The Day I Met And Interviewed Jim Brown

Last Friday afternoon, I was sitting in Top Round, a restaurant just outside T-Mobile Arena. My buddy and I were grabbing something to eat before we were going to head inside to watch the Vegas Golden Knights battle the Dallas Stars in the first game of the NHL's Western Conference Finals. I glanced at the tv on the wall and saw the headline scroll across the bottom of the screen: Jim Brown, NFL Hall of Fame running back, actor, and civil rights activist, had passed away at the age of 87.

He had passed away at his home in Los Angeles the day before, but this was the first I had heard of it since I was on vacation last week and not really paying attention to the news of the day. When I saw the headline on the tv screen, I immediately flashed back to that day I actually met this legend. I even had the opportunity to interview him on the air.

It was the early 1990's, and I was the Program Director and afternoon drive personality at a Top 40 radio station in San Bernardino, CA. Our community was being ripped apart by gang violence at that time. There were a lot of drive-by shootings in the surrounding communities within the Inland Empire of Southern California.

So, our radio station decided to try and do something about it. We instituted a "Stop The Violence" campaign on the air. We even planned a community event at the San Bernardino Spirit baseball stadium. There was a candlelight vigil. We took the time to announce the names of all the local youths who had been killed by gang violence in the past year. It was a very solemn event.

During our interview I learned that Brown was instrumental in helping to curtail the gang violence in Los Angeles a few years earlier. He had also created the Amer-I-Can Foundation in the late 1980's. Per Wikipedia.org, his organization strived to turn gang members and former prisoners away from violence by teaching them "life skills."

Jim Brown heard about our "Stop The Violence" campaign and asked if he could speak on the topic. He arrived at our station during my afternoon show, so I had the opportunity to meet him. I'm a pretty big guy at 6-foot 2-inches, but Mr. Brown seemed enormous to me, even though we were about the same height. When we shook hands, it felt like I was shaking hands with a catcher's mitt.

What I remember most about meeting Jim Brown was his intensity. He was a soft-spoken man. A very intelligent man. He did not get his point across by yelling and acting out. He spoke with dignity, common sense, and intelligence. He was extremely impressive, not just because of his size, stature, celebrity, or what he accomplished on the football and lacrosse fields. He was impressive because of his intensity, honesty, and forthrightness.

I know he would never remember me from that meeting and interview, but I will never forget the day I met Jim Brown.

When it comes to aging, there are different categories of celebrities. Sometimes celebrities allow themselves to age gracefully. Other times they pump themselves full of fillers and engage in all manor of plastic surgery to preserve their youth. Then you have that "other" group of famous people. The secret society of youth and beauty. The ones who just seem to have taken a big old drink from the fountain of youth.

These are the celebrities we love to hate. Because while they are nice to look at, and maybe we are happy for their good fortune, we kind of want to push them off a cliff. I mean, we can only do so much with diet and exercise. Positive thinking doesn't fix the wrinkles and gray hair that parenthood gives us. And we don't all have a fortune to spend on skin regimens.

So sometimes it just comes down to sheer luck in genetics. Now, I can't complain personally. I often get asked if I'm ten years younger than my actual age. But the celebrities on this list are at a whole new level. It's like they joined that secret club Isabella Rossellini started in Death Becomes Her.

If you remember that scene, Rossellini tells Meryl Streep that she can only stay in the public eye for ten years after taking the potion. Because after that people will get suspicious of her "perfect, unchanged beauty". Well, celebrities on this list, color me suspicious.

Seriously though, this is a good game to play with people if you're bored. Because the people on this list don't look anywhere near their actual age. Last one knocked me straight off my chair. And it's not just women. There are some male celebrities drinking from the fountain too. Must be nice. - Wendy Rush (age unknown ;) )

Salma Hayek is 56 years old. That's only 4 years from 60, people! How does she still look this good?

The new Mrs. Ben Affleck is 53 years old. And looks the same as she did on In Living Color.

William Shatner is 9 years away from being a centenarian. He's 91 years old!

Michelle Pfeiffer looks like she's in her forties/early fifties. But she's actually 64!

Padma Lakshi is proof I need to get back into the gym. The Top Chef host is 52 and mother to a middle schooler.

Being happy must be this guy's secret, because Pharrell Williams will be 50 next month.

Julia Roberts is pretty in pink, and she's also halfway to sixty. She's 55!

He can't just have one of the greatest movie careers of all time. The newly 60 Tom Cruise has to have the fountain of youth genes too.

It seems like Tina Turner has been around forever, so it's obvious she's not going to be a spring chicken. But I never would have guessed the singer is 83!

Comedian Chris Rock is pushing 60. He just turned 58 this month.

Gwen Stefani hasn't changed much since her No Doubt days. Though, at 53 years old she has managed to get more beautiful.

Lucy Liu has always looked younger than she is. And at 54, she still doesn't disappoint.

Maybe Susan Sarandon looks so young because she's got a younger boyfriend. Tim Robbins is 64 years old. And she has twelve years on him. Yep, she's 76.

More shocking than Lisa Bonet's age (which is 55), is the fact that this picture isn't her and her sister. It's her and her daughter, Zoe Kravitz.

Gabrielle Union is 50 years old. She looks like she's in her twenties!

It's hard to believe, but Keanu Reeves is almost 60! Mr. Ted Theodore Logan Esquire is 58 years old.

At 56 years old, Halle Berry is making us all look bad! LOL

I would like to personally thank Sandra Bullock for reminding us all how unfair life can be. She is 58. years. old.

Are you ready for this? Martha Stewart is 81 years old. That makes her older than all the Rolling Stones and half of the Beatles. 😲 She looks amazing!

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Larry Martino is the long-time Afternoon Drive personality on 96.3 KKLZ. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of Larry Martino and not necessarily those of Beasley Media Group, LLC.