The Marta Kauffman Interview

Man, this image brings me back to 1991.

The creator of Friends is from the Philly suburbs and the movie she produced (the entertaining Hava Nagila (The Movie)) is out today. So that means I'm back writing for The Philly Post. You can read the Q&A right here.

I grew up loving Friends and Dream On. Speaking of the latter show, it provided a terrific ice-breaker this time around. As a 14 year old, I adored Dream On, but not in the way you think. Instead of enjoying the copious female nudity and sexual escapades, I related to the sad-sack tendencies of the central character, Martin Tupper (Brian Benben).

Tupper, I should mention, was a 35 year old divorced dad. When you're a teenager you gravitate toward heroes full of woe -- especially if they're having copious amounts of sex. And because 14 year olds are idiots, I wrote an essay comparing myself to him that is committed to a notebook that I'm too afraid to open. God forbid my wife finds it.

I hadn't thought of that essay for years, but as I prepared for the interview, I remembered it. And I also thought that it would be a great conversation starter. So, after we introduced ourselves, I said:

"You know, Marta, I'm a big fan of your work. Somewhere in my house, deep in a box, is an essay that I wrote about 14 year old me comparing myself to Martin Tupper that I hope no one ever sees ever. So thank you."

She laughed uproariously. We were off. And she was fantastic.