Leta powell drake biography singer
Currently obsessed with Leta Powell Drake, the greatest interviewer of all time.
— John Frankensteiner (@JFrankensteiner) November 12,
From asking “Splash” star Tom Hanks“How do you kiss underwater without bubbles coming out of your nose and mouth?” to telling Gene Hackman
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Local TV personality goes viral for old interview clips from the '70s and '80s in which she tells Gene Hackman he's 'done some stinkers,' makes Tom Selleck squirm, and says Tim Curry 'looks evil' to his face
Old footage of a local Nebraska TV personality's shockingly blunt celebrity interviews is going viral, with Twitter users calling her 'amazing' and comparing her to Zach Galifianakis on Between Two Ferns.
Leta Powell Drake is a member of the Nebraska Broadcasters Hall of Fame and the Nebraska Press Women's Hall of Fame, and for years she interviewed some of the biggest names in Hollywood, from Tom Selleck to Tom Hanks to Elliott Gould.
But Leta, now 82, hardly tried to buddy up to the stars she gets on camera — instead, she asked some shockingly blunt questions and makes less-than-flattering pronouncements, going so far as to tell Gene Hackman that he's made 'some stinkers' in addition to his 'brilliant pictures'.
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Take no prisoners! Old footage of local Nebraska TV personality Leta Powell Drake's shockingly blunt celebrity interviews is going viral
Jumping right to it! Interviewing Kurt Russell, she asks him bluntly if his father is still alive
Rude: With Tim Curry right in front of her, she turns to the camera and says, 'He looks evil in many ways'
She leaves Elliot Gould flummoxed when she says, 'You don't consider yourself a great actor, do you?'
While the interviews all took place some decades ago, they are going viral thanks to a compilation shared by a Twitter user who goes by John Frankensteiner.
'Currently obsessed with Leta Powell Drake, the greatest interviewer of all time,' he wrote.
In one clip, she spoke to Academy Award nominee Lee Remick, and noted that she got to work with Richard Burton in 's The Tempest (and later in 's The Medusa Touch).
'And now he's dead,' Leta said bluntly, seemingly without a question.
Later, she asked her: 'How would you feel, as a mother, if your daughter were invo Dads love history, monuments, and museums. In one of nature’s cruelest twists, kids are, historically, not huge fans. When I was a kid, my dad LOOOVED taking us to the Wright Patterson Air Force Museum. He was unphased by our groans and complaints, in fact he may have been fueled by them, as dads often are. It’s not that he didn’t care that we didn’t like it. Now that I’m a dad I realize he took ambivalence as a challenge, that he would be able to convince us of how fascinating it all really was. – – – – – – My family just got back from a trip to Washington DC for the White House Easter Egg Roll. The last time I was in DC was 30 years ago. I was Coincidentally my son is now 10 (and my daughter is 12). So while we were sightseeing, I constantly compared it with what it must have been like when my dad took me there in – – – – – – Our flight left Cincinnati at am. We left our house at 3am, because dads love arriving super early for flights. Dads love to beat the rush and dads love early flights because the airport is less crowded. Etc etc etc. Some cliches are true. One of the first things we did was walk by the White House. DC was eerily empty Saturday morning but walking along the north side of the White House a Secret Service SUV suddenly stopped and rolled down its window. “HEY!” Uh oh… “THE DAD!” Uh ohhhhhh. Let me pause and say that my kids do not think I’m cool. Partly because nobody’s kids think their parents are cool but mostly because I am % absolutely positively NOT COOL. Their assessment is spot on. But this was as if I scripted a scene that attempted to convince them I am cool. An impressive Secret Service Officer got out of the car and shook my hand. He said “We see celebrities a lot but I don’t normally stop. But THE DAD? I love your guys’ stuff.” (As contractually required I assured him our content is made by a team of talented crea That&#;s the line that introduced the world to Leta Powell Drake in a viral clip on Thursday, and it seems to sum up her approach to life—and particularly to celebrity interviews. The two-minute clip, which caught fire on Twitter, is a compilation of moments taken from Drake&#;s year tenure as the host of KOLN&#;s morning show in Lincoln Nebraska. In that time she interviewed hundreds of celebrities, often choosing to cut through the usual pleasantries. She doesn&#;t hesitate, for instance, to press Elliot Gould to admit regret over not joining the cast of M*A*S*H for the TV series—&#;they&#;ve all made a fortune, Elliott&#;—or to tell Gene Hackman that he&#;s &#;done some stinkers.&#; Her blunt style of interview produced some hilarious reactions from actors who were just there to promote their work. The clip has invited comparisons to Zach Galifianakis&#;s brash disrespect on Between Two Ferns and to Martin Short&#;s performance as the rude and ill-informed Jiminy Glick. And the parallels—particularly with Between Two Ferns—are marked. Even the set of Drake&#;s interviews—with potted plants, and a non-descript curtain as the backdrop—is enough to make you wonder if this morning show out of a small-town in Nebraska was the inspiration for Zach Galifianakis&#;s Funny or Die series. But while the satirical humor of Jiminy Glick and Between Two Ferns is all about mocking the faux-chummy posture of celebrity interviews, Drake seems to have arrived at her approach by fully embracing it. She asks questions like she&#;s chatting with an old friend and wants to skip the formalities. She often seems to be thinking out loud while she brings up fond memories of watching Kurt Russel&#;s father on Bonanza before asking, &#;Is he still alive, Kurt?&#; And this casual attitude is only heightened by her tendency to scratch herself, touch her interviewees, and address the cam Leta Powell Drake’s Celebrity Interviews are “Between Two Ferns” In Real Life
&#;Let&#;s let &#;er rip this morning.&#;