Talking A Christmas Story

A Christmas Story Family (00:00)
Boy, I mean, you know, you just look up and say, Gene, look at what you did. Look at what you did. Imagine Gene Shepard was here and we asked him about today's technology. How would he humorously compare the simplicity of the forties with today's technology? And I'm standing in line and somebody behind me says, hey.

Don't shoot your eye out, right? So of course immediately I know that he's a Christmas story fair, right? So I turn around and say -

Welcome back everyone to the major awards series on Talking A Christmas Story with the cast. I'm your host, Yano Anaya, and I'm ready to guide you through a narrative woven with dreams, dedication, and the unmistakable sparkle of a holiday classic. Today, we're joined by a man whose influence and insight have helped propel a Christmas story from a beloved film to a cultural phenomenon enjoyed by millions each Christmas season.

This episode is not just a recount, it's a tribute to Irwin's willing, a visionary who's played a crucial role in behind the scenes and whose efforts have shaped the legacy of this iconic tale. Now envision a world where this simple joy of a Christmas, actually the narrative that resonates through the echoes of time, where each viewing of a Christmas story isn't just tradition now, but a passage through generations.

Irwin's willing, a man whose life has been as intricately tied to the fabric of the story as the threads of a cherished winter coat has been instrumental in bringing this tale to the limelight that it deserves. From securing a spot from the film on national television to nurturing its adaptation into a Broadway spectacle. Irwin's journey with the Christmas story reflects a profound narrative of passion and perseverance.

His story is a testament to the power of connection and the impact one individual can have on an enduring legacy. Ladies and gentlemen, it is with great honor that we welcome to our show, Irwin Zwilling, the original custodian of Gene Shepard's legacy, producer, and the man whose unwavering dedication helped transform a simple holiday movie into a staple of American culture.

Erwin's remarkable journey with the Christmas story isn't just about preserving a classic, it's about amplifying its joy and ensuring its place in the pantheon of holiday traditions. With no further ado, Erwin's Winning.

Well, hello, Mr. Zwilling. It is a pleasure and an honor to have you on our podcast, Talking A Christmas Story with the cast. If fans don't know who this gentleman is, he is a treasure trove of stories about Gene Shepard and Bob Clark, and we are very, very excited to have him on our show. So welcome, Mr. Zwilling. Thank you. Erwin is good, Yano. Great to be here. OK.

Okay, awesome. Thanks for showing. So of course we have some questions we would like to dive right into this. So first, you know, for the fans that are out there, Erwin, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and then let's kind of slide back to the beginning and how your journey actually started with A Christmas Story? Well, you know, lived the very...

Indiana type life in Queens, New York, you know, nothing special. Athletics, great friends, day camp, you name it. We lived a terrific childhood. Didn't go to out of town colleges. We all stayed local. And then off to business and worked from.

I guess from 1972, 1971 through about 77, I said, you know what, let me try and build an accounting firm, which is what I did. And the person I met was someone I went to college with and we went from there and decided to go into an area that we loved and he loved entertainment. He loved music and I loved sports and we ended up in TV.

and film and got to meet the most interesting people on the face of the earth. We were very fortunate to be right place, right time. And in nineteen, I want to say it was nineteen seventy eight. I got a call from Michael Collier, who was the son of Bob Bud Collier. But Collier was he had a game show years ago when Michael

grew up as a child in the entertainment world and by the way wrote the kitty laws that you and the cast and everybody live by Michael Collier wrote those laws and introduced me to Gene Shepard and Bob Clark individually Bob didn't know Gene they may have known of each other but they didn't know each other well and 1978 Gene

came into my office, I remember the day, I remember what seat he was in and in my office, it was terrible. And we instantly knew that we had that ability to connect. I didn't necessarily understand his humor at that time. But he admired that

cross thinking of the entertainment world sports and business. So we became we became friends pretty quickly. That's amazing. So that's that's a beautiful story. I'm sure that there's probably a lot of fans or people that don't necessarily know that story. So thank you for sharing that. So how did the journey like come to fruition about the movie A Christmas Story between you guys?

Well, Gene and I always met being an accountant and doing his tax return, which was a typical Gene Shepard event. And we would, I would drive to when he used to live in Lauderdale, I used to drive to Lauderdale and Lee Brown, who handled all of his stuff, Lee Shepard, and we would.

We would crawl around the ground with paperwork and put piles of paper together and Gene would take 10 seconds and say, I have got to get out of here. I can't look at the two of you crawling around the ground. So we would go out there and the rule of thumb was that Lee and I would work diligently on the tax return, the piles of paper and come out with enough data to do the tax return.

And then my second job was to hang out with Lee and Gene, talk sports, go for dinner, and then stay up the better part of the night talking about sports. And believe me, Yano, believe me, there were nights I stayed up till three o 'clock in the morning talking about sports and arguing with him, which is what he loved to do.

arguing with who is the best basketball player, who's going to win the World Series. And I did that every year and it got to be almost twice a year. And I looked forward to it. The stories that would unfold from my drive from the airports in South Miami to Sanibel Island, where he had his house.

They were priceless. I mean, they were, I would shake my head when I would get away and I just couldn't, I couldn't believe that 10, 11, 12 hours would pass. I don't care if I walked into a restaurant with him. He had the whole backdrop story to the restaurant. He had backdrop story to what I was eating. And then we'd go on from there, sports, et cetera, et cetera. And was,

It's an amazing relationship.

All right, so knowing your journey, how it started with Gene, talk about the magical moments that you experienced when introducing or the idea of introducing Bob Clark with Gene to have this possibility of this thing come to fruition about making something or creating something.

Well, it's you know, let me just let me just add one thing in your prior question was I stood over Gene's shoulder when he was writing two scenes from Christmas Story. One of the things he would do, he would tear me away from that. He says, come in here and listen to this. I'm going to read something to you. And then Lee would go in and on her brother's word processor and we would.

sit there and just listen to his thoughts. He would dictate to Lee as she typed it out. And so I got to watch him actually write scenes from Christmas Story. And he would pace the floor like dictating a business letter and was all in his head. It was all in his head. So it was, that was...

That was an extraordinary moment to see how he would come up with the nucleus of what he was trying to do and the pacing, the thinking, squeezing his eyes, trying to come up with the next thought. I was there. And that was great. Is in your efforts that led to the film being featured.

In a Christmas movie marathon, right? So what drove you to push for its inclusion and how did you feel seeing its popularity soar over the years, the decades? Well, you know, the challenge, the challenge was always to to generate the missing generations. In other words, if you go back to Gene's original career, I'm

I'm 75 years old, so people that were in their eighties really admired Gene Shepard. And I would listen to their thoughts and listen to the way people reacted to his stuff. And I said, the only way that this is going to continue is if I could help create interest in the missing generations. In other words, baby boomers.

and on down. And how I felt as we created the generations, whether it be through required reading in high schools in the Midwest to read his books, he had a certain method in which he wrote that was compared to Mark Twain. And if you read Mark Twain in school, why aren't you reading Gene Shepard? And the schools,

The school's attached to that thought. So the idea was to try to create the generation's interest, not to stick it down their throats, but to say, listen to the tempo and the words that this man used and see if you might want to follow him. And it was a suggestion. I didn't work hard at it, but it was a suggestion. And that seemed to have worked.

because kids liked it and not only did kids like it, but they also started filling in the gaps. People that were in their 20s and 30s and 40s. And I relayed the message to the studios at Warner Brothers about what was going on. And they thought...

It was interesting. And of course, from there, when books came out and people realized that in God, we trust all others pay cash is where the story came from. So they would pick up the book and also I'd see the book sales rise. And when the book sales rise and I saw. Turner.

take hold of everything and the viewership would increase every year. I mean, you know something, it was just bringing awareness. I didn't go out and try to sell or I wanted to bring awareness to what Gene was all about. His Americana, his humor, his short stories, they were brilliant.

They still are. And, you know, all these years later, the books continue to sell. I get calls all the time. So I'm very proud of Gene. And I'm very proud of the fact that he is he's so much of Americana and and and and the simplicity of childhood and how kids grew up in those days and.

I'm very proud of it. I'm very proud of you. Yeah. You know, to, excuse me, to add to that, you know, Erwin, the effort of wanting to bring awareness about Gene's brilliance and his writing and the messages and the experience and the emotions that he can convey in that way obviously has impacted now millions upon millions of lives of this country. It has gotten to.

point where it is a tradition to watch what Gene Shepard and Bob Clark got to create together. And so watching the magic being on set at 10 years old was just a small glimpse of the years of the writing and the hard work and the communication and the negotiation and trying to put this production together.

to record A Christmas Story that of course when it was recorded, we didn't actually see it hit TV for years later. And I think you may have brought that awareness to Warner Brothers about, you know, this is something that needs to be known. And so from your efforts, we have this conversation today, but for the millions of fans that this movie has been a part of their life and has,

strong that relationship between family and between love and the little experiences like I talked to so many fans that practically every single scene that gene wrote and Bob directed speaks to their their childhood and I think that the essence yeah that essence of that childhood absolutely being able to share it with the new generations is important because children's kids nowadays don't have that kind of experience that's

we did when we were younger. And I think that that story needs to be continued to be told. So your efforts in getting it put on TV, because I know it was just your awareness, then there was a lot of other decision -making processes that had to come to fruition to allow the general public to be able to see this movie every single year. So thank you, Erwin, for doing that.

Yeah, well, well, it's I'm the carrier of the torch. So I take that very seriously. But I think that there were a number of executives at Warner Brothers who I stayed in touch with. They thought the same way. And and you know, Christmas story originally was in the MGM studios.

and it went from MGM and it went on from there and it ended up in Warner Brothers. So it wasn't their child originally, but there were enough people in Warner Brothers that said, you're right. Let's, I love it. That's what they would say to me. I love it. Why aren't we paying more? They would ask themselves the question, why aren't we paying more attention to that?

And it just, it was magical when you would bring it up and their eyes would roll and they would say, you know, you're right. Let's see what we can do. And I think it was the 25th anniversary of Christmas Story.

We had long discussions at Warner Brothers and it took fire in 25 years, 19 what? 2008? It really took off at that point. They decided to take it very seriously, realized that there were so many people looking at it. The viewership kept rising, rising, rising.

And that's how I guess it came out. That's how I guess they negotiated the license to go for 24 hours. There are a lot of people that believe that the log that we used to have on TV that people would turn on all night and the log would burn. And that's the way they spent their Christmas nights. Now, now people turn on Christmas story and it stays on all night. And all they care about is if they can hear a word.

or hear the old man growl or the dogs bark, it doesn't matter. They keep the TVs on all night. And a lot of them keep it on during the year. Yeah. Yeah. But I mean, you know, the big thing is, and I always laugh when I get when I get young people coming like friends, children of my friends.

would recite scenes. And I just, you know, I shake my head. I said, really? Really? And that's, that's when you get a sense of how important that there are people in the 20s and 30s reciting scenes to me. And that's, that drives me that makes me so proud, Yano. And you know,

Erwin, it's, it's, for me, it's also very emotionally charged because I had a role in, in a movie that has become a, a, American tradition and to be able to 40 years later, really start to branch out and learn more about everybody that had things to do with this movie for me is, is a huge blessing because we all share.

that same tether of experiencing other people's joy from this movie and how it's impacted their life and seeing that for me, I can imagine how it is for you being best friends with Gene Shepard and long after he's gone, here he is. It's not like he's physically no longer here, but his legacy still is speaking through humans.

And that is amazing. That is something that a lot of people on this planet don't have the ability to do is to impact millions of people and continue to spread his ideas and his creativity and his storytelling. And people are living it and they're living the scenes that he created in his mind. And it's, it is, it's an amazing experience. And this is another reason why myself,

is doing the podcast is doing things to bring more awareness. And it's, and for me, it's very special to have built a relationship, a friendship, with you so that I can learn more about these, these experiences and stories, because it makes me feel a part of something that I didn't know even existed that is much bigger than what my role was. So again, Erwin, this is, this is an honor to learn.

these stories about your experiences with your friends, kids, with having the impact with so many fans, because this is the essence of what we want to do is to bring more awareness and solidify and continue to seal different avenues of not only Gene's legacy, but all of the actors, all of the behind the scenes, you know, workers that worked the entire movie, the wardrobe, you know, everybody that did this, this movie together.

We are wanting to give them some kind of platform to be able to express their love so that all of the fans over the course of the years can come back and say, wow, like this is where you can learn so much about the evolution, creation, and what this movie has actually done. So thank you for expressing that.

you know, Jean, Jean, when he used to W O R radio in New York, which he's in case people don't know he's in the radio hall of fame and he's in the broadcast cable hall of fame. And, I had the honor of receiving the award from a good friend of his Regis Philbin and, Regis loved, love Jean Shepherd, but.

One of the comments that Gene had, which kind of ties in everything you're saying, is that he used to end some of his radio shows where, don't forget folks, in 100 years, nobody will know who you were.

And so my approach was, let me see what I can do about that. So by creating the generations, I'm going to believe people will know in a hundred years who Gene Shepard was. And so, you know, things like that drive me. I think they drive the fans. I think they drive the cast.

I think that when we were in Indiana, I got a sense of what the cast felt. And they're no different than fans. They just loved it, and they're proud, as you said, you're proud of it. And we're proud of the fact that you guys are so locked in to carrying that torch of Christmas story. So Gene had some very interesting thoughts that...

permeated into the future.

That kind of leads right into our next question was about the event in Indiana. I am super happy that I had the opportunity to invite you out to that event. So as a VIP guest at the Ralphie and the Gang Come Home event in Hammond, Indiana, you know, your perspective on the celebration is important for all of us to kind of know how

Did it make you feel? I mean, what were the emotions? What was it that came to your hearts about witnessing such a big gathering of not only fans, but to have all the cast there? A lot of the guys I did not meet until that. I spoke to everybody, but I never got to meet some of the guys. And it was like...

Family, I mean it was the hugging the That proud feeling of who they were in the movie And there was instantly a connection and we told stories to one another for three days just three days I would tell Shepard stories they would talk about dealing with Clark and Shepard the two maniacs and they you know, they would They but they adored

Clark and Shepard. Everybody adored the two of them. So I really got a charge out of that. I really, really loved all the storytelling. And then I watched the fans react to it. It brings a tear to your eye when you see...

how much people needed to be a part of this. You know, they were people, I don't even know if you know this, they were people that drove from Orlando to the event, Orlando. So they were, and when they got there, they stood in the rain outside to get in and they stayed there for hours and then came back the next day just to get in.

and just be a part of it so when you think you understood everything.

The brand would take you to another level and show how important that movie is and how they grew up and how the kids, the eight -year -olds, the 10 -year -olds, they're so locked into Christmas story, which, boy, I mean, you just look up and say, Jean, look at what you did. Look at what you did. It's amazing. And...

I was, I was, I was really, I was taken back. I didn't expect all of that. But you also realize the importance of it all when you see that and what it means to families. And people would come up and tell me their stories. And it was, I mean, there was one couple that actually came to me and said,

Will you sign the book? I said, well, I'd be happy to sign it, but I was only Gene's friend. I wasn't in the movie. He says, Erwin, you don't get it. In this room, you are the closest thing to Gene Shepard. We want your autograph. Sign it, friend of Gene Shepard. And I did that to a number of books. All they wanted to do was have something.

that they can connect to gene. Yes. And that was amazing. Well, I got to, you know, I got to truly be honest with you that we are on your team, man, like really trying to solidify and continue and bring more awareness and do things to keep the awareness alive is is something that we are doing. And so it's it's a pleasure. It's an honor to know that.

this is one of your torches that you get to carry because I do feel the same kind of responsibility. So it's fantastic to be able to collaborate and talk and experience like what you experienced with somebody wanting your autograph. You would have never ever thought that that would have ever happened, right? But because yeah. No, of course not.

You yeah, but I mean I'm just that friend. Yeah, but I mean that yes, I mean it's yeah the connections amazing the relationship the emotions the experiences the memories That's what's important. It's not the physical tangical things, which is good, but it's those emotions as those memories It's the ability to say yeah I I am I'm still alive and I am Gene Shepard's best friend and I helped to do all of this and I'm here as a torchbearer because I

man that's you know you are you are a very important piece to all of this and we recognize that and other people recognize that too yeah well i appreciate it and you know you know my younger son jared and and and my kids my kids who are the carrier of my torch they know how important

This is so the idea is to Is when you're part of a legacy and And and you want to build a franchise for the people? Then it's really up to me to Show my generation or the or my kids the door to open

When something happens to me, they know they're not going to miss a beat. They're going to continue doing exactly what I did. There was something that, that we did as the cast for, the VIP guests that were at the event. And this something special was the VIP legacy boxes that we developed, for.

for the board members, for you, for Peter. And these legacy boxes were designed out of the iconic leg lamp and the crates. But of course, every single step of developing those boxes and the ideas, taking into consideration who they were for, what could we actually do from the cast and from a Christmas story family to create something

that was special for them in that moment in that event. So yeah, these, these legacy boxes are, were just printed for you guys. So there's no other box that were going to be created. So they are very limited to what they were created for. And not only that they were filled with collectibles and autographs and an autograph leg lamp. And it was just, you know, we thought that by trying to bring back that essence of the forties back to that VIP box with.

all of the cast signed, that it would be something pretty special. So can you describe your emotions, your feelings that you had in the moment when you realized that you actually got a VIP box as well? Yeah, I was really taken. I didn't expect that. The mayor who had presented the box that night, I had no idea.

that all this was coming and I said, you know what, I'm not gonna open it. Would you mind shipping it to me? Because I wanted to open it in my own house with my wife and kind of take a look at it and Jared, you know, Jared actually has it because he's, I grabbed a couple of the pictures, you know, I have a picture of the cast and some other pictures that I held onto.

but it was emotional. I mean, it represented, it pulled together all the years and it was really well done, really well done. And I was really honored that they had presented that to me, because I had no idea. I had no idea.

And of course, I mean, when they asked me to slide down with the box, I couldn't do it because I just had hip surgeries. I couldn't do it. I said, look, I'll take the box.

Just don't ask me to slide down that slide. That's yeah, you know that that's that was obviously we were on the mountain the slide was there Even peter hasn't slid down, you know a slide in that kind of emotion ever since the movie was filmed so it was it just brought back a lot of nostalgia it really did and you know, I Yeah, it was a lot of fun and to be honest with you I actually have one of the 28 because I kept one for myself and so

You know, I just want to show the fans that this is, you know, this is the box that was developed for the 40th anniversary. and we actually had, you know, the custom names put on there and, you know, of course it says Rajeeley on the side and, you know, so for me, it's like the, the, the emotions and the feelings of what can we create, right? Because this is not just any box. This is an experience.

And when you have an experience that represents something that's so dear and near to you, it becomes just like what you wanted to do. Like, I think that that's a prime example of understanding something from your heart that is so important that you would much rather do it in the privacy of your home with your family. Because when you do it with your family, it becomes the experience of something that you have shared together.

for a very long time and to be able to see these collectibles and these cool things that are coming out of this box really creates this feeling that this is something special. And for me, when we put this thing together, it brought a lot of tears, it brought a lot of laughs, it brought a lot of creativity and you know. Absolutely. Yeah. Absolutely. I mean, look, Gene was the storyteller.

And he was an amazing storyteller. I mean, he told me how he did it and how he thought and and he was an amazing detail storyteller. And and when you open the box, the stories would would just come out of the box. I mean, you would look at it and, you know, I remember that and I remember that. And.

And I hear Gene's voice a lot. There was a period of four or five years where I talked to Gene every single day. I used to watch ball games with him on the other side of the phone before we had FaceTime. So that box really brought out a lot of those stories. Amazing.

kind of lead into, you know, continuing this torch. I had the pleasure of actually meeting you with the cast in the first musical that was released in Kansas City, I believe. And so, yeah, that that my experience was incredible. Like I was so impressed with the performance and with the storytelling and like all of us were like, wow, like, you know, of course, we didn't want to go in with any expectations because we wanted it to be.

brilliant and it was and so you had a little bit to do with that didn't you?

yeah. That was someone, someone had put it in my head that wouldn't it be great if we put music to it. And you know, at first I, you know, I heard it and someone from Disney had come up with a, a song that they just put together.

And I said, you know, this is really, this is a good idea. So I put it out there and I wanted to see who would be interested. And we used our distributors out of Chicago who had made a play years ago that would tour the country. And so everybody became aware of what we were all thinking.

The requirement was you had to know, you had to be a Gene Shepard follower. I didn't expect them to be in Gene Shepard experts, but I had to hear his voice. I had to hear everything. And I put it out there and, gentlemen by the name of Jerry Garring approached me. and he nailed it. He had, he had a sense of where we wanted to go.

and what we wanted to do and how we should do it. And then we met John Randall, an award -winning director on Broadway. He won the Tony Award for Urinetown. And he was locked in. He knew, he just sensed that we were, and then all we did was carry the formula all the way through.

And we went from Kansas City to Seattle. And in Seattle, Kansas City was a workshop production. We loved it. All the creative people, we loved it. We loved it. We thought we needed to make some changes. Me as a consumer, them as the creative people. And...

We got to meet in Seattle, Justin Paul and Benj Pasek, who wrote the music. And of course, they went on to be among the greatest writers, music writers that we have in film, La La Land and Dear Evan Hansen and Dogfight and Christmas Story. And we put it out there as to how we could maybe

Get these guys involved and they sent us a song We told them we were interested and the people in Seattle who we went to before Just after Kansas City They introduced us to them they sent us a song within 24 48 hours the most detailed song, you know about the film and

I said to Jerry Gehring, and I had my sons on that phone call, they said, how does somebody write a song like that? Well, it turned out that Justin and Ben went to the University of Michigan, and they won the Richard Rodgers Award for music while they were in school, but they wrote a song about Christmas story when they were in college. And they swore that one day they would hope to write music for Christmas story.

the musical. That's amazing. Yeah. So that kind of leads into switching gears and playing a little fun game together. So before we jump into that, you know, there was a lot of really good golden nuggets that were spoken about. And again, you know, I just want to say thank you for taking the time to share this with the fans, because there's a lot of things that they may have never known that we can finally start to share at a deeper level with them. So again, thank you for expressing your experience, Erwin.

So the game, what we're gonna play is just called Shepard's Say. Like what would Shepard say in this situation? What would he do? And so of course, you being the closest one, it only makes sense to play this game with you. So in this imaginative game, we'll envision what would it be like if Gene Shepard himself could join us on this podcast and answer.

these questions, right? We maybe we both know that, you know, his energy is always around us, anything and everything that we do, he's in our minds when it comes to a Christmas story. And so just knowing that his presence is here, I'm sure that he's influencing your responses right now. So I'm going to go ahead and throw out some scenarios related to a Christmas story, another humor situations. And you, as someone who knew very well, will have to guess.

what he might say or how he would react. So it's just a fun way to be able to channel Gene Shepard's presence into the moment. And of course, keeping his spirit alive, keeping his legacy alive through us. And that's something that we all obviously have a responsibility to do. So first question is, imagine Gene Shepard was here, and we asked him about today's technology, how

Would he humorously compare the simplicity of the 40s with today's technology? That's a great question. Gene was, I don't want to say a techno guy, but he was unafraid to try things. He was one of the world's great, and you don't know this, I'm sure, but...

He was one of the great CB radio operators. When CB radio was there, I used to go in and I would be hearing him talking and kind of disguising his voice. He'd be talking to Russian people. He would connect to Russia. I said, what on earth are you doing? And he says, I'm telling stories in Russia. So I...

I think that knowing that, I think he would try to reduce the technology in today's world to not to maximize the use of the technology, but wrap his head around something that he would look at as being simple and utilize his skill set to appeal to the people in social media that...

might embrace what he's saying, but he wouldn't utilize it to the maximum. He would call it stupid. He may think it, but he wouldn't call it. But he would, he would utilize what he thought he can wrap his head around and do it right. All right. So suppose that we, we pitched Jean on a sequel idea where Ralphie and the family go to outer space for Christmas.

What would your remarks my team make about Ralphie trying to fire his red rider BB gun in zero gravity?

Yeah, well, Gene would have that that's an easy one. Gene would have said, you're all out of your minds. Find someone who drank a lot and wants to do this. Goodbye. That's awesome. All right.

that was a big deal. All right. So let's just

Let's just take in consideration that, Gene Shepard,

is presence today and out of all of the decades of seeing his creation come to fruition and making a huge impact like it does today and if he were to post on social media what do you think he would say a Christmas story means to him? Well let's take it back when he finished the script on edited.

gave it to me. What do you think? I said, I think I think it's really good. He said, it's a classic. I said, well, how would you know? How would you know that this is a classic? He says, I'm telling you, it is a classic. So I think it would be, you know, he wasn't a how can I put it, he wasn't a glorious type.

thinker, he was, he was, he was humble. He looked himself as a professional. And when he did something great, and he did a lot of great things, he would look at it's because I'm a professional. So I think he would be very proud of it. but it would continue to endorse his thinking and, and drive him to the next project. You know, before Gene,

passed away in his head because I never could find anything right. He was writing something while he was very sick and he was writing something because his mind was spinning as to his ideas. So when he saw the reaction from people, he'd be just, you know, you see, I told you, I knew it.

I knew that I knew it and so I think it would be very rewarding for him. But he wasn't a boastful guy. He was a you know, just a just a guy's guy. He was just easy to talk to. You had to love dogs if you didn't love dogs, he didn't want to know you. But but it was he was just very, very, very proud of everything he did.

You know if you didn't read it read it I wrote it and you'll like it that kind of thing. All right I got a I got a very interesting question because you We have evolved as a society ever since technology, right we have all these different perceptions and viewpoints about certain things especially like diet and exercise and so on and so forth in our life all of this stuff has evolved with technology and

So I kind of want to throw out this idea that let's just say back when we were filming the movie with the traditional Christmas turkey. But turns out that Jeremy Gavin and Melinda Dillon were actually vegans. So how do you think how do you think Gene Shepard would react to taking the turkey out of the movie?

He would, he would, he would look, he said, he would just say, what on earth are you eating? What are you eating? You know, it was all, it was, you know, Gene, Gene was a, was, he celebrated holidays and, when he would celebrate the holidays, he would do it to the fullest to the traditional nature of those holidays.

Whether it be the Fourth of July, some of his books dealt with the Fourth of July or of course Christmas and Thanksgiving and all that stuff. So it had to be spot on. And the turkey was a turkey and the stuffing was the stuffing. And if you had anything other than that, it's on you. You were nuts. Lovely.

okay. So also knowing that, well, I think you kind of answered this question, but I'm going to ask it anyway. So, you know, there is there's the also the advancement of technology in film production and directing. And, you know, back in the day, we were using the tanks of the 35 millimeters, you know, and then setting up and breaking down. And now the technology is so different. What do you think Gene would say about like the virtual reality? Like,

You know, maybe creating a Christmas story family. That's a virtual reality game. What do you what do you think you would say about that?

You know, I really don't know, but I think what he would probably do is try to utilize the virtual reality in a different direction, leaving Christmas story or in his mind, Christmas story being a perfect creation. I think he would try to use virtual reality to try to get the world to think straight and listen.

his ways of looking at things, you know, that that simple, traditional.

not complicated, no pretense and try to use that virtual reality, try to get in the middle of something in order to create something that would change somebody's thinking. But I don't think he would touch Christmas. I love it. Yeah, I have to agree with you that, you know, the movie is perfect the way it is and creating something different around that should support that that original. And then I think with Christmas story Christmas, it was a

perfect segue because the cast was all in it. It was literally a perfect segue. Anything else outside of that was not, in my opinion. So again, you know, Erwin, thank you so much for participating. It was a what was a wonder and a pleasure to have you. And if there's a lot if there's anything that's, you know,

If Gene Shepard could, you know, send out a message to the 50 million fans that he has created around this experience, what would he say? And then after you express what he would say, then what is it that you would love to express to the fans of A Christmas Story? Well, I it's it's, you know, well, the thing I would convey to the fans is I have your back.

I will always have your back and whatever I do is with all of the fans in my head. I will not. That's super, super important. That's what I would say. What Gene would say is, hey, stay brave, because he used that word constantly. Brave. Get through this. Think.

Positive he was a very positive thinker. So he would just he would he would he would get straight to the point stay brave Get through it Speak soon that kind of thing. So I think he would be You know eyes straight ahead chase it Keep dreaming that kind of thing. I think that's what that's what he always he was a great thinker a great dreamer

And I think that's what he would have told people. Stay brave, keep dreaming, keep going. Love it. I'm definitely in alignment. That energy is something that is pouring through me about this movie. The energy that you have about having the fans back, 100%. And this is an experience, a feeling that has gained within me ever since my first event. When I went to my first event back in 2006 is when I really...

understood how important this movie is for people. It blew my mind. I didn't, I didn't know at that point in time. And then, yeah, really hard to embrace it and thought it's amazing. And so that the ability to be able to reach and touch and create a nostalgia of love and emotion and sharing that is something that I think is, is magical.

So thank you, Jean, we appreciate you. And thank you, Bob Clark, for bringing this to reality. And thank you, Erwin, for bringing the awareness and continuing the talk. And that experience that the integrated people of Warner Brothers that made that decision to put this on TV, when we talk about the movie and they kind of light up about it, that experience, that emotion, that good positive feeling,

that comes talking about this, it happens for practically every human being I talk about a Christmas story that means something to them. I've had a lot of experiences where people, you know, don't realize. So I'll give you an example. This last, well, two years ago, I was going to Walmart to grab a Red Ryder BB gun because a fan wanted me to sign it for a ride. And I'm standing in line and somebody behind me says, hey,

Don't shoot your eye out, right? And so of course, immediately I know that he's a Christmas story fan, right? So I turn around and said, are you a Christmas story fan? He said, yeah, my whole family, my whole life, yada, yada, yada. And I said, well, I'd like to do something special for you. And he was like, what? So I was like, well, I'm Grover Dill from the movie and he freaked out because the nostalgia, right? So I just took that BB gun and I signed it for him and I gave it to him for Christmas and I went and bought another one. And that made his heart.

life, Erwin, like his family. Like that, that ability that I have, I feel a huge responsibility to carry out because it's sharing the message. It's continuing to make this legacy solidify. So.

No, I know that. I mean, I know you're running out of time here, but you know, indicative of what you just said to me, I was once traveling, I think internationally and I was on one of the airlines and one of the big airlines, the American airlines. And as I got to the door, two stewardesses were in a pink, pink bunny.

Sue, greeting. I said, what are you guys doing?

said, well, the airlines wants us to wear the bunny suit out of Christmas story. And I and then I told them who I was and they were so excited and and they were jumping up and down. I watched hundreds of people. I stood at the door and I watched hundreds of people come in to take pictures with them. Everybody on that flight knew.

from international to domestic tourists. Everybody knew what that meant. Everybody. Yes. Amazing. Again. It is amazing. It is amazing the gift that we were given and now we do have a responsibility to carry it out. So again, thank you, Erwin. It was a pleasure to have you on. My place. OK, we'll talk some time.

Good.

As we conclude today's episode, we reflect not only on the festive laughter and nostalgic reveries, but also on the profound lessons of Christmas story in parts about life, legacy and the impact of dedication. Erwin Zwilling's journey with this film teaches us that sometimes the greatest gifts are not found under the tree, but in the stories we share and the lives we touch. Erwin, your stewardship.

has ensured that the light of this story continues to shine brightly touching new generations. It's a poignant reminder that not all heroes wear capes. Thanks to you, Erwin, the networks began to play A Christmas Story annually, turning what was once seen as a cinematic underdog into a beloved holiday staple. This tradition has not only made the film a household name, but also brought us together as the tight -knit A Christmas Story family still sharing stories and celebrating this movie 40 years later.

listening to his experience with the Legacy Box truly highlights how this special collectibles are to those who receive them. What makes it even more special is there were only 28 of these made, each valued literally at a minimum of like $2 ,500 and no more will ever be created. And it happens that I have one. For me, it's not just a box, it's a timeless treasure trove of memories and traditions from a Christmas story, feeling this box.

Literally, you can't help but feel a deep connection to every fan who's laughed, cried, and found a bit of themselves in the Parker family. It is a physical representation of the bond that we share as a community around this film. And to all of our listeners, thank you for joining us in this heartwarming exploration. Remember to cherish these tales for each one of these tales carries a spark of magic that can illuminate the darkest winter nights. Go ahead and subscribe.

Stay connected and carry forward the spirit of the holidays into every day. Good night everyone and may your lives be as rich and as full as the story we cherish so dearly.

my god, I shot my eye out! You'll shoot your eye out, kid.