A Touch of Cl-Ass…by Roy Firestone, Multi Time Emmy Award Winning Journalist

And another thing. How hard would it have been for Trump to say”Although we have our differences, I congratulate Joe Biden for his service to this country, and I look forward to winning the election against whoever is the Democratic candidate”? Instead , all Trump said was ” Joe Biden is the WORST President in the history of this country”. First of all, its not even CLOSE to true. In fact, MOST historians say that…

R.Brandon Johnson joins MMM July 27th

R.Brandon Johnson:  Actor/Host. From 2011 to 2013, the Minnesota native, starred as Gary Wilde on the Disney Channel series Shake It Up opposite ZENDAYA. . He has also hosted the TNT reality competition series 72 Hours. Johnson got his first big break on the small screen playing the recurring character Michael McBain on the ABC Daytime series One Life to Live in 2003, playing the role until 2004. Johnson returned to the series in 2007 and in 2008 in the recurring role of…

Mykelti Williamson:  Actor/Director Joins MMM July 3rd

Mykelti Williamson:  Actor/Director, has worked constantly over the course of his 40 year career. He is  best known for his roles in the films Forrest Gump (as Bubba), 12 Angry Men (1997), Con Air, and Ali, and the television shows Boomtown, 24, and Justified. In 2016, he portrayed Gabriel Maxson in Denzel Washington’s acclaimed film adaptation of August Wilson’s play Fences, reprising his role from the 2010 Broadway revival.  Mykelti has also directed numerous episodes of television including the Law & Order franchise.

REMEMBERING GENE WILDER By Frank Pace – The Mook

Netflix is currently running an in-depth documentary entitled,  Remembering Gene Wilder.  This great comedic actor starred in such seminal movies as, The Producers, Willie Wonka,  Bonnie and Clyde, Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles, Stir Crazy, and so many more. I had the privilege of working with Gene on a short-lived sitcom that I produced called Something Wilder.  While Gene’s on-scene persona was that of an extrovert, the real Gene Wilder couldn’t have been more different. There were…

OLIVER TWIST by Roy Firestone Multi-Emmy Award Winning Journalist

I love John Oliver. I think his show, “Last Week, Tonight”is one of the most entertaining, informative, and often drop dead funny shows on TV. His show goes deep into some of the most complicated subjects .He is fearless and acerbic and pointed, and Oliver says things that almost no one who reports the news would say or reflect on. John Oliver earns 1 million dollars per episode for his show on HBO. But yesterday,…

Iconic Businessman, Art Levitt, to Join Mick & Mook

World renown entrepreneur Art Levitt will be joining Frank and Billy on A Mick A Mook and A Mic podcast this summer. Levitt was the founding CEO of Fandango, Inc., the premier online movie ticketing and entertainment business. Art launched Fandango in July 2000, and led the company to growth and profitability, establishing the company as a nationally recognized brand known for its creativity, operational excellence, and premium service experience. From 1996 to 2000, Levitt…

Stirring The Pot….A New(er) Direction. By Frank Pace  (The Mook)

Over the course of the past three years A Mic A Mook and A Mic has produced 165 video podcasts. That is more than seven day’s worth of non-stop programming.  It is assuredly better than a lot of that stuff you have been binge watching on Netflix or Hulu.  Billy, Derrec and I have had to pleasure to speak with people from all walks of lives.  The famous, almost famous, never famous, used to be…

Rod Carew, Legendary Baseball HOFer, Joins MMM this summer

Rodney Cline Carew was born on a train in Gatun, Panama on October 1, 1945. He moved with his family to New York when he was fourteen years old, and signed with the Minnesota Twins on the day he graduated from high school. Rod Carew is one of the most talented players to ever don a major league uniform. During his illustrious nineteen-year career he was selected to eighteen All-Star teams. He is the all-time…

The Beauty of a Ballpark – by Multi Emmy Winning Journalist, Roy Firestone

There’s something about a ballpark. Any ballpark. Anywhere. Baseball ballparks are mostly outdoors, and if you’re lucky and you are there to witness it…theres a beauty you can see and feel in your surroundings. It’s in the sunset. It reaches into your soul. You don’t get the same wonder in football stadiums or arenas. This is sunset at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, perhaps the game’s most beautiful ballpark. The glory of a sunset kissing…

It Happened on August 1, 1972
By Roy Firestone
Multi-Emmy Award Winning Journalist

Here’s a funny and true story that references humility and accomplishment – and the fact that even when you finally do something really ‘great’ someone, somewhere, is doing better than you. This is a story that I tell in my live show. It involves three-time All-star Nate Colbert. All-star Nate was enjoying the game of his life. Colbert’s best day in the majors was August 1, 1972, when he hit five home runs – matching…

Actor Todd Grinnell Joins Mick and Mook on April 17th

Actor and Director Todd Grinnell, known for playing janitor Dwayne Patrick “Pat” Schneider in Norman Lear’s 1970s sitcom, ONE DAY AT A TIME, joins Billy and Frankon the April 17th episode of A Mick A Mook and A Mic.  Additional Grinnell credits include FOUR KINGS, GRACE & FRANKIE, and WITH LOVE. Born in Massachusetts, Grinnell landed his first professional gig at the age of 26, appearing in the film “Lost Soul” (2002). His television debut…

“Hope Springs Eternal” – Alexander Pope
By Gil Vieira | March 19, 2024

For many people, New Years’ Day is viewed and used as a new beginning. Hopefully, the new year will provide an opportunity for a fresh start. However, for me – one who has lived most of my life dealing with winter in the Northeast, Spring is that time of the year in which hope, and new beginnings, occur. The great English poet, Alexander Pope – who is the second most quoted English author in The…

An Outtake from ‘If These Lips Could Talk’

(Editor’s Note:  The following is an outtake from the book IF THESE LIPS COULD TALK by Frank Pace & Billy O’Connor. It never made it into the book. Nevertheless, we thought you might like to read it. To purchase the book, go to: https://amickamookandamic.com/product/if-these-lips-could-talk/ _______ My father used say “Frankie boy, if bullshit was music, you would be the whole brass band.” I learned how to “spin” at a very young age. I was working…

Tom Arnold, Renowned Actor and Comedian, Joins Billy and Frank on 3/20

Tom Arnold is both a funny and controversial individual. This is definitely an episode you won’t want to miss, especially if you like show business stories. Arnold is best known for playing Arnie Thomas on Roseanne, which starred his ex-wife Roseanne Barr, and opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in True  Lies. Tom has appeared in many films, including True Lies, Nine Months, Big Bully, Carpool, McHale’s Navy, Animal Factory , Cradle 2 the Grave, Mr. 3000, Happy Endings, Pride, The Great Buck Howard, and Madea’s Witness Protection Tom was also the host of The…

Young TV Comedy Director, Ren Bell, Joins Mick & Mook on April 3rd

Ren Bell, one of America’s foremost  young TV Comedy Directors, will join Billy and Frank on the April 3rd episode of A Mick A Mook and A Mic. This young, South Carolina native is not only a Dick Van Dyke lookalike he is a throwback to the days Van Dyke, Carroll O’Connor, Andy Griffith, Candice Bergen, and Robin Williams plied their trade under the watchful eyes of  genius directors such as Howard Morris, Howard Storm,…

Remembering My Boyhood Idol … ‘Tony C’
By Gil Vieira | February 20, 2024 | vSportsTalk

It was the Spring of 1964. Yes, you read that correctly …1964. 60-years ago! I was a kid who loved playing and watching baseball. It was a time when baseball was king. It was America’s pastime. Living south of Boston, I was a huge Red Sox fan. Growing up, Ted Williams was a Boston sports icon, and in 1961, Carl Yastrzemski took over the mantle from Ted, as the leader of the Sox. However, it…

Actor Nyambi Nyambi Joins Mick & Mook on 2/21

Nyambi, best know for his roles on Night Court, The Good Fight, and Mike & Molly, will be joining Billy and Frank on the February 21st episode of A Mick A Mook and A Mic. Born in Norman, Oklahoma, Nyambi went to Bucknell on a scholarship to play basketball. He also became interested in acting during his final year and decided to study for his Master of Fine Arts at New York University. After completing…

The Courage to Continue
By Roy Firestone
Multi Emmy Award-Winning Journalist

Ravens and Lions fans are hurting. They were so close to seeing their teams win title games and vault into the Super Bowl. But they didn’t. Maybe it was a fumbled football, a dropped pass, a missed tackle, or in the case of the Lions two gambles that didn’t pay off. But those teams failed. It’s of little solace, but if you haven’t failed you will never succeed. Because you haven’t tried. I want to…

Emmy Award-Winning Director, Michael Lembeck, Joins Mick & Mook on February 7th

Michael Lembeck, the Emmy Award-Winning Director of FRIENDS and Actor on One Day At A Time, will be the guest on the A Mick A Mook and A Mic podcast, 7 February. Lembeck won an Emmy for his work on the Friends episode “The One After the Superbowl”, and also directed 22 other episodes of the series.  Lembeck was born in Brooklyn, New York and began acting in the late 1960s and directing in the 70s.  His father was the legendary acting coach…

Dolly Parton: A Life Well Lived
By Roy Firestone
Multi Time Emmy Award Winning Journalist

I think we need to focus more on great people than scoundrels. We have a lot more great people in life than miserable ones. Character, generosity, and kindness are traits far more impressive to me than affluence, celebrity, and social standing. Dolly Parton recently turned 78 years old. Here’s a person I have never met, but every person I have ever known who knows her says she is a superb human being…and you can pretty…

My, How Time Flies…Pay Attention!
by Gil Vieira, vSportsTalk

Wait…is it really 2024? It’s hard to believe that I’ve been alive for more decades than I want to admit. I used to say, “I’m getting old.”  Now…I am old! The funny thing is (or maybe it’s a little sad), I wouldn’t want to be young in today’s world. I’m somewhat glad to be my age. I’ve lived as a proud and grateful American, and I was fortunate to have an eventful and enjoyable life.…

Producer and Actor, Melissa Rauch, Joins Mick & Mook on 1/24

Melissa Rauch burst into prominence in the role of  Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz (2009-2019) on the  massive CBS hit sitcom The Big Bang Theory,   Melissa was nominated for the ‘Critics’ Choice Television Award’ for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2013.  She then used her ‘Big Bang’ experience to start her own production company, After January Productions, with her husband, Winston. After January Prods secured the rights to 80’s hit ‘NIGHT COURT’ in which they currently Executive Produce the revival with Warner…

Molly Rogers, Emmy Award Winning Costume Designer, Joins Mick & Mook on 10 January

Molly Rogers is a costume designer and image consultant who styles fashion photo shoots, feature films, television, and commercials. Molly has worked in NYC since 1984 and began her illustrious career in costumes working with legendary costume designer Patricia Field on Michael Mann’s TV series “CRIME STORY” on location in Las Vegas. Molly has accumulated an impressive list of iconic TV and film credits including the “SEX AND THE CITY” tv series and both movies,…

THE PERENNIAL
By Roy Firestone
Emmy Award Winning Journalist

He’ll be 82 years old on his next birthday. He once performed for a crowd of 185,000 in Rio . He drew three crowds that size that week. At the time, those were the largest live audiences in the history of live performances. His voice is virtually shot from the hundreds, maybe thousands, of performances and studio time. But people don’t care that he doesn’t sound like he used to. And more importantly, HE doesn’t…

Vincent Bondi, Reformed NYC Hoodlum, Joins Mick & Mook on 12/27

 Vincent Bondi grew up on the asphalt streets of the Bronx. He was convicted of stealing a car at the age of 13 and spent the next four years in a juvenile detention center until he “aged out.” He called those the toughest years he ever spent in stir. Vincent later graduated to bookmaking, loan sharking, and maybe just a little “physical persuasiveness.”   He spent the next 30 years in and out of prison, including one notable…