Writer Bob Merrick (Magnificent Obsession on Substack): "Madonna Was My Mother & Debbie Gibson Was My Older Sister"

Show Notes

In this episode, Dennis is joined via Zoom by his friend Bob Merrick who pens the Substack newsletter Magnificent Obsession where shares sweet, sassy and occasional sad stories about everything from his tumultuous childhood and family life, his wide circle of friends and his star-studded misadventures in Hollywood. Bob talks about why he started writing the newsletter, how people have been reacting to it and how it's helped him process some of the more thorny parts of his life. He also shares lots of fun celeb stories, from working in the production office of the Tom Hanks film Cast Away to meeting NSync at the height of their fame and becoming close friends with Lance Bass to appearing in one of exercise icon Richard Simmons' Sweating to the Oldies workout videos...and maybe getting paid for it. Other topics include: how pop culture gave Bob an escape growing up, the importance of forgiveness, Dennis and Bob's first meeting in 2000 and that time Bob got to play foosball on Joey and Chandler's foosball table on the Friends set after hours.