Best Wondery 14th Street Studios Michael Osborne Dead Celebrity Biographies From A Different Point Of View Podcasts (2025)

1
Community Gardener (Penny Marshall) 1:01:06

7d ago1:01:06

1:01:06

This person died in 2018, age 75. She had a self-effacing personality, which colleagues and interviewers often commented on. She was the first woman to direct a feature film that grossed more than $100 million. She also directed “Awakenings” (1990), a medical drama starring Robert De Niro. She got into directing the ‘easy’ way — by becoming a telev…

1
Maverick Lawman (James Garner) 1:00:42

14d ago1:00:42

1:00:42

This person died 2014 age 86. In high school he played football and basketball. In 1950, when the Korean War broke out, he was drafted. An understated comic actor, he was especially adept at conveying life’s tiny bedevilments. He was a genuine star but as an actor something of a paradox: a lantern-jawed, brawny athlete whose physical appeal was bot…

1
Magical Thinker (Joan Didion) 59:34

21d ago59:34

59:34

This person died 2021, age 87. As a teenager, she typed out chapters from Hemingway novels to see how they worked. Her attraction to trouble spots, disintegrating personalities and incipient chaos came naturally. She came to prominence with a series of incisive, searching feature articles in Life magazine and The Saturday Evening Post that explored…

1
Soul Queen (Aretha Franklin) 1:03:56

1M ago1:03:56

1:03:56

This person died 2018, age 76. She had a child two months before her 13th birthday. She started teaching herself to play the piano before she was 10, picking up songs from the radio.In 1969, she dropped her husband as manager and eventually filed restraining orders against him. She also went through a period of heavy drinking before getting sober i…

1
Divine Neighbor (Fred Rogers) 59:38

2M ago59:38

59:38

This person died 2003 age 74.He was an ordained Presbyterian minister. He once volunteered at a state prison in Pittsburgh and helped set up a playroom for children visiting their parents. Eddie Murphy parodied him on "Saturday Night Live." One of his sweaters hangs in the Smithsonian Institution. He composed his own songs for his show and began ea…

1
Crikey Inner Child (Steve Irwin) 1:00:32

2M ago1:00:32

1:00:32

This person died in 2006, age 44. He was an ebullient staple of American talk shows. His American-born wife was his business partner and on-screen co-star. His fame engendered books, action figures and interactive games. For a time, tube-watching pub crawlers played a drinking game, hoisting a glass every time he said, “Crikey!” or, “Isn’t she a be…

1
Pleasure Activist (Julia Child) 1:00:13

3M ago1:00:13

1:00:13

This person died 2004, age 91. Her father was a wealthy farm consultant and investor; her mother was a housewife with a cook and maid. She attended Smith College, and she had some vague idea of being a novelist or a basketball star. After World War II broke out, she signed up for intelligence work with the Office of Strategic Services, hoping to be…

1
Time Pilgrim (Kurt Vonnegut) 1:00:45

3M ago1:00:45

1:00:45

This person died 2007 age 84. He studied for a master’s degree in anthropology at the University of Chicago, writing a thesis on “The Fluctuations Between Good and Evil in Simple Tales.” Like Mark Twain, he used humor to tackle the basic questions of human existence. With a blend of science fiction, philosophy and jokes, he wrote about the banaliti…

1
Ranch Dresser (Paul Newman) 59:47

3M ago59:47

59:47

This person died in 2008 at age 83. In the early 1950s he was accepted as a student at the Actors Studio in New York, where he took lessons alongside James Dean, Geraldine Page, and Marlon Brando. In midlife, racing cars became his obsession. He acted in more than 65 movies over more than 50 years, drawing on a physical grace, unassuming intelligen…

1
Total Consciousness (Harold Ramis) 58:29

4M ago58:29

58:29

This person died in 2014 at age 69. In the late 1960s he was hired as jokes editor at Playboy magazine, and he also joined Second City’s touring company. After he had taken a job with SCTV, the Toronto sketch comedy show, SNL approached him to be a writer. His breakthrough came in 1978 when he co-wrote “National Lampoon’s Animal House,” and he made…

1
Chief Margarita Officer (Jimmy Buffett) 57:03

4M ago57:03

57:03

This person died in 2023 at age 76. He was an accomplished author, and was one of only a few writers (the likes of Ernest Hemingway and John Steinbeck) to top both the Times fiction and non-fiction best-seller lists. He moved to Nashville in 1970, hoping to make it as a country singer while working as a journalist for Billboard magazine. He wrote m…

1
American Royalty (Elizabeth Taylor) 59:39

5M ago59:39

59:39

This person died in 2011 at age 79. Her father was an art dealer who had been transferred to London from New York, and her mother had acted in the theater. She first appeared on screen at age 10, and was one of the world’s most famous film stars before she even completed her teens. Regarding her acting, she once said, “What I try to do is to give t…

1
Acerbic Comedian (George Carlin) 59:14

5M ago59:14

59:14

This person died 2008 at age 71. He grew up with his mother and his older brother on West 121st in Manhattan. He dropped out of high school and joined the Air Force, and while stationed in Shreveport, Louisiana, worked as a radio disc jockey. During the course of his career, he overcame numerous personal trials – he was arrested several times, he w…

1
Studio Insider (James Lipton) 58:37

6M ago58:37

58:37

This person died in 2020 at age 93. He was the only child of a noted Beat poet. He won his first professional acting job in the 1940s, when he was cast in the live radio program “The Lone Ranger”. On several occasions he recounted a period of months he spent in Paris in the 1950s working as a “mec” – or pimp – for a legal prostitute. His associatio…

1
Big Adventurer (Paul Reubens aka Pee-wee Herman) 59:27

6M ago59:27

59:27

This person died in 2023 at age 70. A turning point in his career came shortly after a disappointing and unsuccessful audition for “Saturday Night Live” in 1980. He once said “Today, it’s a lot more difficult to stand out. You know, if you want to be weird, good luck.” He had scores of acting credits, including roles on “Murphy Brown,” “The Blackli…

1
Surely Serious (Leslie Nielsen) 58:54

7M ago58:54

58:54

This person died in 2010 at age 84. His elder brother was deputy prime minister of Canada. Before his 18th birthday, he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force and trained as an aerial gunner during World War II. He had a matinee-idol profile, and was often cast as a serious and earnest hero throughout much of his film career. His big break came i…

1
Dirty Dancer (Patrick Swayze) 59:40

7M ago59:40

59:40

This person died in 2009 at age 57. His father was an engineer and a rodeo cowboy. He was a student athlete, and his dancing career was hampered by a severe football injury. In the 1970s he moved from Houston to New York to study dance, becoming a member of Eliot Feld Ballet. He was determined not to be typecast, and said in a 1989 interview, “The …

1
Simply the Best (Tina Turner) 58:17

8M ago58:17

58:17

This person died 2023 at age 83. In 2013, after demonstrating a proficiency in German, she became a citizen of Switzerland. In 1987, she appeared in a Pepsi commercial alongside David Bowie. She is credited with helping Mick Jagger learn to dance. In 1988, She held a concert for 180,000 people in Rio de Janeiro, breaking the record for the largest …

1
Boundary Breaker (Barbara Walters) 56:36

8M ago56:36

56:36

This person died in 2022 at age 93. In 1976, she became known as the “million-dollar baby” because of a contract with ABC that made her the highest-paid journalist, male or female, in television history. She was married three times, and between marriages she dated many prominent and powerful people, among them Senator John Warner and Federal Reserv…

1
More Respect (Rodney Dangerfield) 57:36

9M ago57:36

57:36

This person died in 2004 at age 82. His big break came in 1967 when, at age 44 and relatively unknown, he won a spot on "The Ed Sullivan Show". At one point he quit show business for over a dozen years and worked as an aluminum salesman and house painter. On stage he portrayed a hapless, self-deprecating Everyman slapped around by life and searchin…

1
Vocal Bedrock (Johnny Cash) 57:30

9M ago57:30

57:30

This person died in 2003 at age 71, He is considered a pioneer of rock 'n' roll, and in 1992 he was elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, after he had also been inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. In the early 2000s, a video of his won six nominations at the MTV Video Music Awards. He fought a long battle against addiction. His voice…

1
Famous & Gravy Announcement! 14:18

9M ago14:18

14:18

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

1
Rebel Rebel (David Bowie) 1:22:51

10M ago1:22:51

1:22:51

This person died 2016 at age 69. He suffered a blow in a teenage brawl that caused his left pupil to be permanently dilated. He experimented with startling transformations, often playing up an androgynous image. In the 1980s he had a Broadway run in the demanding title role of “The Elephant Man”. Nirvana chose to sing one of his songs in their lege…

1
Dimpled Ambassador (Shirley Temple) 1:00:31

10M ago1:00:31

1:00:31

This person died in 2014 at age 85. In the 1930s, she was a determined child actress who sang and tap-danced her way to the height of Hollywood stardom. For at least 5 consecutive years, she was the most popular movie star in America. She was appointed as a delegate to the United Nations General Assembly by Richard Nixon. In 1972, she held a news c…

1
Super Funkhouser (Bob Einstein) 1:02:55

11M ago1:02:55

1:02:55

This person died in 2019, age 76. In 1958 when he was 14, his father died immediately after performing a roast for Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. His dry delivery piqued the interest of Tom Smothers, who offered him a job in the late 1960s as a writer on the “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.” He was roommates with Steve Martin for a number of years…

1
Likable Villain (Alan Rickman) 1:01:44

11M ago1:01:44

1:01:44

This person died in 2016 at age 69. In an acting career spanning more than 40 years, he played a panoply of fascinating characters. He had his early successes in stage works involving the Royal Shakespeare Company. Though he was never nominated for an Academy Award, he won many accolades, but shrugged off the value of awards in general. He gained a…

1
Purple Reign (Prince) 1:14:10

12M ago1:14:10

1:14:10

This person died in 2016 at age 57. He won an Academy Award in 1985, and a Webby Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006. He was still a teenager when he was signed to Warner Bros Records, in a deal that included full creative control. His work inspired the formation of the Parents’ Music Resource Center, which pressured record companies into labeling a…

1
Hungarian Socialite (Zsa Zsa Gabor) 52:08

12M ago52:08

52:08

This person died in 2016 at age 99. She appeared as a nightclub manager in Orson Welles’ 1958 “Touch of Evil”, and the same year as a sexy alien in “Queen of Outer Space”. She appeared on scores of talk shows, game shows, comedy specials, and episodic dramas. In 1989, she was arrested for slapping a police officer. She was married at least eight ti…

1
Poetic Justice (Maya Angelou) 1:05:27

1y ago1:05:27

1:05:27

This person died in 2014 at age 86. She was a Tony-nominated stage actress, and a calypso dancer for a period of time. In 2011 she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She was a college professor and a ubiquitous presence on the lecture circuit, and also made several appearances on Sesame Street. Throughout her writing, she explored the c…

1
Love and OJ Jokes (Norm Macdonald) 1:07:26

1y ago1:07:26

1:07:26

This person died in 2021 at age 61. He almost joined the newspaper business as a young man, but deliberately botched an interview. By 1984, he spent four months opening for the comedian Sam Kinison. His sense of humor sometimes got him in hot water. A 2018 article about him said “The dedicated fan will identify two patterns in his television work: …

1
The Masterclass Act (Philip Seymour Hoffman) 58:30

1y ago58:30

58:30

This person died in 2014 at age 46. His mother was a former family court judge, and his father worked for the Xerox corporation. The New York Times once said “He does terminal uncertainty better than practically anyone.” He was a sleepy-looking man with uncombed hair who favored rumpled clothes. He was perhaps the most ambitious and widely admired …

1
Professor on Elm Street (Wes Craven) 47:48

1y ago47:48

47:48

This person died in 2015 at age 76. He taught English at Westminster College in Pennsylvania, and was also a high school teacher. He directed the drama “Music of the Heart”, based on the true story of a woman who taught violin to underprivileged children in Harlem. He directed his first feature film In 1972, “Last House on the Left”. He also direct…

1
Mind Traveler (Oliver Sacks) 59:03

1y ago59:03

59:03

This person died in 2015 at age 82. When he moved to California in the early 1960s, he befriended the poet Thom Gunn, began entering weight-lifting competitions, and joined the Hells Angels on motorcycle trips to the Grand Canyon. As a medical doctor and a writer, he achieved a level of popular renown rare among scientists. He first won widespread …

1
Defiant One (Sidney Poitier) 58:27

1y ago58:27

58:27

This person died in 2022 at age 94. In 2009, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Although often simmering with repressed anger, his characters responded to injustice with quiet determination. He once wrote “I felt very much as if I were representing 18 million people with every move I made.” In a departure from acting, he directed the…

1
SYCBS x F&G 1:07:20

1+ y ago1:07:20

1:07:20

Special crossover episode! Imagine this: You’re on a desert island, and you can choose one actor or actress – and ONLY ONE – for whom you get their entire IMDb catalog to pass the time. It’s just you, a palm tree, a DVD player (streaming hasn’t reached this desert island), and the IMDb catalog of a single performer. Who would you choose? This thoug…

1
Foul House (Bob Saget) 54:39

1+ y ago54:39

54:39

This person died in 2022 at age 65. In his last year of college, he won a student Academy Award for a documentary. After his sister died of a rare autoimmune disease called systemic scleroderma, he became a board member of the Scleroderma Research Foundation. He was cast in the 1987 Richard Pryor film, “Critical Condition.” He directed “Dirty Work”…

1
Sentient Princess (Carrie Fisher) 56:41

1+ y ago56:41

56:41

This person died in 2016 at age 60. She was just 19 years old when she acted in her most iconic role. She offered wry commentary in her books on the paradoxes and absurdities of the entertainment industry. Her first book was made into a movie directed by Mike Nichols. She had a recurring role on the British comedy “Catastrophe”. She dated Dan Aykro…

1
Golden Rose (Betty White) 1:16:21

1+ y ago1:16:21

1:16:21

This person died in 2021 at age 99. During World War II she drove a truck delivering soap, toothpaste and candy to soldiers. She began her career in radio by saying one word on a popular comedy show. In the early 1960s she was best known as a busy freelance guest with game shows as her specialty. She had a longstanding interest in animal welfare. H…

1
Let's Get Metaphysical (Olivia Newton-John) 48:26

1+ y ago48:26

48:26

This person died in 2022 at age 83. She amassed number 1 hits, chart-topping albums, and four records that sold more than two million copies each. Her consistently benign music and initial squeaky-clean image caused many to compare her to Doris Day. More than anything else, she was likable, even beloved. For years she was a prominent advocate for c…

1
Father of the Bride (William Goldman) 58:27

1+ y ago58:27

58:27

This person died in 2018 at age 87. He wrote his most famous screenplay while teaching creative writing at Princeton University. Eight of his films each grossed more than $100 million domestically. He was called the world’s greatest and most famous living screenwriter. Even so, he was an outspoken critic of the movie industry, and made headlines wh…

1
Higher Power (Bill Russell) 1:03:23

1+ y ago1:03:23

1:03:23

This person died in 2022 at age 88. He was once described by his coach as “the single most devastating force in the history of the game.” He took part in the 1963 March on Washington and was seated in the front row for Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech. In 2011, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He is remembered for hi…

1
America's Mustache (Burt Reynolds) 1:04:41

1+ y ago1:04:41

1:04:41

This person died in 2018 at age 82. His early passion was for football, and he played halfback at Florida State University. He was part Cherokee. He had an often turbulent career that spanned some 100 films and countless television appearances. He had a volatile temperament, but he himself projected an air of nonchalance and professed not to take h…

1
Lord of Horror (Christopher Lee) 1:00:04

1+ y ago1:00:04

1:00:04

This person died in 2015 at age 93. He was a physically towering British movie actor with distinguished good looks, a Shakespearean voice, and aristocratic presence. His breakthrough film was the horror movie “The Curse of Frankenstein.” Though closely associated with horror, he maintained that of his roughly 250 movie and television roles, only 15…

1
Dame Detective (Angela Lansbury) 59:04

1+ y ago59:04

59:04

This person died in 2022 at age 96. She once said “I wasn’t very good at being a starlet. I didn’t want to pose for cheesecake photos and that kind of thing.” She received two Oscar nominations before the age of 25. In the mid-1950s she found herself cast as either one of two types: as she put it, “bitches on wheels and people’s mothers.” She was n…

1
Geto Man (Bushwick Bill) 1:00:55

1+ y ago1:00:55

1:00:55

This person died in 2019 at age 52. He was born in Kingston, Jamaica but spent much of his childhood in Brooklyn. In the late 1980s, the influential music producer Rick Rubin signed his group. In 1991, he had an early brush with death when he was shot in the right eye. He was born with dwarfism and stood approximately 3 feet 8 inches tall. He was a…

1
Two Ticket Holder (Eddie Money) 54:00

1+ y ago54:00

54:00

This person died in 2019 at age 70. His birth name was Edward Mahoney. He was the son of a police officer, and he was headed for that career himself when he dropped out of the New York Police Academy to move to San Francisco in pursuit of rock stardom – which he found in 1978. He struggled with drugs in the early 1980s, but he staged several comeba…

1
Best in Show (Fred Willard) 57:48

1+ y ago57:48

57:48

This person died in 2020 at age 86. Over the years he was a favorite among talk-show hosts, making at least 50 guest appearances on “The Tonight Show”. He made an art of playing characters who are “gloriously out of their depth” and gleefully self-unaware. He appeared in more than 700 films and television episodes over a half-century. He was nomina…

1
Cool Hand Dylan (Luke Perry) 1:05:29

1+ y ago1:05:29

1:05:29

This person died in 2019 at age 52. His looks were often compared to James Dean. Before his breakout, his main credits had been a handful of soap operas. His mega-stardom was unexpected. In recent years, he made dozens of television appearances, including regular roles on the HBO prison drama “Oz” and the crime drama “Riverdale”. He played Dylan Mc…

1
Sleepless Sally (Nora Ephron) 1:02:54

2y ago1:02:54

1:02:54

This person died in 2012 at age 71. In the summer of 1961 she was a summer intern in the Kennedy White House; she once said she was probably the only intern that President Kennedy had never hit on. Her second husband was the Watergate journalist Carl Bernstein. She was a journalist, essayist, novelist, playwright, Oscar-nominated screenwriter, and …

1
Pure Imagination (Gene Wilder) 1:04:31

2y ago1:04:31

1:04:31

This person died in 2016 at age 83. He was an accomplished stage actor as well as a screenwriter, a novelist, and the director of four movies in which he starred. He made his movie debut in 1967 in the celebrated crime drama, “Bonnie and Clyde.” He had haunted blue eyes and an empathy born of his own history of psychic distress. His rule for comedy…

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