In Praise of Charles Grodin

In Praise of Charles Grodin

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.”

https://www.sentinelsource.com/mcclatchy/charles-grodin-activist-author-and-actor-who-made-grouchiness-cool-dies-at-86/article_90e52999-7143-556f-b401-9ce8ce0abf29.html

One last note about The Fun Patrol.

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:

https://youtu.be/shuliM6pZcU

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. ♦

Translations of the Flipside books into Spanish, Italian and Portuguese!!!

Flipside on the Horizon

I've taken advantage of Babelcube, a service that matches authors with translators that want to translate one's books. 

It's an unusual way to meet new people, share different stories, and introduce the Flipside Research into other lands.

The translator makes the bulk of the funds received until a certain amount is met - so if it's something you think a friend might enjoy - please send them a link.  

(I'm posting one link for each title - but all of them have a kindle, ebook, Apple, Kobo, Scribd, Barnes & Noble, Google play or Amazon link as well)

Here are the Paperback and Kindle links to those titles: 

Flipside: (Each has both paperback versions and ebooks)

Spanish Edition

Spanish: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1507132557

Italian: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1507162855

Portuguese: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1071522809

Greek: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1539277790

It's a Wonderful Afterlife book one: 

Italian Edition

Spanish; https://www.amazon.com/dp/1547518456

Italian: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1507183240

Portuguese: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1516545413

It's a Wonderful Afterlife book two:

Spanish edition

Spanish: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1547563737

Italian: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1547518464

Portuguese: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1536278326

Hacking the Afterlife: Practical Advice from the Flipside

Italian Edition

Spanish:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/1547575182

Italian: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1547548827

Portuguese: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1566581944

Backstage Pass to the Flipside: Talking to the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer Part One

Italian Edition

Spanish: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1488963890

Italian: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1547588292

Portuguese: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1547002005

Backstage Pass to the Flipside: Talking to the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer Part Two

Italian Edition

Spanish: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1520971522

Italian:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/1547596619

"Architecture of the Afterlife" "Backstage Pass to the Flipside" on their way, as well as version of some of the books in French and Dutch. 

I've just decided to do the audible versions of the books in Spanish and Italian, so sometime by the end of the summer, there will be versions of my books in those languages on Audible as well.  

All Flipside All The Time!!!!

Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer, Bill Paxton, John McCain and Luana Anders

Another fun podcast - Jennifer and I started off by talking about the process - how she helps law enforcement on a pro bono basis, and will be teaching a class soon in the process (details on her webpage JenniferShaffer.com). She has two workshops - one that covers how to help law enforcement, and the second is for people who want to be part of the group that does.  I've attended in the past, and it's well worth the effort,  if only to understand the process. Then we celebrated a bit of Luana's birthday - and she insisted I stop mentioning her age (as she was adamant about forgetting it while she was on the planet.)  Funny how she can still get me to laugh about it, although she's been off planet since 1996. We asked if she had anyone on her VIP list (hence the title of our 3 books "Backstage Pass to the Flipside" because one of our classmates reported that "she's the one in charge of who gets to speak to us.) Bill Paxton popped up and dusted himself off as if he'd been waiting to speak up. Funny guy Bill. He knew I had been speaking about him last week, and wanted to throw a curve ball in my recollection of how we met, and what it was like for the both of us back then.  It was interesting to chat with Bill about golf - I knew he directed a film "The Greatest Game Ever Played" written by Mark Frost, directed by Bill. He mentions two things that I looked up - one is that he played a celebrity tournament and did badly, and the other that he is currently playing with a golfing icon.  In the former, I found that his father John (whom he mentions in this) actually was in a club with the great Ben Hogan, and reportedly Bill met Hogan when he was young.  I think Bill was either referring to Ouimet, the golfer he made a film about, or the late great Ben Hogan (Jennifer describes his outfit.)  It's the kind of detail I didn't know, Jennifer couldn't have known - so she wasn't "reading my mind" - but was answering directly from Billy. Then, out of nowhere, someone elbowed Bill out of his seat - Bill said it was willingly, but Senator McCain wanted to weigh in on recent political events. And while during the election he took a particularly dim view of the former resident of 1600 PA Ave, his advice this time was to "bind up the nation's wounds" citing Abe Lincoln's ability to do so under more trying circumstances. I was surprised, but not startled, as certainly he was a man of humor and integrity - and was clearly pointing down the middle of the road for the nation to consider healing. All I can say is it is another unusual podcast, this being our 61st.

Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer, "The Librarian" (5) and Marlon Brando

It's our 60th podcast.  Yippee.  

Jennifer was out of town last week, so I was thinking about a couple of people who showed up during previous sessions that we didn't speak to.

She mentioned the "Librarian" (whom I described as Danny DeVito because someone else described him that way in "Architecture of the Afterlife") So I asked if there was a reason he wanted to chat with us.

He implied that he had put it in my mind this past week to ask him some questions - which is often the case. In "Architecture of the Afterlife" he shows up in a session, and in this session I refer to the interview in "It's a Wonderful Afterlife" where a "curmudgeony librarian" who "doesn't look old but has a really old vibe" (who was asked "What are Who is God?"

What makes this so unusual - is that I've met him now through three different people who don't know each other, who couldn't have read about him in any of my books.  And in all three cases, they described the same fellow and in two of the cases, I was invited to speak to him.

So I didn't seek him out - he shows up in "Architecture of the Afterlife" and in a session with Jennifer in "Backstage Pass to the Flipside." When I quote him, even when it's via Jennifer she has no conscious memory of what he said - but she repeats what he said.  Or she refers to what he said to me in a zoom session with someone else entirely (another Jennifer that is in "Architecture.")

So I asked him some questions about the Akashic library.  Interesting answers.

In terms of Marlon, our moderator on the flipside Luana Anders knew many people who knew him (Robert Towne, who wrote that final scene of his in the Godfather, Sam Gilman, Wally Cox, Sally Kellerman and others) - so I have no problem asking him to come forward.  Jennifer doesn't remember that he was hesitant to speak when we did interview him - but in this case, he had shown up to talk about Audrey Hepburn.

But as noted in the previous podcast, Jennifer couldn't think of his name "that actor who plays the Mafia guy who was Al Capone" (clearly not coached as Marlon never played Al) - and two weeks ago, I missed it. But I thought I'd ask him what he wanted to share about her.

In the interim I looked up the fact that he had spent an evening with her and because he was unnerved by her, didn't speak - and she took that to mean he didn't like her. And it's a matter of public record that he wrote to Audrey when he heard that and apologized - public record that Jennifer is not aware of.

Again - not trying to prove anything to anyone - there is no hierarchy on the flipside, it is accurate that his will was found in a chair in Jack Nicholson's house, I've seen it, and I know what happened to it.  She mentions that as well, but it's not common knowledge.

Anyways - a bit all over the map, but not less interesting than the rest.

Chatting with the Flipside via telephone and Audrey Hepburn, Monte Hellman and Laurie Bird

Chatting with Audrey Hepburn, Monte Hellman and Laurie Bird.

Audrey in her job with UNICEF

I didn't ask for Audrey to come and chat with us; but I did have a discussion about her two days earlier, commenting that I always thought I had seen "My Fair Lady" but I had not. 

With her pal Oscar

And her performance was amazing, also considering her background fighting Nazis as a partisan. So Jennifer mentioned that conversation, and then Audrey proceeded to talk to us about Earth Day and her love for animals and the earth.

Monte Hellman

At some point I realized we only had a few minutes left, and asked if Luana Ander's old friend Monte Hellman had stopped by. Luana is our class moderator on the flipside. She knew Monte well. She knew everyone in Monte's films well.

So we had a lively chat with Harry Dean Stanton, Bill Paxton, Monte had messages for Jack Nicholson, Robert Towne and Fred Roos.  All the details he talked about were accurate - but the most unusual part was my asking if "Laurie" was there to greet him.

Monte Hellman

Jennifer could not know who Laurie was, or what I meant. But I knew Monte would. And he said he saw his old girlfriend waiting for him - someone he spent four years with back in the 70's, and who left him to be with Art Garfunkel. Laurie ended her own life (as her mother had) at the age of 26. Jennifer correctly reported that Laurie had taken her own life - but then had a message for Art Garfunkel.

Laurie Bird

What makes this unusual, is that when I met Art, I mentioned that I was a friend of Luana's.  He said "I used to date Luana." Startled, because I knew that Paul and she were an item at one point, I said "Did Paul know that you dated Luana?" Art said "No, I didn't bother to mention it."

Laurie in Monte Hellman's "Two Lane Blacktop"
with Dennis and James

What makes this even more mind bending, is after Luana passed in 1996, I got a letter from her old roommate back in her teen years, who said that "Luana used to have a photo of Paul and Art next to a candle, and she would tell her roommates "I'm going to know both of them."  The roommate didn't stay in touch with her, had no idea that Luana and Paul were an item, or that Art and Luana were an item.

Laurie and Art

And here we were chatting with Laurie Bird, an actress who starred in two of Monte's films, who used an image of the "poster of Hair" to identify who she was dating after Monte.  And that image made me laugh, because Art had a giant afro in those days.

When she said "I'm seeing a poster from
the play "Hair" I thought of this photo. Funny.

Mind blown.

Here's a link:

A phone call from the Flipside:

I answer questions on Quora in a forum called "Hacking the Afterlife."  This exchange happened recently, and I'm sharing it.

"A very very dear friend of almost 30 years recently passed of Covid on January 19. They removed life support at 4 pm. At this time I had no idea he had been sick (Since Dec 19th and put on a vent at that time.) We had been romantically involved years past and it just faded into a beautiful friendship; almost brother/sister. He used to call me all the time while on a detail (he was a police officer) and there was always noise in the background. 

Our calls were a little infrequent during the holidays; he had moved in with his girlfriend so. I understood. I finally received a call January 19 it was at dusk.

"I said where the hell have you been???" We laughed and laughed. The conversation went in for about 2 hours. I actually had to pull off the road I was laughing so hard. And I was almost home. And didn’t want our conversation to end. Funny thing was, he never called at that hour. His work shifts were always around noon, but it was quiet in the background; no noise. 

He was so happy like elated !!!! 

I said, "Omg I have to go now" as I pulled into my driveway. He always said. "Ok -  adios" and we hung up. The next day I told my friend. “ I talked to Dennis for 2 hours last night. I remember because it was her birthday. 

But then I didn’t hear from him after that. I went to call to tell him my daughter had a baby, and his phone was disconnected.  I knew something was wrong. I called his son and he told me (he had died). I said "Omg I just talked to him. In January."

He said, "There is no way you could have he was on a ventilator from Dec. 19th and died January 19."

Richard. What was that phone call !!!!!? I mentioned this call to numerous people. Because it as so wonderful. As all our calls were. Thank you for reading this.

My reply:

Thanks for sharing. It’s one thing to say “I’ve read about something like this” or “I interviewed someone who had that experience” and then to share the experience. When things occur we have to be a little bit like Sherlock Holmes and “eliminate all the other possibilities” to get to the truth.

I’ve heard of people “recovering” just prior to passing (Mentioned in Dr. Greyson’s YouTube talk “Is consciousness produced by the brain”), and there are people who get “cellphone calls” from people not on the planet. Sometimes it’s a word or two - Dr. Elisa Medhus got a call from her son who had ended his life early, and she was startled to hear him say “Mom I’m okay.”

My brother recalled having a long conversation with a good pal the night before he passed - and for two hours they spoke of how influential each other was in their lives, and how much love there was for one another. The next day he died from a sudden heart attack. At the funeral his widow went up to my brother and said “I overheard your conversation, and I’d never heard my husband talk like that to anyone so deeply about love and your relationship.” As if he knew he wouldn’t be much longer on the planet somewhere on the flipside.

The good news is this; everyone is accessible. I’ve been filming people chatting with loved ones for over a decade. Through hypnotherapy, meditation or mediumship. Each avenue yields results. What I frequently record is people saying “He’s telling me “I’m still alive. I’m still here. Just because you can’t see me doesn’t mean I’m not with you.” So there is a methodology to reaching out to your pal and asking the question “What was up with that phone call?” and to get an answer. Tell him we said hello."

Her reply: 

"After some research. The phone call came on 1/19/21 at dusk. He was taken off life support on 1/19/21 at 4 p.m. I had no idea that he had passed until the second week of Feb when I tried calling him to tell him about my new grandson. That’s when I found out. 

The phone call was light and he was so happy. And I don’t remember what we talked about except I said “Hey, we’ve been taking for over two hours. I’ve got to get in the house." He said, "Ok, Adios."

RIP Dennis

My reply:

"Very cool; again, thanks for sharing.  It’s the kind of experience where it’s done casually and no one thinks twice about it - until they realize the person they were speaking to for over two hours on the telephone was no longer on the planet.

When I first started this research - and the more I think about it, the further the date backwards goes - I remember my aunt, a very religious person saying that her husband had appeared at the end of her bed and woke her up. When she saw him, she saw he was younger, healthier, happy. Just “stopped by to say I love you.”

And the phone rang, awakening her out of her “sleep” to tell her that he passed away.  Her family didn’t believe this story when I told them - literally their own mother’s story.  When we start to share stories, we find that people have had experiences across the board for a long time - if we look into literature or libraries, we find that people have reported these kinds of stories since people took pen to paper.

Oddly enough, he’s giving you this tool to “prove that life goes on.”  By digging up the time stamp on your phone record (you can get them online easily enough) you can demonstrate that he clearly was in no shape to have a two hour phone call - off of life support (!)

I mentioned it to someone just now, and she said “I’d like to know if there was a record, it’s something I’d think is worth finding out.” I said “Well, people who are convinced life doesn’t go on, that consciousness ends cannot be convinced no matter what evidence they see.”  

But maybe you can take a screen short of the time stamp.  That would be fun.

Dr. Medhus said she didn’t believe in the afterlife until after he son passed, and called her on her cell. She told me there was “no number” but when she answered it, it was clearly her son’s voice saying “Mom, I’m okay.” Since then she’s spent years chatting with him via various mediums, but that initial phone call was pretty dramatic.

Now if we could just figure out what phone service Dennis was using, and create an app for that… we could all retire!"

Photo by Russ Titelman

And that as I'm fond of saying, is my two cents.

Excellent case of Xenoglossy

Child spoke English instead of Arabic. From Carol Bowman, author of "Children's Past Lives." Excellent case of xenoglossy.

Good Friday and The Second Coming

" What's so good about it?"

In the ongoing interviews we've had with people who report that they can access Jesus, or the frequency of Jesus, or the fellow himself, the comment has come up that "If Jesus returned to see what folks were doing in his memory, it would be celebrating the worst day of his life."

That may have come from a comedian - but the point is apt.  

The guy lives a life of love, loving, being loved, spreading love - and the symbol we use in his honor is from the worst afternoon of his journey. 'Hi Jesus! Look, I'm wearing your cross!" "Um, that's not my cross, actually, those Roman fellows made that thing."

Allow me to be heretical for a moment.

Tiziano Vecellio

To be clear, scholars agree he was on the cross for a day. 

Perhaps an afternoon. Scourging aside - there is a sequence of events in his story that can be examined. He's put on a cross alongside two other fellas who'd been there longer. Perhaps all week long as was the custom.

He's given some gall - wine mixed with myrrh - by a soldier and a few moments later appears to give up the ghost. (Passes out or is knocked out, it's a debate.)

Meanwhile Joseph of Arimethea is in Pilate's office asking for the "living body of Jesus" off the cross. (According to the original Greek and Aramaic, the word "Soma" he used was for a living person.)  Pilate reportedly replies, "you can take the corpse down. (Ptoma) "  And then they do. Estimates could be three hours, perhaps longer out there in front of everyone.

Soldier reportedly stabs him in the side - and water and blood flow out. (See Livor Mortis)  Well, that usually indicates someone who is alive - as blood generally doesn't flow from dead bodies, but be that as it may, the next piece of the story is that he's met at the cave by Nicodemus with 75 to 90 pounds of Aloe and Myrrh.

Interesting detail - myrrh being the same thing brought to Jesus at his birth - but it represents not an ointment for the dead (else why bring it to Mary after she's given birth?) but an ointment for the living. A restorative. As it still is. Same goes for aloe.

Since there's never been a Jewish tradition of anointing the dead (despite the good book's admonition and claim there was) with any oils or paste or goop. They bury their dead before sundown so they don't have to pack them in salt or goop or smelling salts. Never have. Never will. 

So the only logical thing is that our pal Nicodemus has brought along a whole bunch of bags of restoratives to this cave.  Not "anointed the dead" products. Who needs 75-90 pounds to do that? I mean, can we say "overkill?" ("Nico! Enough with the ointments already! You could have brought a pound - but 75 pounds?")

And then what happens?

According to the guards, who reported to the Sanhedrin, "his followers came and took him to another cave."  According to the gospels, they claim this was a lie - and that the guards, who were working for the Sanhedrin were covering up for being "asleep on the job."  (That's a quote, literally. They were lying because they slept on the job.) 

‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ Matthew 28:11–15

But hang on. The next day - when a posse shows up to find him - where'd the 75 pounds of aloe and myrrh go? 

Every report in the good book has an empty cave.  Empty except for a cloth.  (Reportedly the shroud.) A couple of accounts mention angels (one account has them standing, another has them sitting. Must get tiring flying around all the time. But I digress.)  

Never mind that the shroud shows someone who is alive (the dead don't bleed, and whoever was in the shroud was bleeding) and then when his pals show up at the cave, it's rolled away and he's gone... or in the garden disguised as a gardener - but either way - no one mentions the 75 pounds of aloe and myrrh. Or the bags they were carried in. All used on one afternoon? Really?

Where'd they go? Vanished into thin air?  Lugged out the back of the cave?  No one mentions them.

Based on dozens of interviews with people who claim to recall either a lifetime in that era, or being a witness to events on that day - it's not me claiming these reports, I'm only filming them - according to these reports from people both under hypnosis, not under hypnosis, or somehow accessing this "past life memory" - they claim the same thing. 

That with the help of his pals, followers, some of the Roman legion, he was allowed to escape. He figured out a way and method to survive the ordeal. He used his incredible healing powers as well as conscious abilities to not get killed on the cross. 

He didn't "escape" or leave the region immediately - people claim the aloe and myrrh was used to restore him prior to going to visit his apostles, which was at least 80 miles away from Jerusalem - so it's not like he left the cave on Sunday for supper with his pals. Reportedly, it took months for him to heal.

As reported, his followers were as astounded as anyone to see that he still existed. 

Who else would stick his finger in someone's wound and say "Is this really you?"  I mean, c'mon Thomas.

(Reportedly Jesus returned the favor to Thomas - in the "Acts of Thomas" from the Gnostic Gospels, Jesus tells Thomas to go to India to preach, Thomas refuses, so Jesus sells him to an Arab trader to work on his ship. 

Thomas claims he was forced to go to India, where he landed in Kerala. The spot where he landed became an ancient church, a new one exists next door (despite the Catholic church claiming it didn't happen).  Those Kerala Christians follow a form of Christianity closer to what Thomas preached.)

The St. Thomas Church near where he landed
near the ruins of an ancient church built
in his honor in Kerala. Lots of Christians not recognized
by any Church (other than Thomas) 

That he had survived this ordeal, with the help of some pals, with the help of his ability to heal, with the help of his years traveling the silk road and learning esoteric yogas that allow for consciousness to be outside the body (see "the six yogas of Naropa" for examples) - they claim, I don't claim - they claim that he survived this ordeal.

So - the good news is - he reportedly survived. 

I find it amusing when I cite these reports, people are offended. Furious. Ready to light the pyre. "Jesus survived? Heresy!"  

But in retrospect it was a miracle that he did - survived a Roman crucifixion. 

And to do it with style, grace and love for everyone involved (including his pal Judas, who in the Gospel of Judas claims that Jesus came to him and said in effect "You have to turn me in, in order for this ruse to work."  "If you love me,  you'll do as I have asked." Quoting Judas now.) The story has many levels of grace as shown. 

(Never mind that the Qur'an reports he survived.  He's called "Issa" or "Isa" in that book, as he was known throughout the Middle East. People in the reports about him have called him Esaiah, and even "Essie.") (See "Hacking the Afterlife" for those reports) 

Hacking the Afterlife

The reports continue that he traveled with his "wife" (Mary of Magda, reportedly wed in an Essene ceremony prior to his ordeals) and together with their family (at least one, later 5) found his way to Kashmir and lived out his days as a preacher who continued to speak about life everlasting, and how the flipside is a kingdom where everyone is welcomed. Again - not my story. I am reporting.

But that's another story. 

This story for today is to say, when we think of "Good Friday" maybe it's good because we can challenge the narrative with this other story - how some pals figured out a way to save the life of their friend, and his unique ability to be a healer and someone who understood reality on a different level, he was able to live out the rest of his days in relative obscurity. Happy. Still preaching, albeit to a different flock.

During one of the sessions that I filmed of speaking with him, when asked "why are you allowing this alternate story to emerge of what happened to you?" he replied "It's not alternate if it's truth."

https://youtu.be/yP2geeqWZ8w

And then we have the people who claim he still exists - that he has come to them in dreams, visions, near death events - and given them new information. People who claim he's accessible to anyone - that he "never left" because no one "leaves" - we step outside this realm and into another one. That we can incarnate from, reincarnate from, and that he's done so since then.

Not gone. Just not here.

It's not my belief, opinion or theory that people say these things consistently. I just film them doing so.

Here's an interview with him via Jamie Butler (from the Channeling Erik Website). I've filmed another interview with Jamie and him sometime later, have yet to post the transcripts of that interview. It's equally mind bending.

https://youtu.be/HMbr4WXrM9A

So when we think of Easter - perhaps think of the idea of resurrecting this fellow's life, becoming aware that he still may exist, that reportedly he's available to anyone who needs his help, that's he eager and willing to help anyone who reaches out for him.  

It's an odd way of saying "Happy Easter" - because it includes the idea that we can all resurrect him by examining his story in closer detail. 

That the "Second Coming" may be our awareness that he never left. Or that no one "leaves" - they return "home" to the "kingdom of home" where everyone reports a feeling of unconditional love.  

But they actually use the word "home" instead of "heaven." 

Again - I am just reporting.

Graphic from the shroud with filters

When asked during an "interview" why it was that he had such a profound effect on people who have seen him since then (hard to breathe, tears, red faces) he said "I brought more of source with me to this lifetime. When people are near me, they feel that unconditional love." ("Hacking the Afterlife" Chapter 18: "People who claim to have met Jesus.")

To which I replied "Not so much with the Romans." 

And the person who was accessing him in the interview (in "Hacking the Afterlife") said "He's laughing. He just laughed when you said that."

Which is a small Easter egg unto itself.

My two Easter eggs cents.

Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer, her dad, my dad and others

A visit from Jennifer's dad, her grandparents, my dad and a couple of Italian architects. (Bernini and Michelangelo)

To recap: In the podcast, there’s a discussion of a dream I had where I saw my old friend Luana Anders with brown hair. 

And when I asked her close friend Robert about it, he said “Well, maybe you were seeing her in the dream before you met her.”’ And then - when asking Jennifer about it, she said the same thing “It was a time before you knew her… and a way to introduce the concept for discussion…” 

And afterwards, unrelated, looking for a photograph of something else, I ran into this photograph. Never saw it before - with her friend Hazel Medina… I cast them both in my film “Point of Betrayal” - they started their careers together, and then in 96 their last movie role together in that film… but here’s the photo. The same color and length of hair that I saw in the dream. Odd. 

Hazel remained a close pal over decades, and the last time they appeared in a film together is in "Point of Betrayal" a thriller I made for Jonathan Krane.  Gave me a chance to put them together on the screen... as nurses. Here's from a bit earlier in their careers (Hazel did Broadway, lived in NY, Luana did Broadway, but mostly films, and lived in LA. Both were Buddhists together (SGI).  

Fun to find this photo.

Luana with the hair color I saw in the dream, same
length. I met Hazel many year later - and this was
at a time before I knew either of them.
I don't  remember ever seeing
this photograph... but today it "popped up" out of 
somewhere... this morning.

Hacking the Afterlife with Fellini, Giulietta, Marcello & Fiammetta

 I had the impression that the great director Federico Fellini stopped by my place a few days ago - so I invited him to come by our class.

Fred and Giulietta

I had studied his films in college, and later when living in Rome there were sightings of him all over the city. Later, I met a number of people who worked with him, including the Roman actress Fiammetta Baralla, the aunt of a fellow film school student Luca Bentivoglio.  I got to know Fiammetta well, and her dog Romeo who was famous in her home town of Roma.

Me and Luana near Via Veneto

As a result, I felt fairly confident that we could chat with Fellini, because Fiammetta knew him, worked with him - and I am a fan of his work, his wife's work - Giulietta Masina - and her work with Anthony Quinn. Some years later I worked with one of his sons Francesco. Once Francesco told me that his dad loved our film "Cannes Man." (For the record, Anthony Quinn was Mexican American as he mentions)

Francesco's dad

So this is a Italian celebrity filled session - Marcello Mastroianni stops by as well... which would be incredible to any fan of Italian cinema, but for many - like Jennifer, they are only vaguely familiar with these icons.  

Ma che fai?

The discussion is fun and lively - given on March 11th, the day before my birthday.  My birthday gift to myself was to have the amazing Jennifer Shaffer access people that I knew about and wished I might one day meet - and they report things that only those on the flipside could know. 

Fiammetta Baralla

La vita e sempre bella with Fiammetta

For example - I asked Fiammetta if she was "met by Romeo" on the flipside - and no one on the planet but me knows that Romeo was a poodle - (and the denizens of Rome and Fiammetta's family) and the most famous poodle in Trastevere at one point. That fact alone - that she said "Is Romeo a dog?" demonstrates her abilities in this field.  Having done this with her for six years, I can't believe how fortunate I am to be able to do so.

Boh!

What or Who is God?

 Question popped up on Quora today - with regard to why God would let people choose the lifetimes they've chosen, or if that was possible...

My answer, based on the flipside research:

"I suggest opening up the idea of what or who God is. Not a person, entity or programmer per se - but it shows up in the research as this: I brought a skeptic to a session to film a past life regression/between life session (with a Newton Institute trained hypnotherapist.)

On the way there I asked if she had any questions to ask if she met one of her guides: she said “I’m a skeptic. I’m an atheist. I don’t believe in any afterlife, I don’t believe anything you’ve told me about the research, I don’t believe in guides.” I said “So why are we doing this?” She said “I’m having surgery on my ovary, and the doctor said it would be a good idea because it will help me to relax.”

We got to Scott’s office (lightbetweenlives.com) and I handed over a couple of her questions; “What or who is god?” was the one she decided to “ask in case she got somewhere” even though she didn’t believe she’d go anywhere. I didn’t tell him she was a skeptic - I didn’t tell him anything, just set up the tripod and put the camera on it.

In 15 minutes we were in Arizona in 1820 and she was recalling the lifetime of this rancher (details I was able to historically verify) and what a cranky fellow he was. She had a wild session (It’s in “It’s a Wonderful Afterlife”) and then she met her guide in her Akashic library. (Akashic means "invisible" "energy" or "etheric" in Sanskrit) And the librarian said “I'm busy, but I’ll answer whatever questions you have.”

So Scott repeated her question. 

Michael Newton - one of the hypnotherapist
who trained Scott De Tamble

The guide (speaking through her - she’s saying “He seems like he’s busy and can’t be bothered, but he says he’ll answer my questions.”) He said in reply “God is beyond the capacity of the human brain to comprehend, it’s not physically possible to comprehend.”

I thought that was the end of it - he was literally ducking the question. He didn’t use any gender or objective pov - just said “God is beyond anyone’s capacity - because it’s not physically possible for the human brain to comprehend what that means.”

But he continued;

“However, you can experience God by opening your heart to everyone and all things.”

Now I knew the person saying this was not a Buddhist, or religious - she remains a jaded skeptic of a Hollywood film producer, responsible for behind the scenes production on some big blockbuster films. To this day she doesn’t remember saying it - and that’s why I’m glad to bring a camera. Because I recorded her saying it.

Look at the sentence.

No reference to a being or person. No reference to a creator or creators - just a reference to an experience. And if we want to experience that experience - have that epiphany or that apotheosis - we can.

But to do so we have to do something literally impossible for humans to do.

Some do it with pets. Some do it with family members. Open their hearts in such a way that it constitutes “unconditional love.” Opening your heart to someone is literally that construct. No conditions on that love. Open heart to everyone.

But he added something interesting - and I’ve thought a lot about it since then. Not just “open your hear to everyone” - which could be heard on a pulpit (even when they don’t mean it - because it implies opening up hearts to people they fear or dislike or don’t agree with) - he said “open your heart to everyone and all things.”

So start there.

What does it mean to “open your heart to a thing?” Why would anyone suggest that “opening one’s heart” to an object - a table, a chair, a keyboard - this monitor - a plant, a blade of grass… how could that be an experience of God?

Because by becoming aware of how consciousness functions - how incarnation works - we get the awareness of the idea that quantum entanglement exists not only between objects created in the same space - but between all objects, all things, all people. 

And that “holding of space” that atoms do - agreeing to hold space in a piece of wood, concrete, earth - those atoms are all there agreeing to occupy that space… and our awareness that we are connected to all things is like turning on a massive light that illuminates every drop of water in the ocean.

So the idea of “god” punishing, doling out warrants, judging people - isn’t in the research. 

What is in the research is that people who claim to have an experience of “god” or being near “god” or being near someone who has more source energy than most - someone who embodies “unconditional love” - they are consistent in their reports of having an experience of “unconditional love.”

So in essence - in the sentence, this librarian on the flipside, via this jaded skeptic of a Hollywood film producer, has revealed that the “path to God” is not only good works, not only being kind or generous or compassionate - but the path to “knowing god” or “experiencing god” is by way of “opening their hearts to everyone AND ALL THINGS.” (Italics and caps added for emphasis.)

Easy to say but next to impossible to do on this planet of negative/positive, yin/yang, dark/light experiences - because opening our heart to all of them means that we love them all equally, embrace them all equally, and share that connectivity.

This is one of those answers that seems to be beyond sense - or all over the map, but inside of it is the “flipside code” as I call the subtitle for “Architecture of the Afterlife.” 

It may offend those with a vested interest in a person, object or thing that they deify - but within the answer is the observation that we are all part of that thing we deify, we are all part of that wisdom and compassion, we are all part of the journey - all beings just walking each other home. 

We do choose to come here - and the reasons are often based on multiple lifetimes, on knowing the person who asked us to show up over many lifetimes, on reasons that are beyond our stage persona’s ability to contemplate, but completely make sense to our higher self - the rest of our conscious energy sitting in the theater - applauding.

By the way, check out Dr. Greyson's book “After” as an example of how a scientist approaches data that doesn't fit the paradigm. Because its hard to comprehend doesn't mean we shouldn't examine.  As he quotes social scientist Raymond Wolfinger: “The plural of anecdote is data.” (Pg 61 “After")

My two cents.

Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer and Ian Stevenson

Unusual chat with Ian Stevenson who passed in 2007. There was an ulterior motive that Jennifer wasn't aware of - I knew there was a lock in his office that can only be opened by a specific phrase or word.  I edited out the answer - because I've shared the answer with those scientists at DOPS to see if it's accurate.  If it's not accurate (due to trying to interpret complex images from the flipside) I will report that, and ask that people not bug Jennifer Medlyn Shaffer​ about the answer - which she knows.  It may be the proof that life goes on that people are looking for.  (And then again, it may be something akin to it - something close to it - or something different altogether.)  But the interview itself is interesting because it covers the same hallmarks as many other interviews on the topic. "What's reincarnation about? Why do some folks bring marks on their body that relate to wounds from previous lifetimes?" etc.  But the key phrase that he gave us - is not in this podcast. However, it is in the hands of the scientists at UVA. Knock on wood, it opens his combination lock. (Gee, "is it knock on wood?") Just kidding.

Richard Martini "Navigate the Afterlife, A Tourist's Guide"

Fun talk from a couple of years ago...