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Monologuist Spalding Gray. In the 80s, Gray went from New York cult status to something approaching fame as more people discovered his autobiographical monologues, as his acting roles increased, and in the wake of his movie, "Swimming To Cambodia." In mid 1986, when Terry and Spalding did this interview, Gray had appeared in the movies "The Killing Fields" and "True Stories," and then had headed out to L.A. to make big bucks as a T-V actor. (This interview originally broadcast on the weekly national version of Fresh Air on 11/4/86).

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Other segments from the episode on December 26, 1989

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, December 26, 1989: Interview with Spalding Gray; Commentary on music in the year 1980; Interview with Divine; Review of Thor Heyerdahl's book "Easter Island, the Mystery…
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11:29

Character Actor and John Waters Muse Divine.

Character actor Divine. Divine was the most famous character in John Waters' movies...a 300 hundred pound transvestite who stared in such Waters classics as "Pink Flamingoes" and "Female Trouble." In "Hairspray," Divine played two roles--a man and a woman. Toward the end of his career, Divine appeared in two movies independent of Waters and also started to land T-V roles. Divine died shortly after he and Terry spoke. (Original date 2/23/88).

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Spalding Gray Discusses His Latest Monologue.

Monologist, actor and writer Spalding Gray. His newest work is "Morning, Noon, and Night" (Fararr, Straus, and Giroux) about being a father and raising a family. Gray's monologues include, "Monster in a Box" about all the distractions that prevented him from completing his novel, "Impossible Vacation," and "Swimming to Cambodia" about filming a movie in Cambodia. His monologue and book "Gray's Anatomy" was about his eye problems, and his adventures in the mainstream and alternative health care industries.

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Monologuist Spalding Gray on a Slippery Slope

Since 1979, Gray has been performing monologues about his life and anxieties before audiences. "Swimming to Cambodia" was about the Vietnam war and his acting part in the film "The Killing Fields," "Monster in a Box" was about writing/vacation and Hollywood, and "Gray's Anatomy" was about an eye ailment. His latest is considered his most confessional, "It's a Slippery Slope" about marriage and learning to ski.

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Spalding Learns to Ski

An excerpt from the next edition of "This American Life" from WBEZ: a performance excerpt from monologist, actor and writer Spalding Gray. His latest show "It's a Slippery Slope" opens this Sunday at New York's Lincoln Center Theater. This excerpt was recorded at Chicago's Goodman Theater.

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