Welcome back to the African diaspora experience. Living narratives from Greenberg. I am Tina
P. Dinkins, representing the Department of Community Resources. And our guest today is
Mr. James Jackson, Biff Henderson, Jr. I left out the, I remember the Jackson and the Jr.
That's great, all right.
Lovingly known here in Greenberg as Biff Henderson. So I have to ask you, how did you become
known as Biff?
Oh, interesting. My life's journey started in the 40s, 1940s, in Durham, North Carolina,
Jim Crow, segregated south. I have one sister that's older than I am by five or six years,
but a friend of my mother's had a dream that she had a kid named Biff. So it's not a
showbiz thing, it's an actual nickname that was given to me when I was born. My mother
promised her that when she had another kid, that she wouldn't nickname the kid Vif, Boy
or Girl, and that's me.
And she stuck to it.
What a great friend.
Right.
So you grew up in Durham, North Carolina, segregated Jim Crow, South, you said.
Absolutely.
As a young black male, what was that like growing up in the segregated South?
Separate but equal is what they called it.
But having said that it was basically true in Durham, it was not like living in
the country, or in the suburbs, or someplace outside of a major city.
And Durham was definitely progressive, and a city of maybe 40,000 people at the time,
the third or fourth largest city in the state of North Carolina.
And growing up there, in my situation, I was very humbled about it and blessed because
I was brought up in basically a very upper middle-class environment. My parents did very
well for themselves. Durham actually was progressive for blacks and everything was basically available.
The largest black-owned and operated business in the world at that time was located in
Mutual.
Yes.
And it was also a bank, Mechanics and Farmers Bank, Mutual Savings and Loan.
Many, many businesses, but the equal part of this is there was one major high school
for blacks, one major high school for whites.
My high school was Hillside, Durham High was for whites then in accounting.
morning, they had two or three county schools that basically went from 1st to 12th grade.
And Northern and Southern High for Whites, they had Merrick Moore and Merrick Moore were
two of the, was named after two of the founders of Narco-Armugia, Aaron Moore and John
Merritt along with C. C. Spaulder.
And having said that, every school that I attended in Durham, from elementary school straight
through high school, was named after someone black, okay?
It was a book of T. Washington, and like that, it was usually somebody local.
Like W. G. Pearson in the fifth grade, I went to C. C. Spall in elementary school,
was another one of the founders of North Carolina Mutual and the banks. And that went straight
through high school. So, you know, it was separate equal. I mean, there was one major
hotel for whites, one for blacks, and three theaters each, including one drive-in theater.
Blacks could go to the White Theatres, they had to go up in the balcony, which were the
best seats in the theater, and it really worked.
And you know, we had fun with them throwing popcorn down there, or whatever, you know.
I mean, they were the best seats.
And they could come over to our theaters, but they had to sit over there.
It was definitely separate.
And it was weird because I grew up in an environment that was totally, you were aware of everything
and expected, a lot was expected of you, regardless of your social or economic background, who
have and have nots, people were unified to a degree, I'm speaking of Durham, okay,
that you know everything was you know there and available and exposed to
whoever you were still held to the highest standard yes and not because of
my parents but because that's that was there that was the community that was
the way it was and you know it's a black college in Durham North Carolina
college and and all that you know so that's the way it was I mean I you know
in elementary school started around 8 30 in the morning 9 o'clock we would meet
in the auditorium of the school and we would pledge allegiance to the flag and
sing the Black National Anthem lift the reward and lift the rewards and sing
That was every day and this is in the 1950s. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. Oh, yeah, definitely
And probably before before I started and having said that you know
So I know the the entire song all four verses where as I got older and met other people
For some reason they didn't they didn't realize. Well, yeah
I mean when you talk about the segregate itself you had in in many ways a very privileged
upbringing because many people didn't experience separate but equal as actually separate and
equal.
Well, I can't honestly say if it was equal.
I know everything, the numbers were equal, but I had nothing to compare to.
Did you hang out with other white teens?
Did you have white friends?
I never knew it.
You never knew it well.
No reason to.
I mean you know I think they used guys used to come across and want to compete in
maybe some sports and everything and and they would never win because we couldn't
allow that to happen.
I mean that's the truth yeah I don't recall you know but
we had boys clubs, white, white MCAs, everything that you can imagine there
were like supermarkets I mean you name it drug stores and definitely churches
Yes.
That type of thing.
You know, I mentioned to a lot of people that I grew up in a city where there was actually
a boys club.
They say, you had a boys club, you know.
I say, yep.
John Avery Boys Club.
For a young black man.
Yeah.
And it was actually named after a black person, you know.
And so the identity in the relationship was there, you know.
I never felt, yeah, I knew segregation was there.
I knew Jim Crow existed but you know it was it was that's the way it was I heard
that one of your childhood friends was the very very famous Arthur Ashe oh yes
how did you meet Arthur Ashe was that high school elementary school well we
actually I played tennis okay growing up I was a pretty serious tennis player
And at that time, down in Durham, blacks had actual tennis clubs.
I mean, I'm not talking about a group of people meeting in the park.
I'm talking about building.
A whole tennis club.
Yeah, an actual tennis club.
And at that time, there was the ATA, which was the American Tennis Association, which
was basically black.
And the USLTA, which was the United States Law and Tennis Association, which was
white.
When I was coming along, Althea Gibson sort of had already broken the coal line.
There were a lot of tournaments all over the country.
The A.T. was a really big deal.
I mean, we'd go to tournaments and there were a lot of entries.
But Ash, what happened, there was a lady in Durham named Mrs. B.A.J. with it.
And she was very active in the community.
She worked for Norco Immune to Life Insurance Company as a treasurer and she was big into
tennis from what I understand very instrumental in Althea's career along with a man named
Dr. Hubert Eaton from Wilmington, North Carolina.
At any rate, I was like about five, maybe six or seven years old, I was fling.
And Mrs. Whittitt called my parents and asked if this young man from Richmond could stay
at our house.
And he was competing in the tournament.
And yes, my parents said, yeah, and it was Ash.
And so we became friends that way.
And he was a little hitter this time in the game and another thing, very bright
guy.
And I won my first trophy with him.
Oh, wow.
And what happened was we were sitting around the dinner table and Ash said that he wanted
to play doubles in the tournament, but he didn't have a partner.
So my parents said, well, why don't you take this?
And if he was still living, he may be a year older than I am, okay?
So the three divisions in the ATA were the 12 and under, year olds, 13 and 15 and 15 and 18.
And we were in the 12 and under.
And he said, oh, I'll do that.
And so I won my first trophy.
He won the first trophy.
I was just his partner.
He actually won the trophy.
That's incredible.
Yeah, he was that good.
And then we were made friends all the way up until his death actually.
So what was it like watching him soar and become who he became in the tennis world?
I mean, it was expected. I mean, there were a lot of good black tennis players out there,
but you know, his story is his story. And it's fair. I mean, he was ready for that.
And it wasn't an easy task, but he succeeded at that.
And I think he would have succeeded at anything that he did.
And he did. He was just that kind of guy. Kind of like someone else we know.
You went to one of the greatest historically black colleges in the country.
Hampton University by Alma Mater. I wonder why you say it was so good. What
guided you to Hampton, Virginia? What guided you to that particular school?
Because it sounds like you were incredibly bright, very well involved. Yes,
I'm listening to you. You won a trophy with Arthur Ashe. What made you pick
Hampton University to continue your education? It wasn't much of a choice.
I mean it was a choice I had. I mean my father, everybody in my family, attended
to Hampton just about family tradition yeah undergrad my father actually was the
first black member of the trustee boy at Hampton and he was the first black
chairman of the trustee boy at Hampton my sister had attended Hampton other
relatives and so I went after high school to pre-college at Hampton and I
actually didn't attend my first year my freshman year I went to Tennessee State
on the tennis offer, because they were trying to get a tennis program going. And I went
out there and I enjoyed it. I had an uncle who was working at Fiske, teaching at Fiske
who eventually became a president at Clark College in Atlanta. But anyway, I transferred
back to Hampton at the end of my freshman year at Tennessee State. I had gone to pre-college
the year before and that was the summer, well that was the summer of 1963. I had been involved
very heavily in the Civil Rights Movement, protesting down south. So I had gone to the
March on Washington in 1963. And then I went back to Hampton and when I got there,
the tennis coach wanted me to come out for the team and I did I went out for a
few days and I just had hit a wall I played too much and so I dropped it for
quite a few years but how I was convinced to go to Hampton it was like
one of those things that to a degree I guess you could say family tradition
but also I kind of grew up on the campus yeah so having said that you
You know, people said to me, you know, you know, your legacy with Hampton, you know,
this than the other.
And it's a good school, conducive for studying, make friends for life, and a lot of good stuff.
Oh, that is true.
You are actually one of the reasons I chose to go to Yale University.
Oh, is that right?
Yes.
You and Ted Jones.
Yes, of course.
Well, I'm sure you don't regret it.
I hope so.
I do not.
Never will.
You shouldn't tell me about all the fun when we walk around.
It was that too, we learned a lot, it was a lot of fun.
So you grew up in this segregated cell and then went to an HBCU and then you served in
Vietnam, thank you for your service.
I was drafted.
Yeah.
Okay.
So here, so Vietnam was...
Put you up.
Vietnam was the first war, I believe, where black troops and white troops were
not segregated.
You know, maybe I'm learning something I didn't know.
Okay, so I was going to ask you, because you talked very much about growing up very separate.
And HBCUs are historically black colleges and universities.
So when you were deployed and were serving in Vietnam, I would imagine you were less separate.
Well, let's back up for a second here. Let's understand something. Another reason I may have
gone to Hampton probably did. See, I was never in a classroom with anyone white, and I never
had a white instructor all the way through college. I was never in the minority, basically.
So when they were talking about things like entitlement and everything, I thought they
were talking about me.
I didn't realize that you were, am I not right?
I knew I was being discriminated against, but I had never been in... Everything that I had
experienced to that point and beyond was made sure that it happened. Teachers always
were looking out for everybody, everything. I mean, you know, if something happened in
Durham, for instance,
you know, there were black detectives, black police officers and
everything, and if you did anything, anything happened. Your parents knew about it before
you got home, and that's not a joke. I mean, they really did. They, well, get your
own switch, whatever you want, you know. And, you know, having said that, I just
This wasn't in that situation, if that was a question.
Well, it's a different experience.
So when you get to Vietnam, are you fighting alongside white soldiers?
So this is the first time, is this the first time, would you say, in your life that you
weren't separate from them?
Well, no, no.
At that point, yes, I had met a few white friends, and so I knew some people.
people. But to that degree, yeah, probably, you know, people that I felt I could trust.
And I felt comfortable around. Vietnam was a different experience. I was drafted in 1968,
and it was a situation where I was doing the Tet Offensive, which they say was the
time. I was an older guy. I had been to college. I was 21, 22. Most of the guys over there were
18, 19. I mean, I learned things that I did not need to know and wish I didn't know to some degree.
I'm glad, and in the other ways I'm glad I know. I remember the first thing that was said
to us was about 50 of us in a place bigger than this whole building. I'll never forget what this
big sergeant came in there and said, and this is what he said, he said, gentlemen, welcome
to the Republic of South Vietnam where life has no value except to the one that owns it.
And that's the hard one to swallow.
He was right.
I mean, it was the truth, but it's something you didn't need to know.
And then when you end up in a combat situation, in my case, it was rather scary.
It's something that you do get used to, but it was a wake-up call.
And I wouldn't wish it on, you know, my worst enemy, but I survived, and there's a reason
why I'm here for whatever that reason is, if I fulfill it.
And I did 13 and a half months over there, and when I came back home, they didn't recognize
Vietnam veteran, there's anything other than, I don't know how to, we weren't recognized.
There was nothing, nothing there, you know, and then when, you know, I started my professional
career after that and I took advantage of the G.I. Bill back to some education points
and I started taking courses in New York City down at Pace University by City Hall
in Manhattan.
And that was the first time I was up in a classroom with more whites than me.
You know, like three of us in there.
Did serving in Vietnam with white soldiers change your view on race relations or race
politics?
Yeah.
I guess it may have.
I just don't know.
You know, I looked at humans as humans and I still do.
If a person has their hang-ups, that's their problem.
That's not mine.
That's not my problem.
I'm going to treat you the way I want to treat you and that's the way it is.
So you go from being separate as a child to being around white people in the war and then
you said when you got out and you went to school that was your first time in the classroom.
Did you feel like you had to adapt?
Did you feel like you had to?
Well there was some adapting to do like for instance when I was taking the course, had
a professor and there was three of us in the class, I mean in blacks.
I just realized that we weren't being called on.
Oh.
Yeah, we weren't being called on.
Which is new for you.
Very new.
Which was very new.
Yes.
And after one class, I said to a couple of the guys, I said, we've got to speak up on
this one, man.
You know, this guy acts like we're not even here.
And we did.
And I'm not going to call his name, I'm sure he's not living, but that's beside
the point.
And we brought it up to him, and he said that, he said, you know, I appreciate, he really
appreciated it.
He said, because we weren't the first ones to bring that to his attention.
Really?
He said he had other students bring that to his attention.
I said, yeah, we're not, it's like we're not even here, you know, and it didn't change
him.
It didn't change after that?
Oh boy.
Okay.
I mean, you know, I think he saw us occasionally, you know, whatever, but that didn't take away
from the fact of what we were there to learn.
To learn, yeah.
Yeah.
And so whatever he said, we were getting it anyway, you know, so it was, that was his
loss, no doubt.
You know, he didn't know what we knew.
And I don't know whether it changed my mind or attitude.
I was growing up.
Yeah.
I was growing up.
It was a learning experience.
So let's talk about David Letterman. How did you get from finishing your education credits
to being such a major part of the David Letterman experience?
That's an interesting question.
I was working in Nashville after Vietnam for American Airlines
airlines. And airlines didn't pay much money. And back in those days, in the late sixties,
early seventies, you had to be earning at least $13,000 a year to get a credit card.
And I wasn't doing it. I had a Corford card, but you couldn't use it for personal use.
So the credit card, I mean, so I wasn't making any money.
I went on a job interview in New York, down in Rockefeller Center, with the Hertz Corporation.
And this is back in the early 70s, and security was not an issue in builders.
You could walk in and out of buildings, like it's nothing.
And I left the interview, going back to my hotel, and I'm walking down the card in
30 Rock, and I had to go to the bathroom real bad.
This is a true story.
And I asked someone where the bathroom was, and they told me to go to the second floor
and directed me to it.
So I'm in there doing my business, and I hear this very distinguished voice behind me, how
are you today, young man?
The very distinguished little man with his bow tie on, and his broom, and his dust
fan.
He was a janitor.
And a bow tie.
And he said, and his name was Gene Sanders.
I dedicate everything of my career to him.
Oh.
Okay?
And we had a conversation and he asked me where I was from and blah, blah, blah.
Then he said to me, he said, what brings you to NBC?
I didn't even know I was at NBC.
I had no clue.
I had to go to the bathroom.
And so we talked for a few minutes and then he said, well, what are you doing?
I thought I was going back to my hotel and back to Nashville.
He said, I'd like to introduce you to some people and he introduced me to this
man named Peter Tentul and eventually to a man named Lutz Summel and I'll never forget
and some other people. And that was the end of that. I left my resume, went back to Nashville
and thought I'd never hear from them again, you know, that's the end of that. But I did.
I don't even recall if I was even offered a job with Hertz. I don't think so.
But
They called me in and they offered me a job in the sales department.
Now, I took the job and I'm making money and at
that time, the three major networks,
NBC, ABC, and CBS, that was it, and I liked the day.
And there was another black guy on the staff, about a year or so, maybe a little less into
did his sales job. Myself and two other guys called in and the network wanted to go into
the overnight business and there was nothing on. NBC, for instance, at 12.30 when Johnny
Carson and the Tonight Show would go on, nothing came on until seven o'clock in the morning.
And they wanted to sell time when nothing's on. Intangible, can't see touches, nothing's
there, how do you sell that? How do you get rid of that? So, you know, the person that
was in charge, the president of the vice president of the department,
she called us in, and
I think she made a mistake in my opinion, said, just get rid of it, other stuff.
And so we came up with the idea of giving it away for free, and for six weeks or
something like that. And we put the proposals together with the legal department and everybody
else signed off on it. And the guy on Madison Avenue, one of the agents said, he said, he
implied that they were setting me up to field. I didn't see it quite that way, you know.
But regardless of whether that was the case, that particular project worked out to a
degree to a law degree and eventually everybody came on board and and and I
don't consider it being a pioneer thing that was just a job. But proud of that they
were wondering where the money was because no money was coming in and whose
idea was this and naturally they pointed the fingers at me even though it
wasn't totally me and she said well if you're that creative maybe we should
to try production. And I said oh, okay. And I knew people, producers, directors and talent
in that end of it. And so I took a, like a lower paying job, I was a married, it was
just me. I could take the risk. And I took the job, a lower paying job in a scheduling
an area where cameraman, makeup artist, wardrobe, stage directors, social directors, stage managers,
stage hands, everybody was scheduled and these were ego testicle people because they were
making money so it was a very, very hard job, dealing with personalities.
And I took that job with the interest and intentions of eventually getting into production
And I saw that as an avenue of being able to get in the studios and see what happened
and observe what's happening.
And my boss at the time, a man named Tom Smiley, he knew I was doing this because other
people were going that same path in order to get into different things.
He wanted me to deal with audio but no I wanted to get into more of the production
and stage managing or whatever.
And then they had a vacation relief program at NBC, and they hired me for the summer.
And vacation relief was an opportunity to do all types of different jobs, okay?
And usually ran from maybe Memorial Day to Thanksgiving.
Just so when people went on vacation, you feel informed, crazy, I was hired during
and stage managing, but I had to join the director's guild, which is a good thing.
And he told me, he said, now don't get comfortable because it's not going to last.
You're going to get laid off.
But I was hoping I would be able to go back into the scheduling, which happened, which
actually happened.
I went back into the scheduling around November, so I had the opportunity to work the
Macy's for Raid that year.
I went back and then they called me back again and said you know you gonna put
you back at temporary case relief and the word is out around Durham and places
that I'm working at NBC but I'm not that's all I'm doing it's working at
NBC. I don't have any big contacts or anything going on. And I'm walking down Fifth Avenue
one day and going to work. And this guy, I don't know if you're familiar with him, his
name is Ernie Barnes. He's fast away. He was an artist. He did all the background paintings
for good times. All those paintings in the background. And all those paintings are
about Durham, Sugar Shack, the Arbidee Pool Room. That's all it's about. Okay. And he
was having a show up on 57th Street someplace and he wanted me to come and I
assumed, I don't know this to be a fact, but I was thinking that he's thinking
maybe I could get him on a today's show, you know, but I wasn't... You didn't have any major content. I knew the people, but I wasn't there.
And, uh,
I'm doing this vacation relief thing, and I'm getting ready to get laid off again,
and I get a phone call. I don't know how the guy tracked me down. I really don't. We became
friends after this. But he tracked me down, and he said to me, and it was Jimmy Walker,
by the way.
Oh, my goodness.
J.J.
From Good Time.
Yeah. And, see, David Letterman, Jay Leno, and Byron Allen were writers for Jimmy Walker.
Oh my goodness, I never knew that.
Yeah. Not for good times.
Right.
They stand up.
Mm-hmm.
Okay.
Wow.
Yeah. And he said that something like this guy named David Letterman is going to get
the summer replacement show at NBC in the morning live from 9 to 10 30 so I
meant Dave yeah I like to meet him you sure I don't you know he remembers this
I mean a letterman but he said he said listen whatever happens don't get
comfortable with this cuz it's not going to prepare yeah don't boy if only
they knew. It didn't last. I know but look how far you went. But that show did not last.
No, it was canceled. It was canceled. The relationship lasted. Oh yeah, that show was
canceled. The morning show. That's six months. And I think they kept them on retainer. You
know, I hope I'm being accurate. I'm not, I'm close to it. Anyway, now I'm getting
ready to go back into this scheduling thing again. And I get a call from my
boss to come into the office. And it was another guy, now also on the morning
show, let me back up a second, let him in. I don't know what they thought about me,
but they must have thought something was funny. His girlfriend at the time,
Marko, she was the producer and I think she had something to do with it. I'm not sure.
Anyway, when they said here's David Letterman instead of him coming out he pushed me out there
I had no problem with that right I went down there, but he came right out and pushed me out the way
So anyway, they started using me doing a little skits and stuff. So I had to join after
Now I'm an after yeah
Union yeah, both of them
And after and then sag after join
together eventually
so
they call me into the office and it's a guy from the director's guild sitting
there and I'm telling you what in the world is this all about and a boy says to me
he said we got a permanent position for you faith and destiny basically we
talked about yeah and he said he said we got a permanent position for you a
staff position I said oh this is great and that was in there after a few words
And then as I'm getting up to leave, I know the fellow who discovered this thing, he was
a staff guy.
And so the guy from the director's guild said, aren't you going to tell them why he's got
a permanent position?
Well, the agreement between NBC, CBS and ABC at the time was that anyone that had a
permanent assignment for six months had to be maybe a permanent employee.
Now I'm in.
And eventually time goes by and Letterman comes back with a late night show at NBC.
And I did that with him for 11 years.
We did the show basically, I think, four days a week, three weeks a month, which left
me with the opportunity to do all kinds of other stuff.
I was doing Miss America, Miss Everything, Space Shuttles, Super Bowls, you name
all over the world.
Everything was happening.
money's being made, I'm married, my kids are coming along, everything's real cool.
And then here comes this big button here with Jay Leno and the Tonight Show, okay, and Letterman
says I'm out.
And he goes to CBS but he wants me to come along with some other people that were working
at NBC.
you see. I had reservation about it because of the fact that who knew if it was gonna work.
Yeah, who knew if it was gonna work. I got a job. I got a permanent job. But they were
making offices that you can't refuse, it was hard. And I wasn't gonna go to California,
and I didn't know what you were doing. They decided to do it at Ed Sullivan Theater.
Things got better. Big shots of CBS had me come down there, and they said, yeah,
You're coming, and they may ask for more icing on the cake.
And we've been at CBS, I'm in NBC for 11 years, and then we did 22 years at CBS, 32 years
all total.
I was able to travel all over the place with Olympics and other things with the show.
As a result of the show, I went to Bosnia twice, Afghanistan once, and Iraq twice,
of the USO, you know, support troops, and all that,
that only went, and Paul Schaefer, you know.
And we always got along.
I mean, he's a very, very generous guy.
I don't say that because I work for him.
You know, I just say it because it's a fact.
And he does a lot of charity stuff, and it's very generous.
Well, clearly he trusted you, which he should have
because you're a big part of all of his shows.
He made sure that you were, but people enjoyed.
I was one of the people.
Well, I appreciate that.
Who enjoyed all the skits and your funny personality and your comments, Harry.
People would ask me that question a lot of times, just not only in the street, but other
places in interviews, they say, well, doesn't that bother you, weren't you nervous being
on TV and all?
I say, what is it to be concerned about when you don't know what you're doing?
And it seemed very natural for you.
And you were just, you were funny.
You were, you know, you hear claims like you just became his famous producer, one of our
favorite parts, one of our favorite, one of our favorite features from the day before.
Well, you know, if it helped to make things work, it definitely did.
And then I was on board.
I had no problem with that.
I have to ask you, so the media industry is known for not always treating its black
black artists and producers fairly, and yet you were able to navigate the industry with
much success.
Thank you.
Why do you think that is?
Do you think you did something different?
Do you think it was just ...
Gene Sanders.
Yeah.
Okay.
Yeah.
Faith, destiny.
Faith and destiny.
I don't know, you know, but I know one thing, yeah, I was there to do a job, make
it work and I wasn't kissing up to anybody or nothing like that.
I can't honestly answer
the question because I mean that's where I was pursuing it and I wasn't going to burn
in the bridges.
That's an important lesson though. One of my colleagues taught me I never burned bridges
but you said something about your childhood and your upbringing that I think is important
and two, which is that the entire time you were growing up,
even though the community was separate but equal,
that everyone that was around you
held you to the highest standard.
Not only me.
Yep.
And so I think that that,
when we get into a professional work environment,
those types of standards from our childhood kick in, you
know?
They do.
And I'm sure you always delivered.
They do.
I mean, I could sit here all day
and talk for hours about different experiences
that he'd probably say that's impossible. It didn't happen, but it did. I mean, just
different things that really, really happened. I mean,
it's a blessing.
Have you ever googled yourself?
For what?
I googled you.
I know you did.
It's incredible. You're everywhere. You're everywhere. You've got pictures with Kobe
Bryant, who's my favorite basketball player of all time. You've got pictures with
Bruce Willis and Michael Strahan and Terry Gar and like how does it how do you
feel when you're out about in the community and do people you're a
celebrity. How do you handle that? I just have to deal with it I mean I can't get
an attitude all the time. I mean I was in a drug store one day and I was ready
because these kids working behind the counter were taking too long and I'm
ready. I was I was actually in there with Michael Kay when he lived around here.
I don't know if they recognize him, but I'm ready to tell these kids to hurry up, got to
go and I turned around and somebody said, oh, hey, Biffin, I said, damn, I can't even
get an attitude out here.
I can't even get an attitude.
So, you know, I mean, I don't know what to say, you know, but it's true.
I mean, it's just, it's, what was your question?
Is it hard to be a celebrity, like especially in a town like Greenberg, which is not huge,
you know everybody kind of knows you. I mean I've gotten it other places. But let
you know that you're getting older because most of the people are old and
they'll be saying, hey, they're the speaking. I know a lot of the other kids.
Now you might be aging, your energy is very young. Oh no, no, no. I'm talking
about people who watch the show, who remember. You know, a lot of them, there's a
lot of young young people you know I did you mention Kobe Bryant and those guys
every time I hear those names stories come to mind yeah yeah I mean like Michael
Strahan you know he used to use him a lot when the Giants were doing very well
and winning Super Bowls and he was very good and very funny and once he stopped
playing professional football and started getting into television and stuff and and he
every time I'd see him he said to me he said you know not that I wasn't interested in this
but the reason is because of you meaning me I didn't look at it that way I never thought
he said you were the first one to put me on tv doing anything outside of a football field
and I didn't know it I mean I didn't look at it it was crazy it was stupid
But he's really wild with crazy stuff.
And then, you know, you mentioned Kobe, God rest his soul.
Yeah.
What is the one thing, the one, maybe not story,
what's the one piece of advice you would give
to aspiring media professionals today?
So we're coming out like Michael Strahan said,
you kind of inspired him.
Listen, the entertainment business in my opinion
is only about two things.
Temporary work and rejection.
That's all it is.
Nobody has a job.
You know, they have projects.
You might end up getting a job for a long period of time,
but nine times out of ten, it doesn't last.
We got blessed with 30-something years.
That's very, very well.
I think the show maybe still is the longest-running
late-night show.
I think Kimmel is catching up.
He's close to 30, believe it or not.
I think he's close to about 30.
So, having said that, it's temporary work and rejection.
I encourage everybody and anybody that wants to do this stuff to get to do it.
We're talking in front of the camera now, okay?
But, you know, it's, it's, it's, it's, there's no guarantee.
Yeah.
I mean, it's kind of, I know people with more talent out here and people with talent
that nobody will ever see because they can't handle that rejection.
Yeah.
It's tough.
You need a thick skin.
Oh.
Trust me.
Thank you so much for sharing everything you shared with us today and for being here.
You're more than welcome.
I enjoyed it.
I hope it works out for you.
Oh, thank you.
I got to spend this time with you, so it's already worked out.
Thank you so much, and we'll see you on our next African Diaspora experience.