Photo by Bex Finch.
Comedian John Hodgman has had a wide variety of jobs. He's worked as a literary agent in New York, written three books, co-starred in national commercials for Apple, and appeared on a handful of popular television shows.
Oh, also: "I was a cheesemonger," he adds.
Hodgman will make a stop in St. Louis on September 23 when he brings his comedy tour, "Vacationland," to The Ready Room. We caught up with him over the phone while he was in New York City for the final taping of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, where he was a correspondent.
He spoke of his upcoming comedy tour, his podcast "Judge John Hodgman," and what he learned from embodying the PC to Justin Long's Mac.
Have you been to St. Louis before? What was memorable to you about it?
[During my last book tour], I stayed in a very fancy hotel that my book publisher paid for. It had a beautiful view of the Arch. Have you seen the Arch? It's very beautiful... Another wonder of the world that I saw in St. Louis at this very fancy hotel... I noticed a button in the [bathroom] vanity and when I turned it on I almost fell down in terror, because behind the glass of the mirror was a secret TV that started playing South Pacific. It was a secret hidden TV inside the mirror... Between that natural Arch and the singing mirrors, St. Louis is a place of miracles. I'm looking forward to returning.
Can you tell me about "Vacationland"?
[It's about] a chunk of my idle time in Brooklin, Maine. Now, Maine has a motto on its license plate; it says, "Vacationland," which dates back to a time before we knew what vacations really were. Its beaches are made up of rocks, the oceans are ruinously cold, and its lakes are filled with frog parts and fish poop. It is a place of natural majestic beauty, but it's a vacation spot for wealthy Bostonians... My wife is in love with this place and just last year, rather on impulse, we purchased a home there... It's been a profoundly difficult and interesting adaptation.
Were you always interested in comedy growing up? I read that you were a literary agent in New York for awhile. What led you away from that and into comedy?
I was always interested in comedy growing up. I loved Richard Pryor, Monty Python, Peter Cook, a British comedian, and sketch and stand-up comedy. I always enjoyed making comedy, but I always felt that it was important to be serious in my life. I was an only child, which is to say automatically pretentious and self-important... I was a loathsome, eccentric child who dressed up as Dr. Who and carried a briefcase. I cannot imagine why I wasn't bullied more than I was.
When I was an agent and trying to write short stories, I realized a great gift I've had is that I can be funny when I put my mind to it and more funny when I don't put my mind to it. George Sanders is a marvelous literary writer who struggled with the same thing. He realized that when he gave himself permission to be funny, he had a new power... I knew exactly how he felt. When I gave myself permission to be funny, I realized this is what I enjoy doing the most. And not surprisingly, it has caused more people to take me seriously than I could have ever imagined in my briefcase-toting days.
What was it like being in those famous Apple commercials? What did you learn from that gig?
Well I learned many different lessons... I just understand that character so immediately and deeply because he was, in many ways, me. The PC was a pretentious jerk just like I was in high school and yet also like I was in high school, he desperately cared about what other people thought about him. The PC deluded us to believe that he was in the ads to help the Mac, to show the Mac how to be a computer. He took pity on the Mac, and he never felt himself to be the victim. It all came very naturally.
At the same time, I had very minimal experience working on a set... how to take direction, how to take notes... I had to learn while doing it. It was scary to be out there in what was almost a literal void, you know, that white space—and working with a great dude like Justin who had so much experience. I almost didn't take the job because I didn't have experience in that world... My agent said, "That is a terrible idea, you should do it. You don't know what it's like to do it, and they won't always be asking"... It utterly changed my life... If you're feeling the right kind of scared, then you should probably say, "Yes." Even if it goes wrong, it will probably be worth the experience.
You're a Daily Show correspondent, and I watched your goodbye to Jon Stewart from last month. It was great. What was that like for you? Obviously it was hilarious, but I'm sure it was emotional too.
It's very sad, and I think the show has been a family in all of the mutually supportive and contentious implications of that word. Much to my delight, they've been my family for 10 years... From talking to people over the last week, everyone is feeling heavy feelings. It's very sad. Like a lot of things in life, just because a transition is sad, doesn't mean it's not right. I'll participate in [the show] as much as they like me to. I'm very grateful.
I also want to talk about your podcast. Where did the idea for "Judge John Hodgman" come from?
The idea came from Jesse Thorn, who is the bailiff and producer and my friend. He interviewed me for my last book... and asked, "Would you want to do a segment where you settle disputes between people?" Every lightbulb lit up for me in that moment. I've had a lot of weird jobs... And I'm an elderly person, and I know a lot of things, and I love telling people what I know and learning what they know and telling them whether they're right or wrong. I decided it would be great to expand it into its own thing. One: I thought it would be fun. And two: because in a career where most people knew me as a character, as the PC, or the Resident Expert [on the Daily Show], I wanted a chance to build myself.
