40,009 --> 00:16:41,330

Miami's a whole different,

306

00:16:42,020 --> 00:16:42,770

Jim Lampley: that's so funny.

307

00:16:42,770 --> 00:16:45,610

When I brought my wife here a few

years ago, for the first two or

308

00:16:45,610 --> 00:16:48,770

three days, all she kept saying was

trees, trees, trees, trees, trees.

309

00:16:49,070 --> 00:16:50,390

There's nothing but trees here.

310

00:16:50,790 --> 00:16:55,710

Um, but yes, uh, Hendersonville in

the mountains in the western part

311

00:16:55,710 --> 00:17:02,740

of the state, 18 miles south of

Asheville, uh, is a, an idyllic resort

312

00:17:02,740 --> 00:17:05,610

town, uh, just beautiful, glorious.

313

00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:07,640

My grandparents lived there.

314

00:17:07,829 --> 00:17:12,460

My aunts and uncles in the

Lampley family lived there.

315

00:17:12,790 --> 00:17:19,630

Um, I was forced by the Henderson County

school system to skip the fourth grade.

316

00:17:20,190 --> 00:17:21,270

So.

317

00:17:21,335 --> 00:17:26,454

So, once my mother took me to Miami

in the seventh grade, I was one

318

00:17:26,464 --> 00:17:31,225

year younger than everybody else in

my class, heading into junior high

319

00:17:31,225 --> 00:17:33,094

school, uh, and then high school.

320

00:17:33,154 --> 00:17:37,475

And I, you know, I was this kid

from North Carolina, one year

321

00:17:37,475 --> 00:17:38,675

younger than everybody else.

322

00:17:38,675 --> 00:17:42,895

I was a social misfit, uh, and that's.

323

00:17:43,290 --> 00:17:45,929

Part of how I became a teenage alcoholic.

324

00:17:45,929 --> 00:17:46,850

I was trying to fit in.

325

00:17:46,919 --> 00:17:49,840

Marc Preston: What were you up

to when you were back as a teen?

326

00:17:49,850 --> 00:17:52,040

Were you, uh, you know, when

you were in school, where

327

00:17:52,040 --> 00:17:53,490

you did, did you play sports?

328

00:17:53,490 --> 00:17:56,439

Was that part of your

ecosystem or were you working?

329

00:17:56,439 --> 00:17:57,220

What were you up to?

330

00:17:57,459 --> 00:17:59,500

Jim Lampley: I was a hundred

percent certain that I was going

331

00:17:59,500 --> 00:18:01,919

to be a college level athlete.

332

00:18:01,980 --> 00:18:03,909

I was going to play sports in high school.

333

00:18:04,340 --> 00:18:10,950

Um, and I will never forget the Eighth

grade day at South Miami Junior High

334

00:18:10,950 --> 00:18:15,909

School, when I learned that I was

the slowest kid in Phys Ed, that

335

00:18:15,909 --> 00:18:21,105

I, that I could not run as fast as

Any of my phys ed classmates, and

336

00:18:21,125 --> 00:18:23,655

particularly not as fast as Ricky D.

337

00:18:23,655 --> 00:18:26,514

Frank, who ran the 50 yard dash and 6.

338

00:18:26,545 --> 00:18:27,514

2. I was like 8.

339

00:18:27,565 --> 00:18:29,135

1 or something like that.

340

00:18:29,375 --> 00:18:30,274

I was a sloth.

341

00:18:30,524 --> 00:18:34,914

So at that point I learned that the

only sport I would ever play with

342

00:18:34,915 --> 00:18:36,745

any competence whatsoever was golf.

343

00:18:37,325 --> 00:18:42,405

Uh, and I did wind up being number two

on the golf team, but, uh, but that

344

00:18:42,405 --> 00:18:46,004

was not exactly high prestige, uh, at.

345

00:18:46,655 --> 00:18:53,175

Southwest Miami High School, which was

a 3, 200 student motorcycle high school,

346

00:18:53,175 --> 00:18:59,925

uh, south of Coral Gables in a kind of

a tract house community where my mother

347

00:18:59,925 --> 00:19:02,885

would rent one crappy house after another.

348

00:19:04,029 --> 00:19:06,059

Pretty much a new house every two years.

349

00:19:06,450 --> 00:19:10,320

And, uh, and I was just

constantly desperate.

350

00:19:10,740 --> 00:19:12,219

Uh, can I get out of here?

351

00:19:12,219 --> 00:19:13,679

Can I get back to North Carolina?

352

00:19:13,710 --> 00:19:18,930

So getting into school in Chapel

Hill was a holy grail type objective.

353

00:19:19,210 --> 00:19:21,639

And for that, I studied for that.

354

00:19:21,700 --> 00:19:22,249

I did.

355

00:19:22,504 --> 00:19:24,125

homework in high school for that.

356

00:19:24,125 --> 00:19:28,655

I, you know, put myself out and made

sure that I was going to be able to get

357

00:19:28,665 --> 00:19:32,774

into a school out of state at Carolina,

which wasn't an easy thing to do.

358

00:19:33,254 --> 00:19:38,125

And then when I did do that and

arrived here in Chapel Hill as a 17

359

00:19:38,135 --> 00:19:44,365

year old freshman, my only real goal

was, okay, um, can I get a fake ID and

360

00:19:44,365 --> 00:19:46,034

drink in these bars, even though I'm

361

00:19:46,034 --> 00:19:47,235

Marc Preston: not 18 until April.

362

00:19:47,520 --> 00:19:51,020

You said you had a, uh, older brother,

but was, was that kind of the first time

363

00:19:51,020 --> 00:19:54,620

you'd ever kind of been on your, kind

of on your own, that college experience?

364

00:19:54,670 --> 00:19:57,380

Jim Lampley: Well, my brother, my older

brother and I were lifestyle different.

365

00:19:57,700 --> 00:19:59,390

He was also in Chapel Hill.

366

00:19:59,420 --> 00:20:01,630

He had also come to school here.

367

00:20:01,999 --> 00:20:11,710

Uh, and there was in 1966 when I

arrived, a Um, fairly active and safe

368

00:20:11,710 --> 00:20:13,870

enough gay community in Chapel Hill.

369

00:20:14,200 --> 00:20:15,750

So that was my brother.

370

00:20:15,860 --> 00:20:21,220

He, he was maybe the bravest

person I've ever known in my life.

371

00:20:21,230 --> 00:20:25,909

He came out at age 14 in

Henderson, North Carolina.

372

00:20:27,010 --> 00:20:34,230

So, you know, try to top that for

courage, uh, as a, A teenager and, but

373

00:20:34,230 --> 00:20:39,780

the result of that was that, um, my

only real interactions with my brother

374

00:20:40,110 --> 00:20:44,700

once I was here in Chapel Hill were

that every once in a while I would go

375

00:20:44,700 --> 00:20:48,780

to a party at his house or every once

in a while, he would take me to a bar

376

00:20:48,780 --> 00:20:51,180

called the Tempo Room because they had.

377

00:20:51,445 --> 00:20:54,275

The best roast beef sandwich

in all of North Carolina.

378

00:20:54,595 --> 00:21:00,575

The Tempo Room was the most famous gay

bar between Washington, D. C. and Atlanta.

379

00:21:00,575 --> 00:21:04,715

Uh, and, uh, and my brother

was, of course, a regular there.

380

00:21:05,125 --> 00:21:07,845

So, um, we didn't spend

that much time together.

381

00:21:07,845 --> 00:21:10,294

We didn't see that much

of, uh, each other.

382

00:21:10,294 --> 00:21:11,935

We had different backgrounds.

383

00:21:11,935 --> 00:21:14,075

The story here is that.

384

00:21:14,530 --> 00:21:17,710

Um, and I want to, don't want to get

too deep into details that you don't

385

00:21:17,720 --> 00:21:25,700

really need, but, um, my mother's first

husband was, uh, a highly decorated B

386

00:21:25,700 --> 00:21:29,710

29 pilot from, um, Berlin, Wisconsin.

387

00:21:30,455 --> 00:21:37,785

And, uh, he made it to Lieutenant Colonel

flying B 29s off of Saipan over Japan.

388

00:21:38,325 --> 00:21:44,385

Um, and when he came back at the end of

the war, the transport plane bringing

389

00:21:44,385 --> 00:21:48,955

him back from Saipan crashed into a

mountain in Brevard, North Carolina,

390

00:21:48,975 --> 00:21:54,635

18 miles away, 18 miles away from

where, from where his good friend.

391

00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:58,510

Jim Lampley was already

home in Hendersonville.

392

00:21:58,960 --> 00:22:05,190

The legend in my family, and it's

surely apocryphal, um, is that on the

393

00:22:05,190 --> 00:22:10,449

morning after that crash, my father

walked into his mother's kitchen in

394

00:22:10,500 --> 00:22:15,970

Hendersonville and Grandma Mid said,

Jim, there's a radio report of a

395

00:22:15,970 --> 00:22:19,250

transport plane crashing in Brevard.

396

00:22:19,270 --> 00:22:22,450

And my father said, Fred

Tricky's on that plane.

397

00:22:22,510 --> 00:22:26,680

Now the fact is there's no way he

could have known, uh, on what transport

398

00:22:26,680 --> 00:22:28,510

plane his buddy was coming back.

399

00:22:28,570 --> 00:22:32,160

That's, that's something that my

grandmother made up for the sake

400

00:22:32,160 --> 00:22:38,070

of embellishing the story, but he

did two days later, take a uniform.

401

00:22:38,794 --> 00:22:42,774

And some medals to Tampa for my

mother to bury so that she would

402

00:22:42,774 --> 00:22:44,655

have something to put into a casket.

403

00:22:45,215 --> 00:22:46,775

And they began seeing each other.

404

00:22:47,125 --> 00:22:50,484

Uh, that was late 1940s, early

405

00:22:50,485 --> 00:22:52,085

Marc Preston: 1930s.

406

00:22:52,085 --> 00:22:55,524

and your father, did they know each other

from, uh, being from North Carolina?

407

00:22:55,745 --> 00:22:56,384

They were wingmates.

408

00:22:56,805 --> 00:22:57,195

Okay.

409

00:22:59,935 --> 00:23:02,435

Jim Lampley: Jim Lampley was from

Hendersonville, North Carolina.

410

00:23:02,725 --> 00:23:05,324

But they were wingmates in

the same bomber squadron.

411

00:23:05,324 --> 00:23:05,705

I got you.

412

00:23:06,590 --> 00:23:10,540

So he ultimately wound up

marrying my mother in 1948.

413

00:23:11,259 --> 00:23:12,999

I was born in 1949.

414

00:23:13,429 --> 00:23:15,879

My father died of cancer in 1954.

415

00:23:16,139 --> 00:23:22,769

So by the time my mother's 35, she's

a double widow, um, to two dead.

416

00:23:23,199 --> 00:23:24,310

Air Force bomber pilot.

417

00:23:24,310 --> 00:23:28,249

She has one son by each of those two guys.

418

00:23:28,300 --> 00:23:34,710

The sons are personality very different

and she has to figure out how to, um,

419

00:23:34,760 --> 00:23:36,669

earn enough money to raise these two boys.

420

00:23:36,840 --> 00:23:41,159

So, um, her courage, perseverance.

421

00:23:41,895 --> 00:23:44,285

Tenacity, resourcefulness.

422

00:23:44,695 --> 00:23:46,044

Um, those are the

423

00:23:46,044 --> 00:23:47,725

Marc Preston: reasons

that I'm still here now.

424

00:23:47,814 --> 00:23:50,064

You know, having just you and your

brother, I mean, that had to have been

425

00:23:50,064 --> 00:23:53,635

sort of, um, uh, she's definitely doing

double duty, uh, as you're coming up.

426

00:23:53,844 --> 00:23:57,534

W were you cognizant of, of the

burden that maybe that wa was

427

00:23:57,534 --> 00:23:59,574

on her, uh, when you were young?

428

00:23:59,635 --> 00:24:03,375

Like, did you understand like, okay,

you know, double widow to you as a

429

00:24:03,375 --> 00:24:05,385

kid, she's old, but she's only 35.

430

00:24:05,775 --> 00:24:08,385

Were, uh, were, were you

kind of cognizant of the, the

431

00:24:08,385 --> 00:24:09,615

burden that she was navigating.

432

00:24:10,005 --> 00:24:10,385

Jim Lampley: Yes.

433

00:24:10,385 --> 00:24:15,254

I, I mean, I, I won't say

I was oblivious to it.

434

00:24:16,225 --> 00:24:17,425

Was I sympathetic?

435

00:24:18,445 --> 00:24:19,465

Not nearly enough.

436

00:24:19,735 --> 00:24:21,395

Not, not anywhere close.

437

00:24:21,774 --> 00:24:27,024

I later felt tremendous guilt,

uh, about the way that I treated

438

00:24:27,024 --> 00:24:33,959

her and the degree to which I, Um,

failed to observe and support, uh,

439

00:24:33,990 --> 00:24:36,399

how difficult all that was for her.

440

00:24:36,709 --> 00:24:39,179

Because of course I was about

my own objectives, right.

441

00:24:39,179 --> 00:24:43,119

And my own objectives were, you

know, I want to play golf today.

442

00:24:43,160 --> 00:24:47,280

Uh, I, I want to get hold of some beer.

443

00:24:47,330 --> 00:24:48,184

I, you know.

444

00:24:48,745 --> 00:24:53,835

A lot of my objectives created

problems for her, but, um, that was

445

00:24:53,835 --> 00:24:59,724

what she was there for, was to take

care of me and, uh, and to deal

446

00:24:59,724 --> 00:25:02,204

with whatever flack took place.

447

00:25:02,205 --> 00:25:05,924

And when I was in Hendersonville for

the summers, because I always left

448

00:25:06,315 --> 00:25:12,915

Miami the day after school was out,

um, all of the seven remaining years or

449

00:25:12,915 --> 00:25:17,255

eight remaining years of school after

I moved from Hendersonville to Miami.

450

00:25:17,255 --> 00:25:24,015

I always left, um, the day after school,

took the train to, uh, Columbia, South

451

00:25:24,015 --> 00:25:29,244

Carolina, where my grandfather, Pappy,

would, would drive down, pick me up, take

452

00:25:29,244 --> 00:25:33,860

me to Hendersonville, and spend the whole

summer in Hendersonville at my grandmother

453

00:25:33,860 --> 00:25:35,790

and granddad's house being spoiled.

454

00:25:36,330 --> 00:25:41,430

And, uh, and that created more

problems for mom, uh, because

455

00:25:41,870 --> 00:25:46,090

everything in Hendersonville

was about catering to Jimbo.

456

00:25:46,220 --> 00:25:50,929

Everything in Miami was about how

do we get through the week and do

457

00:25:50,929 --> 00:25:53,909

we have enough money for dinner,

Friday night and stuff like that.

458

00:25:54,090 --> 00:25:54,921

It was rough.

459

00:25:54,921 --> 00:25:55,752

Marc Preston: I mean, she

460

00:25:55,752 --> 00:25:56,540

Jim Lampley: had a very rough

461

00:25:56,540 --> 00:25:57,139

Marc Preston: existence.

462

00:25:57,459 --> 00:25:57,649

Yeah.

463

00:25:57,649 --> 00:25:58,750

I can only imagine.

464

00:25:58,810 --> 00:26:02,050

I mean, and especially about when you're

a teenager, you're you're, I don't think

465

00:26:02,050 --> 00:26:07,019

you're your empathy muscles nearly as

flexed as, or nearly, nearly as limber

466

00:26:07,019 --> 00:26:08,730

as it is as you get a little bit older.

467

00:26:08,790 --> 00:26:09,139

There was

468

00:26:09,139 --> 00:26:12,889

Jim Lampley: a single turning point

that, I mean, it's graphic, a single

469

00:26:12,909 --> 00:26:18,745

turning point that kind of, um,

reversed that and lit the flame for me.

470

00:26:19,295 --> 00:26:28,204

And, uh, and that was when we were moving

for about the fifth time in Miami from

471

00:26:28,704 --> 00:26:34,534

one crappy rented tract house to another

slightly lesser crappy rented tract

472

00:26:34,534 --> 00:26:37,145

house which would rent for slightly less.

473

00:26:37,145 --> 00:26:41,535

And this time, uh, it

was on the second floor.

474

00:26:41,925 --> 00:26:46,475

of a, an apartment, uh, building

that looked like a motel.

475

00:26:46,795 --> 00:26:51,385

And, um, she was a, a bit of a pack rat.

476

00:26:51,815 --> 00:26:56,405

And she had all of the memorabilia

related to her two husbands

477

00:26:56,764 --> 00:26:59,155

packed into cardboard boxes.

478

00:26:59,174 --> 00:27:03,870

And I was the person who always had

to lift and carry and move and deal

479

00:27:03,870 --> 00:27:07,870

with the cardboard boxes when we

would move sometimes once a year.

480

00:27:08,030 --> 00:27:11,719

Sometimes we would stay at a place for

two years, never more than two years.

481

00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:14,080

So it was a hundred degree day in Miami.

482

00:27:14,120 --> 00:27:14,900

We were moving.

483

00:27:15,410 --> 00:27:18,630

Uh, I was lifting the cardboard

boxes and hauling them.

484

00:27:18,985 --> 00:27:25,415

up the stairs into the second floor of

this place, new experience, uh, and at

485

00:27:25,415 --> 00:27:31,775

one point I got angry and I turned around

and I yelled at her and I said, you know,

486

00:27:32,754 --> 00:27:34,895

I'm the one who always has to do this.

487

00:27:34,975 --> 00:27:35,525

Damn it.

488

00:27:36,094 --> 00:27:39,415

Why do we never get rid of

anything in these boxes?

489

00:27:39,785 --> 00:27:44,545

And my mother looked at me and

said, because other women, my age.

490

00:27:45,034 --> 00:27:51,875

have husbands who work to support

them and I have what's in those

491

00:27:51,895 --> 00:27:55,154

boxes and that was graphic.

492

00:27:55,774 --> 00:27:56,225

I got it.

493

00:27:57,004 --> 00:27:57,654

I understood.

494

00:27:58,014 --> 00:28:03,674

So, um, she couldn't have elicited that

kind of sympathy without confronting me.

495

00:28:04,104 --> 00:28:05,339

She did confront me.

496

00:28:05,610 --> 00:28:11,320

She confronted me the right way and, um,

I was considerably more supportive and

497

00:28:11,320 --> 00:28:17,360

helpful and thoughtful to her, uh, in

the years we spent in Miami, a couple

498

00:28:17,360 --> 00:28:19,349

more years before I went to college.

499

00:28:26,969 --> 00:28:29,149

Marc Preston: There's right around

your junior high years, I guess.

500

00:28:29,159 --> 00:28:32,999

And that's, that's, that's such a

rough, weird time for every kid anyway.

501

00:28:33,040 --> 00:28:33,889

And anything

502

00:28:34,219 --> 00:28:37,379

Jim Lampley: early when you're one year

younger than everybody else in the class

503

00:28:37,699 --> 00:28:42,189

and you wanted to be an athlete and you

are the slowest guy in the foot races.

504

00:28:42,219 --> 00:28:45,850

I mean, it's, and you,

and you have memorized.

505

00:28:46,585 --> 00:28:53,205

The phone numbers for several of the

very attractive girls in the class and

506

00:28:53,295 --> 00:29:00,145

every night you sit in your, um, den

trying to do homework and thinking of

507

00:29:00,145 --> 00:29:03,844

calling one of these girls to ask for

a date, but you never have the courage

508

00:29:03,845 --> 00:29:06,954

to actually do that because you're

when you're younger than they are.

509

00:29:07,174 --> 00:29:08,984

So it was yes.

510

00:29:09,740 --> 00:29:12,190

It was a terrible kind of purgatory

511

00:29:12,190 --> 00:29:14,670

Marc Preston: that I was living

through during that period of time.

512

00:29:15,010 --> 00:29:18,490

I'm getting flashbacks of my own

seventh grade years actually, roughly.

513

00:29:18,820 --> 00:29:22,170

Um, but you know, post grad,

like what, what was, you know,

514

00:29:22,170 --> 00:29:23,429

where was the trajectory?

515

00:29:23,440 --> 00:29:27,189

Like, uh, you know, you got your

grad degree to the RTVF program.

516

00:29:27,330 --> 00:29:29,120

Did you immediately jump into a job?

517

00:29:29,120 --> 00:29:30,020

Were you interning?

518

00:29:30,030 --> 00:29:31,890

How did, how did that manifest for you?

519

00:29:32,210 --> 00:29:34,070

Jim Lampley: Well, first I

finished undergraduate school

520

00:29:34,220 --> 00:29:37,220

and I finished undergraduate

school with a degree in English.

521

00:29:37,590 --> 00:29:42,390

I, uh, I finished in a summer

session, uh, which was pretty

522

00:29:42,390 --> 00:29:43,890

typical for me at that time.

523

00:29:43,890 --> 00:29:49,509

I think I wound up graduating

with, uh, three fall semesters.

524

00:29:49,890 --> 00:29:55,225

Um, Four spring semesters and seven

summer sessions or something like that.

525

00:29:55,225 --> 00:29:59,655

It was, it was a ridiculous

polyglot, but I, when I graduated,

526

00:29:59,655 --> 00:30:04,405

I wound up going to, um, it was

early fall, the beginning of fall.

527

00:30:04,845 --> 00:30:11,970

I went to a, uh, post football game party

at, Somebody's house here in Chapel Hill.

528

00:30:12,360 --> 00:30:18,630

And at that party, I met my congressman's

wife, a woman named Louise Galifianakis,

529

00:30:18,639 --> 00:30:23,280

whose husband, Nick Galifianakis, was

a three term congressman, uh, from

530

00:30:23,290 --> 00:30:26,069

Durham, and a professor at the Duke

531

00:30:26,100 --> 00:30:26,470

Marc Preston: Business School.

532

00:30:27,129 --> 00:30:30,830

And when I met him That's, uh, Zach

Galifianakis, the actor's father, right?

533

00:30:31,210 --> 00:30:31,580

Uncle.

534

00:30:31,580 --> 00:30:31,970

Okay.

535

00:30:32,570 --> 00:30:35,720

Cause I knew, I knew he had some

connection to that part of the country.

536

00:30:35,720 --> 00:30:36,880

Uh, that's where he was from.

537

00:30:36,880 --> 00:30:37,520

So, okay.

538

00:30:37,600 --> 00:30:37,730

Jim Lampley: Yeah.

539

00:30:37,860 --> 00:30:41,890

He's from Mount Airy, North Carolina

and, um, Nick and Louise lived

540

00:30:41,890 --> 00:30:44,720

in Durham and Nick was his uncle.

541

00:30:44,760 --> 00:30:50,750

And, um, at this party I met

Louise and we were talking and she

542

00:30:50,750 --> 00:30:52,540

says, so you've just graduated.

543

00:30:52,540 --> 00:30:53,090

I said, yes.

544

00:30:53,100 --> 00:30:55,170

She said, so what are you going to do?

545

00:30:55,370 --> 00:30:56,660

I said, I, I don't know.

546

00:30:56,790 --> 00:30:58,180

I really don't have any idea.

547

00:30:58,529 --> 00:31:00,700

She said, your Degrees in English.

548

00:31:00,700 --> 00:31:01,450

I said, yes.

549

00:31:01,820 --> 00:31:02,860

She said, can you write?

550

00:31:03,130 --> 00:31:04,000

I said, yes.

551

00:31:04,290 --> 00:31:08,870

She said, show up at our campaign office

at such and such a hotel in Raleigh,

552

00:31:08,870 --> 00:31:10,830

the Sir Walter Raleigh Hotel in Raleigh.

553

00:31:11,180 --> 00:31:13,810

Monday morning, you will have a job.

554

00:31:14,050 --> 00:31:19,160

I became assistant press secretary for

the Galifianakis for Senate campaign.

555

00:31:19,260 --> 00:31:20,560

That was fall of 71.

556

00:31:20,920 --> 00:31:24,470

He was running for the

United States Senate in 1972.

557

00:31:24,745 --> 00:31:30,725

We unseated an incumbent senator named B.

Everett Jordan in the Democratic primary.

558

00:31:30,735 --> 00:31:34,825

It was the first time that an

incumbent Democratic senator had

559

00:31:34,825 --> 00:31:39,705

been unseated in a primary in

the South in more than 100 years.

560

00:31:40,084 --> 00:31:43,505

Since the Civil War era, it was

a phenomenal accomplishment.

561

00:31:43,955 --> 00:31:48,185

I thought that we would win the

general election against Jesse Helms,

562

00:31:48,225 --> 00:31:53,335

a television editorialist, and we

lost to Jesse Helms, and that became

563

00:31:53,935 --> 00:31:56,215

the next giant heartbreak of my life.

564

00:31:56,245 --> 00:32:02,624

But I gained tremendous and valuable

experience, uh, as, uh, a campaign

565

00:32:02,625 --> 00:32:04,695

press secretary for Nick Galifianakis.

566

00:32:05,045 --> 00:32:10,250

And at the same time, I had bumped

into someone on campus who said, you

567

00:32:10,250 --> 00:32:13,660

know, you know a lot about sports

and you really talk well about

568

00:32:13,660 --> 00:32:18,109

sports and I'm doing the pregame and

postgame shows for the University

569

00:32:18,109 --> 00:32:20,359

of North Carolina radio network.

570

00:32:20,979 --> 00:32:26,299

Why don't you come and be the person who

does the field interviews, because I sit

571

00:32:26,300 --> 00:32:29,280

in the press box so if you will take a.

572

00:32:29,650 --> 00:32:34,460

portable tape player and go interview

coaches and players after the game.

573

00:32:34,780 --> 00:32:37,750

Uh, then you can be on the radio.

574

00:32:38,160 --> 00:32:44,030

So I did that and, and now I had two

very good credentials going forward.

575

00:32:44,520 --> 00:32:50,520

And eventually I. Uh, decided that I

should go to graduate school and that's

576

00:32:50,520 --> 00:32:54,640

when I, uh, went to interview with

the radio, television, motion pictures

577

00:32:54,640 --> 00:33:00,790

department, uh, Dean and got into the

graduate program at the radio, television,

578

00:33:00,790 --> 00:33:05,520

motion pictures department and began

studying for a master's degree in radio,

579

00:33:05,520 --> 00:33:10,370

television and motion pictures, which

I never got because when I finished

580

00:33:10,370 --> 00:33:16,550

it, The classroom work for that, I

had been recommended by that faculty

581

00:33:16,560 --> 00:33:24,479

member, that chairman, for a once in

a lifetime, uh, strange opportunity.

582

00:33:24,930 --> 00:33:29,809

ABC Sports was interviewing

around the country.

583

00:33:29,820 --> 00:33:34,920

They wound up interviewing 432 college

age or close to college age students

584

00:33:35,390 --> 00:33:41,560

to find Someone to fill the role of

the quote, college age reporter, the

585

00:33:41,560 --> 00:33:46,469

first person who would ever stand

on the sidelines of the camera.

586

00:33:46,529 --> 00:33:52,240

I mean, uh, with a camera and

microphone at football games to do a

587

00:33:52,240 --> 00:33:57,310

role, which is now perfunctory, which

is now an institution and a part of.

588

00:33:57,695 --> 00:34:03,075

Uh, all college football broadcasts,

but which had never been done before

589

00:34:03,115 --> 00:34:08,785

I did it, along with a Stanford

graduate named Don Tollefson in 1974.

590

00:34:09,015 --> 00:34:16,505

And I was chosen, I was the person

chosen from the 432 person, um, talent

591

00:34:16,514 --> 00:34:18,425

hunt for the College Age Report.

592

00:34:18,740 --> 00:34:21,730

Now it's something for which

they hire people who already have

593

00:34:21,730 --> 00:34:24,070

experience and have done broadcasting.

594

00:34:24,080 --> 00:34:26,350

And in fact, quite a

lot of them are women.

595

00:34:26,350 --> 00:34:31,380

And I remember telling, um, the producer

of the College Football Telecast toward

596

00:34:31,380 --> 00:34:35,549

the end of that first season in 1974, what

you're ultimately going to do with this

597

00:34:35,549 --> 00:34:40,385

role is to fill it with women, because

that will give your director who was

598

00:34:40,395 --> 00:34:42,215

obsessed with attractive young women.

599

00:34:42,515 --> 00:34:47,295

Another chance to, uh, photograph

attractive young women on the telecast.

600

00:34:47,575 --> 00:34:50,915

And if you note most of the

sideline reporters now, whether

601

00:34:50,915 --> 00:34:54,544

pro or college football or

basketball or whatever are women.

602

00:34:54,675 --> 00:34:58,544

Marc Preston: So were you, were you

taking a big bite out of this experience?

603

00:34:58,544 --> 00:35:03,065

Uh, when you're, uh, uh, when you were in

school and, and immediately thereafter,

604

00:35:03,065 --> 00:35:04,765

I mean, were you like TV that's.

605

00:35:05,295 --> 00:35:06,175

That's what I'm doing.

606

00:35:06,265 --> 00:35:09,105

Or the path you're going to take was

still a little bit up in the air for you.

607

00:35:09,575 --> 00:35:13,405

Jim Lampley: So my first job was in

radio and I was on the University

608

00:35:13,405 --> 00:35:16,225

of North Carolina football

and basketball radio networks.

609

00:35:16,274 --> 00:35:20,644

So it wasn't just, I was, I was

on the local station, WCHL, but

610

00:35:20,644 --> 00:35:22,085

it wasn't just the local station.

611

00:35:22,965 --> 00:35:28,765

I was on the network because the guy

who owned and ran the local station

612

00:35:29,225 --> 00:35:35,145

saw and believed that I had the

talent to do bigger things, but I

613

00:35:35,145 --> 00:35:39,405

will never forget we're in the car on

the road going to a basketball game

614

00:35:39,445 --> 00:35:44,535

one night, and we were just chatting

about the business, and he was a.

615

00:35:45,405 --> 00:35:50,615

very decorated and esteemed broadcast

manager type here in North Carolina.

616

00:35:51,255 --> 00:35:54,865

And I remember him saying to me,

by the way, he still lives here.

617

00:35:54,875 --> 00:35:55,695

He's a neighbor of mine.

618

00:35:56,174 --> 00:35:59,854

I remember him saying to me, you

know, Jim, you're really good

619

00:36:00,015 --> 00:36:01,705

at all of this on air stuff.

620

00:36:01,870 --> 00:36:06,860

You, you have it, you have the right

kind of gift, but the fact of the matter

621

00:36:06,860 --> 00:36:12,619

is, if you fall in love with being on

the air and decide that that's your

622

00:36:12,620 --> 00:36:17,479

goal and that's your vocation, you could

very easily wind up carrying equipment

623

00:36:17,520 --> 00:36:19,940

in New Bern when you're 46 years old.

624

00:36:20,330 --> 00:36:24,640

Now, I had seen New Bern during

the political campaign, 46 sounded

625

00:36:24,640 --> 00:36:27,740

like a million to me, uh, and

he said, what you really want

626

00:36:27,740 --> 00:36:30,329

to do is to get into management.

627

00:36:30,800 --> 00:36:36,640

Uh, start out in sales, prove yourself

in radio sales, get into management,

628

00:36:36,850 --> 00:36:41,659

eventually you'll become a station

manager, then you can wind up like me

629

00:36:41,659 --> 00:36:43,470

and have a chain of them, etc, etc.

630

00:36:43,760 --> 00:36:46,180

That's the way to make

money in broadcasting.

631

00:36:46,180 --> 00:36:49,970

The whole thing of trying to become

a star on the air, you think you

632

00:36:49,970 --> 00:36:53,600

want to be Walter Cronkite or Keith

Jackson or one of those people,

633

00:36:53,790 --> 00:36:55,290

that's a needle in a haystack.

634

00:36:55,590 --> 00:37:00,320

Uh, the smart thing is going to be To

follow the path I'm recommending to you.

635

00:37:00,740 --> 00:37:05,170

And, and all I could think was, I

don't want to be carrying equipment

636

00:37:05,170 --> 00:37:11,229

in New Bern when I'm 46, but I also

don't think I am a radio salesperson.

637

00:37:11,610 --> 00:37:12,799

So what's going to happen here?

638

00:37:13,110 --> 00:37:16,500

And what happened was

not something I control.

639

00:37:16,590 --> 00:37:21,390

What happened was that, have you seen the

movie in November 5, November 5, you say?

640

00:37:21,865 --> 00:37:29,955

November 5 is the movie about ABC

Sports response and ABC News response

641

00:37:30,285 --> 00:37:37,104

to the kidnapping and captivity of the

nine or ten, I think it's ten Israeli

642

00:37:37,425 --> 00:37:40,714

athletes at Munich in 1972, okay?

643

00:37:41,105 --> 00:37:46,805

During that captivity, Two ABC reporters,

Peter Jennings from the news side,

644

00:37:47,405 --> 00:37:51,775

Howard Cosell, of course, from the

sports side, pushing the control room.

645

00:37:52,045 --> 00:37:53,215

How can we get closer?

646

00:37:53,324 --> 00:37:55,024

How can we get greater access?

647

00:37:55,195 --> 00:38:01,054

How can we get pictures from inside

the Olympic Village, etc., etc.?

648

00:38:01,764 --> 00:38:07,065

And through that process of dealing with

Jennings and Cosell, the sports division

649

00:38:07,065 --> 00:38:13,430

learned that radio frequency, wireless,

Cameras and microphones would do things

650

00:38:13,430 --> 00:38:15,020

that they didn't know that they would do.

651

00:38:15,390 --> 00:38:19,519

They learned that the signal would go

over concrete and metal barriers, or

652

00:38:19,520 --> 00:38:21,609

around concrete and metal barriers.

653

00:38:21,640 --> 00:38:25,630

They learned that they had far more

flexibility with those kinds of

654

00:38:25,630 --> 00:38:27,630

equipment than they thought they had had.

655

00:38:28,099 --> 00:38:32,280

And so when the whole thing was over

and the Olympics were done, Network

656

00:38:32,300 --> 00:38:35,900

came back to New York and there was

a meeting among sports executives,

657

00:38:35,960 --> 00:38:41,140

news executives, and engineering

executives to try to figure out What

658

00:38:41,140 --> 00:38:44,360

is it we can do now that we know this?

659

00:38:44,560 --> 00:38:48,740

And one of the first ideas that came

up was, we could put a reporter on

660

00:38:48,740 --> 00:38:50,470

the sidelines of a football game.

661

00:38:51,000 --> 00:38:53,839

Now, they knew from the beginning

that it wouldn't be the sidelines

662

00:38:53,839 --> 00:38:58,749

of an NFL game, because the NFL

was more structured and restricted.

663

00:38:58,769 --> 00:39:00,840

They wouldn't allow that.

664

00:39:01,210 --> 00:39:06,540

But through the vehicle of, um,

the Chevrolet Motor Company and

665

00:39:06,630 --> 00:39:11,430

an advertising agency named Dancer

Fitzgerald Sample, ABC Sports,

666

00:39:11,735 --> 00:39:13,625

practically owned college football.

667

00:39:14,065 --> 00:39:17,005

If they wanted to put a reporter

on the sidelines of college

668

00:39:17,015 --> 00:39:20,445

football, they could go to the NCAA

and say, we're going to do this.

669

00:39:20,664 --> 00:39:24,564

And nobody was going to say

no, because ABC was the goose

670

00:39:24,565 --> 00:39:25,655

that laid the golden egg.

671

00:39:26,345 --> 00:39:32,565

So that's how people first showed up on

the sidelines of college football games.

672

00:39:32,565 --> 00:39:34,275

And Don Tollefson and I.

673

00:39:34,495 --> 00:39:40,825

were the first two after we won, quote

unquote, the, the, uh, talent hunt.

674

00:39:41,225 --> 00:39:46,385

Um, and by the way, I was,

I was 25, not 18 to 22.

675

00:39:46,785 --> 00:39:49,945

There were other ways in which I

didn't fit their original description.

676

00:39:50,305 --> 00:39:51,225

I was.

677

00:39:51,450 --> 00:39:56,730

Um, weeded out of the talent hunt

pretty much from the beginning.

678

00:39:57,030 --> 00:40:01,060

I was not somebody they were considering

as they got toward the end of it.

679

00:40:01,410 --> 00:40:07,569

It was late summer 1974, Rune

Arledge, the legendary president of

680

00:40:07,580 --> 00:40:11,820

ABC Sports, was considering what had

happened in the process, and Arledge

681

00:40:11,830 --> 00:40:15,900

said to his assistant, Dick Ebersole

who ran the talent hunt said, is

682

00:40:15,900 --> 00:40:20,350

there anybody we've spoken to who

actually has held a microphone and

683

00:40:20,560 --> 00:40:22,330

been in front of a camera and ever?

684

00:40:22,330 --> 00:40:26,630

So I said, yeah, there's, there's this

one guy from North Carolina who was kind

685

00:40:26,630 --> 00:40:30,460

of abrasive in the screening interview

and I didn't really get along with him.

686

00:40:30,489 --> 00:40:34,080

But, uh, yeah, he's got

a lot of experience.

687

00:40:34,150 --> 00:40:34,950

Arledge said.

688

00:40:35,265 --> 00:40:36,195

let me see him.

689

00:40:37,035 --> 00:40:42,965

So on August 8, 1974, I was at a beach

house in Swans Corner, North Carolina.

690

00:40:43,465 --> 00:40:44,885

Phone rang on the wall.

691

00:40:45,225 --> 00:40:49,805

To this day, I still don't know how

Ebersole got that phone number, but he

692

00:40:49,805 --> 00:40:54,204

called to tell me that Arledge wanted

to see me do an on camera audition.

693

00:40:54,285 --> 00:40:57,935

And they had already chosen the

subject for my on camera audition,

694

00:40:58,705 --> 00:41:01,745

an interview that I would go

and do in Birmingham, Alabama.

695

00:41:02,210 --> 00:41:06,930

with a down on his luck professional

quarterback named George Myra,

696

00:41:07,550 --> 00:41:13,950

who, uh, had been in the NFL,

uh, the CFL, the something else.

697

00:41:14,310 --> 00:41:16,669

And I was in the USFL.

698

00:41:16,700 --> 00:41:20,010

He was down, he was down to

his last shot as a quarterback.

699

00:41:20,239 --> 00:41:22,140

And Arledge saw that as a great story.

700

00:41:23,520 --> 00:41:25,950

And I was being sent to

Birmingham to interview him.

701

00:41:26,590 --> 00:41:30,080

Well, whatever soul didn't know

when he called to tell me that what

702

00:41:30,090 --> 00:41:35,299

nobody in New York knew was that

having grown up in Miami, I had

703

00:41:35,299 --> 00:41:39,450

season tickets to watch George Myra

play for Miami in the orange bowl.

704

00:41:39,530 --> 00:41:43,749

My mother had bought those

and Myra was one of my giant

705

00:41:43,750 --> 00:41:45,620

childhood and teenage years.

706

00:41:45,620 --> 00:41:46,400

He really, okay.

707

00:41:46,400 --> 00:41:47,000

And I still have,

708

00:41:47,350 --> 00:41:50,620

Marc Preston: so you already, I see you

already had all the prep already done.

709

00:41:50,760 --> 00:41:51,030

Yeah.

710

00:41:51,390 --> 00:41:52,140

Jim Lampley: Do any research.

711

00:41:52,640 --> 00:41:57,490

I already had a number 10 George

Myra jersey in my closet in Chapel

712

00:41:57,490 --> 00:42:02,849

Hill the day that Ebersole called me

to, to tell me that they wanted me

713

00:42:03,030 --> 00:42:05,760

to go do this particular interview.

714

00:42:06,079 --> 00:42:09,599

So they're all could see whether I

should be the college age report.

715

00:42:10,010 --> 00:42:14,100

And when I hung up the phone, my

wife, Linda, and the two other

716

00:42:14,100 --> 00:42:17,650

people with whom we were traveling,

looked at me and said, What was that?

717

00:42:17,860 --> 00:42:20,710

And I said, I'm going to be

the college age reporter.

718

00:42:21,170 --> 00:42:21,790

They said, really?

719

00:42:21,830 --> 00:42:23,380

He told you that they've chosen you?

720

00:42:23,500 --> 00:42:27,870

I said, no, they're reopening the

process because they want to look at me.

721

00:42:28,170 --> 00:42:33,049

But the universe has already

decided, uh, and I'm going to

722

00:42:33,049 --> 00:42:34,410

be the college age reporter.

723

00:42:34,580 --> 00:42:35,484

How do you know that?

724

00:42:35,905 --> 00:42:39,425

And I looked at my wife and said, they're

sending me to interview George Myra.

725

00:42:39,575 --> 00:42:41,155

Oh, wow.

726

00:42:41,325 --> 00:42:42,075

That's stunning.

727

00:42:42,395 --> 00:42:44,865

So yeah, that's how, that's how my

728

00:42:44,865 --> 00:42:46,344

Marc Preston: network

television career began.

729

00:42:46,685 --> 00:42:51,924

I remember speaking with Lee

Steinberg, a sports agent, a TV and

730

00:42:51,925 --> 00:42:53,785

its integration into sports really.

731

00:42:54,050 --> 00:42:58,850

reshapes sports like, uh, to, to

some not reshaped it, but it, it

732

00:42:58,850 --> 00:43:00,470

definitely was, is a big factor.

733

00:43:00,470 --> 00:43:02,980

Like you saying, you know, ABC

said we want to sideline reporters.

734

00:43:02,990 --> 00:43:07,060

Now that you just expect at least one

or two, you know, on the sidelines.

735

00:43:07,080 --> 00:43:08,120

Jim Lampley: It's a convention.

736

00:43:08,120 --> 00:43:13,800

Yes, it is a convention and, and

it's, and it's a key pathway for, uh,

737

00:43:13,840 --> 00:43:18,170

people who want to get into the on

camera part of the business early.

738

00:43:18,585 --> 00:43:22,845

Used to be, in the old days, you didn't

get on camera at a network until you

739

00:43:22,845 --> 00:43:28,285

had spent 15, 20, 25 years doing it at

local stations and working your way up.

740

00:43:28,704 --> 00:43:29,164

I didn't have

741

00:43:29,164 --> 00:43:29,495

Marc Preston: to do that.

742

00:43:29,715 --> 00:43:32,175

Growing up, I remember seeing

people, now I had this big

743

00:43:32,175 --> 00:43:33,845

affection for television news.

744

00:43:34,105 --> 00:43:36,544

There would be people come

through, I remember WFAA, and

745

00:43:36,544 --> 00:43:37,955

then they'd go off the network.

746

00:43:38,095 --> 00:43:40,915

Dallas was kind of one of those places

where people would come through.

747

00:43:41,295 --> 00:43:42,805

I thought that was a cool thing as a kid.

748

00:43:42,845 --> 00:43:45,425

Cause I, for whatever reason, I

was dialed in a, you know, how

749

00:43:45,425 --> 00:43:46,815

the sausage is made as it were.

750

00:43:46,815 --> 00:43:47,885

It was always interesting to me.

751

00:43:47,895 --> 00:43:49,164

How does this all come together?

752

00:43:49,194 --> 00:43:51,154

Then I saw how much

work TV folks had to do.

753

00:43:51,154 --> 00:43:52,635

I was like, nah, I'm

gonna stick with radio.

754

00:43:53,184 --> 00:43:55,045

No, it's, it's a lot,

it's a lot more work.

755

00:43:55,665 --> 00:43:55,995

You know,

756

00:43:56,055 --> 00:43:59,885

Jim Lampley: again, you could wind up

carrying equipment, new burn, uh, at age

757

00:43:59,895 --> 00:44:03,325

46, because you are judged subjectively.

758

00:44:03,904 --> 00:44:07,225

Eventually you get to a point where

you might be judged objectively,

759

00:44:07,515 --> 00:44:11,064

particularly if you are a local

news anchor in a major Marcet.

760

00:44:11,285 --> 00:44:15,275

And I eventually had that

experience too, long way down the

761

00:44:15,275 --> 00:44:17,585

road from, uh, from where we are.

762

00:44:17,855 --> 00:44:20,925

But, um, sportscasters.

763

00:44:21,590 --> 00:44:26,470

aren't judged according to the ratings of

the sports events that they're televising.

764

00:44:27,250 --> 00:44:30,400

The events themselves are evaluated

according to the ratings, but

765

00:44:30,400 --> 00:44:33,970

the sportscasters aren't seen as

having anything to do with that.

766

00:44:34,179 --> 00:44:36,630

So it's just a matter of, are you good?

767

00:44:36,879 --> 00:44:39,939

Do you satisfy the audience

with your storytelling?

768

00:44:39,939 --> 00:44:44,300

Do you satisfy The executives at

the station or network with the,

769

00:44:44,330 --> 00:44:49,360

your storytelling and those are

subjective, not objective criteria.

770

00:44:49,380 --> 00:44:49,670

Marc Preston: Yep.

771

00:44:49,750 --> 00:44:50,000

Yep.

772

00:44:50,280 --> 00:44:54,120

I mean, in looking at your career,

was it a pretty quick jump?

773

00:44:54,190 --> 00:44:55,360

Like we're talking about local news.

774

00:44:55,360 --> 00:44:58,200

Did you do that for a while and

then get into the network thing?

775

00:44:58,210 --> 00:45:01,490

Or did you find yourself in the network

side of things relatively quickly?

776

00:45:01,670 --> 00:45:04,440

Jim Lampley: So I become the

777

00:45:05,090 --> 00:45:07,670

and I'm working for ABC Sports.

778

00:45:07,750 --> 00:45:13,150

onward as a network person.

779

00:45:13,800 --> 00:45:17,289

The original idea of the College Age

Reporter is that you would do one year and

780

00:45:17,290 --> 00:45:20,740

then they would go out and find somebody

else and there would be another one the

781

00:45:20,740 --> 00:45:22,309

second year, another one the third year.

782

00:45:22,779 --> 00:45:28,540

But of course, That idea went the way of

all flesh because the whole talent hunt

783

00:45:28,590 --> 00:45:33,610

and recruiting process was ungainly.

784

00:45:33,640 --> 00:45:40,700

And once Arledge saw me, uh, on the

air, he basically said, okay, that's it.

785

00:45:40,799 --> 00:45:42,349

That's, that's what we were looking for.

786

00:45:42,350 --> 00:45:43,149

That's what we wanted.

787

00:45:43,629 --> 00:45:48,375

So, To my great discomfort and

chagrin, I was angry about it.

788

00:45:48,375 --> 00:45:48,835

Really.

789

00:45:49,205 --> 00:45:52,905

I was made to do the sidelines of

college football for three years.

790

00:45:53,335 --> 00:45:58,264

But, um, the whole time my mentor at

the network, a head of production named

791

00:45:58,264 --> 00:46:02,854

Chuck Howard told me, don't worry, we're

going to find other things to do for

792

00:46:02,855 --> 00:46:08,115

you and with you in the months between

college football and, you know, end of

793

00:46:08,115 --> 00:46:09,675

season, beginning of season, et cetera.

794

00:46:09,735 --> 00:46:10,845

Marc Preston: Plus at

that age, you're, you're.

795

00:46:11,365 --> 00:46:14,025

Hardwired to be the most

impatient person on the planet.

796

00:46:14,055 --> 00:46:15,285

You want it right now?

797

00:46:16,985 --> 00:46:20,465

Jim Lampley: And they had wide world

of sports and wide world of sports was

798

00:46:20,465 --> 00:46:24,765

a weekly, you know, telecast sometimes

both days, Saturdays and Sundays.

799

00:46:25,135 --> 00:46:30,905

And it had all of those, um,

arcane folklore type events,

800

00:46:30,994 --> 00:46:34,984

the lumberjacks wrist wrestling,

the, you know, motorcycles on

801

00:46:35,015 --> 00:46:38,324

ice, the New York state fireman's

competition, et cetera, et cetera.

802

00:46:38,664 --> 00:46:40,674

None of the other announcers on the stack.

803

00:46:41,030 --> 00:46:46,420

Wanted to go back to do those

events again, most everybody

804

00:46:46,660 --> 00:46:48,690

had done them once, right?

805

00:46:49,060 --> 00:46:54,019

So I became the guinea pig who had to

go do the wrist wrestling four times

806

00:46:54,019 --> 00:46:57,929

and the lumber jacks four times and

New York state fireman's competition

807

00:46:57,929 --> 00:46:59,169

four times, et cetera, et cetera.

808

00:46:59,179 --> 00:47:04,579

That was my apprenticeship was

week after week, crazy wide worlds.

809

00:47:04,679 --> 00:47:06,799

Uh, and then eventually.

810

00:47:07,925 --> 00:47:13,455

After several years of that, along

came the ultra endurance culture.

811

00:47:13,775 --> 00:47:18,095

Ultra endurance didn't exist when I

first started doing Wide World in 74.

812

00:47:18,554 --> 00:47:25,515

Uh, it wasn't until we first noticed

a thing called the Ironman triathlon.

813

00:47:25,735 --> 00:47:30,035

And then a thing called the race across

America, which was a nonstop bicycle

814

00:47:30,035 --> 00:47:34,204

race from the coast of California

to the Empire State Building.

815

00:47:34,205 --> 00:47:37,835

And, and I wound up being

the person to go do those.

816

00:47:38,005 --> 00:47:38,445

Why?

817

00:47:39,205 --> 00:47:41,445

I was still in my 20s or early 30s.

818

00:47:41,755 --> 00:47:44,584

And all the other announcers

were in their 50s or 60s.

819

00:47:44,895 --> 00:47:48,265

They didn't want to go out on the

road and watch bicyclists pedal

820

00:47:48,265 --> 00:47:49,555

all the way across the country.

821

00:47:49,965 --> 00:47:53,135

So, so I wound up doing those things.

822

00:47:53,175 --> 00:47:58,935

And, um, and eventually I had a very

broad, uh, apprenticeship at ABC Sports.

823

00:47:58,935 --> 00:48:04,080

And oh, by the way, Um, first

year of sidelines is 74.

824

00:48:04,080 --> 00:48:06,730

First year of doing wide worlds is 75.

825

00:48:06,730 --> 00:48:11,539

Uh, Innsbruck Olympics,

winter Olympics in 1976.

826

00:48:11,890 --> 00:48:15,999

I was promised, uh, by the head of

production that I would be there.

827

00:48:15,999 --> 00:48:20,400

And I did go, that was the

first of what wound up being

828

00:48:20,700 --> 00:48:22,600

14 trips to the Olympic games.

829

00:48:22,660 --> 00:48:26,050

So, um, you know, it all germinated.

830

00:48:26,390 --> 00:48:30,630

from being the guinea pig on the

sidelines and then the guinea pig on

831

00:48:30,640 --> 00:48:36,830

wide world and, uh, having to prove

myself in a system where all the other

832

00:48:37,040 --> 00:48:41,319

senior more experienced, more, you

know, more broadly exposed announcers

833

00:48:41,319 --> 00:48:42,760

had already done all the stuff

834

00:48:43,070 --> 00:48:43,759

Marc Preston: that I was doing.

835

00:48:44,150 --> 00:48:47,850

But doing it at a high level early

on, you set a high bar for yourself.

836

00:48:47,850 --> 00:48:51,010

I'm assuming you already kind

of, you, you were already had a

837

00:48:51,010 --> 00:48:53,650

mentality of, uh, network mentality.

838

00:48:53,680 --> 00:48:56,209

You've done football, basketball, boxing.

839

00:48:56,210 --> 00:49:00,119

Of course, when you started going,

okay, I'm going to do this thing.

840

00:49:00,139 --> 00:49:02,270

This is what I would really like to cover.

841

00:49:02,309 --> 00:49:03,749

This is where my jam is.

842

00:49:03,809 --> 00:49:05,419

Or we just like throw me everywhere.

843

00:49:05,419 --> 00:49:05,869

I don't care.

844

00:49:06,199 --> 00:49:07,580

You know, what was that for you?

845

00:49:08,060 --> 00:49:13,190

Jim Lampley: So, my colleagues at

ABC Sports at the beginning, the

846

00:49:13,190 --> 00:49:19,290

people with whom I was working in

competition for spots on the production

847

00:49:19,290 --> 00:49:22,720

schedule, were all legendary figures.

848

00:49:23,230 --> 00:49:29,179

Howard Cosell, Jim McKay, Bill

Fleming, Frank Gifford, you know, I

849

00:49:29,200 --> 00:49:31,870

could go on, but you get the point.

850

00:49:32,100 --> 00:49:37,790

These were all people with, um, very

high identities, broad exposure.

851

00:49:38,300 --> 00:49:44,050

Um, dossiers that were going to put

them in hall of fame type situations.

852

00:49:44,270 --> 00:49:47,580

I was, I stuck out like a sore thumb.

853

00:49:48,160 --> 00:49:52,730

I was, I was the kid on the sidelines

who was now the kid in the office

854

00:49:52,730 --> 00:49:57,200

building at 1336th Avenue and was

going out to do all, and they loved me.

855

00:49:57,860 --> 00:50:02,150

In a certain way, because my presence

there meant none of them would have

856

00:50:02,150 --> 00:50:05,530

to go back and do the rest of it,

or the barrel rolling, or the log

857

00:50:05,540 --> 00:50:09,110

jumping again, and again, and again,

I was done, I was there to do that.

858

00:50:09,480 --> 00:50:16,299

Um, but you know, they, there was

no welcome wagon, and eventually as

859

00:50:16,299 --> 00:50:20,720

I began to improve my assignments,

okay, so now I'm going to do the U.

860

00:50:20,720 --> 00:50:22,320

S. Track and Field Championships.

861

00:50:22,765 --> 00:50:23,785

McKay used to do that.

862

00:50:24,245 --> 00:50:28,525

Now I'm going to do the U. S. Long

Course Swimming Championships.

863

00:50:28,685 --> 00:50:30,055

Keith Jackson used to do that.

864

00:50:30,405 --> 00:50:37,004

Uh, and so as I moved along, they

had reason to begin to be less

865

00:50:37,025 --> 00:50:39,494

comfortable about my upward mobility.

866

00:50:39,494 --> 00:50:44,965

But my upward mobility was the product of

the fact that I could do this and, and I

867

00:50:44,965 --> 00:50:45,465

Marc Preston: could do it.

868

00:50:45,860 --> 00:50:48,940

Pretty well, was there anybody in

particular, you know, that you would

869

00:50:48,940 --> 00:50:54,500

kind of feel direct mentorship, you know,

have direct mentorship from them or feel

870

00:50:54,500 --> 00:50:58,969

like, you know, they were your North

star that was, it would be a stylistic

871

00:50:58,970 --> 00:51:01,270

or be at just trajectory of their career.

872

00:51:01,470 --> 00:51:04,359

Was there anybody you looked at and

like, that's the guy that's, that to me

873

00:51:04,359 --> 00:51:06,040

would be success if I'm in his shoes.

874

00:51:06,150 --> 00:51:10,210

Jim Lampley: Well, that would have

been Jim McKay because the, uh, biggest

875

00:51:10,210 --> 00:51:12,979

role at ABC sports bigger, even then.

876

00:51:13,465 --> 00:51:16,855

Uh, play by play on college football or

play by play on Major League Baseball.

877

00:51:17,245 --> 00:51:21,625

The biggest role at the network where

I worked was host of the Olympics.

878

00:51:22,065 --> 00:51:26,835

So, I wanted to be, eventually,

host of the Olympics.

879

00:51:27,124 --> 00:51:34,525

And, I probably was a little bit too,

um, open and assertive in making clear

880

00:51:34,525 --> 00:51:40,035

that, that was what I wanted because,

um, eventually McKay figured that out.

881

00:51:40,215 --> 00:51:46,825

And, that became, you know, a kind of

a, an obstruction or a barrier between

882

00:51:46,975 --> 00:51:53,045

him and me, logically, you know, uh,

but yeah, at the end of the day, I

883

00:51:53,045 --> 00:51:55,464

would have wanted McKay to be my mentor.

884

00:51:55,765 --> 00:51:59,465

He had no interest in being my mentor

to the degree that I had a mentor.

885

00:51:59,465 --> 00:51:59,945

It was.

886

00:52:00,295 --> 00:52:04,705

a guy named Chuck Howard, who

was the, um, uh, senior producer,

887

00:52:04,715 --> 00:52:07,705

head of production and produced

the college football telecast.

888

00:52:07,875 --> 00:52:13,424

He was the one who really put

his, um, imprimatur on me from the

889

00:52:13,425 --> 00:52:18,915

beginning and anointed me and kept

going to Arledge's office to say.

890

00:52:19,200 --> 00:52:20,190

He needs to do this.

891

00:52:20,210 --> 00:52:21,300

He needs to do this.

892

00:52:21,570 --> 00:52:24,050

I want to see him move up

to this and stuff like that.

893

00:52:24,050 --> 00:52:29,290

So Chuck guided and fostered

my career at ABC sports.

894

00:52:29,320 --> 00:52:30,229

I think some of the

895

00:52:30,229 --> 00:52:33,879

Marc Preston: people who are off air

have a sense of perspective that,

896

00:52:33,960 --> 00:52:37,399

you know, it's kind of forest of the

trees when you're part of the on air.

897

00:52:37,790 --> 00:52:42,310

Crew, you know, and then the people

who are off air, sometimes they can be

898

00:52:42,350 --> 00:52:45,770

wonderful mentors because they're sort of

seeing things from a 30, 000 foot view.

899

00:52:45,770 --> 00:52:46,990

They kind of see everything.

900

00:52:47,020 --> 00:52:48,630

Jim Lampley: Well, it's

extremely interactive.

901

00:52:48,870 --> 00:52:53,530

They're the people who are sitting

in a, in a control booth and who are

902

00:52:53,569 --> 00:52:55,789

in your ear while you're on the air.

903

00:52:55,940 --> 00:52:59,670

They're the people who are watching

you in the monitor and, uh, and

904

00:52:59,670 --> 00:53:05,240

telling you what we need to do next,

etc, etc. So, absolutely, they have

905

00:53:05,480 --> 00:53:10,740

the most, um, graphic and complete

sense of what it is you can do and

906

00:53:10,750 --> 00:53:12,230

why it is you ought to be doing it.

907

00:53:12,439 --> 00:53:19,190

And, um, so, you know, I was treated

very well by By all of those people.

908

00:53:19,190 --> 00:53:23,410

And you know, when on those rare

occasions when I would bump into Rune

909

00:53:23,410 --> 00:53:27,510

or have any contact with Rune, he would

always say something to let me know,

910

00:53:27,860 --> 00:53:29,900

you're right where we want you to be.

911

00:53:29,909 --> 00:53:31,269

You are a fixture.

912

00:53:31,270 --> 00:53:33,700

You're going to become

an institution here.

913

00:53:34,055 --> 00:53:39,425

Uh, this is your long term career

and what you want at ABC sports, you

914

00:53:39,425 --> 00:53:40,825

keep working the way you're working.

915

00:53:40,835 --> 00:53:42,105

You'll get that had to be a

916

00:53:42,105 --> 00:53:42,885

Marc Preston: very empowering.

917

00:53:42,984 --> 00:53:43,564

It's so funny.

918

00:53:43,564 --> 00:53:46,545

You're saying, cause bringing back all

these memories when you're the young guy,

919

00:53:46,894 --> 00:53:49,665

you're kind of, you know, as like you

said, as long as you're not a threat.

920

00:53:49,845 --> 00:53:52,555

You know, as long as you're not

somebody that may take somebody's

921

00:53:52,555 --> 00:53:55,945

job or they perceive it as such,

it's, it's a wonderful place to

922

00:53:55,955 --> 00:53:59,155

be because of the learning, this

osmotically soaking up the stuff.

923

00:53:59,195 --> 00:54:02,744

Now, I mean, carrying that forward

though, if you move forward in the boxing

924

00:54:02,744 --> 00:54:08,165

realm, it seems like boxing back, uh,

eighties, even part of the nineties,

925

00:54:08,384 --> 00:54:10,485

that was more marquee like events.

926

00:54:10,505 --> 00:54:12,215

Like it was, they're always big events.

927

00:54:12,215 --> 00:54:15,475

Don't get me wrong, but it seemed

to be a little more mainstream

928

00:54:15,565 --> 00:54:17,635

because I was growing up, like

you had Sugar Ray Leonard,

929

00:54:17,635 --> 00:54:19,135

everybody knew who the boxers were.

930

00:54:19,310 --> 00:54:23,030

You know, now it's, it's, it felt a

little bit different, especially with

931

00:54:23,070 --> 00:54:25,750

the Tyson fight that they just did.

932

00:54:25,750 --> 00:54:27,590

It felt a little circusy.

933

00:54:27,670 --> 00:54:28,669

What are your thoughts on that?

934

00:54:28,670 --> 00:54:30,909

I'm just kind of curious because

you've, you've been up front and

935

00:54:30,909 --> 00:54:33,010

center with boxing for so long.

936

00:54:33,140 --> 00:54:34,570

In the 1920s,

937

00:54:35,200 --> 00:54:38,149

Jim Lampley: there were

three or four sports.

938

00:54:38,495 --> 00:54:42,595

in American culture, which

actually had audience following

939

00:54:42,625 --> 00:54:44,235

and about which people cared.

940

00:54:44,815 --> 00:54:54,684

Uh, college football, horse

racing, baseball, and boxing.

941

00:54:55,125 --> 00:54:58,805

Maybe to a greater degree

boxing than any of the others.

942

00:54:58,875 --> 00:55:04,725

Um, John L. Sullivan was the single

biggest media star in the culture

943

00:55:05,055 --> 00:55:06,885

before the turn of the century.

944

00:55:07,165 --> 00:55:08,005

Jack Dempsey.

945

00:55:08,285 --> 00:55:10,035

was the Roaring Twenties.

946

00:55:10,045 --> 00:55:11,735

He embodied the Roaring Twenties.

947

00:55:12,135 --> 00:55:16,045

Uh, and, and so, boxing was a huge sport.

948

00:55:16,395 --> 00:55:21,655

The very first television sports

event that my mother ever sat me down

949

00:55:21,655 --> 00:55:27,460

to watch after my father died when I

was six years old in Hendersonville.

950

00:55:27,460 --> 00:55:29,265

She took me to a party

at a friend's house.

951

00:55:29,635 --> 00:55:32,515

Sat me down in front of

a little television set.

952

00:55:32,805 --> 00:55:37,365

on a TV dinner tray, uh, in a

spare bedroom and said, sit here.

953

00:55:37,765 --> 00:55:41,355

Uh, this is what you would be doing

if your father was still alive.

954

00:55:42,015 --> 00:55:44,785

You're going to watch

Gillette Friday Night Fights.

955

00:55:44,855 --> 00:55:48,144

It's Sugar Ray Robinson versus

Boba Oleson for the middleweight

956

00:55:48,145 --> 00:55:49,825

championship of the world.

957

00:55:50,404 --> 00:55:55,614

And, um, again, if your father were

alive, this is what you'd be doing.

958

00:55:55,614 --> 00:55:59,255

And oh, by the way, you're going

to enjoy Sugar Ray Robinson.

959

00:55:59,255 --> 00:56:00,685

He dances while he fights.

960

00:56:01,365 --> 00:56:02,335

And so.

961

00:56:02,875 --> 00:56:06,865

Again, the first televised sports event

I ever watched was a boxing match.

962

00:56:06,905 --> 00:56:11,565

And I, uh, from that point forward,

age six, grew up watching the

963

00:56:11,565 --> 00:56:15,095

Friday night fights somewhat

religiously every Friday night.

964

00:56:15,525 --> 00:56:20,564

Uh, when my mother ultimately moved us to

Miami, there were boxing matches in Miami.

965

00:56:21,155 --> 00:56:27,465

The first one I ever went to

was Cassius Clay versus Sonny

966

00:56:27,465 --> 00:56:32,065

Liston really for the heavyweight

championship, February 25, 1964.

967

00:56:32,385 --> 00:56:36,375

And that night at my first live

boxing match, I witnessed what

968

00:56:36,375 --> 00:56:40,805

was up to that moment, the biggest

upset in the history of boxing.

969

00:56:42,124 --> 00:56:46,475

26 years later in Tokyo, when

Buster Douglas knocked out

970

00:56:46,485 --> 00:56:48,375

Mike Tyson, I would call.

971

00:56:48,985 --> 00:56:53,635

For the American audience, the fight

which supplanted Clay versus Liston as the

972

00:56:53,635 --> 00:56:56,005

biggest upset in the history of boxing.

973

00:56:56,435 --> 00:56:58,225

My, my book is titled.

974

00:56:58,415 --> 00:57:02,254

It happened because those are the

words that came out of my mouth the

975

00:57:02,254 --> 00:57:05,655

night that George Foreman knocked

out Michael Moore to become the

976

00:57:05,655 --> 00:57:07,995

heavyweight champion at age 45.

977

00:57:08,375 --> 00:57:12,945

oldest ever heavyweight champion, but

I was originally assigned to boxing

978

00:57:13,515 --> 00:57:20,665

after 13 years at ABC sports in 1987

by an incoming new chief executive,

979

00:57:20,955 --> 00:57:24,604

the guy who replaced Rune Arledge

as the head of the sports division.

980

00:57:24,915 --> 00:57:26,465

And he assigned me to boxing.

981

00:57:26,700 --> 00:57:27,460

to get rid of me.

982

00:57:27,630 --> 00:57:28,160

Oh, really?

983

00:57:28,170 --> 00:57:33,010

He thought, yeah, he was certain that

I would be a bad fit, that I would be a

984

00:57:33,010 --> 00:57:37,570

bad fit, both in terms of my own exposure

to the sport, because I looked to him

985

00:57:37,570 --> 00:57:41,010

like a preppy Eastern white kid who

wouldn't have anything to do with it.

986

00:57:41,380 --> 00:57:46,630

Uh, and, and also because of how the

sport would react to and resist me.

987

00:57:46,900 --> 00:57:51,600

So he wanted to get rid of me, wanted

me to walk away from my contract at ABC

988

00:57:51,600 --> 00:57:53,680

sports and his vehicle for doing that.

989

00:57:54,070 --> 00:57:56,060

was to assign me to boxing.

990

00:57:56,470 --> 00:58:03,250

He did not realize that the sports

division that he was now running had

991

00:58:03,260 --> 00:58:09,599

just a few weeks before signed a get

acquainted look see contract with a

992

00:58:09,599 --> 00:58:13,679

19 year old heavyweight from upstate

New York whose name was Mike Tyson.

993

00:58:14,520 --> 00:58:18,125

The very first fight I ever

called On network television.

994

00:58:18,185 --> 00:58:23,555

A, B, C sports was Mike Tyson versus

Jesse Ferguson, uh, which was one of

995

00:58:23,555 --> 00:58:29,125

Tyson's formative experiences on his

way to becoming heavyweight champion.

996

00:58:29,480 --> 00:58:30,070

Mike Tyson.

997

00:58:30,380 --> 00:58:38,380

So, from the beginning, I knew that,

uh, boxing was not going to destroy my

998

00:58:38,380 --> 00:58:42,390

resume or get rid of me as a sportscaster.

999

00:58:42,559 --> 00:58:47,279

It was going to be a path to

more work and more exposure.

00:58:47,280 --> 00:58:49,448

Yeah, it's more, it's

like a fertile ground for

00:58:49,448 --> 00:58:49,546

Marc Preston: you.

00:58:49,546 --> 00:58:49,841

I wound up

00:58:49,841 --> 00:58:51,210

Jim Lampley: at HBO.

00:58:51,790 --> 00:58:54,360

Okay, so he managed to get me to leave.

00:58:54,685 --> 00:59:01,795

ABC, but he did it via a method that

gave me a ticket to what was now the

00:59:01,795 --> 00:59:08,395

most artistically respected and prominent

television network in the world, HBO.

00:59:08,455 --> 00:59:10,195

That was not what he had in mind.

00:59:10,460 --> 00:59:10,940

But that's what

00:59:10,950 --> 00:59:11,260

Marc Preston: happened.

00:59:11,590 --> 00:59:14,470

I was not a great sports reporter,

but I did a little bit of it.

00:59:14,490 --> 00:59:18,640

But one of the things I found is that I

really enjoyed, uh, after a while, you

00:59:18,640 --> 00:59:19,850

know, you get to be in the press box.

00:59:19,850 --> 00:59:23,590

You get the, uh, the seemingly

aspirationally where people, I'd love

00:59:23,590 --> 00:59:24,769

to be in the press box and watch.

00:59:24,810 --> 00:59:26,599

There are a lot of things like baseball.

00:59:26,599 --> 00:59:28,379

I like being in the stands to me.

00:59:28,379 --> 00:59:29,740

I like to be there enjoying it.

00:59:29,740 --> 00:59:31,500

Like everybody, it's meant to be enjoyed.

00:59:31,500 --> 00:59:31,910

If you will.

00:59:31,990 --> 00:59:34,050

Was there ever anything

that you ever watched?

00:59:34,050 --> 00:59:34,810

And you're like, you know what?

00:59:34,900 --> 00:59:37,070

I love doing this, but I'd

love just to take a moment.

00:59:37,070 --> 00:59:38,069

Just be a spectator.

00:59:38,145 --> 00:59:40,535

You know, in this moment, I don't

know if that makes sense at all,

00:59:40,535 --> 00:59:43,795

because of course, when you're

covering something, you know, you got

00:59:43,795 --> 00:59:47,375

additional responsibilities, obviously,

besides just enjoying the game or

00:59:47,375 --> 00:59:48,835

the, you know, match or whatever.

00:59:49,535 --> 00:59:52,595

Was there ever anything you're

like, you just found yourself being

00:59:52,595 --> 00:59:57,434

more of a spectator than a reporter

because it was the gravity of the

00:59:57,455 --> 00:59:58,925

moment or something like that?

00:59:59,035 --> 00:59:59,475

Jim Lampley: Oh yeah.

00:59:59,555 --> 01:00:01,055

Many, many, many, lots of them.

01:00:01,535 --> 01:00:03,955

Um, the very first.

01:00:04,025 --> 01:00:10,845

The first Olympic event I ever went to

was, uh, the first event at the 1976

01:00:10,875 --> 01:00:16,695

Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria,

100 miles down the road from Munich,

01:00:16,915 --> 01:00:22,475

where the last previous Olympics,

the 72 Summer Olympics, had been

01:00:22,684 --> 01:00:27,815

interrupted and, and, uh, corrupted

by the captivity of the Israeli.

01:00:28,270 --> 01:00:36,700

Athletes, but on the first day of the

first Olympics, I was covering as a

01:00:36,700 --> 01:00:42,609

broadcaster, as a feature reporter,

I was sent to, um, Patricofo mountain

01:00:42,609 --> 01:00:44,410

and Innsbruck for the downhill.

01:00:45,129 --> 01:00:47,830

I had never seen a downhill ski race.

01:00:48,429 --> 01:00:54,020

And, um, the, the race was regarded

as a competition between the

01:00:54,020 --> 01:00:58,470

number one Austrian downhiller,

Franz Klammer, and the number one

01:00:58,470 --> 01:01:01,049

Swiss downhiller, Bernhard Rossi.

01:01:01,350 --> 01:01:05,400

And I was doing a feature piece on

the economic implications of the

01:01:05,400 --> 01:01:10,190

downhill because Americans were not

equipped to understand how it was

01:01:10,200 --> 01:01:17,989

that a competition between two amateur

athletes could be worth tens of millions

01:01:17,990 --> 01:01:24,390

of dollars to whichever country was

the host country of the guy who won.

01:01:24,680 --> 01:01:30,845

In other words, If Franz Klamer

won, that meant ski packages, boots,

01:01:30,915 --> 01:01:35,195

goggles, gloves, et cetera, et

cetera, from Austria would be sold.

01:01:35,654 --> 01:01:40,265

But if Russi won, that meant that all that

equipment from Switzerland would be sold.

01:01:40,505 --> 01:01:45,485

So this was a competition between

two quote amateur athletes, which

01:01:45,595 --> 01:01:50,465

reflected tens of millions of

dollars of economic competition.

01:01:50,465 --> 01:01:51,715

I was fascinated by that.

01:01:52,095 --> 01:01:54,795

And, uh, I was on the hill.

01:01:55,095 --> 01:02:00,765

that day for Clommer's downhill

run, which is pretty much generally

01:02:00,765 --> 01:02:07,025

regarded as the most memorable

alpine skiing event of all time.

01:02:07,425 --> 01:02:09,095

Uh, and I was just a spectator.

01:02:09,135 --> 01:02:15,115

I, uh, that day, I had a lot of

those kinds of, uh, experiences

01:02:15,125 --> 01:02:17,415

and yeah, there was never a moment.

01:02:18,445 --> 01:02:22,875

In my sports broadcasting

career when the spectator in

01:02:22,875 --> 01:02:25,885

me was not a part of it, right?

01:02:25,885 --> 01:02:29,234

I mean, you know, even when I'm

calling a fight, I'm a spectator.

01:02:29,585 --> 01:02:34,214

Uh, even when I'm sitting in the studio

hosting Olympics, I'm a spectator.

01:02:34,495 --> 01:02:41,415

I did seven interviews in Montreal

in 1976 with Bruce Jenner.

01:02:41,800 --> 01:02:44,330

On his way to winning the catalog.

01:02:44,930 --> 01:02:51,359

So, uh, I had, I had enough time and,

uh, exposure and intimate contact.

01:02:51,965 --> 01:02:57,505

With bruce jenner that at one point

he said to me You know, we're on

01:02:57,505 --> 01:03:00,584

camera so often here people are

going to think there's something

01:03:00,584 --> 01:03:04,595

going on Imagine thinking of that now

01:03:06,415 --> 01:03:10,335

Marc Preston: Well You know, he remained

well, you know, it's it's it's so

01:03:10,355 --> 01:03:13,785

wonderful You've had all these experiences

you've been to all these events different

01:03:13,785 --> 01:03:19,375

kinds of sports and you you know had a

very colorful Full career, but was there

01:03:19,405 --> 01:03:22,845

anything that you didn't have a chance

to see that you're like, I really wanted

01:03:22,845 --> 01:03:27,924

to see that game, that match, that,

you know, that fight was something you

01:03:27,924 --> 01:03:29,755

ever didn't get a chance to go to that.

01:03:29,755 --> 01:03:32,115

You really like, I wish

you could have seen that.

01:03:32,235 --> 01:03:35,814

Jim Lampley: Well, I covered Wimbledon 12

times, but I've never been to the French

01:03:35,814 --> 01:03:42,314

open and, and that's an entirely different

competitive and cultural experience.

01:03:42,664 --> 01:03:50,430

Um, Yeah, there were, uh, there were

things that I missed out on, but you

01:03:50,430 --> 01:03:54,570

couldn't possibly complain either

to yourself or anybody else because

01:03:55,240 --> 01:03:57,340

my, my entire career was a gift.

01:03:57,700 --> 01:04:02,070

It wasn't something that happened

via conventional circumstances.

01:04:02,089 --> 01:04:07,660

And if ever they had known exactly

who it was they were interviewing at

01:04:07,660 --> 01:04:14,230

ABC sports, if ever they had known

that I had a George Myra jersey in my

01:04:14,230 --> 01:04:15,740

closet, they wouldn't have sent me.

01:04:16,175 --> 01:04:18,875

to interview him for the audition.

01:04:18,985 --> 01:04:27,445

If ever they had known that I had grown

up in Hendersonville, North Carolina, four

01:04:27,445 --> 01:04:30,304

or five doors away from Arledge's parents.

01:04:30,890 --> 01:04:35,210

in Laurel Park and that his mother

and my mother were in the same

01:04:35,210 --> 01:04:37,780

bridge club, I would never have

been interviewed to begin with.

01:04:38,240 --> 01:04:43,490

So there were all sorts of behind the

screen secrets that they didn't know about

01:04:43,490 --> 01:04:46,520

me, which could have prevented all of it.

01:04:46,805 --> 01:04:47,945

From ever happening.

01:04:55,095 --> 01:04:57,185

Marc Preston: Now, before we get

going, I just said, I do something

01:04:57,475 --> 01:04:58,824

I call my seven questions.

01:04:58,824 --> 01:05:00,185

Just a last bit of fun.

01:05:00,615 --> 01:05:03,815

First question I always ask everybody,

cause I always talk food at least once.

01:05:04,015 --> 01:05:07,025

If you could isolate, what is

your favorite comfort food?

01:05:07,125 --> 01:05:09,464

Uh, you've had a bad

day or even a great day.

01:05:09,664 --> 01:05:14,644

Something like this just lands, you

know, irrespective of how healthy it is.

01:05:14,694 --> 01:05:15,764

You know, your favorite comfort food.

01:05:16,965 --> 01:05:17,365

Pizza

01:05:18,675 --> 01:05:21,895

Jim Lampley: and you know some of that

probably has to do with it's the most

01:05:21,895 --> 01:05:28,074

convenient food and if you've worked

in television, you've been in edit

01:05:28,074 --> 01:05:33,140

bays, you've been in control rooms,

you've been in Um, all of the kinds

01:05:33,140 --> 01:05:38,620

of facilities in which people work on

television, uh, the food is going to

01:05:38,620 --> 01:05:40,140

be something you can hold in your hand,

01:05:40,340 --> 01:05:42,260

Marc Preston: something, not something,

not something you don't eat with a

01:05:42,260 --> 01:05:45,820

spoon and it's liquid, uh, cause that,

that the engineers will yell at you.

01:05:46,440 --> 01:05:46,460

Yeah.

01:05:46,659 --> 01:05:48,599

So yeah, my comfort food is pizza.

01:05:48,800 --> 01:05:49,400

A hundred percent.

01:05:49,439 --> 01:05:49,579

Jim Lampley: Uh,

01:05:49,590 --> 01:05:50,973

Marc Preston: any

particular topping that's

01:05:50,973 --> 01:05:52,100

Jim Lampley: a top of the list for you?

01:05:52,760 --> 01:05:57,955

I will eat pepperoni, but I'm, I'm

basically a, uh, Tomato and cheese

01:05:57,975 --> 01:05:59,785

kind of guy, you know, plain pizza

01:05:59,805 --> 01:06:00,305

Marc Preston: is

01:06:00,355 --> 01:06:00,835

Jim Lampley: my favorite.

01:06:00,835 --> 01:06:01,355

Marc Preston: Very good.

01:06:01,455 --> 01:06:01,885

Very good.

01:06:02,175 --> 01:06:05,675

Now, uh, if you were to sit down, have

a coffee and talk story for a few hours,

01:06:05,715 --> 01:06:09,564

uh, living or not, who would be three

people that you would like to sit down

01:06:09,564 --> 01:06:14,195

with, uh, at the table and have as part

of this conversation for a few hours?

01:06:15,075 --> 01:06:15,944

Muhammad Ali.

01:06:17,025 --> 01:06:17,805

Jim Lampley: And I did.

01:06:17,955 --> 01:06:18,145

Marc Preston: I

01:06:18,145 --> 01:06:23,405

Jim Lampley: did meet him and I did

become friendly with him and he babysat

01:06:23,405 --> 01:06:28,495

my daughter, uh, one whole day at a

U. S. Boxing Writers Association lunch

01:06:28,495 --> 01:06:31,135

in New York, or dinner in New York.

01:06:31,785 --> 01:06:39,774

Uh, so Muhammad Ali would be number

one and way above almost anybody else.

01:06:40,264 --> 01:06:45,615

Um, somebody that I would want

to sit down and talk with.

01:06:47,955 --> 01:06:52,925

You know, the bottom line is I did talk

to just about everyone I ever wanted to.

01:06:52,925 --> 01:07:00,595

I mean, I, okay, if I could have

another 12 hours with Arthur Ashe,

01:07:00,685 --> 01:07:04,514

Billie Jean King, and Martina

Navratilova, if I could repeat that.

01:07:05,035 --> 01:07:11,205

And I, and I, you know, covered

Wimbledon on HBO, um, for 12 years.

01:07:11,205 --> 01:07:16,755

And that meant many, many summer days

spent in the announce booth with, uh,

01:07:16,795 --> 01:07:19,285

Arthur and Billy Jean and Martina.

01:07:19,895 --> 01:07:25,015

And they are three of the

most cosmic individual human

01:07:25,015 --> 01:07:26,105

beings you could ever meet.

01:07:26,305 --> 01:07:32,234

Yeah, that would be, that would probably

be the thing I would most want to repeat

01:07:32,285 --> 01:07:34,895

and have back is time with those people.

01:07:35,344 --> 01:07:42,055

Uh, because each of the three is in

a class by himself or herself for

01:07:42,665 --> 01:07:47,984

intelligence, dignity, broad mindedness,

understanding of what, uh, their

01:07:47,985 --> 01:07:49,975

sport and their world is all about.

01:07:50,015 --> 01:07:50,835

I can still.

01:07:51,490 --> 01:07:56,710

Every day of my life, I can hear

Billy Jean saying to me, Jim,

01:07:58,270 --> 01:08:01,969

the only ball that matters is

the next one coming over the net.

01:08:02,320 --> 01:08:03,580

The last one didn't matter.

01:08:04,130 --> 01:08:06,210

The one that's coming

up next doesn't matter.

01:08:06,310 --> 01:08:08,529

This ball coming over the net right now.

01:08:08,999 --> 01:08:11,350

That's the only thing that matters.

01:08:12,840 --> 01:08:19,190

I choke up when I think about it because

It meant so much to me to learn lessons

01:08:19,190 --> 01:08:21,320

like that from a person like that,

01:08:21,590 --> 01:08:24,399

Marc Preston: and I can't

say enough about it.

01:08:24,399 --> 01:08:26,790

It's sort of a way through tennis

of explaining you got to live in

01:08:26,800 --> 01:08:30,049

the moment, you know, you got to be

here right now to be a participant.

01:08:30,420 --> 01:08:33,609

Each one of those individuals

socially contributed so much

01:08:33,609 --> 01:08:34,910

as well, beyond the sport.

01:08:35,620 --> 01:08:36,229

That's my reason.

01:08:36,669 --> 01:08:38,519

Jim Lampley: That's,

that's, that's why I care.

01:08:38,569 --> 01:08:41,429

I mean, I, I care about the whole society.

01:08:41,429 --> 01:08:42,699

I care about news events.

01:08:42,699 --> 01:08:43,269

I cared about.

01:08:43,685 --> 01:08:45,325

You know, everything that matters.

01:08:45,345 --> 01:08:47,025

My mother taught me to be that way.

01:08:47,245 --> 01:08:49,805

So the athletes who most appealed

to me, who did I mention?

01:08:50,095 --> 01:08:53,815

Muhammad Ali, Billie Jean King,

Martina Navratilova, Arthur Ashe.

01:08:54,004 --> 01:08:59,564

Every one of them has a socio political

impact that sets them apart from others.

01:08:59,894 --> 01:09:03,245

Marc Preston: The, the impact each

one had is, you know, uh, Martina

01:09:03,345 --> 01:09:04,865

Navratilova, not one to hold back either.

01:09:04,905 --> 01:09:08,815

You know, she, I kind of liked the way

she would, Martina Navratilova and, um,

01:09:09,200 --> 01:09:11,120

Who is the big rivalry in the eighties?

01:09:11,150 --> 01:09:13,510

Uh, she, Oh gosh, Chris Everett.

01:09:13,530 --> 01:09:14,010

There we go.

01:09:14,010 --> 01:09:14,190

Yeah.

01:09:14,810 --> 01:09:17,990

My, my, are you aware of

the recent circumstances?

01:09:18,000 --> 01:09:18,830

No, no.

01:09:19,220 --> 01:09:21,839

Jim Lampley: I don't know where we

stand right now, but as of a couple

01:09:21,839 --> 01:09:27,080

of months ago, they both had cancer

and they were each other's, they were

01:09:27,100 --> 01:09:29,059

each other's late night phone partner.

01:09:30,039 --> 01:09:30,499

Okay.

01:09:31,030 --> 01:09:36,420

Martina and Chris, both

battling cancer, both.

01:09:36,985 --> 01:09:41,835

Going to bed only after having

one last conversation at the

01:09:41,835 --> 01:09:43,655

end of the day with each other.

01:09:44,085 --> 01:09:48,255

Now, I don't know all the

numbers correctly, but they

01:09:48,255 --> 01:09:51,775

played 78 grand slam matches.

01:09:52,035 --> 01:09:54,565

They each won the same number.

01:09:54,974 --> 01:09:57,704

They won the same number of.

01:09:58,165 --> 01:10:01,495

overall, uh, Grand Slam championships.

01:10:01,495 --> 01:10:05,745

Basically, they both were number one,

pretty much the same number of times.

01:10:05,935 --> 01:10:12,594

So it is statistically unquestionably

the greatest individual rivalry in the

01:10:12,594 --> 01:10:16,954

history and for them both to be sharing.

01:10:17,200 --> 01:10:21,560

This experience now, obviously I tear up.

01:10:22,180 --> 01:10:25,360

Marc Preston: Yeah, they were, I remember

watching tennis with my grandmother.

01:10:25,360 --> 01:10:28,400

We always used to come, I live

on South Padre Island, Texas now.

01:10:28,470 --> 01:10:32,229

And, uh, and we used to come down

here, uh, uh, our family did.

01:10:32,280 --> 01:10:35,349

And I would remember Wimbledon

always happened, you know, in summer.

01:10:35,349 --> 01:10:38,730

We would, my grandmother and I would

watch every day, we'd watch Wimbledon.

01:10:38,730 --> 01:10:41,510

And she just, you know, uh,

loved Chris Edward Lloyd.

01:10:41,780 --> 01:10:42,480

She just loved her.

01:10:42,570 --> 01:10:45,850

You wanted to see them play together

yet are against each other, you know.

01:10:46,100 --> 01:10:50,370

Now, if, if we were to go back when

you were a young man, uh, who was

01:10:50,370 --> 01:10:53,160

your first celebrity crush as a kid?

01:10:54,270 --> 01:10:56,049

Is her name Sally Field?

01:10:56,049 --> 01:10:56,810

Sally Field.

01:10:56,810 --> 01:10:57,080

Yeah.

01:10:58,360 --> 01:10:58,930

Oh gosh.

01:11:00,335 --> 01:11:01,915

She played Gidget, right?

01:11:01,995 --> 01:11:04,155

She was in the TV show Gidget, wasn't she?

01:11:04,215 --> 01:11:07,155

Yeah, that was because

there was a movie and, uh.

01:11:07,245 --> 01:11:10,045

There was a movie, which

was Sandra Dee, I believe.

01:11:10,125 --> 01:11:12,335

But Sally Field played Gidget on TV.

01:11:12,355 --> 01:11:13,285

Jim Lampley: Of course, I later met her.

01:11:13,475 --> 01:11:13,714

Oh, really?

01:11:13,775 --> 01:11:14,635

I met her and told her.

01:11:14,855 --> 01:11:15,754

She had been my celebrity

01:11:15,754 --> 01:11:16,114

Marc Preston: crush.

01:11:16,185 --> 01:11:18,765

When I was a little kid, I, when

I saw, uh, Smokey and the Bandit,

01:11:18,774 --> 01:11:21,675

I was like, Oh, she was kind of

my first, first, like a little bit

01:11:21,675 --> 01:11:23,125

older, that and Living Newton John.

01:11:23,245 --> 01:11:25,505

being a little kid, first

older lady crush, but they were

01:11:25,505 --> 01:11:26,775

probably only in their thirties.

01:11:27,215 --> 01:11:28,405

The last couple of questions here.

01:11:28,445 --> 01:11:31,634

Um, now if you're going to be forced to

live on an exotic Island, somewhere you

01:11:31,635 --> 01:11:32,955

really want to be, you want to be on this.

01:11:32,965 --> 01:11:35,894

It's, it's beautiful place, but you're

going to be there for a full year.

01:11:35,935 --> 01:11:38,864

There's no streaming, no

internet, uh, for music.

01:11:38,875 --> 01:11:40,334

You're going to have to bring one CD.

01:11:40,394 --> 01:11:43,564

You can do something you can listen to

over and over again and bring one DVD.

01:11:44,080 --> 01:11:46,260

of a movie you can watch

over and over again.

01:11:46,330 --> 01:11:48,330

It can be, I mean, it can

be a box set, if you will.

01:11:48,690 --> 01:11:51,530

Uh, what would that CD and what

would that DVD be that you could

01:11:51,530 --> 01:11:53,199

listen to and watch all year long?

01:11:54,030 --> 01:11:55,020

Jim Lampley: Wow, that's tough.

01:11:55,350 --> 01:12:04,330

I mean, I have broad and varied and, um,

you know, I think, uh, rich music tastes.

01:12:05,020 --> 01:12:10,960

If I'm going to listen to one CD

all year round, what would that be?

01:12:11,510 --> 01:12:14,060

So, Bob Dylan.

01:12:14,730 --> 01:12:17,520

Either bringing it all back home or.

01:12:18,310 --> 01:12:23,340

Uh, the next album, which had like

a Rolling Stone name of the album

01:12:23,340 --> 01:12:28,400

is not leaping up to me right now,

but, uh, just heard the, some of the

01:12:28,400 --> 01:12:30,110

music again, obviously when I went

01:12:30,110 --> 01:12:33,730

Marc Preston: to see, uh, the movie,

oh, I, I still wanna see the movie.

01:12:33,730 --> 01:12:36,400

I, I, you know, he's having

kind, we haven't seen, I

01:12:36,400 --> 01:12:37,450

have not, you've gotta go see

01:12:37,870 --> 01:12:38,320

Jim Lampley: Unknown.

01:12:38,350 --> 01:12:42,685

It's a, it's a very good movie

and it's a. Uh, tremendous

01:12:42,725 --> 01:12:45,235

characterization by Timothee Chalamet.

01:12:45,245 --> 01:12:47,865

So, yeah, I'll take a Dylan album with me.

01:12:47,925 --> 01:12:48,325

All right.

01:12:48,355 --> 01:12:53,985

And, uh, the movie which I've already

watched over and over and over and

01:12:54,535 --> 01:13:00,840

which I could watch Well, I'm going

to name three, which is cheating,

01:13:00,940 --> 01:13:06,180

but I've probably watched to kill

a mockingbird 50 times already.

01:13:06,730 --> 01:13:11,869

Uh, I've pretty much memorized to

kill a mockingbird, but it never fails

01:13:11,869 --> 01:13:16,199

to, um, satisfy me and enrich me.

01:13:16,599 --> 01:13:21,625

Um, So if you're going to go in that

direction, then you should probably

01:13:21,885 --> 01:13:27,744

acknowledge that you want to rewatch and

should rewatch, many times, Citizen Kane.

01:13:27,865 --> 01:13:28,365

Oh, yeah.

01:13:28,454 --> 01:13:31,615

Uh, I'll start with To Kill a

Mockingbird and Citizen Kane.

01:13:32,295 --> 01:13:38,065

And, uh, the, uh, the

movie within the past year.

01:13:38,400 --> 01:13:43,780

About the, uh, the world

war two bomb project.

01:13:43,780 --> 01:13:44,785

Yeah.

01:13:44,785 --> 01:13:48,880

So those three Oppenheimer

01:13:48,960 --> 01:13:50,920

Marc Preston: citizen Kane

to kill a mockingbird.

01:13:51,260 --> 01:13:51,829

Very good.

01:13:51,840 --> 01:13:55,079

You know, with streaming, you can find

just about anything at any given time.

01:13:55,080 --> 01:13:57,900

And it's like, I need to start kind

of diving into some older movies.

01:13:57,965 --> 01:14:01,965

You know, uh, I have to keep up with

so much new stuff though, but, um,

01:14:03,175 --> 01:14:07,165

20 times, not 20, but I've watched

a good, a good, good few times, you

01:14:07,165 --> 01:14:13,235

know, it's all, it's, it's very, uh,

it never loses its relevance, you know,

01:14:13,505 --> 01:14:16,055

Jim Lampley: never loses its

relevance, never loses its charm.

01:14:16,654 --> 01:14:21,155

Uh, and, and, you know, being an

emotional person as I am, never

01:14:21,155 --> 01:14:25,414

loses the eight or 10 places where

I tear up before I hear the line.

01:14:26,060 --> 01:14:29,890

Like Ms. Scout, stand up,

your father's passing.

01:14:30,050 --> 01:14:33,130

I have a granddaughter named Scout.

01:14:33,260 --> 01:14:33,810

Really?

01:14:33,860 --> 01:14:34,110

Okay.

01:14:34,110 --> 01:14:39,919

And yeah, she's named Scout because

her mother saw To Kill a Mockingbird

01:14:39,920 --> 01:14:41,580

maybe 10 times when she was a kid.

01:14:43,305 --> 01:14:45,645

Marc Preston: So that, so that's,

that's such a, that's a sweet

01:14:45,645 --> 01:14:47,905

connection that they live near y'all.

01:14:47,905 --> 01:14:50,275

Jim Lampley: That, uh, that

daughter lives here in Chapel Hill.

01:14:50,375 --> 01:14:50,905

Marc Preston: Okay.

01:14:51,475 --> 01:14:53,555

So you have easy access to

your granddaughter there.

01:14:53,835 --> 01:14:56,594

Jim Lampley: That granddaughter,

uh, I think Deborah and I

01:14:56,605 --> 01:14:59,175

have seven grandchildren who

now live here in Chapel Hill.

01:14:59,374 --> 01:14:59,784

Really?

01:14:59,884 --> 01:15:02,825

But people followed us, people

followed us across the country.

01:15:03,185 --> 01:15:05,855

Two of her daughters followed

her across the country.

01:15:06,265 --> 01:15:06,975

Um.

01:15:07,330 --> 01:15:10,730

One of my daughters followed

me across the country.

01:15:10,830 --> 01:15:14,720

They, uh, all now live

here in Chapel Hill.

01:15:15,100 --> 01:15:15,699

Pretty thrilling.

01:15:15,820 --> 01:15:18,050

They didn't have any connection

to this place other than

01:15:18,050 --> 01:15:18,380

Marc Preston: us.

01:15:18,560 --> 01:15:18,980

Fantastic.

01:15:19,039 --> 01:15:19,909

Well, that's fantastic.

01:15:19,910 --> 01:15:23,180

I can only imagine I'm probably

a few years away from that.

01:15:23,190 --> 01:15:25,380

My oldest is 20, about to be 22.

01:15:25,760 --> 01:15:27,220

But I'm like, that day will come.

01:15:27,220 --> 01:15:28,830

I'm going, I wonder what

that's going to be like.

01:15:28,840 --> 01:15:30,950

That's kind of the next step.

01:15:31,160 --> 01:15:32,500

Jim Lampley: My oldest daughter is 44.

01:15:32,650 --> 01:15:37,000

And, and you should probably do A

session with her, although I don't

01:15:37,000 --> 01:15:38,580

think she would have time to do this.

01:15:38,600 --> 01:15:46,509

My eldest daughter, um, used to be global

chair of fine art at Sotheby's and now

01:15:46,510 --> 01:15:52,830

she's running the world's largest gallery

chain, a gallery chain called Gagosian.

01:15:53,200 --> 01:15:58,640

So by the business standard of.

01:15:58,860 --> 01:15:59,740

the art world.

01:15:59,740 --> 01:16:05,140

I believe you're, you're within your

rights to say that my eldest daughter is

01:16:05,170 --> 01:16:08,130

the number one art Marceter in the world.

01:16:08,260 --> 01:16:12,420

She's the person you go to if you want

to buy a Picasso for 30 million, or

01:16:12,970 --> 01:16:17,309

you want to buy a Rocco, or you, you

want to buy some other major artists.

01:16:18,200 --> 01:16:18,440

Work.

01:16:18,440 --> 01:16:19,520

She's, well, I, I need to check

01:16:19,520 --> 01:16:20,870

Marc Preston: my little

coin jar over there.

01:16:20,870 --> 01:16:21,530

I'm not quite sure.

01:16:21,530 --> 01:16:23,570

I, I may come up a couple

quarters short, but , right?

01:16:23,990 --> 01:16:24,710

Yeah, me either.

01:16:24,710 --> 01:16:24,770

Yeah.

01:16:25,220 --> 01:16:29,270

Now, um, now if you were to define

stem to stern from the time you woke

01:16:29,270 --> 01:16:33,110

up to the time you went to sleep, the

component parts of a perfect day for you.

01:16:33,230 --> 01:16:38,040

If you said, if I had the, if, if you had

these things happen that's gonna line up

01:16:38,040 --> 01:16:41,490

to be a pretty solid day in your mind,

what would those things be or what would

01:16:41,490 --> 01:16:43,200

be the component parts of a perfect day?

01:16:44,740 --> 01:16:48,800

Jim Lampley: So I get up and have.

01:16:49,530 --> 01:16:56,030

breakfast and coffee with my wife

and one or both of her daughters

01:16:56,050 --> 01:16:58,020

and some of the grandchildren.

01:16:58,030 --> 01:16:58,880

That would be great.

01:16:59,780 --> 01:17:05,230

Um, I go to the Dean Dome here

in Chapel Hill and UNC beats

01:17:05,230 --> 01:17:06,720

Duke in a basketball game.

01:17:07,369 --> 01:17:13,780

Uh, I eat pizza at a restaurant

named Mercado, uh, where my favorite

01:17:13,780 --> 01:17:18,570

pizza, uh, is a thing called a Rosso

pizza that doesn't have cheese on it.

01:17:19,180 --> 01:17:23,030

Uh, and, uh, I come back and.

01:17:23,270 --> 01:17:32,280

Build a fire in our fireplace and

gaze out at my, um, carefully well lit

01:17:32,580 --> 01:17:36,930

six plus acres, um, giant backyard.

01:17:37,410 --> 01:17:40,960

Uh, you can almost see the lake through

the trees, et cetera, et cetera.

01:17:40,970 --> 01:17:43,699

All, all those things I now have.

01:17:43,700 --> 01:17:46,940

And, and so many of my days.

01:17:47,250 --> 01:17:48,530

Are like perfect days.

01:17:48,570 --> 01:17:52,460

We don't beat Duke every day, but,

uh, last year we beat them twice.

01:17:52,460 --> 01:17:56,449

So, uh, those are, those

are perfect days for me.

01:17:57,089 --> 01:17:58,140

Marc Preston: Very, very nice.

01:17:58,620 --> 01:18:01,120

Now, the last two questions,

if you weren't doing this for a

01:18:01,120 --> 01:18:02,359

living, this was not an option.

01:18:02,360 --> 01:18:04,090

Somebody said, Nope, you can't, you can't.

01:18:04,450 --> 01:18:06,349

Sports was not going to be your thing.

01:18:06,469 --> 01:18:08,109

What would have been the number two?

01:18:08,109 --> 01:18:11,220

What else could you have seen

yourself doing for a living?

01:18:11,680 --> 01:18:13,210

Jim Lampley: I wanted to be a newscaster.

01:18:13,700 --> 01:18:16,469

Eventually I did become a newscaster.

01:18:16,835 --> 01:18:23,415

Um, I would have wanted to, uh,

succeed Walter Cronkite or Peter

01:18:23,415 --> 01:18:27,735

Jennings or Tom Brokaw or one of

those network television news anchors.

01:18:27,735 --> 01:18:33,665

Instead, uh, I became primary news

anchor for a network owned and operated

01:18:33,665 --> 01:18:36,475

station in Los Angeles, KCBS TV.

01:18:37,015 --> 01:18:43,825

Um, where I covered earthquakes and,

uh, car chases and various other, uh,

01:18:43,865 --> 01:18:46,980

news stories in the Los Angeles Marcet.

01:18:46,990 --> 01:18:51,310

So I got my taste of news anchoring.

01:18:51,330 --> 01:18:56,790

I always thought because I got into

this from a politics base that I was a

01:18:56,790 --> 01:18:59,529

little bit miscast as a sportscaster.

01:18:59,570 --> 01:19:02,600

I wasn't being a

sportscaster was the right.

01:19:03,455 --> 01:19:07,505

Uh, avocation or the right

vocation, I should say for me

01:19:07,515 --> 01:19:10,165

and the right thing for me to do.

01:19:10,195 --> 01:19:15,414

But, uh, in my original vision of

what I was going to be as a television

01:19:15,414 --> 01:19:20,855

broadcaster, uh, I was Walter

Cronkite, David Brinkley, Chet Huntley,

01:19:20,985 --> 01:19:21,425

Marc Preston: those people.

01:19:21,725 --> 01:19:23,805

People I wish we had back right now.

01:19:27,630 --> 01:19:32,450

Jim Lampley: But, but, you know, now we

don't, and I spent five semesters teaching

01:19:32,459 --> 01:19:37,619

here in Chapel Hill, teaching a course

called, um, Evolution of Storytelling

01:19:37,619 --> 01:19:39,570

in American Electronic News Media.

01:19:40,150 --> 01:19:44,139

And I was very purposely teaching a news

media course rather than a sports media

01:19:44,139 --> 01:19:46,049

course, because it means something.

01:19:46,270 --> 01:19:46,800

It's important.

01:19:46,920 --> 01:19:47,250

Yeah.

01:19:47,580 --> 01:19:53,260

And, um, the more I got to know my

students, the more disenchanted I

01:19:53,260 --> 01:19:58,120

became with the atmosphere in which I

was trying to teach the kinds of things

01:19:58,149 --> 01:20:02,899

that Murrow and Cronkite and all of

those great newscasters had created.

01:20:03,360 --> 01:20:07,770

Uh, and eventually I would come

into class once or twice a week and

01:20:07,770 --> 01:20:11,870

say, you know, if you wake up in the

morning and you get your first dose

01:20:11,870 --> 01:20:16,720

of daily news from your preferred

social media feed, whatever it is.

01:20:17,115 --> 01:20:19,005

You are asking to be colonized.

01:20:19,045 --> 01:20:21,645

You are asking to be subdivided.

01:20:21,655 --> 01:20:24,325

You are asking to be misled.

01:20:24,375 --> 01:20:26,525

You're asking even to be lied to.

01:20:26,804 --> 01:20:31,015

And this is not the way to consume

news in our current society.

01:20:31,275 --> 01:20:32,275

They didn't listen to me.

01:20:33,225 --> 01:20:35,814

And what's the result of that.

01:20:36,485 --> 01:20:38,155

Well, sitting

01:20:38,155 --> 01:20:40,435

Marc Preston: in the white house

right now, you know, I remember

01:20:40,455 --> 01:20:44,515

studying, uh, broadcast journalism

at Texas tech, uh, university.

01:20:44,565 --> 01:20:49,015

I remember a professor going, you know,

no matter how you try to be unbiased,

01:20:49,035 --> 01:20:53,224

you have cultural things, you have things

that you can try, work your ass off to

01:20:53,224 --> 01:20:57,165

be unbiased, but there's some things

that leak through and the, we all live

01:20:57,165 --> 01:20:58,065

Jim Lampley: within ourselves.

01:20:58,065 --> 01:21:01,485

We all live in our own personas

and our own bodies, et cetera.

01:21:02,025 --> 01:21:03,965

We all have our own perceptions.

01:21:04,005 --> 01:21:10,115

That's why there's professional training

for newscasters is so that you do

01:21:10,145 --> 01:21:15,544

learn the disciplines by which you

can steal yourself against operating

01:21:15,545 --> 01:21:18,774

according to your own personal

prejudices that doesn't exist anymore.

01:21:18,990 --> 01:21:21,230

Marc Preston: There was pride, the

folks I spoke with, there was pride

01:21:21,230 --> 01:21:25,400

in being agnostic when it came to

just presenting the story, you know,

01:21:25,400 --> 01:21:27,740

as opposed to a coloration of it.

01:21:27,780 --> 01:21:32,049

And I think that's, uh, do you ever eat

the chicken fried steak at the Lubbock

01:21:32,049 --> 01:21:32,319

Jim Lampley: Inn?

01:21:32,760 --> 01:21:34,520

No, I don't think, no, I did not.

01:21:34,580 --> 01:21:38,620

Darryl Royal introduced me to the chicken

fried steak at the Lubbock Inn in 1974.

01:21:39,800 --> 01:21:42,420

Marc Preston: And it was

indeed very good food.

01:21:42,495 --> 01:21:43,195

You know, it's funny.

01:21:43,195 --> 01:21:46,345

I, I'm more, I went there in the

university of North Texas and I'm more

01:21:46,345 --> 01:21:50,105

ascribed to the university of North

Texas because that was, yeah, yep.

01:21:50,115 --> 01:21:52,535

Denton, just about 45

minutes North of Dallas.

01:21:52,535 --> 01:21:52,785

Yup.

01:21:52,884 --> 01:21:54,965

And, uh, Don Henley's hometown.

01:21:55,085 --> 01:21:56,404

I just learned something today.

01:21:56,415 --> 01:21:58,585

I, I did not know Don

Henley was from Denton.

01:21:58,685 --> 01:21:58,875

Kind

01:21:58,875 --> 01:22:00,235

Jim Lampley: of get the

heart of the matter.

01:22:01,745 --> 01:22:04,245

Marc Preston: Well, the, the, the last

question I got for you is if you were

01:22:04,245 --> 01:22:07,185

to go back, if you could jump into

your DeLorean, let's say and traveled

01:22:07,195 --> 01:22:10,675

back to when you were 16 years old,

You got one piece of advice to give

01:22:10,675 --> 01:22:12,975

yourself a couple minutes with younger.

01:22:12,975 --> 01:22:16,055

You either to make that moment a

little bit better, get yourself

01:22:16,055 --> 01:22:17,485

maybe on a different path.

01:22:17,915 --> 01:22:19,315

Um, what was it?

01:22:19,325 --> 01:22:21,305

What would that piece of

advice be to 16 year old?

01:22:21,305 --> 01:22:21,475

You

01:22:23,054 --> 01:22:26,224

Jim Lampley: saved the beeraholic

part of you until you have already

01:22:26,224 --> 01:22:32,745

graduated from college, get something

done before you go and spend hours of

01:22:32,745 --> 01:22:37,445

every day sitting in the shack buying

35 cent Budweiser beers, and then go

01:22:37,445 --> 01:22:42,295

to the SAE house at night and lose your

Oldsmobile Cutlass in a poker game.

01:22:42,375 --> 01:22:48,415

I would, I would try to avoid all

of the misbehaviors that ultimately

01:22:48,625 --> 01:22:55,165

positioned me as the mortgage loan

clerk at First National Bank of Miami,

01:22:55,484 --> 01:23:02,755

uh, in 1968, 69 and 70, and, and then

I wouldn't have to start over now.

01:23:02,765 --> 01:23:08,660

Ultimately I erased all that and I wound

up in graduate school and I. I got to

01:23:08,680 --> 01:23:11,330

some meaningful professional levels.

01:23:11,390 --> 01:23:13,650

That's the reason the book is titled.

01:23:13,650 --> 01:23:18,859

It happened is because it's all so

utterly counterintuitive that, that

01:23:18,870 --> 01:23:21,050

these things could have happened to me.

01:23:21,380 --> 01:23:25,560

Um, but they did, but yeah, if I

had one thing to say to myself,

01:23:25,560 --> 01:23:27,760

it would be, don't take this path.

01:23:27,880 --> 01:23:29,830

On the other hand, think about it.

01:23:30,940 --> 01:23:32,030

That is the path.

01:23:32,375 --> 01:23:34,225

by which I got to where I am.

01:23:34,775 --> 01:23:39,895

That's the path by which I got to the

point where I have an autobiography

01:23:39,905 --> 01:23:43,494

that the publisher is excited

about and think is going to sell.

01:23:43,815 --> 01:23:48,245

That's the path by which I've developed,

um, acquaintances and friendships,

01:23:48,494 --> 01:23:55,375

um, under which, for instance, my

nightly phone partner now, two or

01:23:55,375 --> 01:24:01,325

three times a week on the phone, is

America's most celebrated and prolific.

01:24:01,825 --> 01:24:07,005

Drama writer, another Texan named

Taylor Sheridan, Taylor Sheridan.

01:24:07,595 --> 01:24:10,175

Taylor Sheridan wrote

the forward for my book.

01:24:10,265 --> 01:24:10,925

Really?

01:24:11,825 --> 01:24:14,035

Marc Preston: He is my

current creative crush.

01:24:14,254 --> 01:24:15,455

I will say that cause he is

01:24:15,884 --> 01:24:17,435

Jim Lampley: everybody's

current creative crush.

01:24:17,485 --> 01:24:17,955

He is.

01:24:18,025 --> 01:24:19,144

And he is a dynamo.

01:24:19,314 --> 01:24:19,695

Marc Preston: I tell you,

01:24:19,695 --> 01:24:21,854

Jim Lampley: and he calls me at.

01:24:22,245 --> 01:24:26,325

10 o'clock his time, 11 o'clock

my time at night, and we spend an

01:24:26,335 --> 01:24:27,705

hour, hour and a half on the phone.

01:24:27,705 --> 01:24:33,935

My wife actually moved to another

bedroom because of a phone habit

01:24:33,975 --> 01:24:37,625

with Taylor Sheridan, and between

you and me, not to be spread around.

01:24:37,954 --> 01:24:42,805

She now refers to him as My boyfriend,

uh, is your boyfriend calling tonight,

01:24:43,065 --> 01:24:47,165

but you know, we caught up, we watched

some of Yellowstone, we've watched

01:24:47,165 --> 01:24:52,345

Landman, we're now watching Lioness,

uh, getting ready for season two.

01:24:52,555 --> 01:24:53,125

He's amazing.

01:24:53,495 --> 01:24:54,605

Oh, so you're still in

01:24:54,605 --> 01:24:55,905

Marc Preston: season one of Lioness?

01:24:56,134 --> 01:24:59,344

Well, at the end, I've spoke,

last few actors have spoken with,

01:24:59,344 --> 01:25:01,064

and we, we, we've discussed this.

01:25:01,104 --> 01:25:03,905

When you see the title, when you see

the credit come up at the end, written

01:25:03,905 --> 01:25:07,875

by Taylor Sheridan, not a, not a team

of writers written by Taylor Sheridan.

01:25:07,884 --> 01:25:08,134

He's.

01:25:09,460 --> 01:25:12,800

And you see all the shows he's

got on, he's not phoning it in.

01:25:13,030 --> 01:25:17,230

I don't know how he has time

to, uh, write like Landman.

01:25:17,230 --> 01:25:18,150

My

01:25:18,150 --> 01:25:22,300

Jim Lampley: friend, the former

CEO of HBO, Richard Pleckler, who

01:25:22,300 --> 01:25:26,090

was chairman of HBO for many of

the years that I worked there and

01:25:26,130 --> 01:25:28,630

greenlit all the big dramas at HBO.

01:25:29,100 --> 01:25:33,160

Richard has said to me two or three

times since he's learned about my

01:25:33,160 --> 01:25:34,860

acquaintance with Taylor Sheridan.

01:25:35,130 --> 01:25:37,570

He says, I don't

understand how he does it.

01:25:38,100 --> 01:25:43,160

I have no idea how one person could

be producing all of that at the level

01:25:43,160 --> 01:25:45,420

of which he's writing, but he is.

01:25:45,570 --> 01:25:47,690

I asked him, you'll love it.

01:25:48,210 --> 01:25:52,499

I asked him, I said, Taylor, did

you know when you got cast in Sons

01:25:52,500 --> 01:25:57,319

of Anarchy that you really wanted

to be a writer, producer, director?

01:25:57,320 --> 01:25:58,760

And he said, no, Jim.

01:25:59,215 --> 01:26:03,725

He said it was the experience of getting

cast in Sons of Anarchy and trying to

01:26:03,775 --> 01:26:09,025

act my way through all of those horrible

scripts that convinced me I needed to

01:26:09,025 --> 01:26:10,995

Marc Preston: be a producer, writer.

01:26:11,035 --> 01:26:14,444

You know, the thing I respect about him,

one of the things I respect the most

01:26:14,445 --> 01:26:16,865

about him is that he made a commitment.

01:26:16,894 --> 01:26:17,835

I'm going to do this thing.

01:26:17,905 --> 01:26:20,905

And boy, he did it, you know,

01:26:22,265 --> 01:26:25,295

Jim Lampley: when he,

when he told me blithely.

01:26:25,960 --> 01:26:29,750

You know that he wanted to write

the forward for my book in a bar

01:26:29,750 --> 01:26:31,870

in Las Vegas after a boxing match.

01:26:31,940 --> 01:26:32,330

All right.

01:26:32,670 --> 01:26:36,020

I came back and told my as told

to author Taylor is going to

01:26:36,020 --> 01:26:37,070

write the forward for the book.

01:26:37,070 --> 01:26:38,050

He said, are you crazy?

01:26:38,499 --> 01:26:39,640

Look at all the stuff he's doing.

01:26:39,650 --> 01:26:43,240

Do you really think Taylor Sheridan is

going to find time within his schedule

01:26:43,459 --> 01:26:44,790

to write the forward for the book?

01:26:44,960 --> 01:26:47,670

You fall for Hollywood

BS, et cetera, et cetera.

01:26:48,070 --> 01:26:51,360

He delivered the forward on exactly

the day that the publisher had,

01:26:51,480 --> 01:26:54,010

uh, had cited as the deadline.

01:26:54,265 --> 01:26:58,115

When Taylor says he's going to do

something, he's, he's going to do it.

01:26:58,195 --> 01:26:59,895

There's no question about it.

01:26:59,985 --> 01:27:02,435

So, uh, it's an amazing friendship.

01:27:02,455 --> 01:27:05,505

And by the way, why am I

friends with Taylor Sheridan?

01:27:05,894 --> 01:27:06,304

Boxing.

01:27:06,815 --> 01:27:11,754

He is a boxing lover, uh, from

the word go, and he is now.

01:27:12,005 --> 01:27:15,985

Going into gyms in both New

York and Las Vegas and sparring

01:27:15,995 --> 01:27:17,395

with professional fighters.

01:27:17,645 --> 01:27:20,464

And I think you'll see that in

a drama somewhere down the road.

01:27:20,855 --> 01:27:22,325

Marc Preston: You know, I've

always want to speak with him.

01:27:22,325 --> 01:27:24,425

I know, I know a couple of

his people and they it's like,

01:27:24,425 --> 01:27:25,615

he's just so busy right now.

01:27:25,615 --> 01:27:27,114

And it's like, ah, kill to talk to him.

01:27:27,565 --> 01:27:31,575

Uh, just because you look at what he's

done, the themes he puts in there.

01:27:31,575 --> 01:27:35,975

One of the things I noticed is that

all of his shows feature strong women.

01:27:36,185 --> 01:27:38,495

Which is kind of like one of those

things you don't really notice.

01:27:38,535 --> 01:27:41,215

And you think about like his shows,

like these women, the whole, like you,

01:27:41,215 --> 01:27:47,479

you look at the, uh, uh, uh, British

actress, uh, she's 1923, Helen Mirren.

01:27:47,479 --> 01:27:50,234

I mean, you, you look at she's fantastic.

01:27:50,235 --> 01:27:51,165

Yeah, absolutely.

01:27:51,335 --> 01:27:51,945

Why do you

01:27:51,945 --> 01:27:52,635

Jim Lampley: suppose.

01:27:52,985 --> 01:27:54,355

Taylor has all those strong women.

01:27:54,555 --> 01:27:58,185

That's one of the things I would love

to ask him because every show How

01:27:58,185 --> 01:27:59,695

much have I told you about my mother?

01:28:00,115 --> 01:28:03,754

Oh, do you think I would have had my

career if my mother had not shaped

01:28:03,754 --> 01:28:08,624

me the way she did my mother My

mother bought season tickets to go

01:28:08,625 --> 01:28:12,355

to university of miami football games

My mother saw to it that I could

01:28:12,365 --> 01:28:16,135

have a ticket to go see Cassius clay

versus sunny liston that ticket I

01:28:16,135 --> 01:28:19,565

think cost 100 which was unbelievable.

01:28:19,845 --> 01:28:21,124

That's a lot of money back then.

01:28:21,125 --> 01:28:21,495

Marc Preston: Yeah

01:28:22,285 --> 01:28:24,100

Jim Lampley: 1960 Four.

01:28:24,350 --> 01:28:24,810

Okay.

01:28:24,980 --> 01:28:26,080

It's 1964.

01:28:26,090 --> 01:28:30,620

So, um, the bottom line is

Taylor's mother was like my mother.

01:28:31,010 --> 01:28:31,360

All right.

01:28:31,750 --> 01:28:35,079

It's one of the reasons that we have

commonality and we speak with each other.

01:28:35,250 --> 01:28:37,779

Marc Preston: I've never heard anybody

else mentioned that, but I just noticed

01:28:37,780 --> 01:28:41,550

from show to show, basically the

heartbeat of the show really emanates

01:28:41,560 --> 01:28:46,670

from some kind of strong woman, or

even in, in, uh, the way, uh, Billy

01:28:46,670 --> 01:28:50,860

Bob Thornton's daughter and landman,

the way she just kind of matures there.

01:28:51,330 --> 01:28:51,640

There is.

01:28:52,975 --> 01:28:54,575

How about the Mexican girl on landmine?

01:28:54,735 --> 01:28:56,335

That's, that's, that's

what I was thinking about.

01:28:56,335 --> 01:28:56,788

His

01:28:56,788 --> 01:29:02,234

Jim Lampley: husband gets killed and

winds up in a relationship with the guy

01:29:02,235 --> 01:29:04,455

who created the accident who killed him.

01:29:04,834 --> 01:29:07,085

You know, who conceives that character?

01:29:07,355 --> 01:29:08,045

Marc Preston: Taylor does.

01:29:08,145 --> 01:29:09,725

It's so wonderful that you've got that.

01:29:09,755 --> 01:29:13,345

Uh, I think having storytellers,

you have stories, he's got stories.

01:29:13,345 --> 01:29:16,795

And I think those kinds of people are

so much fun, uh, to just sit down with.

01:29:16,795 --> 01:29:17,175

We talk

01:29:17,825 --> 01:29:20,165

Jim Lampley: about boxing and

we talk about storytelling.

01:29:20,645 --> 01:29:21,065

And.

01:29:21,665 --> 01:29:22,145

What a thrill.

01:29:22,485 --> 01:29:28,365

What a thrill that, that after a lifetime

of doing storytelling at one level, I

01:29:28,385 --> 01:29:31,114

can converse with him and he respects me.

01:29:31,245 --> 01:29:32,035

It's fabulous.

01:29:32,355 --> 01:29:34,394

Marc Preston: I think those kinds

of situations, relationships just

01:29:34,395 --> 01:29:37,774

make you better, make you appreciate

people and time and a place you're

01:29:37,774 --> 01:29:39,435

in a lot more, I think, but, uh.

01:29:39,815 --> 01:29:40,655

He's a great man.

01:29:41,185 --> 01:29:42,795

Jim Lampley: And, and,

and he's a great man.

01:29:43,090 --> 01:29:44,050

And a great friend.

01:29:44,200 --> 01:29:47,260

I could, I could not be more

enthusiastic about what has

01:29:47,260 --> 01:29:50,350

happened between me and that person.

01:29:50,620 --> 01:29:56,120

And I'm so thrilled for all of his,

um, constant and ongoing successes.

01:29:56,210 --> 01:29:58,629

Marc Preston: I so appreciate the

time you, you've spent with me.

01:29:58,629 --> 01:29:59,959

This was so much fun.

01:29:59,959 --> 01:30:02,850

I really appreciate, I know you're super

busy and I'm excited about the book.

01:30:03,000 --> 01:30:04,150

What's the release date on that?

01:30:04,310 --> 01:30:05,900

April 15, but

01:30:06,200 --> 01:30:11,560

Jim Lampley: you can pre order now

on Um, Amazon or Barnes and Noble

01:30:11,930 --> 01:30:16,790

and the title of the book is it

happened and the author is Jim Lampley

01:30:17,000 --> 01:30:18,890

Marc Preston: and it's

the story of my life.

01:30:19,139 --> 01:30:20,500

And that's a wonderful story.

01:30:20,500 --> 01:30:23,210

I, I'm looking forward to getting into it.

01:30:23,280 --> 01:30:25,900

Kind of filling in all the blanks here,