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To Introduce Our Guest Star - Episode Fifteen: Bob McGrath · Muppet Fan Podcasts with ToughPigs.com

• 0:00
  Hi everyone Jared he and welcome to a very special episode of to
• 0:04
  introduce our guest star. As you'll see our guest today is
• 0:07
  Bob McGrath and of course you'll know that Bob has since passed
• 0:10
  away. I just want to take a moment
• 0:12
  upfront to recognize how brilliant Bob was and how
• 0:15
  special this interview is and I'd like you to stick around
• 0:18
  afterwards because Joe and I got together in the wake of Bob's
• 0:21
  death to chat about his career and our time with them.
• 0:24
  So please enjoy the show. Hello, my name is Johannes and
• 0:39
  I'm Jared sackcloth and welcome to to introduce our guest star
• 0:44
  on Muppet fan podcast presented by tough pics.com in this show.
• 0:48
  Jared and I are taking it in turns to surprise each other
• 0:50
  with this week's guest, and this week, it is my turn once again,
• 0:54
  it is. So, Jared relations.
• 0:55
  You have no idea. Thank you.
• 0:57
  It's nice to have a turn once in a while.
• 0:59
  You have no idea who our next guest says to you, I have zero
• 1:02
  player. I have some theories but let's
• 1:05
  be honest. This is what the fourteenth
• 1:06
  episode. And every time I've had a
• 1:08
  theory, it's been completely thrown out the window one or two
• 1:11
  questions in. So, well, let's see how close
• 1:14
  you get this time. Let's start off with your with
• 1:17
  your questions, buddy. What do you want to write?
• 1:19
  I'm feeling the pressure because we're currently, you're
• 1:23
  currently 24 to this season. You guessed Alice and friend?
• 1:28
  I didn't guess. Marty.
• 1:30
  All right, laughs excessively or Henson Sesame.
• 1:35
  Okay, that is playing into my theory.
• 1:38
  Is this person a performer? Yes, this person is a performer.
• 1:44
  I'm a performer or a human performer.
• 1:48
  This person is a human performer.
• 1:51
  Well alright everyone say goodbye Jared's Theory.
• 1:57
  Okay. All right.
• 1:58
  Interests and we had enough puppeteers on this podcast.
• 2:01
  We yeah, we have that. Nah, we could always have more
• 2:06
  God. Okay.
• 2:07
  Is this person still currently on the show?
• 2:12
  I don't know how you define currently on the Shelf.
• 2:14
  Sorry so it's like so there are human performer but at the
• 2:19
  moment there's really only three main human cast members.
• 2:21
  So is that what some reason it is not one of the three current
• 2:27
  performers. I think asking did this person
• 2:30
  ever play a vet I don't know who event is a vet.
• 2:37
  I've even you're saying Yvette know.
• 2:42
  This person is either played Ivette Torres, not Gina.
• 2:47
  Um, oh goodness gracious. Okay, what's this person?
• 2:52
  A part of the 50th anniversary Yes, this person was in the 50th
• 2:58
  Anniversary, 50th Anniversary. Okay, Joe, I'm going to guess
• 3:05
  that it's the evidence Artful Sonia Manzano.
• 3:11
  Jared. Our Guest today has been one of
• 3:15
  our favorite neighbors since 1969.
• 3:18
  He has sung hundreds of songs in countless episodes of Sesame
• 3:22
  Street, having worn dozens of various sweaters and
• 3:26
  ridiculously goodness Jared. I'm so extremely pleased to
• 3:31
  welcome to introduce our guest star.
• 3:34
  The incredible Bob McGrath, oh my golly, gosh, Nest.
• 3:39
  This is like, this is a big moment for me.
• 3:43
  It's a big moment for Bob, I hope.
• 3:46
  Hey, there he is. And Joe Bob.
• 3:49
  This this is Jared Jared, this is Bob.
• 3:52
  Hi Bob, how are you? I dared, I'm great.
• 3:54
  How are you? I mean I just heard Bob McGrath
• 3:57
  say my name. So this is the greatest day that
• 3:59
  I've ever had. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
• 4:03
  Life has been so slow for you. This is a big moment for me Bob
• 4:10
  because I mean I've been a fan of you since I was born
• 4:15
  basically. Yeah, what we are?
• 4:18
  We say, what year did you start watching the show?
• 4:21
  And I was born in 1989 there, there's a photo of me at my very
• 4:26
  first Christmas. So I was about six months old
• 4:29
  and I have a Sesame Street book and there's a drawing if you
• 4:32
  want it. So, there we go.
• 4:33
  At least six months, old. Hey so this is, this is massive
• 4:41
  That's terrific well, but you probably get that a lot Bob,
• 4:44
  right? Like, you probably get people
• 4:45
  coming up to you all the time to be.
• 4:46
  Like, I grew up with you and your, your way past, like making
• 4:50
  you feel old or all that? Yeah, I'm marching towards 90s.
• 4:58
  So, those things don't bother me.
• 5:00
  Much anymore. When Andy is looking fantastic,
• 5:06
  we do you mind wife and I do yoga three times a week and Say
• 5:11
  is active physically, as we can, we're lucky enough to have
• 5:14
  gotten a house about four years ago and it's time to acres with
• 5:18
  a lot of woods and that kind of thinking, dear and so forth.
• 5:22
  And so we're trying to stay as healthy as possible.
• 5:26
  Great. Well, we're on our way when it
• 5:28
  come camp out in your backyard. That's right.
• 5:31
  We'll have a cookout. Yep.
• 5:33
  Got way. Do you just bring some deer off?
• 5:36
  We have plenty of deer running around.
• 5:39
  I can say, Bob you. Wearing your Sesame Street.
• 5:44
  Yes, whether I don't know what Americans call the we call them
• 5:46
  jump is in Australia. Wonderful best.
• 5:50
  We start sweating blood, 35 years old.
• 6:00
  So do you have a lot of like just Sesame Street, nurture
• 6:03
  around the house, I guess, after Set Me Free merchandise, I
• 6:08
  guess, having been around, you know, for, on the show. 50 years
• 6:11
  is there a lot of Sesame Street stuff just in your house?
• 6:15
  A lot of Sesame stuff? Yeah I mean like pictures of I
• 6:20
  mean yeah on my wall behind me. I wish I could figure out that
• 6:26
  it's so big bird and Cookie Monster and that love that one
• 6:31
  with when the, I think was the New York Times did.
• 6:34
  When will leave mr. Hooper died.
• 6:37
  It was a wonderful graphic of mr.
• 6:40
  Hooper looking like, he is in heaven and big bird.
• 6:44
  Say hi. I hope her.
• 6:47
  And he said, nice to see you again Big Bird.
• 6:52
  So, big bird is visiting, Hooper in cattle, it's beautiful.
• 6:57
  Yeah. And lots of other photographs
• 7:01
  over the whole wall. I just had one with Michelle
• 7:05
  Obama know. She was guessing and she had
• 7:09
  four or five of the cast were there.
• 7:10
  And so she invited us all and to have a picture taken.
• 7:14
  Well, it's been wonderful. It's been a wonderful life as
• 7:17
  they say. Yes, absolutely.
• 7:20
  I'm glad that we were able to, you know, peek in on your
• 7:23
  wonderful life on our TV screens for so long now, and I'm new
• 7:29
  here involved with tough pigs. Yes.
• 7:32
  Oh, Jared runs is now one of the co-owners of tough pigs with
• 7:36
  along with me and Ryan. So we took him in and gave him a
• 7:40
  home. Nice to nice to meet you all in
• 7:44
  your home but they took me out. Okay.
• 7:48
  I do have I just have to do all the laundry but besides that,
• 7:50
  it's okay, okay, yeah, yeah, go for it.
• 7:55
  Yes, the shipping cost is insane but Jarrod is really great at
• 7:59
  folding, you know, all right. Yeah.
• 8:02
  I used to ship to University of Michigan in Ann Arbor,
• 8:23
  The Four Freshmen and I had never used the machine before.
• 8:31
  Is that puts such as soap. And so I did was I well, these
• 8:36
  clothes are pretty dirty. I'll put a lecture.
• 8:38
  So I dumped more soap in the machine than apparently should
• 8:42
  have and it came back our it was about maybe a foot and a half,
• 8:48
  north of suds all over the entire floor, where the washing
• 8:52
  machines were so amazing. I spent a while posing that and
• 8:57
  shoving it down in any way, it's probably just easier to send it
• 9:01
  back home. I'm yeah, for sure.
• 9:07
  Yeah, I think you had mentioned Jared mentioned earlier about
• 9:12
  your your Sesame sweater that you're wearing and I've always
• 9:15
  been a big admirer of all the sweaters that you've worn over
• 9:18
  the years, on Sesame Street. I'm curious if those were yours
• 9:23
  or if they were costuming and did they let you keep them
• 9:26
  because, yeah, all that like their props, well, they they She
• 9:32
  only bought almost everyone that ever wore, I love sweaters.
• 9:37
  I had quite a few before the show because I was kind of a
• 9:40
  sweater person when I was in my concerts.
• 9:43
  I always wore a colorful sweaters, and they picked up on
• 9:46
  that. So I now have a matter fact, I'm
• 9:49
  just preparing to ship two or three of them back to my
• 9:51
  hometown and auto Illinois because they just started a new,
• 9:57
  they call it a museum of some sort, but there's a lot of stuff
• 10:00
  scores on that area. So, they asked if I could send a
• 10:03
  few good things back to their, but they typically just bought
• 10:10
  them and I'd wear them for maybe a dozen shows.
• 10:13
  And they say we got to get something new in the world knows
• 10:17
  what your sweaters look like now.
• 10:19
  So a lot of really nice cashmere sweaters.
• 10:26
  So does that mean there's going to be a bob exhibit at the
• 10:30
  Museum in Ottawa? Lily.
• 10:32
  Oh yeah. I think it's right outside of
• 10:34
  town so I don't have it. But within the next several
• 10:39
  weeks, I'll be shipping that and several other things out to
• 10:44
  them. I guess they have a fair amount
• 10:46
  of space. So we'll see what they take.
• 10:50
  But in my house, I have in our TV room.
• 10:54
  I have an image that little Bert and Ernie and all that kind of
• 11:01
  stuff. Sitting around here and there
• 11:03
  and a T-shirt and I am and I'm still working.
• 11:08
  Yes. Right.
• 11:09
  Yeah. Well your soul part of the
• 11:10
  family you know King. Yeah.
• 11:12
  Get rid of that. No, I never sounds museums
• 11:16
  occasionally. There is some things that they
• 11:18
  like us all to get involved in and that's great fun.
• 11:21
  When when the show turn 50, they names that we named they named
• 11:26
  the street for us just three or four blocks from the office on
• 11:30
  Broadway and soon as little goodies here and there but it's
• 11:36
  been, it's been an incredible run for 50 years all over the
• 11:40
  world now Absolutely well. And it's so great that you're,
• 11:45
  you know, what, we know as fans when Sesame decides to bring in,
• 11:51
  you know, you and Sonja and the other Legacy folks, that means
• 11:56
  it's a big deal. You know, that means our
• 11:58
  acknowledging. The fact that Sesame Street has
• 12:00
  been around for over 50 years and we want to bring in these
• 12:03
  folks who've been a part of it for so long as opposed to, you
• 12:06
  know, the current work that they do it was that it's just for the
• 12:09
  current cast, the current of up to yours things like That it's
• 12:13
  like, you know, like guess what, they're still alive.
• 12:16
  And here comes what it's like, crawling the door.
• 12:25
  How how well how was it then for you on the 50th to be back?
• 12:29
  Like granted you hadn't left that long ago but pray what was
• 12:33
  it like for you on the 50th? Oh, that was, that was kind of
• 12:38
  fun. They had everybody and it was It
• 12:43
  must have been a total. I don't.
• 12:44
  Do you ever see you see the show?
• 12:45
  Joe is a for sure. Yeah I was I was there on set a
• 12:49
  couple of days. That's right.
• 12:51
  Yeah not necessarily with you. I don't think I was watching.
• 12:55
  I was watching the feed. Yeah, the office but I gotta say
• 13:01
  I'm not gonna lie. I got a little teary-eyed when
• 13:04
  you walked on screen with Linda. Look like that.
• 13:07
  Yeah, she was incredibly wonderful exaction, the show.
• 13:12
  And we all felt terrible when they decided not to holler back
• 13:17
  from the West Coast, you know, 45 minutes on camera.
• 13:21
  But they brought her back for that, and we had quite a
• 13:25
  wonderful relationship. Going, really both on and off
• 13:29
  camera, because she was an incredibly wonderful person.
• 13:33
  And her husband was great. And when the whole, the whole
• 13:38
  group from that, Who's with the hearing hearing for the deaf?
• 13:46
  They were all. Yeah, the National Theater for
• 13:48
  the death actually. Yep.
• 13:51
  So that was, that was great and it was great to see them and it
• 13:57
  was great to be back with with Linda and That was a, I mean, we
• 14:06
  were really, you know, there's a lot of, I think a lot of shows
• 14:08
  say we were sort of like a family but we really were like a
• 14:12
  family. We, we came through some really
• 14:15
  interesting times in general, for television and certainly for
• 14:20
  our show and everything and at one point they wanted me to do
• 14:28
  something similar that immediately.
• 14:30
  I got 0 and Sonia did, which was getting married.
• 14:34
  And they projected that as a possibility and I said, well
• 14:38
  that would be quite because that that turned out to be so
• 14:41
  fantastic for Emilio and Sonia. And I thought about it and I
• 14:48
  came when I talked to Anne about it, my wife and I said, you
• 14:50
  know, this would make a great great show and I'd love to do
• 14:53
  it. But since I'm still concert
• 14:55
  sizing in many parts of the country with three of my
• 15:00
  children. I said I think it might be a
• 15:03
  little awkward. If I get married on Friday
• 15:05
  afternoon and on Saturday, I pop on straight out in Dubuque Iowa
• 15:12
  and hair. My tree killing.
• 15:14
  Their what turned it down? And I had reservations later
• 15:22
  because it would have made for another wonderful story line,
• 15:25
  just like it did for Emilio and Louise, but I was a little too
• 15:31
  literal maybe for my own sake, but I just thought it was
• 15:34
  Awkward her some kids to see me married a week after I got, you
• 15:39
  know, had three children and a week after getting married well,
• 15:44
  I'm sure it didn't help that, you know, I'm like Emilio and
• 15:48
  Louise are you the same person? But they have two separate
• 15:51
  names, same with Sonja and Marie.
• 15:53
  But you're Bob, there's only one Bob.
• 15:55
  So it's, you know, like if you're out in the world with
• 15:58
  your wife and they have someone thinks that Bob the character is
• 16:01
  married to someone else, they're gonna say Bob, what's up?
• 16:04
  And I'm not going to say, I don't know what you're talking
• 16:06
  about, right? Like that.
• 16:09
  It's it's been an unbelievable run for this period of time in
• 16:14
  my life, more than I ever ever could have anticipated.
• 16:20
  That would be out, you know, it started with them saying one
• 16:24
  time, we have this girl and they brought in the Little Theater,
• 16:28
  the deaf. And they did a couple of shows
• 16:29
  with us, and that was terrific. And then sometime later, when
• 16:33
  they wanted to feature Linda more, they said you know we
• 16:39
  think we like to bring Linda back on cuz you so fantastically
• 16:43
  wonderful. And she was both as a signer and
• 16:46
  as an individual. And so then Mmm.
• 16:51
  They said, would you mind going to sign language school down at
• 16:54
  the, the college in the southern in south side of New York?
• 16:59
  I said no so that I said yes before I realized it was going
• 17:04
  to be quite a, you know, a trip going there.
• 17:10
  Several times a week for a full class and but it was well worth
• 17:17
  it. And the feedback that we got
• 17:20
  from kids, all over the world about signing and so forth and
• 17:25
  what it meant to them. And that still goes on.
• 17:28
  Now we we do. What is the other thing that we
• 17:31
  all do? Now, the celebrity quoting
• 17:37
  course celebrity on the columns, which one like Comic-Con
• 17:41
  accounting and yeah. Yeah, we started, we started
• 17:44
  doing those. The other and that was great.
• 17:49
  I mean, it was so rewarding to hear parents come with their
• 17:52
  children. Several who were had new
• 17:57
  challenges to hear what the show meant to them, at that early age
• 18:02
  of, you know, five or six, seven, eight, and so forth.
• 18:05
  So it's just been, it's been so rewarding I can't even begin to
• 18:12
  tell you. And the only other thing that's,
• 18:16
  you know, been as much impact. We haven't been able to do
• 18:19
  anybody yet, but was effective Emilio passing away.
• 18:25
  Yes, that was like Devastation full-blown.
• 18:31
  There, were they finally, when I got the call I was like I was
• 18:34
  just devastating to the nth degree knowing that because he
• 18:40
  was a phenomenally in life. Person as well as a great actor
• 18:46
  on the show. So it's, you know, it's it's
• 18:53
  been much more than singing on camera.
• 18:55
  It's been my whole life from being Paris, one time, locating
• 19:01
  running after me and saying, you know, Bubble Bobble is something
• 19:05
  and turned out. He was from my thing, from South
• 19:09
  Africa, or somewhere else, and they yeah.
• 19:13
  And And they just us and we they dubbed as sometimes in that
• 19:17
  language and he started speaking fluent, whatever.
• 19:21
  And, but fortunately, he was he was also fluent in English.
• 19:24
  So we had solid right there under under the Arc, de Triomphe
• 19:28
  in Paris. That's amazing.
• 19:32
  Yeah. Well, you say, you know, you
• 19:34
  call yourself like a family and especially in the early days you
• 19:38
  guys were doing like hundreds of episodes a year.
• 19:42
  So you are sending He's so much time together.
• 19:46
  Yes, what was that? What was it like for you like
• 19:48
  that? Schedule of just like a hunt.
• 19:51
  Something like 130 150 shows a year.
• 19:53
  What was that? Like for you?
• 19:56
  I was very busy and it was fantastic with.
• 19:59
  All the shows are sesame and then not to talk about this
• 20:03
  supposed to that. But I had so many concerts going
• 20:07
  at that point that almost probably twice a month IV and
• 20:13
  some play. anywhere in this country or Canada, or whatever
• 20:16
  it might be, and it was extremely rewarding, Not only,
• 20:22
  was it a great just typically would be for anyone, but the big
• 20:26
  thing, especially like a common constant so forth where the
• 20:29
  parents would just couldn't stop raving about what it meant to
• 20:33
  their child, who was had, many many different kinds of
• 20:37
  disabilities and so forth. Or so that was extremely
• 20:42
  rewarding and I one of the songs I did in the show which is a
• 20:46
  nice song called hello and it was a signing song between Linda
• 20:51
  myself and we did it for many times and replayed And so, one
• 21:00
  of the things I did in my life concert, I say, you know, all my
• 21:03
  friends accessories you want to say hi but 11 definitely wanted
• 21:07
  to say hi and his special word. I say, see if you can tell me
• 21:10
  what was it might be. And I just felt like that and
• 21:15
  the whole anxiety. They all just start waving and
• 21:18
  you have the whole audience doing a hello, and then do a
• 21:21
  little bit of sign that you. How are you?
• 21:22
  I'm fine. Good to see you on.
• 21:26
  It was remarkable to know how how well it worked within the
• 21:32
  framework of the show. Yeah.
• 21:34
  For sure. Now all over the world I mean
• 21:39
  and what do we 40? 50 languages or something now
• 21:43
  and they said it's just as effective.
• 21:44
  Now when they go into a new country, And we see, I don't
• 21:49
  know if you ever seen any of the video that I shot for various
• 21:52
  reasons from those countries of kids in Africa.
• 21:56
  Just Going out in this huge Park and with you a hundreds of kids
• 22:01
  there and watches and showing. Yeah, it's well, that's of calls
• 22:07
  back also to the earliest days of Sesame Street.
• 22:10
  When you know, they would literally take TV sets in the
• 22:14
  back of trucks into, you know, impoverished neighborhoods.
• 22:17
  Oh, absolutely. Yeah.
• 22:20
  And just kids would just come out in the streets.
• 22:22
  To watch this, me street. Hey, it's kind of incredible
• 22:27
  like that. Still Happening somewhere in the
• 22:28
  world. Oh yes.
• 22:29
  Absolutely. And I think the last time we got
• 22:33
  together for something, they show some of these shows and
• 22:36
  they were in Africa and you name all these third-world countries
• 22:41
  and they just show you know, five hundred kids out in the
• 22:44
  lawn and truck pull up with the camera and they were all
• 22:47
  interacting just like we were sitting next to them.
• 22:53
  The show is just a just taking full advantage of the
• 22:59
  opportunity and it's just work incredibly well and still is it
• 23:07
  must be. It must be really nice to look
• 23:10
  back at your career and and you get all this hard evidence that
• 23:16
  your work has impacted millions of people all over the world.
• 23:20
  It's not just like Gia. Hope I put a good spin on this
• 23:24
  life. It's like, no, no.
• 23:25
  You like I mean Jared and I we could just talk for ourselves of
• 23:28
  how much you've done for. Absolutely.
• 23:30
  You help. Teach us how to read.
• 23:32
  You were of our best friends as children and you had nothing
• 23:35
  yet, you had no idea. We did indeed Madam adults the
• 23:38
  amount of times I walk around and just seeing people in the
• 23:41
  neighborhood to myself. And if your voice I hear in my
• 23:44
  head, really? Yeah, it's incredible.
• 23:51
  It's going to One other story. What it was, I'll tell it to you
• 23:57
  later. Anyway you you live where you
• 24:02
  live now Jared or character? Yeah yeah May I'm in.
• 24:07
  I'm in Melbourne, Australia in Melbourne.
• 24:10
  Yeah, this is this sort of my Australia time also because
• 24:15
  we're a very big, of course, in Australia.
• 24:17
  If you know and this summer We had a young girl called Alice
• 24:25
  and she was from Australia and she came over to work as a
• 24:32
  counselor and I camp and the they had several kids who are
• 24:38
  strea. So she came and we spent
• 24:41
  together, you know, a couple of nights here with my wife and
• 24:44
  family and, and we're staying in touched.
• 24:48
  In fact, I just heard from her, I think, two days ago, And she's
• 24:52
  been hired to come back again, this coming summer and we've had
• 24:58
  my wife, has some memory loss, and so we've had to have some
• 25:05
  house, I helped come in and we have over the course of some of
• 25:09
  you probably had eight or ten different.
• 25:12
  People come in to help with all the stuff that goes on if that
• 25:21
  for the benefit of my wife. And so she's anxious to come
• 25:28
  back, I just talked to them. Her name is Bianca, Bianca
• 25:33
  pepper. I just pepper is a last name in
• 25:36
  Australia. I've never heard it, but that's
• 25:39
  not very well. Awesome steak, laughs, I can't
• 25:41
  have it Go in anyone's life. His name was that I was gonna
• 25:45
  say, do you know, Bianca Jared. Are you guys friends with best
• 25:48
  friends that Bianca not pepper Peppa Peppa.
• 26:06
  So we were talking a few minutes ago about Emilio and oh, yes, I
• 26:11
  had a A very small memory that I wanted to share with you from
• 26:16
  year. A few years ago there's probably
• 26:19
  10 15 years ago at least I was at a event at the Jim Henson
• 26:25
  Legacy building where I definitely was probably not
• 26:28
  supposed to be there but I kind of snuck in a little bit and I'm
• 26:33
  there with with Ryan or other topics partner and he and I were
• 26:37
  feeling very shy with felt like there was a lot of celebrities
• 26:40
  around my performers and the Sesame actors and something like
• 26:43
  that. And we didn't know who to talk
• 26:45
  to and and we're just kind of like standing in the corner and
• 26:48
  we heard the door opened and someone came in and shouted
• 26:53
  across the room Babu, look, and it's Emilio and yes, you are
• 27:00
  literally as far away as you could possibly be in this room
• 27:04
  and he just spotted you and we have the two of you come
• 27:07
  together and share an embrace. It was it was an absolute
• 27:12
  Remarkable remarkable person and a great actor but humility and
• 27:19
  the warmth that he exuded he I mean when I heard that he had
• 27:26
  this deadly form of cancer bone cancer.
• 27:28
  I think I mean it just my wife is set.
• 27:32
  My wife and I both in shock because we were such close
• 27:35
  friends and And Carol's daughter is wife.
• 27:39
  You did you make Carol also? Yeah, I've met Carol.
• 27:42
  She's wonderful phenomenal, kind of person so there's my life
• 27:47
  peeking into the door. Hello wife.
• 27:49
  Wait a little wait below to Australia.
• 27:55
  He has whole country. Is my wife Ann and I am coming
• 28:03
  out alone. This is Joe we've met before and
• 28:14
  you almost broke it. Actually did a very, very strong
• 28:19
  grip. She always attributed that to
• 28:22
  see a horse whole life and Music, great barn.
• 28:57
  And so, yeah. So she was a horse baby.
• 29:01
  So she almost breaks my hand when we shake hands.
• 29:04
  He's eight. It's amazing.
• 29:06
  Well, we're talking to Bob, we're talking to Bob about his
• 29:10
  time on Sesame Street. Do you have any favorite Sesame,
• 29:12
  Street moments from that you've seen?
• 29:15
  Bob do? Any favorite moments from songs?
• 29:20
  That's that was. How did you make?
• 29:25
  Whilst working and this private voice going here.
• 29:30
  Before that I said I was a kindergarten teacher and he was
• 29:34
  a music teacher and this is right after the end of the, I
• 29:37
  have my being in the Army for two years in Stuttgart Germany.
• 29:41
  And when I came back, I was looking for a place to live and
• 29:47
  once and some work and one thing led to another.
• 29:50
  So I got a job in this private Catholic, boys school run by all
• 29:54
  lace. Kelly, and she was one of the
• 29:56
  members on the faculty there. So that's really a long story
• 30:09
  and you're still going strong and we've been leaving.
• 30:12
  She did she did Karate for 15 years or so and I mean she's all
• 30:19
  the stuff he broke all the board's, she did all the tumbles
• 30:23
  so I do. I took my chances of my marrying
• 30:26
  her and it never got only one time out in California are out
• 30:32
  there because our daughter wearing a very, very small room.
• 30:37
  It was the least expensive room we could find and she said,
• 30:42
  she'd been taking the karate but she had one another form of all
• 30:46
  right. And she oh I just think just
• 30:49
  taught us another movement. And I said, oh, really?
• 30:51
  She said yes orders! She's and the room was I was in
• 30:55
  the bedroom though, which is hardly room enough to even turn
• 30:57
  around in there. And I said, well, I don't see
• 31:00
  the ball. It's like this, and she just
• 31:03
  came at me. And before I knew it, one little
• 31:05
  swipe, and I was, I was heading headfirst towards the TV about
• 31:11
  this, and I just got gum moments before I put my head right
• 31:16
  through the TV. So I didn't exactly right.
• 31:34
  Okay. With five children.
• 31:35
  I love to see my husband smile. Yes, my to it was lying at you
• 31:41
  and seeing you in. Okay?
• 31:44
  Thanks Joe. And without any and would handle
• 31:49
  that, right? Thank you ahead.
• 31:53
  Oh, we've had, I mean I've been very, very blessed and I came
• 31:58
  from a fairly Strong Catholic Family.
• 32:01
  My dad was quite spiritual much more so than my mother, but he
• 32:06
  was it was quite unique. And so we had we had five
• 32:15
  brothers and sisters and I'll tell you this really quickly
• 32:21
  because almost like I'm not I'm not a religious freak, I was an
• 32:28
  altar boy in the hole, they are growing up and so forth but And
• 32:33
  one point I'm just amazing how and I don't believe I don't do
• 32:40
  well on or necessarily believe to the letter of the law.
• 32:43
  A lot of stuff that happens but some seems to be almost more
• 32:47
  than coincidental. And so I I can believe in that,
• 32:53
  there is a hand kind of guiding certain things.
• 32:56
  So the one last one last connection that That I just kind
• 33:01
  of started thinking about. I was sent to you stood guard,
• 33:05
  Germany for two years and got involved in the seventh Army
• 33:09
  Symphony and then I took over the choir in the in the
• 33:14
  chaplains and chaplain and then when I was getting just about to
• 33:20
  be released, we had the whole seminar me Symphony Orchestra
• 33:25
  was a top top, Orchestra all military.
• 33:30
  I was An energy, but I was attached to it and I booked them
• 33:33
  all over there. All over the world practically
• 33:37
  And so, as I was about to be discharged, one of the, he was a
• 33:42
  composer and a one, fantastic musician, read player and he's
• 33:46
  what are your plans as I'm going to New York?
• 33:48
  Going to get a masters degree in music and he said we're going to
• 33:53
  go and I said, either Manhattan School of Music or Juilliard and
• 33:58
  he said I'll go to Juilliard. I've been go to Manhattan School
• 34:01
  news, he said my neck is right across the street from for the
• 34:04
  Philharmonic and he said, they're all.
• 34:07
  Like one since they've been there so close to going to
• 34:09
  graduate and walk across the street and be playing first
• 34:12
  chair violin the following week. So he's a good go to Manhattan.
• 34:18
  So I said okay so he said you know I'll tell this quickly if I
• 34:22
  can he said, you know, anybody in New York?
• 34:24
  I said no not a salt. He said, call my roommate and
• 34:27
  tell him to give you a drink. I said, okay so I threw the name
• 34:30
  it and it got there, excuse me and I called him up and told him
• 34:35
  who I was and who is Roommate on any probability said.
• 34:38
  Yeah. Come on over.
• 34:39
  So whenever there is an, a few blocks away from where I was
• 34:43
  living, I was living in the YMCA for a week or two and went and
• 34:49
  went to talk to him. And he said, what are you up to?
• 34:52
  So I told him and he says, I'm looking for a job place to live
• 34:56
  and go to get a masters degree. And so he said, go there.
• 35:02
  So I said, told him that and he saw just go across the street to
• 35:06
  bitch, a furling. There's a church over there and
• 35:08
  he said they have a paid choir or paid octet.
• 35:12
  So I went across the street called and he said, he said, I
• 35:19
  think I sang a half a dozen. No, it wasn't much of an
• 35:21
  audition and he said, fine, your past colors.
• 35:27
  So he said, so I hadn't told my leave place to live and make
• 35:32
  some money. He said go across the street to
• 35:34
  Bishop Furlong, he said he got to pee.
• 35:37
  Small choir. There are eight or nine voices
• 35:39
  as a thank you to. So I went from his cross, the
• 35:42
  street to st. Thomas More and did my thing and
• 35:47
  he said, okay, you're hired sounds like you need some money,
• 35:51
  so I'll pay you double and I said that's great.
• 35:56
  Sounds easy. Right great.
• 35:57
  Yeah. So, and he said there's a
• 36:02
  private Catholic boys school right across the street.
• 36:04
  This was at Madison in 90 seconds.
• 36:07
  It's it's 69th Street and he said, there's a beautiful
• 36:11
  private voice. School are called Saint Thomas,
• 36:14
  More. Changing time saying David's and
• 36:16
  he said, I know the music teacher was living on the top
• 36:20
  floor, and he just got married. So he said, maybe these are not
• 36:24
  huh? So I said, okay, I'll give it.
• 36:27
  So, I went over and told him and this CNC the secretary said and
• 36:31
  what what can I how can I help you as?
• 36:33
  Well, I want to talk to David Hume the Headmaster and she said
• 36:36
  in Herbs to White. And I thought I can't tell him.
• 36:40
  I'm looking for a free stack and I looking for some money.
• 36:43
  So it's always, well, it's rather private and she's sort of
• 36:47
  soft head there. As you just need to Headmaster
• 36:52
  of this private voice school. And she said.
• 36:55
  Okay. So she picked up?
• 36:56
  No, no. Okay.
• 36:57
  He'll see you now. So I went in and I got about he
• 36:59
  was his name was David Young. He was about, 28, 29 years old.
• 37:04
  He was the Headmaster of this private boy school which was
• 37:08
  like, Outrageously expensive and his dad had been Headmaster of
• 37:12
  another have private boys school.
• 37:15
  So, I got about six lines out and he said, wait a minute, wait
• 37:18
  a minute, what you're really looking for, is a free sack,
• 37:21
  right? And I said, well, you could say
• 37:24
  that, yes, he said, what can you do?
• 37:27
  So I went through a list of all my courses as a voice major in
• 37:31
  Michigan, Theory and sightseeing, here in Barra.
• 37:35
  And he said, okay, so I think I think He said he'll and how
• 37:41
  about you vorian chance, I said no problem, I've been singing
• 37:44
  that since I was in third grade all through my growing up and
• 37:50
  Gregorian chant choir. And he said, okay we got the job
• 37:53
  and he said and he sweet-talked, the court, you get all you can
• 37:56
  eat as long as you're here. So, I mean it went from you talk
• 38:02
  about the hand of God which is this is a little bit of like
• 38:07
  that. I'm at the I'm not the end and
• 38:11
  sit guard, Germany, the choir he sent me to his roommate who's
• 38:16
  all this stuff. He's in the across the street
• 38:18
  St, Thomas War, he sent me across the street to st.
• 38:22
  Thomas st. Davids, rather and within, you
• 38:27
  know, two or three hours. I had a place this live play.
• 38:30
  Is to eat. All I could eat a compensation
• 38:34
  of, I don't know, not not a lot of money to a hundred bucks, a
• 38:36
  month or something. And and then we got you think
• 38:40
  back and they, that's really weird.
• 38:41
  It was one connection that started up here.
• 38:45
  And then at up here, here here, that's a long story edible, I
• 38:48
  didn't mean to get in before we started recording this episode
• 38:57
  Jared and I were reminiscing about Follow That Bird.
• 39:00
  And which still? I don't know how long it's been
• 39:03
  since you've watched the movie but it holds up it's so good.
• 39:06
  It was talking about Follow That Bird.
• 39:10
  Oh, movie from the 80s, it was on it was on television here a
• 39:15
  couple of nights ago and I made my mother watch it.
• 39:18
  And my mom fell in love with it. She thought it was fantastic.
• 39:21
  It's great. Yeah, it's a great.
• 39:28
  And go ahead. Well and your role in that movie
• 39:34
  is basically you've like set up shop at Hooper's store to make.
• 39:38
  Yeah, keep track of everybody, right?
• 39:41
  You disappointed at the time that you didn't get to like be
• 39:44
  out on the road, you know, following Big Bird, you know, in
• 39:47
  the you know in the Volkswagen or oh yeah.
• 39:50
  You know with I was happy to do whatever I did.
• 39:54
  I mean, I sure never anticipated doing anything.
• 39:59
  I just I just stumble into jobs and I mean, I work my butt off
• 40:06
  getting ready for that between lessons and singing.
• 40:09
  Since I was, you know, 4 or 5 years old prophetic, not
• 40:13
  professionally, but as much as a little Hometown in Illinois had.
• 40:17
  So when I told my, I studied privately, With surges coggan.
• 40:23
  He was a phenomenal coach from Juilliard because I I decided I
• 40:30
  didn't like my music teacher. I got in the second year at
• 40:34
  Manhattan School of Music, so I got auditioned for this guy, got
• 40:39
  it. I know when I got the Mitch
• 40:41
  Miller Show and winter, for lesson, and I said, boy, am I
• 40:45
  lucky? He said why, and he had a very
• 40:47
  strong Viennese accent and Musicians from Vienna are just
• 40:53
  as hard to top the moaning of I've heard the Vienna Symphony
• 40:57
  at Carnegie Hall like a half a dozen times over the years and
• 41:00
  it's hard to beat the musicians that come from Vienna.
• 41:03
  And I said, I'm really lucky and he talked he said how and I told
• 41:06
  him the story and he said in his thick Viennese accent.
• 41:11
  He said luck has very little to do with it and he said because
• 41:20
  If you weren't prepared for that audition, he said there would
• 41:24
  have been 10 people outside the door lined up to do the same
• 41:28
  thing and I stopped and I said you're absolutely right because
• 41:31
  it was a creme de La Creme of a job in Manhattan at that point
• 41:37
  here because it was weekly and we got good pay.
• 41:40
  Mitch was great that led us to Japan and that led started my
• 41:45
  whole Japanese career for you know ten ten.
• 41:50
  Trips over there. One was Mitch and eight or nine
• 41:54
  more about myself and I just feel like, yeah, I feel like, I
• 42:00
  won very, very lucky guy to have continued having a career that I
• 42:06
  worked hard for. But it was a combination,
• 42:10
  working hard, and being certain things popping and place at the
• 42:15
  same time. Well, there's a great lesson in
• 42:19
  that of, you know, obviously we all need a little bit of luck in
• 42:23
  our lives. But you, like, you say, you have
• 42:26
  to be prepared. Paired.
• 42:27
  So when luck strikes, you're ready to go?
• 42:29
  And then, when you get the job, yeah, I gotta work hard, you
• 42:32
  gotta, you gotta keep working and growing and, you know, doing
• 42:36
  the best you can do in fact, and then you get to be ba McGrath
• 42:39
  that's that's all the story. I hope there's something even
• 42:43
  more exciting in your life and getting to see Bob McGrath than
• 42:46
  that. But there are five at least very
• 42:50
  few. Things are exciting as getting
• 42:51
  to speak to Bob McGrath? Oh, thank you.
• 42:56
  Other very specific Bob question by, which, I mean, Bob the
• 43:00
  character, you're so, you've embody this character for so
• 43:04
  long and Bob Johnson the character.
• 43:14
  No, I had a blast name because they had picked out Bobby and
• 43:19
  for one of three or four of my name's.
• 43:21
  I was a, I've been called Bobby since I was in third grade.
• 43:24
  So I could we just go with Bob and they said, yeah, no.
• 43:26
  Um, so but then my uncle is Bob Johnson and I then we never use
• 43:32
  the name on the show. No one ever says Bob Johnson
• 43:36
  here. It was only just as Bob here and
• 43:39
  so when that happened I thought this is really strange so but it
• 43:46
  all falls in line somehow or other.
• 43:48
  It's true like well. So Bob the character is so he's
• 43:53
  such a nice guy. He's such a An innocent almost
• 43:58
  milquetoast type of character. Yeah but you're a real human
• 44:02
  being who I'm sure that you're not always you know wanting to
• 44:05
  be the nicest guy ever. Do you ever find yourself like
• 44:08
  out in the real world and maybe you just, you say something
• 44:11
  you're not supposed to you drop a swear word or something like
• 44:13
  that and people go oh my God. Bob like I'm not the same guy is
• 44:19
  when he's be grew up with like everybody does that ever happen
• 44:23
  to you? I hear they're yes and a couple
• 44:26
  of them Probably the major rock band that was at playing the
• 44:31
  city. And my daughter was a big, big
• 44:34
  fan. I'm terrible and remembering
• 44:37
  certain things in one, right? It's all right.
• 44:40
  Is it was a fairly heavy Vining rock band.
• 44:45
  They weren't screechers, but they were close to it and she
• 44:48
  wanted to see her. She said, will you take me as I
• 44:51
  said? Yeah, sure.
• 44:52
  So, we went and went to the bathroom.
• 44:56
  Break. And every other guys is that Bob
• 45:01
  Bob Bob what do you do? Weevil.
• 45:11
  I've had a lot of stuff like that happening, but I like to, I
• 45:15
  like to surprise people with the Bops Asylum, typically nice, Bob
• 45:21
  and I can do that, and it does surprise people Z be doing
• 45:27
  certain certain things that I love it.
• 45:31
  Really mess with people. That way.
• 45:32
  I love to mess. My greatest joy is not being
• 45:39
  someplace where As my friend was like whatever it was, it went to
• 45:44
  the men's room and a couple of people started coming over to
• 45:50
  get an autograph as I'm standing at the urinal right?
• 45:54
  And that's that's some bad timing.
• 45:58
  Yeah okay got it yeah as I turn arounds met him face-to-face.
• 46:04
  He said what are you doing here? And I said the question is what
• 46:09
  are you doing here? Like I was Scolding him for
• 46:12
  being at the Broncos. So every now and then you can
• 46:20
  have fun with that whole thing of it.
• 46:23
  Absolutely. There's the second Morrill.
• 46:24
  That story is don't ask Bob for an autograph at the urinal.
• 46:28
  Please watch the trends and let the restroom.
• 46:40
  Don't ever surprise in there. Anyway, I'm right.
• 46:46
  Oh God. It's I just can't imagine having
• 46:50
  a better life than the one that had the song you'll most known
• 46:55
  for would probably be people in your neighborhood.
• 46:59
  Yes. Right there.
• 47:00
  And another song You sung on the show that you feel sort of
• 47:06
  struck, but you really loves that.
• 47:07
  Maybe never got the attention or desk, the other.
• 47:11
  Love the desert. Yeah, a whole lot of because
• 47:15
  they wrote tons of songs for me, but both going into like a
• 47:20
  little of the first year, Joe raposo just were running out of
• 47:26
  ammunition to come up with, you know, 15 new songs every show or
• 47:30
  more. And so they were allowed to do
• 47:35
  some things that were on the Hearts and they decided to do
• 47:41
  the exact. Give me a chance to do a good
• 47:43
  Morning. Starshine.
• 47:45
  Oh yeah, that's not. So we did it with the Muppets
• 47:49
  and was probably I didn't was the best produced show that I
• 47:53
  was in everything. Had you ever had?
• 47:56
  You happen to see it on my website or anything?
• 47:59
  Yeah, it's out there. I think it's on YouTube
• 48:01
  somewhere. Yeah, yeah, I've got a fun.
• 48:03
  It's a fun number from probably the first season, maybe.
• 48:06
  Yeah. It is The first season because
• 48:08
  they were running out of songs. So they choose that and I think
• 48:12
  I was given a choice of a few things, and I said, oh yeah,
• 48:14
  that I'd love to do that. So they put, it was like a
• 48:17
  nighttime Tonight Show for that presentation with all the
• 48:21
  Muppets and the and some of the yep.
• 48:24
  Yep, complex. And, and they are all coming in
• 48:29
  over my shoulder and here, and there and it was just so much
• 48:33
  fun to do, so that is on YouTube.
• 48:37
  If you have a chance, watch that one that's that was a really
• 48:40
  good one and fun, but there's there is no educational value to
• 48:46
  that number that all except watch.
• 48:49
  What are we teaching with good? Yeah.
• 48:52
  Watching The Muppets and fun climbing and all around my whole
• 48:55
  thing here. Yeah, but that was that was a
• 48:58
  great fun, one to do. Have you ever have you seen some
• 49:03
  of my daughter who is in the business sort of also And she
• 49:07
  put together all of my songs that are on YouTube, and I think
• 49:12
  there's maybe 15 or 20 or more, and she's almost one whole
• 49:17
  package and we like a playlist. Yeah.
• 49:20
  Well, we'll make sure we link to that in the show notes for this.
• 49:23
  This is the other. The other thing, which is one of
• 49:26
  the most fun songs, I was working in Canada, a lot and all
• 49:30
  were doing telethons, and I did one of my songs called Flying FL
• 49:38
  why,' and flying, it was kind of.
• 49:43
  I know you probably never heard it but I recorded it and was
• 49:47
  really sort of nice recording and then I've been doing for
• 49:51
  years. A lot of songs in Canada for the
• 49:56
  military and this was a great. Great are my mind is going right
• 50:04
  now. So, when I did it on there and
• 50:07
  they happen to have the, a whole parachute team as jumping and
• 50:15
  they said, would you like to like to do is call the all the
• 50:22
  all veteran parachute team? So about five guys, and one girl
• 50:27
  on this team and they were all free Millet, they were all
• 50:32
  military parachutes, guys. All over the world, I guess.
• 50:38
  And so they there and they said, would you like to would you like
• 50:42
  to go out and take a little jump?
• 50:44
  I said, oh God. Yes, but love it.
• 50:47
  So I got a little bit of ground thyme.
• 50:50
  What we do? And before I knew it, I was up
• 50:55
  10,000 feet and was it the same day when they asked, if you want
• 51:00
  to do it? And then you're in the plane
• 51:02
  later, in the day, I was like maybe a day later.
• 51:05
  They're very close easing, that's incorrect.
• 51:08
  Wow. And so it was, there are the
• 51:11
  guys were, there were just wonderful.
• 51:13
  Wonderful guys, the guy that he, he, he was my buddy, my back.
• 51:19
  He had my back literally, or I had his one is right.
• 51:23
  And so, He gave me a little short routine.
• 51:29
  What to do, what not to do and so forth.
• 51:32
  But So he said you don't actually junkie just kind of
• 51:37
  just kind of lean sober and this was a prepped plane.
• 51:42
  Is I've been ready, 1 2 and off you go.
• 51:47
  I said okay fine I'll be ready to be pushed out after the third
• 51:50
  thing. He said, You Gotta Wear Your
• 51:52
  goggles because had a hundred and some miles an hour.
• 51:57
  He said, it'll suck your eyeballs out if you don't have a
• 51:59
  goggles on And I said, because it's that, that intense and so
• 52:04
  he did and after, you know, seems like a while.
• 52:08
  But after only probably like 15 seconds.
• 52:14
  He pulled the Chute and all of a sudden you kind of snap to from
• 52:18
  being coming in 100 miles an hour to floating and that was
• 52:23
  like I would die to do that 50 more times in the next month.
• 52:28
  It was it was a great. Yeah, but that was once
• 52:31
  incredible. So that's kind of a fun song.
• 52:33
  If you want to take a look because just me, we have an Old
• 52:37
  Farm that we bought up in Maine and I I love swing in the barn.
• 52:44
  And one time I had daughters tape me to bring in on the swing
• 52:49
  office right now. My swings way in to and fro so
• 52:52
  is all by flying flying out fine and I said, wow that could fit
• 52:58
  nicely with the parachute jump. So she said yeah well it's
• 53:02
  Elysee she put it in a taped it and they put the two together so
• 53:06
  take a look how lovely that's that's great.
• 53:09
  Yeah, we'll put that will put in the show notes as well so it was
• 53:11
  a fun experience. Tell you you're a braver man
• 53:14
  than I am Bob. I would not jump out of a plane.
• 53:18
  Well, I didn't jump, I got shoved.
• 53:22
  Well, I wouldn't get shoved out of a plane.
• 53:25
  I will not stand for it. Oh, this guy would say, hey,
• 53:28
  this guy had, he was my man jump master and he had had something
• 53:33
  like 4,000 individual jumps by himself and another like 2000
• 53:39
  with other people with him. And he He was he was one that
• 53:43
  took President Bush for a jump and yeah, I thought well if he's
• 53:50
  vetted well enough to take the president out, 10,000 people.
• 53:56
  I think I could trust him but I didn't have one moment of
• 54:00
  hesitation through the whole routine because it was so well
• 54:04
  put together. Well, that was fun.
• 54:07
  Let's see what I will. I will jump out of a plane if I
• 54:10
  can be strapped to you Bob. Okay, what a way to go though,
• 54:16
  right? Yeah.
• 54:21
  But I said three times and then just put your feet high forehead
• 54:27
  or going down fast. He said, just put your feet out
• 54:30
  in front and And in 10 seconds, you'll be sliding on your bum on
• 54:37
  the grass and I did everything and it was like the simplest
• 54:41
  thing I've ever done but the most exciting thing I've ever
• 54:46
  done. Also, velocity W is just
• 54:50
  outrageous at 10,000 feet. When you just I mean you really
• 54:54
  feel like you're a bird flying. It's great.
• 54:59
  I didn't mean to run on for two hours with that started with, I
• 55:02
  do not know. So Bob, we in every episode of
• 55:08
  this podcast, we have a series of questions that we like to ask
• 55:11
  our guests. I have a set of questions.
• 55:14
  Jared has a set of questions today.
• 55:16
  Maybe to thank you. My questions, feel free to
• 55:19
  answer them as fast or as slow as you like.
• 55:21
  I'm trying to get across here, Z.
• 55:24
  All right, here we go. Bob what is your favorite
• 55:27
  dessert? Oh, anything that has chocolate
• 55:31
  in it? Great choice to anything at all.
• 55:38
  Who is your favorite superhero superhero?
• 55:44
  You mean like, like Superman or some character like that or or,
• 55:50
  or Define that question? However, you'd like, it's up to
• 55:53
  you. There's no right or wrong
• 55:56
  answers here. Like, did you did you grow up?
• 55:59
  Did you grow up watch a reading comic books or, or I did strange
• 56:05
  way. I lived in a farm, which had
• 56:07
  nothing to do with comic books, except my daughter, my sister,
• 56:12
  dated a guy that lived in Lived in town and he worked after
• 56:17
  school while in high school and his penguin was getting free
• 56:23
  comic books that had their cover cut off so they couldn't sell
• 56:26
  them again. Oh sure.
• 56:27
  Yeah and yeah. I've met a lot of guys that are
• 56:42
  now have written them and so Fourth it Comic-Con?
• 56:45
  Yeah. Sure.
• 56:46
  Yeah. Right, right.
• 56:47
  That's a great. Great organization.
• 56:52
  That's a tough question. I love like, I just saw last
• 56:57
  night. I'm not going to pull this out
• 57:02
  of my head. Either attending a five or ten
• 57:07
  year old movie. That was fantastic.
• 57:11
  We'll go. What was it about.
• 57:13
  We can figure this out. All right, fair enough, I will
• 57:18
  move on for now yeah. But if there was a muppet based
• 57:23
  on yourself, who would you want to perform it to perform it?
• 57:29
  Yes Fred. And Rogers.
• 57:32
  Hey that's a good answer, right? Answer.
• 57:34
  I would have thought you would have gone with him up a
• 57:35
  performer, but you're right. Fred Rogers, would have been
• 57:37
  phenomenal is. Yeah, he is, he was a guest on
• 57:40
  the show and and I'll tell you a quick story on that.
• 57:45
  I got, I got two in the studio at around 10:00 because they're
• 57:50
  taping the mother. And I went to the makeup room
• 57:53
  and I was at the door because it was somebody already gave me
• 57:56
  made up in the last chair and I looked and all of a sudden and I
• 58:00
  Heard a Voice say now there's a voice.
• 58:04
  So I've wanted to meet for a long, long time.
• 58:08
  And I was proud and we have amazing and land.
• 58:14
  That's great. I love admire him enormously
• 58:17
  what a meeting of the minds. That's all of that God, yes.
• 58:22
  Next up, Bob pick a number between 1 and 100.
• 58:27
  I don't want to have. Number 17, lucky number for me
• 58:33
  for some reason. All right, seven, the AFI top
• 58:38
  100 movies list. The number 7 is, Lawrence of
• 58:42
  Arabia. Have you ever seen this movie?
• 58:44
  Lawrence of Arabia Lawrence from Arabia?
• 58:46
  No, I don't think so. Do you want to
• 59:00
  grate on our way in our previous episode?
• 59:04
  Our Guest was Fran. Brill correct.
• 59:07
  She not knowing who. Our next guest was going to be
• 59:11
  asked this question to you, what is the meaning of life?
• 59:16
  Lori not no big deal. No, no.
• 59:20
  Small talk will easy question to answer but maybe of life.
• 59:31
  Be proud of whatever you do, no matter what you think it is.
• 59:36
  Matter what you thought this might be your year thought you
• 59:40
  your goal in life. Do the best you can be honest.
• 59:50
  Let your wife know you really love her and and you got to best
• 59:54
  relationship. You could possibly have which
• 59:59
  we've managed to do so far. And Study what work as hard as
• 1:00:07
  you possibly can, for whatever you think your choice in life
• 1:00:10
  goal of life might be and even if it doesn't turn out to be
• 1:00:15
  your ultimate goal. If you go at it with enough
• 1:00:21
  honesty and hard work, some set of our others, probably going to
• 1:00:27
  pay off, not only for you, but for people that you work with or
• 1:00:31
  no, And they will sense that dedication.
• 1:00:37
  And so, you might be doing something totally different than
• 1:00:41
  you think, but Maybe inadvertently.
• 1:00:46
  You might be doing something even better than what you
• 1:00:49
  thought you had planned or we thought was your goal, that was
• 1:00:56
  such a good answer, was it? Alright.
• 1:00:59
  That was I think I might actually I should say it just I
• 1:01:07
  think hearing you say it and being such a fan of you since my
• 1:01:13
  whole life. Life just hearing your voice say
• 1:01:15
  that was a really nice moment. Thank you very much, it felt
• 1:01:19
  like a real lesson. There's probably one of a
• 1:01:23
  hundred more lessons if I hadn't had a beer with you that I could
• 1:01:28
  think of but I'm on my way. Anytime Bob final question for
• 1:01:37
  you Bob, without knowing who our next guest is, what question
• 1:01:42
  would you like them to answer? Garden, you could be anything.
• 1:01:46
  It does not have to be quite as heavy as what is the meaning of
• 1:01:48
  life. It could be anything in the
• 1:01:49
  world. When we had, we had Emilio
• 1:01:52
  Delgado on. This plugged is Amelia one, we
• 1:01:55
  had a million won. He would that very first guest
• 1:01:58
  you do. And his question was a joke.
• 1:02:00
  It was why was 6 afraid of 7 because they're so, that's,
• 1:02:06
  that's the gamut of the types of questions we could ask, you
• 1:02:09
  could ask us a question like that has, what's the meaning of
• 1:02:13
  life? And anything in between, why
• 1:02:17
  should I be doing in my life? But I had no intention of doing,
• 1:02:23
  okay, wonderful. All right, I look forward to
• 1:02:27
  asking that question to whoever our next guest is.
• 1:02:30
  All right. Let me know what they say
• 1:02:32
  because I have no idea what the question with the answer, might
• 1:02:34
  be. Yeah, me neither.
• 1:02:36
  That's the beauty. I have no idea who the guest is
• 1:02:38
  gonna be because sometimes you do stuff in you and you takes
• 1:02:42
  you a long taken day years and years to finally.
• 1:02:47
  Say, holy crap. That's that's why I'm doing
• 1:02:50
  this. Because I guess the bottom line
• 1:02:53
  is if it really made a positive impact on someone else.
• 1:03:00
  That was really meaningful. You know, every now and then
• 1:03:06
  you'll get a shock for something you've done in Life or doing.
• 1:03:12
  I was doing, I have a I have a song called I think was the song
• 1:03:18
  I can do it. I can do it.
• 1:03:22
  I can even is that found at all of you ever heard of that?
• 1:03:24
  And what Sesame Street has been Vaguely Familiar.
• 1:03:28
  Yeah. So anyway, I would do it in the
• 1:03:31
  concert and then I was done with his consort in Canada and I was
• 1:03:35
  picking up all my stuff Bandit all out of the orchestra already
• 1:03:40
  left and so forth. And this guy came up with a
• 1:03:44
  little, a little boy about 67 years old and he said, can I,
• 1:03:53
  can I show you something with my child?
• 1:03:56
  I said sure he said and he called me said, John, I would
• 1:04:00
  you go he was on stage and I was down on down on the floor.
• 1:04:04
  And he said, would you go go over there and walk across the
• 1:04:08
  stage for Bob? And I said, yeah, so walked over
• 1:04:14
  and he walked across the stage perfectly fine.
• 1:04:18
  And, and I sung this song in concert and he said, I want to
• 1:04:25
  thank you cuz that's that's how why he's able to walk.
• 1:04:30
  And it sound I was so long song, I won't get.
• 1:04:35
  But the titles, I can do it, I can do it, I can do it.
• 1:04:39
  Even though it isn't easy, I can do it.
• 1:04:41
  Yes, I can to the whole Melody and he said, he had this
• 1:04:47
  physical disability, and they didn't think it was ever going
• 1:04:50
  to be able to live to walk again, but he over the course of
• 1:04:54
  a year or two working with therapy and he said, We play the
• 1:05:01
  song. Every time he had to do this
• 1:05:04
  difficult thing being having this great physical difficulty
• 1:05:10
  and he said we must have going through a tell, PS1 them down,
• 1:05:14
  just playing his one song during his therapy and he said that's
• 1:05:20
  what pulled her through. You know, I'm sorry I was in the
• 1:05:23
  guy that wrote the song I would have felt even better but just
• 1:05:29
  So that was, that was a meaningful moment in life,
• 1:05:33
  that's great, beautiful. Again, like you've touched so
• 1:05:36
  many lives. Bob, like you should be, you
• 1:05:38
  should be very proud and we were very, very proud to have had
• 1:05:42
  spent this time with you today and got these stories out of
• 1:05:46
  you, and just to spend some time with you.
• 1:05:47
  So thank you for being here, Bob.
• 1:05:50
  Well, thank you so much. I hope I haven't taken too much
• 1:05:52
  of your time. No bubbles or treats.
• 1:05:55
  Thank you. Thank you so much for being
• 1:05:57
  here. Yes.
• 1:05:59
  And thank you for everything. You've done very water things
• 1:06:02
  over the last 50 years and for being here on this podcast with
• 1:06:06
  us and we're looking forward to getting more life lessons from
• 1:06:08
  you soon. Thank you for joining us for
• 1:06:19
  this post to introduce our guest star chat.
• 1:06:22
  All about our very special guests.
• 1:06:24
  Bob McGrath, as we mentioned, we performed this interview several
• 1:06:28
  months ago, we have a very long production schedule.
• 1:06:32
  So we were very grateful to have had the opportunity to chat with
• 1:06:36
  Bob, when we did. Because this was, we didn't know
• 1:06:39
  it, but this was our last chance to have a real conversation with
• 1:06:42
  Bob, for, for the show and for tough pigs.
• 1:06:46
  So, Did, how did it feel to get to talk to Bob?
• 1:06:53
  I think I've said a couple of times, I might have been said in
• 1:06:55
  the interview. Granted, I haven't listened to
• 1:06:57
  it, haven't done that editing yet but I said it was like a
• 1:07:02
  religious experience. It really was like I remember
• 1:07:06
  that feeling of you telling me like what since I realized who
• 1:07:09
  it was of just like, Yeah, it was just, I was so excited
• 1:07:13
  because it was, it was Bob. Yeah.
• 1:07:15
  And Bob was like, Bob's been this.
• 1:07:18
  You know, constant fixture in my life since for 33 years.
• 1:07:23
  So to actually have him you know, in front of us.
• 1:07:26
  And when he said my name I just remember going like oh that's
• 1:07:31
  like everything's okay like Bob said my name and yeah I'm so
• 1:07:37
  glad I got that chance to have some sort of Conversation with
• 1:07:41
  him in my life because that's something now I get to hold onto
• 1:07:46
  forever. Yeah, yeah, I mean, Bob is, it's
• 1:07:52
  his level of celebrity is so interesting where he's so
• 1:07:56
  important to so many people. And yet he's, it's like you to
• 1:08:00
  talk to him. It's like, oh, you're just, you
• 1:08:03
  know, this old guy with with, you know, this beautiful singing
• 1:08:06
  voice who's like, done a lot of TV stuff, you know?
• 1:08:09
  Like we were like Can't really put my finger on like why you're
• 1:08:14
  famous why you're important but you are.
• 1:08:18
  And you know, he's such a I mean first of all he's such a nice
• 1:08:23
  guy. He's the nicest like Bob's
• 1:08:25
  exactly what you want, he's really want.
• 1:08:27
  Yeah. And so to get to spend time with
• 1:08:30
  him like we did for this interview was just such a gift
• 1:08:35
  and such a pleasure, you know, not just to, you know, get that
• 1:08:40
  confirmation that Bob is exactly.
• 1:08:42
  He is Bob from Sesame Street, but also to kind of, you know,
• 1:08:46
  to thank him for all of that that time that he spent with us
• 1:08:50
  on the show like teaching us how to read and count and you know,
• 1:08:55
  welcoming us to the neighborhood and you know telling us which of
• 1:08:58
  these things is not like the other you know, Bob exactly
• 1:09:02
  right. Bob of all the the Sesame humans
• 1:09:07
  just has always felt like the most genuine and I'm really
• 1:09:10
  grateful that we got the opportunity.
• 1:09:11
  To celebrate him. That's it.
• 1:09:14
  It's so just the context for people listening.
• 1:09:18
  So we're recording this literally just a few days after
• 1:09:21
  Bob passed and so it's still, you know, there's still some new
• 1:09:25
  stories floating about but it was really interesting just
• 1:09:29
  seeing the reaction from, like, for us.
• 1:09:33
  We knew this was going to be a big, you know, a big deal for us
• 1:09:36
  when I heard the news, I was like, well, obviously tough pigs
• 1:09:38
  will, you know, do a big thing and Joe and I are going to talk
• 1:09:40
  about it, but just seeing the general real public and like
• 1:09:45
  people in my everyday life. Like I did you hear about about
• 1:09:49
  Bob McGrath? And I was like, It was just
• 1:09:52
  amazing. I forget that.
• 1:09:54
  He's was ever. He belonged to everybody and
• 1:09:56
  Sesame, Street, belongs to everybody.
• 1:09:57
  Sometimes, it feels like it's a very personal thing and
• 1:10:00
  especially considering what you and I do.
• 1:10:02
  It can be a very personal thing and so it's really nice to see
• 1:10:07
  the world sort of come together. And remember Bob.
• 1:10:10
  And I'm like, oh yeah, he's taught everybody not just us.
• 1:10:13
  Yeah, and yours funny is like, you especially working in this,
• 1:10:16
  this very Niche world of ours of Muppet fandom like everyone's
• 1:10:21
  I'll have to say like I'm telling a story about Matt
• 1:10:24
  Vogel. Okay, let me stop for a second.
• 1:10:25
  Matt Vogel is the guy who performs big burden currently
• 1:10:27
  has always been be working for me like I go through the whole
• 1:10:29
  rigmarole but with Bob you go Bob McGrath okay Bob was others
• 1:10:33
  bought from Sesame Street and people go oh Bob like I love Bob
• 1:10:37
  everyone just knows him we all grew up with that's it.
• 1:10:41
  Everyone had tables special Bob laughs Bob yeah exactly yeah.
• 1:10:46
  So yeah. So favorite Bob moment on the
• 1:10:48
  show. Oh my gosh, my favorite Bob
• 1:10:50
  moment on the show you what's funny, I mentioned this you
• 1:10:54
  posted an article after he passed away.
• 1:10:57
  That was just a spotlight of, you know, some of your favorite
• 1:11:00
  Bob moment. Yeah.
• 1:11:00
  The best of Bob, the best of Bob and my reaction to that was we
• 1:11:05
  could get every writer on tough pigs to create their own list of
• 1:11:08
  the best of Bob. And everyone's list is going to
• 1:11:11
  be completely different and they're all accurate.
• 1:11:14
  It's not like like if we were to say like everyone pick your
• 1:11:17
  favorite Muppet Show episodes. Well, everyone's going to have
• 1:11:19
  the Harry Belafonte in their top five.
• 1:11:21
  Like it's not about that, every like there's so many 50 years
• 1:11:25
  worth of Bob moments. So, you know, I mean the the
• 1:11:28
  first thing that comes to mind is the scenes in Christmas Eve
• 1:11:31
  on Sesame Street. I just think that he's so
• 1:11:34
  genuine in those, you know, in the keep Christmas with you song
• 1:11:38
  in the true blue, Miracle Song wishing mr.
• 1:11:41
  Hooper, happy Hanukkah. Like I mean every little moment
• 1:11:45
  of Bob it's just like Candy. But I mean, I also have to call
• 1:11:50
  out, you know, I got the rare opportunity to write a Sesame
• 1:11:54
  Street video that would train to YouTube.
• 1:11:57
  It's not the greatest thing ever.
• 1:11:59
  It's not like, it's like going to hit anyone's top, whatever 20
• 1:12:02
  Bob moments, but for me getting to work with Bob, getting to
• 1:12:07
  write things that he then said like what's that on camera and
• 1:12:10
  read those words and I mean to me that was a gift that I got to
• 1:12:17
  give to him to like, let me, let me give you something.
• 1:12:22
  Let me give you give you some some words to say to put you on
• 1:12:26
  screen with Elmo, you know, with some puppets.
• 1:12:30
  And, I don't know, I mean, there's just something really
• 1:12:34
  personal about that. That I don't think I'll ever
• 1:12:36
  forget that. That just really means a lot to
• 1:12:39
  me. Yeah, that's that's a great
• 1:12:41
  choice. I never got to drive above, so I
• 1:12:44
  wish I'd gone first. And it helped my favorite one.
• 1:12:48
  Sorry. But do you know what?
• 1:12:49
  Just, yeah, it's fine. It's like going through those
• 1:12:52
  videos for that post. There was a lot of stuff I
• 1:12:55
  hadn't seen before. Like, there's a bit where he's
• 1:12:57
  with, Victor burger, and Bob's almost getting a little bit
• 1:13:03
  angry at Victor Burger, which is strange to say anyway.
• 1:13:07
  But then he's like, you know, no Victor.
• 1:13:10
  So victims playing the piano, Bob singing, but they're not in
• 1:13:12
  sync. And Bob goes, no, no, Victor,
• 1:13:14
  follow me and starts. Me again, and starts walking
• 1:13:17
  around the piano and Victor gets up and starts walking behind
• 1:13:20
  him. And Bob goes, what are you
• 1:13:23
  doing? And Vector goes well, you said
• 1:13:24
  to follow you. And it's a dumb joke.
• 1:13:27
  And then Bob just gives a look to the camera and I barely
• 1:13:31
  laughed at that maybe I was just glad I was feeling like, you
• 1:13:34
  know, a lot of love and Nostalgia for Bob at that
• 1:13:35
  moment. But I barely laughed looking at
• 1:13:38
  that, but I've never seen it before.
• 1:13:40
  And that really really made me laugh.
• 1:13:41
  But there's also just moments where you can see Bob almost Up
• 1:13:46
  the Sesame Street. Bob Persona and go into normal
• 1:13:49
  Bob McGrath when he's like, laughing at a muppet when he's,
• 1:13:52
  like improvising with the puppet, he's like during
• 1:13:56
  especially a lot of the people in your neighborhood songs, like
• 1:13:59
  there's moments, where someone of them will say something Bob,
• 1:14:03
  will just laugh at them. Yeah, and it's a real human
• 1:14:06
  moments that I really like. Yeah, it's true.
• 1:14:09
  Bob was maybe Sesame. Street's greed is Street, man.
• 1:14:13
  You know, like, he knew how to look like, yeah, he knew
• 1:14:16
  exactly. We had to work with the Muppets
• 1:14:17
  to give them a big laugh to make himself look a little bit, like
• 1:14:21
  a fool sometimes and to give that perfect like bug to the
• 1:14:24
  camera that, you know, you know, that little smirk, you know,
• 1:14:29
  that you're in on the joke and Bob might be the butt of the
• 1:14:31
  joke, but at least we all learned something Bob was at
• 1:14:37
  best. We, I really loved Bob, the
• 1:14:39
  character I love Bob the human. I'm very grateful that we got
• 1:14:42
  the opportunity to to spend the time that we did with I'm not
• 1:14:46
  just on this podcast but like throughout, you know, tough big
• 1:14:49
  cement events, things like that. Yeah.
• 1:14:52
  You know, Bob was he was the best of us.
• 1:14:56
  He really was and we wrote sort of go into it here but if people
• 1:15:03
  really want a bit of a tear jerker go and read Joe's little
• 1:15:08
  tribute to him which is me and Bob my unexpected friendship
• 1:15:11
  with Bob McGrath, because you two, were you two were friendly?
• 1:15:15
  We weren't. Yeah, you know, I generally have
• 1:15:20
  an unspoken rule that I don't write much personal stuff on
• 1:15:23
  tough pig's butt. You know, Bob and I did have a
• 1:15:29
  friendship, wasn't a close friendship, you know, we weren't
• 1:15:32
  like hanging out on the weekends or anything like that but like
• 1:15:35
  we did really enjoy spending time with each other when we
• 1:15:37
  were, when we found ourselves in the same place and yeah, you
• 1:15:41
  know, in a way that I don't have that kind of experience with
• 1:15:46
  anyone else from the show. Not even the Muppet performers.
• 1:15:50
  I mean, yeah, really, you know I'm very grateful that
• 1:15:55
  considered He to be someone that he, you know, I'll say they
• 1:15:59
  consider me a friend and yeah, you know this I think that's why
• 1:16:06
  another reason why, you know, this is different than like say
• 1:16:09
  when Caroll spinney past or when Amelia Delgado past or any of
• 1:16:13
  the other, you know, Muppet people.
• 1:16:15
  That's that we really have have loved because we've loved their
• 1:16:19
  work so much or we grew up with them.
• 1:16:21
  You know over the years, this one kind of hit me in You know,
• 1:16:26
  in a different way and, you know, personal way, really
• 1:16:30
  personal way, but at the same time, you know, Bob, yeah, but
• 1:16:33
  was 90 years old and you know, we did get significant time with
• 1:16:38
  him including this podcast that we're currently wrapping up.
• 1:16:42
  And, you know, I get to look back on that and go like, yeah,
• 1:16:45
  like we had it and, you know, he stuck around long enough for us
• 1:16:49
  to have these moments and and I get to I get to keep that now
• 1:16:54
  for the rest of my life. And And, and share it with
• 1:16:57
  everyone who's listening to this podcast or reading tough pigs or
• 1:17:00
  or, you know, as we're putting weird stuff on social media.
• 1:17:03
  Like, that's the reason I got to be close to Bob was because
• 1:17:11
  there was a direct connection between Bob and muppet fandom
• 1:17:15
  through that. I couldn't have said it better.
• 1:17:18
  Myself. Jarred.
• 1:17:20
  Well, thank you everybody for listening.
• 1:17:22
  Go back and listen to it again. And it'll be like Bob sitting in
• 1:17:24
  the car with you. And thanks Bob for joining us.