December 19, 2024 • 26 mins
You probably know Tori Spelling from Beverly Hills 90210, but when Gilmore Girls references someone in pop culture, they always go a bit deeper than you’d expect!
Tori is referenced in A Year in the Life: Summer, with a true life disaster that could only happen to someone like Tori Spelling.
We’ll hear how she became Donna Martin and learn how hot those hibachi grills can get on an all-new I Smell Pop Culture
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
I am all in again.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Oh, I guess you.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
I Smell Pop Culture with Eastern Allen and I Heart
Radio Podcast. How do everybody get in my room? Hey,
this is Easton Allen. This is I Smell Pop Culture.
I am all In Podcast one eleven productions. I Heart Radio,
I Heart Media, I heart Podcast. Thanks for joining us
here today. I saw a thing a long time ago
that for Sinatra when he would play at the Rap Pack,
(00:39):
sometimes he would start the show like the band would play,
and he'd come out on stage and see everybody in
the audiences say hey out, everybody get in my room.
And I always thought that was a fun way to
start something. So that's how we're starting this one. This
has been so much fun, you guys. We are diving
deep into pop culture references in Gilmour girls, what makes them?
Who these people are, who creates them? It's just so fun.
(01:01):
We have so much great stuff planned for the next
few weeks. We have so many great guests, and I'm
personally this is like wish fulfillment for me. This is
just so great. I'm so grateful to Scott Patterson for
allowing me to do this. I get to talk to
all these people that I admire that I that I
watch that I listen to my entire life, and it's
just it's so much fun. And this week we have
(01:23):
truly one of the most influential pop culture icons in
of all time. This is someone that you're very familiar
with if you've been near or around a television set
at all in the last few decades. This is someone
who's star shines so brightly in the world of pop culture,
one of the truly one of the greatest stars in
all of his toy And I'll tell you more right
(01:45):
after this.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
iHeart podcasts. Listen on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Oh man, those commercials are so great, aren't they. I
just love them. I love listening to them. Thanks for
joining us. This is I Smell Culture. My name's Easton Allen.
I work here on the I Am all In podcast
with Scott Patterson. We're friends, We're good friends. He lets
me host this podcast and it's a lot of fun.
I really appreciate you guys joining us. So here's what
I want to talk about this week. These days, when
(02:15):
you think of a lifetime movie, you probably think about
like Christmas movies, right, like those movies where a big
city girl goes back to her hometown for like the
Gingerbread Festival, reconnects with a good natured country boy, falls
in love, learns the true media to Christmas. But there
was a time in history where a lifetime movie was
like always a gritty crime movie. There's one that I
(02:35):
love that I used to watch a lot. It's called
Cool Justice, a fall that gets revenge on a man
who attacked his daughter. It's great, it's really thrilling. But
in the universe of Gilmour girls, Laura I and Rory
love lifetime movies too. They love them. They can't get enough.
In a Year in the Life summer, Rory and Laura
(02:56):
leer in the kitchen recovering from delivering papers all over
stars hollow feed sore, they're tired. There's this beautiful montage
set to these Boots were made for Walkie and Nancy Sinatra.
You know that song? And Laura Lai says, last night
was a blur and Rory says, what do we end
up watching? Laura Lai replies, was it Baby Monitor, Sound
of Fear or coed Call Girl? And Rory confidently reacts, no,
I remember if we rocked the spelling and Laurie suggests, hey,
(03:18):
they should make a lifetime movie out of that poor
toy spelling. Following at Benny Hannah, Teppanyaki grill of Death's
so funny. We love it. I don't know if you
know this about toy spelling. She fell over at a
Benny Hannah and got like third degree burns and it's terrible,
but also like such a toy spelling moment. Tory such
an icon. We know her from Beverly Hills, nine O
(03:39):
two one oh. She's done so many things, so many
great things. She's written a ton of books. She's had
a real she's had reality shows fake and real. She
has a new podcast on iHeartRadio called Misspelling. She hosts
a podcast about nine O two one oh called nine
two one OMG. That's also on iHeartRadio. We love toy spelling.
She is such an icon. We're going to talk to her.
She is sit across from me. I'm going to take
(04:02):
her blindfold off. Tory, you are now allowed to speak.
Thanks for doing this. I'm so excited.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
Anything for you.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Oh my god, you're so kind here. You have one
of those voices that when you hear it, it gives
me chills. Because it's like, this is Tory Spelling's you know,
It's like it's such a unique and iconic voice that
is instantly recognizable. So when I hear it, I get
so excited. I don't know if anyone's ever told you
that before, but.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
No one has ever talked about my voice. But I
have something. I I think I have a terrible voice.
Really yeah, it really like even as we're talking, I
can hear myself and I'm like, I'm so annoyed by myself.
Is he annoyed? Her listener is annoyed?
Speaker 1 (04:42):
Like, not only is it a pleasant voice to hear,
it's very comforting. Your voice is in a meter that
is very soothing to my brain. I know a lot
of other people agree with me, but.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Uh, is there a business here?
Speaker 1 (04:55):
I think there is.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Well, you know, I'm a creator, an idea person. Wait wait,
so if my voice soothing, possibly I could Well it's
not amr it would be.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
I mean I would listen to like you reading me
a bedtime story.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
That's so different discussion.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
But like when before I got to know, So, just
to set up for the audience, the audience does not
know who I am. My name is Easton I'm hosting
the show. It's called I Smell Pop Culture here on
the I Amlin podcasts. And something they need to know
is that Toy Spelling is my best friend. Tory Spelling
is my friend. Yep. I've known Toy for four years now. Yeah,
I work on her podcast is now two and OMG
(05:34):
and Miss Spelling, which are both available on iHeartRadio. But
before I got to know you, before I start working
with you, I would hear your voice on TV and
in movies and it was like, so it was just
one of those things where like I would get excited
when I hear your voice because no one sounds like you.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
So I just wanted to I just want to get
that out of the way first and foremost.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Soan you. I do like my giggle, such a good giggle,
such a good gig. The only thing about my voice
that I actually like, well so much to love.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
Tory was on a television show called Beverly Hills nine
O two one O. And if you have not seen
this show, it is such an important piece of television history.
You need to watch it. It's so good. But I
want to go back to the beginning. We're going to
talk today about a TV movie that you did. Yes,
it was called co Ed Call Girl.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
So we'll get into this more in a bit here.
But when you were doing nine O two one O,
you would do these like movies of the week, right,
how did that work?
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Like?
Speaker 1 (06:39):
You would you film these while you were doing nine
to two and O?
Speaker 2 (06:42):
Was it?
Speaker 1 (06:42):
Yeah? Oh? It was doing like breaks in the in
the schedule.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Yes. So the first movie of the Week that I
did was A Friend to Die For or Death of
a Cheerleader. We talked about it. I'm the spelling, but
that was like the first one I was offered, and
that was like a big d and it was Monday
nights were the TV movies and they were always on
(07:06):
what were the only networks then which were I mean
we were on Fox on nine O two and oh,
but the three like mega ones were like NBC, ABC
and CBS, And if you did a TV movie movie
of the week, it would once a week they would
have these movies. And yeah, we started they start rolling
in because they were super successful. So all the girls
(07:27):
and boys on nine O two and oh got offered them.
I love to work, as you know, so we couldn't
do anything else while we were filming nine, O, two
and oh because the schedule was too crazy. So anytime
we got a hiatus, which would be twice a year,
so we would have our summer hiatus and then we
would have our winter one, I would go do a
(07:47):
TV movie the summer one was longer, or I did
a couple like indie films back then, but the summers
were longer, so I would always get two TV movies
in back to back and then go back to work
in nine on too and O the winter break was shorter,
so I would film one only one oh one. So
Coed Call Girl originally on CBS.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
Nineteen eighty six sounds good to me. Yeah, Jerry Ryan
was in it too.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Who was on it?
Speaker 1 (08:13):
Became seven of nine on Star Treks.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
She was, Yes, we played hookers.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
Yeah, well you were co Ed's that became hookers Ladies
of the Night, the world's oldest profession. Yeah right. The
reason we're talking about Coed Call Girl is because it
(08:41):
was mentioned in Gilmore Girls, What a Year in the Life,
which is the Netflix revival. The two the mom and daughter,
Laura and Rory. They're having a conversation and they're asking,
what did we watched last night and lourle I says,
was it Coed Call Girl? And then Rory says, I
would have known if we had seen a spelling what
And as a fan of yours, I got really excited
(09:04):
when I saw it. I was like, yeah, of course
you would. But that movie clearly made an impact on
the writers of Gilmore Girls.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
Oh my god, like I'm blushing and I'm feeling all
hot inside.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
Yeah, Amy Sherman Palladino clearly loves Coed Call Girl. I
think it got. It was kind of like in the
early Lifetime movies, We're kind of like that same thing.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Yep, it definitely got. It wasn't you know, Okay, let's
face it. I took that one strictly because of the name.
I was like, really, yeah, kidding me. I was like,
gohed call Girl, I'm in. I didn't even open a
page and read it. I was like, yes, of course.
Like I played Donna Martin the Virgin on the show
on nine O two and zero, I was like, now
(09:52):
I'm going to be a hooker. Perfect No, but it
was fun. I got so many different costumes and I
got to, you know, be a different type of girl.
So that was a really fun role. And I got
to say that I really want to remake that movie
because it did it was it was so bad it
was good. It was one of those it became like
(10:14):
a cult followed TV movie and not for the right reasons.
And anyway, I want to remake that one. And instead
of being like there's I'm like the student that gets
hired and there's the pimp and you know he, I
want to be the madam. I have all like the
teen girls, like not teen girls, sorry, college age girls,
(10:34):
you know, come work for me. So yeah, just putting
it out there into the realm.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
I think people would love that. That is a great idea.
How long did it take to shoot that movie? Do
you remember?
Speaker 2 (10:43):
I think like three weeks three weeks.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
And I love the idea that you're like doing this
crazy big TV show and then like during your breaks
you're going to making these movies that I mean, the
work ethic of toy Spelling is I'm paralleled.
Speaker 2 (10:59):
Yeah, I wouldn't have had it otherwise. I yeah, some
people were taking vacations and I was like no, Like,
oh my gosh, so is it.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
The other thing that I think is so interesting is
like if this must have since an O or two.
And I especially like this must happen to you all
the time where you're like watching TV, you're watching a
movie and someone like mentions your name? Does that? How
like do you remember a specific moment where that happened?
Does that come to mind other.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Than like TMZ or like what are we talking about? Yeah?
Like like, uh, I don't know.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
If someone mentions like Don Martin or something in a
movie like does that?
Speaker 2 (11:34):
I don't feel like it happens all the time, but
it definitely like I remember with my friends. This is
going back though, like going to see the Brady Bunch
movie with like my friends and they're like, oh my god,
did you get the new Tory spelling perfume or something?
Speaker 1 (11:48):
Yes?
Speaker 2 (11:48):
And my friends were like what And I'm like what?
And I was like fangirling out because it was like
in the Brady Bunch movie and I had no idea
what was going to be in there. Yeah yeah, yeah,
like Once in a Blue Moon when it happens or
my like kids just realized like the that song was
it Supermodel? Is it from Clueless? Like I want a
(12:09):
car like Tory spell or god like tory spelling, Like
I don't know whatever I mean.
Speaker 1 (12:14):
You are, You're a pop culture icon. Something else I
think is so fascinating is that you're in Scream two.
You're playing yourself in Scream two. Yes, and then you're
in Scary Movie Too, like the parody of Skin. There's
so many layers on that. I like, how did you
get involved in scary movie? That's what I want to know.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
It's so funny when I compare those two, I'm like, oh,
I was in Scream two and then playing myself and
playing Sidney Prescott. Yeah, like I And then I was
in Scary Movie Too. I'm like, oh, it's so funny.
I guess I always get cast in the sequel of something,
but I never even thought about it. That Scary Movie
Too is a take a spoof on scary movies like Scream,
and like, sorry, I never got real meta there. I
(12:59):
auditioned for it.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
Yeah, I just went in like casting call, like so
many girls out there, went in read it. I remember
then getting a callback and I read for Keenan Wayans
and somehow I didn't realize there was a second scene.
So I got there and he's like, okay, great second scene,
(13:21):
and I was like, I didn't get the second scene,
and I was like, oh, this is it. I'm not
going to move any further. And then he was like, Okay,
if we give it to you, can you go out
and come back in, which is technically called a cold reading,
and when they give you something, you go out and
you come right back in, like you get five minutes
to look it over. And so all these other girls
(13:41):
had studied it and I had to come back in.
I'm like, oh, I'm never going to get this. And
it's actually one of the audition scenes was one of
the scenes where I'm having sex with the ghost and
I was like, how far do you go in a
room when there's writers and producers sitting there in cha
looking at you in the small office and you're just
(14:02):
standing in front of them, And that was one of them. Yeah,
and then the monologue when I first meet meet Anna
Faris's character. But yeah, so wait, was it that scene
or when I was waxing my puff? And that scene
was deleted but you can find it on YouTube. I
just watched it the other night, not that I look
at myself or anything, but you can find it. But
(14:27):
I mean, anyway, I went for it, and I'm like
throwing myself on the ground humping the air. And because
here's the thing, I'm Tory spelling, like, I'm not gonna
and I don't mean this in the way it just
came out. I'm Tory spelling. I feel like me like,
to me, the odds are stacked against me, so I'm
(14:47):
not you know, other famous people are going to walk
in They're like, oh, she's gonna get the role. So
for me, I've always felt like I have to go further,
like I have to I got to go for it
because I like, I'm going to walk in that room.
They're like, oh, great, come story spelling. What is she
going to give us? Probably she's gonna suck. That's what's
in my brain because of nine to two to zero
and my dad and everything. So yeah, I was just
(15:09):
like flopping all around that room got the part.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
So the other part of this reference in Gilmore Girls, Yes,
might be a sensitive topic, but I do need to
ask about it. In the clip, they also say they
would like to see a lifetime movie made about the
time you fell into the grill at Beni Hanna. For
those who don't know, Tory had an unfortunate experience at
a Los Angeles Beni Hannah, and you fell into the
(15:39):
hibachi grill and got it some serious burns. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:44):
Well, I'm an idea of person. So I'm hearing you.
And what I'm thinking is perhaps we could make this
movie and I would actually get paid more than the
settlement I got for Benny Hannah, because you guys, it
was not a lot. And it really sucks, you guys,
because I wear my thigh on my arm, now, my
(16:06):
heart on my sleeve, my thigh on my note. Literally really,
oh my god, you have no idea, You're like, no,
I do not. Yeah, well, let me take you back
from one second. How long do you have? No? It
was Easter and at the time, I just had four
kids at the time. Finn was a baby. I think
(16:26):
he was like fourteen months old, and we went with
the gunkles so and their kids, and yeah, we decided
to have Easter there because we couldn't get a reservation
anywhere else because it was Easter, and we waited the
last minute, because I waited to the last minute on everything,
(16:46):
and all the hotels, the brunches were taken and it
was like, Benny Hanna, I remember saying, my friend's scout,
I said, Benny Hannah like that doesn't seem like an
Easter type of restaurant, like, and he's like, oh, Mama,
it'll it'll be fun. OK So we went and yeah,
everyone's always like, oh, were you like drunk? Had you
had drinks? It's like, no, we hadn't even had our
(17:08):
drinks delivered yet. They had status around Hibachi grill or
the two families together, we're a big family. We took
up a whole one and they came and they turn
on the grill, they put the oil, turn on the grill,
and then they leave before the you know what is
he the bochie griller?
Speaker 1 (17:27):
Yeah, the chef, the chef, the guy you form a
chef is a chef chef performer very much.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
So. Oh, I used to always catch the shrimp in
my mouth. Well, but now I can't go back to
Beny hos so really well, I don't know it's a thing,
but I got I missed that salad dressing. It's my favorite.
Oh the ginger. Yeah, anyway, turn the grill on.
Speaker 1 (17:46):
The guy comes over.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
They turned the grill on and at the time they
give my son, who's young, he was fourteen months, the
chef's hat. They give them the cute little paper chef's hat,
and I'm like, oh, this is a great picture, so
I said on Dean's lap at the time, and I'm like, oh,
I want to get a picture. And I needed to
step back to take the photo. And at the time,
(18:08):
it's all carpet, and then you step onto a tile
right behind where the habachi grill is and that's where
the chef stands, and they had turned them on. I
believe it gets to like five six hundred degrees something
like that. Anyway, I took one step back with my
camera up, my phone up to take a picture of
(18:29):
Fin on my husband's lap, and as I took a
step back, there was so much grease and oil on
the ground that my feet literally I remember the stakes.
I could never wear them again, but they were God,
they were a good pair of shoes. It was Chloe heels,
like vintage ones, and I just could see them up
above my head as they flew up and I landed
(18:51):
on the grill. I caught myself on the way down
because I put my arm out to like brace myself,
but like the badass bitch I am, I quickly peeled
it off and then hit the ground and my husband said,
He's like, oh my god, you could smell like it
smelled like food cooking. You could smell it. And I
was so embarrassed that this happened that everyone ran over.
(19:15):
And it's one of those things when you fall in
front of people and they're all up above you, and
I'm like, I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine. Nothing to
look at here, and like, my arm's literally sizzled. Anyway,
it was easter, So for the kid's sake, they're like,
you know, buddy, Hanta was like, would you like to
scull an ambulance? I was like, no, thank you, I'm fine, No,
thank you, I'm fine. So we ate, did the whole
(19:38):
meal and we went home and then put Easter eggs out.
Speaker 1 (19:41):
Did you eat the same grill that you had fallen on?
So was there a chance your arm was in the
bread rice?
Speaker 2 (19:51):
Oh my god, yes we No one has ever asked that. Wait,
that's where I was running out cannibalism to a whole
new level. Wait, I ate myself, I ate yourself.
Speaker 1 (20:06):
Oh my god, check that off the bucket list.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
So I went home. We had an Easter egg hunt,
we baked cookies. My arm was red, but it hurt,
but I was like, Okay, the show must go on.
So we celebrated Easter, and then the next day I
was like, wow, this is real bad pain. And I literally,
in the middle of the night because Deane had to
watch the kids, drow is my right arm, I'm right handed,
drove myself to the er and I was like, oh,
(20:43):
two days ago I had this really bad accident. And
they were like, uh, it was like not third degree.
They were like, it's like fourth degree burned, Like it's
so burned that it's like the skin's dying inside stead.
So the next morning I had to go to the
Grossman burn Clinic there and they had to literally shave
my skin down to the bone, and then I had
(21:06):
to have another surgery where the doctor came in I'm
telling this so quick, sorry and grossing everybody out. Hope
you're not eating while you're listening. You're not eating me.
That was crazy. I ate myself. They the doctor came
in and he was like, okay, so we have to
do a skin graph to put it on unless I
wanted a cadavers graph, which I didn't feel comfortable with
(21:28):
because because I'm really into horror, and I was like
I don't want to like I thought I would like
haunt me or something. I wasn't sure. So anyway, although
I do love vintage clothing, so I do like to
repurpose things, so I'm into that. I don't organs, not
all skins, but maybe oh Organs. I'm open. Okay, See
(21:50):
this is the new me. I'm open to things fearless.
So he was like, we can either take it from
your head, which we have to shave part of your head,
and I was like, that doesn't sound like idea, or
we could take it from your thigh and I was like, okay,
I'm I'm gonna go with my thigh. And then I
said how much you have to take and he kind
of showed me, and then I was like, doctor, I
(22:11):
have to be honest with you. I'm a bikini model
and as if you didn't know who I was. And
I was like, I'm a bikini model and I take
a lot of my livelihood and is there any way
you could go higher up so that I can still
take photos? And he said yes, which is ironic because
my dad in World War Two when he was in
the war and he was shot, his finger was shot
(22:36):
and when he went to the hospital. They were like,
we have to amputate, and he was like, doctor, I'm
a piano. I'm a pianist, and a piano is my life.
It's my livelihood. So please is there and they're like okay,
and they repaired it. And my dad always had a
crooked finger all through life because he had been shot
there and they repaired it anyway. So yeah, I joke
(22:58):
all the time that I have here. It is right here,
skin graft.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
You would never know there.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
So it went yeah, so it went like this, I
went here here, and then I went boop boop, and
then got.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
Up, Oh, I'm so glad you survived. And Sam, I'm
so happy that you should.
Speaker 2 (23:17):
Be making it into a TV movie. Wait, who should
I call about this? Lauren Graham?
Speaker 1 (23:21):
Wait? Who Amy Sherman Palladina, That's who you should call?
Speaker 2 (23:24):
She uh uh. The line was, oh, wait, I have
the best thing to say about this, lest say it.
So when this was going to go to court, yes,
because oh so thanks to me, you guys, and you're
all welcome. They now have a chain across America. There's
a chain that goes across from where the grill is
(23:47):
and where you stepped there. They didn't have a chain.
There's a chain that no patrons can walk there because
of me, and they had to enforce that. But when
this was going to go to court, they did this document,
you know, this drawing and enacted it like where everybody
in the restaurant was seated and the anyway there, Yeah,
(24:09):
I don't whatever the defense the I played an assistant
da once in the courtroom show. I have no idea. Anyway,
They had this woman that was going to testify, like
against my case because I was suing Benny Hannah just
for medical bills, because it's a fortune to get your
thigh put on your arm and high enough so you
(24:30):
can still wear bikini. So I'm just kidding. It's not funny,
you guys. It was the worst pain I've ever had
my entire life, even past childbirth, like traumatizing. My poor
kids had to see it. But she was like when
they took her deposition, she was like, I saw the
whole thing. She was drunk. I watched her stumble around.
(24:51):
I saw Donna, and Donna was just fall down drunk,
and they were like, Okay, that's out of here. Like
she had she just kept call me Jonna, she had
no idea, so anyway, and we figured it out that
her where she was seated in the rest of our
her back was to me. So anyway, I'll leave you
on that note.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
So hopefully we can see you in Teppanyaki Grill of Death.
That is the name of the movie. That is what
they called it.
Speaker 2 (25:14):
Thank you so much for.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
Doing this, Toy, You're just the absolute best. I'm such
a big fan. We're all such big fans, and everyone
listening should listen to misspelling. It's on iHeartRadio nine O
two one o MG if you love Beverly Hills now
two w O. They recap a new episode every week
and follow Toy on Instagram and everywhere else. She's the best.
Speaker 2 (25:31):
Thank you, I love you.
Speaker 1 (25:32):
Love you so much, everybody, don't forget. Follow us on
(26:03):
Instagram at I Am all In podcast and email us
at Gilmore at iHeartRadio dot com.
I am all in again.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Oh, I guess you.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
I Smell Pop Culture with Eastern Allen and I Heart
Radio Podcast. How do everybody get in my room? Hey,
this is Easton Allen. This is I Smell Pop Culture.
I am all In Podcast one eleven productions. I Heart Radio,
I Heart Media, I heart Podcast. Thanks for joining us
here today. I saw a thing a long time ago
that for Sinatra when he would play at the Rap Pack,
(00:39):
sometimes he would start the show like the band would play,
and he'd come out on stage and see everybody in
the audiences say hey out, everybody get in my room.
And I always thought that was a fun way to
start something. So that's how we're starting this one. This
has been so much fun, you guys. We are diving
deep into pop culture references in Gilmour girls, what makes them?
Who these people are, who creates them? It's just so fun.
(01:01):
We have so much great stuff planned for the next
few weeks. We have so many great guests, and I'm
personally this is like wish fulfillment for me. This is
just so great. I'm so grateful to Scott Patterson for
allowing me to do this. I get to talk to
all these people that I admire that I that I
watch that I listen to my entire life, and it's
just it's so much fun. And this week we have
(01:23):
truly one of the most influential pop culture icons in
of all time. This is someone that you're very familiar
with if you've been near or around a television set
at all in the last few decades. This is someone
who's star shines so brightly in the world of pop culture,
one of the truly one of the greatest stars in
all of his toy And I'll tell you more right
(01:45):
after this.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
iHeart podcasts. Listen on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Oh man, those commercials are so great, aren't they. I
just love them. I love listening to them. Thanks for
joining us. This is I Smell Culture. My name's Easton Allen.
I work here on the I Am all In podcast
with Scott Patterson. We're friends, We're good friends. He lets
me host this podcast and it's a lot of fun.
I really appreciate you guys joining us. So here's what
I want to talk about this week. These days, when
(02:15):
you think of a lifetime movie, you probably think about
like Christmas movies, right, like those movies where a big
city girl goes back to her hometown for like the
Gingerbread Festival, reconnects with a good natured country boy, falls
in love, learns the true media to Christmas. But there
was a time in history where a lifetime movie was
like always a gritty crime movie. There's one that I
(02:35):
love that I used to watch a lot. It's called
Cool Justice, a fall that gets revenge on a man
who attacked his daughter. It's great, it's really thrilling. But
in the universe of Gilmour girls, Laura I and Rory
love lifetime movies too. They love them. They can't get enough.
In a Year in the Life summer, Rory and Laura
(02:56):
leer in the kitchen recovering from delivering papers all over
stars hollow feed sore, they're tired. There's this beautiful montage
set to these Boots were made for Walkie and Nancy Sinatra.
You know that song? And Laura Lai says, last night
was a blur and Rory says, what do we end
up watching? Laura Lai replies, was it Baby Monitor, Sound
of Fear or coed Call Girl? And Rory confidently reacts, no,
I remember if we rocked the spelling and Laurie suggests, hey,
(03:18):
they should make a lifetime movie out of that poor
toy spelling. Following at Benny Hannah, Teppanyaki grill of Death's
so funny. We love it. I don't know if you
know this about toy spelling. She fell over at a
Benny Hannah and got like third degree burns and it's terrible,
but also like such a toy spelling moment. Tory such
an icon. We know her from Beverly Hills, nine O
(03:39):
two one oh. She's done so many things, so many
great things. She's written a ton of books. She's had
a real she's had reality shows fake and real. She
has a new podcast on iHeartRadio called Misspelling. She hosts
a podcast about nine O two one oh called nine
two one OMG. That's also on iHeartRadio. We love toy spelling.
She is such an icon. We're going to talk to her.
She is sit across from me. I'm going to take
(04:02):
her blindfold off. Tory, you are now allowed to speak.
Thanks for doing this. I'm so excited.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
Anything for you.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Oh my god, you're so kind here. You have one
of those voices that when you hear it, it gives
me chills. Because it's like, this is Tory Spelling's you know,
It's like it's such a unique and iconic voice that
is instantly recognizable. So when I hear it, I get
so excited. I don't know if anyone's ever told you
that before, but.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
No one has ever talked about my voice. But I
have something. I I think I have a terrible voice.
Really yeah, it really like even as we're talking, I
can hear myself and I'm like, I'm so annoyed by myself.
Is he annoyed? Her listener is annoyed?
Speaker 1 (04:42):
Like, not only is it a pleasant voice to hear,
it's very comforting. Your voice is in a meter that
is very soothing to my brain. I know a lot
of other people agree with me, but.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Uh, is there a business here?
Speaker 1 (04:55):
I think there is.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Well, you know, I'm a creator, an idea person. Wait wait,
so if my voice soothing, possibly I could Well it's
not amr it would be.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
I mean I would listen to like you reading me
a bedtime story.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
That's so different discussion.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
But like when before I got to know, So, just
to set up for the audience, the audience does not
know who I am. My name is Easton I'm hosting
the show. It's called I Smell Pop Culture here on
the I Amlin podcasts. And something they need to know
is that Toy Spelling is my best friend. Tory Spelling
is my friend. Yep. I've known Toy for four years now. Yeah,
I work on her podcast is now two and OMG
(05:34):
and Miss Spelling, which are both available on iHeartRadio. But
before I got to know you, before I start working
with you, I would hear your voice on TV and
in movies and it was like, so it was just
one of those things where like I would get excited
when I hear your voice because no one sounds like you.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
So I just wanted to I just want to get
that out of the way first and foremost.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Soan you. I do like my giggle, such a good giggle,
such a good gig. The only thing about my voice
that I actually like, well so much to love.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
Tory was on a television show called Beverly Hills nine
O two one O. And if you have not seen
this show, it is such an important piece of television history.
You need to watch it. It's so good. But I
want to go back to the beginning. We're going to
talk today about a TV movie that you did. Yes,
it was called co Ed Call Girl.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
So we'll get into this more in a bit here.
But when you were doing nine O two one O,
you would do these like movies of the week, right,
how did that work?
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Like?
Speaker 1 (06:39):
You would you film these while you were doing nine
to two and O?
Speaker 2 (06:42):
Was it?
Speaker 1 (06:42):
Yeah? Oh? It was doing like breaks in the in
the schedule.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Yes. So the first movie of the Week that I
did was A Friend to Die For or Death of
a Cheerleader. We talked about it. I'm the spelling, but
that was like the first one I was offered, and
that was like a big d and it was Monday
nights were the TV movies and they were always on
(07:06):
what were the only networks then which were I mean
we were on Fox on nine O two and oh,
but the three like mega ones were like NBC, ABC
and CBS, And if you did a TV movie movie
of the week, it would once a week they would
have these movies. And yeah, we started they start rolling
in because they were super successful. So all the girls
(07:27):
and boys on nine O two and oh got offered them.
I love to work, as you know, so we couldn't
do anything else while we were filming nine, O, two
and oh because the schedule was too crazy. So anytime
we got a hiatus, which would be twice a year,
so we would have our summer hiatus and then we
would have our winter one, I would go do a
(07:47):
TV movie the summer one was longer, or I did
a couple like indie films back then, but the summers
were longer, so I would always get two TV movies
in back to back and then go back to work
in nine on too and O the winter break was shorter,
so I would film one only one oh one. So
Coed Call Girl originally on CBS.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
Nineteen eighty six sounds good to me. Yeah, Jerry Ryan
was in it too.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Who was on it?
Speaker 1 (08:13):
Became seven of nine on Star Treks.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
She was, Yes, we played hookers.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
Yeah, well you were co Ed's that became hookers Ladies
of the Night, the world's oldest profession. Yeah right. The
reason we're talking about Coed Call Girl is because it
(08:41):
was mentioned in Gilmore Girls, What a Year in the Life,
which is the Netflix revival. The two the mom and daughter,
Laura and Rory. They're having a conversation and they're asking,
what did we watched last night and lourle I says,
was it Coed Call Girl? And then Rory says, I
would have known if we had seen a spelling what
And as a fan of yours, I got really excited
(09:04):
when I saw it. I was like, yeah, of course
you would. But that movie clearly made an impact on
the writers of Gilmore Girls.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
Oh my god, like I'm blushing and I'm feeling all
hot inside.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
Yeah, Amy Sherman Palladino clearly loves Coed Call Girl. I
think it got. It was kind of like in the
early Lifetime movies, We're kind of like that same thing.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Yep, it definitely got. It wasn't you know, Okay, let's
face it. I took that one strictly because of the name.
I was like, really, yeah, kidding me. I was like,
gohed call Girl, I'm in. I didn't even open a
page and read it. I was like, yes, of course.
Like I played Donna Martin the Virgin on the show
on nine O two and zero, I was like, now
(09:52):
I'm going to be a hooker. Perfect No, but it
was fun. I got so many different costumes and I
got to, you know, be a different type of girl.
So that was a really fun role. And I got
to say that I really want to remake that movie
because it did it was it was so bad it
was good. It was one of those it became like
(10:14):
a cult followed TV movie and not for the right reasons.
And anyway, I want to remake that one. And instead
of being like there's I'm like the student that gets
hired and there's the pimp and you know he, I
want to be the madam. I have all like the
teen girls, like not teen girls, sorry, college age girls,
(10:34):
you know, come work for me. So yeah, just putting
it out there into the realm.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
I think people would love that. That is a great idea.
How long did it take to shoot that movie? Do
you remember?
Speaker 2 (10:43):
I think like three weeks three weeks.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
And I love the idea that you're like doing this
crazy big TV show and then like during your breaks
you're going to making these movies that I mean, the
work ethic of toy Spelling is I'm paralleled.
Speaker 2 (10:59):
Yeah, I wouldn't have had it otherwise. I yeah, some
people were taking vacations and I was like no, Like,
oh my gosh, so is it.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
The other thing that I think is so interesting is
like if this must have since an O or two.
And I especially like this must happen to you all
the time where you're like watching TV, you're watching a
movie and someone like mentions your name? Does that? How
like do you remember a specific moment where that happened?
Does that come to mind other.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Than like TMZ or like what are we talking about? Yeah?
Like like, uh, I don't know.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
If someone mentions like Don Martin or something in a
movie like does that?
Speaker 2 (11:34):
I don't feel like it happens all the time, but
it definitely like I remember with my friends. This is
going back though, like going to see the Brady Bunch
movie with like my friends and they're like, oh my god,
did you get the new Tory spelling perfume or something?
Speaker 1 (11:48):
Yes?
Speaker 2 (11:48):
And my friends were like what And I'm like what?
And I was like fangirling out because it was like
in the Brady Bunch movie and I had no idea
what was going to be in there. Yeah yeah, yeah,
like Once in a Blue Moon when it happens or
my like kids just realized like the that song was
it Supermodel? Is it from Clueless? Like I want a
(12:09):
car like Tory spell or god like tory spelling, Like
I don't know whatever I mean.
Speaker 1 (12:14):
You are, You're a pop culture icon. Something else I
think is so fascinating is that you're in Scream two.
You're playing yourself in Scream two. Yes, and then you're
in Scary Movie Too, like the parody of Skin. There's
so many layers on that. I like, how did you
get involved in scary movie? That's what I want to know.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
It's so funny when I compare those two, I'm like, oh,
I was in Scream two and then playing myself and
playing Sidney Prescott. Yeah, like I And then I was
in Scary Movie Too. I'm like, oh, it's so funny.
I guess I always get cast in the sequel of something,
but I never even thought about it. That Scary Movie
Too is a take a spoof on scary movies like Scream,
and like, sorry, I never got real meta there. I
(12:59):
auditioned for it.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
Yeah, I just went in like casting call, like so
many girls out there, went in read it. I remember
then getting a callback and I read for Keenan Wayans
and somehow I didn't realize there was a second scene.
So I got there and he's like, okay, great second scene,
(13:21):
and I was like, I didn't get the second scene,
and I was like, oh, this is it. I'm not
going to move any further. And then he was like, Okay,
if we give it to you, can you go out
and come back in, which is technically called a cold reading,
and when they give you something, you go out and
you come right back in, like you get five minutes
to look it over. And so all these other girls
(13:41):
had studied it and I had to come back in.
I'm like, oh, I'm never going to get this. And
it's actually one of the audition scenes was one of
the scenes where I'm having sex with the ghost and
I was like, how far do you go in a
room when there's writers and producers sitting there in cha
looking at you in the small office and you're just
(14:02):
standing in front of them, And that was one of them. Yeah,
and then the monologue when I first meet meet Anna
Faris's character. But yeah, so wait, was it that scene
or when I was waxing my puff? And that scene
was deleted but you can find it on YouTube. I
just watched it the other night, not that I look
at myself or anything, but you can find it. But
(14:27):
I mean, anyway, I went for it, and I'm like
throwing myself on the ground humping the air. And because
here's the thing, I'm Tory spelling, like, I'm not gonna
and I don't mean this in the way it just
came out. I'm Tory spelling. I feel like me like,
to me, the odds are stacked against me, so I'm
(14:47):
not you know, other famous people are going to walk
in They're like, oh, she's gonna get the role. So
for me, I've always felt like I have to go further,
like I have to I got to go for it
because I like, I'm going to walk in that room.
They're like, oh, great, come story spelling. What is she
going to give us? Probably she's gonna suck. That's what's
in my brain because of nine to two to zero
and my dad and everything. So yeah, I was just
(15:09):
like flopping all around that room got the part.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
So the other part of this reference in Gilmore Girls, Yes,
might be a sensitive topic, but I do need to
ask about it. In the clip, they also say they
would like to see a lifetime movie made about the
time you fell into the grill at Beni Hanna. For
those who don't know, Tory had an unfortunate experience at
a Los Angeles Beni Hannah, and you fell into the
(15:39):
hibachi grill and got it some serious burns. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:44):
Well, I'm an idea of person. So I'm hearing you.
And what I'm thinking is perhaps we could make this
movie and I would actually get paid more than the
settlement I got for Benny Hannah, because you guys, it
was not a lot. And it really sucks, you guys,
because I wear my thigh on my arm, now, my
(16:06):
heart on my sleeve, my thigh on my note. Literally really,
oh my god, you have no idea, You're like, no,
I do not. Yeah, well, let me take you back
from one second. How long do you have? No? It
was Easter and at the time, I just had four
kids at the time. Finn was a baby. I think
(16:26):
he was like fourteen months old, and we went with
the gunkles so and their kids, and yeah, we decided
to have Easter there because we couldn't get a reservation
anywhere else because it was Easter, and we waited the
last minute, because I waited to the last minute on everything,
(16:46):
and all the hotels, the brunches were taken and it
was like, Benny Hanna, I remember saying, my friend's scout,
I said, Benny Hannah like that doesn't seem like an
Easter type of restaurant, like, and he's like, oh, Mama,
it'll it'll be fun. OK So we went and yeah,
everyone's always like, oh, were you like drunk? Had you
had drinks? It's like, no, we hadn't even had our
(17:08):
drinks delivered yet. They had status around Hibachi grill or
the two families together, we're a big family. We took
up a whole one and they came and they turn
on the grill, they put the oil, turn on the grill,
and then they leave before the you know what is
he the bochie griller?
Speaker 1 (17:27):
Yeah, the chef, the chef, the guy you form a
chef is a chef chef performer very much.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
So. Oh, I used to always catch the shrimp in
my mouth. Well, but now I can't go back to
Beny hos so really well, I don't know it's a thing,
but I got I missed that salad dressing. It's my favorite.
Oh the ginger. Yeah, anyway, turn the grill on.
Speaker 1 (17:46):
The guy comes over.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
They turned the grill on and at the time they
give my son, who's young, he was fourteen months, the
chef's hat. They give them the cute little paper chef's hat,
and I'm like, oh, this is a great picture, so
I said on Dean's lap at the time, and I'm like, oh,
I want to get a picture. And I needed to
step back to take the photo. And at the time,
(18:08):
it's all carpet, and then you step onto a tile
right behind where the habachi grill is and that's where
the chef stands, and they had turned them on. I
believe it gets to like five six hundred degrees something
like that. Anyway, I took one step back with my
camera up, my phone up to take a picture of
(18:29):
Fin on my husband's lap, and as I took a
step back, there was so much grease and oil on
the ground that my feet literally I remember the stakes.
I could never wear them again, but they were God,
they were a good pair of shoes. It was Chloe heels,
like vintage ones, and I just could see them up
above my head as they flew up and I landed
(18:51):
on the grill. I caught myself on the way down
because I put my arm out to like brace myself,
but like the badass bitch I am, I quickly peeled
it off and then hit the ground and my husband said,
He's like, oh my god, you could smell like it
smelled like food cooking. You could smell it. And I
was so embarrassed that this happened that everyone ran over.
(19:15):
And it's one of those things when you fall in
front of people and they're all up above you, and
I'm like, I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine. Nothing to
look at here, and like, my arm's literally sizzled. Anyway,
it was easter, So for the kid's sake, they're like,
you know, buddy, Hanta was like, would you like to
scull an ambulance? I was like, no, thank you, I'm fine, No,
thank you, I'm fine. So we ate, did the whole
(19:38):
meal and we went home and then put Easter eggs out.
Speaker 1 (19:41):
Did you eat the same grill that you had fallen on?
So was there a chance your arm was in the
bread rice?
Speaker 2 (19:51):
Oh my god, yes we No one has ever asked that. Wait,
that's where I was running out cannibalism to a whole
new level. Wait, I ate myself, I ate yourself.
Speaker 1 (20:06):
Oh my god, check that off the bucket list.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
So I went home. We had an Easter egg hunt,
we baked cookies. My arm was red, but it hurt,
but I was like, Okay, the show must go on.
So we celebrated Easter, and then the next day I
was like, wow, this is real bad pain. And I literally,
in the middle of the night because Deane had to
watch the kids, drow is my right arm, I'm right handed,
drove myself to the er and I was like, oh,
(20:43):
two days ago I had this really bad accident. And
they were like, uh, it was like not third degree.
They were like, it's like fourth degree burned, Like it's
so burned that it's like the skin's dying inside stead.
So the next morning I had to go to the
Grossman burn Clinic there and they had to literally shave
my skin down to the bone, and then I had
(21:06):
to have another surgery where the doctor came in I'm
telling this so quick, sorry and grossing everybody out. Hope
you're not eating while you're listening. You're not eating me.
That was crazy. I ate myself. They the doctor came
in and he was like, okay, so we have to
do a skin graph to put it on unless I
wanted a cadavers graph, which I didn't feel comfortable with
(21:28):
because because I'm really into horror, and I was like
I don't want to like I thought I would like
haunt me or something. I wasn't sure. So anyway, although
I do love vintage clothing, so I do like to
repurpose things, so I'm into that. I don't organs, not
all skins, but maybe oh Organs. I'm open. Okay, See
(21:50):
this is the new me. I'm open to things fearless.
So he was like, we can either take it from
your head, which we have to shave part of your head,
and I was like, that doesn't sound like idea, or
we could take it from your thigh and I was like, okay,
I'm I'm gonna go with my thigh. And then I
said how much you have to take and he kind
of showed me, and then I was like, doctor, I
(22:11):
have to be honest with you. I'm a bikini model
and as if you didn't know who I was. And
I was like, I'm a bikini model and I take
a lot of my livelihood and is there any way
you could go higher up so that I can still
take photos? And he said yes, which is ironic because
my dad in World War Two when he was in
the war and he was shot, his finger was shot
(22:36):
and when he went to the hospital. They were like,
we have to amputate, and he was like, doctor, I'm
a piano. I'm a pianist, and a piano is my life.
It's my livelihood. So please is there and they're like okay,
and they repaired it. And my dad always had a
crooked finger all through life because he had been shot
there and they repaired it anyway. So yeah, I joke
(22:58):
all the time that I have here. It is right here,
skin graft.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
You would never know there.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
So it went yeah, so it went like this, I
went here here, and then I went boop boop, and
then got.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
Up, Oh, I'm so glad you survived. And Sam, I'm
so happy that you should.
Speaker 2 (23:17):
Be making it into a TV movie. Wait, who should
I call about this? Lauren Graham?
Speaker 1 (23:21):
Wait? Who Amy Sherman Palladina, That's who you should call?
Speaker 2 (23:24):
She uh uh. The line was, oh, wait, I have
the best thing to say about this, lest say it.
So when this was going to go to court, yes,
because oh so thanks to me, you guys, and you're
all welcome. They now have a chain across America. There's
a chain that goes across from where the grill is
(23:47):
and where you stepped there. They didn't have a chain.
There's a chain that no patrons can walk there because
of me, and they had to enforce that. But when
this was going to go to court, they did this document,
you know, this drawing and enacted it like where everybody
in the restaurant was seated and the anyway there, Yeah,
(24:09):
I don't whatever the defense the I played an assistant
da once in the courtroom show. I have no idea. Anyway,
They had this woman that was going to testify, like
against my case because I was suing Benny Hannah just
for medical bills, because it's a fortune to get your
thigh put on your arm and high enough so you
(24:30):
can still wear bikini. So I'm just kidding. It's not funny,
you guys. It was the worst pain I've ever had
my entire life, even past childbirth, like traumatizing. My poor
kids had to see it. But she was like when
they took her deposition, she was like, I saw the
whole thing. She was drunk. I watched her stumble around.
(24:51):
I saw Donna, and Donna was just fall down drunk,
and they were like, Okay, that's out of here. Like
she had she just kept call me Jonna, she had
no idea, so anyway, and we figured it out that
her where she was seated in the rest of our
her back was to me. So anyway, I'll leave you
on that note.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
So hopefully we can see you in Teppanyaki Grill of Death.
That is the name of the movie. That is what
they called it.
Speaker 2 (25:14):
Thank you so much for.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
Doing this, Toy, You're just the absolute best. I'm such
a big fan. We're all such big fans, and everyone
listening should listen to misspelling. It's on iHeartRadio nine O
two one o MG if you love Beverly Hills now
two w O. They recap a new episode every week
and follow Toy on Instagram and everywhere else. She's the best.
Speaker 2 (25:31):
Thank you, I love you.
Speaker 1 (25:32):
Love you so much, everybody, don't forget. Follow us on
(26:03):
Instagram at I Am all In podcast and email us
at Gilmore at iHeartRadio dot com.
Hosts And Creators
Amy Sugarman
Danielle Romo
Scott Patterson
Tara Soudbaksh
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