Hollywood Writer John Beck, Class of 1995
John sent some great 1990's pics from the station. You can view them here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/zxxnn6pconq7p45fvidd1/h?rlkey=ny9i0u512pve0tf915i58xtl3&dl=0
John Beck, Class of 1995, has gone on to a prolific writing career in Hollywood, having worked on everything from The Hughleys to Fuller House, to Liv and Maddie, and more. A TV guy through and through, it was actually Dave Gorab who approached him, over at then-UUTV, to come do the Crazy Morning Crew at Z89.
John is very honest at the start of the show, sharing his hesitation for coming on the podcast. Because his path was non-traditional, not having toiled in overnights, etc, he wondered if he was "worthy," but BB Good talked him into it, and we are so glad she did.
Soon, John, Julian Keel, and their other teammates were pulilng serious ratings, finishing in Top 10 in the Syracuse market. We talk about some great bits that made the air - from Professor McPhibious and Love Pumping Horace - to some bits that...well, were not approved for the WJPZ airwaves.
John also tells the story of the "We Own a Giant Trampoline Club" - and how they collected enough money to buy one from Sam's Club and granted all members free access to the trampoline in their yard - no matter the hour or their level of sobriety. And if you don't know how the trampoline met its demise, it's worth hearing. And yes, it's another WJPZ lesson applied to the "real world."
We turn to John's Hollywood career - starting off fetching lunch for Corey and Topanga on Boy Meets World, to eventually landing in the writers' room with his fellow SU-alum writing partner Ron Hart. And his career is littered with alumni stories along the way - from meeting BB Good's family to spotting Dion and Kafele at a taping of The Hughleys - to a very cool connection with Kid Michael Rock, and his daughter.
John also explains the recent Hollywood strikes - in layman's terms. A lot has to do with codifying some of Hollywood's "unwritten rules" and making sure the playing field is fair for all with the advent of large streamers such as Netflix, Hulu, Disney and more.
In addition to some classic Rick Wright stories, we conclude with John's advice for writers coming up in 2024. Yes, it's about who you know and being in the "right place at the right time," but there's so much more to it than that. Writers write. Always be writing. And spend equal time working on your job and your career . John explains this in the podcast.
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