CHRISTIAN KANE: Shares PLAYBOY History involving LINDA BRAVA - JAIME BERGMAN - ANNA Nicole SMITH & David Boreanez!! - The Bunny Chronicles | The History of Hugh Hefner | The Empire He Built

CHRISTIAN KANE (1) ECHO JOHNSON: [00:00:00] Welcome back to the show. We are back in the studio with a super special guest. And one of my very dear old friends who I have been, um, trying to get on the show here for a minute and it worked out he's here. So Christian KANE is here in this studio with me and Christian is one of my most cherished friendships I've had the honor of having in my lifetime. And um, yeah, we're going to get into a lot of stuff. So before that though, I want to give y'all a little background. I mean, I'm sure. Most people know out there, but for our listening [00:01:00] audience, so, um, Christian KANE has highly successful multifaceted career and is proof positive that his commitment has made him the star he is today. He's earned high praise and notable acclaim both on screens and on the music scene. So, um, Best known for hit movies, Just Married, Secondhand Lions, 50 to 1, Crossfire Trail, which by the way is one of my favorite movies of yours. CHRISTIAN KANE: I think it's one of your dad's as well. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's it. We watched it on a plane. ECHO JOHNSON: I love that.  CHRISTIAN KANE: Yeah. That was the first movie I had ever done. Actually, there's a second movie. The first movie I did was with McConaughey and Ron Howard at TV, but it was only a bit part, you know what I mean? And then a year afterwards I got Secondhand, I mean, uh, Crossfire Trail. I was one of the leads with Tom Selleck. I mean, you can't, you can't. Great movie. Yeah. And I, I encourage anybody to, to watch it if you have not seen it. Star studded. Tom Selleck. It was, yeah. I mean. Oh, Mark Harmon, Virginia Madison, Barry Corbin, [00:02:00] uh, Wilford Brimley, David O'Hara, uh, it just, the list goes on and on. It's just every other scene, there's a movie star in it. So, anyway.  ECHO JOHNSON: Yeah, it's a good one. It's a good one. Um, and then Christian has a, has a long list of hit TV series, Leverage, The Librarians, and Almost Paradise, and Leverage, what season are we in?  CHRISTIAN KANE:We're in, it's, you can't count it. It said, we did five on Turner on TNT, and then we just done three on, um, on Amazon in freebie. And now we're doing another one. So it's either three or eight, but I like to say it's eight because a lot of shows. Yeah. That's what I was thinking. Like seven, eight. And the strange thing about is we filmed the pilot in Chicago in 2007. Yeah. Uh, we started the, we started again, we did the pilot and then we got picked up in 2008. So since 2008, we've been filming this TV show.  ECHO JOHNSON: And I want to mention that these are all Dean [00:03:00] Devlin, um, Dean Devlin, my boss, on, uh, on The Librarians, on Almost Paradise.  CHRISTIAN KANE: EYep. Uh, he's been so kind to me. Yeah, absolutely. He's been in my corner. It's like, uh, you know, we, I, I told him during Leverage, Because Leverage is the role that I came to Hollywood to play, you know what I mean? ECHO JOHNSON: It's totally yours. It's Jason Bourne, and you know me, so it's like, it's basically Jason Bourne. And, um, and so, and I just looked at him, I think it was first or maybe second season, and I said, you know, I could end my career working with you. And I'm on that track right now. So, so it's fantastic, man. He's been so kind to me, and uh, Yeah, that's incredible. And we just, we keep pumping out stuff that we love to work on, which is the difference Right. Between, um, You know, sometimes you got to take a role because you need the money or you need the, you need that sort of art in your repertoire. This one, you know, I just, I just hit people and smile and it's great and he gives me great lines and, and, uh, you know, with almost paradise with, with leverage, it was still alone. It was like a lot of one liners and then you hit somebody with a almost paradise. He really let me dive into my, my [00:04:00] comedic love of, of, of acting. ECHO JOHNSON: That's good. Because more people are seeing it. Cause you definitely. You've got that good, um, that good comedic, comedic genius. What was that? Uh, Greg Gorman was just in here and he was saying, I forget the quote, but he was like, if you're lacking the humor, then like, there was no way I was going to work with you because he's, he's just a funny person and he's always on. Set and laughing and making everybody feel comfortable. And you kind of have to in that position, right? CHRISTIAN KANE: Yeah. I mean, you have to make someone feel comfortable, especially with, you know, I'm, I don't wanna say young girls as in like that, but, you know Yeah. Younger people coming to Hollywood. Mm-Hmm. . They gotta feel comfortable. Mm-Hmm. . Yeah. Mm-Hmm. And celebrate what they're doing. So it's, uh, yeah. Yeah. He's, I've, I've, uh, I've actually known Greg for a long time. Uh, I, I, I don't know him, you know, like, know him, know him, but I met him a few times. Yeah. Twenty five years ago or something like that and he was always a stand up guy. Yeah, I was real happy to finally have him on the show. ECHO JOHNSON: Um, okay, also must be noted because I am such a fan of your music and when you and I met, that's, I mean, you were doing [00:05:00] both, but, um. I, and to this day, I still have that first CD that you put out. CHRISTIAN KANE: The black CD. Yeah. It's worth like 250 bucks. Oh really? Don't sell it, but I'm just saying. I would never sell it. I didn't know that. See what I said the other day. It's like, I found one on, on, online and it was 250 and somebody bought one, uh, like, uh, like six months ago for 275. We just don't have any more and we don't have the stuff. It was weird cause we re recorded that album at, um, at, um, oh my gosh. We, well, was it, it was at, um. Dwight Yoakam's studio. And so it was all on three inch tape, you know, it was on tape. So it's just not, it's not digital anymore where you can just transfer, it's like actual tape. Right, right, right. So that's it.  ECHO JOHNSON: Yeah. So I'm a huge fan of your music. Um, and you have a huge following of the Kaniacs is what they call themselves. Yes. Yes. And a lot of recognition in Europe, yes, and, and the UK and, and Germany, you've got some pretty major fans. We have really great fans. We have great fans for music and we also have fans, you know, um, one [00:06:00] of the shows you didn't mention that I was on was that Angel. Well, yes. But I was going to get into that. Well, see, so it was like, so whenever, whenever Baywatch let, you know how, you know how popular, uh, the Hasselhoff was in Germany. Of course. Yeah. And whenever, whenever Baywatch was, was the number one show in Europe. Um, left, there was a void and I think Buffy and Angel picked that up and so I've been doing conventions for 20 something, over 20 years in London and in Germany and you know we've played Fulda, we've played Munich, we've played, you know, all this other kind of stuff and so, and I'm not one of those guys and one of the reasons why I have the, I have the unbelievable and, and, and the great fans that I do is because I don't sit backstage and wait for us to come on. You know, we played every city and we played every, uh, with music we played every Every state in this country, I'd say, except for maybe South, uh, South Dakota, North Dakota, and then I'm being dead serious, I mean, like. That's wild. And so, I, but I gave, I came out and gave everybody a hug before the show and tried to give everybody a hug after the show, and I [00:07:00] think that they, that shows, I was just thankful to be there. I was thankful that there were, you know, fans of the, of the television series and the movies that I'd done, but more. More importantly, the music. And instead of sitting back there and acting like an asshole, I just, I came out and gave everybody a hug.  ECHO JOHNSON: That speaks volumes to you and your character. And I mean, that goes such a long ways with the fans. So I can imagine that they, like, completely appreciated that, you know? Yeah. So, um, a couple things. So, I wanted to bring up, and then we're gonna get into, um, Playboy and, and, and, and, and your affiliation with, with Playboy. So, um, Christian and I have a lot of things in common, but there's three right now that come, um, come directly to my mind. So number one, we're both Cherokee, both Cherokee Indian, none of it. Number two, we're both from Texas, both from Texas. Yes, and number three, we both have a long and dear friendship with Jamie Bergman and David Boreanaz. CHRISTIAN KANE: And David Boreanaz, that's right. I just ruined it with the angel thing, but you were all right [00:08:00] into it. Still to this day, so it's really great. Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly.  ECHO JOHNSON: So, um. I'm going to get into Linda Brava. So for our audience, and I'm sure that most of them, um, do know who she is. Linda Brava or Linda Lampinius. Lampinius. Finnish classical concert violinist and named as one of the most versatile and accomplished players of her generation. In addition to playing classical violin, she also performs pop, rock, folk, techno, film, jazz, basically everything. I mean, she's, she's absolutely incredible. A uber talented blonde bombshell that most certainly caught the eye of Hugh Hefner and was featured in the April 98 issue of Playboy, which was shot by Arnie Freitag, legendary Arnie Freitag. Yeah. So, um. I just found this out that when, uh, Linda was living here in L. A., she appeared on Fame L. A. She appeared on Fame L. A., that's how I met her. Was [00:09:00] that how you met her?  CHRISTIAN KANE: That's exactly how I met her. Okay. Yeah. That made sense. So I, I, I found the actual show on YouTube and I was like, oh my God. I was like, that has to be when they met. That's exactly when we met.  ECHO JOHNSON: So it was Christian and Linda dated and that's how this ties into Playboy and it was when she appeared in the magazine, right? She was right before she appeared in the magazine. She was coming out. Okay. Uh, so she wasn't in the magazine just yet, but she had done, I think that she'd came in and I think she did Baywatch before. Yeah. She did Baywatch, um, Fame LA, Melrose Place. Yeah. And so she had come out and she, I didn't know there was this violinist that was going to come up and play. And I, I was too busy. I was very young. It was my first TV series ever and she came up and she started playing in the scene and I'm just like, Oh my God. And I actually had lines with her cause we all kind of hung out, uh, in this scene afterwards cause she was doing the talent stuff and I was just, I was mesmerized. I bet. Yeah. I'm 23 years old and there was this girl and, and uh, and she just, [00:10:00] Yeah, and she was playing the violin.  ECHO JOHNSON: But the musical aptitude that she had, that probably resonated with you too, because you, you are a musician, you know? CHRISTIAN KANE: It was just incredible, man. And I was learning to be a musician at that time, because I, the original role on Fame LA was a, uh, was a, was a comedian. And I got the role and they said, you're not funny and I like to, I like to think that I proved them wrong at this point. One of my, one of these guys are so good to me, uh, Richard Barton Lewis, Penn Densham, John Watson. They were trilogy entertainment and they took a shot at on me, uh, with no, no background in anything yet. I just moved here. And, uh, so I was learning to play music and there she, and it wasn't about me music. There was no music ties whatsoever. It was the fact of what she could do with the violin. She was playing Mozart better than Mozart played. She's incredible. Yeah. And I'd never seen anything like that. And especially someone that looked like her. It was just an entity. It was a, you know, total Scandinavian, just that, that perfect blonde hair, blue eyes. I mean, if I'm correct and I don't know if this is true or not, but the cover of playboy that she's on, [00:11:00] there's two of her. They made her look like they did too.  ECHO JOHNSON: Really? I'll have to pull that. There's a, there's a thing. Yeah. There's the one where she's crawling and she has her violin. There's another one with her there. So she's the only person I think in playboy. That was ever doubled you so it was a kind of a controversial thing because I think everybody thought it was twins Okay, you know, that's a cool little factoid. CHRISTIAN KANE: Yeah, and so I think she was the only one that was ever doubled on the cover Of Playboy magazine. I'm almost positive very interesting. I will find that out. That's super cool We always pull out like little golden nuggets of history every time we do an interview with somebody. That's really like who knew I got I got a couple for you But the thing is is that I just yeah, we you know, I was very young. She was a little older than me Um, but I, I didn't care. And she, I just, you know, she said that you were a true cowboy and she loved you deeply. And you said to me just recently that Linda Brava is gold. And I mean, that says a lot. This is just gold. And we fell in love. And you know, we, she was in and out And so she was always staying in a hotel or whatever and I had a place and so I said just come with me [00:12:00] and she and so we sort of moved in together, sort of moved in together. Okay. And, uh, lived happily ever after.  ECHO JOHNSON: For a year?  CHRISTIAN KANE:No. Not even close. Not even close.  ECHO JOHNSON: Six months.  CHRISTIAN KANE: Okay, but during that time then did you start going to the mansion with her? And, because this would have been right when Hef had, um, split up with Kimberly after his wife and so the party started, he had the multiple girlfriends. They were all coming back. Yeah. Yeah. And they were, they were so Three girls, um, Mandy, Sandy, and Brandy. Yeah, who? Brandy Roderick, Playmate of the Year, 2001. And then who were the other ones? Mandy and Sandy Bentley, they were the twins. Sandy Bentley, okay. Yeah, Mandy, Sandy, Bentley. they were very nice. They were lovely. Loved them, yeah. I actually talked to Brandy for a little bit one time, and she was just, I just found her to be a sweetheart. I mean, total class act, uh, in comparison to what came later with the multiple girlfriends. Right. Including Who was the other girl that was,  ECHO JOHNSON: uh So it was Mandy, Sandy, no, no. It was Brandy, Mandy, and Sandy. And then they left, and then it started coming into multiples, at which, [00:13:00]  ECHO JOHNSON: at which, that point, Holly Madison came on board, and then Holly Madison. The donut lady? The donut lady? Holly Madison? No, that's Dolly Madison. That's Dolly Madison, yeah.  ECHO JOHNSON: Who's Dolly? So Holly Madison, do you remember the girls next door? I do that show. It was, it was the three girlfriends. It was Holly, Bridget and Kendra and Holly was the main girlfriend. So that's who Holly Madison is. And she has, yeah, yeah, whatever she has. Um, she has a, I thought you were messing with me for a second. I thought it was like, I was like the don't, was it that the don't know it was a cupcake. I don't know what it was, but anyway, that's great.  ECHO JOHNSON: Um, Okay. Well, we're going to come back to Holly because there's a couple of things I want to talk about, but, um, do you, you remember, uh, Linda taking you to a New Year's Eve party and meeting Anna Nicole Smith? I do. Yeah. I do.  ECHO JOHNSON: Was that the first time you met?Just doing my research. Oh, yeah. No, that was actually through a conversation with me and Linda.  CHRISTIAN KANE: Oh, okay. Yeah. So I, so I did and I walked up [00:14:00] and I mean, talk about somebody else that was just like, I mean, she was so nice, stunning, so nice, a lot bigger than most people think, you know what I mean? Because it was like, you know, she's, she's a big girl. She's curvy. She's a model. She's a curvy, but not, not bigger like that, even tall. I mean, she's very tall. Yeah, exactly. And so I was just sitting there and, um, and it was weird because, you know, I had to not look at her. As I was because I'd met other playmates. I'd met everybody at this point. I had been to the mansion a few times. I'm now, listen to me. I'm still a little kid out of Texas and Oklahoma. Exactly. I just got my first shot fresh on the scene and to be, you know, I don't even know if you should be. As a, as a guy dating someone who's in the magazine, I'm not sure if you should be allowed into that place until you've either lived in L. A. for five years or you're at least 30. That's actually a really good point. You know what I mean? Because it can really ruin guys heads. Because it makes you go a little sideways. Yep. But I did meet, I did meet her and it was, I met Anna Nicole Smith and it was, um, it was all I could do to not stare at her when I'm sitting there with a very pretty girl with Linda [00:15:00] Brava. Yeah. And, uh, and, uh, but it was just, yeah, I remember that. And I'm like, uh, yeah, and I kind of sit there and kind of looked at her. Is that what she said? I anyway. No. Did she say this to you when you talked to her? Okay. All right. Yeah. Because she's going to come on the show and do an interview. Eventually. So she had said that she had taken you to a New Year's Eve party and that you were excited to meet Anna Nicole. She took us to a couple. so cool. She took us to a couple. So did you do movie nights and stuff too? We did do movie nights. As a matter of fact, I remember this is before everything went bad. Not with me and Linda. It just went bad. I remember going there and we had, you know, especially cause you said. Um, Huff was going through a divorce at the, you know, whatever it was, a separation, whatever it was. Mm-Hmm. . And so we, we started, he started getting back in this scene. We started having, he had the dinner night, you know, on Sunday nights he came out Yeah. That he's back in. So it's Saturday nights a big party, and then on Sundays it's dinner night. You know, you have dinner. It's a very intimate dinner. Mm-Hmm. . Mm-Hmm. . And I was there. And then he has a movie night. And if you, if you, how do you explain movie? You ever talked about movie night on this show? Oh, yeah. All the time. So, so movie night, so everybody knows. Mm-Hmm. . So there's like, [00:16:00] there's, there's this big long couch. And it has sets on it. In the front, obviously. In the front, and everybody's like, it's sort of a theater seating. They have designated seats, basically, yeah. Absolutely. And, um, and so, and so then we got done having dinner and he invited Linda to sit on the couch with him. Okay. But I'm there. Okay. So, I sat on the couch. Shut the front door! You did not! Hold on, I did. This is good! Yes! You can ask Joel and Allison. Yes! Joel and Allison, of course! You can ask them because they know. And so it was very strange for me because I didn't know this at the time and this is where it gets, this is where it gets very interesting. Okay. It's a huge couch. It's a very, very long couch. Right. So he's usually wearing pajamas or his robe always. And he's always, and he, he sits with his legs down the couch. Mm-Hmm. . You know what I mean? It's not just like he's at the corner. And so then Linda sat, and then I sat on the side, and this is a, if anybody can, if anybody can trump me on this, I welcome you two. Because I'm not sure if I'm a hundred percent correct, but I know some people that will back. Yeah. [00:17:00] I, I believe to this day, and this is where I come into history, , wait, wait, wait. I believe to this day, I am the only guy besides Hef that sat on that couch. Wow. I wonder if that's the case. If that's the case. I've been told that is legendary. Legendary. I'm the only guy that's ever sat on the couch and watched the movie and God, I wish I could remember what the movie was. But it would really date me at that point. He's like, I really want Linda next to me, so come on, Christian KANE. Listen, and that's, that's where the story leads, but I'm just telling you. He loved Linda. She was the epitome of like He did. So much that I started kind of getting moved out of the whole thing. I don't know if you know, if you went through that story or not. Have I ever told you that story? I mean, I can tell you. No. It's pretty Wait, does it have to do? Yes, yes, I know it has to ruin, yeah. No, no. So we want to hear it. So here's the gig. Here's the gig. So I'm a young cat, right? And you know what I mean? And I'm dating and I'm dating, I don't want to call her an old, she wasn't that older than me, but she was more seasoned. She'd seen [00:18:00] life. She had seen a lot of stuff and I'm brand new to Hollywood, especially brand new to the mansion. We had gone a couple of times. Like I said, I got to sit on the couch with you, Hefner. So we've gone a couple of times and then, and so I'm. At some point, I believe, and I know it to be true, I think Hefner decided that he wanted Linda. I don't doubt that. I don't doubt that. I remember being on set, she went to a party, so here's the gig, so, so we would show up and guys would be, some of Hef's friends, some, some older gentlemen and stuff like that, and when I say older, I'm talking geriatric. Older, yes, yes. They would come up and they said, uh, hey Christian, do you mind if we take a picture with Linda, you know, and Scott, you know, do you mind? And I'm like, absolutely. Scott Bale. No, it wasn't Scott, Scott, not this one. So Scott, so, no, so, so these guys would go and they would take pictures with older gentlemen, I think some of them were actors, I sort of recognize them, I don't know what it was. Yeah, yeah. I remember this one. Yeah. It was kind of tall and he would just be like, Hey, can we take it? And I'm like, absolutely. What's what she's here for you. And I didn't care. [00:19:00] And then it just, and then it started becoming, Hey, and they weren't talking to me anymore after the parties. They would just come over and sort of get, yeah. And then all this stuff. And then, so one night and here's where it really went bad, but it has a good ending. So I show up and I just got done working on a show. And we wrapped. And so I came to the mansion. I'm supposed to be there on her date. And if you know anything about going to the mansion, if you've been before, you know you gotta talk to the rock. Talk to the rock. You gotta talk to the rock. If you don't know where it's at, you're gonna go past it. There's a rock with nothing on it, except there's a speaker if you see it. At the front gate of, yeah. At the front gate. And you stop and you talk to the rock. And I'm like, hey, it's Christian KANE, you know. And they're like, you're not on the list. And I'm like, no, I'm with Linda Brawley. You're like, I am. You're not on the list. Uh, uh, when you're not on the list, that's not good. So back then, man, we, you know, cell phones were like these big. We didn't have it in your pocket. You couldn't whip it out and go, Hey, what the hell's going on? You know, I'm like looking at this thing, this monstrosity. People are honking at me and I'm about [00:20:00] to punch a fucking rock. And I'm, you know, I said, Hey, they're not letting me in. They're not letting me in. So anyway, she had to do some stuff. I was like 45 minutes and finally I got in. And I walk over. That's annoying. She's talking to the table, which is fine, but I'm mad. I'm living it. Of course. Yeah. So anyway, she's talking to Scott Bale. Yeah. I don't have a problem with that guy, but whatever. I mean, I don't know. Maybe now, but I, but the thing is, and so, and it's fine, but then we walk off and I'm trying to tell her, I'm like, what's the deal? You can't, I can't do, you know, I'm, and the dude comes in that usually asks for my permission or usually sort of gets in my way. He's like, Linda smashes into me. Spills his drink. Linda goes over with thing. I grabbed the guy by the wrist in the scotch and I just twist his wrist and he goes down to one knee and it's an older gentleman. It's an older guy and so I'm sitting there and I was like, you know, and he was like, I go, don't ever do that to me again. Don't ever put your hands on me. You're, you're, you don't know how it works here, son. You're, you're not from here. You don't know you're, you're not supposed. And I said, you know what? You're right. I'm not from here. from here. I'm from Oklahoma and I'll break your fucking hip. Right. I go, don't. And [00:21:00] he was like, you're out of here. And I'm like, what? I go, I'm leaving anyway. And I went over to Linda and I go, I'm, they're going to kick me out. I'm leaving. And she's like, what did you do? I'm not going to talk about it cause I'm so livid right now. It's ridiculous. So security comes over. Slash waiters. Slash playgirl models with their shirts off and their little bow ties holding a little thing of this and they're going to escort me off and I looked at both of them and they were, you know, they were, they were good looking guys and I said, and I was walking out on my own, like I'm walking out on my own and they were walking with me. I said, I swear to God, if one person touches me, if you lay a hand on me, I'm biting something off your fucking face. I'm just going to turn around and bite your nose and take a cheek off, whatever it is. I said, don't ever touch me. Yeah. And I left. Yeah. And I went home. She stayed there. So I'm at home, where we both live. Hours, and I've got my hand on the door. Stewing, yeah. And finally she gets out of the car. Hef brought her home, which I thought really strange. In the limo. Hef brought her home in the limo? He brought her home in the limo. And they got out, and I'm looking through the peephole. [00:22:00] And he gave her a goodnight kiss and it was not a makeout, but it was way longer than it should have been. And you saw that. Yeah. And um, and I'm like, I'm just getting ready to open the door and I'm going, I know the cats that he's with and I know the strap, you know, I know he's got two guys in the car with guns. I'm not about to, how, how bad would it be ex boyfriend comes out? Cause I probably, that's pretty much what I was at that moment. At that moment. She comes in the house and I still love her to the death. She's such a, she's like, you can't come to the mansion anymore. Kev says you're not invited. I was like, fuck that old man. I was like, oh, I was just, you know, so I was never invited back until. Until, dun, dun, dun. So we, we, we went our separate ways. She had to go, listen, you have to understand something. And I want to say this about her. You have to understand the fact that we were good. We were good together. I mean, we, we, we were trying to enjoy life the best we could at the thing, but she would go off for weeks, sometimes months. Working. Like not working playing with Pavarotti, you know what I mean? Like [00:23:00] playing these huge shows across the world It wasn't like she was in Utah, you know, she was in Belgium. She was in Switzerland. She was in Sweden impressive She was playing big shows with a very very big people and then she would come home and I would be standing there There's this 22 23 year old kid fresh off the boat in Hollywood for the show fame LA I'll never talk about about that show. Yeah my start. Yeah, but it wasn't, you know friends. Yeah, I'm Seinfeld. It was fame, LA Yeah, so Anyway, so, so, so, we ended up going our separate ways, but there were times in that house where, where someone would deliver a two, maybe three million dollar Stradivarius. And it would be in the house. And there would be two guys outside, parked outside my house with guns. To protect. To protect it. It's a commodity. Yeah. And I remember, I remember she's, I remember one time I got it out. I think she was in the shower and I started playing Garth Brooks like da da With your fingers? Yeah. She came out of there in a towel and all, I mean, I saw, I just, you know, Toot! [00:24:00] I was sitting there with a two million dollar Stradivarius playing a little country. And it was, yeah, it was not, it was, that was a, she's never hit me in her life, but that time she She, she slapped me pretty good. That was, don't you touch that? No. And she's absolutely right. But here I am again, this young kid, but the moral of that story is, is there was also other nights when she would pick it up and it would be at night and the moon where we live, the moon came off into the room and I was laying in bed, watch TV or something. And she would get up and just like play. Cause she had something on her mind. I mean, we're, this is playboy. So I don't think I'm out of line. She would be naked and she would stand there and play Mozart better than. Better than I've heard Mozart be played in the moonlight naked with a Stradivarius. Wow, what an image. And, and I remember a lot about her. You know, time is fading, but I'll never forget that image. I'll never forget that. Yeah, it's like ingrained. Yeah, I can't remember some of the houses I've [00:25:00] lived in after that, but I remember the color of the carpet. I remember how the blinds were. There was a little, you know what I mean? I just remember that picture. And so, I'm not invited back to the Playboy Mansion. We went our separate ways. Uh, I said, I think this is happening and she said, no, it's not. And she came back one time and said, yep, pretty much everything you said is going on. Yeah. Especially with Hef. Hef wanted her. Yeah. Uh, I can't compete with that. Yeah. Um, but then, so I'm never invited back to the mansion again for fighting at the mansion. Who fights at the mansion? I didn't really fight anybody. I just took the guy down. Cause don't get your hands off me. So never invited back ever until I get a phone call. And from my manager who said, the Playboy Mansion would like to have you come to the party. I'm like, why? I have no idea. I didn't know. I was like, what the hell is going on? And then it dawned on me. They had forgotten. And Just Married was number one at the box office. Yep, that's right. So, I was really nervous going back. And I said, I called my buddy Chris [00:26:00] Judd, who's a dear friend of mine. Yeah. Has been for years and years. Yeah. And I called Chris Judd and he had, I mean, he had just gone through a bad divorce himself with with JLo. Yeah. And I said, come with me, man. So he came with me. So we went back and it was fun. I looked around and it was strange because I was older now. And it was a different set of eyes. Yeah, it wasn't. I'd already, I'd already taken the, the, the, the, the curtain back and seeing the wizard of Oz. Sure. And so when I went back, I'm like, and then I walked in. Ironically, I walked into the grotto for the first time. Really? That was like the first time you ever went there? Every time. That was the first time that I'd ever been there after all those, those times of going and I'm just like going, this is a little smutty. This is not what's good. This is not what's good. You know what I mean? And I started seeing, I just started seeing a different light and I was invited back, but I never went back. That was it? That was it for me. I just, I just didn't feel like that place was for me anymore and I didn't like the nervous fact of all those people were still there. Right. Not knowing. And if they look at me, they're going to be like, that's the guy that, you know what I mean? And so I just didn't want to deal with it. Yeah. And I, and I never saw Hef because I avoided [00:27:00] him just because if he saw me, he'd know that I was back. Interesting. Oh, that's a good little story. Yeah. So anyway, that was good. That was my, that was my, uh, my playboy experience. And then. Well, and then it kind of goes on because, okay, so we're going to get into David Boreanaz and Jamie Bergman. Oh, yes, absolutely. Right. So, um, as our audience knows, Jamie Bergman, um, was a smash hit with Playboy, um, Hef absolutely adored her. Just beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. Gorgeous. I was actually there the night that she came up to the mansion the first time and she was sitting at the table with him and I just saw how he was looking at her and I was like, she's going to Boreanaz or Hef? Uh, he looking at Jamie. Okay. Right, right. So, um, so j, so Jamie, um, was going to be Playmate of the Year, but she had just booked the show to Star and Sun. Son of a beach, or son of a beach. Yes. It's a, a spoof of Baywatch. Spoof of Baywatch. Right. And so, um, so she was bound by that contract and she was not gonna be available to do the PMOY duties. Mm-Hmm. , Hef [00:28:00] went ahead and gave her the cover, the 2000 cover. It's uh, yeah, July, 2000. cover as well as a substantial payday. Right. But she didn't have to do the PMOA because he was just so uber uber proud of her and that's just a true testament on Hef's behalf that he, you know, adored her and applauded what she had achieved. And so Jamie Bergman and I were very good friends. We worked a lot together, um, and Then her and David got together. Now, the background on you and David is Angel. Angel, but here's the thing. But it's funnier than that. It's actually funnier than that. Did you know more? Because you were there. Well, he was on Buffy. Right. On the WB, not CW. He was on Buffy at the time. He was Angel on Buffy. Uh, and I was doing a show called Rescue 7 7. Okay. Which was a firefighting show. I remember that, yeah. And then my show didn't go, uh, well it did, it went a season, but it's like, um, so then, so then David and I knew each other and it's a funny story how we knew each other. So we went to, uh, so, so I showed up on set cause I, I had auditioned [00:29:00] for this character Riley. And I didn't get it, but I, you know, had gone in front of Joss Whedon, uh, and my dear friend, who's way better at that than I would have been, which is Mark Blukas. Mark Blukas got it. We later did Summer Catch together. Um, so I didn't get the role, but Joss, I think Joss wanted to work with me, you know, um, and so he brought me in on the pilot of Angel. So, I knocked on the, I went over to David's trailer and knocked on the door and I was like what's up, and he was like what are you doing here, and I was like I'm in the show. Now, more on that later, just real quick, but this is the funniest part, was the way I met Boreanaz, we used to work out in the gym, we used to look at each other, like what's up, arms are big, size each other up, that's exactly what was going on. And then, one night, knowing that I was a fan, knowing that I was a fan, it's going to be hard to tell this story, I'm going to try to make it quick. Knowing that I was a fan, my director of Fame LA, the first guy who ever directed me. was Kenny Ortega. Now, Kenny Ortega was responsible for High School Musical. Kenny Ortega's and Michael Jackson, the one, you know what I mean? He's like, it's Kenny Ortega. Okay. [00:30:00] His feet were Patrick Swayze's feet dancing on the log. Oh, no way. Wow. How cool. So he was a choreographer for Dirty Dancing as well. So he knew I was a fan of the person that we're getting ready to pick up. And he said, I want you to come with me tonight. And I was like, all right, and he goes, dress up. I said, okay. I got on the best thing that I could at the time. I didn't own a suit and tie, you know? I mean, I didn't speak American Express. I'm with my first teacher. I didn't speak American Express. So the thing was, the thing was, is he picked me up in a limo and he was like, we got to make a stop real quick. And he stopped the car and damn it. Patrick Swayze and his wife, Lisa Naomi, got in the car. Whoa. And I'm sitting there staring at Patrick Swayze. Yeah. And Kenny doesn't say anything. He just starts talking. And I realized through the trip, and then, and then, uh, Jennifer Grey got in the car. Oh, whoa. They made another stop. And I didn't recognize Jennifer because she had had some work done. Uh huh. You know, but I still think she's unbelievably beautiful and I hate to sound that they have not put her back out there. She's an incredible actor. Who cares? Isn't that the truth? It's just bullshit. After that happened? Yeah, yeah, yeah, There's so many A list actresses that don't look like themselves anymore, but she got [00:31:00] shunned. Somebody should give her a role and bring her to the top again because she deserves it. Anyway, they're in the car and I put her together. We're going to the re release of Dirty Dancing. Oh my goodness, no way! And so we went to the re release of Dirty Dancing that year, and Boreanaz was there with his manager Tom Pazzioli, and they said Tom, I love Tom. Yeah, Tommy. Tommy P. And so they sit right next to us. And so me and Borianne's are sitting together. So we just became friends, you know what I mean? And then he would come over to the house and drink a little bit sometimes, but we hadn't done Angel, but then we did Angel together. And I'm supposed to be a one off. That was just the pilot and stuff like that. And here's the funniest thing about this is that if you don't know this, there's ensemble cast, I was reoccurring. There's only two people. That did the pilot. It's you and Five seasons. Yeah. And the final episode. There's only two people that were in both. You and David. Me and David Boreanaz. Yep. Yeah. That's legend. And he's one of my best friends, man. He was one of my dearest friends at the time and we just, we just, uh, went to London together for a convention and reconnected and I talked to him [00:32:00] yesterday and it's, uh, yeah, but it's just great. But yeah, so he was, he was my dear friend. Yes. Yes. And Jamie was my dear friend. I was there when we met Jamie. I was at the wedding. I was there when she was pregnant. You know what I mean? So it was great. Yeah. And then exactly, you knew Jamie. Yeah. And so, um, So that kind of parlays into then how you and I know each other. Um, and when I told Jamie that I had met you, um, and she just was like, Oh my God, we love Christian. And I had no idea that you were so tight with David. So it was like this perfect, you know, yeah, totally. It's a small world. Totally. And so it was at that point that I, you know, we, we all spent a lot of time together. You have to get up to a Ramon. Ramon's one of my favorites. So, yeah. Um, so So, how do we know each other, Christian KANE? I was on the set, I was on the set, that's why I said you gotta give that to Ramon. I was on the set of Secondhand Lions. Which is filming in Austin. Which is filming in Austin. Where I'm from. You were in Austin. And there's this cowboy out there from Santa [00:33:00] Fe, your dad knows him really well, you know Well, he was my father's hatter. Okay, there you go. Yeah, yeah. And his name is Ramon, and he's made of rubber. He can do anything on a horse. He falls horses, you know, and when that was legal, all that kind of stuff, he jumped off a building. I slammed him into a table full of spices. I beat Ramona probably 16 times on that movie and I did all my own stunts, you know what I mean? And so, and so I trained Ramona. There was one scene. That we filmed for a long time. It's when I go save the princess on Second Hand Lines. And I cut through all these guys with a sword. And I swear, I take out Ramone. And if you watch it, you'll see it. I take, I take J. J. out. J. J. Dashnow, very good stunt guy, stunt coordinator for NCI. I mean, like, huge stunt coordinator. His dad's a huge stunt coordinator. Take J. J. out, and then Ramone comes, and I take Ramone. Ramone takes a flip, hits the ground, runs around, goes back through the door, and I fight him again on my way through all the guys. And he was just, and he was sitting there and his knees, I think he was icing his knees and he's sitting there and he's got a really great accent. He's like, Christian [00:34:00] KANE. Exactly. And I'm out of breath too because I'm cutting through all these. And he's like, I go, what man? And he goes, Christian KANE. You know Ego Johnson? I love this story! I swear, what? God, I saw his knees and he's sweating. He goes, you know Ego Johnson? I said, I know of her. I mean, she's one of my favorite people I've ever seen in Playboy. I was in love with you. I mean, you know, I was in college and I'm going, Oh my God, this girl is so beautiful. I said, I know her. And he goes, You make a call . I was like, yeah. And you're like, but how do you, I go, wait, wait, wait. I know. I go, I go, you're from Santa Fe, you're from New Mexico. She goes, gee, her dad's out there. Anyway, it's almost boomhower. Yeah. Thought you're going up. Yeah. Actually that's very similar. Yeah. And um, and so I said, yeah, and so I gave you a call and I never thought you were actually gonna show up. I thought this is gonna be something. And I didn't know. I had no idea who you were. No. None, no. Zero. And so we met at the Omni Hotel. Yep. And then I go, all right, well this is not fair [00:35:00] because I saw you at the bar cause I was walking down there and I mean she's very beautiful and it is Echo Johnson. And I said, man, she's going to get a whole look at me. I'm like on display because the Omni has a glass elevator. So I'm sitting there and man, if it couldn't have been any slower, man, it was like, yeah. And I'm just going to get in and I'm going down and it's just so slow and it's glass and you're sitting there looking and I'm just going, Oh my God. This is not fair, man. She gets to like totally check me out. And then I think we went to eat. We went to a pool hall. I think I got to try to get in a fight with a couple of guys playing pool with you. And then they were looking at my ass or something like that. And then, um, and then we fell in love and then we fell in love. Yeah. Yeah. And we had a, we had a good go. We had a great go. And it was, and that was the, that's the whole point of the story was the fact that, you know, it was a. Boreanaz was my best friend at the time. You were, you know, great friends with Jamie. I was tight with Jamie, so it was just a family. Of us four just getting to hang out [00:36:00] and it's such a young time in our life, you know what I mean? Best time, so much fun. Yeah. Here in LA, I mean just everything that was going on. And you know David, David, I'll just tell you a little, you know, me and David used to go out before he met Jamie. Of course, yeah, of course. We would go out and hang out and do all this other stuff and David had just gotten a house and there was no furniture in it. I was staying the night over it. I was sleeping on like a box and a couch or what, you know, we, there was no, he had a bed. I had the couch and that's what it was. There's no food, no kitchen. The kitchen was beautiful, but there's nothing in it because we're two guys and he's living there and he just got the house. Right. And then he met Jamie and Jamie made that house a home. Yeah. And that was the perfect time. And so now it was just like a family, man. His sister would be there. His, his, his, his brother in law. You know, everybody would come over and just kind of hang out. And that was, that was one of the best times in my life, man. I mean, when they met, it was like instant. Like they fell in love with each other at first sight. Yeah. And they just never left each other. And I'll be honest with you, think that me and Boreanna is going out all the time and doing stuff like that. I mean, we go to work and then we go out. And it was really weird because we went out on odd nights, but then [00:37:00] so did Hollywood. Hollywood went out Monday through Thursday. They don't go out on the weekends because it's riff raff night. Everybody else comes in from out of town. Nobody knows that. That's years and years, you know, actors and everything else. We only go out there in the week. Huh, that is interesting. I never thought about that, but that makes sense. Yeah, and it also makes sense when half of your cast on Angel Turns to dust when the sunlight hits you. So we're only night shoots. We're only night shoots. So me and, me and Boreanza worked, you know, from six at night until six in the morning on, on Friday. Or on, you know, sometimes on Thursday and on Friday. We always had night shoots. We'd get off on Saturday morning. It's because you had to film in the dark. You had to film at night because, yeah. So I would go, you know, we'd go have a drink and I'd probably stay there and then we'd go, you know, Saturday we'd come around, we'd do it on Saturday. But, um, anyway, the point being was I never knew him. With. Anybody. Anybody else? I mean, I've seen him talk to girls, but not like this. When she showed up, it was over, man. Yeah, it was instant. Yep. Yep, yep, yep. It was [00:38:00] really nice. Well, and I gotta applaud them. I mean, gosh, what is it, 20 plus years now of marriage? I mean, that's amazing. It's gotta Yeah. Oh, easy. 20, probably 20, 22 years, 23 years. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yay. Shout out to kids. Yes. Two kids. Exactly. I love it. Okay. All right. I'm going to ask you a couple of rapid fire questions. Okay. Go Texas or Oklahoma, Texas, acting or music, acting blonde or brunette brunette. Okay. And do you have a motto? I have two. What are they? That I've lived by since I came to Los Angeles. Okay. Number one is, uh, you learn, uh, well, that's number two. I, I used that one a little bit more today, but I'll tell you the first one. This was in order for a long time. And it's Woody Allen. And it's 90 percent of life is showing up. So true. I love that. And you've used that, like, that's been your thing since you don't show up, yeah. Because there's been times where I'm on the couch and I'm like, I don't want to go. And then I'll go [00:39:00] and it'll change my life. True. And that is so true and just applies across life. I'll tell you, I'll tell you. Let me tell you my second one and I'll wrap it up with a really great story. You, you, The second one is you learn to fight by fighting, which is Bruce Lee. You learn to fight by fighting. You can't read it in a book. Mm mm. You learn to cook by cooking. You learn to dance by dancing. You hone your skills. Absolutely. You learn to fight by fighting. And that's Bruce Lee. And I carry that one with me everywhere. Um, 90 percent of life is showing up. So, I got a script for a show called Leverage and I was doing music at the time. I was in Nashville finishing up my album with Sony. And I opened it up and it said this and that and this and that and I went to my character and it said, Elliot Spencer walks in, I've told this story before, Elliot Spencer walks into a bar. My boss, which I thought, Dean Devlin, I thought he would be upset for me telling this story. He loves me telling this story because it'll show you. Okay. 90 percent of life showing up. I opened it up, it says, Elliot Spencer walks into a bar wearing wire rimmed glasses, sipping tea. The first time you see me in Leverage, that's what you look at. [00:40:00] Wow. Okay. Elliot Spencer walks into a bar wearing a wire rim glasses, sipping tea. Uh huh. I took it, I shut it, I'd already gotten in a bad thing over another thing that I was doing. I said, I'm not doing this bullshit again. It hit the wall, went behind the couch. Two days go by, my, my agent calls and goes, uh, what'd you think, man? What'd you think? I was like, I go, I'll be honest with you, man. I go, don't ever send me shit like this again. I go, I'm not playing. He was like, Oh, well, John Rogers wrote it was sort of like with you and mine. With you and mine. Dean Devlin. I was like, Whoa, whoa, whoa. Really? I didn't, yeah. I go, John Rogers, Dean Devlin? What are you? I dive under the couch, I grab it, I pull it out, and I read it again. And I'm like, Elliot Spencer, what kind of name is that? Elliot Spencer walks into a bar wearing wire rimmed glasses, sipping tea. And then. Kicks the shit out of 40. I go, you, I go, I'm on a plane. He was still on the phone. I go, I'm on a plane, I'm on a plane. I read it on the plane. I just, I didn't read the next line. Yeah, right. And I almost lost, if you, if you think about this, this is a horror story. Absolutely. I almost lost that role. And if I would have [00:41:00] lost that role. I would have lost the last 17 or last, um, 15 years with my boss and my friend, Dean Devlin who did Leverage, who did The Librarians, who went back to Leverage, who gave me Almost Paralyzed, who I'm still working for to this day, in 10 days we start season 8 of Leverage, and if I, and it was one more line, it was one more line that I almost didn't read. That, that is a great story. And that's why 90 percent of life is showing up. Interesting. And it is definitely you and your role, like a thousand percent. I would think so. You crush it. It's you through and through. I love it. I love it. Um, so tell me about the business venture, your restaurant business venture that you are involved in. Yeah, I thought that'd be fun to tell our audience. Absolutely. Because, because let me tell the audience as well. Christian is an incredible chef. Thank you. Um, by choice, he just loves to cook and it makes sense that he's gone into this venture. So he's going to tell us about it. [00:42:00] I tell you, man, it's a, it's a, it's a really good, it's a really good deal. It's my friend, Billy Deck. Billy Deck is on. Good morning, America all the time. He's on. He's cooked with, um, he's been on numerous food shows on the food network and all that kind of stuff. And he has a place called Sunda in Chicago. Now, I don't have a place of that, but I ate there and a really cool story about that was, is I was like, I was like, uh, I was sitting across from, uh, from this dude and I'll tell you who it is. And I'm sitting in the restaurant and we're having the best food that I've ever had. And it's Asian fusion, you know what I mean? So it's, he's Filipino, he's got some, so it's, there was, I didn't even, I had never been to the Philippines at this point, I didn't know what Filipino cuisine was, and it's mixed in with Asian, with Japanese, or sushi, but there's Filipino, and I was like, this is the most incredible food, and there was this guy over there, and I was like, I go, hey guys, that's, that's Patrick Kane, from the, uh. The Chicago Blackhawks and Billy comes over and goes, Hey man, Patrick wants to know if you'll take a picture with him. I'm like, what are you talking about? So I went over and they still got it. I took a picture with Patrick Kane, not because I went over because he asked me, man, and it meant the world to [00:43:00] me, man, that he did that. You know, Kane, I have like six of his jerseys now just because I'm a huge fan and because he asked. And so anyway, so I loved the food and I talked to Billy. I became friends with him and he said we're opening up a venture in Nashville and so I got in on that. So we have one of the number one restaurants in Nashville right now, Sunda, Sundae without the Y, Sunda, New Asian. Nice. And um, and then we just opened up one in Tampa and currently are I think tomorrow maybe opening the doors, another one in Chicago. Good for you. I love it. And we were actually looking at another venture right now, but we're going to open up some more. So it's just, I believe in the food. I mean, I'm a little bit biased, but I'm just telling you some of the best food that you've ever, it's, it's just incredible. So Billy Deck is an unbelievable businessman. He takes everything to heart. He knows about food. And so I'm in good hands. So Nashville, Tampa, and maybe Chicago. In Chicago, no. No, Chicago's a go. Wonderful. We're turning the key. Yeah, so there's two of them in Chicago. Okay. Which is nice. Downtown, and then uptown. So, yeah. I [00:44:00] love it. And then, we're looking at another place right now, but I don't wanna, I don't wanna jinx it. Okay, so yeah, so anybody in Tampa, Nashville, and Chicago, go check out Sunda. It'll be delicious. I'm telling you, man. It is. I love it. Okay, so we end the show, we always end the show with two questions. I'm going to ask you just one of them because the second one won't apply. So three words that define Hugh Hefner to you. Three words. Three words. Not a sentence, but three words. Three words. Brilliant. Infectious. That's a good one. And conniving. Nobody said that I like. No, I told you I'm a guy going with a girl. That's cool. Okay, I love to hear, um, But he was infectious. I mean, you know, his smile, his personality, his, you know, even though he didn't like me and wanted me out of the picture, he wouldn't let [00:45:00] me know. No. Yeah. It wasn't. Yeah. Thank you for sharing that. I appreciate that. Is that it? We're done? Um, not quite, but, but yeah, that's always, I love that part and everybody always says something different. And so the three that you just said, yeah, two that were different than what I've heard so far. So do you have anything that you want to plug besides what you got going on right now and where can everybody watch your shows? Listen, that's a fantastic question, because let me tell you something, we're very happy about this. What? I'm getting ready to do season three of Leverage Redemption, for the fans out there, it's season eight of Leverage. Okay. This will be our first season on Amazon Prime. Hell yeah! They picked us, Amazon Prime picked us up, we're going up against the big boys and we can hack it, so it's no big deal, I'm not even worried about it. But it's so much fun to get the recognition of the last two seasons that we've done. Uh, and then Amazon Prime goes, there's no reason why you shouldn't be here. So we're going to, we'll be taking on the boys. We'll be taking on, you know, Jensen Ackles, one of my dearest friends. So it's going to be fun [00:46:00] going up against him again. So that's it right now. And then, uh, and everything else we're just waiting here. It was tough. The strike was tough on everybody and everybody's getting back out there and we knew we were going to go. So it's, um, so it's time. And, um, I'm actually, uh, I'm going to get out of here and go back and film in a different state. So it's uh, so I'm excited to get back out there and throw some punches. Yeah. Thank you so much. This worked out perfectly. And, um, it's for spending an hour with me on my birthday today. How long have we known each other? 23 years. 23 years. 23 years. I'm still the dearest of friends. Absolutely. Always have been. One of my most solid. I love you. Happy birthday. I'm so grateful for you. I appreciate you. And I'm so glad that we were able to make this happen. Absolutely, man. I'm so proud of you. This is so great. Happy birthday. Happy birthday. This is so great. All right, guys, thank you so much for tuning in. Um, don't forget to follow us on, um, I G at TBC vodcast, support the show at [00:47:00] Patrion at the bunny chronicles. And we also, Christian KANE one. Instagram is Christian KANE one. I'll be posting some stuff about this as well. I'm sorry. I wanted you to know because I'm going to promote that. Yeah, thank you. Cause I forgot to ask about that. So follow Christian, Christian KANE one. Um, and the buddy chronicles. com. Um, also we have a merch line. Very few things are up, but we're working on it. So again, thank you for the support. We have a worldwide listening audience. Oh, I wanted to share with you. Yeah. So the UK is, is the second. So top five of countries that listen to us. Yeah. UK number two, Germany number five. That's my people, man. I know when, when you told me that. So I was like, so a shout out to our, all of our fans in the UK and Germany. Love you. That's so awesome. So yeah. So thank you again. All right. I'm Echo. This is the Benny Chronicles and we'll see you next week. Thanks Christian. Oh, thank you man. Happy birthday. That was awesome. Yeah, thank you.[00:48:00]

CHRISTIAN KANE: Shares PLAYBOY History involving LINDA BRAVA - JAIME BERGMAN - ANNA Nicole SMITH & David Boreanez!!

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