Reading Maddie Levine's article about comedy superstar Adam Sandler coming to Boston brought back memories of my friendly dust-up with the world-famous actor and comedian.
A group of us talk show hosts at the Talk America Radio Network and our spouses were treated to a taping of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Standard operating procedure was to have a warm-up act before Leno appears. It just so happened that Adam Sandler was the supporting player that afternoon (NBC taped the show in the afternoon for replay in late night).
It wasn't long after Sandler appeared that my good-natured scoffs and hollers began – which gave him reason to return the sentiments.
"Hey, what you are you trying to do? Take away my job?" yelled Sandler. "Where are you from?"
"Boston," I yelled back.
"Oh, you're one of those chowderheads," he replied. At the time, I thought Sandler was making a regional food reference, but no – a chowderhead is a doofus!
"So, Boston, think you can do my job better than me?" he asked.
The audience roared into a cacophony of sneering, laughter and lampooning, while Sandler, holding a stack of Tonight Show frisbees, flung one perfectly over the reach of the audience, and like a hovercraft, it lowered to me. The audience went nuts!
Then Sandler ran up from the stage, shook my hand and autographed the frisbee. He was genuinely warm-hearted, where he'll always have a special place.
From his early days with Saturday Night Live to his acting and filmmaking, Sandler's funny and charming personality has made movie-lovers and chowderheads alike be taken by him.
Sandler, after a three-year intermission, brings his tour to the new MGM Music Hall at Fenway on October 23 and Mohegan Sun on Oct 29. Tickets go on sale this Friday, September 16.
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