Barry FarberA few years ago, I spoke with pioneering radio show host Barry Farber and asked him what his most memorable interview. It was with film director Alfred Hitchcock at his hotel suite in New York in the 1950’s. I’m Jim Metzner and this is the Pulse of the Planet.Farber: He opened the door and I tripped over the rug, fell flat on my face, knocked over a table. A vase of flowers shot like a heat seeking missile, flew across the room throwing water and flowers all over his rug. I looked up from the floor and said, “Mr Hitchcock, I feel like a character in one of your movies,” and he said, “Yes, yes, very impressive entrance, indeed.” I could see Hitchcock; he was almost resigned, like, “OK, I’m a hostage. I may as well relax. These yoyos have taken my day. Hope it ends, mercifully, at some point in the not too distant future.” I could tell that was his attitude.So when we finally got going I said I owe this man a brilliant opening question. I said, “Mr. Hitchcock, I’m going to give you a plot and let you direct it. The scene is a local radio show. The guest is a famous motion picture producer. He’s going to be murdered. How would you do it?” And without a moment’s hesitation, he said, “Well, given the proper interviewer, he could be bored to death.” (laughter)It taught me a big lesson. I left that in the tape. And leaving that in the tape was one of the smartest things I ever did. ‘Cause it was very leveling. I was a smoking crater. But I could easily have taken it out and did not. Wise!This is dedicated to the memory of Barry Farber. Check out website for some exciting news. That’s pulseplanet.com. I’m Jim Metzner and this is the Pulse of the Planet.
Barry Farber
Dedicated to the memory of Barry Farber. The pioneering radio talk jock recalls an unforgettable interview with Alfred Hitchcock.
Air Date:07/31/2020
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Transcript:
Barry FarberA few years ago, I spoke with pioneering radio show host Barry Farber and asked him what his most memorable interview. It was with film director Alfred Hitchcock at his hotel suite in New York in the 1950's. I'm Jim Metzner and this is the Pulse of the Planet.Farber: He opened the door and I tripped over the rug, fell flat on my face, knocked over a table. A vase of flowers shot like a heat seeking missile, flew across the room throwing water and flowers all over his rug. I looked up from the floor and said, "Mr Hitchcock, I feel like a character in one of your movies," and he said, "Yes, yes, very impressive entrance, indeed." I could see Hitchcock; he was almost resigned, like, "OK, I'm a hostage. I may as well relax. These yoyos have taken my day. Hope it ends, mercifully, at some point in the not too distant future." I could tell that was his attitude.So when we finally got going I said I owe this man a brilliant opening question. I said, "Mr. Hitchcock, I'm going to give you a plot and let you direct it. The scene is a local radio show. The guest is a famous motion picture producer. He's going to be murdered. How would you do it?" And without a moment's hesitation, he said, "Well, given the proper interviewer, he could be bored to death." (laughter)It taught me a big lesson. I left that in the tape. And leaving that in the tape was one of the smartest things I ever did. 'Cause it was very leveling. I was a smoking crater. But I could easily have taken it out and did not. Wise!This is dedicated to the memory of Barry Farber. Check out website for some exciting news. That's pulseplanet.com. I'm Jim Metzner and this is the Pulse of the Planet.