The Odd Podcast with Joe Parisi

On February 11, 1990, James "Buster" Douglas climbed into a boxing ring in Tokyo, Japan to face Mike Tyson.  Buster's mother had suddenly died just days prior.  The fight was nearly cancelled.  Casino's wouldn't even take bets on the fight because the odds so drastically favored Tyson.  Buster showed up, shocked the world and won in what would become one of the biggest upsets in sports history.  ...

Taking a deep dive into the 2002 teen thriller Swimfan!  We go over the story, learn a bit about some of the actors in the movie, learn about some rather historic filming locations that were used and then chat with Monroe Mann- the actor who played "Jake Donnely" in the film.   Monroe gives us some great behind the scenes info on Swimfan and we end up having a great discussion about how difficult...

The Monster Squad is a cult classic 1987 horror comedy featuring a group of neighborhood kids who have to do battle against the gang of Universal Horror monsters, let by Count Dracula.   On this episode we talk to Duncan Regehr who played Dracula, a role that is listed as one of the best portrayals of Dracula in film history.  We also chat with Special FX genius Alec Gillis who handled several of...

This episode examines the highly underrated 1987 "Teen Wolf Too" with actor Stuart Fratkin who played "Stiles" in the film.  We'll discuss filming locations, hear some incredible behind the scenes stories and learn more than you ever though possible about this sometimes forgotten classic. Look for The Odd Podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher and Google Play! Thanks for listening!

This episode dives into the bizarre 1984 superhero horror comedy The Toxic Avenger and our guest is "Little Melvin" himself- actor Mark Trogl.  Mark has a great story about how he originally got involved with Troma Entertainment and how he ultimately ended up as the 98 pound weakling who would become a superhero in this cult classic film.  We hear first hand what it was like working on these early...

Eddie Garcia is one of the dancers front and center in Michael Jackson's iconic "Smooth Criminal" video...and that's just the tip of the iceberg.  He was one of the stars of the Saturday morning tv show "Guys Next Door", he appeared in several Janet Jackson music videos, he toured as a principal dancer with Michael Jackson and he appeared on a famous episode of Saved by the Bell as "Johnny Dakota"...

We're diving into the 1987 live action movie "Masters of the Universe" with Gary Goddard, the director of the film. We also discuss the toy line, the animated tv show, Cannon films and the bumpy road that ultimately lead to the release of this cult classic movie. Thanks for listening! (Pictured above: Joe Parisi in the mid 1980's at the Conan live action show at Universal Studios...a show that was...

Billboards featuring this mysterious blonde woman started popping up all over Los Angeles back in the early 80's.  Hundreds of them!  Each one simply said "Angelyne" and had a phone number.  Buy nobody knew who she was, what the billboards were for or who was funding them. For decades this mystery has been going on and she has become a bit of a "famous" Hollywood character in the meantime. Shockin...

In 1991, Dan Aykroyd treated the world to a truly bizarre movie called Nothing But Trouble.  He co-wrote, directed and played 2 roles in this strange road comedy that would also featured Chevy Chase, Demi Moore, John Candy, Bertilla Damas and Taylor Negron.  Critics panned it, audiences primarily ignored it and most people just didn't know what to make of it.   Over 25 years has passed. Sometimes...

"You remember Ruby Sue".  Upon its December 1989 release, "Christmas Vacation",  the hilarious third installment in the National Lampoon "Vacation" series, instantly became a holiday classic. In this episode we dive into the history of this film, uncover some cool trivia and chat with one of the film's youngest stars!   Ellen Latzen played "Ruby Sue" in the film...the daughter of Cousin Eddie.  El...

Saved by the Bell aired from 1989 to 1992 and remains almost as popular with kids today in syndication as it was back then.  On this episode we explore the history of this groundbreaking show, discover a ton of trivia facts about it and speak with a couple of people who actually appeared on screen at Bayside High!   My guests are Troy Fromin and Eddie Garcia.  Troy played "Ox", the stereotypical d...

A strange and exciting German-made fantasy film called "The Neverending Story" hit theaters in 1984.  Before long it had pulled in $100 million and over the last 33 years it has become known as one of the all-time classic children's movies. People like me grew up on this film and we still can't figure out why in the heck they had to show that horse dying!!!! My guest on this episode is Tami Storac...

You've seen Larry Hankin in some of your favorite films and and tv shows.  In fact, you've probably seen him dozens of your favorite films and tv shows  He's been popping up on screen since the mid 1960's and is one of those people you instantly recognize and enjoy.  His massive list of credits includes Seinfeld, Friends, Breaking Bad, Home Alone, Billy Madison, Vegas Vacation, Armed and Dangerous...

Troll 2 is a 1990 B-Horror comedy film that is an all out disaster.  From bad acting and dialogue not making sense to cheap monster costumes and hilarious special fx, it's no wonder this film has been named the "Best Worst Movie".  The movie was basically ignored upon its original release, but somehow over the years something magical happened.  It fell into that weird "Cult Classic" category and p...

As a young man, Gary Riley made a huge splash in Hollywood between 1984 and 1990.  Besides his famous role as the horror-obsessed high school student "Dave" in Summer School, Gary appeared as Charlie Hogan in Stand By Me.  He also popped up in Back to the Future, Ruthless People, The Jerk Too, Planes Trains and Automobiles, Charles in Charge, Silver Spoons, Airwolf and Knots Landing. Then he just...

In September 1991, an album called "Nevermind" hit record stores and the cover featured a picture of a naked baby boy underwater in a swimming pool going after a dollar bill on a fish hook.  To the complete shock of everyone including the band's own record label, this album would go on to knock Michael Jackson from the #1 spot on the Billboard 200 chart and help bring "grunge" music into the mains...

You know actor Keith Coogan as "Kenny" in Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead and as "Brad" in Adventures in Babysitting.  From a very young age, Keith has been acting in Hollywood and as we learn, he comes from a very long line of entertainers.  We learn a bit about Keith's grandfather, actor Jackie Coogan and hear some fun behind the scenes stories from the sets of some of his biggest films.  W...

A strange videotape showed up on the shelves of video stores across America back in 1994 called "The Stoned Age".  Its stars weren't necessarily known at the time and the film hadn't been promoted at all... but right across the top of the box was the quote "Better Than Dazed and Confused".  So you just had to check it out to see for yourself, right?  Well, like many other avid video renters in the...

John Massari is a composer who has created hundreds of iconic scores for film and television.  I assure you that at some point you have been watching a movie or tv show and the music in the background was made by John.  One of my favorite scores that he handled was that of the incredible Killer Klowns from Outer Space.   We learn all kinds of stuff about this part of the industry in this hour-long...

Derek Wayne Johnson is the filmmaker behind the 2017 documentary "John G. Avildsen: King of the Underdogs".  We chat about John's film career, documentary filmmaking in today's world, behind the scenes Karate Kid stories and more!  If you are interested in John's iconic films or are looking into making your own documentary films, there are some great pieces of info in this chat. Learn more about D...

In 1964 a young actor named Butch Patrick landed a role that would change his life forever.  He became "Eddie Munster" on the hit new show "The Munsters".  The show aired for 2 seasons and 70 episodes and Butch became a legend. We discuss his career as a child actor, starting out in commercials, up through his young adult years when he walked away from it all to go work in the gaming industry at a...

The "Veteran Voice of the Octagon" is my guest on this episode.  Bruce is the wild announcer you've been seeing in the cage during UFC fights for years.  His signature style and "It's Time!" catchphrase have been getting fight fans pumped up for more than 20 years.  But what a lot of people don't know is that Bruce was a very successful business man long before he ever grabbed a microphone or step...

My guest is Curtis Armstrong who famously played "Booger" in Revenge of the Nerds back in 1984.  Curtis tells us how he got started acting, we discuss his rather impressive theatrical training, the making of the Nerds movies and much much more.  We also talk about his upcoming book "Revenge of the Nerd:... or the singular adventures of the man who would be Booger".  Plus, plenty of Nerd film trivi...

In the early 90's Fred Ottman made waves in the professional wrestling world as "Tugboat" in the WWF and then later "Typhoon".  He also appeared in WCW as an infamous character called "The Shockmaster" that has become a bit of a cult classic character. I catch up with Fred while he's hanging out in Jacksonville, Florida.  He tells us how it all started, shares some stories about the WWF in the ear...

In 1977 a comedy film about a terrible, small town minor league hockey team hit theaters.  Over the past 40 years, Slap Shot has gone on to become one of the most beloved sports comedies of all time.  The Hanson Brothers are these 3 crazy, childish brothers that play for the fictional team in the film and cause chaos everywhere they play.  They join the team mid-season and their insane fighting-st...