When we spoke, Gene Wilder had just written a memoir called "Kiss Me Like A Stranger." The title was suggested by his late wife Gilda Radner three weeks before she died in 1989. Terry Gross More Quotes by Terry Gross More Quotes From Terry Gross If you are interested in ideas, radio is way more pure than television. You're not distracted by somebody's nose or hair or posture. You can really see how someone thinks and penetrate to the essence of who that person is. Terry Gross essence hair thinking I've always been really curious about things and slightly confused by the world, and I think someone who feels that way is in a good position to be the one asking questions. Terry Gross asking-questions confused thinking I am literally smaller than life. I am an unextraordinary-looking person. I've seen people trying to hide their disappointment when they meet me, and I have to watch them get over it. Terry Gross disappointment trying people I think there's always an expectation when you're a first generation, especially a first-generation Nigerian, of sort of being a doctor or a lawyer or an engineer. And so, you know, sort of my initial pursuits into the arts and that I was going to pursue film as a career didn't confuse them, but it was definitely something that they were scared about. Terry Gross doctors art thinking Most people I know that have work that is very meaningful to them pay the price of having to work all the time. Terry Gross pay-the-price meaningful people I think the interview form works best on the radio. There are a lot of personality traits conveyed in a person's voice, the rhythm of their speech or how confident they sound. Terry Gross voice personality thinking My father modestly referred to himself as the Great Santini when we were growing up. And he took it - I later learned he had seen a high-wire aerialist when he was a boy, and he was up doing acrobatics in his airplane, and when he came down one time - when was a young lieutenant - he said, I was better than the Great Santini today. And some of the other pilots heard it, and the nickname stuck. Terry Gross airplane growing-up father I was thinking about comedy and how comedy in many ways opens us up to ideas and really being influenced by Richard Pryor and sort of the way he would use comedy to really speak about larger social issues. Terry Gross issues ideas thinking I think in particularly with young kids who don't have a lot of positive influences, pop culture almost becomes a larger part of that self-discovery and how you define yourself. Terry Gross self kids thinking The excitement for me lies not so much in interviewing the hard-to-get famous person, but the person whom you are about to discover. You know, like maybe the character actors who are just coming into their own and you're realizing how great they are. Terry Gross over-you character lying Often real life is boring and problematic. I love the edited version of it. Terry Gross boring real life-is Hillary [Clinton] has been very guarded with the press. Terry Gross guarded has-beens clinton I learned that I never really know the true story of my guests' lives, that I have to content myself with knowing that when I'm interviewing somebody, I'm getting a combination of fact and truth and self-mythology and self-delusion and selective memory and faulty memory. Terry Gross knowing self memories Anyone who agrees to be interviewed must decide where to draw the line between what is public and what is private. But the line can shift, depending on who is asking the questions. What puts someone on guard isn't necessarily the fear of being 'found out.' It sometimes is just the fear of being misunderstood. Terry Gross misunderstood lines asking I know that everyone who listens to radio creates you in a visual image that they need you to have. Whatever that is, I thought, let them have it. Let me be who the listener needs me to be and let me not contradict that with the reality of my photograph and risk disappointing them. Terry Gross risk reality needs Donald Trump's hair frankly. Sometimes you know you're going to get criticism, but you just have to take . Terry Gross criticism hair sometimes I love songs. Songs are my favorite things. Terry Gross favorites-things my-favorite song It sometimes is just the fear of being misunderstood. Terry Gross being-misunderstood misunderstood sometimes I love the edited version of it. Terry Gross edited versions The [Bernie] Sanders campaign said you might be suppressing the vote by doing this 'cause people in those states might decide to stay home, that their vote doesn't count. Terry Gross campaigns home people
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