PLAYBOY RADIO: The Pinnacle of Playboy Corporate Debauchery: Featuring Playboy Night Calls Producers: Eric Mittleman & Farrell Hersch

Speaker 2 (00:08.782) Welcome back to the show y'all. I'm super excited. Next round of shows. Who is too high? Daphne DuBle. she's hot. July. Speaker 2 (00:23.406) So, okay, yeah, thank you. Super fun, fun show. This is actually perfect that we're starting out this round of shows with these two gentlemen, Eric Middlemann and Farrell Hirsch. Both spent years at Playboy and Playboy Radio. At Playboy. Also lifelong friends, which is crazy. Yeah, by the way, just you guys we spent thanksgiving together last week. Yeah, we did I still have a bottle in the freezer. Yeah, you do. I think it's empty. You think it's empty? Put it in the freezer. I wanted to save the bottle. Okay, bring it in and pour some more for health Yeah, at end of the show, let you do that. All have like to drink was Jack Daniels. Yeah. And he would he would sip on like one all night. was not a big drinker. wasn't but he always smelled like Jack Daniels and whenever he leaned in to kiss me, I was usually drinking. You've got the same. You do? Speaker 1 (01:20.426) I have the same experience. I have a story. Let's go with that. I'm going to lean right in. Did it involve you? No. But it's really kind of funny because I have a lot of good stuff to say about Hef. Whenever I don't, not necessarily like I'll keep that in the show because we don't deserve to do that. But he was, I loved Hef in a way that he was Hef, you So he idolized a guy like that. And whenever I had a rap party for a show, I would call Mary O'Connor, who was a friend of mine. And I'd say, if Hef wants to come to the wrap party, just let me know and we'll get a table ready for him and all that kind of stuff, which freaked my bosses out. Because my bosses, for the most part, were not good executives. They used to say that Playboy is a place that production executives go to die, like the elephant burial ground. So it freaked my bosses out. But I loved having Hef at the parties. And this was a wrap party for Night Calls, which was very kind of explicit. Speaker 2 (02:28.046) Yes, I was trying to think. What was the name of the girl that hosts? Well, we had, we started with Julie Ashton and a girl named Griffin Drew was the pilot, but then I switched to Doria. Yeah, that was who it was so when I was a new playmate somehow I end up like in a lesbian bar like with a group of girls like after some playmate promotion I remember sitting at the bar and all of a sudden this hand goes What are you doing she goes I'm hitting on you and I'm like well don't Woo! Speaker 1 (03:07.946) Well, I'm gonna stop my story because that's a way better story. So it's all good. So we're at the wrap party and I'm standing next to the head of human resources. and Playbo was very big on training about sexual harassment and stuff like that. It was like probably say what you will about the content but it's probably one of the most at Playboy. Speaker 1 (03:35.566) straight-laced places I worked. Interesting. there was like little, aside from a couple people at the top, was very genetic and what not. And so every stripper who was on the show that night wants to go say hi to half. Yeah. And he jams his tongue down everyone's throat. Like a lizard. So. Speaker 2 (03:51.822) He's in for this for now. Open mouth. Speaker 1 (03:57.23) I'm standing next to the head of human resources who's the one who administers the sexual awareness or sexual harassment awareness workshops and I go go I said her name and I'm like are we gonna have a problem here because anyone else does that they'd be on their way to jail and she's like no I think we have to look the other way Right? Speaker 1 (04:17.39) had to sit through as an employee I'd sit through the sexual awareness seminar and they show us these videos and one of the questions they asked is what happens if someone sends you a videotape of one of your co-workers engaged in sex what do do and I said put it on the air That's what we do! Speaker 2 (04:42.87) Yeah, that was the answer. want to like reel it in and I want to do a formal introduction of exactly what your titles were and how many years you were at Playboy. So go ahead, Eric. I had one title when I was there and I was producer, but it was kind of went from being at a lower level to being at like a VP level to like, but it was like I was always producing or executive producing. And God, I produced over 2000 hours there. Wow. Yeah. And I was there from 91 through 99 and I started every two years, the job would change. So I started off doing interstitial. Because of the decade it was and the technology was evolving big time. Kind of, I started off doing interstitial, which is in between show programming and a show called Hot Rocks, which is a music video show. Then two years later, I started producing regular shows and creating other shows. And then I started two years later, I started doing movies, I think. And then two years later, I started helping with the launch of the Farr Network, so like Playboy TV. So. Speaker 1 (05:50.069) Yeah, because they would charge like I think was $10,000 an hour for programming wait So they would take a show that aired in the US that was already paid for and put her on the foreign network and the foreign Network would give them like 10 grand an hour Wow, so it was like really Yeah, I remember it being a huge part of the company. It probably was six hours a day because it was probably a six hour block that repeated. So they knew with the farm network, before they made a dime off of the farm market, they would be making six grand a day from the farm company. Wow, interesting. I heard. It's good that Farrell's on the show because I have nothing but great stuff to say about Farrell. But Farrell and I grew up together and Farrell and I moved out to Los Angeles around the same time. And Farrell had a pretty good career as a playwright. So I was about to start doing night calls and I'm sitting in the booth and we're doing the test shows and I'm like everyone's calling the show like, take your top off. All right, so what do do? Speaker 2 (06:47.444) North, right? Speaker 2 (07:00.009) No more. with a bunch of drunk people who want to talk about sex with naked women on camera. Like, it needs stories. gonna get you in. Working with the drunk masturbating callers and try to help them shape a story for live television as that's how you 3 Speaker 1 (07:32.858) And it wasn't just like because we had call screeners and the call screeners Were like expat like I don't know where they ESPN radio. Okay. Yeah, so so they were like legit call screeners who knew how to screen a call for air We had really unique calls, you know, obviously with drunk masturbating, know and so far all you know with the early days of emails and we would correspond with people and you just basically alright, so before you had sex with her, where did you meet her? What was your first impression when you met her? What were you? Well, you know, this was this was my innovation for the show. would say that as soon as the TV show ended, there was a replay on the air and people who watch or listen to this show have no idea the difference between a replay and a live show. What else we do? Speaker 2 (08:15.022) I Speaker 2 (08:19.938) These kind of. Speaker 2 (08:25.398) Even if they just want to... watch the show and I would answer every call that came in for the next two hours or whatever. But here's why. people who call the show 498 are men and there's two women. Women are commodity in that market. So I would say, I'm sorry you missed the live show but here's what I can do for you. I'm gonna do you a favor. Out of five Speaker 2 (08:43.938) Sorry. Speaker 2 (08:49.91) I can get you a little. I'm gonna work with you and I'm gonna get you to be the first caller up on the next one. We're gonna set you up with now these people this woman whoever she was thought I was doing her a great favor. But for Eric and I my god getting a girl the show was the greatest thing so sometimes we'd start the show with three or four or five exactly what the 99 the audience women which is exactly 9.999 % of the men. It was fun for me because it was flawless and seamless in that the work was done behind the scenes and no one ever knew that work was being done. I didn't tell anybody but you. they did. Well but they just thought the show was good. But it was good because we were working like real producers behind the scenes, not just throwing it on the air. Speaker 2 (09:38.866) So that's yeah and like to me I just remember like Playboy Radio and Playboy Entertainment as a whole just being such a massive part of the company and perhaps maybe it's because I did a lot of promotions with of my promotions were Playboy TV with Barry Lash and they were wild. And if you weren't wild you didn't get hired. The playmates you know that were fun we got the jobs and boring and they were the best jobs. But also, was, Playmates were a whole different standard, which was very much the upscale Playboy, or the real Playboy. Sure. Where we pushed it into, you know, I like to say... Yeah, I don't think he would have approved of any playmates being on air talking about masturbation or sex back then. was barely conservative when he was He was he was mixed though because he enjoyed the stuff I did but You know, but yeah, but the what wasn't the image of the brand it was like far far away I think for TV, yes it was, because they did push the envelope with TV, but they didn't put playmates, you know, as... They put playmates on a pedestal. Speaker 1 (10:49.774) Well, I'll tell you a good story. I'll tell you a good story. was on, so at Playboy... on Beverly Boulevard. had the whole third floor and some of the second floor. The second floor was also a literary agency which had some really good agents who had done some movies that you've seen and put together movies you've seen. So I had a friend who was an agent there, who was my first agent when I moved to town. Do you guys know who Elmore Leonard is, the author? He's a big author, like justified with his material. the 90s. As big as you get. This agent was Elmer Leonard's agent as well. So he calls me and says, want to go to lunch today. like, So went to lunch and went to lunch with a friend who is head of talent at a huge agency. And I'm telling him about some of the stuff Playboy's doing and he's like, well, if you want, I can give you, and he named a supermodel who was very up and coming at the time for a movie, for like one of your $2 million movies, which was the top level movie they were doing. And we talked about numbers and the numbers worked. And this is woman who easily at time, if she did a victorial for Playboy just on her own, they would be doing her a million bucks. me in June of 97. The biggest part in a Playboy movie that a playmate ever had, but it was before I was a playmate. Oh, I didn't know that. Yeah. Do you remember Sins of Desire? Speaker 1 (12:24.45) I remember the title. I lost my chance at being a playmate because of that. Yes, because you're not allowed to have done any other nudity before you're a playmate. I did do a lead role in Sins of Desire and I was told by my agent at the time it was a Showtime movie and when it came out I was pissed because it was a Playboy movie on Playboy TV. I applied to be a playmate and I had to fill out that I had done nudity before they ended up... But then they decided well it was a playboy movie so it's my god had a weird deal with Showtime, where like I think three or four of the movies from Playboy would tell people at Showtime not Playboy, you know, that would be more forgiving or whatever. So anyways, with the story I was telling, so the Talonation was going to give me this very big supermodel for a movie, but it had at the time, there was a movie out called Sirens that Alan McPherson had done, had to be like that quality movie. So I go back to Playboy and I talk to the senior executive in charge of the movie division. And he thinks about it for a second and he's like, you know, a movie like that, you gotta hire real writers and a real director. It's too much work. So that's like, that was, it wasn't Heff's mentality, but it was the underling. He's never gonna end. The story is a lot of people probably just didn't want to work. They were phoning it in. So that like, you know, that hurt it as an entertainment company overall. Speaker 2 (13:47.64) History Speaker 1 (14:00.908) because no one wanted to do the work to keep it. There was a point very... Why didn't they want to work? They just want to like masturbate get drunk all day. I have a theory why people at Playboy TV didn't want to work. I think there were a lot of people at Playboy TV that were embarrassed that that's where their career had taken them. But I knew were partying their asses off so maybe that's why they didn't want Maybe they were drowning their sorrows. But who thought they should be at NBC? Speaker 2 (14:29.954) Yeah, I see. With booby shows and they can't tell their mom they can't tell their next-door neighbor, right? Like the whole dichotomy of like, we let them know that we're a playmate, you know, the judgment. I will say this when I was running Playboy radio I built a physical wall in the the studios because I didn't want my staff talking to the people Playboy TV and getting infected with the it's good enough Yeah, So something I really love that you sent me in your email was that by 2006 you guys had built out a 16 hour per day live radio station show that provided more than 5,000 live hours per year included the morning show that mimicking the magazine the Playboy advisor show which I had no idea I love that show about the mansion with Brian O'Leah Brian's coming on to and he's gonna talk about his time Speaker 1 (15:29.051) I Brian more than maybe anybody. He was bummed he wasn't going to be here on the same day. He wanted to see you as well. Playmate Hour with Diana Brooks, Miriam Gonzalez, I remember that. So it was very expansive what you all did. we had a whole show. The entire show that did nothing. Five musicians came in and Billy Idol came in. that we didn't think but have lot visions on. Gene Simmons by one day in shop. Speaker 1 (16:03.212) A lot of stuff, we grew it to five full net worth. started with one show. It started with Eric. Without Eric, there was no Playboy radio because that night calls Frank. It was a that migrated from Playboy TV to start Playboy Radio as one. show right the very same host and and and so you guys had a movie reviewer which was Cooper Hefner yeah no idea that is so fucking cool yeah well again our morning was Cooper at this time yeah I don't know if graduate is the right word It worked and we ended up building it too. Speaker 1 (16:39.246) show. Our morning show. Speaker 4 (16:45.741) Yeah. Right. He'd gone to check. OK. But he had just. And I love Chapman. So I'm shout out to Chapman. And for those that don't know who he is, Hector. Y'all better know who Cooper is. I don't remember who it was. might have been Mary. might have been Dick Rosen. Somebody called and said, Cooper's going to be in show business and you're going to start him like something. Whoever it was made it very, clear that Heff's rule was going to be keep it clean. we were on show. this week. Speaker 2 (17:16.91) You're like, okay. Speaker 2 (17:26.382) made him the reviewer, a movie reviewer. That's awesome. It was awesome. He kind of got replaced by Jameson in the long run. Oh my gosh. Wow, that's a big transition. energy. Speaker 1 (17:39.982) Jenna, when Coop left, Jenna came and played with her and you had to put her on the air. She was not, I would say, not emotionally invested in being part of this. She thought it was a task, a punishment to be with us. we just, for herself, instead of movie reviews, she was gonna announce who the movie was. because we're- what? Jen? Speaker 2 (17:53.774) The segment she divided. Speaker 2 (18:03.09) Oh my god, see you next Tuesday of the week. That is so good. I want to be on that. Me too. Speaker 1 (18:15.31) She chose, I can't say it, she chose Chelsea Handler. Because she had run into a party and incident a party. Handler again. I said, pick someone else. said, okay. And she goes on and maybe I shouldn't say who she picked. The second week she came on and she wanted to do Chelsea. Speaker 2 (18:32.231) come on, just say it. Come on. We're curious. You know, we mentioned Cooper. She picked Cooper's half sister. Speaker 1 (18:46.926) and Jameson had her second and final moment. See you next Tuesday. Yeah, yeah, I would never think of Christie Hefner as a scenic. Totally. Kristy would have loved to run a literary magazine. So Jenna being the for the thing from a literary magazine. Her book I liked her a lot. did too. She drew well and she did it with this big celebrity co-author. Gaiman. he's not a Neil Gaiman, that's a comic book guy. He had a New York Times bestseller. When I went back to Playboy in 2005, was the early days of YouTube and I did an interview with Jenna about the show that was doing a Playboy and just off just popped in my head. Speaker 2 (19:15.736) closely. Speaker 1 (19:35.808) I said, if your book gets made into a movie, who do you want to play you and why? And she said, Scarlett Johansson, because she has a nice rack. Hilton thought that was the funniest thing ever. I sat in my office hitting refresh on the YouTube video. Every time I hit refresh, 3,000 more views. shit. And this was 19. Thanks for Speaker 2 (19:55.918) That's not even that scandalous of a thing to say these days. That's not at all. So this is in 2005 numbers or something about that time period. She got 186,000 views on that video in three days And that was at the beginning of YouTube. best Jenna story other than the one I just told. I bought out Jenna Jamison Enterprise or whatever it's called. when Playboy Speaker 2 (20:20.45) They bought her photos and photos, but she was never going to age. he sold this library. That way she's always young and hot. it was her then husband's mastermind. Yeah, they years. Speaker 2 (20:40.686) think a million. I knew it was in the million. Well, the reason she looks like she never aged and she was the way she is because it was pre-done. There was a Playboy corporate meeting in Chicago and I'm with Brian Postlewaite and Jay Gordina on a train. We went out to see Wrigley Field before we tried to meet Christie. And Jay wouldn't get off. He didn't really want to meet him. He get off the train. finally to get him off I said, Mr. Jamison, you've got to get up and I'm gonna go. Speaker 2 (21:11.875) Mr. Jameson! I am right before the divorce on the show for Playboy. Yeah, and there was a lot of weird stuff going on There was a lot of more hostility and stuff that they really didn't like yeah, which I other than that five second thing Yeah, I spent time with them in stocksdale and shot one of the best pieces ever shot from Playboy Yeah, I always thought I was so impressed with Jenna Jameson's business acumen and I had no idea that it was her husband. So what was your official title? That's so well I started I was just working with Eric but when we went to radio I was employee of Playboy radio. I was the only... Speaker 1 (21:59.758) But I was the only full-time employee. Salary from SiriusXM at the time. Wait, were you working for Sirius because at some point Playboy couldn't pay me everything that I wanted and so they made a deal that Sirius would give me a salary as well and then I'd do some other things for Sirius and then so and then when I love Playboy I'd Sirius you Speaker 2 (22:25.038) Right I knew that yeah but don't remember I know that I ran I ran Playboy Rage. He's like I don't know what my title was! top job of Playboy Radio isn't it? Speaker 1 (22:42.648) think you did give me coffee when I was there. He played it, he wore all hats. Fairness play with TV and play with radio had occurring before anyone else Did they? They did. In office career. That's the really important stuff. Speaker 2 (22:57.134) That's the good stuff. That's the beans and what is it? The meat and potatoes of it. Well you guys wear the brand, know, you guys wear like the top. I'll never forget one time I 97 I just had to stop in and there's Farrah faucet like oh my god Yeah. Speaker 1 (23:17.454) I was Ferrell who said the sniffles because I guess it was a chronic cold and she always came into work, which was great. God, Tony always has been one of the nightmare stories of working on that whole production of that. yeah. It was a lot for everybody that worked with her. She was a heavy cocaine addict. No, she didn't have cancer at that time. She was just heavily in her addiction. No, was, was... sit when she did it yeah Speaker 1 (23:49.41) Working with any celebrity... No idea. No, when she was doing the whole layout with Playboy, I know that she was. And I just noticed from Tony Lange sharing But that was kind of the 90s when everybody was a cook addict. Not to the least with Fenton also. Don't do it. There's no good stuff out there anymore. That's wild. I loved also that you said that you guys would broadcast live from this also blew my mind. Every Playboy Jazz Festival, every Playboy Super Bowl party, those were Always so fun. Opening of every Playboy club. By the way, can I say something nice about it? Please! The reason we were able to... Nobody... somebody. respected us as Playboy Radio and don't get mad because they Speaker 2 (24:33.398) Kind of lumped us in with Playboy TV, even though we were doing a lot of stuff that was like the magazine. But because we were part of the entertainment... division the magazine people didn't always respect us. Lisa and Donna to those believe that there was value to having us at the Super Bowl parties. And then there were two people out of New York in the valley. I remember. And they. Speaker 2 (24:55.834) And that's how we got in. with all the other divisions of Playboy, and people starting to see the value of it. so that's when you started hopping on and doing the jazz festival and... worry about insulting Blake by T.A. We were the lowest rung. I ran the shows with my 12 year old boy brain. The stuff I did there, I had a kind of horrifying experience recently. There was a show called Sexy Girls Next Door. I have VHS tapes of almost everything I've done. I've been digitizing the VHS tapes just so could get rid of them. There was a show called Sexy Girls Next Door hosted by these guys Horton Frank. I'm f***ing Speaker 2 (25:35.498) I'm afraid yeah, and I watched the show and the wraparounds made me cringe because it was so misogynistic and so just awful like I can't show any woman in my life that or they're never gonna want to see me again So if you end up, you're not gonna. You're the woman in your life at some point. Yeah, I'm not going to a Playboy film festival. it's so so I just watched the show in Harvard because I remember being proud of that show because the nudity level was normal Playboy nudity. it didn't go beyond. didn't push the envelope there. But the attitudes of the host, which I sat there and wrote the wraparound with them, we would improv it right before we rolled. And then we'd roll and we go. Great job guys. And then you watch it now and it was like so, you know, anti-brand, anti, you know, normal human education, objectifying, and it was just like, it was awful. But at the time we were really proud of ourselves. So. Speaker 2 (26:28.046) and Speaker 2 (26:34.926) You should be as proud of... Speaker 1 (26:48.462) or I don't know, Seven Lives Exposed, there was a candid camera show, totally busted. You are the most popular show. The statistics show that the show, Error Created, Nine Calls, far and away the most popular and it's... Everybody can say, we... Speaker 2 (27:01.634) was you needed proof you needed proof that this was the most popular show. They parroted on SNL. What other Playboy TV show? They parroted it on SNL. I can tell you. About a year after I left and I remember coming home from being out on TV and I'm like what what did I just see a parody of just parodied night calls. That's awesome. I actually I think I'm my hands on that tape file. I'll give you the Yeah, I thought you were. Speaker 1 (27:37.432) But I'm like, yeah, I mean, that's like, that was a moment. were two things that really validated me personally that I felt good about. was the two things, take two without me touching the mic. There are two things that really validated me personally. One was seeing one of my shows parodied on SNL. The other was I had a friend who was the show runner on Martin Schwartz talk show at CBS. that studio was on way home from work for me from Playboy. And I got something to visit the showrunner. name's Stuart Kresna, really big TV producer. And sitting on Stuart's couch is Bernie Brillstein. Legendary producer, manager. He was Belushi's manager. He like, idolize this guy. And he's like, what are you doing? One guy worked with Playboy. Yeah. And he's like, what do you do at Playboy? got him producer. And he's like, what shows? And I go, do night calls. He's like, I love night calls. Wow. Speaker 2 (28:25.976) roasting great. Speaker 2 (28:36.556) Really. He was so curious about why we fired Doria. All the behind the scenes questions and I'm like, and again, I just in shock that I just had Bernie Brilstein fanboy out. asked, why did you fire Doria? Because he was in this, she was in this lesbian bar one time. I'm going put this in terms you can understand. She believes she does. And he's like, substances. I'm like, Really? He wanted all the new friends. Speaker 2 (28:53.378) You're up to my pussy. Speaker 3 (29:04.686) So. I didn't know her well. I only worked on her last episode or Yeah, she was great sober, but not great not sober. You want to hear my greatest validation story? I'm driving to Vegas because again we're doing a live remote from the opening of the Playboy Club in Vegas up on the top of the Palms. We're gonna be live on the red carpet and I stop, just I'm tired, I stop, there's a, no, broke. So there's a mall there. My glasses. I went into this mall to get it repaired. There was a glass of place and the guy said, man, your voice is really. As well, I'm from around here. It's not possible. Just what do do? said, you know, don't worry. And then I gave him a card to pay for the repairs. No, I mean, my. Speaker 2 (29:49.51) And he's not played by you? No! He's credit card. He saw my name! Oh, and he knew you! my name and he said, Feral! You're feral! Oh my god! He called his friends. Yeah. You're Speaker 1 (30:01.89) to tell them that I was in his shop. I know. Speaker 2 (30:29.454) Even though she couldn't swim and she's terrified of water how random is that? It wasn't her Baywatch, was Baywatch nights, wasn't it? No, she got a spinner. Yeah, she was, she starred in Baywatch Nights and then they added her to Baywatch and then Baywatch Nights closed. By the way, it's called a swim-off. Good one, Farrell. go to Vegas for her birthday party and we're drinking at the party and we're getting drunk. And at the time I was friends with Perez Hilton and I had fed Perez a lot of stories. And somehow I say to Donna, cause I thought it'd be funny, I'm like, why don't we tell Perez Bruce Willis is here and he's hitting on you. And she's like, yes, you have to do it. She's drunk, I remind her. Yes, you have to do it, do it, do it. And she like maybe email Perez and tell him that. You Bruce Willis is at house 85th birthday party and saying Madonna ended. Total Loss. And so I'm driving back to LA the next day. She flew home to LA. And she calls me like I can't believe the fucking press. They say Bruce Willis was at that party. Bruce Willis wasn't at that party. Madonna you. Speaker 2 (31:36.258) I always wondered where these came from because alcohol. What happened to me was I come home from a day that was right after Midsummer Night's Dream mansion party and I look at my email I'm freaking horrified because like the press is like bombarding me and I'm like Google went to Simon Cowell and I'm like what? I know the girl that went home with Simon that night and it wasn't you. He likes black girls. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, so it was a black friend of mine and And she was all pissed off at me because she wanted to be the one in the story and I go I don't want to be like in the story because it wasn't me but it was very flattering it said that I was the hottest girl at the Midsummer extreme party and that he only had eyes for me We're coodling all night. We left together and I was like, well, that's flattering but I never have with that So I'm like who somebody made that up and like they probably made money off embarrassed because my friend of mine who's an female attorney was my roommate at times she ran into Ryan who's the co-host? Seacrest? Yes, Ryan Seacrest. In an argument with Ryan Seacrest. Ryan is trying to say that I did it and I made money off of it and I and I fed it to the press and I'm like my god I did it. Ryan stories like like not really that bad it Ryan was friends with Tiffany Granite. Yeah, because they knew each other I think from the Bob heckle something like that and he came He was doing well he was doing well and he Visit the set and I would put people in the green room so they can watch the show and we all thought it'd be funny if Ryan called into the show industry yet was he just Speaker 2 (33:20.462) so you got it too. That's funny. That's awesome. That's super funny. And called in but it was like nothing calls Speaker 1 (33:28.846) I have a good Heff in Vegas story if you want it. Both nice and ridiculous to me at the same time. They did the Playmate of the Year awards at the Palms. I don't know if you guys even remember that. was like 2008, nine, ten, somewhere around there. And we were doing red carpet, we were doing live red carpet coverage. But Playboy of course was too cheap to have a PA there. So I have a Absolutely. So one year, just one year. Speaker 2 (33:54.486) my host. So I'm all the way up on the other side of the red carpet. Texting my host and the producer to let them know. And and Which celebrity is coming down next? I'm sorry. leaning over the right car, leaning over looking stuff. Hef is coming down. He sees me. I've had 20 meetings, not a whole lot, 20 meetings with Hef. And he sees me. He knows who I am. down with the girlfriends and he's leaning over the red carpet. Now, he doesn't know my name, but he knows his arm and he goes, Speaker 4 (34:26.518) Radio! Really? He acknowledged. Come here. Really? Speaker 2 (34:39.554) get in and he pulls me and now it's me and my girlfriends walking together. F in the gr- Speaker 1 (34:51.359) in my ear the whole time don't worry kid. You're with me. Oh my God. You and me. We're going to hang out the whole night. I'm going, I gotta get that. not now. I can walk out on walking down and this is me. So he doesn't do that. My boss is going like this. Speaker 1 (35:11.254) the best part of all and he's just telling me the whole time how we get him together we're gonna party Speaker 1 (35:21.302) well the story's not over yet. One of his friends goes, Mr. Hefner your private room is ready. He goes, see you later. So we get inside the club and kid but it was great we so clearly that's a very cool moment It is way more love than I ever got from anyone else. So years later I'm producing a movie called Comic Book Movie which was directed by Mark Hamill and Mark and his wife met at the mansion so they have a strong connection, Mary Lou. So they have a strong connection to the mansion. I would get calls from Hef about the plot and the things and stuff from the movie and spend like a half hour on the phone with him. Mary Lou was like in a pictorial like girls of something, I forget what it was. But very nice people and it... Speaker 1 (36:11.956) It was like the movie was an improv movie. So the part we had to do, we asked him about this guy, Jack, forgot Jack's last name, who created a character called Plastic Man, who gave money to early in his career. so we did a whole interview about this guy, Jack, with Plastic Man. Then we did some pickups asking questions about a guy named Jack Whitney, who's a fictional character in our movie. So Hef does what looks like an amazing acting. I can give you clips of that. Because he's talking about, he's doing this improv and the improv is perfect. Because we base the Jack Whitney character. Jack who are more camel based the Jack Whitney character on Jack who created plastic man and it just has performance It's gonna hit streaming and I up read 25th anniversary restoration To probably to be an Amazon Thank you. Speaker 2 (37:10.414) the home to see it. plastic man. Oh, comic book movie. like kind of I will definitely have to or I definitely do want to like say I applaud both of you. Definitely learning more just from your very short email that you sent me about what you guys had accomplished and then by 2010 that you had grown to 524 seven stations. in three languages and you, your department was the highest return on investment of any department at that time. Put a footnote on that. I'll tell you exactly the source material for that. There was a guy named Jeremy Weston who was a New York Playboy executive. him before and we're live on the air one day and he comes by, he's showing a couple of people around me, turns out later they are. Jer... Speaker 2 (37:54.284) I never Speaker 2 (37:58.25) at the studio. Speaker 2 (38:01.966) Investors or bankers or something important and he walks in the studio as we're live on the air and starts talking and say, and this is Playboy Radio. it's our top. That's how you found out. How interesting. I always knew. This is how I found out that somebody else knew. I didn't think anybody else knew. the math, we cheated on the math of course because our ROI is in 50. new. Speaker 1 (38:26.414) In general terms, would happen would be the satellite radio company Sirius or XM, whoever it was at the time, would give Playboy a million and a half dollars. Give me a million dollars to run the radio station. So it's already... And made a half a million dollars. And then there was advertising. Playboy would give. Wow. So. Playboy has invested zero. Speaker 2 (38:47.63) with the advertising revenue. So now Playboiw is making $3 million on an investment of zero. And I used to tell people how great I am. And was the first person ever where I saw it reflected back and who could say, you don't know this venture is actually succeeding. Yeah. actually the job both okay. It would. Speaker 1 (39:13.311) That was, and I really to this day have a warm spot in my heart for Jeremy Weston. That's very cool. Very, very cool. I don't say that. Speaker 1 (39:31.438) I don't know how to do it. I was the first playmate he ever chaperoned. I had this auction update with a playmate kind of thing and I had to two. That's kind of sketch. In DC and Baltimore and Gary was new and started out in marketing and he ended up there at Playboy for over 20 years. Anyway, we're in Washington DC. We do the radio. interview and then Gary's really conservative as you know. I see the White House and I see men with binoculars on the roof and I go Gary, I'm gonna flash the White House. You left in 99 and yet here we are 31 years later. It's been 31 fucking years that I've known you. And that first promotion we met I was 18 years old and you're demanding that they give me of a key to the Mayfran. Where were we? were in or in. Disney World. And Jenny McCarthy was there. was drunk. We were at Disney World. We at the Caribbean Beach Hotel. We were there with you, Jenny Lardini was probably there. But she probably wasn't staying there because she was local. Speaker 2 (40:52.994) Yeah, and then Christina Liradini all time. think she's like the most beautiful of all. And then Alicia or Skova I I might have been like one of the first. Because we were there for a cable convention called CTAM which is a cable marketing thing and then I shot like an episode of Hot Rocks or something. you Speaker 2 (41:14.936) I remember Jenny McCarthy taught me how to do the electric slide at that. Oh, that's not what I thought you were going to say. No. Well, I can try to find pictures of this. I trashed our hotel room with Jenny by throwing Pringles potato chips into a ceiling fan. That would be awesome. Speaker 2 (41:32.974) Oh really? How fun! You're like boom! It's a perfect like can. That's great. do that because other people don't want to What I thought you were going to say was one of my Playboy radio hosts used to love to tell the story about how on a private jet Jenny was the one who taught her how to give proper oral sex. I knew you were going to say that. That's why Jenny got Playmate of the Year and I didn't. They told me I was going to be Playmate of the Year. No, I'm so glad they didn't give it to me. They figured out was way too young. No, she was. Jenny was definitely on the upswing. So there are other good white people that play video stories. Yeah, Jenny got a playmate of you did you know, he actually told me I don't know why we were talking about but he actually told me once that he didn't cuz she was from Southside didn't think she was the most attractive no, said they just knew that she had something. Yeah. He was right. You know. Speaker 1 (42:34.382) Yeah, it was just... Personality-wise, was just off the charts. Well, I, yeah, I I actually shot with her entire family. She still has a sister, Amy. Cause when I stood on Hot Rocks, we went to Chicago when she got playmate of the year. And my favorite shot in the episode isn't of any of the McCarthy sisters. It's of a very fat Chicago cop. So what her sister's name? Speaker 1 (42:59.192) who's leaning on a donut counter. He didn't know he was leaning on a donut counter. I just positioned the shot that way. And he starts talking about like, Chicago's so proud of Jenny. And I was like, yeah. It was a good Jenny story I could actually tell. Probably from, was it from Orlando? Yeah, from Orlando. So where, and Julie Salini was there. So we're out partying in And I'm in my car, think with you. I think you were in the backseat, my friend Marlon. It's funny. Speaker 2 (43:26.382) Yeah, I remember that. So we drive back to Caribbean Beach Hotel and Jenny is being driven home by Julie in her Camaro and I pull up to the guard booth and I tell the guard at Disney that we were out and we went up flirting with some prostitutes who followed us and he pulls them over and he starts interrogating them and I get out of the car and go back up Hold your... Speaker 1 (43:57.806) What happens of course with their sense with Jenny sense of humor they pull up Julie driving they pull up the guard booth Jenny starts flashing the guard and like flirting and like acting like prostitute doing everything. That's funny. That's super funny. love it. I told this before about it, we were off camera. I remember meeting you for the first time, was the few times we were in room together, at one of the holiday parties, a Playboy. And someone said, you should talk to Carrie, she's an actress. And I'm like, all right, well, let me see how the night goes. And I remember taking a look at you and going, she's way too pretty to want to do Playboy, do you need stuff? How can anyone be too pretty for blue? Well for TV. That's what was a hierarchy. okay. Here's my story about you that you don't know. Speaker 2 (44:52.718) a list of girls for different reasons. Every time they were on the station. I just go. Every time they were on the station, I was instructed I had to send a. A transcript of everything they said. You were one of those. Here's the irony. And here. Speaker 2 (45:19.262) He was thinking or somebody told me TV. that Playboy legally has to transcribe everything they do and there's... Well, radio you can't. It would take you longer to transcribe than it takes us to make. because when this started we all thought this is a list of girls he hates this is a list of girls that he doesn't trust that he thinks are gonna say something stupid and then I don't send him this I'm gonna stuff out it's already been on live that with one exception there was only one exception no there were two exceptions these were girls he loved wanted this And we found out Speaker 2 (45:51.246) And he wanted to this is how he was keeping up with them. Yeah Now there was one exception was Terry Weigel and Terry had done some stuff that the play that the mansion didn't like and he was very curious about what she would say and then there's I think I don't want wrong name because I don't if I have the wrong name it's not fair to somebody but there was one girl who got caught up in some kind of prostitution thing and whenever she was on the scandal erupted while I was there and one other girl. Speaker 1 (46:22.262) So he would always want to know that stuff. And then there was a list of five or six people he was really, truly in love with. So, and on whatever level that is, you were on that list. I know Holly did step in as the editor and then she went in and she there's literally footage of her taking all of her centerfolds off the wall and I know I was up there, Kimberly was up there, Barbara was up there and literally tossing them all in the dumpster. It was awful. supposed to be a sisterhood. right? Speaker 1 (47:14.094) You were rightfully in a different world. Yeah. You because you were the brand as opposed to we were very much employees. My favorite story is just an example of the Playboy world. is I have a friend who is a very big celebrity comedian who was dating a playmate and he dated many over the years and he knew they had broken up because we're like literally sitting up at his house watching the Armageddon premiere for Miami on E and his girlfriend is there with Michael Bay. So I found someone bigger and better. You guys mentioned Holly and I do you mind I'm going to tell you what I really think of Holly. Happy birthday. Speaker 2 (47:53.902) Please do. Bridget worked for me. Bridget had her own show on Playboy Radio and we loved Bridget. She was really hard working. She was the hardest worker I've ever Really? person we have. She would come in pages and pages. She had a degree in communications. She really was. And I love Bridget and that's what I think of Holly. That's a very elegant way to it. Speaker 2 (48:13.87) I heard a rumor that she hated all the playmates because she was jealous because she didn't get to be a playmate. But of course the girls, when the girls next door happened, they all got to be in the magazine and everyone thinks they're playmates because they were. I'll tell you the world's greatest Bridget story. We're promoting her show. We're going to New York. We're at Sirius's main studios in New York in their lobby doing a show. And we're being followed. The Playboy publicist, his name was Scott. Scott set up the Us Magazine. I know that his nickname is too. I'll bring that up. Yes. Yes, I actually do. But know the blue sky handle. But he sent Us Magazine to cover Bridget the whole time, like a 24-7 thing around Bridget in New York. And the Us Magazine woman, the reporter comes to me and says, look, I just got a tip. Tell me what you want me to do with it. We're on your side here with this deal. I just found out that Bridget is married. I've been told that Bridget is married. I said, hold on. And I pulled Bridget into a room. I said, What? Speaker 1 (49:20.074) And this reporter just heard... story bridget that you're married yeah yeah i'm married she was married the whole time yeah and i thought that her sister was really her daughter i heard okay wait my mind is below it gets better my mind as well she says i don't well give you just have no it's just no big deal so the us magazine woman comes in That's Speaker 1 (49:39.394) Talking about it and Scott says, you don't mind, do you? Speaker 1 (49:45.646) into the room and says, now, why have you been, why? Why haven't you told the world that you're married? They never asked me. I wasn't lying. was married to some guy was like in Atlanta or Florida. Did they have any relationship? No, no, were She was legally married. A lot people stay legally married for different reasons. that's all the f**k does it. Hef knew about Playboy knew about it. She was just so sweet and loving. about it but it was like this big sketch open I was a big bridge highly if she was aggressively angry and So. I would doubt Speaker 2 (50:21.102) She never was rude or... She was always nice. I she just stood there and smiled. She you don't remember her chatting with me much. Holly, I don't, she was a little more... Talkative. A little more friendly and quiet. Not too aggressively friendly. but she definitely engaged with her mates. Kendra was just crazy wild. What could I close it out with I just remembered a story It was when you were 18 when you knew a playboy I went to a New Year's party in the hills that you remember Dennis Morgan? The mud wrestling Party which is always like a celebrity in playmate jam-packed wire and Barbara Moore walks in Hold on a bit for part of the story. Okay. So Barbara Moore walks in Yeah Speaker 2 (51:06.978) Was she with Corey Feldman? Her lipstick. Her face. Rick, what are you doing here? I'm like, this was the party I went to tonight. What are you? He's like, I was at the mansion and now we're here. she has no idea. Look at his whole face. And she's like, oh, who are you here with? She's like, oh, Corey Feldman, but he's just a friend. then Corey comes up and he sees the lipstick spot. And I'm like, what was going on? Yes! Speaker 2 (51:41.486) you decide to tell Barbara that her lips are... But then Barbara says I was at the mansion party with Echo Chauncey. Yeah, it was the first party that we ever went to. and I'm like, where's Echo? And she's like, she left with Scott Bae. And I'm like, Farbra, Echo's 18 and she's new, you gotta watch out for her, Scott's a little bit, you know, like. I was worried about him when I became playmate. I was worried about him and told that he sends fan mail to every new playmate. Speaker 1 (52:14.714) So I was like, Barbara, come on, you just gotta watch out for an educator and let her make her own choices and whatever. I don't wanna say anything good or bad about Scott. Then Barbara says, but it goes 18 and he was chochie. worried about. Speaker 2 (52:30.792) No. And so that next morning, Barbara and I were staying in Marina Del Rey and it's not the era of cell phones or anything. And I had no idea where the fuck the house was. So I'm literally walking down the beach in my white gown and Scott's driving through the alleys watching me. And then I see Barbara up on his patio and I'm like, Barbara! I saw you! So she went home before he fell asleep that night. I went home with Scott, you know, and I was like... I'm probably not going to be with my high school boyfriend anymore. have arrived. Scott and I had a great time. We definitely hung out quite a bit. Did you? No. I did. It's about the STDs. Speaker 1 (53:13.902) Did you get an autographed taxi picture? Speaker 1 (53:18.702) I don't know what you did for it. You were there! should have Corey. We gotta wrap it up because we have another guest waiting for us in the lobby. So I like to end the show by asking two questions. I'm gonna start with Farrell. Okay, so three words that define Hugh Hefner to you. I'm about my answer. Speaker 1 (53:43.774) the first one was gracious. Absolutely to me he was gracious. And he was unique. There was not another and will not be another half. I know I'm taking on a good word, sorry. No, I got it. He's a legend. People just, it's happening. A lot of people are named. But Speaker 2 (54:03.138) Respecting Waterloo Yeah, you know for people he's a half a name person who's happening? That's good and I love it because everybody always has different answers there nobody has ever said the same thing twice. really? No because I would imagine Okay, and had you had the chance to say anything to Hugh Hefner before he passed what would you say? gracious would come up a lot. Speaker 1 (54:32.648) this is weird. So, I asked him this question and you had to be there to understand. One year, Playboy Entertainment had the Christmas party at the mansion. What happened? Speaker 1 (54:46.862) And in the middle of the part, it comes down in amplitude. and everybody has come in a Santa's everybody is invited to take turns sitting on his lap with half. getting their picture taken. And like I was sitting there watching thinking this is the weirdest thing, but there's grown men sitting on Hef's lap and Hef was a And I would, and he was looking at me watching everybody saying, okay, it's your turn. I would just, I would want to say, I would want to say, I hope you weren't insane. I just thought it was weird and freaky and I don't want that picture. would hope he would know that was my wasn't a big Speaker 1 (55:11.045) And. Speaker 1 (55:17.634) Salted. Speaker 1 (55:26.39) I respect for him. Yeah. I think he would have chuckled had you shared that story with him. He probably would been like, I would have done the same. Yes, yeah. That was one of my favorite parts of my... That's what I loved about him was his laugh. I loved his laugh. All right, Eric, three words. I Speaker 1 (55:45.422) want to stick with gracious, one of my words because you were out of words. Gracious, anachronistic, and benevolent. And the question I would ask, can I get off your lap now? Speaker 2 (55:59.854) This is like when we used to work together. do this stuff. That's fun. All right. And had you had the chance to say anything to have? It would be, can I get off your lap? Okay. We're wrapping with that. Oh my God. Speaker 1 (56:21.934) I was always kind of in awe because of his... probably one of the only people who the first time I went to movie night, I brought him a gift. said you would. Speaker 2 (56:31.486) Mmm, where'd you bring them? Speaker 2 (56:46.862) Good looking out, Haven't heard that one before. Very good. All right. So a couple words for our audience. First and foremost, thank you so much for the love support. We continue to grow organically around the world. We have a huge listening base and we're so grateful for you all. If you have not subscribed to our YouTube channel, please do so. Like, comment, and share. And we are about to launch a merch line. You're tuning in. We'll see you all next week. Carol, Eric, thank you so much. thank you. Appreciate it. Awesome. That was so much fun.

Liner notes