What did your dad say about . . .THE EARRING?
The Rick Dees Show, 1990 or 1991
Let's bring out a guy who got a degree in history and then rode his motorcycle to Hollywood and the rest is history. He plays Frankie Fanelli on THE FANELLI BOYS... Christopher Meloni.

RD: He had a rubber band on his nose. I swear that he did. I love... we picked that up on the camera. Did Lou Albano...

CM: Am I wrinkling?

RD: You look great. You know you walk like a man from New York.

CM: You've been talking to Steve.

RD: No, no, no, we were just talking about it. You ... Give me the walk just a little bit. Look at this guy. Does he walk like he just came out of an Italian restaurant in the middle of Manhattan... yeah... had a great Caesar salad (Chris has gotten up from his seat and made another entrance, to the squeals of delight from the audience). Hey, he's Frankie Fanelli!
So Christopher, this is like the second time you've been to Hollywood. The first time was a little rough on you.

CM: Yeah, it really was, um...I came out here... I quit school, halfway through college, and, um, took my motorcycle out here and really was very unprepared. How unprepared? I was so unprepared I went to a... I just got a list of agents, you know... It's free for anybody who wants to bother to go find one. So I knock on the door, I got my leather jacket on, still got bug guts on it from the ride. So I walk on in and I said, "Hi" and they always look at you like, "Can I help you?" And I said, "Yeah, I'm here to be a movie actor". And she's like, "Uh huh...you got a picture and resume." And I was like, "What?" I didn't know what a picture and resume was. So right away she's like, "Thank you. Goodbye... get out." And besides, can I show you this? Can you pick this up on the, uh, camera (reaches for his wallet, shows his driver's license-it's pretty scary). I'll show you what I looked like.

RD: Oh, good, this oughta be... Good God, look at Charles Manson, ladies and gentlemen.

CM: I had hair down to here...

RD: You're lucky she didn't call the police.

CM: Yeah, yeah, "Get me security."

RD: Good God, you looked like Charles Manson.

CM: Yeah...yeah.

RD: You could have been in the Charles Manson Story. From the Commonwealth of Virginia (reading the license). Did you grow up in Virginia?

CM: Yeah, well DC. I was born and raised in DC...

RD: Yeah, good place. Yo! Arlington!

CM: As a matter of fact, I just incorporated and, uh, the name of my company is Yo DC Boy.....Inc.

RD: Are you Italian?

CM: Yeah, I'm Genovese.

RD: You got it in the blood.

CM: YES!

RD: You know it. So you grew up in DC but for some reason you got to New York and then out to Hollywood. I don't know how all that goes together.

CM: Yeah well what happened was... after, uh, you know it was such a bad experience here, my first time in Hollywood, six weeks and they said, you know, "Get lost...get a life, kid".... I went back, finished up school, got my degree, went back home. Well, after you graduate college, I don't know if anyone has graduated college ... at least me, boy, I was lost. I was depressed ... I felt as though I was clinically depressed. It's like my mother was going, "What are you doing today, honey?" and I was like, "I'm going to sleep."

RD: What did your dad say about . . .THE EARRING? (points to Chris' earring in left ear)

CM: Oh,that? I got this pierced when I was 15, and uh, my dad ... It's breakfast and he's reading the paper and he looks up and there's a glimmer in my ear, you know... I just got a post in it and he's like, "What the hell is that in your ear?"

RD: Kind of like Clint Eastwood.

CM: Kind of like Lou Albano... he wrestled it out of my ear. No, but I was home and I was depressed and I called up a high school buddy. I said "Johnny, I'm hating life, what are you doing with your life ?" And he say,s "I'm going up to New York to be an actor...to study acting". And I says, "Great...so am I. What's the number?" And it was like on a whim. I took the next plane up to New York, got into a class, you know... it was me and three guys on the studio floor.

RD: But you don't just start out as an actor in New York, I mean there's tremendous competition in the city.

CM: Yeah, well you gotta start out at the bottom and my bottom was um...

RD: Odd jobs, I'm sure.

CM: $200 bucks in my pocket and, um, I was a bouncer... and, um, you know I'm not...

RD: How tall are you?

CM: I'm like 6 feet (he stands)...you know, I'm not a bruiser.

RD: No, but you got a good build, but I mean guys will walk in, when they get drunk, it's like (impersonates a drunk)...

CM: It just so happens I'm the perfect... it's like I'm the perfect body type for guys to look at you and say: "What, you think you're tough?" "Who are you?"

RD: Did you ever fight?

CM: Yeah, I got in a couple fights, but, um, I studied karate when I was in college so that came in handy, but ...

RD: You don't want to talk about it? Did you damage people or what? Come on.

CM: Well I... I never got ... no... I never got caught. I... because if you did damage someone, they hid you ... because the owner didn't want any trouble.

RD: Well from New York, okay, to FANELLI BOYS. How'd you get the part?

CM: Umm... you know I was doing the routine in New York ... actor, you know, being put on tape and they send the tape out here, because most of the shows are done out in Hollywood ... and ... you know, as an actor, you always get this: "They love you. You're one of their top choices." Like PLEASE, you know, I'm everyone's top choice, but this time it turned out. It was like, "You're flying out ...you're actually flying out". So I flew out and they put me up, and uh, I got it!

RD: You sure did.

CM: I did, it was real nice.

RD: And now, you're doing great with it. We had Joe on the other night.

CM: I know, and he's one of the reasons I was so thrilled about doing the show... Joe Pantoliano.

RD: Yeah, oh he's wonderful.

CM: Yeah, and that was a great clip that you showed.

RD: Thank you so much.

CM: You're a natural.

RD: No, not like this guy right here. He's got bugs in his teeth. He loves driving that motorcycle. It was worth the trip. Thank you, Christopher Meloni.

CM: Thank you...very much.

RD: You know it. He's a FANELLI BOY.

(Lou Albano was an earlier guest on this same show, hence the references)

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