Bluff The Listener
NPR
Saturday, April 4, 2015
Update RequiredTo play audio, update browser or
Flash plugin.
Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
Our panelists tell three stories about a surprising celebrity odd couple, only one of which is true.
Transcript
BILL KURTIS, BYLINE: From NPR and WBEZ Chicago, this is WAIT WAIT ...DON'T TELL ME, the NPR news quiz. I'm Bill Kurtis. We're playing this week with Paula Poundstone, P.J. O'Rourke and Adam Felber. And here again again is your host at the Chase Bank Auditorium in downtown Chicago filling in for Peter Sagal, Mike Pesca.
(APPLAUSE)
MIKE PESCA, HOST:
Thank you, Bill. Right now, it's time for the WAIT WAIT ...DON'T TELL ME Bluff The Listener game. Call 1-888-WAIT-WAIT to play our game on the air. Hello, you're on WAIT WAIT ...DON'T TELL ME.
JOE GALLAGHER: Hey, Mike. This is Joe Gallagher from New York City.
PESCA: How are you doing, Joe?
O'ROURKE: Hey, Joe.
GALLAGHER: Hey, how's it going? I'm doing well.
PESCA: What do you do there in New York?
GALLAGHER: I'm an actor turned lawyer.
(LAUGHTER)
GALLAGHER: And it's going well.
PESCA: So you're a traitor. You're a traitor to the arts, Joe.
GALLAGHER: Exactly, yeah.
(LAUGHTER)
KURTIS: Call back when it's going to be a lawyer turned actor.
GALLAGHER: Yes, that might happen.
PESCA: We'll circle of life it with you, and we promise to do that. It is nice to have you with us, Joe.
GALLAGHER: Thank you, Mike.
PESCA: You're going to play our game in which you must try to tell truth from fiction. What's the topic, Bill?
KURTIS: It's the odd couple.
PESCA: First there was Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, then Bill and Hillary, but this week we read a story of an even more surprising celebrity odd couple. Our panelists are going to tell you all about it. Guess the real story, and you'll win Carl Kasell's voice on your voicemail. First up, it's P.J. O'Rourke.
O'ROURKE: Barack Obama and John Boehner are pals. I mean, well, what would one be without the other? It's obviously a buddy act like Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, although I'll leave it to the listeners to decide which is which. Anyway, they plan it all out ahead of time. Barack will do something that angers John and makes Obama look good to liberals. Then John will have a snappy comeback that angers Barack and makes Boehner look good to conservatives. And then they go off and have a cigarette and a good laugh. And, you know, I've actually never talked about about this before. The reason I know that they're friends is an old buddy of mine happens to be a caddy at Burning Bush where the two play golf. Now golf, of course, is the main bond between Obama and Boehner, but my caddy friend says that they also talk about, of all things, rap music. He says that this is the only time that Boehner and Obama actually argue. The president's a Tupac guy. The speaker likes Biggie Smalls. So if you're ever wondering, you know, if that hyper partisanship in Washington is just a put up job, the answer's no, not when it comes to Tupac and Biggie.
PESCA: All right, emcee John Boehner and ASAP Barack Obama from P.J. O'Rourke there. Your next story of an unlikely pair comes from Paula Poundstone.
PAULA POUNDSTONE: The family members of William Hanna of Hanna-Barbera fame have discovered a wacky treasure trove of letters exposing the oddest duo since Tom and Jerry - William Hanna and George Orwell. They met in the lobby of the Hotel du Jeu de Paume in Paris while Orwell was doing research for "Down And Out In London And Paris," which put Hanna off soup for the rest of his life, says Hanna's granddaughter Susan Swamu (ph). Orwell was charmed by Hanna, who was fascinated by the world of the future. They sparred over predictions. Surely you jest, says Orwell in one characteristically dark letter. Even if they someday make sprockets, workers will never be able to survive on the wages from such an industry. Listen my young friend, Orwell says in another missive, shopping on a computerized communication device would be all well and good, but surely with the use of such a miracle machine, the government will find a way to monitor every move of its pacified citizens.
(LAUGHTER)
POUNDSTONE: In some of his most prescient writing ever, Orwell tells Hanna, knowing you, you'll write a story of the future that will far outstrip my lowly scribbles. Do me a favor, though, my friend, at least put a secret government listening device on the family dog's collar.
(LAUGHTER)
PESCA: All right. That's Hanna - not and Barbera, but Hanna and George Orwell from Paula Poundstone. Your last story of a mismatch pair comes from Adam Felber.
ADAM FELBER: You wouldn't think of Russell Crowe as being the victim of a lot of pranks. He comes across more as the guy who dangles you from a fourth floor balcony by your underwear. But in at least one relationship in his life, Crowe was mercilessly pranked over a period of years. And his big, bad tormentor was Michael Jackson. Jackson apparently found out the name that Crowe used when he stayed in hotels and would call his room with repartee like, is Mr. Wall there? Is Mrs. Wall there? Are there any Walls there? Then what's holding the roof up?
(LAUGHTER)
FELBER: In a new interview in The Guardian, Crowe reveals that the King of Pop was unrelenting, quote, "He'd ring me up, and in a strong voice say, there's an emergency, and you need to leave the building. I'd ask who is this? And he'd say, do not worry, Russell, just kidding this is Michael.
(LAUGHTER)
FELBER: This gets even weirder when you consider that the two men didn't actually know one another. Never met him, never shook his hand, said Crowe. Crowe also complained, you're supposed to grow out of doing that, right? Which makes me wonder what part of Neverland he doesn't understand.
(LAUGHTER)
PESCA: All right there, Joe. You've got Boehner and Obama going at it mad beats. You've got Hanna and Orwell. That's Paula's story. And there and was telling you about Jacko and Russell Crowe. Which one do you think is real?
GALLAGHER: I think I have to go with Adam.
PESCA: All right, you say Adam? To find out the correct answer, we spoke with someone familiar with the real story.
LAURA STAMPLER: Russell Crowe says that for two or three years, he was getting endless prank phone calls from Michael Jackson.
(LAUGHTER)
PESCA: That was Laura Stampler, a reporter for Time. And congratulations, Joe. You got it right.
GALLAGHER: Thanks so much, Mike.
PESCA: How'd you smell it out?
GALLAGHER: Oh, I read that story the other day.
(LAUGHTER)
GALLAGHER: That's what I do in my hours at my desk - just scroll through celebrity blogs.
PESCA: And he billed a client for that.
GALLAGHER: Exactly.
(LAUGHTER)
GALLAGHER: Don't hold me to that.
PESCA: You earned a point for Adam, and you've won our prize. Carl Kasell will record the greeting on your voicemail, Joe. Way to go.
GALLAGHER: Amazing. Thanks so much.
PESCA: And thank you for playing with us today.
POUNDSTONE: Bye, Joe.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BAD")
MICHAEL JACKSON: (Singing) Because I'm bad, I'm bad. Come on. You know I'm bad, I'm bad. You know it. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
View this story on npr.org
Follow us for more stories like this
CapRadio provides a trusted source of news because of you. As a nonprofit organization, donations from people like you sustain the journalism that allows us to discover stories that are important to our audience. If you believe in what we do and support our mission, please donate today.
Donate Today