Didi DeStefano Meets World

00:00:17
Speaker 1: So we're potentially going to be doing a lot of live shows this year. Yeah. So I'm planning out, you know, my year with my wife and I have a I have a draft of an email that I started during the pandemic that has expanded and I keep adding to which is all the places I want to travel to and all the things I want to see um. And so I was referencing or trying figure out what where we're going to travel to this year and what we're gonna do um, And it made me curious, do you guys have like places that you can't wait to go to or like the number one? Because for me, like number one personally, I can I just want to go to Japan so bad, and no, I am dying to go, but it's you know, I just I just I. But I have so many other trips that I want to do with Indie before he leaves. Because that's the other thing is I'm realizing kids already eight, I only got like eight more or ten more summer vacations where we can travel together. So I have to prioritize based on like, you know, activities we can do or things I want to experience with him. And so Japan might have to wait till after he's out of the house, but that's like my number one spot, South Africa. I can't wait to go to South Africa at some point. Yeah. Do you guys have places like that? Are what do you got? Well? I also really want to go to Japan. We were going to go to Japan for my fortieth that was going to be my fortieth birthday gift from husband producer Jensen carp but I was then pregnant and I was like, I don't really want to go to Japan when I'm pregnant, and you know so, and we ended up not doing that. So Japan is on my list. But then also there are things like I want to play golf in Scotland, so like that's that's one of my things. I also want to drive on the Audubon um, so I have like things like that that are like bucketless things for me. I once saw the Northern lights from from Banff in Canada. Yeah, but it wasn't like it was like what's that out there? And then it was like, oh my gosh, those are the Northern lights and it was, um it was like you know, kind of hazy, like it was definitely the Northern Lights, but it wasn't like that experience you think of when you see the Northern Lights, and so I want to just even seeing the little bit of it that I saw. I want to specifically do al go on a trip to see the Northern I would recommend Iceland because I saw them in Iceland, and Iceland's great to visit anyway, and they do boat trips or they take you out over the water and you can see them Morthern Lights. You go at the right time of year. Yeah. So I did Japan. Japan's beautiful place. Um driving on the Japan did the whole country ben Japan. I did Japan. Um. The driving on the Audubonna is insane and a ton of fun. Oh my god, really you've done that. Of course. My whole family lives in Germany, so that's I mean, my cousins, everybody. They're still outside of Hamburg, so we go often. So cool. Haven't played golf in Scotland, but spent some time there. We're going back this year, which is going to be our big trip. The Northern Lights is second on my list. I was supposed to see them last year in February in Fairbanks, Alaska, which they say is actually the best place to see them. And then I had to cancel. I was going for a convention. I had to cancel it. Um. But the number one on my list has always been I want to touch the pyramids in Egypt. I know, I know, are you allowed to touch them? I don't know, They're the rub I've done some cool things. I snuck under the stupid stuff, but like, you know, snuck under the fence and hung my legs over the the Grand Canyon, And I mean I've done some stuff where it's it's been pretty neat. Um. But yeah, Japan amazing, China's really nice. The parts I saw, Um, But you've always been a big history buff and an archeology. The Pyramids, the pyramids and just kind of the whole value of the kings are are so up there for me right now, it's yeah, I would absolutely love to do that. But Sue and I, it's so funny because we're the type of people where we love to travel, but ten twelve days and that's our limit. We are not like I want to be gone for a month and a half, Like I'm not that we want to get home, back to back to our house, I know, writer, Right, I just go to New Zealand for an entire summer, right right? Yeah, well that's the other thing. I do think I could probably do that, like really moved somewhere and know I'm there for an extended period of time, and so I'm going to make a home here. Yeah. But I agree with you writer that I mean will if it's if it's a vacation really like eleven days is and I start to get to a point where I'm like, I miss my routine, I miss my stuff being in my spot where I'm used to it being, because we are big on that everything has a place yep. So yeah, I want to live on the road, just throw it all. I would not have a house if it was up to me. Oh no, yeah, I need I need the space. But that's what I mean. Obviously. The dream that Sue and I have is we have like an apartment in either Amsterdam or London and that's your home base and then you just blanket the rest of Europe. You want an apartment in Amsterdam that I know somebody may be able to help you write apartment writer, Can you very quickly for me just say the line in Dutch? That you said on the show. Do you still remember what it is? Yes? In Fight to Auditing, you see this to Coop right, is there no? Yeah? In Fight to this is everyone remember the Airbnb or Airbnb the B and B episode and I spoke two lines of Dutch, hoy hit did the loop and Z for yourself? I mean air and see how light it is? Yeah, we went to Amsterdam together. It was the only Dutch we spoke. So we were on the airplane saying it back and forth, did the loot? And then you would say it when we'd go to like museums or wherever we'd be out. I'd be like, oh, we should do this yourself. And Coop means for oh my gosh, wow, oh wow, wow wow. Welcome to Pod Meets World. I'm Danielle Fischel, I'm writer Strong, and I'm Willfordale. So today's episode is we are thrilled to have this guest. Dedi to Stephano is a name that has organically come up on this podcast numerous times and we've been waiting for the perfect time for her to join us, and today is, luckily that day. Dedi is one of the rare crew members who includes actors who worked on Boy Meets World from the unaired pilot right up until the series finale, and then she even came back and joined us for one season of Girl Meets World. She was the stage assistant on the Ben Savage pilot and then eventually became the third and then second stage manager for Boy Meets World. And we weren't the only show she worked on. We were just the best, so that, in addition to her tireless work on Boy, she was one of our friends and a face we could trust, and we just still absolutely love her and trust her to this day. So please welcome to the show. D D to Stephano Hello, Hello, Wow, wonderful to see you. Wonderful. I really I don't know how it's possible that every time we interview somebody that we've known for thirty years, they turn on their camera and I'm like, wait a minute, you look exactly the way you did. Yes, yes, since i've known you, well, you had you know, you were all young, and I think you had ideas of what we looked like, and now we just fell into a vie. We thought you were old then, is that what you're saying? Okay, yeah, I think that's true to like you know, because I, like DD, I would have assumed, which is so weird to think about. But I probably assumed that you were the same age as like my parents, which isn't the case at all. Like you were much younger than my parents, right, I mean, I don't know. I can't. I don't know how old your parents are, but I tell my classes I'm one hundred years old. So did that? My parents were born in nineteen thirteen. Wow, So my education and film goes even before that. Wow. You guys remember some of you. I used to get on you all the time on stage about learn the history of your craft. Yeah, this is not what acting is. Please find out about who is responsible for you now? And I still say the same things to my students today and they look at me blankly, like what are you talking? Black and white? Yes, thank you to do that. You know, am I remembering correctly? DD? Did you have a sign or a bumper sticker or something that said theater is life? Film? Wait? Was it was? It was? Film is art, theater is life, Film is artsion furniture. That wasn't. Oh my god, that's so funny that you remember that. Yeah, because I was always kind of confused by it. I was like, are we making fun of television on our show? For work making a television show? You were you were talking about TV. People didn't catch it, But that's okay. You know what. I loved television, Yeah, I absolutely love it. And I've listened to you Will talking about how much you love the sitcom format and all of that, and um, it's the same way with me. But I go so far back. When they talk about the golden Age of television, we're talking about people that you've never heard of, Ernie Kovac's Oh yeah, I mean these were when television first started. And that's when I started to appreciate it. Aside from the fact that my mother had been an actress and all of that. They indoctrinated me and my sister about film, about television, about entertainment. That was what life was all about. I took to it more than my sister did. And for me, Um, when we would go to the movie when we were little kids, my mother loved all of these oh these Roman type of warrior movies and you know, they'd be in the middle of somewhere and they'd slice off an arm and you know, or whatever. They were gruesome for like a six year old kid to watch, and I remember, Mommy, I don't want to go to that movie anymore. And she said to me, let me tell you how it's done, and she explained special effects to me. And from that point on, every film that I sat in, I sat with my arms crossed, judging that wasn't very good. Yeah, I believe that, and that's when I needed to get behind the camera. My mother warned me and my sister don't ever get into entertainment, and don't get into television or film. It'll break your heart. And so I went into television and my sister went into radio. Well, I actually want to talk about your entry point into TV production because it's pretty unorthodox. So what was your first job at ABC? My first job at ABC, I managed the payroll department. When I wow, and as I talked to your husband, the producer earlier, I was brought up where my parents said, you can't make change out of a dime. You know, you're an idiot, and I really believed it. I couldn't And my parents told you that. Well, that was one of the nicer things that they've said to me. Okay, but anyway, okay, anyway, let me tell you how I got the name d D. One day, i'll tell you about that. But anyway, his job opened up at ABC, and there were two jobs, and one of them was a lot of fun, and one of them was they had a payroll department. And I knew that I did not know anything about money, but I had I had to prove to these people that I wasn't just a piece of fluff that wanted to get into television and entertainment. I was not one of those that I actually had a brain. So that's what I did, and surprisingly enough, my parents were wrong. I had an incredible attitude for MAC and within months they started moving me around into different departments at ABC and moving up and around, and that was Did you ever think you'd end up working on sets? Oh? That was my goal. That was my goal. Yeah, because I was in the production office and every time I went down on a set, because I was always on sets at ABC all the time, and I used to watch every department what did everybody do? Because there's so many jobs on set that people aren't aware of. Ye, I think, you know, O, G, I want to become an electrician And they go to work at Irving Schmutz's electric shop. They don't realize they can become an electric electrician in entertainment, right, you can do whatever. These the crypts, the lights, the everything, And I think, I'm sorry, crush, you can. I have told everybody over the years, pick a job, and it exists within the studio system. Firement. We have fire departments on his studios. Yea, and no matter what it is, want to dig a ditch, dig a ditch on a cold stage instead of out in the middle of a freeway, right right, you know, find your place. But anyway, um, so you were put in charge of like full departments, like hair and makeup departments, and you were just like overseeing that. Yes, yes, I was scheduling the hair and makeup and wardial people for every show that came into ABC. Wow. Wow, well, can I do you mind if I asked when when was this? Like? What were some of the shows that you were involved in back in the day, Everything from oh God, whatever we did on the ABC block from Webster to Facts of Life. Who's the Boss? Well that was later yeah, that was later on with Who's the Boss. I even worked on the Dolly parton pilot, but it wasn't Dolly Parton, it was their sister. Oh wow, incredible things Webster. I think I mentioned that, just all kinds of shows. So I did that for a while. But at the same time, when they saw that I was smarter than I looked, they started putting me in charge of special entertainment. So that was the Academy Awards, the American Music Award, anything that, yeah, whatever. ABC always did the Academy Awards. So I did that show for eight years. They always did the American Music Awards. It was at Clark Production. I did that for eight years. One year we got the Emmys. I did that. One year we've got the Grammys. I got that. So I've always been like in the middle of everything. That is like one area of production that I would never want to be a part of. Like Awards show scared the crap out of me, Like because you have to do everything live, there's so many guests, there's an actual audience. It's just like the fact that those shows get pulled off without a hitch. Most of the times there's usually musical accent yes or so it's such a high wire act of craziness. Like, yeah, I can't imagine. I can't imagine. I don't want to tell of preparation. And what they would do is they would build my office right off the stage, so everything was happening right on the other side of the wall on my office. And then when it came to the show, everybody had a spot for me, and I was stage right right behind the curtain. So for those years of all of the eighties, you know, I would say, well, look stage right behind the curtain. That's where I'm standing with stunky little clipboard. You know, in doing that, I had become very very jaded. I was tired. I'd done a lot of it. There was so much work involved, and I did. I had become very jaded. And this one day I'm backstage in the middle of the show and I'm just looking at my watch, like when is this going to be over? And I don't know if you know who this actor is, but it was Carrie Grand. He was standing right across from me, right he was looking at me, and he strikes up conversation with me like a lot of them did. And as I'm talking to him, I'm thinking, this is Carrie Grand. And most people would sell their mothers just to be in the same vicinity as Carrie Grant and he's talking to me and we're having this one on one wonderful. Oh my god, I'm at the Academy Awards. My life is more and I credit Carrie with saving my peace of mind throughout that. Yeah, yeah, it was wonderful. Well, eventually you ended up having kind of a disappointing experience. Happened over at ABC. Do you want to talk about that? It was I started one of the very first sexual harassment lawsuits against the major network. This was a very long time ago, and nobody really knew what to do with me at the time that with that lawsuit had scared them and I was just me and I was fighting the network and for you. Oh my god, that's five years of litigation. She was trying to tell me that I was crazy because it's okay for a man to grab a woman, and especially the girls that he works with. Anyway, they tried to say that I was a little nuts about that, and I had issues. And eventually when the thing finally settled, because I stated at ABC during the litigation, it was really very difficult and I did not sue for money. I sued for purpose. I wanted some, but he removed. He was in charge of twelve women and he was doing disgusting things, and so I wanted him removed from his position. I didn't hear about money, but they didn't remove him, and that was it, and they moved me. I was you know, that's the way it was. You know, this was decades before me too. Yeah. And then I went to work for Shelley Duvolve on her film's Fairytale Theater and Nightmare Classic stuff like that. I did that, and then it was Arlene Grayson. I had known Arlene for years from the time that I was working at ABC, and she said, hey, we got this pilot. You know you want to come work on it? And yeah, sure, okay, I had no idea. What was you know, was it the untitled Ben Savage project at that time exactly? And everybody was like, who's that? Who is this? So yeah, there was That was when I joined the group. And you came into Boy Meets World. Your first position, because you worked your way through many different positions on Boy Meet's World, but your first position was stage manager, right stage assistant. Stage Yeah. I hadn't joined Director's Guild yet, Okay, so I was always backstage. Yeah, you know, the liaison between the director. I was working a lot with David Trainer and those day and and the production office and you know, just getting all that stuff and you had your own stand like on wed podium. Yes, it was such a like nexus point for all of us. I feel like that that it was was where we were. It was like between craft service and walking around to the front of the stage was DD's domain and let so we just all sit there and talk and like catch up and like it was just on one of my you know, most cherished memories of my time on Boy Meets World conversations with you, like, yeah, that podium so much fun means a lot, thank you. Oh my god, I have so many fun memories. It meant a lot to me, it really did. It was It was important to me. And you guys were so important to me because I mean, you were young, and I knew what the business was. Don't forget that. You may be talking about it now and saying, oh, how could they? But I came from a time that was so ugly that by the time you got on stage it was much much better, much right, Yeah, and now it's even better than it was then, exactly exactly the way they took advantage of actors, whether it was adults or kids or anything. It was a really dirty business. And I was worried for you guys. So that's all. I just tried to be that person. You know you were. You were totally that person for us. You were you were you You made it easier for everything, even just you know, getting on set and getting to work and all that kind of stuff. You always let us know that you were there for whatever we needed. And you know, you just made it very easy in a way, Ddy because of your position, you know, because you know, we talk about somebody who had a great influence on us, like David Traynor, but like David never met our parents for instance. You know, like like, but you would talk to our parents. You knew our parents are siblings, everything about us, You knew everything about our you know, because we would Yeah we weren't working, we were talking, or we weren't working, or we weren't in school, we were hanging out with you. Yeah. That's what I remember more than anything, is like just how many you know, all those conversations and like, yeah, you were such a source of because you knew everything that was going on on set, you know everything that was going on production wise, because you were savvy to all the actual work, but then you also knew what was going on with everybody personally. Yeah, it's such an interesting position. Yeah, that's when Dan Yale started calling me Deeds. Yeah. Yeah, thirty years What do you remember from taping the original pilot? Do you remember feeling like that you had a feeling one way or the other about whether or not it was going to get picked up? I know this, I don't remember. I remember a quote you said, Oh my god, I don't know that. I don't know that it is on the final What did you guys have last I had worked on several shows, several pilots, and all of that by this time. So at the end of this I said, this sucker is never going to go anywhere. Start writing something new, Michael, Oh my god, this is going to hit like a lead bomb. And you said on the video You're like, nothing's going to happen with this bomb. That's what I remember, and um so I was so delighted, you know, when it came back and I thought, okay, well, let's try to get through that first season at least, and then that was when things change. That's when will You came in and Rusty came in. We didn't know. I certainly did not know there was going to be a you know, who was coming in to replace who or what? Right? But um uh it was as the season went on, a um, it was always kind of like a surprise, right, you know, I it was always a surprise. But once the changes had been made and the final cast was set, Like, what do you remember were your first impressions of all of us? Oh? Well, I'm so sorry. I really like that other guy, Harry. No, I did too. Just um, impressions of you innocence? Yeah, yeah, wide eyed and wonderful and I was already jaded and bitter off that way to us at all. I can tell you not to speak for everybody, but it was you. You were always that kind of nurturing mothering. Oh well, but I will say she was a realist. Oh you like there was a level of like your tell it to me straight. Yeah, you know, you're like, you're not gonna pull your punches about like what you think of the pilot or you know, like anything. You were never you were never coddling or fate in that way for a safe space. Yes, that's the thing. You were always a safe space and a social safe space. Yeah, which was great. Yeah, you always were. And um, but that's pretty much. I had to be very careful not to spread my bitterness to you. In fact, I had some artwork I remember that I would not show rider because it was so disturbing because I used to be an artist. Yeah, and um there was a picture that Ryder was like, oh please let me see what this is. Let me see and I wouldn't show it to you. It was a very disturbing piece. I had it hanging in my living room and when I when I got married, Scott said to me, could you take that down? It's a little too much much so but you know, so there was that in me and I just like I said, I didn't want to spread it to you. I you know, I was also very very thankful. You know. This is the other thing too. During that time, after my UH lawsuit, my sexual harassment lawsuit with ABC, I was blacklisted for many years. I couldn't get a job anywhere, and um, um that I ain't up married. When I was working for Shelley Duval, I got married, and all of a sudden they didn't know who I was. I changed my last name and wow, what happened to be this? Yeah, and then when Michael hired me, I warned him and I said, look, I'm on a blacklist right now, and you know, this could really mess things up. And he said, I don't care. I don't He said, let them try to stop me. You know you're with me, And that was the end of that. That's great that. I was very thankful for that. Yeah. So all you gotta do if you're in some trouble, just change your name to feel free. Just feel freedle, feel freed it and you're good. I love it. So you described really briefly what a stage assistant does. That you were kind of the liaison between the production office and the stage and doing all of that, and then you eventually became our third and then our second stage manager. Will you explain what a stage manager does? Okay, it's in film they call it an assistant director. When you use videotape, it's called a stage manager. So in my case, it's a third stage manager. I'm in charge of all of the extras that come in the background actors and so you get an order. Every week. He's usually like, you know, anywhere from thirty to forty people that they're coming in. I would come in on my day off and watch your blocking on your run throughs and figure out who's going where to witch locker, and then I directed that night. I'd figure out everybody where everybody was going, and then the next morning I'd come in and give everybody a script, all the background actors a script and give them their blocking for the scenes. So then I would have heard them over to stage, bring them back and do all of that. So that was pretty much my thing. We've talked about the choreography that it takes to do that, the kind of dance that's happening behind us. Yeah, as we're in scenes, especially in big scenes like you know the hallway scenes or chubby scenes, where it's everything has to be this is the line. You're gonna walk on, you're gonna walk from here to here, you're gonna pick up a burger at the you know, the front cabinet, you're gonna walk over here, you're gonna walk behind, you're gonna sit here, And takes so much thought because it got to be people. Yeah, you have to have coordinated enough pass you know, people passing, so it feels like a crowd without it actually being much of a crowd. Yes, such a complicated being able to spot them when they walk in the door, if they're going to take direction, or if they're not going to be around. So there were some people that would be like, you know, likely be in chubbies. Yeah, um uh, I'd say, here's a men, you sit down. That's it. Now you can make the opening cross to take us into the scene. So you can, you know, you have to make a snap judgment on who's going to be there for you and who's just going to be sitting around. We were just talking. So there is an extra. But we're now season two and we you know, knew a lot of our extras from season one, but now that we're in season two and they're older, we really recognize a lot of the extras and we're curious. One of them was from France and he had a thick French accent. Oh god, yeah, his name was Michel, Michel Michelle. That's right. So how did you just remember that where you just remember I don't know, it just hit me, but yeah, we called him Noose because he was from the town of Noose and France. Yeah, so other than his name and where he's from, you don't know anything about him. Yeah, so security number flips open everyone. So that was the question I was going to ask you, which writer just asked you remember his name? But writer answered, yeah, here's a real mystery that we have we're really trying to get to the bottom of. We've been waiting to ask you this because you are, I think the only person who could have any keys to this clue. Do you remember anything about the janitor from the end? Then there was sean episode Yes I will, I will solve the mystery. Okay, they solve this mystery for us. Okay. It was basically a background. It was a job, that's it. And when it came to things like that, the first a d Steve Hayfer, would put me in charge pick somebody out, you know, so I could pick people out for certain roles. And I happened to pick out somebody for the role. And I knew that it was going to lead into something that was just something about it. It was written cleverly. Yeah, And I said, this is not going to be a one shot deal. There's going They're going to do this again, and I had to this gentleman that was really sharp, and I'd seen him before and he was very helpful, and I thought, you know what, I'm going to have him do this this role because I also knew that I could give him a voucher which would help him get him to SAG and he would get more money. And I wanted to help this guy out. So I brought him over to the producers and they looked at him and went, yeah, no, it's not what we had in mind. And they picked another guy and that so the first guy was background. After that they hired an actor. Wow, they picked it, so it was an actor and then still had no lines. It was just the first episode was a background. And did he end up speaking? Did he speak in the episode? No? No, no? Yeah? Yeah? Wow? All right, Well where was his name and where was he from? Yeah? Number was yeah. So and then toward the end of Boy Meet's World, probably your least, your least favorite time of Boy Meets World was having to wrangle us from our dressing rooms and bring us down to stage. It was not my worst time. I loved it. It truly was, and I have great memories of that too. Um, I have letters from you guys, letters from Danielle and from writer. Um, yeah, I didn't letters. No, you never, I didn't write letters. Yes, I remember, probably poems. I wrote poems. I wrote a poem for you. I remember that. Yeah, cheese. In fact, let me give you a don't read it. I don't. I'm not going to read it. Are you kidding? No, I'm going to show you something. Yes the show. Yeah, was that from you? Yes, that was what the poem was about. Is that true? Yeah, you gave it to me at the wrap and I've had it all this time, so funny, Oh my god, during that during taping. I mean when we would when we would start the season, you and I writer would do a little ceremony over this necklace and you'd put it on, and then when the show would go down on hiatus, you'd go through a ceremony and you put it on me and I keep it through the summer. But yes, you wrote poetry for me and Danielle. I've got a couple of your letters during the time that you did not want to be there anymore. And I remember, especially when we were in the college years, and remember the the patio that was off the main Yeah, like that student union was a broke yeah yeah yeah student union yeah, so um And in the scene, you do your scene in the student union. Then you'd walk out the door and sit outside in that little brick to area and make like you were studying and writing and studying, but what you were doing was writing. Me. Later, I remember writing, yeah, sat down and be like, dear D's so sweet. They called cut and I take you back to the dressing room when you go here, and it was yeah, yeah, tell us one of your favorite stories from working with us, Like, what are some of your favorite memories? Okay, Well, before I get into all y'all, I want to talk about Ben. Okay, Okay. Ben was one of the most amazing people that I had seen. Okay, when I was just the stage assistant, sitting backstage all the time, I used to watch he was like barely eleven on the pilot and I would watch him just spinning around, eating, joking, singing and doing whatever you're doing, and then they call action, boom, he's in a character. Then when I became the second stage manager and it's up to me to queue you guys on too, said yeah, and I'd be back there you know, I'd always have the script on my clipboard. You need to go over your lines, you know, whatever you needed to do, and I'd be back there with Ben Ben you need to refresh, no bo and he's dancing and jumping around and then as soon as I kill him, there he was. Yeah. He was truly amazing in that, and he was in every every scene he carried the show. We've talked about that. I mean, just how how he had that weight on his shoulders from eleven years old and nailed it every time. And now we're going back and kind of watching his performance. He's phenomenal. He really was. It was just that kind of thing to be so young and in tune of things, you know, or at least in tune with his character in a scene. Yes, there, that's what he was truly in tune with. I don't know that everything else, but he was. He was something. Okay, So some of my favorite times were when we would start the show. You had your screen that staying our cast screen. Do you remember the Buddha to have to kiss the Buddha? Yep, I forgot, I forgot. I forgot about the Buddha. There's something else I wanted to talk to you about too, after the Buddha, but keep going, okay, okay, yeah, so I had that little Buddha attached to my fanny pack, so you do back there, and do you know we kiss the Buddha. Steve hay for and I. I bought him one of those you know those memorial candles, you know, I bought him one and it was Elvis and so Steve and I would like the candle before the show and go into the all this move and then that would be our little private right and that was your cast scream. That was our cat. Yeah. Yeah, So how did the lobster start? Oh my god? You remember the of coursester. Oh my god. So this is something our listeners can actually look for, right, Yeah, it's hidden in the set. If you give me a second, I will get the lobster for you. Get the lobster. Get the lobster. Lobster. You you don't remember lobster. We put it DEDI would put it on a different place every It was in all the sets. It's in every set of boy Meat's World. After a certain season, she hid a lobster on set. It's in it's on the set. There's a lobster everywhere, everywhere, everywhere. It's like a little easter then she I think she added in a lizard too. Wasn't there multiples? There was? I just remember the lobster. Oh my god, I completely forgot about the So in every episode she would just pick a spot and put it there. If there's a new set, I think it. Well, DEDI what was the go lobster? Yeah? How did you get away with this? I don't know. I was very, very careful, but it was in like every scene in the last two two or three seasons, ye seasons. In every scene, not every scene, but most of them. It really depended on hide ability. Yeah. So there is a scene where, well, for instance, Danielle, when you and Ben have your the college dorm and you have a closet. When you open the closet, there's a shoe tree hanging from the closet. Yeah, and there's also a lobster sticking out of one of these amazing people are going to just now start binge watching our Um Betsy. I used to love to do this to Betsy. I would slide it in the kitchen drawers right she was in the kitchen open up. There would be a lobster in there. There's also a scene that really scared me when I saw it aired, because I thought the lobster was hidden very well. And it's a scene where Bill is Is he dean? I think he's a dean or or something. Anyway, it was a very serious type of scene where he was talking to administrators or whatever. I can't remember what the scene was. Anyway, there was a whole floral arrangement behind him and you put it and I stuck the lobster in the Oh my god, did you see it? However, it glows in the darkness. Close in the dark, so you see flower flower? What is that flower flower flow? Oh my gosh, it it glows in the dark. It's also on the it was in the student it was either the student union or the store at the college. And memory was always there, Yeah, always there, I would pretty my gosh. I can't wait for us to get to those episodes. Thank you, Thank you for reminding me of this, because we're kind of dreading getting to those those years of the just because there are so many moments where like, oh man, we don't even know what we're in for. But now I'll get to focus on the lobster, lobster, lobster. He didn't you hide other things too? There was was there another? Was there a lizard? Or is it always just the lobster? I always had to lose. It's around me. There's the mind with the lobsters. I put out. Yeah, there's also another scene, and this one really scared me. And I think this was with you Rider and with Trina, okay, and it would the wedding. I think it was Bill's wedding and you and Trina are on you are on the staircase. I believe you and Trina are standing by the staircase and you would just had a fight in the show and so but you're watching this very emotional moment, you know between and your hands just kind of touch on the staircase. Well the lobster is right below your hands like that, but you couldn't see it. So here I am, you know, because it's it's decorated with flowers and all that stuff. So I'm watching the shooting of it and the director decides to pull in on a close up on the hands on the hands, and I see a little bit of st aybody finds out to do this. I'm dead, Yeah, I love the set department. They knew about it, they did, Okay. I told a couple of people about it. There were a couple of cameramen that knew about it, and um uh one of the set one of the set decorators, I believe, more paths and crofts. Yeah, yeah, yeah, just so they knew, like and you know, I got there, okay, I don't want to move in their sets, and it was like, let me hide this in there. So it was all, you know, it was all okay. As far as I can't believe either of you remember that. That's so fun. No, but the second you said it, I remembered it. But no, there's so much I don't remember. Oh my god. Yeah, do you remember we had those audience members that would come every single week scer family, your family, Your family lovingly called them the stalkers. They and they loved it. Yeah, they loved they called themselves as soccer to the point where they were in the wedding episode. They were sitting on Tapanga's side when Rory and Tapanga got married. Michael's called yeah, because and he said to me, because I had all the background people set towards sit and Michael says, let's throw them in. This will make him hand I know. Yeah, he loved he loved doing that. When Ryder and I did the last we shot that video where everybody is ten years later. The final joke is that we both live with the Year family and they came and they shot where we were shooting, and they came in. It's us like wrestling and having a pillow fight. They were the nicest people, and they came to every episode for like five years. They ended up coming to Girl Meat's World too. Not every single episode, but they came and they visited. Yeah, they came to Girl MEA's World. That's great. They were super nice people. Did you have You are one of the very few people who had the experience of being with us all seven years on Boy Meat's World. Yeah, So what changes do you remember seeing in us, whether that's professionally or personally either one but that maybe you noticed and kind of just smiled to yourself about, or like, what changes did you see in us over those seven years? Definitely the burnout factor, yeah, desfinitely, not so much from will Well you were like one of those little wind up monkeys. It was just like you born. But the burnout factor between you, Danielle and a Rider was serious. And it hurt my heart to see that there was nothing that I could do except listen to you, you know, in the dressing room and you know or whatever, and you would just you know, confide in me. And I just kept thinking to myself, please get over this, because you don't know, you don't know yet. Yes, this is a good thing you're in. And but just my heart to see you guys like that. Yeah, nothing, you know, boy met world ended and we all kind of scattered to the wind. We were able to talk to each other a little bit years later and things like that. But where did you go after? Boy? I went to work on a see was it hype? I did some. I worked on other shows. In fact, when we were up, and you know, when we were introduction, we'd go down on hiatus weeks, I'd work on another show. Okay, I was sitting at home, So I worked on several other shows during that time, so that when we finally did lockdown, when we were done, I had just moved on to working on several other shows and then worked for Anthony Anderson on his he had a show for a year. Yeah, yeah, and oh god, Riba McIntyre. I did that, just a bunch of shows after that, and then I decided to cry during the weekends. I had been coaching in coaching through Chris Kayer. He got me involved in coaching, so while we were in production, I on the weekends would work with Chris Kayer his studio. And then he was gone after the first season, I believe, Yeah, but he and I continued our friendships, so I kept working for him, and then I started taking over his classes. So in two thousand and four, a lot of things have happened. At that point. That's when I opened up my own studio and coaching ever since. That's great. So wow, almost twenty years Yeah. Wow. When we went to go see Chris at his Christmas store, he brought out the big sign that we all took a picture with, and it was it was from you to Chris, and we got to see your signature, and just seeing your writing brought back just a flood of memories for me. I was like, there's my deeds, his handwriting. But you think you wrote you know, I don't remember. There was a joke on it too. I think I took a picture of it. You of course probably But the other joke was he thought all of you signed it. That's so funny. No, it's from it's from you too, Chris, and it's uh, yeah, it's signed. It's it's so cute. That's nice that he has. That's yeah. I really credit him. I learned a lot from him, and I think I coached with him for eight or nine years. You know, I started taking over these classes, so I did. I learned an awful lot from him, and I learned things that I wanted to do and things that I didn't want to do classes. That's really what I came. Do you do you primarily coach kids or adults too, primarily? Yeah, but I still have. You know, it's an interesting Several of the kids that I used to coach years ago, they left me when they were like twelve years old or now in their twenties, and they're getting in touch with me and they want me to coach them now. That's so great, awesome, Yes, it's nice. So um. One of them made a very funny statement and she says, get I'm sorry I didn't get tall. You know, I'm only five four, And I said, well, I'm not five four, because she thought I was very very tall, she remembers me when she was ten years of course, oh of course, I mean, deed, you are you? Are we about the same size? Five one? Okay? Yeah, I know I was gonna say, you're actually like four to eleven, aren't you? Kay? Okay, you and my mom? You and my mom? How dare you say I'm anything less than five feet five feet to the Yeah? Okay, So Easton our super fan knows exactly what it says. It's on the back of the sign. It says to my third ex husband, which is perfect and very very very very deed. I love it. Yeah, yeah, it's very sweet. We were very good friends, but you know, that's life. Thirty years later, looking back on boy Meets World, what what are your thoughts? What are your feelings? What comes to you when you think about your time on Boy Meets World? As many shows as I worked in over the years, even before Boyne's World, you know, like whether it was Who's the Boss, Facts of Life, Married with Children, all these shows that I worked on, this was the one, This was Home. It was you guys were absolutely wonderful. Betsy and Rusty were just so such great people. Bill Daniels that I think being with Bill was the hardest for me in that I and I was every day of the week. I wanted to fan out here and I wanted to say, oh my god, you're both Daniels. It was like that, right, Sanuel swear, Oh my god, everything that he had done. Yeah, and I couldn't. I had to keep cool because and I were pretty close, right, you know, we had a really nice relationship. Bill and I And if he knew how much meant to me at that time, I would have been embarrassed, right, But but I was so taken by that man everything that he did. So we used to spend a lot of time talking about, you know, the old days of show business and stuff like when he met Bonnie and I was he was just a just a special, special man, so much so that when we went when we went on to Girl Meets World and I was there on the first season and he came into guests, That's when they called me and they said, Diddy, would you meet Bill and bring him into the set because I was a stab stabilizing factor for him. Wow. Yeah, just so for that, Yeah, that was a big deal for me. You kids were It was just the whole feeling the whole mood of the show was wonderful. I Um, Michael was, you know, very family oriented, and he was absolutely like that. You know, you never knew when he was going to pop, when he was going to scream, or when he was going to hug you. Yeah, that's who he was. But let me tell you it's like that in the real world, or being like that in the real world. I can't tell you how many director's producers that I've worked with that would no sooner slap you down than hire you the next day because they need you. Yeah, just the way it is. Michael was never that harsh because you've always had his And this is during Boy Meets World. Let me preface that by saying, this is during Boy Meet's World. He was very protective of the kids, okay, and his crew. Yeah, he's also very protective of his crewe. Yeah. So, I mean. One of the things my mom always talks about that she's so appreciated is that she remembers thinking, like we I think it must have been on one of the other sets I had been on before I got to Boy Meet's World, which there had only been a handful of them. My mom remembers walking across set really early in the morning, probably getting me to the schoolroom, and they're being crew around working, you know, working overnight, probably doing set deck, and they were just cursing up a storm. And it was my mom's first real thing of like, oh, yeah, this is a real adult environment and my kid is now going to be in this adult environment and I'm not used to that. And she remembers thinking like, gosh, don't they know there's kids around. They should they should be adjusting the way they're talking because there's kids around. And then when we got to Boy Meet's World, it wasn't like that. On Boy Meets World, the actual the environment was very much this is a kid's environment. But one of the things I liked that you mentioned, Deed even about Chris Kier, that you had learned a lot from him things you wanted to do and things you didn't want to do. I always I think some of the best teachers are teachers that you actually learn, you know, both from very you know, I can't even tell you how many amazing things I learned from Michael on Boy Meet's World. Have They come up all the time when we talk about episodes, we just you know, didn't we just recapped the episode where Korey into Penga fall asleep, and it was the first real lesson I got on not playing angry and how to actually be impactful. And you know, I mean some of the some of the greatest lessons of my life came from from Michael Jacobs and then you know, some of them also were thinking ways I don't want to behave on a set exactly exactly, And that's you know, and once again, every show that I've ever worked on, when they've had a kid there, that's the first thing the ad screams out to the crew. Child on set, watch your mouth ye five minutes, none of them it comes out. I mean just that, you know, it's like it's a construction site basically, you know, so everybody slips and they always go home. I'm sorry, sorry, but no, but not on not on BOYD. That did not happen. Everybody was very aware. And I think also, and this is for you guys, I think the crew loved you and respected you. Yeah. I think they did too. I hope it's I hope it's because they felt loved and respected by us. Yeah, mutual, felt mutual, and when everyone treated us like which was so great, like I never felt condescended to. In fact, I remember I remember if somebody came on like a guest star or for whatever reason, we would have somebody new. I remember turning to Ben and being like, oh, they're going to treat us like kids, or like, well we were talking about with the photoshoots. You know we have these photographers. You know, the kids want to jump. It was like that attitude, like we would never be condescended to. Everybody on our set was so cool and treated us like adults, and we responded in kind. I mean, I had, you know, really wonderful friendships with so many people. Yeah yeah, okay. Tried to do everything that he could for you ride or when it came down to the poetry, I mean, there was so much talk upstairs about trying to appease you. You're not even aware of that. There was like, look, this kid is going through so much and he's really talented, and there was a lot of that going on, and you know, and then Will and I remember being on stage and if it would be something that just didn't work and that and I remember color writers going, well make it funny. Oh yeah, yeah. King really trusted you and they no, they did, No, they did. And again we're The thing that's interesting as we're kind of learning our way through everything that we went through is most of the memories that we have, and I mean it's the vast majorial speak myself, most of the memories I have, the vast majority are great. I mean they're phenomenal, and they were nurturing and it was a wonderful set to be on and we had it was you know, especially towards the end, it was um kind of pooling all of our creativity and we were you know, knew the blocking, so we could kind of hey, what if I did this, what if I did that? And it became much more collaborative. It was wonderful. But then we're hearing about, you know, other things that we were kept were kept away from us, things that you know, people went out of their way to make sure that the kids weren't inundated with that. You know, as we're learning about it now, some of it was not very healthy. But again, we didn't see a lot of that stuff, so it is kind of learning about it after the fact. But for the most part, the actual going to set every day and getting to work with everybody in Hayfer and you and Lynn McCracken and our directors, and it was just it was a watch a lot of child actors can't say, yeah, you know, like you have a conversations or you read about are Like a lot of sets did not have that, and they were very fraught places for children to be in. And Michael would often get us together and I'll never forget this, and it was an incredible lesson. He would often get us together and say two things. Remember this ends ye and remember you may never find this again. And both of those things were hugely important lessons. And he was never harsh with saying it. He just wanted us to remind us that this wasn't forever. Enjoy it because it could be gone tomorrow. And that's what happens in the show. It literally was gone tomorrow. You're Thursday night we did the show and Friday it was gone. That's after seven years. So he was he was very good at imparting that wisdom to us a lot of times. And yeah, and we had our writers that they just loved writing for you. They really did. Yeah, they you know, they knew your strengths and weeks and you know, they could fun find those funny places easier because you because you thank you so much. You know. It was it was always chaos and it just turned out to be a thing of beauty in the end, you know. And yeah, it was much to that, like I'll speak to that where Yeah, like I said, the burnout factor was what made me sad with you guys, because I did. I just want to say that same thing. This is going to be gone tomorrow. Yeah, it's hard for it's hard for uh eighteen nineteen twenty year olds. Writer and I we've talked about it that, you know, gosh, we wish we could go back and say, like, listen, sure, relax, there isn't there isn't a different or maybe there is a different life, but it's where you just live in your moment, stop trying to think about all the things you're missing out on, the things you should be doing or the other things. Like there's time for that. You will do all of that. It will be there. Writer was still going to get to go to college. I was still going to get to do absolutely nothing like there was there was, which was all I wanted to do was just can I just please do nothing? Um? And so there would there would be time for all of that. Like I wish we could go back and tell ourselves, like, just live in this moment because you're never You're not going to get this back except for thirty years from now. When you guys do Pod Me's World, Yeah, you get a taste of it again and so now we get to do it a little differently. That's true of life. Yeah, you always look back and said, why didn't I enjoy that? Why didn't I enjoy that moment? You know with my husband or my wife or why didn't That is part of life when you're in it. We're in a vacuum. You don't see how good you have it and exactly you know what is it twenty twenty hindsight and you actually respect everything looks a little rosier. Yeah, you get the ugly parts and sometimes youngly parts get bigger and you know that's it. But it's it's that way, you know. I want to speak to something that I had heard in the last pod last couple times. So it was aired um and it was it was funny that they were making when they make references to things that you don't understand. Daniel's red Gelope. Yeah, all of that, right, and he's like, Will said, yeah, seven year old really relates to that. Understand, in those days, we didn't have Disney, Nickelodeon and all of that. It was ABC and it was family time. Yeah, the parents sat with the children and watched the show sometimes with grandparents and grandparents. The jokes were not written for the kids. Yeah, the jokes are written for the adults. No. We talked about that with Saint Eligius, that which Billy exactly, very good of you will to remember that. Yeah, it was that. It was that kind of We love having a grandpa on the show with us because we find that the grandpa will uh finds those jokes that young writer and I don't understand the best grandpa ever, that's right, best grandpa ever. So Ded, I know, I know people are going to want to know where they can find you. And you you started DD's Real Actors back in two thousand and four and now you are the head coach with the LA Acting Academy in Phoenix, and so where can people find you? Can people do zoom lessons with you? Yes, they can do zoom with me. Um um. I don't have a social platform so to speak in fact, Danielle, you are the one that forced me to join Facebook. Book years ago. It was like, I don't want any part of it, and you made me join. Now I haven't been on Facebook and I don't even know how long. It's a right no, because you made me join Insta and I am not, so I don't. Yeah, she's just trying. She's still trying to get me on my Space and omeigal. So don't worry about now, d D. I insisted follow on Instagram so she can follow along with my children children exactly. Yeah, because I have a private account for my kids, so I have UM on Facebook. I do have a DD's Real Actors Pay Real is our everyone correct? Correct and or d D stephano I. The only friends that I have on my Facebook page are the people from the show that I've worked with, or other other writers or producers. I think I've got maybe forty friends. I don't want a friend of people because it's not what I do. And here's the thing too, I am old school. I am crewe. You are the stars. I don't like to talk about. Oh look I just worked with this kid and they booked blah blah blah, and now they got this, and they got that I am not that person. Somebody who just what was it the owner of the company had just posted something about me being a rock star because several of my kids had booked major things in the last couple of months. And I go back and I said, I'm not the rock star. The kids at the rock star. And so that's why I don't. I don't like to boast and say, oh look what I did, I'm having such a wonderful life. No, I'm just we'll boast for you. I was just going to say, he may not like to boast, but we will do it for you. And we're going to boast for you. You know, just tell you. I mean, we told you when you first joined. But like you are just such a such I mean one of my I don't even know how to describe it, not biggest, not whatever. You are one of the most constant and regular memories for me. And not just you, but the way I felt around you, and the fact that I did without even the slightest hesitation, I trusted you one hundred and ten percent. I trusted you with everything. I shared everything with you, good bad, highs lows, and you were such a safe wonderful place for us to just walk in, leave the chaos of the world behind, and be with our deeds. And you know, I just we love you so much. Thank you well, d d thank you so much for being here with us. Thank you for joining us. It's been like visiting with my friends. I know we used to go to lunch, remember that. And you moved to Phoenix. I don't bring it up to her, don't. I had an incredible opportunity to buy property and do this job. It was incredible, Yeah, and I went for it. You have to. I wake up every morning going this is a bad dream, right ye were You're still on those felis up until you left? Yeah, yeah, of course I will drive that street and not think of you. Yes, I love that place. Well, yeah, I think about it every single time. I loved it. Writer. I still keep up with your mom and dad, you know I still you still talk to my mom all the time. I talked to your mom all the time. You don't talk to my parents. But that's I never did. Attorney for Dell attorney, the attorney for Dell, an attorney for Dell. Yeah, but it's just incredible. So Neil has all the information you know, goods and stuff. So I'll share the emails, the phone numbers, you guys. Yeah, yeah, yeah, well deeds, we love you. I love you, thank you for making those years some of the best of my life. Actually right up there right likewise, yeah, right back at you. I feel the same way. Thank you. I love you, love you. By oh boy. Of course I got emotional again saying about two dead inside. I don't feel the way you guys feel. I love it and I miss these people and I'm so happy. I just don't cry. I never do, yeah, crying everything every movie. I just I used to feel bad about it. Now now I'll be driving in the car with indeed and and a song will come on, I'll just start crying. I'm so s two or three things that make me cry, and it's they're rare, so I know I'll give out there Sometimes out there wakes me up in the middle of the night because he's completely potty to now, and he wakes me up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom because he's still in his crib. And I'll get him up to and just giving him that hug at like two o'clock in the morning and he's all warm, and he's in his little snuggly seat see sleepsac and I'll just start crying. Yeah, hug him and he's like, you know, I don't want him to know. Thankfully it's dark. But yeah, I cried everything, man. Just yeah. I think if I woke up in the middle of the night and realized I had kids, i'd cry too. So yeah, that's true. That was amazing. She I miss her. I miss her. Yeah, exactly the same. Weird so great. Ye. Yeah, I have to like go visit her in Phoenix or see her and we should all go. We'll go, We'll go and just hang out in Phoenix. I would love that, and she would love that. Are you kidding me? Um? We should have to bring a podium. Ye stand up, Yes, exactly, that is the way to do it. I can't wait for hashtag look for the lobster. I can't wait. I'm so excited you remembered that. Well, man, I'm so glad you remembered that. Thank god you brought that about the Buddha. Yeah, and there's so many things and because the necklace is there and everything there with us for all of that stuff, she was she was the the other cast member. I mean she really was. And yeah, the whole thing with your necklace rider. That one so crazy because I remember there's one. There's a blue and white one that I start wearing, but the silver one I wore all seven seasons and I hadn't. I completely forgot where I got it, obviously, and then I forgot what happened to it. So I'm sitting here going like, yeah, like it must have been special to me. Where did it go? And there it is? Wow, she still has That's so amazing. That's even cooler than the leather jacket. Well, now, okay, that's a good idea. We'll go to do an episode from Phoenix. Okay, I like that idea. We got to do it. Uh. Thank you all for being with us for this episode of Pod Meets World. As always, you can follow us on Instagram pod Meets World Show. You can send us your emails pod meets World Show at gmail dot com and we have March Magda pod meets Worldshow dot com and we'll send us out. We love you all, pod dismissed. Pod Meets World is an iHeart podcast produced and hosted by Danielle Fischel, Wilfordelle and Ryder Strong Executive producers, Jensencarp and Amy Sugarman, executive in Charger Production, Danielle Romo, producer and editor, Tara Supboch producer, Jackie Rodriguez, engineer and Boy Meets World superfan Easton Allen. Our theme song is by Kyle Morton of Typhoon and you can follow us on Instagram at Podmeats World Show or email us at Podmeets World Show at gmail dot com