Hollywood And Horsepower Show with Mark Otto Guest: John Barbour on Hollywood, Comedy, JFK, Real People, and the Accidental Road to Television History A Storyteller Shaped by Hardship, Books, and Movies Host Mark welcomes John Barbour to Hollywood and Horsepower for a wide-ranging conversation about Barbour’s life, career, comedy, television, and upcoming work connected to the JFK assassination. Barbour begins by describing how many of the defining events in his life happened by accident, including meeting Jim Garrison, working as Frank Sinatra’s private writer, creating Real People, and making documentaries about the murder of John Kennedy. He recalls a difficult childhood in Toronto, marked by family instability, his father leaving for the Canadian Army, his mother’s alcoholism, and his early escape into hockey, books, radio, and movies. Those early experiences helped make stories, performance, and imagination central to his life. From Hockey Dreams to Gambling and Hollywood Barbour tells Mark that his first dream was to become a hockey player, but that dream was crushed by a teacher who mocked the idea in front of his classmates. He then describes his youthful fascination with Tarzan, Africa, and eventually gambling. After studying books on cards and dice, he won enough money to buy a blue suit and set off for Las Vegas, only to end up in Lake Tahoe after a train delay. At the Cal Neva Lodge, Barbour saw Frank Sinatra and Sam Giancana walk in, a moment that stunned him and foreshadowed his later professional connection to Sinatra. Though he was winning money, Barbour says he gave up gambling because he loved the world of performers and stories more than the game itself. Faith, Wit, Deportation, and the Accidents of Destiny The conversation moves into Barbour’s childhood loneliness, his attempt to be taken in by a religious family, and his experience reading the Bible and attending church. He recalls praying for his father to return and eventually confronting a minister with questions about God, the devil, and suffering, an exchange that contributed to his loss of religious belief. Barbour then tells a humorous and sad story of being arrested during the Red Scare, turned over to immigration, held at Terminal Island, and attempting an escape through a laundry chute on July Fourth. Years later, after becoming successful on Real People, he received a letter from someone who remembered him from that detention experience. The story illustrates one of the episode’s recurring themes: Barbour’s life repeatedly changed through strange, dramatic, and improbable encounters. Comedy, Jack Paar, Merv Griffin, and the Birth of a Career Barbour explains that Jack Paar inspired him to pursue television because Paar showed him that conversation could be warm, witty, spontaneous, and human. He describes studying comedy albums, developing a Canadian-themed act, and being hired at The Horn in Santa Monica because of his soft-spoken delivery and sharp material. Barbour recounts his path through talent shows, Jack Rollins, club work, Merv Griffin, and Westinghouse, while also telling the emotional story of meeting his wife Sarita and the birth of their son. He credits Sarita’s support as essential to everything he later achieved, including Real People and The Garrison Tapes. He also recalls helping a young Pat Morita think about Japanese-American comedy material, another example of the unexpected encounters that shaped his life. Redd Foxx, Harlan Ellison, Television, and Real People Barbour recalls booking Harlan Ellison on his local television show despite Ellison having harshly reviewed him, and he explains that he wanted Ellison to speak about television because television had become the place where people lived culturally. He also tells stories about Redd Foxx, describing Foxx as a brilliant, naughty, and deeply intelligent performer who became his mentor and lifelong friend in show business. The discussion touches on Sanford and Son, Norman Lear, Bud Yorkin, Sheldon Leonard, and Barbour’s son’s early golf talent. Barbour says he has many more hours of stories still to tell, including stories involving Johnny Carson, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and his own career as a critic and television personality. Jim Garrison, JFK, and an Upcoming BBS Special In the final portion of the episode, Barbour turns to Jim Garrison and the JFK assassination. He explains that reading Garrison’s Heritage of Stone led him to call Garrison and eventually book him for a television appearance, after which Barbour says he was fired. Years later, while working on Real People, Barbour contacted Garrison again after news connected to the House Select Committee’s findings, and Garrison agreed to tell him his story. Barbour promotes an upcoming two-hour BBS Radio TV special about JFK, Jim Garrison, and the assassination, scheduled for November 22, with guests Wayne Madsen and Donald Jeffries. Mark closes the episode by encouraging listeners to buy Barbour’s book, Your Mother’s Not a Virgin, promising a link to the upcoming special, and thanking Barbour for a memorable conversation.
