Over the years I've met a lot of celebrities, and they always seem to be either really nice or just the opposite. Sometimes those you love on camera turn out to be jerks, and evil characters turn out to be kind.
So when I was assigned to field produce an interview this past weekend with a best-selling author, I just hoped he would be of the "nice guy" variety.
The guest for the Saturday Today Show was Homer Hickam, the author of "Rocket Boys" which was turned into the hit movie "October Sky" with Jake Gyllenhaal. He's also written a dozen other books. Turns out one of his latest is about coal mining (Red Helmet), and he's an expert on the process having grown up in West Virginia.
Since we were interviewing him at his home, I touched base Friday nite to let him know we'd be knocking on the door at the ungodly hour of four in the morning. He was very cordial and said he'd be up and waiting. (Live shots have to be set up two hours in advance, just in case we have technical problems. Neighbors just love us when we fire up the generator on the sat truck.)
Sure enough, we were greeted with a smile. His wife Linda appeared and made coffee for the crew. (God bless this woman.) We were given a tour of the home and offered several locations for the interview. We took great care moving furniture around to create a warm setting.
We discovered this very pleasant couple had big hearts; they were owners of five special needs cats. It was amazing to watch a best selling author prepare food and medicine for each kitty. Had we been doing a feature on Homer Hickam instead of talking about coal mine disasters, this would have provided some great video. When we were done we got to meet all the cats, ranging in age up to 20.
Celebrities who treat you this well make a lasting impression, as these days media people are often treated like lepers.
Just wanted to post a public thank you to two people who really went out of their way for us. If you need to buy a book as a gift or just want a good read, check out Homer Hickam's work. He's not only a terrific writer but a nice guy.
3 comments:
Not sure who wrote this article, but kudos to you for taking the time to recognize Homer and Linda for the people they truly are and not just for the fame his writing has brought. I'm sure their kind efforts reach far beyond what most of us will ever know.
It was written by Randy Tatano, known as "The Grape" on this blog.
Thank you for writing about your experience at the Hickam's home. It's wonderful when people take the time to write something nice so others can get a bit of feel good insight.
Besides, this post prompted me to start following your blog since I worked in TV Journalism for a few years and am currently looking for work again. I'm finding the information here quite helpful.
Best to you.
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