Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Gary Chowen: Toronto Mike'd Podcast Episode 1519

Episode Date: July 11, 2024

In this 1519th episode of Toronto Mike'd, Mike chats with hairstylist to the stars Gary Chowen about his wild career from being Cher's personal hairstylist to smoking weed with John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr and sharing a bottle of scotch with Ed McMahon in the back of a limo. This man has stories to share. Toronto Mike'd is proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, Ridley Funeral Home, The Advantaged Investor podcast from Raymond James Canada, The Toronto Maple Leafs Baseball Team and RecycleMyElectronics.ca. If you would like to support the show, we do have partner opportunities available. Please email Toronto Mike at [e-mail]

Welcome to episode 1519 of Toronto Mic'd. Proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery. A fiercely independent craft brewery who believes in supporting communities, good times and brewing amazing beer. Order online for free local home delivery in the GTA. Palma Pasta Enjoy the taste of fresh, homemade Italian pasta and entrees from Palma Pasta in Mississauga and Oakville. The Toronto Maple Leafs baseball team. The best baseball in the city outside the dome.

Join me August 4th at Christie Pitts. I'll be recording live at 2pm. I'm also throwing out the first pitch. No foolin'! RecycleMyElectronics.ca. Committing to our planet's future means properly recycling our electronics of the past. And Ridley Funeral Home. Pillars of the community since 1921.

Today, making his Toronto Mike debut, is a hairstylist to the stars who once shared a bottle of Scotch with Ed McMahon in the back of a limousine. It's Gary Chowen. Welcome Gary. Hey Mike, how you doing? Happy to be here today. Gary, my job is to sit back and extract stories.

I can't imagine how many stories. I bet you we could record a four or five, six hour episode and leave some good stories on the cutting room floor. We could do an LP or a book. Yeah, I'm sure with leftover. Yeah, now a mini series. Why are we thinking one episode? This should be like a 10 episode arc or something

in the Toronto Mike archives. But my friend, you are a Gary. I am well aware they're not making any new Gary's. I just want to tell you, you're the fourth Gary to come on the show. Gear Joyce is a Gary, Gary Cormier and Gary Top, the two Gary's. You're the fourth. What happened to all the Gary's? Where are the young Gary's? Yeah, it's one of those names that has gone by the wayside. What's funny Mike is that when I used to get credits on like on Sunday to share show, a friend of mine said put two Rs in your name. It takes up more space on the screen. So Gary Shanley did that right? Didn't Gary Shanley put two Rs in? Yeah, he did actually.

Okay. So it took up more, you know, even though it's one R, but on television I always use these two R's. Oh that's funny. Alright so you dropped Sonny and Cher. We're gonna get to Sonny and Cher very early in this episode. I will shout out former Raptor, and I say this even though he's a free agent, he could theoretically sign and still be a Raptor, but I don't think he's gonna be a Raptor But former Raptor Gary Trent jr. Is only 25 years old. I think he might be the world's youngest Gary 25 I have phone messages older than that. I haven't returned yet Yeah, I was gonna do one of my hell one of my Ed McMahon's now that I know we're gonna get to the Ed McMahon story There's so many stories. We're gonna get to you're gonna have to promise something to me Gary though. I want you to drop name after name after name I want you to drop these names like they're hot. Don't hold on to any names. Just drop them all

Okay, I'll pick them up when we finish. No leave them there I want them to be there when the we're gonna record tonight at 530 and FOTM cast I want all those names just littered in this basement you promise me done good okay from what I can remember anyway well that's my job to extract those things correct all right let's go back if you don't mind let's go back to the 60s here I just just set the table here how long have you been cutting hair I've been in the business 59 years and have survived so far not easy I always tell people I should get the order of Canada for standing behind a chair for 59 years making women happy. Try and keep one woman a day

happy. I got to keep 10. Okay. Well, listen, we're going to find out some of these, these women's names actually, but uh, is it Caruso? So I'm doing a little homework on Gary Chow and okay. In the 1960s in Yorkville, there's a salon called Caruso's Caruso's. It was one of the most famous salons in the world in the sixties. There was probably three great salons. There was Alexander in Paris who did all the Kings Queens royalty of Europe, Kenneth in New York, who was the big society hairdresser did, you know,

the Kennedy's and so forth. And Caruso's here in Toronto on Bloor street, which was right across from Varsity Stadium, the Royal Conservatory of Music. And it was an incredible, incredible place. I was like 13 maybe when I went to work there as a shampoo boy. And in those days, I mean, those guys, they were like rock stars.

They had three-piece Lou Miles suits, drove convertibles, dating all the hot models. You figure, how bad can this job really be? So it just kept going. So is that near Avenue Road? Yeah, it was between Avenue Road and Bedford. And I can recall the Bloor Street streetcar in those days. We were like right in between the two stops at Bedford and Avenue Road

and the conductor would stop the car outside the salon and heal Caruso's and would basically like empty. Wow okay big deal Caruso's in the 1960s and you were there and that's very young like how do you get a gig at 13? My father knew Mr Caruso and my father said, you know, look, maybe you should get a part-time job after school. So he contacted him and, um, uh, got me a job as a shampoo boy on Saturdays. I went in and then I just kept going in and then they couldn't keep me away. But you did, did you have a passion for hair styling? Not at all. Not at all. Okay. So it's like a chicken and egg thing. Like because you're there,

you catch the bug. Yeah, it just caught on and I started doing it. And what was really crazy is how I started doing practicing there was very few people know the saloon was above a place called Frederick's lingerie store on Bloor Street, very high end. And as it turns out, it was a front for a call girl, high class call girls that this lady who was running high class, there was a back staircase to the salon. And I can remember these gorgeous looking European women coming up the back staircase and I would do their hair in the morning when I was like 14 or 15. Okay. And that all say, we're just starting work, Gary. We'll come back later. And they always gave me a few dollars.

Okay. I need to do an episode on the high-class call girls in this city back in the sixties. Like that's a, that's a scene I need to know more about. I believe it. Of course. Absolutely. Now the word salon, I need to ask you about the pronunciation of this word. So I'm listening to you now for all of what?

Five minutes and you say salon. I say salon. Is this another word I'm butchering is it salon tomato tomato Levine Levine it's a no do say brewery for me then how do you say brewery okay you said it right so you get yourself some fresh craft beer from Great Lakes Brewery I'm gonna take up drinking again well so you quit drinking oh geez I'm keeping that beer I had a PhD in it. No, you never know. I might make a comeback. Oh, you have guests, right?

I can trust you. You won't wake up in a ditch tomorrow, Gary, if I give you that great link. I might wake up in a foreign country, which has happened before, but. OK, that's another story we'll uncover here. OK, we're just warming up, everybody. I'm just doing my stretches here.

We've learned about the high class call girls going to Caruso's. So you're there. Now where do you work today? What's so sorry I want to say it your way. What salon will we find you in today? I am working in back in Yorkville where I was born at number 100 Yorkville in the original Mount Sinai Hospital. Okay. Which is now I think the Chanel building. I am now at a place, wonderful, wonderful people I'm working with called Salon Raffaello at 132 Cumberland directly across the street from the big rock. And ironically, I had that salon in the 1960s.

We had a salon there and I'm back at it. So I've come full circle. Can you compare the Yorkville scene from the sixties that you remember to the Yorkville scene today for us youngsters? You only read about it. Absolutely no comparison. It was fun. It was great. The characters. Now as I call them, the Yorkville in crowd, they're all in debt, insecure and totally insignificant to me. It's just, it's a joke.

Yeah, I go to work and I leave immediately. Like, not like the old days where you, you know, hit the coffee houses. Right, like Joni Mitchell would be playing. Everybody was there. The Purple Onion or something. Or the Riverboat Cafe would have Neil Young drop in by. The poppers, the minor birds.

Everybody was there. Wow. Okay, I just learned, so we're live at live.tor was there. Wow. Okay. I just learned. So we're live at live.torontomike.com and the official historian of the Toronto Mike podcast is a gentleman named Jeremy Hopkins. And he tells me the name Gary, its origins is the word is the name Gareth. So Gareth became Gary. Did you know this? You must've known this as a Gary. I thought it came from the word Garrison.

Okay. Well we have to fact-check this I got to get Robert Lawson out of the bushes. He can fact-checked all this all this is gonna happen behind the scene You're in for a fun ride here. Gar. Anyone ever call you Gar? Yeah, sure. Okay a lot of nicknames. Okay, but yeah Gar You know basically a lot of people call me GC GC. Oh my goodness so many names I have to choose from here. By the way, my hair was cut by Andy the barber at your neighborhood barber shop here on Lake Shore. And it might be the polar opposite

of going to a Yorkville salon. No, it's an act, man. I mean, a haircut's a haircut. So how am I doing? How's Andy doing with my hair? Is my hair okay? Looks great. Okay, thank you.

Got a nice full head of hair. Yeah, I mean, I would love to have that. Well, listen, that's why you're here. Mine's deserted me. Good God, man, but you're holding on. Yes. It's yeah, it's a visual Okay, it's it's the little is that the Donald Trump's little on no God. Don't even mention his name to me I'll get up and leave You know, I'm somebody asked me the other day actually Simon head who is making a lot of great films lately He asked me, like,

has anyone ever left? He's like, you've done over 1,500 episodes, has anyone got up and left? And I said, nobody's ever got up and left, but I would love it. Like, I would love to be sitting here chatting with someone and they just storm out of here. That'd be great. What a visual. So just give you got it on camera. I got on camera, but just even the audio. Like, yeah, I, it's never happened, but I would love it to happen. So Gary, if you want to get out and storm out you should be making my day No, I'm pretty well here for the duration. I might even hang here all day. What's your comfy? You're comfy. Yeah Well, you know what's for lunch?

Palm a pasta lasagna. Oh my god. I got one in the freezer for you. What a locale snack We got a fatten you up buddy. Yeah, well, come on fading away and I got beer and pasta We gotta fatten you up buddy. Yeah. Well, come on fading away and I got beer and pasta All right. Let's cut to that. I've warmed you up enough. Here it comes you get a call to go to California Is that correct? That is correct. I need the story. So you're young teenager working at Caruso's and you're not only working on the the high-class call girls But you're working on some pretty, I'm betting some pretty rich and famous claim telling betting, but you get a phone call

to get your butt to California. Tell us why, what's going on there. Okay. So, I had a friend of mine who is now deceased, my mentor in life, a gentleman by the name of Larry Robbins, who was the manager at Caruso's. So a couple gentlemen from Los Angeles, Chris Beard and Alan Bly, two hugely successful producers. Can we pause? I'm so rude, except you said Chris Beard. I got to ask you, is this the Gong Show creator?

That was created in my living room at three o'clock in the morning. I had a house on Forest Hill Road. Chris and I had smoked a little bit of good marijuana and he goes, Hey, what about this idea I have for a TV show? And he went on to give me the premise of the Gong show. And I looked at him at three in the morning. I said, that may be the most stupidest thing I've ever heard in my life. Don't ever tell anybody that again. Well, he sold that to Chuck Barris,

I think for $3 million the idea, in my life, don't ever tell anybody that again. Well, he sold that to Chuck Barris, I think for $3 million, the idea. But the original Gong Show came from a friend of Chris's, the name escapes me, in Australia, where Chris was from. Gentleman used to do, he directed Top of the Pops in London, England, great old rock show in the old days. And so he did the Gong Show, but Chris took it from him and ran with it here in North America.

But that's okay. So now the fact that you just dropped a name, just getting yourself to California here, and it's Chris Beard who created the Gong show. People think Chuck Barrett has created the Gong show, but no, Chuck buys this idea or whatever from Chris Beard. Okay, now you may pick up your story. So anyway, they came up here to do a replacement for the Ray Stevens show. No, pardon me, the Andy Williams show in Los Angeles. And

because in those days, you'd shoot 26 episodes, and then they'd run 26 episodes repeat. So you had your 52 years, as opposed to now where they shoot eight episodes and call it a year. So they came up here to do the Ray Stevens show, and hired Caruso's to do the hair for the show. And so I became very close with Alan Bly and Chris Beard. They had, you know, the Dick Van Dyke show and they had finished writing the Elvis. Still friends of Dick Van Dyke. Do you know Dick Van Dyke?

Yeah, I've met Dick. Yeah, I've worked with him. Is he as nice a guy as he seems? He is beyond, beyond nice. Okay. I did a show with him and Cloris Leachman. Okay. There's an off-Broadway play called Breakfast with Les and Bess,

where they were a married couple, radio hosts. And we spent a week at the old CFTO studios up on Scarborough, as we used to call them. Asian Court. That's right. We used to call them. Asian court. That's right, we used to call them CFI Care. Much better name for us. You're now watching CFI Care.

And so we shot it up there. And Dick was coming off his divorce from Michelle at the time. And Cloris, who has the vocabulary of a truck driver, hated people who smoked cigarettes. So in those days, both Dick and I smoked, we would be sitting in the dressing room and she would be banging on our dressing room door,

just laying into us with you, effing this and you effing that. Wow. I used to go in to do her hair and she'd be sitting there like naked or just in her bra. Say, Cloris, can you please put some clothes on, honey? It was just insane. But yeah, Dick is amongst the greatest people

you could ever, ever wanna meet. And what a talent, huh? Well, his greatest talent is that he's still alive, right? Yeah, and still dances and does that. Yeah, he's still active. He's, you know, we always say, oh, you're pushing 50, you're pushing 60, you're pushing, this guy's pushing 100. Yeah. I mean, long may he run, but I'm glad to hear he's still active. I he's you know, we always say oh you're pushing 50 you're pushing 60 you push this guy's pushing 100 yeah, I mean I like long may he run but I'm glad to hear he's a good guy, but he's evidence

Okay, we now have empirical evidence smoking cigarettes doesn't shorten your life. Dick Van Dyke smoked the darts Yeah, guys still dance energy. Oh doing it. Okay, so back to California. Okay. So anyway, they still doing it okay so back to California okay so anyway they came up here but they did the Andy Williams summer replacement show Ray Stevens blah blah blah so a year or so passes and I get a phone call at about 2 30 in the morning I was living with my father at the time and no actually I wasn't sorry I had my own apartment then I think I was like 16 and I rented an apartment. And they asked me, how soon can you be in Los Angeles?

And I said, I don't know, tomorrow? Not even knowing why, but you know, all I know is that they want to take me to Hollywood. So the arrangements were made and the next day I was on a plane to Los Angeles, got picked up at the airport, taken to Sonny and Cher's house, and they said, this is who you work for,

and we will see you tomorrow. We were going to Bob Mackey's, the famous dress designer, and Bob was just starting out too. It was one of his first big jobs. He used to work at a studio, very famous place called Elizabeth Courtney up on Melrose Avenue, and he was partners with Ray Agahan,

who used to do Judy Garland's clothes, Greta Garbo, and on and on and on. So the next day, there I am amongst all these people. Okay, we gotta slow it down for a moment here. Okay, what was it like? What is Sonny, sorry, no longer with us, shadowed at the Ridley funeral home, but what was Sonny Bono like?

And tell me about Cher when you first meet Cher. Like this is a big deal, Cher. I had actually met them previously when they did, the original pilot for the Sonny and Cher show was shot at CFDO. So we are gonna have to, maybe after we get you back to Toronto from California, we're gonna have to spend some quality time in aging court.

That's what we're gonna do, okay. Is there such to spend some quality time in aging court. That's what we're gonna do, okay. Is there such a thing as quality time in aging court? We're gonna find out, okay, because I have some bizarre questions for you, wink wink. Okay, so you're in California at Sunny and Cher's house, and this is a collaboration you're gonna do with Bob Mackie? Like you're gonna be be shares personal hairdresser? We were given the job to change her from hippie chick at the time to glam diva,

which I think we did pretty good. I'd say you succeeded. I think we did okay on that one. Yeah. So we just sat down, uh, Bob and I and you know, talked about it and he showed me some of the designs. And you know, I threw some hairdos, what we can do. There was a lot of wig work in those days because we'd shoot maybe 10 to 12 different sketches a day. So, you know, you had minutes, because time is money in the television business, of course.

So you have like minutes before you can get them back out on stage. The hair people are the last people to get them. You know, wardrobe, makeup, and then into hair, and you got the floor director coming out. We need her. I just got her. So yeah, there was a lot of pressure and stress when you shoot a TV show of that caliber. And what was the name of the show exactly? Sonny and shares. It was Sonny and share comedy hours Sonny and shares, Sonny and share comedy hour. Okay, and this is a CBS show?

CBS. Okay, so there's a lot of talk about Cher's hair transformation, like this long straight hair. Is that you? Did you do that? Yes. Gary, that's why you're on Toronto Mic'd, buddy. That's right, I'm happy to be here. So far so good. Yeah, Cher's actually had very wavy hair and we didn't have the equipment like hair is flat, flat irons we have now and the products and the blow dryers with power. I used to take, it was an old method, you just take a roller and put it on the top of their head

and then you take the hair wet and you start wrapping around the head like a mummy. Right. And you pin it down, sit under an old hooded hair dryer, 20 minutes, take it out, rewrap it the other way and a curly head of hair will come out like a mummy. Right. Pin it down, sit under an old hooded hair jar, 20 minutes, take it out, rewrap it the other way. And a curly head of hair will come out like a sheet of glass. And that's how we got that iconic shared you. So you had many, many Americans and Canadians, women were trying to mimic this hairstyle.

Right. So you, you inspired millions of I used to come to work in the morning at, you know, CBS television city. And they would stop me and give me fan mail and people asking questions. Yeah. It was funny for a kid. Yeah. Cause how old are you? You're still a teenager. I'm 17, 18. That math breaks my brain. Like, so you're 17, 18 and share is fine with trusting this, uh, you know, this asset to this, uh, teenager. She wasn't much Toronto teenagers. Only a couple of years older than me.

Okay. Let's, let's find out what Cher was like. So now we know Dick van dyke, sweetheart. Glad to hear it. What was Cher like? Absolutely fabulous. Okay. Uh, uh, a wonderful, wonderful human being straight up, no bullshit. One of the guys, just, you know, I can't say enough about this woman, how kind she is and how great. And let's just throw in a little bit of talent there too. Well, she does win an Oscar eventually. Do you take any credit for the Oscar? And an Emmy? Yeah. None whatsoever. None for that, okay. But, you know, who knows? You could draw a line maybe without that hair on the Sunny and Cher. You may not have got her there. You're right. Maybe

Moons... maybe Norman Jewison doesn't call her up and say, hey, I got a script. I loved your hair. So can you act? Let's find out. Okay. Can you act without the hair? What was Sunny like? You know, he skied into a tree, right? This is the end of Sunny Bono. Supposingly, yeah. What do you... Do you know something else? I can't. That's what was reported. They got better lawyers than I do. Okay, so you have to do like that trick

where you don't talk about Sunny, talk about Bobby, this friend of yours, Bobby. How did Bobby die? Well, it was a little peculiar that, you know, Sunny was a pretty good skier. He knew that terrain, he had skied there before and you know you just don't ski into a tree head first and die. Maybe yeah. There is talk from a few people that something may have happened to him. I think he's a congressman right? Well Sonny was put there by certain people I'm pretty sure. Okay who? Listen I watched the Sopranos I

got a feeling I know where this is going. We can end it right there yeah he was pretty well connected. Don't stop believing boom! Yeah! Sunny hits the tree. Well Sunny couldn't do many favors for these people after a while. What kind of guy was Sunny? Not my favorite human being at all. Used to be Friday Night Poker Games the guy would cheat Used to be Friday night poker games. The guy would cheat. Oh for a few bucks He was not too well liked by a lot of people Sonny. He just you know Listen, I admire the guy for what he did. He wrote some great songs You know and he knew share was the meal ticket and he was the brains behind it all

But he screwed her over financially and everything at the end and it wasn't pretty. I mean, even after year one, I can see a difference in the two of them. You know, would finish the show, she'd go her way, he'd go his way. He wasn't my favorite human being. That's too bad. And, you know, I guess the marriage ends. Does that what ends the show? Like does the show, the Sonny and Cher Show that you worked on, it ends because the marriage ends?

Well, also, as I've always said, marriage is the number one cause of divorce. So. I'm gonna write that down. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Even though they enjoyed the money, the fame,

and they did do gigs after they separated because they were under contract to do it. They had to, otherwise. Right. Yeah. Well, it's like the rock bands were breaking up, but we have all the data to play these festivals and run out the string here. Okay. Just don't talk to me. Okay. All right. So before we get you back to Toronto, are there any big names you can tell me that you met because they were on Sonny and Cher Show? One name I'm thinking about no longer with it's going to be a lot of shouts out to Ridley Funeral Home on this episode.

By the way, Ridley Funeral Home, Gary wants you to have their official measuring tape for measure what you wish, Gary. It's up to you. What would you like to measure my coffin? I'm glad you said coffin. I was like, where's that word going? OK, no. Strange thing. Shout out to Ridley Funeral Home. Hey Hey Ridley, thank you. I'll go home and measure something. Bert Reynolds. Love him. Love Bert. Okay, did you meet Bert on the

Sunny and Share? Yes, of course. Tell me about Bert Reynolds who for a period of time was the most, like the biggest box office John America. He was a great guy. God, I remember with Chris, I mean, you know, it was kind of funny that the executive producer of the show had picked me up in the morning and drive me to work and he said, oh, we got to go pick Bird up today. And he'd pile in the back and off we'd go to studio. But yeah, we had so many people on that show.

I mean, Ronald Reagan, you know, I mean, God, I mean, I couldn't even be Jerry Lewis. And I have to assume. Did you do Jerry Lewis's hair? No, no. He always looked like he took two sardines and combed his hair in the morning. He's a guy I would think would be cantankerous. Like he doesn't give me warm fuzzies. Not at all. I don't know anybody who ever liked him.

All right, we're spilling a lot of tea on this program here. Have you ever seen that movie no one's seen, The Day the Clown Died or The Day the Clown Laughed? I saw bits and pieces of it. What was it called, The Day the Clown Laughed? I have to Google the name of this thing. Yeah. The Holocaust movie.

I don't know, something or other, yeah. If he's in it, I'm not watching it. You're gonna pass on that one Okay, so any other name drops from the Sonny and Cher era before we get you back to Toronto I've got questions about aging court Back to the only guy I might be the only guy you'll ever you know record a podcast with who's probably more interested in aging Court than Sonny and Cher range. I know mayor Mike of aging court We should make you.

What was great about the Sonny and Cher show, where we shot it at CBS, next to us was the Carol Burnett show, which we had on as a guest. And in the studio next to us was All in the Family. And I was actually in the building the day of the famous show and All in the Family that they had Sammy Davis on.

Wow. And Sammy came into our dressing room that day. We were shooting at the same time. Yeah. Say hi and the building was absolutely electric. And it became one of the most famous shows on television. It was when Archie and, you know, Sammy Davis hooked up. Oh, and they hooked up.

Yeah, that's what, that's a show where if you're going to put together a list of greatest sitcoms of all time, it would have to be almost always number one is all in the family normally are only passed away last year I think speaking of guys who you know push in a hundred he might have hit a hundred I can't remember but a great show were you friends with any of these cast members like Carol O'Connor any of any I used to go over and watch them rehearse and the rehearsal halls at CBS which are on the other side of the building which you need a cab to get to it so big

The rehearsal is there is vending machines out there and Sally Struthers Always used to hit me up for quarters so she could buy chocolate bars. That's funny She never ever repaid me now that I think of it. Well, it's not too late to get that money. Well, I Don't think she I think I might be working more than her. Well and also all her money goes to help animals. God bless her and that's a good cause. Let her keep my quarters. She can keep your quarters here. Now you're now you're young you're still a teenager, you're now meeting, you're hanging out with Burt Reynolds for goodness sake, Sonny and

Cher and and I'm wondering why you even come back to Toronto? Like you seem like you should have stayed in LA, like you're Hollywood gear. I'll be very honest with you. I got sent home by certain people who were connected to Sonny. When they were getting divorced, I actually got a phone call from somebody and he said, I think it's time you went back to Toronto. I'm hearing you're getting phone calls from certain publications, silver screen magazine and inquirer offering you some money to spill the beans because who knows more than anybody else but hair and

makeup people. Wow, Gare. And so I phoned a friend of mine and said so-and-so just called me and told me you know it's best I go back to Toronto for a while and I'll never forget the words that were said to me. He says, be thankfully phoned you. He likes you. You could have woke up with a horse head in your bed. Well, you know, they've been, let's not go to that extreme, Mike,

but yeah, I knew the message from these people and I'd had enough. You know, it was just brutal at the end, you know, being there. Well, who needs to deal with those people? You know, I, again, sopranos. I'm a simple man. I do hair. You're a hairstylist to the stars and there are stars in Asian court. Yes, there are.

Okay. So you, that's wild, that story. I would pull at these threads. I'm sure there's more to that story, but maybe that's the sequel you on your deathbed you're gonna tell me one yeah that'll be so many years from now headstone no when you're in that bed and they say okay Gary you've got it'll be in my book I'm calling it herapy are you working on a book I am a little bit I've you know okay so things written down okay yeah I'm calling it herapy because I'm a herapist this is like the the teaser trailer for the book then when this book comes out there's a come on your show and we'll read it together. And I just want to know about these these these guys you paid you a visit I think it's time you take a little vacation. Okay. Yeah you go home. Don't fit

me for cement shoes that's what you're saying. I don't want to sleep with the fishes. I don't look good in cement. No. Luke O'Brasey I don't want to follow his lead on this. That's right. Sleep with the fishes. Okay, so you come back to Toronto. And of course you're born in Yorkville. You're a Toronto guy. I mean, I'm doing the math. You're still young. I'm young! You're still young today! I still didn't know what I wanted to be when I grew up. So how do you get involved with what's going on with CFICARE, CFTO, Aging Court, the productions there. Well, ironically, I mean, it's funny, you're right.

I ended up back in Aging Court where it all started because Bly Beard used to come up here and shoot all their shows. We did the David Steinberg show, the Bobby Vinton show. On and on we shot up there because don't forget, in those days, you're getting 50 cents on the dollar. You know? Right. So it was great.

The Americans came up here and they loved working up here because the Canadian crews were so much better than the American crews. Look, anybody can move to California in a year, you're a producer up here, you start out pulling cable and you learn every job on the way up and they loved it here. All right, so we're gonna dive into some of the details here

but you're there to style the hair of guests on these shows and the hosts of these shows. Yeah, and a lot of other little things I did. Once we did a show, Chris came up here to do a show, and it was one of the very, very first cable TV shows. It was for Viacom, which I think became Showtime. And we're doing a show is for Playboy and it was called the Sex and Violence Family Hour. Try and get away with that nowadays.

Well, it depends on the network. Yeah, well, yeah. And so Chris came up and he made me the associate producer on the show. And that's when you thought I should add another art of Gary. No, that was before. That was in the Sonny and Cher Show. Okay. Yeah. So it may have been the only show in the history of television when the credits ran at the top it said associate producer, Gary Chowen

and at the bottom it said, hair Gary Chowen. They do it all. He does it all. He does it all. So sex and violence and that where, where would that air? And that let me tell you a funny story though. Jim Carrey, we had Jim Carrey on. We gave him his very first job ever.

Chris and I, we needed Canadian content in those days. So we went to Yuck Yucks when it was on Bay in Yorkville. Of course. And there's this kid, 17 years old, just ripping up the stage. Place was going crazy. Chris says, we gotta get this kid on the show. So after his set, we went up to him and pitched him

and he freaking right out. He goes, really? I on television. So we hired him on the spot, brought him out to see FTO. And I can remember Jim in the hallways saying to me, Gary, Gary, he says, what's Hollywood really like? And I remember telling him, you know, I said, be very careful that town can eat you up. Well, luckily he didn't pay much attention to me and the kid got a career And then ace Ventura yada yada yada Yeah, so Jim Carrey who was I remember in the early days of in living color, which is what break breaks him Essentially, he was going by the name James Carey as I read that. Yeah, I remember seeing that in the credits

Maybe because that's longer than Jim. He had your tip see you're why I learned well Chow and you know, you're shit Okay, so let me just break this down again because that's longer than Jim. He had your tips. See? You're a wise guy. He learned well. Chow and you know your shit, okay? So let me just break this down again. So you're at Yuck Yucks. By the way, Mark Breslin has been on this very show, sitting there, very seat. He's still a client of mine. We talked about you a few weeks ago.

Did you? Yeah. I had a great chat with Mark and I remember him telling me he didn't think Jim Carrey was very good. Yeah. He did not see a future for Jim Carrey, but you did. So you know more about comedy than Mark Breslin. I'll never tell Mark that because he's listening.

Hello, Mark. And I'm so you cut marks. I got to know all these like, you know, you're kind of we kind of do a lot of a less stuff. But I'm actually kind of more interested. Not that no marks a big deal. OK, I'm not trying to do this, but I'm more interested in the C's and the D's, you know. But we'll get there. OK, so Jim Carrey, you see something in this kid, this teenager on stage at Yucky Yucks, and you're like, that guy should be on TV.

You gave him his TV debut. Jim Carrey! Somewhere is the tape of Jim, and I think it was my girlfriend at the time who had a little maid's outfit on with no underwear, him chasing her around the living room in one of the scenes. Okay, what show was, so what was his show?

It was called The Sex and Violence Family Hour. That sucks, Sex and Violence? For Playboy. Oh, for Playboy Productions. Jim this show? It was called the sex and violence family hour sex and for playboy and Productions Jim Carrey's television debut is the sex and your name is all over the credits of this thing It's a executive producer. It's hairstylist. Okay, the Jim Carrey story might be more mind-blowing than the Sonny and Cher story I think that's like the billing number one. Yeah, okay, so I'm glad we got it on the Public record here forever when people say is Jim Carrey an FOTM, that means friend of Toronto Mike, they'll be going, no, but the guy who gave him a TV debut, Gary Chow and his entire team and shout out to Mark Breslin. Yeah, we like Mark.

We all like Mark very much. Okay. So there's a question on the live stream while we've got you an aging court now and we're going to cover a lot of bases here. There's another FOTM that you're very tight with from that era. But the question is, did you ever meet Billy Van when he was working on those shows? Oh boy, Billy and I go back. We had a lot of fun times together. I need more details because he was a regular on Sonny and Cher and... Yeah, yeah. And yeah, we had him on a lot of shows up here that we worked on,

but yeah, we used to go out at night and have a little bit of fun. Billy and I, he was so talented and, and just as nice and maybe nicer than Dick Van Dyke. That's almost impossible. Absolutely a gem of a human being. Billy Van, of course, hilariousilarious House of Fridenstein is where I know all my Billy Van from.

And he was tremendous. Are you responsible for his perm? Not at all. You're removing yourself from that credit. No, I never cut Billy's hair, actually, now that we think of it. Okay, so you just were doing things you can't talk about on the podcast.

Precisely. Wow, I need the uncut Billy Dan story from you. That'll be another episode too. OK, so where else? OK, let's talk about a gentleman who's been on Toronto Miked. So I had a wonderful conversation with John Beiner. I'll read the description and let people know if they wanted to pause this and come back,

go to episode 1113 of Toronto Mike. Here's what I wrote. Mike is joined by John Biner as they discuss his several decades in comedy including the Ed Sullivan show, The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, The Carol Burnett Show, she's still with us by the way, as is of course John. Bizarre, which is where you're gonna come in here with Super Dave Osborne and so much more. And we chatted for almost 90 minutes, a lot of great stories in that.

Please tell me about your relationship with John Beiner and working on Bizarre. Bizarre. John, again, is maybe one of the greatest humans I've ever known. He is godfather to my daughter. Wow. I've seen this man do things for people.

Not to make a long story boring, but John bought an island in Fiji. When he finally got some money, bought a 200 acre island in Fiji. There was a family there who took care of his island. They lived on the mainland and they had a daughter who was born with no arms. John, at his own expense, flew, mother, father, her brother. These are people who have never been down the road two miles this way or that way. They live in like Hoopersville, nowhere down in Fiji.

That's Yiddish. I know that term from Mark Hebscher, who I co-hosted a show for five years. Love it when I hear Yiddish. Keep him coming. Okay, so make a long story miserable. John flew them to California, paid all the medical expenses at UCLA Medical Center, so this girl could be outfitted with arms. Tell me how special a human that is. You know, I knew he was special when he agreed to a 90 minute chat with me.

That's how I knew he was special. But this story, I'm glad you're sharing this story, because while John's still, how is he doing though? It's been a few years. He's doing great. I spoke to him last week. Cause he's pushing 90. Yeah, it was his birthday last week.

Happy birthday to John Biner. I love, I'll tell you, I loved watching Bizarre, but I watched it on WUTV. Where was I watching? I was watching where I didn't see boobs. Oh, you didn't see the HBO, the Showtime version. No, so tell me how that worked. Please, like did you shoot certain scenes twice? We had two different versions of Bizarre. Tuesday morning in studio we did Nudity. And for some reason, all the executives at CFTO, CFI Care, would miraculously show up in the studio that day when we'd never seen them before.

Oh, that's funny. Yeah, we had a closed set, but you know, they owned the building and they were the execs, so we had to let them in so they could see boobies on Tuesday morning Okay, so that that morning is when you would shoot all the topless scenes and that was for Showtime Yes, and then you'd have the I don't know PG version or whatever. Then we'd reshoot it with the you know clothes on Because I do remember it being sexy, right? But I tight t-shirts and And it was good enough for young Mike. But I don't remember any, like on Benny Hill once,

I remember I saw a nipple on Benny Hill. Really? I'm surprised. I know, I know. And some people like, really? I mean, no, I promise you. Okay. And you know your nips, right? I was like 10 or 11 years old.

And I saw this nipple. Oh yeah, you were glued. Because they had it on, that was on WU TV, Benny Hill Show was aired on WU TV. And I would watch it every day. And I saw the nipple, it on that was on WUTV Benny Hill show was aired on WUTV and I would watch it every day and I saw the nipple like a shower scene of these and it was I saw the nipple and it was amazing and Bizarre I don't remember seeing any nipples But I do now that I think about it Ziggy Lawrence is an FOTM and she came over and talked about being

Recruited to be one of the topless sexy women that you would see on bizarre So she did let me into this other side that I never saw the Showtime version. I feel I missed out. We did, I mean I think every you know wannabe actress in the city was on Bizarre. A lot of them you know who I knew from nightclubs or whatever you know I was quite surprised when they showed up and wanted to do topless scenes. Did you do some recruiting for those scenes? Like did they ever send you out? We need some.

No, not me. No, no, we had a, you know, casting people who did all that. I wondered if you volunteered for it. No. No, no, no, not that. Okay. What can you tell me about Bizarre?

Maybe that'd be interesting. Firstly, I would like to ask you about Bob Einstein, of course, super Dave comes out of bizarre. Stupid Davis, we used to call it. We used to have a flag made up that when we were on location, we'd show up and, you know, in people's lawns or using their house and on the sign, it had the people's Republic of Dave and you just planted we're in your neighborhood. Um, yeah. I mean, first of all, we, we couldn't believe that we were actually getting paid

every week for bizarre and then we really couldn't believe it when we got paid to do Super Dave. We had a great time with Super Dave. Bob is a character, great guy, funny as hell, moody as hell. And yeah, we had a fun time with Bob, no doubt about it. Good guy, good family. Yeah, his brother is Albert Einstein, but he went by Albert Brooks because there wasn't Albert Einstein. Yeah, I think that name, yeah, a little bit more famous than Brooksie. Yeah, and they were really never best of friends, those two. I don't know if you saw the documentary, the Albert Brooks documentary out,

I don't know if you saw the documentary, the Albert Brooks documentary out. Absolutely a must to see. I think he only mentions Bob once in it. Yeah, it's very strange. Yeah, Albert Brooks. Amazing. Absolutely. And even just alone, Simpson's guest appearances. He's Hank Scorpio. And he's he's Jacques the bowler.

I mean, in the movie, I can't remember. It should have been Hank Scorpio, but they made it a different character for some reason in the Simpsons movie. But in his movies, amazing. Albert Brooks, hilarious. Yeah, watch the documentary. Okay, I think I have, but I gotta revisit that one. Here's a little tie in here to the community here,

the Toronto Mike Universe, is that the drummer for the Bare Naked Ladies, have you cut any hair from any- Tyler. Tyler Stewart. Tyler used to be my driver on Super Dave. That's where I'm going with this. Yeah, he used to pull up and he'd have a cup of coffee, the Globe and Mail, and I'd sit in the back and off we'd go to set.

He came over to talk about driving Bob Einstein around. You drove Bob and then at the days he'd pick me up. Don't you think that's kind of a wild story that this guy, because he's sort of like, oh yeah, you're driving, this is like a job for a young guy to drive people into aging court I should assistant but before you know it he's the drummer on a billboard hot 100 number one song who knew mind-blown But you've never cut Tyler Stewart. No never cut his hair. No, okay. He's got good hair. I think talented Tyler if you're listening cuz I know you listen you need to go to salon or Raphael at one 32 Cumberland. He's head doesn't he? I mean,

maybe you're right. Maybe there's maybe you'll work on his eyebrows. He's a number two. Just shave it down to the wood. You can work on his goatee. Maybe we'll talk. We'll talk here. All right. I loved happy days. This was a show. I was a young man. One of my first favorite sitcoms was happy days. Tell me about working with Pat Morita. Whoa, Pat. Hey, what a fun night we had him. Uh, we had him on, I guess bizarre. Yeah. Or super. I'm not sure which one it was so long ago, but we spent a very funny night in John's hotel room at the Royal York hotel, which I think we used to call the Royal dork because the,

the cast and crew of bizarre is staying at the wonderful Royal York hotel. Anyway, it's about two or three in the morning, few libations and maybe some other things. And it had one of those really bad velvet paintings that you'd see on walls of Elvis or something else or, you know, but not dogs playing poker. No, no, no. They didn't have that one. But Pat, you may have had a little too much to drink. Kept saying, man,

I love that painting. Love it. So anyway, we finally got him out of the room back to his room and off to the airport and John and I decided let's take the painting off the wall man and send it to the airport and we'll be waiting for when he got there and we shipped it off I don't know what the hell happened to it after that. Oh that's funny. Yeah or even if we did but we were really ready to send it to the airport so he could take it home to LA but you know it's funny you see him on happy days or the karate kid yeah and you know, it's funny you see him on happy days or the karate karate kid Yeah, and you know, he's got that Japanese Chinese the lingo in real life

He's like an eight to the bar bebop a lube Bob Daddy. Oh type dude. It's like whoa He has to fake the accent when he plays it. Yeah, exactly. You don't talk Miyagi. Yeah. Yeah, he's That holds up by the way the karate kid. I gotta say that holds up. So definitely great flick. It's really good Yeah, yeah. Okay. So Pat Maria you met I think you met him on bizarre, but yeah one of those things here All right. I'm gonna ask you about a couple of heavyweight champions Evander Hollyfield and George Foreman Yeah, I'm jogging your memory today. Well Bob Bob Einstein was a big sports fan. Loved having guys from sports. Can you do a Bob Einstein impression? Not like John. John does Bob Einstein.

I, I don't do voice. I do Gary Chow and voices and yeah, so we had Holly field on and I had to make them a Don King wig. Oh yeah. And this ridiculous wig, um, that he had on and Fuji, uh, art, I can't remember your Gowa who the character, the man who played Fuji, Bob's sidekick, right? And he takes his hat off in this wig springs up, uh, like Don King, but yeah, uh, Holly field, um, just a sweet, sweet man and Foreman. I got a great picture of George and I going toe to toe.

Um, you know, I was giving him advice on the Tyson fight coming up. Well, here's what you got to do, George. But yeah, nice guys. You never know what they could do to you. Well, Foreman seems like a nice guy. Uh, he, you know, when the, was it, um, rumble in the jungle? What's the, yeah, but he, he didn't seem nice in that like the doc they made about the Muhammad Ali Yeah, you're right. He seemed angry

But then in his later, I don't know. He was he was old when he won that title I use in his 40s mid 40s or he was an older boxer He was probably up tight in Rumble in the jungle because the whole nation of Africa was for Ali and nobody wanted George to win Ali, Bumbaie, Ali, Bumbaie, a great documentary about that. I'd be pissed too if a whole country was mad at me. I guess so, but you know they always showed him we had a big dog or whatever, he just looked really angry, but surly, but it turns out he's a happy-go-lucky lovely man. Time softens people man. But did he really name all his kids? Yes, George. George? George, yeah, isn't that great? It's great, but it's great if you have Alzheimer's disease. Like imagine you you had five kids, Gary, and you named them all Gary.

Like there's there's something egotistical about one would have one hour when I had two and one and three and so on would be Gare. Yeah. OK. Well, shut up to George Foreman. Yeah. I George who made a lot of money. Yeah. Grilling people up. Well, the grill. Yeah, I grill. Yeah. I understand. And I don't know if this is urban legend or not.

They offer that grill to Hulk Hogan. Did you ever hear this story? No. And he turned it down, I think. And then George Foreman accepted the, anyway, I got to, hey, how about Robert Lawson, you fact check that story I heard about Hulk Hogan being offered the grill first. Okay.

And then George Foreman getting it because Hulk said, no, Hulk, Terry Balboa, if I remember correctly. Okay. I have a little bit of a memory, but it's wrong half the time. That's why I have a fact checker. I want to get these things right. It's called some timers.

Sometimes you remember, sometimes you don't. Then you get most timers and then you're done. Okay. So we did shout out Ridley Funeral Home already, but just before I give you another gift, is it true that you have fixed the hair of a deceased person? Yes, I did. Well, share that story now only because Brad Jones is the funeral director at Ridley Funeral

Home. I produce his podcast, Life's Undertaking. It's fantastic. Brad, please don't call me and ask me to do this. I'm out of that business, man. But we talk about this in great detail about how important this is for the loved ones. Right, please don't call me and ask me to do this. I'm out of that business, man. Yeah, I was there. But you know, we talk about this in great detail about how important this is for the loved ones.

Well, yeah, they should look good when they leave. It was actually my father phoned me up. It was his girlfriend who passed away. So he phones me up and he says, look, they don't like the way that they did her hair. Can you help me out and go over and do something? And so I was your dad. Of course you got to do something. Off I go, there's a place out on Queen Street,

I recall, trollers, I don't know. And I go in and they put me in the room and there she is laying there. Oh man, this isn't good. And this gentleman standing behind me, it looked like Lurch from the Adams family breathing down. He said, Hey, excuse me, you got to go, man. Right. So true story. Her hair, because she'd been deceased for four or five days. I don't know. And it was all cold and clammy and she had long, awful hair. And no one was around and I picked it up and I took my scissors.

I went and I just cut it all off, shoved it underneath the body. Nobody was going to see it. Did the best. And I went next door to a barved it underneath the body. Nobody was gonna see it Did the best and I went next door to a bar and got drunk Wow Yeah, I was a that was a once-in-a-lifetime. Oh and never again. Is that right? No, I called you said we need some help with your hair. Oh Brad. I'm sorry anything else I'd do for you, but you know Now I'm thinking of that caramel commercial anything Remember that one with the the devil anything? Yeah. Okay now I'm thinking of that caramel commercial, anything? Remember that one with the the devil? Anything? Okay now I'm going to do kind of a rapid fire but first I'm going to give you this wonderful book on this. It's the history of Toronto Maple

Leaves baseball. They play at Christie Pitts. Yeah. Have you ever been to a sports fan? I enjoy sports yeah. No ticket required. It's a beautiful community event. And you can have a beer. You can even know that guy's first name, Jack. You got it. Jack. The minute he's no longer with us. Yeah, I know. And the family sold the team. And I'm very, very good friends with one of the owners of Toronto Maple Leafs baseball team, Keith Stein, who's a sweetheart. Keith, if you're listening, I missed you at last Sunday's game, but we had a great recording. I had Rich Butler on, Mike Richards was my co-host, Blair Packham from the Jitters.

Blair Packham gets his haircut by a guy named Don Pyle. Don Pyle, kind of a punk pioneer in this city, is a founding member of the band Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet. Great name. And that they did the theme song for Kids in the Hall. Well, there's a good claim to fame. I know.

So Don Pyle cuts, there you go. So I had a guy who was here was cut by Don Pyle, who of course does a theme song for Shadow. It's called Having an Average Weekend. That's the song they play. So, Keith, we missed you at Christie Pitts, but I'm gonna be back there the first Sunday of August. I'm gonna throw out the first pitch

and then I'm gonna record to people. You gotta get yourself, Gary, to Christie Pitts. You know what? Listen, quickly. It's wonderful. I used to go to Old Maple Leaf Stadium as a kid here to watch. Where the Tip Top Tailors. Yes.

There, the Stadium Road. And I got vivid memories of the hallways with the beautiful arches as a kid. And I used to, yeah. It's the, yeah, Sparky Anderson was the manager. And yeah, I can remember all that. Okay. Larry Milson, who covered the Blue Jays forever for the global mail and he still covers the Blue Jays for another outlet.

I actually talked to him at Christie Pitts on Sunday when I was at this Toronto Maple Leafs game, which is very high caliber entertaining baseball. It's really, it was a great day too. But Larry used to go to those games at the old Maple Leafs game which is very high caliber entertaining baseball. It's really was a great day too. But Larry used to go to those games at the old Maple Leafs Stadium and every time I see pictures of the stadium I think it's too bad we blew it up and Well it's true. We love tearing down old stuff. You know what we do. There's an episode of Toronto Mike with Jeremy Hopkins where we talk about ten buildings

we destroyed but shouldn't have and Maple Leafs Stadium is on the list. People talk about the construction and this is not construction is destruction. They're slowly tearing this city apart. You're so right. So everybody come out to Maple Leafs baseball, grab a beer, get a hot dog and sit on that. That's we call it fill the hill. Sit on the hill. I love that. That's great. Great baseball and I can't wait to be back there in early August. Okay. So we're going to, I I'm literally gonna throw names at you. Okay. You're gonna tell me any story you remember about this person and then at the very end there'll be an opportunity for you to tell me a story if you wish that I never prompted for.

So we're gonna go rapid fire. One of them I do need though is, I did tease it in the intro, you shared a bottle of scotch with Ed McMahon in the back of a limo. Tell me that story. Yeah, I think we had him on the Bobby Vinton show. And, uh. Hi-o! Yeah, out in Aja Gart, your favorite place. Shout out to Uncle Bobby. Yeah, oh God, what a, I won't say that, but.

Cranky pants, right? He had the cocktail or two when he worked, I think. I heard he enjoyed the. Uncle Sloppy. But he also drove a school bus like he would drive children in a school bus as a job like he's yeah I know so I hopefully his drinking was after I'm not yeah I remember one day as CFTO I was going up to the commissary and we had on George Goble and Jay Silver Hills Tonto Tonto, right?

Okay. And the two of them, no, no, yeah, no, no, pardon me. It wasn't Tonto. That was another show. Captain, we had George Goble and Captain Kangaroo, my childhood hero, right? And in uniform full regalia. Wow.

They were walking back from the commissary. I'm walking to it and they got milkshake containers and they are bouncing off that wall that wall Much they went to the commissary to get ice for their drinking straight straight scotch both of them absolutely stinking drunk Absolutely destroyed me on Captain Kangaroo Wow. Yeah, that was that was crazy. But uncle Bobby Yeah, he was I'm But Uncle Bobby, uh. Yeah, I'm surprised he wasn't with them.

I understand that when they would film Uncle Bobby's show in aging court, that Uncle Bobby would enjoy maybe spending some quality time with the single moms. And I don't know if they were always single, but the husbands weren't around. But the single moms that were in attendance, is that true? I don't know. Okay well you know I know you can't tell all the stale tales. I never saw that. That one's been shaded on the program. I don't think they were taping the days that we were shooting. You know, better hit on the kids moms than hit on the kids that's what I say so

good for Uncle Bobby there. Okay now do you uh sorry you go ahead there. Yeah we're do Ed McMahon. Yeah we're gonna do Ed McMahon, but now because I just before I forget I know you know We're gonna make man's coming back show man You drank scotch with Ed McMahon in the back of a limo. We are definitely getting that story Although later we'll find out you smoked weed with three quarters of the Beatles and we'll get to that story, too That's a little that's a teaser. Oh boy Any were you there at aging court when Just Like Mom was being filmed? Or are you gone by then?

Who was in that show? Fergie Oliver. So Fergie Oliver and his wife at the time, Catherine Swift. Yeah, sure. That's right. He married her. I forgot that. They were married.

Yeah. I wasn't a big fan of Fergie to be honest. I'd see him in the hair and makeup room. But he has a good head of hair. You never got to work on that. No, I never did the staff of CFTO. I was always, I was hired to do the star or whatever show I was working on.

And that's all I did. What was it you didn't like about Fergie? Attitude, ego, you know, I mean, I'm just thinking you read the news, man, lighten up. You know, Harvey Kirk was a great guy. And he was doing sports, right? Which is the toy department. Yeah.

You're not even doing the hard-hitting news. You're a sports reporter on CFTO Okay, uh, shout out to Paul Burford who? Created just like mom and they had a different host for the first year and then Fergie came in Paul's been on the program people can find that in the feed Fergie's been over Fergie Oliver's episode is the only piece of media He's done in quite some time and that was a wild visit people can hear the Fergie Oliver episode of Toronto Mike but now I need the Ed McMahon story. Okay so anyway we had him on the show and I think they were all staying then the hotel deal it's Hotel

Toronto or something on Richmond Street and Ed wanted to get back to the studio and the driver had left and we arranged I made a phone call and got another And, uh, Ed wanted to get back to the studio and, uh, the driver had left and we arranged, I made a phone call and got another limo in for him and I said, well, I gotta, I need to ride back to Toronto too. So we get in the back of the limo and he pulls out, he's got a little bag he's carrying with and just personal stuff and he pulls out a bottle of Johnny Walker and says, you want to drink? Well, hello. Um,

so here he liked the sauce too. Big time. And he drank three. Often on the Tonight Show. Yeah. But what's really sad is he died broke. Yeah, it was really a sad ending for his life, man like that.

And that is too bad. You know, definitely. He's probably calling you right now. Is that Ed McMahon? His lawyer phoning me. From heaven. Sorry, I just went to text, I should have turned my phone off. That's okay, that's okay. All right, oh, now. Is that Ed McMahon? His lawyer phoning me. From heaven. Sorry, it's my text. I should have turned my phone off. That's okay, that's okay.

All right, so more on the Ed McMahon? Yeah, so he drank about three quarters of it and we poured ourselves out of the limo. But it was just fun sitting there with Ed McMahon. Of course. Yeah, and you can dine on that story for the rest of your life if you shared a bottle of scotch with Ed McMahon in the back of a limo.

At least I would, okay? Okay. Morgan Freeman. Love him. Worked with Morgan. We did a movie in federal penitentiary. Got a camera, the name escapes me. It was a true life story.

Sorry. Jeff Fahey. And Morgan played the warden of the show in this movie. It was a made for TV movie. We had, and we shot it live at CFTO in Asian court. But we had to do in a federal penitentiary, shoot the penitentiary stuff, which was inserted into the live telecast.

And it was done directed by Dan Petrie, who did Playhouse 90, right? And directed HUD, you know, and good Canadian boy. Love the name, Drops. That's before Morgan Freeman became the Morgan Freeman we know him today. He's on his way up. Yeah.

Because he didn't, did you know he did another prison movie called Shawshank Redemption? Yeah, he did that after. I think he learned from our show. But I know one thing, it wasn't fun being the hairdresser in a federal penitentiary. Oh. I went up to my friend the next day and they said, look, I think I need danger pay.

Right. I didn't know you could put certain words together in a sentence. I had a few things said to me from, because we were right in with the general population. Wow. Gen is like Oz. Yeah. We had George Zundra in that, who was in that movie with Sharon Stone. We had a lot of people.

And he was on Law and order, right? Yeah, early great great actor. Yes, I remember I was a big law and order fan for the 10 years And he was like an og law and order guy Wow Yeah, he was in a Jeff Fahey who played did lawnmower man He played and he had him in the director actually went to Huntsville, Texas To watch the execution because the movie was called the execution of Raymond Graham. It was about a prisoner they executed in Huntsville and they actually watched the actual execution so they could film it properly and Jeff could do the proper

movements. Yeah, scary movie and I was cutting Morgan's hair in the prison barbershop and had these three gentlemen who were residents of the prison chained to a bench watching me giving a running commentary of this white honky cutting one of the brothers hair. And then they asked they said hey man can you, because they were going to be in one of the scenes that we're shooting later. Oh like an an extra. Yeah. That's not fair. Yeah. So they said, Make it authentic. They said, hey man, can you shave our heads so we look bad in this? I'm thinking, really?

Finish Morgan, he goes to set. I get out my big shears and I mowed these three guys down, just shaved them all, left them sitting there chained to a bench. These stories, you do need to write a book, these stories. Okay. I, like many of my generation, we come home from school and in syndication on the television would be leave it to Beaver and we would watch it. I can't, it's funny how that was, you watched what was on TV before this on demand universe arrived. I can't imagine my kids like, Oh,

I'm just going to watch this show from like, what would be the equivalent from the 1980s or whatever. So Wally and the Beeve, Tony Dow, Shout out to Ridley funeral home and Jerry Mathers. Tell me what it was like with these guys. Well, of course, you know, same thing coming home from school, watching leave it to Beaver. And then getting to work with them. Jerry Mathers, the Beaver, had the personality of a chair. Oh, and Wally, we spent a day, man, just having a great chat. He was, he had a company in California called the Deck Doctor. He built decks and just the most sweetest, sweetest man you'd ever want to meet. Really good guy. The Beav, pass.

Okay. What was great on that show, we had like everybody on this one show. We shot at a global, um, not far from Asian court, right? Barbara green road in the time. And we had on Jake Lamada and his wife, Vicky. Okay. Right. His ex wife, Vicky, who he was still in love with. Right. So I was told by the producers, I think my friend Perry Rosemont was producing it. And he said, look,

just don't get too tight with Vicki. You know, Jake's still in love with her and he's a little punchy. So of course, Vicki takes a big liking to me and she's all over me like bark on a tree. She's hugging me. She's kissing me. And I look out the door and there's Jake in the hallway, just looking at me. And I think this is not going to be good, man. You know, I didn't, I mean, you know, even though I taught George Foreman, uh, I don't want to go toe to toe with them.

Cause you've seen raging bull. Yeah. Is this pre raging bull? I don't know. And Jake liked to drink her too. I think she might've had a little too much to drink that day and staring me down, staring you down. Staring you down. By the way, is that TV movie that, there's a question in the live stream, is it Attica? Was that the name of that TV movie that you're,

only because we're gonna do it? No, it was the prison movie? Yeah, the prison movie. No, the execution of Raymond Graham. Okay, the execution of Raymond Graham. So Jeremy, take a note there, because we're gonna do an episode on movies and films that were seen, movies and television shows that episode on like movies and films that were that were seen

movies and television shows that were filmed in Toronto and what scenes were used and stuff so we're going to take notes here you're really helping us here okay all right Ethel Merman no business like yeah what a great gal she's she's a dame she's she's just abroad you know she was one of the best she used to call me I'd finished during her hair We're going to set and she'd stand up and she's slammer person to my chest. She goes come on Sonny boy. Let's go Okay, miss Merman off we go where I trot behind her. Yes. She was just great Ethel Merman Wow Merman. All right, Katie Lang Yeah, we had her on, uh, stupid Dave a few times.

Uh, sorry, sorry, sorry, Bob's family. You can call it stupid Dave. Well, you know, who's kind of silly. Um, yeah, I used to, she's come in and asked if she could, uh, I could cut men's sideburns on her. Oh yeah. Well there's that great, uh, Cindy Crawford photo of like, was it Cindy Crawford cutting her hair? Am I? Do I have that right? That was a famous photo. I feel I think I have to Google that. I think that was a famous one here at Katie Lang. Brian Mulrooney. Yeah.

Who just left us again. Shout out to really funeral home. Yeah. Okay. Mulrooney. Where do we meet him? First time I ever met him 1987 Quebec City. I was out there. I got hired. We're doing a big gala evening. It was the Canada Russia hockey series 72 yeah. Oh, yeah. Okay 87 comes later. That's the that one's the cops Coliseum. That's the Canada cop. That's right. Yeah. So, yeah. So we're out there Quebec City and I'm in the dressing room giving David Foster haircut. Gretzky comes in. Mulroney comes in. Asked if I could just clean him up a little bit.

Da da da. Very briefly. Now we cut to when he was leaving power and they were bringing in all the other delegates to run again. Kim Campbell and John Charest. Kim Campbell became PM.y. Shirey was starting out his political career. And so yeah, we're shooting. So during the day they're bringing in all the candidates who are going to go up. They do two votes, you know, the first vote, they just get rid of everybody and they knew it was going to be Shirey Campbell. And so Mulroney was the last one in coming at the end of the

day to be they're measured for their eyeline on camera for the evening's performance. And so he's got all this henchmen around him and he's coming by me and I'm leaning on the hockey boards. I got a black leather jacket on sunglasses. I got 100 people coming through hair and makeup surely. I want to start so hurry up. And so he's walking by and he sort of looks over and he sees me and he breaks camp and he comes walking towards me. He's got his hand out and he goes, I know you from somewhere. And it was one of those classic moments where, you know, you wish you would have said that at the time, but it's always too late.

And, uh, is he saying, I know you from somewhere. I'm shaking his hand and going, you are, and he just froze and like, what the are you talking? You don't know. And then I, then I don't know what the fuck I said, sir. I said, you got a very good memory. I said, Quebec city, David Foster. He goes, that's where I know you from.

Okay, man, David Foster. Okay. Love David. Did you cut the hair for the people who sang on tears or not enough? No, no I'm glad that gig. I want to know I don't I don't but I think they do your own hair in those days It all looked like they just stuck it in the Cuisinart and went out on set. Oh, that's funny Okay, but you mentioned Wayne Gretzky. Did you cut Wayne Gretzky's hair? No, okay, because Wayne Gretzky tells a story that he would go to

California and babysit For Alan Thicke. Oh god, have you heard this story? babysit for Alan Thicke. Oh God, Alan. Have you heard this story? Yes. Like Robin Thicke, I guess, I guess that's who, is being babysat by Wayne Gretzky. Tell me about your relationship with Alan Thicke.

I knew Alan when he first came to Toronto, and this is at Caruso's, going back into the 60s. Alan had come from Kirkland Lake, Elliott Lake. His very first job in the entertainment business was, and Alan used to look like, remember My Three Sons, the TV show with Fred McMurray? They used to have a kid named Ernie, one of his other sons, and he had the little bangs

and the little bottle glasses. That was Alan. He looked like Ernie from that TV show and his first job was to sit on the back of the bus and play folk songs for the Miss Canada pageant contestants, these girls. And he had an old wooden guitar that only had five strings. Six string was broken and didn't have the money to buy a new one. And yeah, uh, friends for years. Alan and I, you know, lots of fun stories with Alan, you know, and we used to, we used to make them crazy when we used to do the Vinton show,

he was the line producer and Chris beer and Alan Bly would be back in LA. They would phone the wardrobe room, uh, outside studio six in the morning and get me on the phone and say, look, here's what we need done today. Okay. Tell Alan. And I'd go up and tell Alan who was producing the show. Okay. Here's what you got. He goes, you're the freaking hair guy. He goes, why are they calling you? Yeah, we have some fun times. Now this is the only celebrity I think that we've talked about that I,

other than John Biner, but we didn't actually meet in person John Biner because we did that one via zoom. But I actually spent hours with Alan Thicke when he was in town filming a commercial at a place where I was involved in doing some production work and stuff. So I got to spend some time with Alan Thicke and he was very, very proud of his son, Robin, who was just breaking at the time. And he seemed like a genuinely good guy. And then you're like, oh yeah, he's Canadian. So what about his brother, Todd? Okay. Well, tell me about Todd. Todd,

who started out, you know, filling pop coolers and some of the shows with us. Um, he started America's funniest videos. That's his show. I did not know that. That's a fun, fun fact. I'll say for Todd thick. Todd's a great guy. Love him. He doesn't look anything like Alan Okay. Well Alan handsome man open the dome. I remember when they open sky dome It was Andrea Martin and Alan thick who were kind of hosting that thing when Alan was here doing Chicago

He phones me up and he says hey chow and I need a haircut I go down to the Royal Alex Theatre right rehearsals give him a haircut. I go down to the Royal Alex Theater, right, rehearsals, give him a haircut. He goes, hey, you and your family wanna come see the show? Well, my girls have seen it in New York and everything, you know, my daughter and my mom, Julie. So I say, yeah, they might wanna come. So he goes, okay, I'll arrange for some tickets. Next day, the theater phones me.

Mr. Thick asked me if I can call you, Mr. Chowen. You wanted three tickets for the show? I go, yeah. Thinking, of course, that they're comped. He goes, well I'm gonna need your visa number. Wow. I said, I beg your pardon. He goes, yeah. He goes, you gotta pay for them. I said, is Alan in the building? He goes, I believe so. I said, look go give him a message. Yeah. Tell him to go f*** himself and thanks for everything but no. Well you can swear on this show, Gary. Oh really? Yeah. F*** why didn't you tell me that, man? I wanted to, I'm too polite in case my show, Gary. Oh, really? Yeah. Fuck. Why didn't you tell me that, man?

I wanted to. I'm too polite in case my clients are listening. Oh, my goodness. I'm going to swear soon of a different story. But that reminds me then I'm not going to name names here. But I wanted to do I wanted to experience Toronto Argonauts football at BMO Field because they had just moved from the Dome. And I had a conversation with an FOTM on the inside and I thought this would be good PR for a struggling team. Like a team that nobody talks about the Argos because they,

all the oxygen is taken by the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Toronto Blue Jays, the Toronto Raptors, you know, even TFC gets more oxygen than the Argos. And I had this idea and ever, and I remember him saying, okay, well, we'll hook you up with tickets. And I'm like, okay, I'm going gonna do this thing. I'll write about it. It'll be a podcast whatever and I got a call back from the sales department Like I was a lead for sales and then I realized oh like no, that's not what I was envisioning Anyway, that's what it was like when you were yeah asking your credit card number for the comp to take right? I mean it's Alan in Chicago. I'm not in for this this right come on. You're Gary fucking chowin. Okay, GC GC, okay, Shelly Winters. Oh my god. Yeah

Jogging your memory to yeah Shelly Wow, what a force to be reckoned with I think she came into the studio one day at CFI care and Early morning. I can't remember which show and, um, or she might've been there shooting. Um, they shot the, what was the movie with, um, the Poseidon adventure. Right. Remember that they're shot at CFTO. Before my time. Yeah.

Well, uh, and she came into the dressing room and asked anybody if they had any certain type of narcotic that you snorted. Wow. Okay. Shout out to Peter Gross and John Gallagher. You ever cut John Gallagher's hair? I need to know how much of that is real. No, I don't want to know from, he was never one of my favorite, uh, on air

personalities. I don't know. Not your cup of tea. I don't want to know him. I've heard the stories. Well, remember it's all consensual adult sex. If he can get that number up to 600, 700, that's all fair game. God bless them. God bless them. Okay, God bless John Gallagher. Peter Gross wishes, you know, he could be in that bar. Grow an inch or two.

That's an FOTM Hall of Fame. Peter Gross, you be careful there. You're on sacred ground. Yeah. Sacred ground. Everybody, by the way, FOTM cast records this afternoon. So at live.torontomike.com at 5 30 p.m. as we record today on Thursday, July 11th, 2024. Jose Feliciano. Jose my man. Feliz Navidad. Beyond Beyond, a talented man. Big fan of Jose, known him since the old days of Yorkville when he used to hang around,

um, spent many times at his house in Los Angeles. He now lives in Connecticut, uh, where at one point his neighbor was Martha Stewart. Wow. The only fucking Puerto Rican was the 300 miles of New York. It's weird, yeah he lives in a fabulous old 17th century home still on tour. There's been times I've sat at Jose's house at four or five in the morning we may have been a little high and I'm closing with that story don't worry. He pulls out a 12-string Spanish

classical guitar puts one hand in his pocket and the other hand he'll play Malagena. I go, how do you do that man? But yeah, really good good man. Talented son of a bitch. Loves his wife Susan and now his kids have all grown up and they're in his band when he goes on tour. So I watch a lot of The Simpsons and it's on Disney Plus and they do these like, now that Disney owns them, they have these kind of cheesy little mini episode promo videos that they put on and there was one with him singing like he was like featured in this Simpsons thing yet so there you go. You didn't know that? Yeah, Feliz Navidad. So you dropped an F-bomb so I'm just gonna ask you for the story because I think you could dine on this one for the rest of your life but Milton Berle told you to go fuck yourself. He did. Go fuck yourself Gary Chowen. Yeah well you too Uncle Miltie. What's he measuring with the Ridley Funeral Home measuring

table Uncle Miltie? He needs another one. I guess they need a coffin taller if you ever got a Woody in there. Yeah we had him on some show. I get back to the Vinton show. Geez we had a lot of people on Bobby's show and, uh, we broke for lunch. I'm walking through the studio and video central had on the monitors in the studio. Uh, it was the, the major league baseball playoff games and the Dodgers were playing. So I stopped watching. Burl comes walking through. So I got this cigar. I'm the only one in the studio.

And he goes, well score kid. I go, I'm sorry, Mr. Burl, I don't know, I just got here. He goes, oh, go fuck yourself and walked away. Well, thank you. Wow, Uncle Miltie. Yeah, what a piece of work. And I'll tell you who else I didn't like.

Tell me. Steve Allen. Original host, is he the original host of the Tonight Show? Yes, he was. Okay, before Jack Parr, right? Okay. Beyond, beyond rude to me. Steve Allen. Original host, is he the original host of The Tonight Show? Yes, he was. Okay, before Jack Parr, right? Okay. Beyond, beyond rude to me. Yeah, I wasn't a fan.

I've gotten along with all these people I've worked with and became friends with a lot of them. Sure, but some are assholes. And I know I have friends who, you know, like my friend Biner who likes him a lot. They were good friends, but I'm sorry, John. I didn't have a good experience with Steve Allen. Yeah, he's just- You know what?

You would treat a John Biner differently than you would treat the hairstylist, right? And you get a better gauge of what kind of human you're talking about by how they treat the hairstylist. I always look at how people treat, like if you're in a restaurant, how does this person treat the waiter

or the waitress or whatever? With respect, I hope. I would tell you this. I'm actually, I'm probably far more respectful when I have a Gary Chowin on than when I have a Milton Berle on. Thank you. Which requires a seance, it's a whole procedure, a medium.

Yeah, no, no, definitely. I'll tell you a great quick story we can do. Do, because I have two musical things I wanna hit, but please, tell me. Is it the ELO? ELO's next. Okay, let's do ELO. Okay. Okay, that was.... Is it the ELO? ELO's next. Okay, let's do ELO. Okay.

Okay, that was. I was gonna have ELO, cause it's gonna lead, I'm dying to know about this. Okay, you got an agenda. This Beatles, I have a method to my madness, Gary. I'm just a passenger here. 1519, better late than never for Gary Chow,

and tell me about ELO. ELO, I get a phone call, a gentleman named Barry Rothman, an attorney in LA, I know, asking me if I could sign on as a president of a company that was going to be established for the Canadian tour of electric light orchestra. Meatloaf was the opening act. Okay. Then, and this is when ELO had the spaceship, you know, opened up the overture and the smoke and out they come and blah, blah, blah. So I said, sure. So I signed all the papers,

lawyers and it was great. And then because I could get to any concert I wanted to see, I just phoned up the promoter, Gary Chowen, you know, president of ELO. How many passes backstage need Mr. Chow and how many tickets? Okay. It was fun. Amazing. So what happens is we had a little problems with the tax department after the Canadian tour. So I have to go down and I'm there and I asked if I can use a phone. I phoned Barry, tell him what's going on.

I said, you know, somebody hasn't paid all the withholding tax. The reason they needed me was when a foreign act came into Canada, there's a 15% withholding tax taken off the top. If you have a Canadian who's president of a corporation set up, it's only 7%. So when ELO toured in their heyday, that's a lot of money saved. Which is that's why I ended up doing this as a favor. They threw me a bone, gave me a few bucks then. So anyway, we got it all straightened out and as it turns out that yeah, I had to go, there's like over $300,000 owing and back taxes for this, for ELO. And it turns out the promoter who I will not mention his name was taking all the withholding tax, putting in his own personal bank account,

collecting the interest on the money. Nice man of the community I'm a head out of Quebec that's as much as I'll say and anyway we got all straightened out so I phone Barry F. I said look I don't want anything to do with the music business anymore okay I said I want out he goes well it's not that easy you know I don't understand he goes well you're gonna have to go to New York and meet Mr. Arden who Don Arden Googling Al Capone of the music business. Wow. Sharon Osborne's father. He used to own blacks. Used in the old days you go to Vegas and you would look in the bottom right of

the marquee brought to you by Don Arden productions. Don owned everybody. There's a great story. You can find out stories of him taking Robert Stigwood from the Beatles, right? Um, who tried to get faces from Don in the old days. And Don dangling them outside the seventh floor of his office building by his ankles, threatening them. Anyway, that was my boss. Air supply. I'm just catching up on Don Arden. Everybody should do this.

Yeah. Read about Don Arden, okay. So, he said- Fake name, by the way. He was born Harry Levy. Yep. Okay. Yeah. He's sort of, I think they took the movie

that Bob Hoskins was in, The Long Good Friday, after him. Like Don. The English Godfather. Yep. Wow. Anyway. So the lawyer says, well, you're going to have to go to New York and meet Dawn and explain to him why you don't want anything to do. Okay. Off. I go to New York. They put me up at a hotel, great hotel up on park Avenue. Day comes. I go over to the Waldorf Astoria towers, ring the doorbell. And, um, it's very, very large. Gentleman opens the doors.

This magnificent English suit on and uh, it squirts me in and I noticed there's a lot of very large guys in this room. They bring me into the living room. I've seen hotel rooms, but this had a dining room for 30 in it and sit me down on this nice white couch and I'm waiting for Mr. Arden, not knowing who he is. I had a figure in mind that I wanted to ask for to as, you know, compensation for all the troubles that you guys have put me through. Right. So before I see Dawn come around the corner,

I see a cigarette holder followed by this munchkin bald headed guy, square like a piece of granite and he's got on this magnificent floor length Chinese robe in this long fucking cigarette holder I got you casting for a movie man and he sits down on the couch opposite to me He has no idea who I am right? he just knows he has a meeting with me and It's wonderful cockney accent asked me who I am and I explained everything of you know your lawyer got me involved I signed papers as a favor blah blah blah and he says what do you want I was so afraid of this

man by then I blurted out half the amount of money oh no and he got up and nodded and walked out of the room that was my end of the music business that was it for you that was it with the yellow. So I'm catching up here. Uh, Dawn Arden, completely a fascinating, uh, character and it sounds scary as shit, but in 1979, one of Dawn Arden's great successes was black Sabbath. Yes. And they fired Ozzy. That's right.

And his daughter, Sharon, entered a relationship with Ozzy Osborne. He sent her to collect money that he owned. And Sharon weighed 300 pounds then when I knew her. Right. And Ozzy not being too stupid, fell in love with her and married the boss's daughter. Yeah, and then she took over the management from her dad and Don Arden was livid.

And then apparently... Yes, he did. Okay, so the next time Sharon visited her dad, Don Arden, his vicious pet dogs savaged her. She was pregnant at the time and lost the child. Sharon eventually married Ozzy Osborne and had no contact with her father for 20 years. Wow, okay, there's a lot of stuff I gotta catch up on here.

Look at you bringing the heat. So I know how I want to close but beef if you ignore a story that might in I heard a Ringo Starr's birthday Was the other day so if we ignore that story because we'll close with that story Is there any other story like on your way here? You're Gary. You're like, I hope I get a chance to tell this story Did is there anything you want to share? This is the moment? Okay, so I don't want any. I guess we could do the Beatles story. All right, so you may still end up with that since it was Ringo's birthday. Cut to I'm in a recording studio late in the morning with Bonnie and Delaney. They were a big Delaney Bramlett. So we're in the 70s here, right? We were, what era are we in? Early 70s? Yeah. Okay. Delaney Bramlett. Post-Beatles. Yeah, we were where where where error are we in the early 70s? Yeah, okay

Delaney Bramlin post Beatles incredible incredible songwriter and Him and his wife had a big act and they did all the big music festivals Friend of mine was friends with them. We ended up a recording studio. The phone rings is John Lennon John Lennon phones. They were good friends. He was friends with Delaney. Okay and you answered this phone? No. Okay. I'm in the studio they came and got Delaney and said hey John's on the phone. Turns out he's in town. He phoned the house. They said he's in that United Recording, very famous recording studio in Hollywood where we were. Okay. And he says hey we're just up the street from

me man why don't you come up? Yeah. Del in and says, hey, okay, let's go. Up we went, walked up the street, a couple blocks up to Sunset, wherever they were recording the studio. Walk in and there's the Beatles, minus Paul McCartney because he was still on London in drug charges, marijuana. They wanted to let him out of the country then.

Or in Canada. So you walk in, John Lennon, who you knew was gonna be there, but George Harrison and Ringo Starr are also there. Of course, I'm from, you know. And this is, of course, this is after the Beatles break up. So the whole idea that you could have, you know, if it wasn't for some stupid antiquated law,

like you might've had all four Beatles there. Yeah, I wish we had iPhones in those days. Imagine that, sitting there, getting in that picture. But then, go on.'s roll started rolling up the joints and George Harrison was sitting next to me and passed him a joint and tried to talk to him. He didn't want to know from me. I didn't care. I was in the room with them. Good enough for me. You know, a great memory sitting there with the Beatles getting high. All right, there's a chap, he actually lives in this neighborhood now, but his name is Jerry Levitan. And when Jerry was 14 years old,

he found out John Lennon was in town staying at the King Eddie. Right. I know this guy's name. Okay, Jerry Levitan managed to get an interview of John Lennon. And this story is unbelievable. He came over, told it in great detail.

And then he eventually used that audio for a short animated film that won an Oscar. It's quite the story, but now I've got the Jerry Levitan story about him interviewing John Lennon when he was 14 years old. Did you have a conversation with John? Briefly, it was, hello, how are you? This is Gary.

And then it was like- What about Ringo? Like who of those three seemed the most- I was a kid, I was like, you know, 17, 18. They didn't wanna know. They always had a musician. I was just like, you know, 17, 18, they didn't want to know. I wasn't a musician. I was just like, you know, hanging on with these guys. But forevermore, you could say, I smoked weed with John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo

Starr. I can't say that. Maybe you should get a t-shirt. Well, yeah, you need a t-shirt. You need a tattoo. Oh man, this virgin body. So you have no ink on you. No, inkless.

I'm inkless as well. And I think that's now the new rebel act because I see because I'm on the waterfront trail every day and I see so much ink and I know there's been a lot of ink because from the 90s there was a lot of ink and you know excluding you know people from the army or the navy or whatever it all kind of blew up I remember in the early 90s a lot of ink but nothing like It's so rare. I see a pair of legs on the waterfront channel with no ink on them. It's like, whoa.

So you have no, you're never gonna get a tattoo. Virgin ink. No, I'm not, no. Not even one that says- Nor piercing. Nor piercing. No. That's a little less, I would do that.

I have done that, but you could get a tattoo that says, I smoked weed with John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. Not gonna happen. Gary, can anybody listening get their hair cut by Gary Chowen? Anybody can. Just phone, go to garychowen.com, my website. And phone numbers are there and I'd love to have you in. My rates are so fair.

People keep saying, why don't you raise your prices? Because I don't have an ego that big actually. I would get my hair cut. I mean, Andy's got great stories. I'll come here and do your hair. Would you? I don't know. ego that big actually. I would get my hair cut, but you mean Andy's got great stories. I'll come here and do your hair. I'll do it on air. Andy might cut you. Well half of the head goes to you, half of the head goes to Andy.

And what about your friend at Ridley? He must have to get some too one day. Brad, if you're listening, Gary Chow and I should cut your hair. But I mean, will you even cut someone's hair if they say salon instead of salon? I don't give a shit I really don't care you come in you can bring your dog. 132 Cumberland Street. I'll do it 132 Salon Raffaello Gary Chowin.com. How did Yorkville lose its way? I want to go back to this this I had Jane Harbury over and she's talking about working at the Riverboat Cafe Yeah, and this scene and this is so foreign to somebody my age. You only knows Yorkville is the land of like designer labels and

Lottie-Dah haughty toddy bullshit, right bring back the spirit of the 60s Yorkville Well, you know quickly when you say the riverboat we had a salon right above the riverboat like later on in life before they tore Yorkville. Well, you know, quickly, when you say the riverboat, we had a salon right above the riverboat, like later on in life before they tore Yorkville down. And there was always a great rumor about the wall that's behind the wall that was signed by everybody who ever worked in the riverboat. So then, Gordon Martin, oh, who you've had on the show, Gordon and I used to share a house together years ago.

Okay, I feel like we didn't talk about that. Yeah, so I phoned Gordy and we said, hey, why don't we do a story, you know, because we're vacating the building because they're tearing it down to build the Hazelton Hotel. Right. Like this is Geraldo Rivera's ship. We're going to take the wall down. Broken to the vault of Capone. And let's see if there's anything, there wasn't, it was a big myth. Big myth. Very disappointing. Love it though. Yeah. And that brings us to the end of our 1519th show. You can follow me all over the place at Toronto Mike, Twitter, Blue Sky, you name it, but go to torontomic.com for all your Toronto Mike needs and to see... To find past episodes and past guests and all that jazz. Much love

to all who made this possible. That's Great Lakes Brewery who you got your beer. Got my beer. Palma Pasta, your lasagna is in my freezer. I'm covered for dinner man. And a tape measure. Tape measure? That's some Ridley Feudal homes. Shout out to Uncle Milti. Recyclemyelectronics.ca. That's where you go if you have old tech, old electronics, old cables. Don't throw them in the garbage.

The chemicals end up at our landfill. Go to Recyclemyelectronics.ca and of course the Toronto Maple Leafs baseball team. Go to the website, find out when they play. They have evening games during the week as well, but Sunday afternoons at 2 o'clock, that's a great time to get your butt to Christie Pitts. Great baseball, great ambiance. I can't wait to be back there in early August. Maybe I'll throw a strike when I throw that first pitch. Come by and find out. See you all later today when Cam Gordon and the VP of Sales, Tyler Campbell, drop by for the second quarter's FOTM cast. We have a lot to discuss. We'll break it all down. This episode

we just recorded is actually Q3, so we won't talk about that, but we'll talk about that one in a few months. See you all then! Oh, yeah, everything is rosy and gray