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Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC. Now that we've been through labor negotiations, a military recruitment shortage, and bank failures, let's end on a lighter note. Who among you has been briefly famous? That is the question. Who among you has been briefly famous? Why do I ask this question? Think about this for a second. There are people who have been famous for 15 minutes. You know that phrase from Andy Warhol, your "15 minutes of fame"? Who among you have had 15 minutes of fame, and now you have some kind of regular job?

That's how we're going to wrap up today's show. It's a very specific call-in, so listen carefully. If you're famous or almost famous, and now you have a regular job, we want to hear from you for a little bit of fun at the end of the show here in our last 10 minutes. 212-433-WNYC. This is a call-in for any of our listeners who were child actors, briefly rock stars. Maybe you starred in a commercial that got traction. Maybe you were on a reality show. Tell us what you were famous for for 15 minutes, and what your job is now. 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692.

We got this idea from a Newsday article published a few weeks ago featuring John Hampson, the frontman of the rock band Nine Days. If you don't recognize that name, many of you will remember their music upon listening to one phrase.

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This is the story of a girl

Who cried a river and drowned the whole world

Brian Lehrer: Maybe that sounds familiar to you. After 17 years of working as a musician full time, the singer went back to school, got a master's in English Literature, and is now employed as an English teacher at Wantagh High School on the island. His past life is no secret. He's famous amongst his students for being the teacher who was a rock star before they were born.

Does this sound like you at all? What was your hit song, TV show, or movie? Do your normie colleagues know that you were famous once upon a time for a long time or briefly? 212-433-WNYC. I see people are calling in. It seems like we have a good representation of the formerly famous or formerly briefly famous in The Brian Lehrer Show audience, so we will take your calls right after this.

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Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC. Now to your calls. If you're famous or almost famous and now you have a regular job, 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692. What were you known for, even if briefly, and what do you do now as a normie? By the way, I mentioned that this was inspired by the Newsday story about John Hampson, the frontman of the rock band Nine Days who's now, I guess, an English teacher at Wantagh High School. Yes, that same John Hampson. That same band. That same song, Story of a Girl, was in Everything Everywhere All At Once. Yes, that John Hampson.

Evan in Kensington, you're on WNYC. Hi, Evan.

Evan: Hey. Good to talk with you. I was in a band called Harvey Danger in the '90s. I was the drummer, and we had a song that was an international smash. Now I'm an art director for a couple of papers, and I'm in Brooklyn. I'm happy with life, but it was a flash of time that I really enjoyed.

Brian Lehrer: What was your band's name?

Evan: Harvey Danger. We had a song called Flagpole Sitta that was very beloved by a lot of people, and I'm still very proud of it. (crosstalk]

Brian Lehrer: Not related to Carlos Danger. That was someone else, right?

Evan: No. Though we had a song called Carlotta Valdez, but we did have--

Brian Lehrer: That was just an Anthony Leno joke. Was it hard to transition into a normal job?

Evan: It wasn't without its difficulties. There were all kinds of storylines of what happened in the major label world. I ended up starting by getting a job at a bookstore just because I'd always wanted a job at a bookstore. That turned out to be surprisingly wonderful. Then I just picked up at the art direction of comics and books and magazines, where I had been before the major label world swept me away.

Brian Lehrer: Evan, thanks for checking in. Kevin in Brooklyn, you're on WNYC. Hi, Kevin.

Kevin: Hey. Hi. [chuckles] I told your screener I was the bassist in a fairly well-known bluegrass band in the late '70s into the early '80s. They still exist, but I won't say the name because there's no original members left. I'm not claiming fame as me.

Brian Lehrer: Sure.

Kevin: Now I'm an IT guy. I will say it was very easy for me to leave that because bluegrass star means you play festivals but you still have a day job. I have friends who were 2nd tier rock stars who opened for 1st tier rock stars at the garden, and that crowd, man, the 19,000 people screaming at you, I suspect that's like heroin. That's hard to get over, and not have that in your life anymore. For me, except for a few superstars, bluegrass people have day jobs anyway, so it wasn't a huge tradition. We were pretty well-known, and it was a lot of fun at the festivals. We would tour around and it was fun, and it was great.

Brian Lehrer: Kevin, thank you very much. Thank you. Catherine in Yardley, Pennsylvania, you're on WNYC. Hi, Catherine.

Catherine: Hi, Brian. Thank you so much for taking my call. I grew up on the Upper West Side and ended up doing a lot of TV commercials between the ages of about 10 and 14. I did one for Animal Safari Cars that got a lot of airplay, and I think it played nationally. I didn't think about it for years, and I found out many years later from my uncle that that commercial had been spoofed or parodied on Saturday Night Live. There's a Saturday Night Live clip for Wild Country Gun Cards, and I'm the blonde kid.

Brian Lehrer: [laughs] People-

Catherine: That's the 15 minutes. [laughs]

Brian Lehrer: -recognize you on the street for this?

Catherine: People did at the time, and now, many years later, I teach speech pathology at Temple University.

Brian Lehrer: Aha. Did you get the bug for famous life and have to kind of readjust when people knew you from that a little bit, or not so much?

Catherine: I think I did a little bit, but as I went on to become a teenager and I went to Stuyvesant High School and I got focused on other things, I was done with it. A little too much pressure for young girls on how to look and how to act. I was ready to move on by about the age of 14.

Brian Lehrer: Catherine, thanks for checking in. Kevin in Teaneck, you're on WNYC. Hi, Kevin.

Kevin: How are you, sir?

Brian Lehrer: Good. How are you? Do I know you?

Kevin: Good, thank you.

Brian Lehrer: Do I know you from television or something?

Kevin: Well, I won The Gong Show in 1977 with some friends.

Brian Lehrer: Aha, The Gong Show. Wow, The Gong Show. That was a while though.

Kevin: Yes, sir. It was a while ago indeed.

Brian Lehrer: Do you remember a moment from the show? Like what makes you a winner? I don't know the rules. What made you a winner on The Gong Show?

Kevin: Well, you compete against other artists, and we won. We got a perfect score of 30 points, and we won a gong. We won a year's worth of pantyhose, and I think we won a few buckets of Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Brian Lehrer: What did it do for your career? As I guess, that was part of a band. Is that it?

Kevin T: Yes, we are a steel drum band. After winning The Gong Show, obviously, we were adjusting for stardom. It didn't really pan out. I became a merchant marine.

Brian Lehrer: Wow.

Kevin: For the last 40 years, I've been on the high seas and destined for stardom. I guess I came in at sea level.

Brian Lehrer: Ha ha ha. Kevin, thank you very much. I guess when you're a bassist in a bluegrass band, or you're in a steel drum band, here you don't quite get to play Yankee Stadium. Mark in Brooklyn, you're on WNYC. Hi, Mark.

Mark: Hey, Brian. How are you doing?

Brian Lehrer: Good. What's your story?

Mark: Back in 2003 I was acting full-time doing TV commercials. I was-- whatever. I did some big ones. I did like a big Viagra one. I wasn't the guy with the issue. I was the guy who noticed all the changes. I did this chalupa ad for Taco Bell that was parodied on SNL as well. Then I booked this job hosting a television show on the learning channel called In a Fix. We shot 96 episodes in Miami and up here in the New York, New Jersey Metro area.

Brian Lehrer: What happened?

Mark: The show got canceled after two seasons. Reality TV kind of shifted, and instead of wanting hosts who were good at talking and chatting with people randomly, they wanted expert hosts who could both host the show and do something amazing. I was just a BS artist who could talk and handle copier. Think on my feet and talk to people. Life changed. Throughout all of that, I was doing photography; film photography. Ultimately I transitioned, and I've had a full-time photography business for the last 15 years.

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Brian Lehrer: Oh, that's pretty good. Mark, thank you very much. Thanks to all of you for your calls on being briefly famous and what you've done since. The Brian Lehrer Show is produced by Mary Croke, Lisa Allison, Amina Srna, Carl Boisrond, and Esperanza Rosenbaum. Zach Gottehrer-Cohen produces our daily politics podcast. Our interns this term are Trinity Lopez and Brianna Brady. Megan Ryan is the head of live radio, and we had Juliana Fonda at the audio controls.

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