As I was fleeing from Houston today during rush hour traffic, I was listening to Dave Moody (of Sirius NASCAR radio channel 128) talk about Jessie White (http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=3747).
For those of you who don't know, Jessie White was the ORIGINAL Maytag repairman. Sadly Mr. White died in JAN of 1997. He was 79 years old.
On FEB 26, 1996, I was on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and appeared on camera with Mr. White for a bit called "Midnight Confessions". My punishment for heckling Bill and Hillary Clinton (along with British Prime Minister John Major and his wife; sorry.) was to play solitaire with the Maytag Repairman.
He was a nice guy and told me that the key to winning at solitaire was "... to cheat." He chomped on a cigar and feebly laid the cards on the table backstage. When the show returned from commercial break, we were there playing cards.
As far as I know, this was the last time Mr. White was seen alive on television.
So what does this get me? Nothing.
However, it's not often that you get to meet a pop-culture icon in person. It's even more rare to have shared his last comedic endeavor with the rest of the world.
Rest in Peace, Mr. White.
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