Julian Schlossberg: What a Lifetime in Show Business Taught Me (Part 2)

Welcome And Part Two Setup

Larry Samuels 0:02

Hello and welcome to the Career Journey Podcast, No Wrong Choices. My name is Larry Sam uels, and I'll be joined in just a moment by Larry Shea and Tushar Saxena. This episode is part two of our conversation with the media icon Julian Schlossberg. Before we get started, please be sure to like, follow, or subscribe to the show. Now let's pick things up with Larry Shea asking Julian about some of his current projects.

Building Movie Talk From Scratch

Larry Shea 0:27

Let's talk about movie talk. For those people out there who've never heard it, um, those four or five people, let's call them, um, tell us how it came about and what exactly it is and how much fun that is.

Julian Schlossberg 0:40

Well, if you guys have another hour and a half, I'll uh I'll tell you how it all beg I'll tell you how it all began. I'm starting to feel like Uncle Remus here. Um it it who the hell knows who Uncle Remus is even. Um but I I was working at the Walter Reed Theaters, and the man who physically was in charge of the theater, so I was in charge of the bookings, but he was in charge of the Ushers and the projectionists and the popcorn or whatever. And uh he said, How would you like to do a radio show? I said, What do you mean? He says, I'm friendly with the people over at WMCA and they they're dying on Sunday night. Would you consider doing the show? I said, sure. Well, why not? As I told you those days, if someone said, You want to jump off the Empire State, well, is it a good parachute? I mean now I'm not even taking the elevator to the top um of the Empire State. But uh, so we went over to WMCA and they said, Um, would you would would you go on the air as a guest uh today? I said, sure. When do you want to go on? They said five minutes. Five minutes? Okay. So in five minutes, they put me on with a lovely man named Leon Lewis, and he did a show and he asked me questions the way you guys were doing. And at the end of the show, I came off and they said, That was really good. Would you do another show? I said, fellas, makes no sense. If this isn't good enough, this is I peaked. This is the best I can do. I don't know if I can do as well as I just did. But I'll never do, I'm never gonna do better. So if this is not good enough, forget it. That's it. Right. They said, okay, the only thing we want you to do is change your name. I said, change my name. I said, this is New York City. I said, I understand if we're gonna be in Kansas or we're gonna be in Denver. This is New York. If I can't be a Jew in New York, where can I be? Right. I mean, I don't want to go to Tel Aviv. So the answer was that they the my friend who took me over there, the head of the the theater, said, Don't worry, Julian, they're gonna give it to you. You're not gonna have to change your name, and you and and you're gonna just get a show. And and so two days later, he calls me. It was a Thursday, and he said, We're on the air Sunday. I said, What? Oh my god, what do you mean? Who do we have? What are we doing? What's the format?

Tushar Saxena 3:12

What it's like the Wild West, man.

Julian Schlossberg 3:16

Yeah, he said, Don't worry, I've seen you, you can do it. And so I went on the air with um a fellow named Steve Friedman, I think. He produced the last picture show. That's how long ago it was. Sure. And and we did the show. And uh I started from 8 to 9 p.m. And in a few, oh, I don't know, maybe two months, they came to me and said, Would you could you go to 10 p.m.? We're gonna take the guy off at nine. I said, Well, sure, okay. And then I swear a couple months later they said, Would you go to 11?

Tushar Saxena 3:50

I said, because they had you you had they had your show starting at 8, and then they were pushing you to 11.

Julian Schlossberg 3:55

And you know, Tushar, you've become my subtitles. Thank you. Anyhow, we then went to 12, and now it was eight to more 12, and then they said, Will you go to one? And I said, now wait a second. I have a full-time job. I said, I generally go to sleep at 11 o'clock. I said, I'm out midnight, finish. That's it. And that's what happened. I went from eight to midnight uh on Sunday night for seven years, and we then syndicated the show around the country because I was getting Bob Hope, George Burns, Rex Harrison. Oh my god. I mean, I was getting people that like I did with uh Kazan, right? Look who's sitting across from me. Right. Rex Harris. I mean, it was just amazing to me that I could get these people, not because it was me, but they came to New York to plug whatever they were plugging, and there it was. And then the word got out, like again with Kazan, the word got out that this guy does his homework. Because I wouldn't let anybody on the show who hadn't I hadn't read their book, hadn't seen their show, hadn't gone to the movie, nobody would come on without me having done my homework. Because my feeling was, and I told this to Tushar recently, that if I'm going if someone's coming on my show and they're not getting paid, and they sure weren't, I have at least that obligation to make sure that I know what they're coming on for.

Larry Samuels 5:28

I'm curious, the show, were you interviewing people like Bob Hope before you approached Kazan? And is that where part of the courage came from?

Julian Schlossberg 5:40

Oh no, Bob Hope was way after Kazan. It was, okay. Yeah, Kazan was 66, and uh the show in New York started in 74, so that was nine years later.

Larry Samuels 5:50

Okay. So you'd worked up the courage and the confidence at that point.

Julian Schlossberg 5:54

Oh, yeah. I I mean, I I as you've heard, I I can speak. I'm able to talk. Yes. I'm up to the stumbling speaking debom. Like you're you're stepping into that with some uh bravado. But the difference was, I think, with a lot of people, and I'm sure you guys have seen it too, I would let the peoples talk. I mean, I the the most horrible thing is to watch some of these guys on television interrupting guests who have come on who have something to say, and they don't know when to shut

How To Be A Better Interviewer

Julian Schlossberg 6:29

up.

Larry Shea 6:29

That's what I was gonna ask you. You know, it's so funny. This is a career journey podcast, and people hopefully are listening to us and our guests to get career advice and to learn a journey. So I'm gonna flip the tables now. What is you being a great interviewer? Give us advice, give the three of us advice. What is the key to giving a great interview?

Julian Schlossberg 6:51

Listen to what the guest is saying. It's amazing to hear some of these guys. They have their questions in front of them. And someone says, uh, yes, I had an interesting life, but uh I had a sister and a brother, and my sister sadly committed suicide. Well, tell me about your brother, and you say, wait a second.

Speaker 4 7:15

Right.

Julian Schlossberg 7:16

So yeah, they don't listen. And you know it as a listen as a listener. So but you guys do that. You came in here today with, I mean, Larry started out, Larry above, Larry Samuel, whatever. So started with who I was. I mean, yeah, it was nice to hear it. I was a little, as I said, I was a little shocked, but it was nice to hear it.

Larry Samuels 7:37

I thought it would be a funny way to enter the conversation.

Tushar Saxena 7:40

I said, Oh, this guy at least knows a little about who I am. The similarities now from your life as a radio, uh, as a radio host to your life as a podcasting host.

Podcasting Freedom Versus Live Radio

Tushar Saxena 7:54

What are the similarities? What are the differences?

Julian Schlossberg 7:56

I I don't know any difference uh at all. Uh the only difference was that it was live when I was doing it, and on the podcast, it's not live. So that uh I have the ability if I want to edit, and sometimes I do, but I try not to. I like it to be the way it was. I may edit if a plane comes flying into the into the audio track, but by and large, I try to keep the show the way it is, and I'm very proud of those interviews because I really do I go in depth. I I I don't go in for, you know, uh what have you what have you done lately? I kind of want to hear where the person came from, the way you guys did. Uh I I believe in that. I did the last two interviews that Rob Reiner ever gave. And they're just I'm so proud of those. I'm so horrified of what happened to him, but but proud of the fact that we really went over that career and what he went through. He really did not have it easy, and yet it sounded like, oh, son of Carl Reiner. Well, he he paid his dues, and uh uh it was interesting.

Larry Samuels 9:07

But I listen to the first part, it's fantastic.

Larry Shea 9:10

Yeah, I I referred both interviews. The Mary Tyler Moore story is fantastic. Everybody should go listen.

Julian Schlossberg 9:16

I mean, it's just brilliant stuff. Well, thank you. I'm so glad you listened. And and I and you know, I've done three, I did three interviews with Woody Allen, and of course, he's controversial these days, which in itself saddens me a great deal. But I'm closer to it than most, and I know or I believe in my heart that never happened. But we don't want to get into that. I can only say that having done three shows with him, I'm so pleased that I was able to do that. I it it mattered a lot to me. And since he generally doesn't do interviews, this to stay hours as he did was very important to me. Are you still in contact with with all of these people? Not

Fame, Friendship, And Unexpected Truths

Julian Schlossberg 9:56

all. It depends on the person. And the the one thing about show business, it's not uh, as you guys know, often it it doesn't, it's not adhesive, it doesn't stick. You you you may sleep and drink and work with someone for six or eight months on a project and may never see them again. And and I was so naive at the beginning of my career, I was interviewing Rod Stager, and I said to Rod Stager, uh, that scene with you and Marlon Brando in the back where I could have, he says I could have been a contender, and you're there. I said, Do you and Marlon Brando ever talk about that? And he said to me, Mr. Brando and I have never spoken or seen each other since that movie. Oh geez. Wow, wow. And and and of course you learn, you you learn by doing the interviews that it helps you with the next person. I mean, Jack Nicholson said to me, I'll never forget it. He said, Julian, every time I start a movie, I don't know if I still have it. What? Oh wow.

Tushar Saxena 10:59

Jack Nicholson? I can't believe I can't believe that said that came out of his mouth.

Julian Schlossberg 11:03

Yeah, I I that's exactly how I felt. And and it's those kind of things where you you saw are so it boggles your mind, and of course you don't forget it. You can't forget it. Because I mean, he I I he's as good as any actor that ever walked the stage, you know. Now, I I was close, forgive me, it's name-dropping time, I guess. Or I didn't look up the sign, name-dropping time. Um I I was friendly with George C. Scott. He was doing uh a play on Broadway called Sly Fox. And I would go uh often, he used to say, When you're in the neighborhood, stop by, and that was great. And I'd go by and he would often be playing chess with his dresser. His dresser, he had the dresser who was a good chess player. So he that dresser got a job because he was a good chess player, not necessarily a good dresser, even. But he would be playing, and I would see the rest often the cast. It was a big cast, Hector Alessandro, Gretchen Weiler, Bob Dishy, wonderful people, Jack Guilford. And I see a lot of them warming up and doing exercises, et cetera. And George is moving his night or his work, and they come and say, uh, George, you're on now. And he'd get up and walk out and do the show. There was no preparation, nothing. That's how great an actor he was. And it turns out, as he told me, he never took an acting lesson in his life, never studied, nothing. So, you know, some people have it, some people don't. I I asked Kazan who was the greatest actor he ever worked with or knew. He said initially it was Brando. He said then it was George C. Scott, and now this was years later, he said now it's Gene Hackman. So it was interesting that who he thought. I never met Hackman. I wanted to. I knew that it's I don't know if you guys know this, but Dustin Hoffman, Robert Duval, and Gene Hackman all roomed together. They were penniless. I did not know, I did not know this. And and I got to know uh Dustin and and Bobby Duval, and and actually represented both of them, but I never got to know Hackman. I would have loved to, even though I heard he was not the easiest guy to know.

Larry Samuels 13:14

Julian, as you look back at the show that you did, Movie Talk, can you just what are some of your favorite interviews from that time?

Julian Schlossberg 13:23

Well, I think of Bob Hope and George Burns and John Houston and Betty Davis and Jack Nicholson and Dustin Hoffman. But I have a show called Witnesses to the 20th Century. And on that, I interviewed 140 of the most extraordinary people on the planet. And I got to interview Willie Mays.

Speaker 4 13:43

Come on.

Julian Schlossberg 13:43

It was one of the great thrills of my life. Now I was in San Francisco. I had just left Clint Eastwood talking about name-dropping, but I had just interviewed Clint Eastwood, and uh he had he had come late, and uh, so I had to leave. And he said, Oh, Julian, I'm enjoying this. I said, but Clint, you came late, and I can't keep Willie Mays waiting. Willie Mays, he'll take a baseball back to you. You better get there on time. So I I I go to San Francisco and I have the same crew. I had done uh Joan Baez, I had done George Schultz, the Secretary of State for Nixon and whatever. Anyhow, I get to the hotel room, my crew is there, and they said, Look, we have done interviews with Willie Mays. He's monosyllabic. He's gonna only say yes and no. If it's not you, we've seen how you handle Eastwood and Joan Baez. So don't be concerned, that's what's gonna happen. So into the hotel room, we've had a suite, comes uh this older man hobbling along, and I say, Oh my god, it's the say hey kid. And you would have thought I took adrenaline and stuck it in his arm. He went like this, he went like that, and he was mine and I was his because I loved him. He was my God. I mean, I as a kid to watch this man to watch him catch the ball this way, and I remember saying to him, you know, Mr. Mays, oh, you gotta call me Willie. I said, You know, Willie, one of the most exciting things for me was to watch you run and catch a ball and your hat would fly off. And he said, Julia, let me tell you something. I made sure the hat was two sizes too big for me.

Larry Samuels 15:33

Come on.

Julian Schlossberg 15:34

Oh, geez. That's part of the show. I thought to myself, but you asked me earlier. That show business. There it is. He understood it. Yep, he got it. I remember interviewing uh Phil Donahue, who became a good friend, and he and Marlowe threw my wedding wedding of for my wife and myself. So we we had to come pretty close. And he told me the story. Uh, he asked Muhammad Ali, how did it all happen for you? And he said, Muhammad Ali said, when I was a kid in Louisville, I would go to wrestling, and there was a wrestler named George Gorgeous George. And gorgeous George had a blonde wig, and he would say he was brilliant, and he'd at the crowd, and he said, I'm the greatest. And he said, and I stole that. I just stole that from Gorgeous George.

Larry Samuels 16:25

I remember my father talking about him. I do.

Julian Schlossberg 16:29

And it's true, when you get those kind of stories, it's history. Yeah. History that all four of us love. I know you guys do. That's why I feel confident telling you these things, because I know even if it doesn't go on the air, it's something you won't forget.

Tushar Saxena 16:46

We could do three hours on this podcast. We could so easy. Um okay, so uh I kind of want to stick with the with the talk with doing a radio show and doing podcasting. So you said before that you don't find that there's a great deal of difference, uh that there wasn't a great deal of difference between the two in terms of the in terms of being a host for one or the other. Do you find that there is a great deal of difference between the two mediums themselves in terms of being a talk show host?

Julian Schlossberg 17:14

Well, the the greatest thing about the podcast is I sit in my home. You know, I mean there's nothing better than not even have to drive into Manhattan.

Tushar Saxena 17:23

Well, I mean, you could I mean today's day in today's day and age, technology allows you, you could do your radio show from home.

Julian Schlossberg 17:28

I mean, look, Howard Stern's done it for years, right? Well, that's absolutely true. But when I was doing it, you couldn't. You know, it was in the 70s and you could not do that. So the idea that I can do it sitting in my home, that that is wonderful. I I just love it. I also like the idea that nobody's in any way telling me what to do. It's totally my show, 100%. And at WMCA, I have to admit, it was my show too, because they didn't care. It was Sunday night, they didn't give a damn what I did, and that was kind of fun. They would have cared if I was um Barry Gray or Long John Nebel or these guys who were icons of radio, but I was a Sunday night and they didn't give a damn. So uh I did have total freedom, in fact, with that. And I like that, it's important to me. Uh I was once given an award by the president of CBS Films, and he said, Julian Schlossberg is an independent with a capital I. And I thought, wow, I like that. I like that. I I I I'd like to feel that's true. And and then most of the times I was able to generate the shows I wanted to do and the people I wanted to interview. And I've turned down people that I didn't want to interview because I found them dull as people, or their careers were not interesting to me. And I guess that's a certain it certainly sounds arrogant. I don't mean it that way. I want to I want to be enthused about the person I'm talking to. Of course. It's your time too. Yeah, and you know, you guys asked earlier what's another factor. Yes. Once you started, Larry, the way you did with me, that was it. You know, I was hooked on the first seven sentences, you know, because you knew I knew I was in the hands of three guys who were gonna know about my life. And that's why I've enjoyed this show. And I'm not now I'm not saying goodbye. You just have to keep talking to me. It's it's all right.

Larry Samuels 19:33

We're gonna give you three of an idea. We're gonna kick you off.

Julian Schlossberg 19:36

You remember I told you I got hooked on show business, I'm hooked on you three.

Larry Samuels 19:42

That's now a promo. We're gonna have to find a way to use them.

What Changed In Show Business

Larry Samuels 19:46

So we we've talked a bit about television, we've talked a bit about distribution, we've talked a bit about broadway, and we've now talked about broadcasting. So you've had uh a really great career where you've had a chance to do a lot of things over an extended period of time. And I'm curious, the the industry has changed dramatically since you entered it uh up until today. Um, and I have like three different questions I want to ask with that as the premise. So, first, what feels the most familiar after all this time?

Julian Schlossberg 20:23

I guess my ability to pick up a phone and call someone important in the business that I never had until I had some prominence in the business. So that's a real thrill for me, especially when I can put people together. A friend will call and say, uh, I I have a book. Um, I who could who would be good to read this book on a on a podcast? And I'll pick up the phone and call hypothetically uh F. Murray Abraham with a gorgeous voice or someone like that, and uh see if they want to do it. So yeah, I like that part of the business a lot.

Larry Samuels 21:01

What feels the most different?

Julian Schlossberg 21:04

Well, as I said earlier, the Selena Gomez story, I don't know so many of the people now. Uh where I knew everyone, or I thought I did, I don't know so many of them. So I I find that the people I know are probably 50 plus, you know. I don't know the young, I don't know the young people at all. And uh I I don't feel uh unhappy about it. I just recognize that's what it is. If I start, I I haven't produced a show in a couple of years since I did one show during COVID, not a brilliant way to produce, uh but uh since that time I I haven't, except I'm putting some film together because uh that that's what I do. We just uh Lane May and I just appeared at Lincoln Center last month, and that was a lot of fun. Um she's so prominent in uh New York, and people know who she is, and so. So when when she walked out in that theater, you would have thought it was Bruce Springsteen. One of you guys love Bruce Springsteen, I imagine. I do. At least two. See the poster behind me. And and I co-produced and co-directed his only movie, No Nukes. Oh, you did? No nukes. No No kidding.

Larry Samuels 22:20

Oh, I love that concert film.

Julian Schlossberg 22:21

I've watched it a million times. Well, thank you. I I love making it. And uh yes, and I loved working with him and uh and Jackson Brown and Graham Nash and Carly Simon. For sure. James Taylor was a wonderful group of people. It was a great experience. And uh I remember running up Third Avenue with wet what we call a wet print. We had just printed the print and it was opening at noon, and I got there at a quarter to 12 with the reels for that for cinema. Cinema one, cinema two. And uh it was exciting. Exciting time. Yeah.

Larry Samuels 22:58

It's it's one of the, I mean, of course I'm biased, but it's one of the better concert films that has ever been put out there. I think you know, The Talking Head Stop Making Sense is arguably to me the best. Um, but that movie is is absolutely spectacular.

Julian Schlossberg 23:15

Will you marry me? It is, it's right.

Larry Samuels 23:19

My last question of this series is you know, what have we lost in terms of character, personality, credibility, style? Like what is the industry lost that that's missing from those early days, if anything?

Julian Schlossberg 23:36

Well, you know, when I started out, people had to really have a resume. You couldn't become, quote, an overnight success. It didn't work that way. Uh performers had to play vaudeville before they got to bigger theaters and you started in radio, then you went to television. There had to be a resume. Now somebody sleeps with somebody and they become uh an overnight sensation. I mean, to me, it's uh I feel like uh Waldorf or Astoria, the two guys in the Muppets who sit up in the lounge and complain about everything. And I don't want to be that guy, but but uh it uh it hurt it hurts me. It it hurts me to see people that I consider talentless getting a career when people who have great talent are not. Now it's always been that way somewhat, but generally there weren't talentless people who had a career. They had some talent. These people did nothing except, you know, make a sex tape or something. I mean, it was absurd. And I don't even want to watch that tape. The quality's lousy. Um That's right.

Tushar Saxena 24:51

The sound, the sounding involved. It's all about the story. There's no story involved. Um so I guess that kind of leads into this question then, which is Is there a is there is there a director today that you want to watch? Is there an actor, a current actor you want to watch? Is there a movie that you've enjoyed over the last five years that you said you know that you probably that you feel would have been out of your comfort zone?

Julian Schlossberg 25:17

Oh, that's really tough for me because I really have become a bit of a naysayer. Yeah, that because that that's what I I want to know if that if that's the case, if that you know, if you're I I liked Oppenheimer, I was interested in that. That was an interesting movie. Um, but no, by and large, I'm I'm having trouble. I'm having trouble voting as an Academy member. I left being a Tony voter because I just couldn't take the shows, so many of them. I'm afraid that mediocrity is being heralded and it bothers me. And so I'm trying to, I guess, be a bit of an ostrich, you know, put my head in and just say, forget it. Um, and and and I don't want to feel that way. I I've always been an optimist. I've always felt that the glass was two-thirds filled, but uh sadly I don't feel that way now about the business. Now, of course, there's talented people and there are some wonderful films, I'm sure, being made, even though it seems that television has come up with some real good film more than movies right now. Movies are kind of being made for 14-year-old boys. That's what basically is happening. And uh, that's what seems that those are the ones going to the movies. So it's a different, different business for me. And I'm glad yeah, I am glad I'm in my last act because this would not be where I'd want to be now. So, and I don't want to sound that way. I I feel bad even saying it, but since I'm trying not to have my nose grow, I'd like to tell the truth if I can.

No Regrets And Career Wisdom

Larry Shea 26:52

I'm trying to think of how to phrase this question as we wind down here, but um, I'll I'll say it like this. Uh, knowing that there are no wrong choices, do you have any regrets? Do you have a decision that you've made that you wish you had to do over or something that comes to mind in that regard? To quote Mr.

Julian Schlossberg 27:09

Sinatra's song Regrets, I've had a few, but then again, too few dimensions. There we go. The fact is that uh I made mistakes. We all make mistakes, we all stumble. And of course I made the mistakes. But I was having dinner, forgive me again with Woody Allen, and uh he was saying something that he regretted. And I said, Woody, I don't regret anything. He says, Oh, come on, Julian. Everybody regrets things. I said, No, no, I've made mistakes. I said, but the regrets, that's part of the fabric of my life. That's who I was. I hope I learned from them, but no, I don't regret it. I if I made a mistake, I I hope I learned from it. So no, I I've never felt that. I've never felt regrets at all. Uh, I can't, I mean, there are plays that I did that some other people would say you should regret, but uh, but I didn't. I didn't I didn't do any, I never put my name on anything that I wasn't proud of, ever.

Larry Samuels 28:06

Well, to that point, um, as we as we do start to to wrap up, advice.

Tushar Saxena 28:17

You don't want to stop talking. We got to kick you off at something.

Julian Schlossberg 28:20

I'm gonna get the hook. You're giving me the hook. There's no hook.

Larry Samuels 28:24

There's no you can this answer can be 35 minutes long. I would argue that based upon the career you've had, it can be. Maybe it should be.

Tushar Saxena 28:34

The answer to this question will be episode two.

Larry Samuels 28:39

So, you know, having done so many things, having met so many different people, overcome so many obstacles, a young person coming into the entertainment industry today, and obviously there are many different ways to enter. Um, what wisdom do you have to pass along? I guess to any young person entering a new career. Like, what that what should they keep in mind? What should they do? What did you learn along the way that that could really help somebody?

Tushar Saxena 29:09

Forget them. What about us?

Julian Schlossberg 29:13

I I think what I would say is what I said earlier that I did. I said, I want to learn all aspects of whatever I'm doing. If and if I was gonna be a plumber, I'd want to know how to do it every which way. I'd want to get to the best plumber, find out what he did. I'd like to be able to just know my career, know what I'm doing, not just do, quote, a job, but to try to be able to say, I'm gonna be the best I can be in this job. And and that's what I would advise anybody. But in show business, you better be able to hang on to the ledge. Because most people in show business who want to be in it let go. They let go because it's too tough. It is the toughest business there is, except maybe again, uh maybe being some sort of a surgeon, I guess. But by and large, it's competitive, it's ruthless. There are people you'll meet that you would never want to be in a foxhole whip. And uh by and large, uh if if you don't really take it seriously, you're not gonna make it in any field, in my opinion. But at least try to learn it. And if there are mistakes going on and people are trying to advise you, and you make enough mistakes, you gotta think to yourself if enough people are telling you you're drunk, at least sit down.

Larry Samuels 30:37

There might be something to this, it may be on the nose.

Julian Schlossberg 30:42

You're right.

Book Titles And Producer War Stories

Larry Samuels 30:44

Awesome. Well, we also, before we go, want to talk about the other stuff that you've been working on. So um, you have your podcast, Movie Talk, and Tales from Hollywood, but you also have two books, correct?

Julian Schlossberg 30:57

Yes, I do. I have two books that I actually wrote without a ghost writer. Yeah, one is called Try Not to Hold It Against Me, uh Producer's Life, and the other is my first book, part two. And uh both have introductions by the great Elaine May, who wrote the forwards for both, and uh my dear friend. And the um I'll tell you how how I try not to hold it against me as a title. There was a movie to duo in the 30s named Olsen and Johnson. You probably never heard of them, but they they were the like the Abbott and Costello of their time. Got it, okay. And and uh Oli Olson and Chick Johnson, and they did something you probably did hear of called Hells of Poppin'. That was the name of their big show. Anyhow, in one of their shows, a little heavy guy like Lou Costello was named Chick Johnson, and he's on the stand, and the prosecutor is yelling at him, you remember anything you say can be held against you. And he jumps up and goes, Marlena Dietrich.

Larry Samuels 32:09

That's brilliant.

Julian Schlossberg 32:12

So I remember first thinking, well, that's pretty risque for the 30s. Yeah, that is. And number two, what a what an interesting title. But I had used it with Burt Reynolds. God, here we go again. Dropping the names. Anyhow, I wanted Burt Reynolds to do Sly Fox. I wanted to bring back Sly Fox, and I did uh uh with uh Richard Dreyfus. But but at that time I wanted Burt Reynolds because he had done, he had never done Broadway, but he had his own theater in Jupiter, Florida. So he was doing plays, and I I left him a message, uh, because God forbid any of them pick up their own phone. I left him a message and said, uh, hi uh Bert, my name is Julian Schlossberg. I'm a New York City producer. Try not to hold it against me. And he he found that funny. He called back and we negotiated. And once again, it it didn't happen. Um, you know, one of the things you get as a producer, agent, or a manager, or the star himself will say, Oh, I'm interested, I'm interested. And I feel very strongly that there are people buried in Forest Lawn who have been told, I'm interested, I'm interested.

Tushar Saxena 33:30

That's on the tombstone, yeah.

Julian Schlossberg 33:32

Thank you again. You see, you've done it again.

Larry Samuels 33:36

Well, I was gonna say, well, thank you for being honest with us when you told us that you were interested. Okay.

Julian Schlossberg 33:42

Well, I am I am I I really like doing the show. I don't want you to stop it. I'm I'm I'm hooked.

Tushar Saxena 33:51

I'm hooked. That's what we want to hear, Julian. That's what we want to hear.

Larry Shea 33:55

Leave them wanting more.

Tushar Saxena 33:56

Yeah. The oldest antigen show business. Exactly right. That's right. That's right.

Larry Samuels 34:01

Well, Julian, you know, this has been so great. Everybody, make sure you check out the podcast, uh, movie talk with Julian Schlossberg and Tales from Hollywood, the two books we just mentioned, Try Not to Hold It Against Me, and my first book, part two. I I don't know which title I like better, but I love that one. Uh, Julian, you know, thank you so much for for spending this time with us today.

Julian Schlossberg 34:25

Well, I want to thank you three. I was a little daunted by the idea that three against one, but I think we all held our own. All of us. I think we did. It's been a pleasure.

Tushar Saxena 34:34

The only question we didn't get to is your picture behind you with Obama.

Julian Schlossberg 34:38

Yes.

Tushar Saxena 34:39

That's the only thing we didn't talk about today.

Julian Schlossberg 34:40

Well, how about another show? That'll be the next show. That'll be perfect, perfect. I I become a podcast whore, obviously. Love it. I do want to say, if I may, yeah, please, please. That my show is on Facebook. It's Julian Schlossberg's movie talk. It's on Facebook once a week. And my two books I recorded myself. I didn't get an actor because I thought, I think I know this better than anyone, this particular book. Anyhow, guys, I'm no kidding. I've done a lot of interviews all my life. This is as good an interview as I've ever had, and I truly appreciate it. I really do. We appreciate that, sir. And uh, you know, who knows? We may all meet one

Host Reflections And Listener Next Steps

Speaker 35:24

day.

Larry Samuels 35:24

So that was Julian Schlossberg. And guys, I really think that might be one of my favorite conversations that we have ever had on this podcast. I don't like to do that because you don't want to compare one against another, but he was absolutely fascinating. Larry Shea, uh, what did you learn?

Larry Shea 35:47

I mean, I have a hard time seeing him in a different profession, right? Right? Let's just start right there. Like, we always talk about like so-and-so is built for this. So-and-so, I'm like, I'm like, Julian, this is no surprise how successful he became because he just was built for this, you know, it's just so epic. And I guess I also just want to say, like, you know, I don't think we talk about it enough on this show is shoot for the stars, go after your dreams. Because this was a guy who from a very young age saw something that he wanted out of life and just did everything he could to go after it and uh and obtain it. And we don't say that enough, you know. Like I I talk about it with my Steely Dan roots all the time. Like somebody was getting that job out of college, why couldn't it be me? So apply for it, go for it, shoot for the stars, aim high, because even if you fall a little short, you're still gonna be at the stars. You know, like it's just that simple. Um and the other thing I really took away is just relationships. I mean, how could you not love this guy? How could you not see how he literally created a web of people who wanted to help him, who he wanted to help. And it was about all these relationships in his life that just mattered at the end of the day to create this career journey that was just epic. So, yes, uh Larry, I agree with you wholeheartedly. One of my favorite conversations as well.

Tushar Saxena 37:16

Let's be honest, guys. Julian Schlossberg is one of the bigger characters we've had on the show. Um and you know me, I'm a huge nerd when it comes to radio, TV, movies. So the idea of being able to speak to someone of the caliber of a Julian Schlossberg is so cool. Um what really impressed me was his ability to understand his spot or his place within the show business sphere, right? The show business world. And, you know, sometimes maybe we don't do a good enough job on the program of emphasizing that show business is a business, and we look at the business side of show. Um, you know, we've had plenty of actors on, we've had plenty of producers on, but here's a man who's kind of been on both sides of that fence. And, you know, the other thing we have to say about Julian Schlossberg is simply this the man is crazy, crazy creative. Whether it be radio, television, you know, movies, uh podcasting now. He's a he's an author. He's done theater. This guy is constantly feeding that creative beast. And I am very, very uh anxious to see what comes next from Julian. And I think we ought to take him up on his offer at some point and see if we can meet up with him wherever it may be in the very near future.

Larry Samuels 38:38

For sure. And uh make your own opportunities. You know, nobody's gonna give anything to you. Put yourself out there, say yes, make connections, be creative, and go for it. And Toucher, you touched on something that I was gonna dig into, which was um, you know, bad experiences are also valuable. Uh, I've had, you know, many uh uh roles in my lifetime that I have deeply disliked. However, I have pulled life-changing relationships forward with me that I have to this day, and and some of whom are the most wonderful people in my life. So you get something good out of everything. Just keep moving your feet, believe in yourself, create opportunities, and things will happen for you. So, you know, with that, Julian, thank you so much for spending the time with us today. I want to make sure that everybody knows the name of his podcast is Movie Talk. It is fantastic, and you will be stunned, maybe. Although after now that we've gotten to know him, you won't be stunned because this guy knows everybody, but he has fascinating guests on that show. You'll want to check that out. Julian, thank you so much for joining us. We also thank you for joining us. Please be sure to like, follow, or subscribe to the show if you enjoyed the conversation. Five-star ratings are helpful too. You can also connect with us on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If this conversation inspired you to think of somebody who could be a great guest, please let us know via the contact page of our website, which can be found at NoWongChoices.com. Be sure to check out our blog while you're there. On behalf of Larry Shea, Tushar Saxena, and me, Larry Samuels, thank you again for joining us.