Dean Richards’ Sunday Morning | September 1

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So what do you say the Hampton OB are going to be on today at 4?

Yeah, we got a season preview show today at 4 o'clock till 6.

It's going to be exciting.

Yeah, we'll have some good things to talk about before change.

Yeah.

It'll be nice.

Yeah, it'll be nice.

Very nice.

Yeah, we'll get to see the guys again, too.

And the Hampton OB pregame show starts next week.

Is that right?

That is correct.

We'll start at 11 ahead of the season opener.

It's at Soldier Field next week against Tennessee.

So we'll be on at our regular time at 11 a.m.

And that means you get to go home a little bit early, which I know you hate.

What you really do is I know you go back to your desk and you listen intently.

I do a pretend show by myself.

Exactly.

He becomes Dean Diamond again.

Schwanney and I go back there when we do a little pretend show.

And I can say what I really think.

Of me and everybody else.

I'm glad I'm on the air and I can't hear it.

Yeah.

I look forward to it.

It's the most exciting five minutes in radio broadcasting.

Nice.

When I'm trying to get out, get all my junk out of here.

Mm-hmm.

And they're getting their junk in here.

Right.

Well, themselves, really.

Yeah.

It's the shift change, yes.

Yeah.

All within about five minutes.

Right.

It's super, super exciting.

Yeah.

But then you get your little old B-Love there.

He's a big fan of yours.

Hamp's a big fan of yours as well.

Likewise.

They enjoy seeing you.

I can't wait.

It would be good to see them again.

Absolutely.

So you're going to stick around until four, right, to say hello, right?

Definitely.

Okay, cool.

Yeah.

I'm sure.

What?

You don't believe me?

I'm going to come back just to see if you're going to be here.

I'm starting a new thing this year when I see them.

I'm going to chest bump them.

Oh, nice.

I'm going to get that on video.

I want to get it to be as sportsy as possible with them.

I think both of them would throw me the ground just as it's happening.

That's just it.

And Dean is not here this week because of a chest bump incident.

Right.

Somehow his chest collapsed.

You know what surprised me when I heard you say on the newscast, yes, I listened to your

newscast.

You talking to me?

What'd you say it was the 26th annual?

23rd.

How can that be possible?

Well, it is.

It just seems like it started yesterday.

I know.

23rd.

Which means, think of this.

Seriously.

Just kind of a huge anniversary there for 23 years ago.

It was the first one was right before 9-11, 2001.

Right.

23 years later.

Wow.

That puts it in perspective a little bit.

Yeah.

Wow.

Would you ever do it?

I mean, we're...

Ride the bike?

If I had a bike, I probably would.

I've had several friends that have done it.

They said it was great.

We're here every Sunday morning because some...

Positions and responsibility are too important to take off, you know, just to ride a bicycle.

I think it's been proven over and over again that when we're not here doing the show, the

city is in shambles.

Complete.

The whole thing falls apart if we're not here to conduct business.

So, that's why we don't climb up to the top of the Hancock building when they do that.

That's why we don't.

Yeah.

Climb up presidential towers.

Soldier Field.

Marathons.

Sears Tower, like Spider Dan.

Yeah.

All those things.

We have to be here on our appointed duties.

But I think it would be fun.

I think it would be great, especially in a morning like this.

It's beautiful out there.

Perfect morning outside.

Yeah.

You don't have a bike?

Not anymore.

No.

I don't.

Do you have a bike, Andy?

I do.

I do, too.

Yeah.

Now, you could ride on my handlebars.

Oh, that'd be awesome.

I can see.

Do you probably had one of those big bikes with the big high handlebars like a motorcycle?

What were those called?

The Stingray.

The Schwinn Stingrays.

Oh, yeah.

With the banana seat?

Yeah.

My friend had one of those.

I didn't have the Stingray, but I had a Schwinn Typhoon, which I loved.

And I did have those big handlebars.

I remember the Schwinn Typhoon.

I forgot what they were called.

And I had these little kind of knobs that you put on them because I also had a paper route.

Oh, so you could put the bag of papers.

I had to strap my bag of, I think it was the Daily News.

Was it the Daily News?

Yeah.

I delivered it in the afternoon.

Yeah.

Yep.

And I would strap it on and go to town.

Yep.

Now, Gilda, my girlfriend, is a big bike enthusiast.

And when I visited there, we've ridden bikes around there.

Does she ride you on the handlebars?

No.

And then, let's see.

On the crossbar?

Are you on the crossbar?

We rented bikes when we went to the beach, rode the bikes along the boardwalk.

That was great fun.

That's nice.

I had to, you know, it is true.

Once you learn, you never forget, as they say, about riding a bike.

But then you kind of have to refresh yourself on how to slow down and brake and that sort of thing.

I'd be more concerned.

I don't ride my bike as much as I should.

But occasionally, I do like it.

And it's great exercise.

And I'm terrified when I'm riding it because of all the crazy motorists.

In the city.

Sure.

Yeah.

It's not easy to get around.

Some areas.

Yeah.

You know, when I'm a motorist, I complain about the bicyclers.

When I'm a bicycler, I complain about the motorists.

I'm an equal opportunity complainer.

I can see you with one of those great big bicycle wheels, you know, like a bike from, like, 1902.

Pedaling that around.

The seat way in the back.

Why, good morning.

Good day.

With the top hat on.

Good day.

And a monocle.

Top hat, monocle, drinking a cup of tea.

Pulling a calliope for music in the back.

Why, good morning, Mrs. Pennyworth.

If I did bike the drive.

With that bicycle.

Well, I would do it with.

On the drive.

I think I would want to do it on a unicycle.

Oh, that'd be awesome.

How about a bicycle built for two?

Oh.

A little tandem bike.

You and me.

And Melina.

Yeah, we could do that, sure.

That would be awesome.

Andy and Melina, you and me.

She likes to ride bikes.

Yeah.

Isn't there a song about a bicycle built for two?

Yes.

Right.

Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer, do.

Yes.

Yeah.

I'm half crazy all for the love of you.

It won't be a stylish marriage.

I can't afford a carriage.

But you'll look sweet upon the seat of a bicycle.

Built for two.

And that's your Sunday morning serenade.

And that's when Andy and Melina force us off the road.

Are we driving to the lake?

And that's when everybody just turned off their radio.

Yeah.

However, Andy and I were feeling when you were describing the leaves to us.

Oh, gosh.

Deciduous trees.

Oh, the deciduous trees.

When we went on the Alzheimer's walk.

Well, here we are in September.

That's next month.

Andy and I wanted to tie a cinder block to our ankle and jump in the lake.

Oh, it wasn't that bad.

I was trying to provide an educational experience.

But that's not what we were there for.

All right.

So what is the bike?

The drive thing goes till noon?

Yeah.

Is that right?

Right.

Things should be done by noon.

Yes.

All right.

Let's see if I can see anybody.

Oh, I'm sure you can.

Oh, yeah.

They're all over.

Andy, can you see them from where you are?

Okay.

Oh, yeah.

Look at that.

Traffic is free-flowing.

I had to open the blinds.

There were a number of them stopped along the Lakeshore Drive bridge there taking pictures.

There are a lot of people, when I came in this morning, people with their bikes strapped to their cars.

Yeah.

I saw that myself.

And then I guess they, I don't know where, is there a starting point?

Or do you just jump in?

You can get on anywhere you want.

Wherever you want.

Yeah.

A number of places on the north side, like Lawrence Avenue, Fullerton, I think.

All the way south, it starts on the south end by the Museum of Science and Industry, now

called Science Drive.

Yeah.

Was it really?

Yes.

It's called Science Drive.

Science Drive.

It's the correct name of the intersection.

Didn't know that.

I didn't either until this morning.

I've asked them to please.

Please notify me when they change street names because I get lost otherwise.

Have you had the thank goodness for GPS experience?

Oh, sure.

Oh, yeah.

Do you have that?

Oh, yeah.

I mean, you know, we're all born and raised here.

We think we know the city pretty well.

I think I know the city pretty well.

But sometimes I have absolutely no idea where I am.

And it's thank goodness for the GPS.

But have you ever had the opportunity to see your GPS and not know where you are either?

Oh.

That I have not had.

That happened to me.

As a matter of fact, that happened to me yesterday.

Here?

Yeah.

Well, you know, I set my GPS.

I know how to get home from here.

I would hope.

But it's usually for how long it's going to take me so I can figure out which route I

want to take.

And I was on the Kennedy going north and it had me on Grand Avenue.

Hmm.

And it just, I kept stopping it and starting it and stopping it and starting it and it

was all messed up.

Wow.

That would be the reason why.

That would be the great Apple map.

That I was using yesterday.

Hmm.

It's AI taking over.

Could be.

Yeah.

And he thinks he knows where he's going.

Exactly.

I am taking him somewhere else.

Go to Grand Avenue and keep going west.

I am taking him to D'Amato Bakery.

He will be in Iowa shortly.

You have missed the turn off.

But doesn't the GPS also, I mean, you think you know, I do this all the time where I think

I know the best routes.

Mm-hmm.

And GPS has another opinion.

Yes.

Because aren't they taking into account closures, slow traffic, you know, all those sorts of

things that play into it.

So more often than not now, as much as I hate AI, and I think it's going, that we are going

to be the, we're going to be the, you know, subservient race to AI and they will be our

lords and masters one day soon.

So the, I have been paying attention to what GPS says because most of the time it's right.

Yeah.

You know, there's those times you play the game of chicken with it too, because you,

like you said, you think you know where you're going and you're like, wait, why is it telling

me to go here?

I'm just going to ignore it.

And then you run into like a solid wall of traffic and you're like, oh, come on.

Right.

Yeah.

Traffic has been insane lately, the last couple of months maybe.

Yeah.

Because construction partially, I don't know where all the cars are coming from.

It's crazy.

Busier than ever.

I still have fold out maps in the glove compartment.

You're laughing.

I do.

Do you really?

Yes.

I do.

He prints out MapQuest maps.

I have a feeling he's talking about the old Texaco maps.

Oh, he is.

That's exactly what I'm talking about.

The old fold out maps.

That's what I'm talking about.

See, my dad's a fan of the old Texaco maps.

My dad still has those in the car.

A couple of times when I did the drive with him from Florida back here to Chicago, he

has all the states we're going to go in just in case something goes wrong with the GPS.

There you go.

Wow.

Yep.

Well, I guess that's wise.

Yep.

Beyond his years.

The roads have been updated about 15 times since those maps were printed.

That road wasn't here.

More like 30 since then, given the age of some of mine.

Boy, I used to.

I used to have all the maps, too.

Yeah.

And he used to, with AAA, he used to go, and whenever we'd take our family trucks to road

trips from Chicago to, say, Denver or Washington, D.C., we'd get the map, the book, the atlas.

Oh, yeah.

And it would highlight the routes for you.

Right.

So convenient to have in the car when you're trying to figure out where you're going.

Of course.

You've got to turn the map one way, the other sideways.

Yeah.

When I did my first Route 66 trip, I bought maps of all the eight states.

All the eight states that it goes through.

Planned it out in advance.

Some things have changed.

That was over 30 years ago now, but that's what I did.

Human is using a map.

Take him on Grand Avenue.

Keep going west.

Drop him off somewhere in Elmhurst.

All right.

Is that your imitation of the robot on Lost in Space?

Yeah.

That's my patented, well.

That's your patented AI voice.

The robot in Lost in Space was AI before its time.

Yes, it was.

Anyone who could tell Will Robinson when there was going to be danger.

Danger.

Warning.

Yeah.

He was the first home security system.

He was.

Oh, I guess I can't say the A word.

The system.

Every time I've said that system.

The system that starts with an A and I turn on everybody's radios and I won't say what it is.

Oh, that word.

Yes.

Right.

Okay.

But yes.

Okay.

So we'll keep you posted on Bike the Drive today if you're going to because it's, you know, tomorrow's holiday.

So a lot of people still have, you know, it's only half the weekend right now.

So we'll keep you posted on that.

Tell you about things to do going on for the weekend.

We've got.

We've got one-on-one interviews today with Catherine O'Hara, Jenna Ortega, Winona Ryder, all from the new Beetlejuice movie.

We'll share all of that with you.

And also our pal Frank Ferrante is going to stop by today.

Remember him from.

Yeah.

Theatros and Zani.

He's got another show going.

Well, he does this Groucho Mark show, which is amazing that he's been taking around the country, but he's bringing the Groucho.

Show and his character Caesar from Theatros and Zani.

He'll explain it all when when he comes in today and he holds the honor of being the only guest that I've ever had on WGN ever in my 30 years plus here on WGN to take his shoes and socks off and put his feet up on the table.

And I told him he could come in today if he promises not to do that.

I do not want to look at anybody's feet this morning while we're doing a show.

He's just back from Italy.

He went back to where his family is from in Italy, and he's been posting pictures on Facebook.

And I can't wait to hear more about that trip.

Where did he go in Italy?

Puglia.

I'm not sure where that is.

Yeah, he'll explain.

But he met relatives that he never knew and found similarities.

It's it's amazing.

I've talked to many people that have gone back to either places in the US and met relatives that they never knew that, you know, they had never met before or gone back to, quote, the old country to where their family origins were.

And they meet people who are their cousins, their relations with whom they share so many things.

And even physically.

Physical attributes, not only I mean, they don't not only look like each other, but they have similar hand gestures and, you know, things like that that I think are kind of ironic.

Apparently, I'm the only one who thinks that.

No, no, you're right.

You're right.

You're absolutely right.

I was just going to work in the fact that dad and I did that twice in Germany, went back to Regensburg, Germany, where our ancestry was from.

Okay.

Yeah.

Well, that's Frank.

He's going to talk about all that stuff here today.

Okay.

And anything else?

Well, I have a newscast for less than three minutes.

I know that.

Okay.

I have some just reminding you.

All right.

I've done the show before.

I'm familiar with the format.

Well, you'd never know it by listening to the show.

But believe me, I do know what's going on for the far flung forecast.

Our weekly compendium of fascinating facts and figures.

All presented.

Sent to us by Shwani the barber.

He's a nice boy.

Oh, he's such a nice.

Sit down in the chair and I'll take care of you next.

Oh, they're backed up until four o'clock.

Thank you very much, Floyd.

I mean, Dean.

And good morning.

Get out your compasses and protractors and newfangled devices.

We're actually headed out to Long Island on New York to this week.

What?

To Rockville Center, New York.

And center, by the way, is of the old English spelling variety.

R-E-N-T-R-E.

You know, Rockville Center.

Is there a time when you're supposed to spell it R-E and times when you're supposed to spell it E-R?

If there are, you mean times, you mean an appropriate time and place to do it?

I mean, is there an appropriate?

Appropriate application when you would spell center with an R-E and then appropriate application when you would spell it with an E-R.

Same thing with theater.

You know, some places spell it E-R and some places spell it R-E.

Right.

They still spell it R-E in Great Britain, don't they?

Well, in many places here they do, too.

Yeah.

And I just think they're being fancy.

Right.

They're being fancy, you know.

But Rockville Center goes back quite a ways.

You know, it's roots.

Beans.

Being in the 18th century when, you know, we were still ruled by the British here.

So it makes sense that it would be Rockville Center.

C-E-N-T-R-E.

Centra.

It is also abbreviated as R-V-C.

So if you really want to be hip and trendy, if someone asks you where you live.

And I do.

I'm an R-V-C.

I want to be hip and trendy.

I'm an R-V-C.

But we bring up R-V-C today because.

55 years ago tomorrow, a bank, chemical bank, if you remember that name, chemical bank,

had a branch in Rockville Center and installed the first ATM.

Get out of here.

Really?

55 years ago tomorrow in Rockville Center, New York.

Fuck that.

And it changed everything in banking.

So Rockville Center has that distinction of being, you know, a life-changing.

A life-changing center for whatever came through in banking.

The rest is history, as they say.

I remember doing a radio show.

It wasn't 50 years ago.

But I do remember when ATMs, cash stations, as we first called them.

Cash stations, yeah.

Were becoming more and more popular.

And I was very anti-cash station because I thought it's going to put all these tellers out of work.

Well.

And I don't want to put the tellers out of work.

But I got to say, now I sort of enjoy the convenience of them.

After 55 years?

Same at the grocery store with the cash registers you do yourself.

I love that, too.

And the thing of it is, too, is that this might be a little bit on the way out.

Perhaps not entirely, but more and more, we all use our cards, credit or debit, just to pay.

Just swipe the card.

Just swipe the card or tap the card.

Yeah, you don't even need cash.

You don't even need cash anymore.

Yeah, yeah.

But 55 years ago tomorrow, Rockville Center, New York, at the chemical bank branch there,

had the first ATM cash station.

And they're having nice weather there today.

It's partly cloudy and 73.

Very nice.

I wonder what that experience was like to be the very first person to use an automatic machine to get money.

Yeah.

You know, tell it how much you want.

And then, you know, how long have you had a card?

You know, I'm going to say I've had one since college, over 45 years now.

Pretty much since it started.

Yeah.

So.

Yeah.

But it was all, for me, it was always like emergency money.

Well, that's a good rule of thumb.

I kept it for emergencies because I felt like I don't want to take some teller's money.

I kept it for emergencies because I felt like I don't want to take some teller's job away from them.

Mm-hmm.

Which I've now reversed mine.

Oh, I need the cash right now.

Yeah.

Actually, I don't even really.

Well, okay.

On average, do you pay more with your credit or debit card?

All the time.

Instead of cash?

All the time.

Yeah.

Right.

I keep some cash in my pocket just in case, but I'll bet I haven't touched it in months.

You still have it.

You still have it, though.

Yeah, you want some.

Do I want some?

Yeah, you want some.

There's a lot of places that won't take cash.

That's very true.

That's true.

Yeah.

Very true.

Certainly started around COVID, the height of COVID, and then there are, yeah, there

are still places that did not go back to cash.

Some places are.

Card transactions only.

Strictly.

Right.

Yeah.

I still would like it if you gave me your PIN number, though.

If that would be all right.

A little something for all the.

Bikers on Lakeshore Drive today, listening to WGN Radio.

I can tell they are, because when they drive by the river, they wave at us, going over

the river.

The bridge.

944 Dean Richard, Sunday morning.

WGN, time for the Week in Health.

Dr. Jeremy Silver joining us.

He's the Medical Director of Emergency Medicine.

He's in Northwestern's Kishwaukee Hospital.

Just in general, Doctor, good morning, first of all.

Nice to have you with us, as always.

Good morning, Dean.

So, people getting on their bikes, you know, for the first time maybe in, you know, months

to do Bike the Drive today.

Is there any kind of preparation one should go through to, you know, before they actually

get out there?

Well, first of all, the very first thing I always do when I get on a bike is put my bike on.

I put it on my helmet, so head injuries, even off a bicycle, can be severe, debilitating,

or life-changing, and it's so easy to just strap one of those things on, so I'd always

recommend a helmet.

And then, of course, stretching before you get on the bike.

The older I get, Dean, the more my legs feel like two pieces of timber, and so I try to

stretch those hamstrings out.

I would think that you'd have to.

I would think that you'd have to train a little bit cardio-wise, right?

Because if you're going from one end of Lakeshore Drive to the other, even though you can stop

and rest, that's a pretty good cardio workout, isn't it?

It is.

You know, in some senses, it may be an excellent stress test, but hopefully not.

But, you know, the key is, if you have any kind of underlying heart condition or chronic

conditions, such as kidney disease or diabetes, it's good to run your exercise regimen by your

physician, just to make sure that you're not overdoing it.

Like you said, it can be dangerous to over-exercise.

I guess the good news is, on a day like today, it's so nice and cool outside this morning

that at least we're not contending with severe heat.

Yeah, yeah.

It is kind of a perfect morning for something like this, and, you know, people can stop,

and, you know, hopefully...

Yeah.

...they've brought some water or, you know, a sports drink or something along with them

so they can rehydrate while they're going through it.

I don't think that there are too many people that are, you know, taking this like the Indy

500.

I notice a lot of families out there, and, you know, people are doing it just to have

a family event in a place where you, you know, never really get to ride your bike ever.

So, you know, hopefully everyone's going to be okay with that.

Now, you say that you find...

I find that the less you ride your bike, the stiffer your legs are.

I find the less I ride my bike, the smaller the bike seems to get somehow every year.

I can't argue with that.

I don't know what kind of masochist invented these bike seats that are so tiny.

You know, we were actually biking up the North Shore yesterday with my son, who, you know,

did 10 miles for the first time.

He's a young guy, and he turns and says to me about halfway through, Dad, should this

hurt?

Yeah, right.

Your son is 100% correct on that.

It shouldn't hurt, but it does for some reason.

So let's...

Where do we start off this week?

Let me just start with a quick COVID update, because we're still getting news about new

vaccines and numbers going up.

We're doing a lot of research.

And we're starting to hear, interestingly, I guess not surprisingly, that a lot of people

who are at the DNC at the United Center are out with COVID now.

That's not a big surprise if you're in a place with that many people at one time, right?

Oh, absolutely.

You know, it is still out there circulating and mutating, thought to be, at this round,

pretty infectious.

Meaning that it's pretty easy to spread.

And then you're in an enclosed space, and the air is circulating, or the person beside

you is laughing or coughing, and there you have it.

So all the proper precautions probably make some sense in that there is a little bit of

an outbreak now.

And as the weather is going to begin to cool down, although it's not going to happen for

a week or so, at least anyway.

More and more people are going to be inside.

So that's going to be an issue.

What's the latest on all the vaccine updates right now?

Yeah.

So, you know, we're still in this FLIRT variant, which is the most recent variation of the

virus.

And it's continuing to mutate, as we discussed.

The good news is that the most recent round of vaccines that's coming out actually this

week, I believe the first week in September, you're going to see this.

You're going to see this at least in the big box pharmacies, the CVSs and the Rite Aids,

is going to be targeted to these circulating variants, which is great news.

So it's a great time to go in and get your fall vaccines, which would include the flu,

COVID and certainly others, depending on your age and vaccine status.

But certainly now is a great time to go ahead and get that done.

Yeah.

So you mentioned the flu vaccine.

Is this a good time to get it?

Because normally I think people usually wait until closer to January for their flu vaccines.

Yeah.

The flu, you know, there's never a bad time to get the vaccine.

And I usually get it in the fall, sometime in late September, early October.

That's when I tend to go and get vaccinated.

But it, you know, it certainly doesn't hurt you to get the vaccine anytime, even in the

middle of the summer.

And I forgot to get it, but it's never going to hurt.

They do come out with a new vaccine every fall and it's based on what they're seeing

over in Australia as the flu kind of circulates from that part of the world over to this hemisphere.

But definitely the new COVID vaccine is going to be ready next, like I said, I believe next

week or this coming week, I should say.

So great time to do it.

Okay.

A couple of COVID related questions already coming in from the five teams.

All right.

Thank you.

I have a question.

I'm going to go to the Q and A, and I want to ask you about the COVID-19.

You mentioned that you had a long COVID.

I'm sorry to hear that.

You know, long COVID can really impact the body in a lot of different ways, and it's

certainly conceivable.

Some studies say up to 30% of COVID-19 patients that have long, you know, long COVID or extended

symptoms have had sort of neurologic symptoms that can include vertigo, spinning sensation,

or tinnitus, that's the ringing in the ears.

And so I would recommend to that person that they get referred to a neurologist, that's

a person who specializes in disorders of the nervous system, so they could potentially

get treated or hopefully cured from that at some point.

But that is something which can come from...

Having COVID, vertigo?

Yes, it could.

Okay.

Here is someone asking, who should take Paxlovid for COVID?

Great question.

So Paxlovid is an antiviral.

It's actually made up of two separate drugs that basically work to disable the virus and

its ability to multiply in the body.

And if it's taken in the first five days of becoming ill, if you are a high-risk person,

then it can lower the risk of needing to be in the hospital, and even more importantly,

lower the risk of having severe illness or needing to be in the ICU.

And there's a wide, broad definition of high risk.

So some say anybody over 50, others say over 65 years of age, but certainly over 65 years

of age.

And anybody with a chronic condition like cancer, diabetes, heart disease, pregnant

women, if your immune system is weak or you have an autoimmune disease, and even for folks

with mental health disorders.

So that's a lot of folks that could stand to benefit.

And there's some thought, speaking of long COVID, that taking Paxlovid may limit or help

reduce the risk of developing a virus.

So for those who are having a long COVID symptom, that's still kind of being looked at.

But a lot of reasons why it might be in your best interest to take that medicine.

And what kind of relief should it provide to you?

I don't know that you'll necessarily feel a relief.

It won't shorten the course, meaning that you'll still be sick the same number of days

as you were.

You just may not be as sick as you might have been.

Had you not gone through that.

Yeah.

And had you not taken it, which is a hard thing to wrap your mind around.

But I think the idea is, if you think about somebody who's super ill on life support on

a ventilator, and then you think about yourself coughing and feeling horrible in your bed

at home, there's a big difference between those two individuals.

And the idea is that, again, if you're in that group that could benefit from taking

it, you're essentially buying yourself an insurance policy.

So you're still going to feel like total garbage.

You're still going to be miserable, but you're buying down your risk of having something

seriously bad go wrong.

Pretty much since we started talking about COVID on this segment, what, four years ago,

maybe something like that, people have constantly had questions about their vaccination schedule.

Here's the 708 area code saying, I had a COVID shot in July.

How long should I wait to get the new shot?

I'm 75 years old.

I know.

There's another that says, I just got a COVID booster in April.

How long should I wait to get the new booster?

So for the July person, I assume that's July 2024.

Probably I would wait a bit.

I would probably give it six months before I went and got vaccinated again, just because

I don't want to wait too long because I want to take advantage of the new vaccine.

But I do have some immunity from that recent vaccine.

Yeah.

So let that immunity wane a bit before taking the new one.

But as always, individual circumstances may vary, and I would certainly have that conversation

with your doctor.

As for the person who was writing about the April vaccine, that's a little further back.

We're now hitting September.

I think it's probably reasonable to start considering moving on to the new series.

But again, it may depend on individual circumstances.

So definitely talk to your doctor.

But that's my general recommendation for both.

Thank you.

No, it is.

Thank you.

Thank you all for all your attention.

And we will see you at atop diP avere channel in November.

Bye.

Have a great day.

Have a great day, everybody.

Have a good year.

Have a good year to you all and to the rest of the Guesswork behind.

And we'll be live on everybody.

Thank you very much.

Thank you for the session.

Thank you.

Yeah.

We're going to start shift to the newscast episode one.

cars at visual college.

Like warmth American isn't serving.

It's didn't go well.

You've hit

five instead of four, listening in.

Is it generally six to eight months that you would wait before you got a booster or

that specialize in the immune system and and i've seen other numbers out there so i don't whenever

you start to see a lot of folks saying a lot of different things you know the truth is probably

somewhere in the middle um but but i think somewhere between three and seven months is

probably the right time frame yeah here's another that said after all these years of avoiding covid

i finally succumbed with a mild case i'm 75 years old in pretty good health but should i get the

newest vaccine soon or wait yeah there's another great example you've got immunity uh from recently

been being infected um you know unless this person let's say for instance the person then

uh let it let out that they had leukemia you know and then i think i would be a little more

stringent i'd maybe count i'd say okay let's count 90 days and get you vaccinated um but if this

person is otherwise healthy and they just had the virus um you know i would give it a few months

and you know maybe wait towards the end of the year uh to try and extend that immunity yeah some

great advice dr jeremy silver medical director emergency medicine northwestern's memorial uh

northwestern's kishwaukee uh hospital i hope you have a great sunday today and a great labor day

weekend doc thank you so much dean take care you know i get a pain in my stomach every time

uh i hear this story reported and you have to report it uh but the horrible story of uh

the young man hirsch goldberg poland um an american uh israeli-american with chicago roots

who was uh whose body was uh found he was one of the hostages taken by hamas in the october 7th

attack uh now confirmed that uh that he is dead along with five others yes yes five others six

and all and keep in mind also dean that early on he lost part of an arm yeah uh in captivity

when when apparently when he was taken hostage right yes yes uh that an explosive went off and

he lost part of his arm his parents have been very uh very much in the public eye they spoke

at the democratic uh national convention and it was heartbreaking and it's even more heartbreaking

now uh when we hear the news of these senseless deaths non-stop senseless deaths uh out of that

region just uh

absolutely horrible and uh just wanted to acknowledge that and we'll uh move on and

continue right after this pearl jam rocking your wgm

last night at the friendly confines it was was it friday

thursday and friday thursday thursday and saturday i think for pearl jam at uh wrigley

field and uh i just hear they blew the roof off the place both nights the both shows were amazing

eddie vetter and company they love playing wrigley field they have a special connection

uh to wrigley field and uh sounds like it was a great time did you see who ended up on stage last

night did not jared payton get out of here so i noticed that eddie vetter was wearing a walter

payton jersey he's been wearing the walter payton jersey for a long time he's been wearing the walter

payton jersey for a long time he's been wearing the walter payton jersey for a long time he's been

wearing the walter payton jersey for a long time he's been wearing the walter payton jersey during uh i think

it's a cover of uh tom petty's song yeah and apparently uh i was at channel nine last night

with with chris bowden and we were watching our twitter feeds and there's bit there's uh jp up on

stage with uh with eddie vetter taking a selfie of the crowd so apparently uh mutual friends hooked

them up earlier this week uh because of obviously eddie's connection with chicago and chicago sports

huge cubs fan as we all know and from evanston evanston guy right and uh his connection with

with walter payton and uh he invited jp to come up on stage with him yesterday so cool is that there

was a bunch of a bunch of tweets and uh other social media posts from from jp who's up on i

just texted him this morning i said you are a rock star i thought there was an extra special

glow over wrigley field that would have been jp's smile yes indeed is uh is a winning smile

yeah not surprised he uh he often will bring uh he brings his chicago-ness he

does wears it on his sleeve and he brings his chicago-ness yeah many years ago he had ernie

banks that's what i was gonna say yeah that he's brought uh classic cub players uh on stage with

him and santo family has been up there with him a couple times it's very cool yeah very cool and i

hear that the the music on top of it aside from all that yeah that uh the the band sounded amazing

and did uh just you know great job shawani what would you say is your favorite pearl jam

song oh i think they're all fine

see why they don't have a song it's called they're all fine they're all fine

i think that we just gave eddie veteran an idea for a new song yeah they're all fine

didn't you think that pearl jam was a character on green acres for the longest time

pearl first name pearl last name jam

was pearl she was she was a beverly hill billy's character pearl bodine pearl bodine she was

jethro's answer jethro's mom she was jethro's mom and granny couldn't stand her well nobody could

because she was always trying to snag the oil right you know move in and take over in the kitchen

that's the that's the opening act now for pearl jam pearl bodine there should be a heavy metal band

named pearl bodine if someone was smart they would capitalize on that but nobody knows if

you're not under the age of 16 and granny is their lead singer yeah granny uh what was her last name

granny's last name i think she was a clampet was she i think she was a clampet yes she was uh

maybe she was a clampet she was a clampet yes i think she was a clampet i think she was a clampet

jed's mother you know grandmother to ellie this is how this whole family tree stuff works you know

you haven't followed the lineage of the clamp it family i'm my head is still whirling a little bit

that somehow we went from a conversation about pearl jam to granny clamp it you brought up pearl

bodine that's how it happened only right here yes nowhere else it's also my favorite time when

we do stuff like that because uh producer jack now known as jack hammer his eyes actually roll

back into his head like a like an old-fashioned slot machine oh yeah this is this is where i

catch up on my sleep the first hour of the show yeah but you binge watch all those shows don't

you jack oh yeah sure sure you do he does of course he does real time

television one day one day he'll appreciate all this education that he doesn't know that he'll

look back on this 25 years you know i always tell dean i learned something new on sunday yeah

for the first hour of the show he learned something new every day what did you learn

today it's like a trip the first hour of each sunday morning show for jack is like a trip to

the field museum yeah it's an educational program for people my age what did you what did you learn

it's like visiting

the dinosaurs

so what did you learn in school today jack uh well i didn't know that it was called science

drive either and that you don't have a bike so oh okay a little two for one right okay

all right our text line gone berserk with people who are shocked that we do not know that granny

is jed's mother-in-law mother-in-law and that her name is daisy moses

oh

okay so she actually is grandma moses she is grandma grandma moses how about that there you go

um there's another one i learned that too today there we go me too we do

stand in line at the sunday morning field museum visit you're bound to learn something in ancient

history every sunday morning here the best of 60s television on wgn that's right uh coming up

on the program remember the uh movie uh beetlejuice who was well now i thought i didn't i'm not done

talking about pearl on beverly home please go right benadarit who was the actress yeah also

played kate kate on petticoat junction and she was the voice of the little hotel called the shady

rest at the junction see jack you know that song don't you petty good junction it is run by kate

come and be her guest at the junction

and that's uncle joey he's a moving kind of slow at the junction

petticoat junction

he's left the room

i want to come in there with you jack but she was also the voice of betty rubble

that's for true okay i'm through i'm done you may you may continue with the rest of the program

my favorite part of that whole uh the thing is

the beverly hills part uh or is it pearl bodine sends her boy jethro to live with uncle jed

because he's a millionaire in beverly hills right yeah yeah but leaves behind jethro's twin sister

jethreen jeth oh that's right she had he had a jethreen yeah was his sister that was the creepiest

part of that whole show when the actor was the one who was the one who was the one who was the one who

was the one who was the one who was the one who was the one who was the one who played jethro

would dress up in drag as his twin oh that's it is that's creepy yeah that was creepy yeah

no okay i wasn't as i i wasn't as into beverly hillbillies as i was uh andy griffith or dick

van dyke so you know oh oh i'm getting i'm getting messages over here like crazy from from the past

that could be a text from pearl who knows stop talking about me let me rest in peace

uh anywho beetlejuice

jack do you know the movie beetlejuice uh no late 80s really you would probably be shocked

at the amount of movies i have not seen in my life not a moviegoer as a young boy not really no

interesting

we were busy playing sports right yeah yeah yeah i was busy in the movie theater

watching movies andy you know sitting by yourself because your brothers

send you away yeah they ditched me yeah i've seen uh i don't know if i've seen the whole movie

though i've seen different pieces yeah i have a very specific taste when it comes to movies and

usually it's because it's involving sports or something like that yeah interesting schwanny

beetlejuice

oh sure the beatles did the beatles did a hard day's night and yellow submarine goodness

their videos are 50 years ahead of their time sure i know the beatles all right well apparently i'm

going to be the only one interested in hearing the interviews done with no i like your interviews

though catherine o'hara winona rider and uh well jen ortega jen or do you know jen ortega right

yes i do she's a fancy young actress fancy young actress huh

uh we interviewed the whole winona rider i know who these yeah so that was her first big movie

okay be the original beetlejuice back in the late 80s and now she's reprising her role in this

sequel that's going to be coming out next week i sat down and talked with her one-on-one i talked

with catherine o'hara schwanny you'll you'll love this because i also talked with catherine o'hara

a little bit about uh sctv oh yeah yeah i talked with her one-on-one i talked with her one-on-one

she was part of the original sctv troupe very creative program wow that's a great show oh

john candy on that candy you brilliant levy levy yeah martin short uh dave uh flannery right dave

flannery wasn't that his name um and rick moranis rick moranis blanking out his name but uh yeah

amazing comedy troupe uh from the 70s and 80s uh but catherine o'hara also part of the

of this emmy award-winning uh television series with eugene levy schitt's creek

uh we talked a little about that and we talked about the new movie of course

uh that's going to be coming up in just a little while now i'm going to be doing one of my dean's

night out uh tonight at the paramount theater in aurora if you're out there uh to see the full

monty make sure you say hi we've got a little group that we're gonna we've uh chosen who have

all won tickets in

we're gonna have a little pre-show reception see the show together i'll be reviewing the show

this coming week on bob surratt show uh so uh we've got some good stuff still to come on the

program and we'll talk with the artistic director of the paramount theater and the director of this

particular production of the full monty coming up a little bit later in our um week in theater

so that's all on the way we've got a special week coming up on the wgm

tv morning news guess what it's our 30th anniversary can you believe that our wgm tv

morning news celebrating its 30th anniversary this week and we're going to go back and

look at a lot of clips we've got some special moments and this is what i am most looking

forward to we're going to be playing each day this coming week we're going to be playing the grand

prize game

one question

yes sir will the contestants be chosen by the tips and the tips only of the magic arrows well

the contestants have already been chosen oh so no magic arrows so there will be no magic arrows

uh there will be no bozo pewter remember when they switched to that that might have been after

you okay how about uh prizes like a new mode hosiery with the no buying top do not have any

no we do not have any undergarments

will there be a silver dollar drop in bucket number six uh there will not be wow you guys

are really making this sound like it's going to be terrible we're trying to make it authentic

we've got some wonderful wonderful prizes and i remember when some kids hit bucket number six

they'd get bicycles right it was great yeah we've got some fantastic prizes for people

but uh yeah undergarments we do not have

uh seymour pays in scarves

we do not have undergarments we do not have undergarments we do not have

bun bars remember that used to be that used to be popular on the bozo show to give away

bun bar candy bars what else they used to give away games you know things like that but

uh the the contestants have been chosen uh through the the drawing you know people have been

given the opportunity to mail in uh their names and then their names have been chosen

and they

I will be, I take the Ringmaster Ned role on this, and I will be guiding them through.

You are the perfect person to do it.

Through buckets number one through six.

And with each bucket, there is a fantastic prize from one of our fine sponsors.

Excellent.

That's 7.15?

About 7.15.

Every day this week?

Every day, well, Tuesday through Friday.

Because tomorrow's a holiday.

Because of the holiday.

Okay.

I'm taking off tomorrow.

Can I come over?

Sure.

You won't let me in, but.

You can come to the building.

Security will stop you at the gate, but you can try.

You wouldn't be the first one to try to get in.

Yeah, so that's going to be, it's a special week, but what's really going to be fun is we're going back and, you know,

getting a lot of our old clips.

I can't believe the show has been on the air for 30 years.

It's been a great, great run.

Doesn't that sound like an eternity?

It really does.

But, you know, that 30 years is about right, but boy, has it really changed the landscape of morning television in Chicago.

Yeah, it really has.

And I've not been there for the full 30.

And I've been on what seems like an eternity.

No, 20 years at least.

I've been on.

25 maybe?

I started on the morning show in 2000, in 1990.

Yeah, no, the year 2000 I started.

Okay, so that's 23 years, 24 years.

Yeah, I've been on since the year 2000.

Just, you know, I would occasionally pop up and do a celebrity interview.

And then 9-11 came along and everything stopped.

You know, we weren't doing celebrity interviews.

We weren't traveling to do them.

And there was no such thing as Zoom interviews then.

But once that started up again, then they brought me on board full-time on the morning show.

And I haven't had a decent night's sleep since then.

You think I'm kidding about that?

No, I'm not.

No, you're not kidding.

Yeah, so it'll be fun this week.

That will be a lot of fun.

Okay.

I imagine you got a great response from people who wanted to be on the Grand Prix.

I would imagine that's not something, I wasn't in charge of that.

But, yeah, people want to play the Grand Prix game all the time.

Sure they do.

Wouldn't you want to play?

Yes.

Oh, yes.

That's why I said I'd like to come over.

But you won't let me in.

Have you not played?

I have not played the game.

Andy has credentials to get into the building because he does sports there all the time.

You let me in.

I'll let you in, sure.

Okay.

Actually, I think I'm going to be back on the morning show at the end of the month.

Oh, good.

All right.

We'll drag the buckets out.

Let's go.

See if we can get you some women's undergarments to give away a little bit earlier.

Tonight is our latest Dean's Night Out.

We have been running a contest the last several weeks, which you could enter to win tickets

to join me to see the full Monty, which has just opened at the Paramount.

We'll have a little pre-show reception.

And then we'll see this awarding.

Award-winning show, all brought to us by Jim Cordy, who is the artistic director of

the Paramount, the director of the latest production there, The Full Monty.

Jim, how are you doing there, my friend?

It's nice to have you back on the show.

It's great to hear you.

I'm telling you, that music mashup you have introducing the getting us into the show just

makes my heart race.

Right?

It took us back in time.

Down to Rush Street or whatever.

Wherever it was you were dancing back in the late 70s for that whole thing.

Because that's what, I mean, if people aren't familiar with The Full Monty, it started as

a motion picture and then made its way to the Broadway stage.

Tell us about this show, which is kicking off your 13th Broadway series season.

Yeah, it is faithfully.

It's based on the 1997 film that's set in the UK, and it's a steel town.

The great Terrence McNally adapted it and Americanized it and set it in Buffalo, New

York, right on the Niagara River.

And the characters are all...

Very hardworking, real people, and I'm so proud of this cast, how they've humanized

everyone and made them such interesting individuals, and where they're finding all the joys in life

and where they're dealing with the disappointments in life, and how audiences can see bits of

themselves in the story through this cast.

And the singing is incredible.

The orchestra is out of this world.

David Yazbeck's gore is brassy and bright and jazzy, and it's a show in itself, just

to hear the orchestra.

But I'm telling you, the choreography by Tor Campbell, every element, set, light, it really

turned out, and it really turned out to be something...

Very much of our own.

I don't think I've ever seen a production that looks quite like the Paramount production.

Yeah.

It's amazing, really, what you do, you and your talent, your crews, what you do with

shows, with whom we are familiar, shows that have played before, but you always breathe

new life into these shows, every single time.

And I think that's part, for me, that's part of the joy of coming out to the Paramount to

see these shows.

I love hearing that.

Yeah.

Yeah, it's great.

But this show is, it's about a blue-collar steelworkers town.

The steelworkers go out on strike, right?

And they're trying to...

Well, no.

They have been let go, and the mill has been shut down.

Okay.

All right.

I'm trying to remember now, yeah, the storyline, but it's these out-of-work...

Yeah, these guys are really down on their luck.

Yeah, out-of-work steelworkers who are trying to figure out a way to get some money to put

some food back on the table again.

Exactly.

Child support, mortgages, all of it.

And they're just scraping by.

So what's the biggest challenge, then, for you, Jim, as the director of the show and

as the artistic director of the Paramount, kind of, you know, talking...

We're going to talk in a minute about the rest of the season, but, you know, to take

some of these shows and to...

What do you look for to bring new life?

What is it that you're searching for when you're, you know, trying to restage some of

these shows?

Well, I think a lot of these shows have a lot of caricatures in them and stereotypes,

and I've been really enjoying working with the cast.

of actors and finding ways to humanize them and individualize them and really find the

truth in the story.

Sometimes that gets lost when you add music to the story, you know?

It starts to take off into a whole other genre of theater going, and I think there's a way

to do both, to make it a heightened musical experience without losing the real-life struggles

that are going on.

The very human struggles that are going on, and I, you know, I don't want to brag, but

I think they've really done a great job of doing that.

Yeah, and this body of talent that you bring every time is nothing short of breathtaking.

I mean, the number of actors and actresses that I've been exposed to, you know, who have

maybe appeared...

I've appeared in the Chicago area for the first time I see out at the Paramount and

doing incredible things, and every one of them that I talk to always talk to me about

what a great experience it is to work in a house like that.

Oh, that does not hurt so much good, because that's everything.

That's the most important thing.

Yeah, the cast for the Formanti is, except for one individual, is a Chicago cast, and

the only out-of-town hire is my friend Bernard Dotson.

We did the world premiere of Ragtime together in Toronto and on Broadway.

Oh, wow.

And here we are.

Last time I saw him was at the Ragtime reunion concert in New York last year, and here he

is here.

I saw his audition and couldn't believe it, that he was available to come.

And he...

He brings the house down every show.

The audiences are just eating him up, Bernard Dotson, his horse.

Yeah, I can't wait to see it tonight.

I'm really looking forward to it.

I'm looking forward...

Oh, I didn't realize it was tonight you're coming.

Yeah, I'm coming tonight.

I'll be there with a bunch of listeners, yeah.

We're bringing a whole group out to come and enjoy the show, so I'm looking forward...

Wow, wow.

Well, you're not going to believe these vocal performances as well.

The singing is incredible in this show.

Yeah, yeah.

Well, I know they always are, but it's really striking when you're there live and you hear

these voices raise up to the roof.

It's...

They're really remarkable.

Yeah.

They're just magnificent.

You know, this is a 10-time Tony Award nominee show with great songs and great performances,

and the Full Monty will run through October the 6th.

It's out at the Paramount in beautiful downtown Aurora.

You guys have been a little busy in downtown Aurora these days, right?

Yes.

I'm telling you, Peter and the Starcatcher is closing today over at the Copley Theater.

I got friends coming in from out of town to see Million Dollar Quartet in the new Stolt Theater,

and friends coming to see Full Monty today, and I'm trying to run around and be there for everybody.

But, yeah, we're having quite a great time at it.

And it's a...

It's a beautiful day.

You got a beautiful day for tonight.

It's on the river here.

It's just gorgeous.

It's a gorgeous day.

I just love that you all took a chance at the Paramount to bring this theater back with

all these great productions that you've been doing.

I don't even know how many years it's been now that you've been doing your Broadway series

now, but...

This is...

The Full Monty opens our...

13th season.

Season 13.

Now, how about that?

With these great shows.

13 years.

Dean, my God.

Amazing.

In the gorgeous, fully restored Paramount Theater.

And now the new Copley Theater is open just down the street, and the Stolt Island Theater

that's right on the banks of the river, where they're doing Million Dollar Quartet.

You've turned it into a nice little entertainment hub down there.

I can't emphasize enough how much more it is than me, Dean.

There are so many teams of people working so hard with so much dedication and skill and

heart and making all of this happen.

It's incredible to be a part of.

It's certainly been life-changing for me to be here in Aurora, and I couldn't be more

grateful for everything that's happening and everybody's work.

Yeah.

I want to talk about briefly what is going on with your new season, the 2024-25 season.

Let me take a break, and we'll come right back with Jim Cordy, Artistic Director of

the Paramount Aurora and the director of its current production, The Full Monty, right

after this.

And we're talking with the director of The Full Monty and the Artistic Director of the

Paramount Aurora, our longtime pal, Jim Cordy.

You've got quite a season.

It looks like coming up, Jim, for 2024-25.

Tell us what comes after The Full Monty.

Yeah.

People should know.

I'm getting all kinds of messages already and emails about, you have to extend The Full

Monty.

You have to extend The Full Monty.

Well, you know, we've got a four-show subscription season, and we've got to make room now for

Frozen that's coming up.

Oh, boy.

Yeah.

Oh, boy.

It's already got an extended run.

Sorry, Dean.

Go ahead.

No, I was going to say, that's going to be your holiday show, right?

Yes.

It's going to be amazing for families to come out and let it go, if you will.

Exactly.

I don't think anybody's picked up on that yet, that the same title is in both shows,

Let It Go.

Oh, right.

Yeah.

And then we've got Waitlist.

Yeah.

That's going to be October 30th.

After January 19th, you know, the Paramount always puts on a blockbuster for the holiday

season when people have time off and families are getting together and they want to come

and see a show together, you know, to come and see Disney's Frozen is the perfect holiday

vehicle for that sort of thing.

Right.

We have the Christmas tree up front and all the Christmas decorations are up.

And it's a perfect spot for a family to spend an afternoon or an evening together during

the holidays.

And Frozen is just a spectacular show.

And we're all very, very excited about it.

Yeah.

I can't wait to see what you do with sets and special effects and, you know, things

like that.

Yeah.

I imagine you're probably working on all of that right now, right?

We are.

And it's looking magnificent, just as you would expect.

Yeah.

We're very, very excited about it.

And I'm excited about the cast coming in as well.

Excellent.

What comes after Frozen?

Now we're talking about in February, February to March.

What comes out this very month?

It's Waitress.

Wow.

Yeah.

And it's...

That's, you know, again, another working-class show.

Sara Bareilles does the music and lyrics on this.

It had quite a successful Broadway run.

Katie Spellman will be directing.

She did that production of Cabaret we did a few years back.

Very excited about Katie coming in.

I should have mentioned that Trent Stork is directing Frozen.

And Trent did an incredible job.

The last show he did, they did, was Billy Elliot.

We've got Katie Spellman doing Waitress.

And, yeah, the cast is looking sensational for Waitress.

Okay.

Again, they're just going to be singing their hearts out

and something that really is going to reach audiences.

Yeah.

That'll be February 12th through March 3rd.

The 30th.

And then the final show of the season that's just getting started.

It's Cats.

Cats is coming back.

How about that?

Well, it ain't the same.

We're not repeating it.

It's going to be totally different.

Really?

Yo, it's going to be totally different.

I don't know how much I can say about it.

I should have...

I should have checked it out how much I can give away.

Yeah, well, don't spoil it.

Don't spoil it.

I mean, suffice to say, you've...

I mean, what a great tease that it's going to be this classic show.

I presume all the classic songs will be there,

but the show will be done in a different way

that if you've seen Cats before,

it's not going to be the way that you guys are going to do it

starting April 30th this year at the Paramount, right?

Right, right.

We won't change.

We won't change a word, not a lyric, not a note of music,

but you're not going to believe your eyes what is happening.

Trent Sturck, again, is directing that one,

and it's almost...

I think it's pretty much cast,

and it's really thrilling what's going on.

So, yeah, it's a really jam-packed season of entertainment,

and you know how...

Your emotions get stirred by great music.

They've all got these incredible scores.

So, yeah.

Wow, I'm so...

Good things are happening here on the banks of the Fox.

I'm so intrigued.

What in the world is Jim Cordy going to do with Cats?

I can't wait to find out.

Again, let me emphasize, it's not me.

It's Trent Sturck and that whole...

design team.

It's...

All right, well, you're...

They really put something exciting together.

You are the artistic director here,

so you've got to take a little bit of credit for it.

I also wanted to mention also

what a deal it is to come and see these great shows

at the Paramount that you guys are doing

for your subscription series,

buy two shows, get two shows for free.

So that's a pretty good deal

to see these top-quality shows for the season as well.

I'm telling you,

Tim Rader made this very clear

when we started working together

to make the theater accessible

and to make sure it's affordable.

And we have all kinds of special pricing programs

for all kinds of people for special needs.

There's the pay-what-you-can two shows

during preview week.

You literally can get four tickets

at whatever price you name.

I get, as an artistic director,

I get so much out of seeing people coming to Paramount,

and it's the first time ever going to the theater,

and that we're here for them.

And, you know, they become subscribers, you know?

It's something they can't live without.

Yeah.

I hear the same thing.

When I'm there, I hear the same thing.

This is my first time coming to the theater,

and then I see them after the show,

and their minds are blown by, you know,

the magic that was put on stage.

So you can get information on the full Monty,

on Frozen, on Waitress, on Cats.

Get information on all the shows and subscriptions

at ParamountAurora.com

or by calling 630-896-7000.

That's 630-896-6666.

ParamountAurora.com

or 630-896-6666.

Jim, I know you're going to be busy tonight.

I hope I get to see you, but if not,

I totally will understand.

Always nice to talk to you,

and I hope you have a great Sunday night here.

We'll talk to you soon.

Thank you, Gene.

So are they still biking the drive?

Yeah, right.

They will be for about another hour yet.

Yep.

It doesn't look as crowded out there right now.

Probably, it's winding down.

That's why I asked.

Yeah.

I hardly see anybody out there.

Everything wraps up around noon,

so as a matter of fact,

many of the closures around Grant Park

will also be wrapping up around noon.

Columbus, all the entrances from Michigan

and or Lakeshore Drive through Grant Park

were closed this morning.

Getting in.

Do we know when it's going to be next year?

Because I would like to put it on my calendar

so I can take it now.

So you want to do it?

Yeah.

And ride the big 19.2 bicycle

up and down Lakeshore Drive?

Well, that or a unicycle.

A unicycle.

Okay.

Shwani will bring his electronic bike.

Not as a pedal.

It's just a...

The e-bike.

Yeah, it'll just ride.

I imagine they allow the e-bikes on this.

I think I'd be scared of an e-bike.

I'm trying to learn how to do it.

It sounds too powerful.

I'm trying to learn how to do it.

Have you done it?

No, not yet.

But I'm taking baby steps with it.

Or maybe I should say baby bicycle lessons.

I think I'd be scared to be on that.

Yeah, they are quite powerful.

Those things scare me in those scooters.

Oh, yeah.

Oh, the scooters.

Yeah.

Those scare me.

I was driving someplace and some punk,

some young punk.

Oh, listen to you.

Some young punk on a scooter

is zipping through all the cars.

Yep.

And all I could think was,

if there's an accident,

you're not going to win.

No.

Nope.

Car versus scooter,

you very rarely,

if ever, see a scooter winning.

You very rarely take out the car

when something like that happens.

Yep.

So I thought, you know,

if I was on one of those scooters,

and I know people do all the time,

I'm sure it's very convenient.

It's environmentally friendly.

I get it.

I get all the reasons why you should do that.

But, boy, it sure seems dangerous.

Stay in your lane.

Yeah.

Literally and figuratively.

Yeah.

Well, in my, you know, for me,

my motto,

would be just stay in your house.

I don't even want to...

The great Groucho Marx.

Lydia the Tattooed Lady.

The perfect way to bring on our next guest,

because if anyone is capturing the spirit

of Groucho Marx these days,

it's our longtime pal, Frank Ferrante,

who starred in Theatres in Zani

for, well, before the pandemic,

when the pandemic was down,

and then when the pandemic,

was lifted,

spent an awful lot of time here in Chicago

as his Caesar character.

And now Frank is bringing both Caesar and Groucho

back to the Chicago area.

And what a pleasure to welcome you back

to our little studio

and to see you do your Groucho dance

while I'm playing Lydia,

the actual Groucho here.

Hello and welcome back.

Thank you, Dean.

Why am I not hearing your microphone?

I wonder.

Oh, wait a second here.

Now try it.

I was doing an evening with Harpo

all of a sudden there.

I couldn't hear you.

I am happy to be back here, Dean.

Thank you for that welcome.

You know how I love being here and working here.

What a joy it's been.

You know, cumulatively,

I think I've worked on stage here

for three, four, five years

in the last several years straight through.

So it's been great.

You have a special connection

with Chicago audiences.

I do.

I'm lucky.

I have been really grateful.

The audiences, I always say,

tell you how they feel here.

No one, no one,

no one pulls a punch here.

They like you.

And it's mutual.

And they're big laughers.

People want to have a good time.

And, you know, more than ever,

people are looking for a laugh.

Look at what we're going through.

I'm here in town to do a private,

I did a private event.

Don't make any jokes there, Dean.

Well, private event can mean anything

at this point in my life.

I think I know what it means.

I think we all know what it means.

And it's just some guy came up to me afterward.

You never know how these things are going to go.

And so I flew in for that.

And he goes, you know what?

I needed a laugh.

With all that's going on

in the world,

just thank you for the laugh.

That's true.

And I forget that, you know,

I might as, you know,

I could be, I see myself as an accountant.

This is what I do for a living.

So when you hear some affirmation,

it's always, it's a good reminder.

Very nice.

And I want to mention

that you did this private event

with your daughter.

I did.

Who is also seated here in studio.

She is.

My daughter, Lucy Ferrante.

Yes.

Well, back to Chicago.

She's also doing stand-up comedy,

by the way.

She is doing stand-up comedy.

And we have,

As a responsible parent,

shouldn't you stop her

from getting into this?

We see you as the godfather

of this hell, okay?

She sees that it's possible

that two people who talk for a living

can actually

Make a living?

Yeah, make a living.

But it's been great.

You know, you talk about Chicago.

I got to, I got to get better

because of Chicago

because, you know,

I get to do Groucho.

I get to do these circus shows.

And Lucy, my daughter and my son,

have been observing

the impact of Chicago

and audiences and media

and merchants

and the community at large.

So Lucy's,

Lucy is doing stand-up comedy.

She's at the Lincoln Lodge.

She's at the Den.

She's at the Laugh Factory.

She was in L.A.

at the Comedy Store.

I'm so proud of her.

22 years old

and she's got a show,

I'm going to say it,

September 20th.

Good, yes.

At the Lincoln Lodge.

All right.

She's hosting.

But so she hosts

and does stand-up.

But that's Chicago

because she saw

there's possibilities.

We know we're from Los Angeles.

But we do more here.

We have more of a connection,

certainly, to this community

than we do back home.

So I want to get,

I want to get these shows.

Sure.

Out of the way

and talk about these.

Because I want to talk about,

I want to spend a little time

talking about your recent trip

to Italy.

Okay.

Because I'm so moved by

what I saw

and what I read

and what you posted

on social media

about going back

to where your grandparents

were from.

That's right.

And from where

your ancestors

are from.

Very, very moving.

But first,

let's plug your shows.

Well, let's get on

with the quiz.

That was very grouchy of you.

It was nice talking to you,

but let's play the quiz.

Yeah.

You're bringing your

Groucho show,

which is phenomenal.

Thank you.

I've seen in person.

I've seen it on PBS stations.

It's on video.

It's on 8-track.

I don't know.

You've got it everywhere

for somebody.

Cassette recordings

and people don't even have

8-track recordings anymore.

And Frank has his

Groucho show.

Yeah.

But it's like

a one-man Groucho show

that you're bringing

to the theater

at the center

in Munster, Indiana

October 5th and 6th.

That's right.

Matinee shows.

Dean, this is my 40th year

doing this show.

I first did it

in a church hall

where I grew up

in Sierra Madre, California.

It was a senior project

at USC.

And in the audience

at USC

was Groucho Marx's son,

Groucho Marx's daughter,

Maury Riskin,

who wrote

for the Marx Brothers.

They're great films.

And it's been 40 years.

And the show is,

it's like just what you said.

It's a great show.

It's really a best of.

And you've seen it.

And it's crazy songs

like Lydia the Tattooed Lady.

I love this lyric,

by the way.

Lydia, Lydia,

say have you met Lydia?

Lydia the Tattooed Lady.

When she stands,

the world grows littler.

When she sits,

she sits on Hitler.

That was never in the film,

but he sang that

for the boys on the road.

So the show is storytelling

and it's songs.

It's part history,

part stand-up comedy,

which my daughter does.

And my favorite part,

of course,

is the crowd work,

the interaction,

and when you're like,

I'm fortunate I've had

so many at-bats.

Hopefully I've gotten better

over the years.

So I'm doing that show

in Munster.

But, you know,

I've done that show

in Chicago downtown

and probably, honestly,

in the last 30 years

in 35 suburbs of Chicago.

So I always love playing here.

Yeah, you'll love playing

out at the theater

at the center in Munster.

It's a lovely theater,

lovely community,

and it's, you know,

one of the areas of Chicago

I think that'll really embrace

the kind of show that you do.

Oh, that makes me happy.

With Groucho

and the crowd interaction

and all that.

I think it's going to be

Northwest Indiana,

but also Southsiders from Chicago

who are going to love

coming out there.

It's going to be very convenient.

Oh, that makes me happy.

To come and see the show.

But then you're back again

in a month or so

up at the North Shore Center

for Performing Arts in Skokie

November 27th

through December 5th.

Is that Thanksgiving weekend?

It is Thanksgiving weekend.

Thanksgiving weekend here.

You're bringing

your Caesar character back.

Hello, everybody.

Look at you.

Dean, you're a beautiful man.

Yeah, I'll be doing that.

And that's the show

that you were talking about.

Your daughter's looking at you like...

She just left the building

like, this is my father.

He spawned me.

Why?

Why did he spawn me?

Can I leave right now?

That's not her.

That's me.

That's me saying that.

Oh, wait a minute.

Now cut that out.

Oh, wait a minute.

Oh, Dean Chester, you see.

Yeah, so I'm going to come back

with that guy.

And we thought,

this is, you know,

it's the Caesar character.

I'm a ringmaster.

He's this over-the-top Latin lover.

Very interactive comedy,

which is in the vein

of vaudeville burlesque

and groucho crowd work,

as you've seen

and been so supportive of

over the years.

I appreciate that.

Goes a long way.

But there are acts,

great acts.

Drea Weber,

who is my partner in crime,

she is the director.

She's doing Ariel.

She just direct,

she just put up

Pink in the Air

here at Soldier Field.

I know.

With a brand new apparatus

and it's incredible.

So she's directing,

she's performing Ariel as well.

She's doing Katy Perry.

I think this is hush-hush,

but here we go.

She's doing Katy Perry's

act at the VMAs.

She's on her way

to New York right now

to do that.

Amazing.

Yeah.

Amazing.

So she's like this

force of nature

and she's the one

who's casting and bringing in

these characters

for this Caesar's Circus

Thanksgiving week

at the North Shore Center

in Skokie.

And, you know,

we're going to have

a great friend of mine

I'm finally working.

You love this guy.

I hope you can make it.

He's a comedian magician

by the name of David Kaplan

and he's like watching

Buster Keaton,

a great silent comedian.

A great Ballantyne

for those who remember.

Sure.

Reference lost on The Living,

I know,

but it's classic.

You came to the right show

for that.

He's brilliant

and we have a local singer

who's just signed on,

just a great jazz singer,

does great songs

in the American Songbook.

We've got tumblers

and jugglers

and a dog act.

Nice.

A dog act, yeah.

So it's going to be

quirkier and weird

and there's no meal

like before.

It's just sheer comedy

and acts.

A show in a proscenium

stage, yeah.

Okay.

North Shore Center

Performing Arts in Skokie.

Yeah.

Check.

November 27th

through December the 1st

and we'll tell you

how to get tickets

to all those things

in a minute.

Thanks.

Let me take a break

and when we come right back,

Frank,

Frank Ferrante

has just returned

from Italy

and I love stories

like this

where people connect

with their ancestral roots

which is what he did.

I can't wait

to hear about it next.

It is 1123

and this is Dean Richard

Sunday morning

on WGN.

Our friend,

Frank Ferrante

is back in town.

Frank,

who starred

in Theatres in Zani

here in Chicago

and has done his own

Groucho,

One Man Groucho

show.

Here in Chicago

is coming back

bringing Groucho back

to theater at the center

in Munster

October 5th through 6th

and bringing his

Caesar character

to the North Shore Center

for Performing Arts

in Skokie

November 27th

through December the 1st.

I've,

for some reason,

follow you on social media

because I'm often

laughing hysterically

or terrified

by something

that you're doing

wherever you happen to be.

But,

what I've,

I've been so moved

by your posts

of recent

last few weeks,

I guess,

where you have,

you,

you went to Italy

and you went back

to where your

family is from.

Take me from there.

Where,

where exactly did you go

and what did you do?

I went to Bari,

I went,

I went to Bari,

Italy

and it was a little town

called

Canedo

and three of my

four grandparents

were born there

and my two grandmothers

were actually friends

in the old country

when they were boys.

They'd come over

around the same time

around 1920.

My grandmother came over

when she was 14 months

and it's this tiny village

and it's almost inexplicable.

It's so charming

and it's so unto itself

and it's,

you're in the plaza

in the,

in the square

and there's this

beautiful church

and this church

where three of my

four grandparents

were baptized

and the people

are,

are loving

and kind

and curious.

They want to know

about the American

actor.

They want to know

about that.

That seems to mean

something

and I want to know

about what it's like

to have stayed there

and not come over

to America

and everyone,

you know,

I have cousins there.

My grandfather's

siblings,

siblings'

grandsons were there

so there were three of us.

The grandsons

of three brothers,

one was 86,

one was in the 70s,

there's me

and we were bonding

and we're eating,

you know,

copious amounts

of Italian food,

of course,

just when you think

it's done.

Every Italian in Chicago

and L.A.

and New York

and every,

we'll relate to this.

The food,

and you're Greek,

you know,

the food does not stop

coming.

It's like,

okay.

You start to loosen

the belt up.

Right.

But, you know,

I went to,

I'm not,

I would say I'm not

particularly religious

but you can't help

but be moved

when you walk

into a church

knowing that three

of your four grandparents

were baptized there

and I just had

a very profound moment

thinking about that

they were there as babies

and I loved my grandparents.

You know,

I,

to the point

where I studied

gerontology

in college,

I loved older people

so I was friends

with my grandparents

and they lived

a long time,

most of them

and so to be

outside my grandma

Sophie's home

where she was born,

I mean,

I'm crazy.

I want to put a plaque

out there

but now it's this

boarded up old shack.

I was at my grandpa

Frank Ferrante

who I'm named after.

I was at his home

and chiseled

in the archway

above the door

it says

Domenico Ferrante

and no one really

notices it.

It's way up there

and my dad was named

after that,

that,

Domenico Ferrante

so basically

it's,

you know,

it's atmospheric.

You know,

you're embraced

and you're having gelato

and you're having coffee

and you're having,

you know,

homemade sauce

and you're having

sausages that they make

and,

you know,

it was,

there's really a sense

of pride too.

Everything is organic.

They go to the markets

to bring in the food

and what I took

and you hear the stories

and they tell me stories

about,

they all know the stories

from the American cousins

and I have to say,

Dean,

there was,

my grandpa

and Tony

and Antonio Torres,

he came over,

most of us can relate

to,

we're in Chicago,

all of us come from this

and my grandpa came over

and he was 14 years old,

Dean.

He was on the boat.

He lied and said

he was 16.

14,

he leaves his parents

and his brothers.

He only goes back

one time

to see his parents.

He's 26

and they're,

the mom is 75

and he's,

and the father's 85

and my 26-year-old grandfather

goes back

with his young wife

and one-year-old child

and it finally,

it finally hit me

as a middle-aged

to bordering

on senior human,

the impact,

how profound that was

and so many

of our family

just left

because they thought

maybe they'll make more money.

In America,

the streets are paved

with gold in America,

don't you know that?

My grandmother

did the same thing.

Really?

She and her sister

as teenagers,

14,

16 years old,

something,

came on a boat

to another country

by themselves.

Yes.

So my grandfather

turned 50

alone on that boat.

Wow.

He was greeted by a brother

and I think about him now.

He lived to be 80

and he always seemed

a little,

there was sadness there.

I mean,

they always had one foot

in the old country

and one foot here in America.

In my case,

we grew up,

they grew up

in the Italian district

of Los Angeles.

It was right next

to the Chinatown.

It's no longer there.

Of course,

all those old Italian neighborhoods

are starting to,

you know,

go away,

unfortunately.

But anyway,

you feel so heartened.

You feel the love.

You feel,

I felt,

the passion.

And every time

we'd go out,

they would treat,

there'd be 25,

it was like a roving

Italian party

to honor,

you know,

yours truly,

just to like welcome me home.

And what's beautiful

as you may have experienced

when you went to Greece

is that you're representing,

I'm representing

my grandma Sophie,

my grandpa Tony,

my grandpa Frank,

who they knew.

I'm representing

my mother who visited.

I'm representing my cousins.

And it takes on

a great deal of meaning.

And already,

I'm talking about

getting,

you know,

citizenship for me,

for my kids.

And next,

if I have the dinero,

I'd like to bring my kids

to experience their cousins.

And it's all ages.

There's the 28-year-olds,

there's the 86-year-olds.

And they have so many

great questions.

They want to,

you know,

it's beautiful.

Yeah,

you can't be an actor there.

It's like,

that is like,

if someone is an attorney

in my family,

literally there's a plaque

outside your home

that says it.

Or a professor of biology

because they're so,

it's such a,

very proud.

And it's a humble existence.

It's a humble existence,

Dean.

But,

I was in Bari

the last time I was in Italy.

One of the stops

was in Bari

and we visited

an olive tree farm

that was amazing.

Right.

And they showed us

these trees

that were thousands

of years old,

they said.

Mm-hmm.

And experienced

and sampled

the wines.

But they were,

the family that ran it,

all of this,

was so proud

to be showing

their family

tradition

and sharing it

with the Americans

that had come

to experience

it all there.

It's so true

about the pride factor.

I had relatives,

they're farmers.

And that's where I came from,

you know,

farmers.

And they show you,

literally show you photos

of their grapes

and the process

of olive oil making.

And that's everything.

It's olive oil and wine.

That's the business.

And I stayed at a great place

where it was a working farm.

So you had vineyards,

you're surrounded by vineyards.

Talk about romance.

Surrounded by vineyards,

there were olive trees everywhere.

And it was,

it was breathtaking.

It was absolutely,

and the food,

you couldn't get a crummy sandwich.

You cannot,

I just give,

you can't get a bad cup of coffee.

I literally asked,

I said,

I would like to have

the crummy sandwich.

It was delicious.

We don't have that.

We cannot get one here.

It was great.

Do you have to go

or can you stay for a minute?

I'm happy to stay.

All right,

stay for a minute.

Frank Ferranti is here

and we'll talk more

about the romance

of Italy

and all this wonderful stuff.

Wonderful travel

all after a check

of WGN News.

It is 1137.

This is Dean Richards

Sunday morning on WGN

coming up after 12.

One-on-one with

Catherine O'Hara

and Winona Ryder

and Jen Ortega.

Some of the cast members

from the new

Beetlejuice,

Beetlejuice movie

that opens

in theaters next Friday.

I'll tell you a little

about the movie as well,

but man,

what a treat

to sit down

with Catherine O'Hara

who I worship.

I think she's so great.

But Winona Ryder,

Beetlejuice was her

first big movie

and now she's back

reprising her role

in this new movie.

Jen Ortega plays

her daughter in the movie

and it's a lot of fun.

If you remember

the original movie,

I think you'll enjoy

that interview.

That is coming up

at our Food Time show.

Chicago Radio's

only cooking show.

The Cooking and Dining Show

will get into some

summertime recipes

and things that you can do

for this Labor Day weekend.

Are you a cook at all?

I don't think I ever knew

this about you.

You'd have to ask my daughter.

Do you think I'm a cook?

Whether or not...

I can whip up

a few good meals.

I can make a good sauce.

We're talking about

being Italian.

It's my grandma Sophie's

spaghetti sauce.

I could do just about

anything with an egg.

Keep it clean.

I beg your pardon?

You know,

I think my kids

are sick of anything

with eggs.

But yeah,

I like it.

I like cooking.

But you are a cook

and I like your idea

you were sharing

with me prior.

Well, we're going to...

It's not fully hatched.

Like my eggs.

Much like your eggs.

We're talking about

doing some trips

with listeners and viewers

going to different food places

around the world,

traveling to food places

specifically to cook.

And preferably

with grandmothers.

I want to cook

with the grandmas,

the nonas,

the yayas,

and learn some great recipes.

See the local areas.

But, you know,

Dean Cooks Around the World

is the working title

at the moment.

I love it.

Count me in.

When are you going to Italy?

Well, I'll let you know

when we figure that out.

But this is a great idea.

Because when I went out there,

you could breathe deeper.

It's a beautiful place.

It's a great,

particularly what's going on

these days.

It's nice to have a little break

and enter our past,

our heritage.

Are they tapped into

the political shenanigans

going on in the U.S.?

Very much.

Do they think we're nuts?

A little bit.

You know,

I got in a little,

thank goodness,

that this particular relative

was aligned with my political tags,

which I don't have to share here.

But, you know,

there's some real power

and passion about it.

We talked about politics.

And this is a tiny town.

But, of course,

you can see everything

on the Internet.

They know what's going on.

Yes, they know what's going on

with us politically.

And we talked about religion

and Catholicism.

And, you know,

it's a different way

of being there.

It's a real different,

it's still of a time.

The belief system

and the rituals

are very much in play

when it comes to the holidays,

when it comes to your beliefs.

But back to what you're saying,

yeah,

and luckily,

I was in complete agreement

with one of my relatives

who was a, you know,

was a pretty bright guy.

That could be a little awkward

if it had gone another way.

I had other relatives

who had visited

this little town,

Kaneda, Bari,

and they had opposing views

politically.

And that did not go over well.

And they said,

whatever you do,

don't bring up, you know,

Trump and Biden.

And, of course,

I knew where my relative lived

in, you know,

politically,

where they leaned.

So I was okay

because I was in concurrence.

But, you know,

it can be.

I was, you know,

because you're also speaking,

you know,

broken English.

There are those younger,

mostly younger Italians,

you know,

Kenetans,

as we called them

from Kaneda,

who could speak

and they got me through.

But after eight days,

and you and I

were talking about this

in your Greek adventures,

that you could start,

you can figure it out

after eight days.

You know,

you do a little bit of Spanish,

a little bit of Italian,

a little bit of English.

And, you know,

a little bit of charades.

Charades.

Pig Latin was big.

Helps me out.

Yeah.

Pig Latin.

Wow.

Ixnay on the Igpe Atinle

in day.

But, yeah.

And so.

Speaking of charades,

now is kind of a funny story

that we were in,

one of the trips

we were in Pisa

and decided to take

a quaint little horse

and buggy ride.

And within,

I would say,

two minutes of being

in this buggy,

my throat started to close.

And I was having

some kind of reaction

to something.

And apparently

there was horse dander

on the blanket

that we were sitting on

in the buggy.

And we're in the middle

of a fairly small

Italian village.

And we get off

and I cannot breathe.

I thought,

this is where it's going to end.

And this is your moneymaker.

I literally cannot breathe.

And the people

that I was with,

we run into a pharmacy

and they are doing charades

for the people

in the pharmacy.

And I was like,

who do not speak English

trying to describe,

you know,

they're like,

eee, eee, eee.

In the meantime,

you're turning blue.

And, you know,

finally they shoot me up

with some Benadryl

and figured it all out.

But that's how you get by.

Yes.

I suppose, right?

Well, you know what?

This is interesting.

I was asking about

the history of the area

that I'm from,

from my three grandparents

are from Bari.

And there was

an 86-year-old man there

who was my cousin.

And he's talking about

and he starts telling me

why, I said,

do you know why

they use their hands so much?

You know, charades.

I said, no, tell me why.

And in English,

I mean, Italian,

he tells me

and it's interpreted.

Basically,

there were so many invasions.

The French were there.

The, you know,

the Greeks were there.

Everyone was there.

So there were many

languages happening.

So the use of hands

and communicating

became all important.

The Spanish,

my mother's surname

was Taurus,

you know,

because of a Spanish invasion.

And so it all became

about trying to

say, you know,

pointing and waving.

Pointing to Dean's throat.

He can't breathe.

So I thought

that was fascinating.

Yeah, yeah.

Frank is in Chicago right now.

He's doing a,

was doing a private event,

but is coming back

to do his one-man

Groucho Marx show

at the theater

at the center

at Munster, Indiana,

October 5th and 6th,

and then scoots up

to the North Shore Center

for Performing Arts.

And he's performing

arts in Skokie

November 27th

through December 1st,

Thanksgiving weekend

to do your Caesar.

Yeah, Caesar Circus.

Caesar Circus-like show.

Yeah.

So that should be fun.

Oh my gosh.

It's such a treat.

Did you have any

actual interactions

with Groucho Marx?

I did.

I remember you telling me

that when you were a kid.

Well, I loved him,

you know, from the time,

like you, you know,

I was kidding before

with you.

It was like,

if you and I were to do a show,

if you and I were kids together,

we'd be like watching

Marx Brothers Film Festivals

and stalking Lucille Paul.

What's wrong with that?

It's like what every,

what every teenage kid does.

Sure, some kids are playing,

you know, Little League,

but Dean and I

are stalking Lucy.

Yeah.

Hell, I'm wearing

Lucy's stockings.

But that's another story,

which I haven't shown you

my feet yet,

but that was much later.

I'm wearing,

I am wearing

Hal Holbrook's shoes.

Is that right?

Yes.

Hal Holbrook,

who did the longest running

one-person show

in the history of the world,

62 years as Mark Twain,

Mark Twain Tonight,

and his assistant

gave me these shoes.

I wish this could,

these could be seen.

They could be,

they can be smelled,

but not seen.

Yeah.

But I didn't.

You remain the only guest

that we've ever had on WGN

that have put their bare feet

up on the table.

Yes.

You looked at my daughter

like,

should I be saying this?

This is how weird

your father is.

But we have been now,

she was laughing.

We're being tracked

by foot fetishes ever since.

I'm not joking.

You and I talk about this.

There,

I did notice

somebody on social media,

this morning,

saying that they were

looking forward to you

coming on the show today.

Dot, dot, dot.

I have a foot fetish.

Good morning.

Enjoy your brunch, everyone.

Yeah, exactly.

But I did meet,

you know,

listen,

I was like you.

I was a comedy nut.

So we grew up,

Three Stooges were in reruns.

You can see Abin Kastel.

You can see Martin and Lewis.

You could see

The Road Pitchers

with Hope and Crosby.

There's so much comedy.

Lucy's in reruns.

And when we were kids,

you can also see

great comedians

like Steve Martin,

Mel Brooks,

Woody Allen.

And we,

I mean,

there was just,

you know,

it was a plethora

of goodness,

of comedy goodness.

So my hero at the time,

of course,

was Groucho Marx.

And I was this shy,

Catholic kid,

Italian kid

in Pasadena area.

And I see a Marx Brothers movie

and it's a day at the races.

And I don't know

what that meant.

But I think the only

Jewish kid in the neighborhood

said,

Frank,

you know,

of course,

the Marx Brothers legacy

is one of a great

Jewish comedy.

He goes,

you got to put,

you got to put on

the TV set,

which we called it back then,

a TV set.

And I did.

And there's this crazy guy

stooped over

with a mustache

and eyebrows.

And, you know,

when you're nine or 10,

it's like,

what the,

what are these guys doing?

And he was very fast

and he was very furtive

and very,

you know,

something seemed really illicit

about his,

what he was doing.

I laughed so hard

because he was making

these wisecracks.

And I can tell how free

and fun he was.

And I wanted to be like that.

And, you know,

and here I am,

I'm fortunate.

But it's great.

It's amazing

what a great artist can do.

How can,

you know,

I realize,

you know,

the word artist

seems odd

in,

when you use it

for a comedian,

but he was a genius.

And so,

I always fantasized

about meeting him.

I dream about it,

actually.

I dream about going to,

I couldn't drive at the time.

He only lived 45 minutes away.

He was in Beverly Hills.

I'm in Pasadena.

I was like,

I wish I was 16

and had my driver's license

when I was 17.

But finally,

when I was 13 years old,

my father,

whose birthday is today,

he's 84,

he took the day off of work.

Now,

this is the kind of father I had.

Just take me to meet my hero,

the funniest man in the world,

Groucho Marx,

who's now 86 years old,

and he can barely move.

He's,

you know,

I used to watch him on Dick Cavett.

You'd watch him on Merv Griffin.

You'd watch him on Mike Douglas' show.

All these great,

but Groucho would still be

doing these interviews,

kind of wheezing

and barely getting through them,

but still funny

as all get-go, right?

So, my father takes the day off of work,

and we go to the Ambassador Hotel

in Los Angeles,

and it's noon.

We're waiting for Groucho to show up

to promote a book.

See, you don't stop

even when you're 86

to promote something.

So, there he is

trying to sell a book at 86.

And so, he gets there at 3.

We're waiting for three hours

for Groucho to show up.

We see Groucho,

and he's shuffling.

He's got his beret on,

and he looks like

he's going to keel over.

He makes it.

Now, I, everyone, Dean,

is shooed away.

There's 1,000 people,

mostly young people,

like me, teenagers.

I'm 13 years old.

There's college-age students.

I mean, it's hard to think,

and everyone's cleared away,

but I stick to Groucho.

Like,

I'm part of his entourage,

and I'm walking to the podium.

You know, like,

I can smell his old spice.

I sit at his feet,

and there's the great Groucho Marx,

and he could barely speak.

He's going,

Can you hear me out there?

And we're waiting for a joke.

And finally,

someone asks Groucho the question.

Groucho, you know,

it's chilling,

and people, it's tense.

Someone goes,

Groucho, are you making

any new Marx Brothers movies?

And he looks up slowly, Dean,

and he says,

No.

I'm answering stupid questions.

And I,

Dean,

a thousand people erupt,

because it's great.

And then a woman says,

Groucho, what do you dream about?

And he looked at her,

just shot her a burn.

What do you dream about?

And he goes,

Not you.

And so, you know,

we want him to insult,

and that changed everything.

He did about ten minutes Q&A,

and I guess ten years to that week,

I portrayed him at age 86,

in New York.

It was a dream.

That's fantastic.

Yeah, yeah.

It was very moving.

I can see it like yesterday, Dean.

You know?

And is that what inspired

your lifelong love with him?

Yeah, I think.

To do a show like this?

Well, it helped me get through life.

Humor helps me get through life.

You know, comedians

helped me get through life.

You know, we just went through

some rough times.

To me, it's like comedy and music

are the way to kind of

make the difference.

But he seemed so brave.

He was so,

when I started imitating him,

in school,

it was like wearing armor.

I could say anything

I wanted to say.

You could be shy

and get away with stuff.

I still do.

I was doing Caesar last night

at this event,

and my daughter Lucy

was there kind of chronicling

someone's walking with me.

And you have license

to behave badly.

I've got a martini in my hand.

I've got my head

in the lap of some,

you know,

some wedding guest.

It was so fun.

And then it's great to create.

But yes,

to answer your question,

his fearlessness is what,

I think we all need to be

a little fearless

with our interests.

And living life.

And that was a lesson for me.

And also that you don't have

to live the way

everyone else lives around you.

And that is giving me great joy.

And that's why it makes me happy

that like my daughter

is going,

oh, look what my pop does.

Maybe I can do something.

I don't have to be,

you know,

do what's expected of me.

Of course,

in my world,

what's expected

is for you to be

kind of funny.

Yeah.

Lucy,

pull this microphone over

or pull up a little closer.

The much talked about

Lucy Ferrante.

Here today.

I mean,

because you were around this

your whole life.

Is that why you decided

to get into this?

Go ahead.

Honestly,

I feel like

just growing up

watching my dad perform

really instilled

this lifestyle

into my brain.

And it's definitely

been an inspiration

for sure.

Yeah.

You're doing

a stand-up comedy.

I am.

Pretty different.

From what your dad does.

Pretty different,

but at the core,

very, very similar.

I would say

I catch myself

sometimes saying

little,

little one-liners

that I've grown up

watching my dad say.

She texted me.

So what was the line?

She said,

Dad,

I use this line

and it worked.

It was some line

I've been doing

for like 30 years

and she got a big laugh.

What was that line?

Do you remember?

Some guy,

I work alone or something.

I work alone.

Someone had their foot

on the stage.

Do you work

in show business?

No.

Get your foot

off the stage.

Got a classic, right?

Nice.

Yeah.

Are you going to be doing

stand-up in the Chicago area

at all?

Yeah.

I actually run

a monthly show

at the Lincoln Lodge.

Yeah.

Every fourth Friday

of the month.

It's called Joke Swap

and that's my baby.

I self-solo produce it.

I host it

and it's been a lot of fun.

When is the next one?

Do you know?

The next one

is September 20th.

Okay.

Yeah.

Very good.

It's very fun.

I got,

it's really a trip

to see,

surreal to see your kid

do stand-up

and be in an audience

without,

and she's,

you know,

she's hosting,

which is great

because she's curating

other young Chicago comedians

which to me

is a beautiful thing to do.

She's 22.

Both my kids go to DePaul.

I mean,

Chicago really impacted us

and we're not,

we're from a whole other

major part of the world

but this is,

we've been seduced

by you, Chicago.

Yeah.

And I'm looking at you, Dean.

We're a very wonderful

people here.

That's true, actually.

Yeah.

I'm great.

I'm really grateful

because it's changed their lives.

Mine too.

Yeah.

Okay.

So Groucho,

the one-man show,

theater at the center,

Munster, Indiana,

October 5th through the 6th

and your Caesar Circus

at the North Shore Center

for Performing Arts in Skokie,

November 27th through December the 1st.

How would one get tickets

to all of this?

You can go,

there's many ways.

You can go right directly

to the theaters.

North Shore Center,

you can go get it,

Caesar Circus,

you can go to theater

at the center

but also you can go on

eveningwithgroucho.com

where you can see

all my dates

with various shows

and if you're a Marks fan,

you'll get a kick out of it

and there's a fun,

for Groucho Marks fans

and I get nothing out of this

except pleasure,

there's a great website

called grouchomarks.com.

I own 50% of Groucho Marks productions

which represents Groucho's name

and likeness

and so there's great videos,

and radio,

you would love it.

It's vintage Groucho

and so I think your listeners

would love that.

Do you have a section

on your website

devoted specifically

to your feet?

You know,

that's where the money is.

Clearly there is,

on social media,

there is an interest in this.

Is it coming in?

Are you getting emails right now?

We've got to toe the line,

don't we?

I like that you brought in toe.

There you go.

I didn't mean to be such a heel.

Frank.

We have to stay in step,

the two of us.

Frank Ferranti.

This would be about the perfect time

to kick him out of here.

Oh, darn it.

It always happens.

Get the hook.

You can see him at Munster, Indiana

and in Skokie

and it's great to see you both

and Lucy at the,

tell us where again?

The Lincoln Lodge.

So fun.

Very good.

Appreciate you coming by.

Dean, what a joy.

Thank you.

And thank you to your listeners

who have been so great.

Yeah.

They keep showing up and going,

we heard you on Dean,

so thank you, Dean.

How fun would it be

if we all went to Italy together?

Let's do that.

Oh my gosh.

Come on.

Holy smokes.

All right, folks, come join us.

That would be so fun.

Juani, are you looking forward

to Andy, Hamp, and OB?

Oh, you bet.

As much as I am?

Sure.

Oh, of course.

The return of our special football trio.

The dream team,

as some of us,

some of our colleagues.

The dream team?

Yes.

Yeah.

It's a highlight of the fall season.

Yeah, you guys are definitely,

you're the goat.

You're the goat.

We are the goats.

And that's no joking around there, right?

Yeah, exactly.

So what are you guys

going to talk about today?

Well, we're going to kind of

recap the preseason.

The Bears did finish 4-0

and what that kind of means

for the season coming up.

I'm sure we'll touch on

some kid named Williams.

They drafted number one overall,

the quarterback.

Caleb something.

Caleb something or other.

Yeah, he's probably going to feature

prominently in our show.

Plus, you know,

we've got two of the greatest defenders

in the Chicago Bears history,

so we'll talk about

the Bears defense

picking up kind of

where it left off last year

and if they made enough

improvements on it

to really have a top 10 defense

this year

and how they might fare

in the NFC North.

So there's a lot to cover

in a couple hours.

Yeah.

Yeah, it should be fun.

And then starting next week,

you'll do the Bears pregame.

Correct.

Which means you guys

will come on at 11 o'clock.

Right.

We'll have our shift change

at about 10.59 or so.

Yeah, 10.59 and 30 seconds.

Right.

I have exactly,

30 seconds to get out of the studio

and get Hampton OB into the studio.

I do want to take video

of your first effort

at the chest bump, though,

you were talking about earlier.

Yeah.

I mean, that's going to be

my thing this year.

Yeah.

Neither Hampton nor OB know this.

I'm trying to visualize this.

When they come in the studio,

well, you know,

when I shake hands with Hampton,

usually I, you know,

like, you know,

you know, we'll bump fists

or something like that.

Same with OB.

I think we've been fist bumping.

But I think this year

I'm just going to throw myself at them

for a chest bump.

Oh, that's going to be good.

See how they react.

That is going to be good.

Because, of course,

when Hampton shakes your hand,

he's actually shaking your elbow

because of how huge his hands are.

Because he has the most gigantic hands ever.

Yeah.

You should be wearing Bears,

you know, pads and stuff

when you do this.

Yeah.

You know, just to make yourself look authentic.

I think it would be more entertaining

if he just,

if Hampton just,

you know, I go to, like,

chest bump him

and he, you know, like,

throws me off like a,

like a moth.

Like you'd try to

swat away a fly.

Yeah, I think you'd just try to

That'd be great.

Yeah.

Now, I don't want to be critical,

but the one thing

I would like you as host

to do,

I want you to be more forceful with them.

Okay.

Like,

How so?

Well, at least once per show,

I'd like to hear Andy go,

Hampton, why don't you shut up?

Something like that.

Okay.

And then,

so the next week,

you'll be looking for someone

to do sports in the morning with you

and we'll be looking for

Yes, permanently.

And I'll tell you about my visitation

at that point, too.

At least once per show,

something like,

Oh, B,

why don't you just zip it?

Something like that.

You're telling me to do what?

Oh, man.

I can't wait for you guys.

I'm super excited.

We have a lot of fun.

We definitely have a lot of fun.

Our crew, you know,

Jack Hammer's on our crew as well.

Jack Hammer, producer Jack Hammer.

Yeah, so we have a good time.

He's going to be with us tomorrow morning

here, too,

with Dave Plyer.

Very nice.

That's the you, us,

not me, us.

Well, I just said us,

me and Dave Plyer, Jack.

All right.

No days off.

Yeah.

For me and Schwanney.

Are you going to be Jack Hammer

or are you going to be Jack,

just playing Jack

or how are you going to do this

when you're doing your sports?

That's interesting.

They actually,

on the softball team,

started.

You are doing the sports?

He's doing sports.

Yeah.

Oh, I didn't know that.

We're getting into the bench.

Very nice.

Yep.

It'll be fun.

It's Dave, Dave, and Jack.

Yeah.

Hammer.

Very nice.

Exactly.

Well, you know,

as we like to say,

listen anyway.

And this is Dean Richards,

Sunday morning on WGN.

Schwanney told me this morning

before we went on the air,

we had our pre-show meeting.

Tremendous amount of rehearsal

and research.

Went over the script

line by line.

With everyone.

Single-spaced.

A lot of people don't realize

that this show is

fully scripted,

so well rehearsed

by the time it finally

gets on the air.

Then we make it sound like

three mopes.

But Schwanney told me

he's going to be

barbecuing today.

Today or?

Tomorrow.

This week.

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow for Labor Day.

Yep.

Tomorrow.

What do you anticipate?

I am leaning toward

grilled tuna

and asparagus

with roasted potatoes.

You eat a lot of seafood

on the grill.

I love seafood.

I've noticed.

Oh, it's amazing.

I'm a seafood guy anyway.

Yeah.

And so every opportunity

I have to put it on the grill,

I'm going to do it.

Yep.

And it's not hard.

I don't make this

a difficult thing.

You know,

a salmon on the grill,

I'm going to do the tuna,

which will be the first time

for me to do the tuna.

So this will be new.

But the grilled asparagus

and roasted potatoes like that.

Well, how are you planning

on doing that?

I also am a big seafood fan.

I see food and I eat it.

Oh, I'm done.

No, how are you planning

on doing the tuna?

What do you mean?

Like, what?

How are you going to prepare?

I'm just going to put it

on the grill.

You know,

season it at all?

Oh, yeah, right.

Marinate it?

I season the tuna.

Salt and pepper?

I have a mixture of spices.

A friend of mine gave me

a New Orleans cookbook

a number of years ago,

and there was a recipe

or a list, if you will,

for kind of a Cajun-type spice

with cayenne pepper in it

and bay leaves

and a little bit of salt.

But it's so...

It's so good on tuna,

specifically tuna.

Yeah, that sounds good.

And so I'm going to use that

and with the asparagus,

olive oil, and black pepper.

Yeah, you can't beat that.

I'm telling you,

really all you need is...

For the asparagus,

all you need is the olive oil.

Careful not to overcook it.

Right, right.

And then afterwards,

I mean, you could be done

right there, really.

Maybe put a little lemon on it.

That's delicious.

But I love...

Yeah.

I'll put some balsamic vinegar on it.

On the fish?

On the asparagus.

Asparagus, yeah.

Yeah.

On the asparagus.

Right.

There's one thing

that I've never been able to get right,

and I don't know why.

My friends, years and years ago,

back home,

my friend's parents

had a very nice backyard.

And Memorial Day, 4th of July,

Labor Day, cookouts.

His mother would combine potatoes

and onions and greens,

green pepper,

wrap it up,

season it with pepper or something,

and wrap it up in foil,

and then put it on the grill,

kind of steam it.

Foil packet, like a foil packet.

A foil packet.

And I've tried it.

I just can't get it right.

Not like they did.

It was just delicious.

Well, it depends on the seasoning

that you're putting in there.

I've done foil packets

with potatoes, vegetables.

I've done it...

I've put shrimp in it.

I've put chicken in with it.

Shrimp would be great with it.

Yeah, really, really good.

You put a little olive oil

in the seasoning.

I like to put,

for something like that,

I like to put salt, pepper,

and maybe some rosemary or thyme.

Rosemary or thyme with it.

Something like that.

It gives it a nice kind of floral taste to it.

But indirect,

I would do an indirect cooking,

no flames underneath it.

In the beginning,

and then maybe some flames at the end.

Later.

Just to give it a little browning.

Because you want to make sure

that it's thoroughly cooked.

But yeah, that's super easy

and super easy cleanup.

Yes, absolutely.

That's another part of it as well.

Now, when you do tuna,

how long on each side on the grill for you?

Again, I think I would do

indirect heat to start.

And I would use

an internal thermometer

rather than trying to eyeball it.

You want to get,

seafood you want to get,

it should be a high-grade tuna

and should be about 140,

145 degrees.

Right, right.

Yeah.

Which might be,

let's see,

if it was indirect heat,

say you get your grill up

to about 400 degrees indirect heat,

maybe six, seven minutes on each side.

That's about what I was thinking.

Yeah.

That's about what I was thinking.

Yeah.

10 minutes tops.

Yeah.

Yeah, that's good stuff.

I would,

I think I would put a little like,

like put it in a teriyaki marinade.

A teriyaki marinade.

I love teriyaki.

That would be good.

And some pepper.

Teriyaki already has a fair amount of sodium.

So I'm not sure I would add any more salt to it.

And then sprinkle some green onions,

chop up some scallions or green onions.

Green onions and put it down.

Something like that on there.

Wonderful.

Andy, you tracking with any of this?

Yeah, I lost,

you lost me at seafood.

You don't eat any at all?

You don't eat any?

Not.

None?

You know, once in a while,

once in a very great while,

like a tuna salad or something like that,

you know,

but it's gotta be,

I gotta be in the mood.

No shrimp cocktail?

No.

Really?

Yeah, I,

the thing for me is.

A giant shrimp and some nice cocktail sauce.

You see,

the thing for me,

it all comes down,

it all comes down to smell for me

and it just doesn't smell good to me.

Yeah, but what about sushi?

Here's my cocktail.

He's not having it.

I know.

That's why I'm asking.

I don't like it.

I don't like it cooked.

What makes you think I'm gonna eat it raw?

Come on now.

It's a whole different kind of smell.

Yes, it is.

Yes.

Definitely.

Yes, it is.

Okay.

Interesting.

You know.

Do you grill at all though?

We have not had a grill for a while yet

because when we moved,

we left our grill

for a while.

For the people that bought the house

and then we never really got one.

So,

I kind of miss it.

I mean,

all my neighbors have the wood pellet grills now.

Right.

And it does have a unique smell

and it's a really good smell.

Yeah,

well,

those pellet things are all like smokers.

Yeah.

Smokers,

but you can also grill on them at the same time.

I have one of those

and those are great too,

depending on what you cook.

But what's your favorite thing on the grill though?

Oh, wow.

Would you eat,

of course,

you'd have a burger,

of course.

Yeah, burger and dogs.

I mean,

char dogs have always been a big fan.

I've been a big fan of those.

Pulled pork?

You like pulled pork?

Not as much as just the,

like a chicken or a beef.

How about pulled chicken?

Pulled chicken,

I would, yeah.

Yeah, pulled chicken is good.

Good stuff.

I've served pulled chicken

and people think it's pulled pork

and I don't tell them any different.

Why bother, right?

As long as they're enjoying it.

Because it's just as delicious.

Oh, okay.

And you can fix it pretty much the same.

Chicken,

pulled chicken would be

pretty much the same as pulled pork.

Roast up the chicken,

shred it,

put your favorite sauce in,

slap it on some buns.

There you go.

And there you have it.

Call it a day.

There you go.

Mr. Fancy Pants with your grilled tuna.

A char dog does sound great.

Char dogs are so good.

Yep.

So good.

My problem is,

is that I like it all.

Yes.

Yeah.

I can't think of,

I can't think of anything

that I don't like to eat.

That's the problem.

Oh, I know.

Name, name it.

And I'm, I'm,

I'm right there with you.

Yeah.

Right.

I'll give you a full report next week.

Yeah.

And if I hear of any big fires

that took place in your neighborhood,

I'll know what happened.

12-24,

Dean Richards,

Sunday morning on WGN.

One of the classic scenes

from the original Beetlejuice movie

from 1988

with,

with Winona Ryder

kind of floating up the wall

in this haunted house

that has been reactivated

by Michael Keaton's Beetlejuice.

Michael Keaton is back

in the new Beetlejuice,

Beetlejuice movie

that opens this coming Friday.

Winona Ryder is back,

Catherine O'Hara,

with lots of new cast members as well.

In New York last week,

I sat down one-on-one

for our interviews with the cast

and we started off with Winona Ryder

talking about what it was like

getting back into this character

and what the original role meant to her.

Well, I do remember,

it was life-changing

in the sense of the,

you know,

it was the first time

I really identified with a character

and it was the first time

I felt super included

by a director and a cast.

Like, I felt like

whether it was a technique

that Tim had of making you feel that way.

She's a teenager then too, right?

Yeah, I was 15.

And I, but the,

but Michael and Catherine and Tim

and everyone just made me feel like,

well, what do you think?

And when you're 15,

you're usually just told where to stand,

say your line.

Yeah.

And,

that was like a transformative moment.

Like, what do I,

like, I have a,

and it, you know,

it might've been a technique

to just make me feel,

you know,

Comfortable.

Greater.

Yeah, yeah.

But it was,

that was a big thing.

The movie,

I think none of us

were prepared for,

like,

it was very under the radar.

Like, I don't think I ever met

like a person from the studio.

Like, we were on a,

we shot it on a soundstage and in Vermont,

but honestly, like it just felt like this super cool,

super fun thing.

Didn't know how it was gonna,

if it was gonna do well.

And then I was in high school

and I was in public high school.

And I read,

I did think that it was really because it was doing so well,

like it would sort of help me cause I wasn't,

like,

be more popular in school.

Yeah, I wasn't that popular.

And I,

but it,

it actually made it worse.

They thought I was like a more of a weirdo,

more of a freak.

But I do say that I use,

I think it's a badge of honor,

you know,

now.

So to step back into it then had to be surreal.

I would think like first days of shooting,

first days of being back into,

oh my gosh,

it was honestly,

and I know people,

I hear people say this a lot,

but I truly have to say it was one of the most special

experiences I've ever had.

And the entire time,

every moment I was like this,

I have to be completely present.

I'm,

I was very present because I,

it,

this doesn't happen.

You know,

like this is a once in a lifetime,

thing like to reunite with all the,

you know,

so many years later,

there was a lot of terror really leading up to it just in terms of like,

I'd never revisited a character before at all.

Or since except I guess on stranger things.

But what do you think the attraction is?

I mean,

this has become such a classic film.

People can recite lines.

What do you,

what do you think the attraction is to all this?

I mean,

I think it's just it's completely unique.

I mean,

there's nothing you can't compare it to anything.

It was his own thing.

And obviously Michael like that character,

which I mean,

he really just created that with Tim.

I mean,

it didn't,

I remember the,

the screenwriter was a friend of mine and it didn't read necessarily like,

like it played.

So just,

I think it's,

it's sort of what they did and how I,

it's,

it's a mystery,

like in terms of it sort of becoming,

I don't think we were expecting it to become what it became,

but it,

it's,

I think it's wonderful.

And,

and to come back to it,

it's,

it's actually emotional.

I,

I have to say,

I,

Tim,

me,

wait,

Michael,

we all got there.

Emotions,

you know,

a lot of emotional,

like when we're first seeing each other in costume.

And

it was so fun to watch it.

It was like visiting old friends,

like high school friends.

Yeah.

There you go.

It is,

um,

Winona Ryder,

uh,

talking about,

uh,

bringing back her role in the new Beetlejuice,

Beetlejuice.

She's talking about,

um,

Michael Keaton,

uh,

who we will,

uh,

be featuring on our WGN TV morning news this coming,

uh,

Tuesday morning,

uh,

in a minute after a news update,

Catherine O'Hara talks about being back in the Beetlejuice movie.

Coming right up,

the great music of the legendary,

Harry Belafonte used liberally in the original Beetlejuice movie that came out back in 1988

that starred,

uh,

Michael Keaton as,

uh,

the man,

uh,

the ghost who,

uh,

kind of ruled,

uh,

this house of the undead,

uh,

people who died in the house,

who,

uh,

are haunting the house when new residents move into it all.

That was the premise of the original movie.

And now this movie picks up,

uh,

where that left off with many of the original,

uh,

characters back again,

Michael Keaton,

returning as Beetlejuice,

Catherine O'Hara returning in the movie,

uh,

So Winona Ryder returning in the movie, along with newcomer Jenna Ortega, who plays, it's actually kind of generational because Winona Ryder is the daughter of Catherine O'Hara's character, as she was in the original movie.

But now Jenna Ortega is the daughter of Winona Ryder in the movie.

So it's these three generations of women who are dealing with the spooky goings on in this same old house.

Same amount of comedy.

Director Tim Burton returns to bring you the movie again.

And in New York City last week, the week before, I was there to talk with the original actors in the film, including Catherine O'Hara and Jenna Ortega.

Catherine.

And talking about being true to this character as she brings it all back.

Carrie, I just wanted to do it right.

Yeah.

I wanted to have a right to be there and do it right and be true to the original character, but show some growth.

And it was just so fun.

Is there a certain amount of electricity when you're all in makeup again?

Yes.

Oh, yeah.

Seeing Michael in his Beetlejuice face.

You know, between takes.

He's talking to himself and going, hey, do you believe we're here?

We're doing the movie.

Isn't this great?

You know what you look like right now?

But yes, you're right.

Yeah.

No, it was really exciting.

And Tim, from day one to the last day, never lost his energy or enthusiasm or ideas or, you know, and also really open to ideas the whole time.

He just kept us all really at the highest level of excitement and creativity and fun loving and playful.

And it was great.

Great set.

Yeah.

I mean, he's come along, not even born yet when this original movie came out.

What's that?

Which is a great thing, by the way.

It's good you're alive.

Yeah.

Tim said we had to wait for her to be born.

Right.

To do the sequel.

What was it like, you know, like joining up and like hopping on this moving train?

What an honor.

I mean, like who knew that they were going to bring Beetlejuice back, you know, of all of Tim's movies?

Because it was so early on in his career.

You know, he was still proving himself.

himself at that point um so it was very very exciting for me and obviously i looked up to

everybody in this casting crew and everyone who worked on the first one so much that i think

being able to learn from them or play with them um and just work with them was um

like a dream that i didn't realize that i had um you know it's you just don't know until you're

there were you were you like up on the movie or did you have to like research going into it no i

was up yeah i was i don't know who's not like everyone i met somebody yesterday who would only

see in the original movie for the first time yesterday really because they want to see this

one because they wanted to see this one yeah i don't usually freak shame consider it no they're

a freak yeah freak shame what katherine what do you think the attraction is of this movie

the longevity the quoting lines i mean it really is a classic oh i'll let you i'll let you come up

with that answer please but it

it's it it's funny it's sweet it's dark it's so light it's inventive it's creative um in the

first movie uh it was really this story i know of a young girl who's feeling out of place in this

world you know much like so many of the wonderful characters that tim has created and uh and then i

know tim talks about wanting to see where that character is 35 years later and

you know i know that's a lot to go through but i i i think that's that's a lot to go through and

And then bringing her daughter, you know, played by Jenna, such a great idea.

You know, you talk about how it's about family.

It's about so many things, but it's just, I don't know, it has a lovely, lovely spirit to it.

It really does.

Yeah.