85 episodes
Famous and Gravy Wondery
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- History
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4.5 • 137 Ratings
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Famous & Gravy flips the traditional biography on its head, and explores life stories from a different point of view. On every episode Amit and Michael choose a celebrity who died in recent years, and highlight overlooked stories and personal characteristics that we either didn't know or couldn’t see clearly before. The conversations launch from pop culture trivia into unexpected territory as they discuss deeper aspects of modern history and the human spirit.
Listen to episodes of Famous & Gravy early and ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Start your free trial today by visiting wondery.com/links/famous-and-gravy/ now.
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Vocal Bedrock (Johnny Cash)
This person died in 2003 at age 71, He is considered a pioneer of rock 'n' roll, and in 1992 he was elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, after he had also been inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. In the early 2000s, a video of his won six nominations at the MTV Video Music Awards. He fought a long battle against addiction. His voice, which projected the fateful gravity of a country patriarch, and his signature look, which suggested a cowboy undertaker, led him to be known as “The Man in Black”. Today’s dead celebrity is Johnny Cash.
Famous & Gravy is created and co-hosted by Amit Kapoor and Michael Osborne. This episode was produced by Megan Palmer. Visit our website at famousandgravy.com and also enjoy our free mobile quiz game at deadoraliveapp.com
If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like Episode 50 “Golden Rose” (Betty White), Episode 36 “Singing Mailman” (John Prine), and episode 41 “Viva Bojangles” (Jerry Jeff Walker).
LINKS:
Transcript of this episode
New York Times Obituary for Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash’s video for “Hurt”
Homer Simpson meets Johnny Cash’s Space Coyote
Photo of Johnny Cash jamming with Stephen King
“How Rick Rubin revitalized Johnny Cash’s career” video clip
Dead or Alive quiz game
Famous & Gravy on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter
Famous & Gravy official website -
Famous & Gravy Announcement!
We’re back, and we’re sharing the exciting news that Famous & Gravy is now part of Wondery! Amit and Michael also discuss some of the behind-the-scenes work they’ve been doing to better the show in the runup to this exciting announcement. New Famous & Gravy episodes will start releasing again every other Wednesday, and also will now be available one week early and ad-free on Wondery+.
LINKS:
List of Wondery shows
Famous & Gravy official website
Famous & Gravy on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter
Dead or Alive quiz game
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. -
Rebel Rebel (David Bowie)
This person died 2016 at age 69. He suffered a blow in a teenage brawl that caused his left pupil to be permanently dilated. He experimented with startling transformations, often playing up an androgynous image. In the 1980s he had a Broadway run in the demanding title role of “The Elephant Man”. Nirvana chose to sing one of his songs in their legendary brief set on “MTV Unplugged” in 1993. He was the Thin White Duke, Aladdin Sane, Major Tom, and Ziggy Stardust. Today’s dead celebrity is David Bowie.
This episode originally published March 8, 2023.
Famous & Gravy is created and co-hosted by Amit Kapoor and Michael Osborne. This episode was produced by Jacob Weiss. Visit our website at famousandgravy.com and also enjoy our free mobile quiz game at deadoraliveapp.com
If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like Episode 66 “Let’s Get Metaphysical” (Olivia Newton-John) and Episode 32 “Hot Stuff” (Donna Summer)
LINKS:
Transcript of this episode
New York Times Obituary for David Bowie
17-year old David interviewed about Prevention of Cruelty to Long-Haired Men
Infamous Bowie Interview on Dick Cavett show in 1974
Bowie as musical guest on SNL in 1979
“Iman on LIfe with David Bowie” in Vanity Fair
Will Ferrell and John C Reilly play David Bowie and Bing Crosby
David Bowie scene on ‘Extras’ with Ricky Gervais
“Did David Bowie Say He Supports Fascism” article on Snopes
David Bowie predicted impact of the internet in 1999 BBC interview
Dead or Alive quiz game
Famous & Gravy on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter
Famous & Gravy official website
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. -
Dimpled Ambassador (Shirley Temple)
This person died in 2014 at age 85. In the 1930s, she was a determined child actress who sang and tap-danced her way to the height of Hollywood stardom. For at least 5 consecutive years, she was the most popular movie star in America. She was appointed as a delegate to the United Nations General Assembly by Richard Nixon. In 1972, she held a news conference in her hospital room after her mastectomy, encouraging women discovering breast lumps to not be afraid. She was the United States ambassador to Ghana from 1974 to 1976, and to Czechoslovakia from 1989 to 1992. Today’s dead celebrity is Shirley Temple Black.
Famous & Gravy is created and co-hosted by Amit Kapoor and Michael Osborne. This episode was produced by Jacob Weiss. Visit our website at famousandgravy.com and also enjoy our free mobile quiz game at deadoraliveapp.com
LINKS:
Transcript of this episode
New York Times Obituary for Shirley Temple Black
Classic Shirley Temple scene “On The Good Ship Lollipop”
“The Child Star Who Wasn’t a Cautionary Tale” from The Atlantic
Shirley Temple Black on Larry King Live
How to Make a Shirley Temple drink
Dead or Alive quiz game
Famous & Gravy on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter
Famous & Gravy official website
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. -
Super Funkhouser (Bob Einstein)
This person died in 2019, age 76. In 1958 when he was 14, his father died immediately after performing a roast for Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. His dry delivery piqued the interest of Tom Smothers, who offered him a job in the late 1960s as a writer on the “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.” He was roommates with Steve Martin for a number of years, and his younger brother is the renowned comedian and filmmaker Albert Brooks. His most famous and long-lived character was a witless, deadpan parody of bravado-fueled stuntmen like Evel Knievel. Recently, he starred as Marty Funkhouser on “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” Today’s dead celebrity is Bob Einstein.
This episode originally published December 14, 2022.
Famous & Gravy is created and co-hosted by Amit Kapoor and Michael Osborne. This episode was produced by Jacob Weiss. Visit our website at famousandgravy.com and also enjoy our free mobile quiz game at deadoraliveapp.com
If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like Episode 75 “Love and OJ Jokes” (Norm Macdonald) and Episode 58 “Best in Show” (Fred Willard)
LINKS:
Transcript of this episode
New York Times Obituary for Bob Einstein
Super Dave Osborne King of the Road video
Super Dave Bungee Jump video
Scene in Modern Romance with Bob Einstein and Albert Brooks
“Super Dave, In Memoriam” article in The Yorker
“Mourning Marty Funkhouser” article in The Ringer
Bob Einstein Official Website
The Super Bob Einstein Movie HBO Documentary
Dead or Alive quiz game
Famous & Gravy on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter
Famous & Gravy official website
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. -
Likable Villain (Alan Rickman)
This person died in 2016 at age 69. In an acting career spanning more than 40 years, he played a panoply of fascinating characters. He had his early successes in stage works involving the Royal Shakespeare Company. Though he was never nominated for an Academy Award, he won many accolades, but shrugged off the value of awards in general. He gained a worldwide audience in “Die Hard,” playing Hans Gruber, the devious, well-spoken terrorist who took over the fictional Nakatomi Plaza. More recently, he played the notorious professor Severus Snape in the “Harry Potter” series. Today’s dead celebrity is Alan Rickman.
This episode originally published November 2, 2022.
Famous & Gravy is created and co-hosted by Amit Kapoor and Michael Osborne.This episode was produced by Jacob Weiss. Visit our website at famousandgravy.com and also enjoy our free mobile quiz game at deadoraliveapp.com
If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like Episode 55 “Pure Imagination” (Gene Wilder) and Episode 44 “Inner Soprano” (James Gandolfini)
LINKS:
Transcript of this episode
New York Times obituary for Alan Rickman
Emma Thompson tribute to Alan Rickman
Kevin Smith tribute to Alan Rickman
Hans Gruber fall in Die Hard
Alan Rickman’s voicemail bit on Family Guy
Alan Rickman takes Jimmy Fallon to task
Alan Rickman behind the scenes of Harry Potter as Snape
Dead or Alive quiz game
Famous & Gravy on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter
Famous & Gravy official website
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Customer Reviews
Pretty good
I like biographies. It’s a good format. Only complaint is it’s mostly about men.
Lovely
You guys are great. This show is so much more than I expected it to be. I would just ask that you reconsider the St Peter / pearly gates bit. It’s the only part of the show I don’t love and I hate that it ends with a religious dud.
so grateful to have found this podcast
i’m probably a little out of the desired demographic; on the other hand, i’m grateful to have lived long enough to be able to take this ride with michael and amit and relive so many of these cultural milestones. i would say that about 90% of their perceptions and conclusions are right on and i laugh when i want to throw spaghetti at my phone screen when they get something wrong. this is a very insightful and original experience and certainly a learning experience for those not having lived at the same time as those celebrated. good job, you guys. it’s fun, smart and some of us get to relive how we got here! keep on keeping on!