Last shot of the day on a film set, also the last name of the author of this blog. Martin - Latin singular, those soldiers who work for Mars, God of War. A smith. In this lifetime of words, music and film. AKA "The Afterlife Expert" (Coast to Coast AM) If you want to reach me, I can be found on FB, LinkedIn, or Gmail under MartiniProds (my youtube channel)
Jennifer Shaffer is back from her two week trip. Today's podcast was unusual for a number of reasons - I mentioned that Luana and Marlon showed up during a podcast I did with "Mick and the Psychic" - which I will post next week, to give them time to post it on all their podcast outlets.
As always, Jennifer and I have not discussed the contents of the podcast, and clearly she was not aware of my conversation with Luana and Marlon - sometimes she is aware of conversations I've had with Luana and others, but in this instance, they were more interested in bringing up the topic of the recent catastrophe in Texas, where 19 children and two teachers were killed.
I had not planned to discuss it, nor had Jennifer, but my friend Charles Grodin brings it up in the podcast, and I did my best to ask him questions about the process - what happens in cases like that. How does it work? Especially for the little ones who may be confused by the process.
The portrait he painted for Jennifer was unusual - and at the same time in line with the research. Our loved ones on the flipside tailor the experience so that we can have a soft landing when returning home.
George Michael and Beethoven stopped by for a chat - as noted, both were interviewed in "Backstage Pass to the Flipside" but they wanted to speak about frequency, and how everything is attached to it - including memories. The idea of creating adventures and memories is part of why we choose to be on the planet.
Elvis stopped by and gave a mini review of his film "Elvis" (In a previous week, he gave it a "leveled thumbs" neither up nor down - but he wanted to speak of how films are memories - and how they too have frequency attached to them, so we can remember different periods in our life.
It's a freewheeling investigation into tapping into the afterlife. Thanks for tuning in.
A bit longer podcast today, talking about "Finding your voice." As always, first we connect with Luana Anders on the Flipside, my friend who passed in 1996 who helps me and Jennifer to facilitate these conversations. There's a conversation up front about that process and how we got started before we ask Luana to introduce the first guest on her list.
Elvis came forward to talk about "finding your voice." We didn't ask for him to come forward, but as fans of this podcast know, it's whomever has asked to speak to us. Could be someone we've interviewed in the past, could be someone that we both know, in this case, there are a number of people that come forward - personal friends and others.
He wanted to refer to a person's "voice" - that energy or frequency that relates to who they are over many lifetimes. I asked Prince to comment on the recently found footage of him in Minneapolis, Jennifer wasn't aware of it - but Prince was an accurately describes what is in the clip.
My dearest friend Charles Grodin stopped by to talk about a couple of things, and weighed in about the recent Oscar telecast where the "in Memoriam" section was so convoluted, and the famous "slap heard round the world." Interesting to note that Charles echoed what Denzel Washington said afterwards; "Who are we to judge?" Charles reminding us that "from the flipside we see things in terms of a person's overall journey - all of their lifetimes and how that translates into action in this lifetime."
Then Amelia Earhart stopped by for a chat. Jennifer didn't know that I was speaking about her recently in a surprise appearance on "Coast to Coast" in the middle of the night, and Amelia continued to encourage me to make a film about what really happened to her.
Then a discussion about angels and "Pegasus." Jennifer notes that she had recently gotten an email from someone involved in a case in Texas where she's helping law enforcement - and the contents of the email were about what seeing a "Pegasus" represents metaphorically. It's about transportation - as we've heard from people who self identify as "angels."
"The wings are a metaphor for travel between realms at the speed of thought."
PS: Six hours ago, Julian Lennon released this version of him singing his father's song "Imagine." It was yesterday we recorded this session. Elvis used this song as an example of "finding your voice." Perhaps he was referring to this version of the song. Take a moment to enjoy this song, and think of the folks in Ukraine.
LIVE ON GAIA NOW!!! Ten years of chatting with the afterlife. Jennifer Shaffer, Michael Newton, Scott De Tamble, Kimberly Babcock, Howard Schultz, Bill Paxton, Harry Dean Stanton, Luana Anders, Charles Grodin - all make appearances. As Gary Schwartz PhD put it in the Foreword for "Flipside:" "This is the kind of book once you have read it, you will no longer be able to see the world in the same way again." The same can be said of this film. Don't watch it unless you're prepared to change how you see the world... and the world beyond.
Here's the trailer via my YouTube page at Martinizone.com:
A little background about the film:
Luana Anders
It's taken me ten years to make a sequel to "Flipside"
The film is a distillation of that research over the past ten years. There are a couple of clips from the original "Flipside" documentary for context.
The documentary is in three sections:
1. Hacking the Afterlife via hypnotherapy.
In this section, the footage touches upon the hypnosis sessions that have been done by a number of clinical psychologists and others. I start with Michael Newton, because he was responsible for my entry into this arena - clips from his last filmed interview (which makes up the documentary and book "Flipside.")
I feature a clip of Dr. Brian Weiss talking about the research, as his was the first book I read that introduced me to the topic. Charles Grodin's wife, Elissa Grodin turned me on to the book, "Many Lives Many Masters."
Later on in the film is an excerpt from a talk with Dr. Helen Wambach. Dr. Wambach was a clinical psychologist in the 1970's who did extensive research into using hypnosis to access previous lifetimes. By eliminating bias she was able to verify historical accuracy. She eliminated bias by not focusing on personal experience or journey - but on recalled details. What kinds of utensils were used in what time period, the weather of the region recalled, the clothing worn, the construction materials used. By focusing on historical details she could demonstrate that people were recalling things with veracity - historically accurate events that aren't part of the zeitgeist (books, films, etc).
I feature a number of hypnotherapy cases I've filmed - two friends of mine who both agreed to have me film their hypnosis sessions. One a lifelong friend who was a successful TV executive, another a screenwriter with Parkinson's. Both have revelatory memories about previous lifetimes while under hypnosis.
Michael Newton in his last filmed interview
The Second Part is "Hacking the Afterlife" through mediumship.
I focus on mediums that I know or have worked with in the past. Jennifer Shaffer works with law enforcement agencies nationwide on missing person cases. The other mediums are people I know to be accurate in their work. In the film "Talking to Bill Paxton" also on Gaia, I have three different mediums answer the same questions I ask my old friend on the flipside. Each one answers the same way - the same answers - even though in one case I wasn't in the room when the questions were asked.
Jennifer Shaffer
Also a filmed interview with James Van Praagh that was part of the Charles Grodin show which I produced and participated in, where James speaks directly, live on air to my friend Luana Anders on the flipside.
There are dramatic scenes speaking with the late actor Harry Dean Stanton, my friend, friend of Luana Anders (who helps us from the flipside) and his dramatic recounting of his crossing over to the afterlife. He provides accurate information about his last days on earth, as well as personal private messages to his friends.
There's a portion where I introduce the life and career of Luana Anders and how she's been instrumental in my education in this area.
Harry Dean and Bill Paxton are in the film
The third section is "Hacking the Afterlife" via NDE's -
in this case, I demonstrate how no hypnosis is required for someone to access a dramatic event. Could be a dream, NDE, or some other "consciousness altering event." There's an interview with filmmaker Josh Davidow where he recalls a previous lifetime without hypnosis - which I provide evidence of in the documentary. There are the NDE's of Josh and Steph Arnold and then a demonstration how they can "access the afterlife" with a series of simple questions.
Film was submitted prior to the passing of my dear friend Charles Grodin - so while he's not in the "dedicated to" section, he knows he's included.
Your truly and Charles Grodin on the Merv Show
Again - ten years of trying to capture lightning in a bottle.
It's not my opinion, theory or belief that people say these things with or without hypnosis, via mediums, via hypnotherapy, via meditation - it's on film. I have hundreds of similar cases of people on camera, on a microphone doing the same.
Thanks to Scott De Tamble for his generous help in allowing me access to his work, thanks to Jennifer Shaffer and her generous help allowing me to access her gifts of mediumship. There's no film without them.
But take the time to watch it, it's free on Gaia.com (for new subscribers)
For further information, or "read along" texts - I can offer my books:
(For those with a science bent, see UVA's DOPS Dr. Greyson's "After" Dr. Tucker's "Before" and Ed Kelly PhD's "Consciousness Unbound" for how consciousness can exist outside the brain. While I've met or interviewed all these scientists from UVA, their work and research isn't part of mine - However, because we are talking about conversing with people no longer on the planet, one would have to understand how consciousness can still exist by learning from scientists how that is possible.)
If you have a chance, can watch the film, (and like it?) please leave a comment in the space provided at Gaia. The more people who "like" a film, the more people become aware of it.
My apologies for out of focus shots, shots filmed in crowded restaurants, noisy cafes - this is a labor of love, and despite having a career in the film industry making feature films that don't have "spotty lighting" or "bad sound" - sometimes you just have to turn on the camera and see what you can capture. It's lightning in a bottle, or in this case a tripod (or cellphone).
I won't go into all aspects of what happened, but I can only promise you that it did happen. And in the sequence it happened.
This past week we've been shopping for a used car for our daughter. She settled on a particular brand, but not the year or the exact model. We tried hard tops, we tried soft tops, we tried different years. We met some creepy sales people (they know who they are) and we met some amazing sales people.
But this isn't an ad for used car salesmen. It's about the flipside.
My wife was concerned about this car. It's a big deal, first car, etc. It is the same first car (different year) that I owned, but I tried to not let my past influence our daughter's present.
Excuse me?
So the day came for purchasing the car. When I came downstairs my wife and son were playing "Heart and Soul" on the piano. An improv. Fun, he's a virtuoso at 15, so it was kind of thrilling. Then daughter came to learn that we had an "interim" appointment with one more car dealer - a franchise to go unnamed, because she spotted the "bait and switch" as we arrived. "Oh, we can't sell you this car, someone is buying it... but we'll let you drive it. And if you really like it, I'll see what I can do..."
But I wanted her to see that new model, that new version that was supposed to be superior - it wasn't. And the idea that they would "kick a customer to the curb" was distasteful - if they do it to everyone, are we next?
Meanwhile, wife was home meditating on the outcome. She wanted to newer safer model, because well, it's safer. But she went into a version of meditation and called upon our friend Luana Anders to help with the decision.
She said at first it was hard to connect, so Luana put the idea of 11:11 into her mind - something that I've reported on here, how a couple of years ago Luana had used that as a way to describe "how we communicate with the afterlife."
But in this case, Luana reminded her "that's a way to strengthen the visual." So my wife described feeling like "moving" but Luana was moving and my wife was moving at the same time - in two different realms. And at some point, "we met at the decimals" (the fence between this realm and her realm) and Luana said to her "Go."
As in "Tell me what you want to know?"
And my wife showed her the car options - a blue one, or a black one. And Luana responded with an image of herself in a black convertible, hair flying.
So even though my wife was hoping for the "blue, newer car" reply, she got the black convertible reply. (Older car, but nicer ride.) That's what Luana showed her.
What my wife did not know is that when I had asked Luana what she missed about being on the planet, if anything, she showed Jennifer Shaffer an image of herself riding in a convertible, hair flying around. That the idea of "the wind in your hair" is a particularly hard thing to recreate on the flipside - so Jennifer said "She misses the wind in her hair."
Still from the short film "Paraclete"
What Jennifer didn't know is that I made a short film with Luana where she's driving around in a Mustang, the wind whipping her hair. For Luana to provide Jennifer with that image from the flipside, something I made in 1979, here in 2021, is mind bending.
And then for my wife to say "I'm seeing Luana in a black convertible with her hair whipping around" is equally mind bending.
But it didn't stop there. Luana had said "Go" and my wife explained to her what the issues were, and Luana showed her a convertible with her hair flying around... and then Charles Grodin, our dear friend showed up and said "On the other hand, it would be safer in a newer car" and showed her the blue car.
And Luana turned to him and said "No, I'm showing her the best choice for her daughter..."
I asked her what Chuck looked like. She said "He was wearing a bow tie."
Now - what are the odds of that?
There was one film where Chuck had a bowtie. It was called "Hearts and Souls." Luana played his secretary in the film - one of her last roles. We drove up to San Francisco together so she could do the part for her pal Chuck. And in the film he wears a bowtie.
Now remember - this was all around the concept of 11:11 and how Luana had reminded her of the dream she had years ago where Luana told her "Imagine 11:11, we meet at the decimals."
And our daughter, when she got into the car she was about to own snapped a photo of the interior.
Notice the clock.
What's funny is that the clock of the car was not set - it had to be changed to the proper time. It was probably 2:30 when she took the photograph, but she took it as the clock went from 11:10 to 11:11.
The odds?
Well, there's the song played in the morning, the film directly related to it where Chuck wore a bowtie and Luana plays his secretary, there is the 11:11 reference that shows up twice, and the visual of Luana's hair flying in a convertible.
Luana praying in "The Last Detail"
Anyways - as you can see... one of those "okay, I get it" moments that I wanted to share.
I’m sorry to report on the passing of my good friend, mentor and frequent benefactor Charles Grodin. Most only saw his public persona, over the past 40 years I had a rare glimpse of his private person as well as generosity of spirit.
For example, not many are aware that he overturned the Rockefeller Laws in New York State. Charles asked me to help produce segments for his show on CNBC. Along with his daughter Marion Grodin, his long time friend John Gabriel, and his chief executive assistant Clay Dettmer, we scoured the streets of Manhattan on behalf of Chuck.
The kind of look he'd give if you asked if he was going to finish his french fries.
Our mutual friend Luana Anders had passed away, and Chuck called me up and asked what I was doing. I said I was working on directing my next feature film. He said "Come and work in my show and create segments, man on the street interviews." I said "I can't."
But after hanging up the phone I remembered when I called him to appear in my film "You Can't Hurry Love." He could not because he was doing a film "The Couch Trip." But after saying no, he called back and said "Will this help the film get made?" I said "It will." He said "Let me know what day I need to be there."
Borrowed from a tribute page. His wife Elissa saw him interviewed on a talk show and turned to her friend in London: "I'm going to marry him." She had no idea why the idea popped into her head. But it did, and someone witnessed it. She met him awhile later. They were never apart.
So I called him back and said "Will this help you and your show?" He said it would. I said "I'll be there Monday, but I can only give you six months." He said "Great."
So for six months, me and an NBC camera crew would talk to students outside Columbia University, tourists in Times Square, people in front of the Apollo Theater in Harlem, or in Grand Central Station (if it was raining.)
I often would stake out Grand Central Terminal on inclement days, Times Square on sunny days – and was surprised to say that for the 6 months I worked on the show, got to know all the security folks in both venues. I’d show up with a camera crew and we’d do segments like “Ask Chuck” – where I’d stop people on their way to the trains and have them ask Charles a question.
“Chuck, why are there so many potholes in Manhattan?” People played along – asking him a host of unusual questions, sometimes comedic, sometimes not. "Chuck, is OJ guilty?"
At the beginning Chuck had the idea to have me appear as a "Hollywood correspondent." (Note the tie). But in the segment that was supposed to be filled with gossip, I never had any. Chuck hated gossip, hated vanity in general, and considered it to be a lower form of discourse. So the joke was that this Hollywood rube would go to movie premieres and report... nothing.
Some viewers thought he was mean to me on camera. Elaine May told Chuck she thought it was hilarious.
Sometimes I would appear on the show in a comic segment before the first guest. I had been doing it for a number of years, different topics, when Jerry Seinfeld complained that I was on "before" him - which ended my appearances altogether.
One day Chuck asked me if there were any programs in the prison system that were helping prisoners. It sounded like an interesting topic, so I reached out to the head of state prisons in New York to see if there were any programs that helped people to get back into society. That took me up to Wallkill, NY where they have an eyeglass factory inside the prison, and a farm behind it which took care of thoroughbred racing horses “put out to pasture.”
In a series of shows, I had one prisoner say to me “In a few months I’m going to be sitting next to you on a subway. Let me ask you, would you prefer someone who learned how to be a better human or a better criminal?” Then while filming a man taking care of a racehorse in a barn, he said “I’ve never been responsible for any other living thing in my life. This horse depends upon me to live, it’s given me the will to live as well.”
Charles was incensed by the Rockefeller drug laws in the state that incarcerated wives or girlfriends of drug dealers for “transporting drugs.” He worked tirelessly to end them, and was cited by Governor Pataki for doing so.
After I left the show, to return to Cannes with our film "Cannes Man" (which I took over directing; Francesco Quinn, Seymour Cassell, and Rebecca Broussard and myself are in it). I told Chuck the following story and he invited me and Rebecca onto the show to retell the story. Rebecca has two children with the actor Jack Nicholson, and was the celebrity in Cannes, and worked on three films with me ("Point of Betrayal" "Cannes Man" and "Camera - Dogme #15").
His show moved the show to MSNBC, and I still made contributions when I could from Santa Monica.
Initially, I had suggested James Van Praagh come on the show after seeing him on Larry King - and see if we could chat with our mutual friend Luana Anders, who was subsequently no longer on the planet (and for fans of the Flipside movie and books, was the inspiration for my research into the flipside).
In this segment, Chuck had me call in from my home in Santa Monica. James Van Praagh didn't know I was going to call in, but Chuck arranged the producer to give a direct line, so he could take my call.
The idea was that both Chuck and I knew Luana well, and it was a live experiment on TV. No one has ever explained how accurate it was - but the key moments are when Van Praagh mentions a photo on my fridge and a "cocktail glass collection."
People give me Martini glasses all the time - and she was showing them to him, but also referring to a photograph on the refrigerator. That photo - when I put it up, I said aloud "Oh, look, the essence of our relationship - cappuccinos and cookies."
I never told anyone I said that. And here he was saying essentially the same thing. Live on camera.
It was in that moment I realized beyond any shadow of doubt I might have had, she still existed.
My journey to Chuck began when I began dating his long time pal Luana Anders. They’d appeared in a movie “Sex and the College Girl” with Chuck’s also longtime pal John Gabriel.
Some years later, after Luana and I were dating, Chuck was doing a film in Mexico when Luana went down to see him and mentioned she was “dating a film student at USC.” He was surprised that someone would leave a new dating partner to see an old friend. "That's what friends do, Chuck." He never forgot that and mentioned it often.
She explained to me that Chuck was a very private person, that I shouldn’t be offended by not being invited to meet him – he only had a coterie of close women companions. (Ria Nepus, Luana, Frances McCain).
Then one day Luana and I were dining at the restaurant above “Pink Taco” that used to be the Player’s Club in the 40’s, a trendy nightclub Roxbury in the 90’s, but “Imperial Gardens” in the 1980’s. Chuck sauntered over to our table and said something funny – like “Oh, so this is the man you’ve been hanging out with behind my back?” To which I replied, “That’s funny, I was about to say the same thing.” And whatever he said, I repeated back to him as a comic challenge. He must have enjoyed the repartee because he invited me over to their soirees.
Which included things like “shooting hoops” in a trashcan with rolled up paper for two hours. Chatting about whether or not hordes of invaders could rapidly climb the Hollywood hills, and whether saving the life of a drowning fly was important. (That turned into a children’s book he wrote “Freddy the Fly” after he saved one in the pool.)
That began a 40 year friendship. He and Luana and I traveled together - stayed at Steve Martin's home in Santa Barbara, stayed at Chuck's summer rentals in Amagansett, which included trips to see his pal Paul Simon. Later after Luana's passing he would fly my family to a resort he was staying with his family - and it was more laughs until the wee hours.
Once he asked if I would mind escorting his wife and son on a trip to Rome. He was concerned someone who spoke the language was on the trip - but for me it was just another amazing gift of generosity from Chuck - we stayed at a ritzy hotel, dined at fancy restaurants, and it was truly the trip of a lifetime.
He called me up one afternoon and invited me to Morocco. He flew me over first class to the set of the film Ishtar where I spent two weeks hearing Warren Beatty do killer imitations of Roman Polanski, got to hang on the set with Elaine May and Vittorio Storaro (who I met via Luana at her frequent Thanksgiving trips to the Coppola family home in Napa) and even helping Chuck find antique Moroccan rugs that are still in his home.
He loved to tell the story of the negotiations - where I would grab hold of the rug dealer's leg and not let go until he gave me a discount after begging "pleeeeeze." (Don't knock it until you've tried it.) In fact; allow me to let him tell the story:
Here's the introduction he wrote for me for my second book "It's a Wonderful Afterlife."
"FOREWORD BY CHARLES GRODIN (from "It's a Wonderful Afterlife: More Adventures in the Flipside" Book One - Homina Publishing 2014)
“See you in the next life, Jack.” Charles Grodin says to Robert De Niro’s character Jack Walsh in “Midnight Run.”
(Photo: Walter Matthau, Charles Grodin pointing out where “craft service has gone” on the set of “Movers & Shakers”)
If you would have told me that someday I would have among my small group of close male friends a guy with a last name of Martini, I would have said “Well… that seems unlikely, I’ve never even heard of anyone, anywhere with the name of Martini.” But the fact is one of my best friends for the last thirty five years is a guy named Richard Martini.
There’s always a lot of laughs with him around. It started many years ago when the maître d’ of a restaurant I used to go to in Los Angeles called me and said “Mr. Grodin, you’re a very good tipper, but you’ve got to tip the captain.” I asked “Who’s the captain?” He said “Me.”
I wasn’t aware of who you tip. Generally I just leave a tip and expect the restaurant to distribute it. Richard Martini does the maître d’s bit with me on the phone every time I call him. “Mr. Grodin, where’s my tip?”
At some point in the mid-nineties he worked for me on my CNBC cable show. He was in Los Angeles, and we presented him as our Hollywood correspondent. He would say something like “I went to a big Hollywood premier last night and saw Julia Roberts.” I would then ask “What did she have to say?” He would then say “Well… she was very beautiful, but I was in the back of the theater, so I didn’t get a chance to actually talk to her.” He was constantly reporting about big show business events he went to and how wonderful everyone looked, but never got a chance to talk to anybody or pass along any Hollywood gossip.
My favorite experience with Richard Martini is when he came with me when I was doing a movie in Morocco. Richard and I went out one day to look at some rugs. They were very expensive. Richard later told the story of how he had gone back to the rug dealer and literally begged for a discount for his own rug.
So I asked Richard to go back to the rug dealer and do the same for a rug I wanted. He got on his knees and grabbed hold of the rug dealer’s leg and begged “Pleeeeeeeze!” The rug dealer laughed and gave him a good price. Then the first rug dealer and Richard went to a second, tougher looking rug dealer who had another rug I had seen. Richard and the first rug dealer fell to their knees and begged for a discount. “Pleeeeeeze!” The second rug dealer was not amused.
For the last several years Richard has been promoting his book he wrote called “Flipside,” and now he’s written two new volumes called “It’s a Wonderful Afterlife.” He’s done a lot of research that he says proves there is an afterlife.
Recently he called me from Syracuse, New York and asked if he could quote me for an opening line in front of the audience for his book talk. I said “Tell them I don’t know whether or not I believe there is an afterlife, but I do believe you’re from another planet. So it’s entirely possible.”
That’s some Martini, that Martini."
Charles Grodin
Charles Grodin is an actor, playwright, director, talk show host and author. Known best for his roles in Beethoven (1992), Midnight Run (1988) and The Heartbreak Kid (1972), he has two children and is married to author Elissa Grodin."
Wow. That's some foreword. Thanks Chuck.
Our frequent trips of nirvana in Chuck's backyard pool in CT. Olivia, Sherry and RJ
Chuck was whimsical. At one point, he put statues of animals hidden in the woods behind his house. He had a drive built so one could take a golf cart and spend 20 minutes tooling around the yard, and run into these exotic animals. Then he added voices to them - so when one drove by and clicked a clicker, his voice would come out in various accents.
An English Elephant. Irish Monkeys. (Jason Bateman did a guest spot as the monkeys). A giraffe. A talking horse (sounded a bit like Wilbur). Chuck would delight in his nephews, nieces holding on for dear life, then stop abruptly in the woods and an animal, barely visible would speak to them. Shock. Awe. Laughs. Tears. Just one of the most whimsical things I've ever seen or heard. Dave Patlak and I worked on painting the giraffes - I did my Mondrian version of a paint job, was promptly fired and replaced by someone who knew what a giraffe looked like.
Never a cross word between us. Cross words for those who used their power over others, who abused office, abused people, made fun of people or even told off color jokes - wouldn't have it, never catered to it - and he dropped people like a hot potato if they ever insulted, mocked or abused someone he loved.
Chuck was generous, hilarious, a lightning fast wit, and the idea that I could make him laugh was pretty much my career credit for a number of years.
When I started directing feature films, I wrote a part for him in my first film - the comedy “You Can’t Hurry Love” – and the studio Vestron leaped at the opportunity to "put give him an upfront screen credit." (Along with Sally Kellerman and Kristy McNichol) Then when it came time to film his scene, he said he could not, as he was in the midst of filming “Couch Trip” with Walter Matthau and Dan Aykroyd.
But a few minutes after saying he couldn’t, he called me back to ask if it was "important to making the film." "Is this a favor?" I told him it was, and he then said "Fine" and asked me when he needed to show up.
The scene as the father to a video date was shot in one take. He showed up on the set in a studio driven vehicle from the other film, walked onto the set, sat in the chair, I yelled action and we filmed the scene in one take. I may have done two takes or a closer shot just to make sure it was covered - but after I yelled "Cut" he jumped up and went back to the set of Couch Trip.
But Chuck was generous to many people behind the scenes.
Most aren’t aware that it was his suggestion to Lorne Michaels that he consider two actors he’d met on a film he was in – Phil Hartmann and Jon Lovitz. That Lorne was at his wedding, that the concept of his being "banned" from SNL was ludicrous as he talked to Lorne for many years after his appearance. The "feud" with Howard Stern was unfortunate - I was there, and Chuck could not get over that Howard had disparaged his family on air. That was something he could not forgive (even though apparently Howard has, as reportedly yesterday he spent 15 minutes praising him.)
He took personal interests in people - and personally assisted or helped the people he helped get out of jail.
He worked behind the scenes, went up to prison to meet with them, and literally dragged me along with him on at least one occasion.
It’s not the way I would choose to spend a Sunday afternoon, but Chuck’s ability to feel compassion towards fellow humans was boundless. Going through security checks, guards shouting commands, doors locking and closing, the fear or general angst on people's faces - all behind concertina wire and bars.
(I want to point out that his family has suggested any donations to be made to his favorite charity: https://innocenceproject.org/ He was passionate about it. Worth checking out.)
So what’s to be said about a friend who was such a light in my life?
Here’s a clip of him taking me on the Merv Griffin Show and claiming that my aura made others feel happy.
I would suggest that was him – it his aura that made everyone happy. Just browse through the posts on twitter for the hashtag “#CharlesGrodin” or “#ChuckGrodin.” He made a lot of people very happy. I am so dumbfounded that I got to know him and love him along with his family - and my family got to know and love him as well.
And I think the love will continue as long as we have a means to watch his films, watch his TV shows or hear his voice.
Thank you Chuck. We hope to catch you on the flipside if not "in the next lifetime."
Here's a lovely article in the LA Times that captures a bit of his spirit from the equally hilarious, charming son of his, Nick.
This photo fell off the wall in our place. I put it back in place the night before he passed. He got this swing so our daughter Olivia could swing in it. Happy couple.
Charles Grodin, activist, author and actor who made grouchiness cool, dies at 86
By Michael Ordoña Los Angeles Times
“Charles Grodin, the urbane actor who made his roles as a curmudgeon seem cool, died Tuesday at his home in Connecticut of bone marrow cancer at age 86, leaving behind a catalog of memorable performances and a legacy of lasting activism.
Known for leading or co-leading classic comedies such as “The Heartbreak Kid” and “Midnight Run” and for ruthlessly stealing scenes in “Heaven Can Wait,” “Dave” and “The Great Muppet Caper,” Grodin cultivated a screen persona that mined his own discomfort for laughs. He extended that to his many talk-show appearances, in which he seemed uncomfortable and even reluctant to be there — all an act, according to his son, Nick.
“That was a comedy persona he adopted for when he would go on talk shows,” said Nick Grodin, who confirmed his father’s death to the Los Angeles Times. “He didn’t think it was very interesting to just go on and say, ‘Oh, I’m in this movie coming out,’ so he adopted this comedic persona where he would be angry. A lot of people did not think it was a joke. I think Johnny Carson really appreciated it.”
As renowned as the actor’s filmography was, his son said his advocacy work, especially regarding criminal justice reform, is what really drove him.
“There were a few women in particular who he worked tirelessly to get out of prison and were sentenced under the Rockefeller drug laws in New York. When the Rockefeller drug laws were reformed, Gov. (George) Pataki cited him, and I know he was incredibly proud of that,” Nick Grodin said of three inmates granted clemency by Pataki in 1999.
One Twitter user hearkened back to Grodin’s interest in politics and social issues, relating that he once attended a “Midnight Run” Q&A at which the actor spoke at length about criminal justice reform before taking questions.
Charles Grodin was born in Pittsburgh on April 21, 1935. Despite his droll sophistication, he never graduated from college, dropping out of the University of Miami to pursue acting and study with Lee Strasberg and Uta Hagen in New York. He appeared on Broadway and in several TV shows in the 1960s and had a small role in “Rosemary’s Baby” in 1968. He also co-wrote and directed a Broadway play, “Hooray! It’s a Glorious Day ... and All That,” and directed the 1969 Simon and Garfunkel TV special “Songs of America.”
Nick Grodin said, “I know he was proud of the Simon and Garfunkel special he directed, because it has to do with human rights and social issues that were not very popular (on TV) at the time.”
The actor broke through to mainstream success in 1972 with his leading turn in “The Heartbreak Kid” and starred in films through the ’70s and ’80s, including “Seems Like Old Times,” Albert Brooks’ ”Real Life” (one of the first mockumentaries) and the much-maligned “Ishtar.”
Surprisingly, Grodin never won a major acting award. He did collect an Emmy as part of the writing staff for another Paul Simon TV special in 1978, “The Paul Simon Special.” He scored an Outer Circle Critics actor prize for the stage run of “Same Time, Next Year,” which racked up 1,400 performances. He also wrote a number of books along with and a New York Daily News column that ran for nearly 10 years.
He hosted a talk show on CNBC (“The Charles Grodin Show,” 1995-98) that dealt with the social and political issues of the day.
“It wasn’t just like he would have someone as a guest on his talk show and then move on; it would become a lifelong journey for him where he would hold onto it,” his son said.
“One particular case was a boy named Brandon Hein in California, who was sentenced to life under the felony murder law. His dad came and stayed at our house, and it became a lifelong thing.”
Indeed, Charles Grodin wrote and directed a play about the case, “The Prosecution of Brandon Hein.” In 2019, Hein was granted parole.
Celebrities took to Twitter to express appreciation for Grodin as the news broke.
Steve Martin tweeted, “So said to hear. One of the funniest people I ever met: Charles Grodin, Star of ‘Beethoven’ and ‘Heartbreak Kid,’ Dies at 86.”
Marc Maron tweeted, “RIP Charles Grodin. One of the great cranky comedic geniuses.”
Patton Oswalt tweeted, “RIP Charles Grodin. Ordering a plate of chorizo and eggs in his beloved memory,” a reference to a gag in “Midnight Run.”
Actor-writer-director Albert Brooks tweeted, “R.I.P. Charles Grodin. A brilliant comedy actor. I had the wonderful experience of working with him in my first feature “Real Life” and he was amazing. Rest In Peace, Chuck.”
Comedian John Fugelsang tweeted appreciation for all the scenes Grodin stole in his movies, including a quote from the man himself: “Everyone is having a harder time than it appears.”
Of his father, Nick Grodin said, “He said to treat everybody the same, and that’s something I’ve watched him do. He would treat everybody the same, whether it was the president or whether it was somebody washing dishes. I really respect that.”
He said his father also instilled in him a deep love of the Knicks, the Mets and the New York Giants. He remembered his father throwing a football with him in the backyard.
“He was just always there for me for whatever I needed. Anything, anything. He was just incredibly loving.”
Grodin is survived by his wife, Elissa, daughter Marion, his son Nick and a granddaughter, Geneva.”
Chuck appointed me a member of The Fun Patrol. These were a small group of people who Chuck could call day or night, with an issue or problem, and they'd make him laugh. Perhaps not intentionally but they would get him to laugh.
Dave Patlak, a lifelong friend is a member of the Fun Patrol - Chuck loved his persona, his attitude towards life, and often rang him up for life advice. Seriously. Dave, a psychiatrist's son, who joined the Coast Guard, is that kind of a guy - nuts and bolts for both life and psyche.
Other members were before me - Jack Warden (from "Heaven Can Wait") Harper Simon (Paul's son.) Over the years, friends of his would joke, or I thought they were joking... "How do you get on The Fun Patrol?" It was just one of Chuck's comedic genius bits.
Like "Hutch Saxony."
Chuck invented this persona who was a "songster" in the 60's who had disappeared in Australia in the outback. But rumors were that he had reappeared. He went into a recording studio with Paul Simon, dressed in sunglasses and a hat, and sang three songs - all off the cuff - all words made up as he heard the soundtrack for the first time.
Some years later, Chuck called me and appointed me his manager. He wanted me to arrange for studio time to "cut some tracks" again. Paul Simon had given him the number of Grammy award winning producer Russ Titelman, and Russ - not knowing what Paul was talking about, or who he was talking about - took my calls about arranging studio time for Hutch Saxony.
I had a list of demands. A "full court fress." Which is Yiddish for "lots of food on the table." We negotiated over minor details - if there was going to be turkey, chicken, or something like egg salad. Memos were faxed back and forth. Then Luana and I, Hutch's entourage showed up a sound stage in North Hollywood with Russ Titelman producing, and an engineer who had worked with him on Rickie Lee Jones' records (I think - may have worked with Sinatra as well) being the console.
Chuck walked in wearing a giant floppy hat supplied by Luana and dark wrap around sunglasses. "Are you ready?" We said "Yes," and the track began and Chuck sang three songs back to back - ones he'd not written, to music he'd never heard.
And they were hilarious.
Russ and I have become friends since then - and still laugh about it.
The engineer would cue up a track, switch on the microphone in front of "Hutch" and he would sing an improvised song. "My Dog" is one I remember and is hilarious - and I hope to figure out how to unzip it from the file I have to post it one day soon. But "Hutch" just began singing a soulful whimsical song about a guy and his dog on the beach. And it was heartbreaking - and completely improvised.
Chuck used to send long and involved lawsuits to his friend Paul Simon over some "slight" that had occurred during their last meeting. "To the party of the first part, with regard to eating the last pickle in Charles Grodin's refrigerator on Sunday of last month." The lawsuits were pages upon pages of legal mumbo jumbo, written up to look frighteningly real - and then Paul's attorneys would send over a reply. Documents detailing how Mr. Grodin was hoarding the pickles, and that he had promised said pickle with sandwiches, and Mr. Simon was under no obligation not to eat the pickle. I saw them - they were also wildly fun.
Chuck kept a wall of notes in his living room. From Johnny Carson, from Jack Paar, from those who got his sense of humor and could write a witty remark. They were thrilling to see, because they always were fun or funny and about his wit.
He loved SCTV - the sketch artist show from the comedy group in Toronto. He would tape sections of Martin Short, John Candy and others and share them with his friends. I have a stack of DVD's from him with his favorite bits.
The man knew comedy, shared comedy, was comedy. I can't imagine anyone else like him gracing the planet. All I can say is I'm glad to have met him, known him for 40 years.
Here's one note that Chuck sent to me, while I will forever cherish.
Me, Chuck, Jack Warden and Harper Simon were charter members of the "Fun Patrol." People you could call night or day for a laugh.
I once got a call from Chuck while working at Warner Brothers for Robert Towne. Robert had just heard some bad news, and it was accompanied by a glass Perrier bottle that flew across the hall, and smashed against the wall while we were on the phone.
I said "Well, that's a novel way to dispose of a bottle." Chuck laughed and I became a member of the Fun Patrol on the spot.
So whenever you can - when the chips are down, when people are saying something annoying, acting annoying - try to think "What would Chuck say?" Would he find it amusing? Would he fight for injustice? Would he smile an enigmatic smile and wait until the storm clouds parted? Perhaps all of the above.
The world is a better place for his having been in it.
My two cents.
Photo taken by Russ Titelman
Here is our podcast where we interview Chuck on the Flipside:
An old friend sent me this, which I had not read, or if I did, forgot that I did. It's fun to read. Chuck lives! And is relates to some of the information above:
April 6, 2015 Issue
Fibreglass Menagerie
By Ian Parker
March 30, 2015
In the mid-nineteen-nineties, Charles Grodin retired from acting and withdrew to Connecticut, to spend more time with his wife, Elissa, his young son, and a collection of life-size fibreglass animals—including a buffalo—that he installed in his back yard. He wrote books filled with lightly curmudgeonly anecdotes and began recording one-minute syndicated commentaries, about this and that, for CBS Radio, sometimes ending with the words “Oh, boy.”
But, a few years ago, when Grodin was in his mid-seventies, he began to act again: demand for his representations of pained, wincing men somehow overpowered his wish never to leave Wilton. For example, Grodin played a recurring character—an unsolicitous, if insightful, doctor—in the fourth season of “Louie.”
At eleven-thirty on a recent morning, Grodin was not far from his home, in the Red Barn restaurant, in the shadow of the Merritt Parkway. Staff members greeted him as “Mr. G.”; the hits of the Carpenters, including “Top of the World,” played on the sound system. Grodin—baseball cap, zip-up corduroy jacket, wan smile—said that he hadn’t been out to the movies in fifteen years. When he is offered work, “I never say, ‘How much?’ I say, ‘Where?’ ” He praised Louis C.K. for getting him home at a reasonable hour. Grodin then described his first day on “While We’re Young,” Noah Baumbach’s new comedy, in which he plays Ben Stiller’s father-in-law. Baumbach spent perhaps two hours shooting a brief scene in which Grodin has his bow tie adjusted by Naomi Watts. Quoting a remark made by the actor Joe Bologna during a visit to the Universal Studios theme park, Grodin asked Baumbach, “Who do you have to fuck to get off this tour?”
Grodin ordered a turkey club sandwich and described his garden animals. “I’m kind of on hold for a cow right now,” he said. He started his collection after a visit to United House Wrecking, in Stamford. “I decided—I don’t know why—that I was going to get a number of these. My wife looked at me. She calls it Chuck’s World.”
He went on, “That’s O.K., but then I wired them for sound. And it wasn’t the sound of a horse or a buffalo or an elephant or a dog—it was me doing different dialects. Like the buffalo has a Yiddish dialect. And the elephant is an upper-class English.” Impersonating his elephant, he said, “ ‘Have you been talking to Bob the buffalo?’ ” Each animal has only one short recorded speech. The loudspeakers are hidden in the undergrowth. Referring to the over-all effect, Grodin said, “It’s a good idea. I activate them with a remote control from a golf cart. I wouldn’t do it for myself; you’d only do it for somebody who’s never heard it. Here’s the horse: he goes, ‘Mr. Ed, Francis the Talking Mule, and I all studied with Strasberg. Fran is actually a talking horse, but he calls himself a talking mule. That’s his humor. Go figure.’ ” Grodin claimed that even the elephant is full-size, but then thought for a moment: “Well, I’m sure there are bigger elephants.”
Grodin, widely admired for his disobliging performances on late-night talk shows, once had dinner with Johnny Carson, who asked if he’d join him on an African safari. “He was serious. I have a place in Manhattan—I barely go there. I said, ‘Being in a tent with wild animals trying to get in at us?’ ” Grodin told Carson, on the air, about growing up within earshot of the Pittsburgh Zoo: Grodin would lie in bed, tell himself a joke, and wait for the hyenas to laugh. “Elissa saw that, and got an assignment from American Film to interview me, and within thirty minutes of the tape recorder being on I asked her to shut it off, and at the end of the next thirty minutes I was discussing marriage with her, and now we’ve been married thirty-three years.”
His wife had asked him to buy something for her printer. He also needed corduroy pants. After leaving the Red Barn—“So long, Mr. G.”—Grodin drove to a mall in Norwalk. In the car, he recalled that Cybill Shepherd, his co-star in “The Heartbreak Kid,” had mentioned in a memoir that they had once slept together. “I said, ‘Why would you put that in a book?’ She said, ‘You should be grateful I included you.’ ”
The men’s section in Marshalls disappointed him. “This is all lightweight,” Grodin said. “I don’t see anything flannel.” Walking across to Staples, he described his exercise regimen: “I used to have a treadmill that I would look at.” A young woman was wearing a red Staples uniform and a red Staples name tag. “You work here, right?” he asked her, and she laughed and pointed the way to the ink-and-toner wall. ♦
No other way to put it. Prior to the session, I noted the time and date and the fact I was going to invite two folks to our session. I had no idea if Jennifer would be aware of it, as I hadn't spoken to her about who I was going to invite.
One was Tom Petty, in honor of his birthday, the other "The Amazing Randi" who passed a couple of days earlier.
For those aware of our connection to Tom, it's not that we knew him, or Luana Anders on the Flipside knew him - it was because, as noted in the video, he came forward soon after his passing in 2017 to visit us at our local restaurant where Jennifer and I used to meet before the Pandemic.
She remembered his name that day (and did not this day!) But as noted, he had a complaint for us about "having to wait in line to talk to Jennifer." He said "Your friend Luana has a clipboard, and it's like she's the backstage bouncer who has a list of who gets into the VIP lounge!"
As noted as well, he asked us to reach out to his family who were in the midst of a court battle. I did so, privately, reaching out to a family member who agreed to look at what I transcribed from our session. As noted, I have no idea what they made of that information, nor did I ask. I did as requested and passed his messages verbatim.
A portion of that session is in the book "Backstage Pass to the Flipside."
But Tom's 70th birthday is being celebrated this week, and I took the time to celebrate him through an interview.
Like my old friend Harry Dean Stanton, Randi was a skeptic about the afterlife.
Despite being a famous magician in his day (He beat the record held by Houdini for an underwater escape live on NBC back in the 50's) like Houdini, he went from a working magician to someone who debunked, or outed "fake psychics."
Anyone familiar with my work knows that I focus on data, that I work with mediums who work with law enforcement agencies nationwide... when they're skeptics I refer them to Bill Bratton former NYPD commissioner who was helped by Jennifer Shaffer. If she's good enough for Bill, she's good enough for me.
But that's a joke - Jennifer has proven her abilities for a long time, and I met her five short years ago. And over and over and over again, she's proven access to the flipside - not always 100% as she notes, because she is interpreting information after all - but for the most part I ask her questions based on my knowledge about the person we're chatting with and I transcribe what she says verbatim and those sessions are in the books "Backstage Pass to the Flipside" 1, 2 and 3.
But for those who have a vested interest in "debunkery" I've heard often the old saw that "you haven't tried the Amazing Randi's million dollar prize" for someone who "proves there is an afterlife or the paranormal."
The last time I replied to a fellow on Quora about that, I pointed out that knowing that we still exist is worth more than a million bucks, and further, I had no desire to play that game of "prove it to me." As I point out, in the 100 cases of people under deep hypnosis, (half without hypnosis) all of them recall previous lifetimes, all recall the between lives arena. So that makes their recollections "normal" as a base number for data - and those who "disbelieve the data" are the ones who are "para" or "ab" normal.
Jennifer and I present these sessions as they occur. I edit them for time, as she may take a minute to answer one of my impertinent questions. So for the sake of continuity, I trim those before I post the sessions.
Randi has a lot to say about his journey and to his husband Jose. Let's leave it at that. Since Jennifer had no idea who he was, it makes it that much more amusing to watch what he has to say from the flipside.
****
Then Regis Philbin stopped by - I knew Regis through our mutual pal Charles Grodin (as noted in the session) and Regis correctly recalled the day he met me on the Charles Grodin show where live on the air made fun of my "mixed outfit." (A tie and a striped shirt). Not a clothes horse like Reg, but he noted I was a misfit or mismatched.
Later, I had dinner with him and his wife Joy and Charles and his wife in Connecticut, and have had a few laughs with Regis. Always a polite guy and he had a quick comment for Charles about "slowing down" (even though last I heard he was still recording the Charles Grodin minute for KCBS in NYC.) Either way, it's one old friend talking to another.
But it was sweet to hear from him. He's a nice guy.
And then Jennifer mentioned that she saw Paul Newman "in the wings." As noted, he was someone I had invited previously, but got the impression he "wasn't interested" in chatting with me (which turns out to be the case.) He was more than happy to chat with Jennifer and we may continue the conversation in the future if he so desires.
He was funny, wise, spoke eloquently about the need to help those less fortunate than us. He had a message of love for his wife, and a comic message for John Cusack.
John Cusack and Paul Newman were in "Fat Man and Little Boy" together, I detail I did not know until I searched their names together on the net.
All I can say is that I ask questions that pop into my head.
Finally we have to thank Luana Anders for her assistance. We wouldn't have had a title if it wasn't for Tom's comment, and the idea that he sees her as a bouncer at the VIP lounge of the afterlife, is hilarious. Not something I could ever have thought up, and certainly, as you'll see not something Jennifer would have invented.
Luana Anders from one of her 300 film and TV appearances.
The Amazing Randi has a message for his pals Penn and Teller, and Paul Newman had a message for John Cusack. It's in the session, so I won't repeat it here. But it's a message of love and light from friends who are no longer on the planet, who want their friends and loved ones to know they're still keeping an eye on them. As do yours.
