Drama Queens - Live from Wilmington with Barry Corbin

Episode Date: March 29, 2025

Coach Whitey is finally on the podcast! Joy and Rob got to catch up with Barry Corbin at last week's One Tree Hill convention. Barry shared stories from his incredible career, including how he had never seen a basketball game before auditioning for Coach Whitey, and he tells a wild tale about his unconventional arrival at the Emmys.Follow Drama Queens on Instagram and TikTok @dramaqueensoth See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. It may look different, but native culture is alive. My name is Nicole Garcia, and on Burn Sage, Burn Bridges, we aim to explore that culture. Somewhere along the way, it turned into this full-fledged award-winning comic shop. That's Dr. Lee Francis IV, who opened the first Native comic bookshop. Explore his story along with many other native stories on the show, Burn Sage, Burn Bridges. Listen to Burn Sage Burn Bridges. Listen to Burn Sage Burn Bridges on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

First of all, you don't know me. We're all about that high school, drama girl, drama girl, all about them high school queens. We'll take you for a ride and our comic girl, cheering for the right team. Drama queens, drama queens, smart girl, rough girl, fashion but you're tough girl, you could sit with us, girl. Drama queen, drama queens, drama queens, drama queens, drama queens, drama queens. Hey, friends, we're back and we're live. We are here live together, Robert. Hello.

Hello. We're in Wilmington. What is special about Wilmington? You know what's the most special about Wilmington? Checkers? No, it's not checkers food. Well, today it is that we are at a One True Hill convention and we get to see all of our friends as we do every year. It's like a family reunion.

But one of my favorite things is being able to see family members. members that we don't always get to connect with. And for me, one of the people I always seem to miss whenever we come into town is Barry Corbyn. And we finally got him. He's finally here to talk with us about his life and experience and about One Tree Hill. Yeah. Welcome, Barry. Welcome, Barry. Well, thank you. Thank you for having me. We're going to have a good time here. What was your first job, like professional gig? I feel like maybe you told, so for those listeners who don't know, Barry's got this, it's a one-man show, really, right?

That you're just talking about the stories of your life and career, and he's doing this show, he's testing it out in different markets around the country, and I was at the first one that you ever did in Texas. And I don't remember if you talked about this in particular story, like the first job that you ever got, but would you remind me if, you did tell it already? My very first job that was actually not, you know, I used to put on little plays that I wrote and directed with my brother and sister.

They didn't want to do it. Oh, no. They were both younger than I am. And so I'd put these plays on, and I'd start, I'd charge a penny a piece for anybody to come in to watch. A penny a piece. And then before too long, I'm up to a nickel. And then I think, well, this is worth a dime. And so I'd charge a dime.

And who are you getting besides, I'm assuming, your mom and dad? Neighborhood kids, my parents, my grandparents. Yeah. Anybody, any relative, I'd rope them in and make them pay me a dime to do the play. And I'd do it at any time. I mean, it wasn't like I was, I'd have a time to do it. If I could get a crowd together, you know, like five or six people, we'd do a play. But then you'd have to find an actual, at some point, you had to find an actual director and producer and people who were going to hire you and say, you know what, you come do our thing.

Well, what show was that? The Colorado Shakespeare Festival. All right. Shakespeare. In Boulder, Colorado. That was the first time I was in a festival of plays that played in repertory. We'd do Henry V one day and King John the next day and as you like it the next day and then go in rep like that.

So, you know, you had to remember what play you were doing, so you'd put on the right costume to start with. He comes out his pocket. Then you can go out and do the play. You know, I always managed to know we were doing Troilus and Crescenta the night and we were doing King John the next night. And it was fun, you know. But I was also working on a ranch in the daytime because they weren't paying me enough to live

really. I was really living on cornmeal, being mashed up and fried in the oil. Barry, wait, you're like every young girl's dream man. You worked on a ranch during the day and you did Shakespeare by night. That's right. Give me a break. You worked out shirtless, sweaty and the sunshine. I also studied ballet.

What? Stop. There was a man, there was an oil man in love. Lubbock, whose daughter wanted to be a ballerina. He was a very rich guy and much richer than he had brains. So he went over and scouted around in Eastern Europe and found a Lithuanian ballet master by the name of Eugene Banzavisius. And hired him to come over and live in Lubbock and open a ballet studio.

He was an old man. He'd been a ballet dancer when he was younger, but he was probably, it was not old to me now, but he was probably 60 years old, I guess. And he'd go out and demonstrate things and how you, how you did, you know. And he couldn't find anybody that could lift the girls in the boys

because the boys were all slight and they weren't the hunky ranch boys or they were ballet boys. I was working on oil rigs at the time so I was strong

and I could lift the girls and I could also do these the gesticulations. For the listener at home Barry is performing many a graceful, gorgeous body positions. I played the prince and Swan Lake.

You did? Oh, yeah. Oh, Barry. Yeah, I was, I was a real pistol. You were beating them off with a stick, these girls. You as a young man sounds like if the C.W. had a show about, like, living on a ranch, you would have been the, like, hot, heartwarming. The Lucas Scott character. I would have been the outcast. Even more likable in love.

Now, I can fit in with ranch people. I do believe it I do that I go and once in a while I'll go out to a ranch and help them gather cattle Yeah Just to prove that I can still

Get on the horse and still Well you were just on Yellowstone Not two years ago Yeah well I was out at the 4-6 and ranch Last year I helped him gather cattle I said I might need a little help

Getting up But once I get on I know what I'm doing and something. I went out there and they shoved me up on a horse, and I was horseback for about six and a half hours. What? And we were going out and gathering cattle,

bringing the cattle in. Then I worked the cattle, and then I got back to the place where we started and got the cattle pinned and everything, and then I called this cowboy over, I saw a guy about six foot. five, and I said, I said, I want you to stand right here, and I'm going to fall off this horse and you catch me.

And so that's what I did, and then he caught me. You are of the generation where, when you say like a jack of all trades, they're actually legitimate trades. Like, you are, you have experience and the ability to, like, actually. actually perform job functions and useful things. Whereas, like, my generation, like, if I'm a jack of all trades, it's like I can hacky-sack, I co-host a podcast, and I play make-believe. Well, I used to can do almost anything.

I believe it. Now, when I turned 60, I forgot about half of what I ever knew. When I turned 70, I lost about a quarter more of that. When I turned 80, I forgot anything except how to hit my marks and shame my lines. I don't even know how to run anymore. Oh, man. You are. You're so versatile.

How did that translate into basketball when you were asked to come play Coach Whitey on One Tree Hill? It meant truth? Yes. Well, apparently, all those. boys saw every old man in California and they couldn't find anybody that they were happy with it to be the coach yeah and I guess they expanded maybe they saw people over in Arizona too I don't know but they finally called my manager and said would Barry Corbyn come into town and talk to us about a part in our television show, One Tree Hill.

And he called me, and I said, are they paying the way? He said, yeah. And I said, they're going to put me in a hotel and give me a rent car? He said, yeah. I said, all right, I'll be there. There's a kind of thing that all agents have. It's a line of what I call saccharine BS. Sure.

And I've got that in spades. I mean, it's something that I learned from New York agents when I was in New York. I was going to say, because that's not, that doesn't feel like a vibe that would be on a ranch a lot. It seems like on a ranch here are really saving time. You got to, yeah. Yeah, so I sat and just bluffed and talked to them. I never mentioned I've never seen a basketball game. Yes.

I never mentioned that I knew nothing. about basketball except you bounce this ball around and trying to get it over here and trying to get it. I don't, but I never cared anything about that. What is so funny about that is that you did the opposite of what most actors do, right? There's a thing actors do when they're like up for a job, like especially in commercial acting. I'll be like, great, we're only going to audition you if you can ride a horse. And every actor goes, I can ride a horse. Oh, that's the last thing that you ought to say. Oh, right. Yeah. Yeah, a horse for sure.

What you ought to say, and what Ben Johnson always said, Ben Johnson was the best horseman in the movies. Okay. He used to say, yeah, I ride a little bit. Yeah. Undersell, over-deliver. That's what you need to say. Now, I've got a story about a guy who was.

Your wife just shook her head in the background, which makes me think this is going to be a good story. No, it is. It is a good story. She doesn't know this story, really. But this was a fella that was, that he told him he could ride. And I was playing the bad guy in this thing, in this magnificent seven. Oh, fun.

It was not the movie. It was a television series. And I was playing the bad guy in this episode. And I had a, there was one scene where we're chasing a wagon and me and my gang. And my accomplice, the head of my, you know, my operation. I was running a body house, but it was like a traveling body house, a bunch of tents. Is this a brothel? Yeah.

Oh, okay. Just clarifying. And I was being mean to the girls and all that. Okay. But they were trying to rescue the girls from me, and they had them all in this wagon. So I got my gang together, and I'm out, we're out horseback, and we've got to come off a hill and run down this hill and run beside the wagon. The camera cars on the other side of the wagon, they're shooting across the driver on to us.

chasing the wagon and my head henchman has said he could ride and I watched him walk up to the horse and that wasn't going to work and I said you know he might really ought to be doubled in this scene and he said what do you mean I said well we're going to come off this hill and I'm going to have to be riding pretty fast to catch this wagon because he's running pretty fast and we're pretty far behind. So I'm going to have to really give him a little nudge and, you know. Your horse. Yeah.

Yeah. And I'm not sure that you want to do that. And he said, oh, no, no, it'll be fine. It'll be good. Oh, all right. Well, stay behind. me don't get in front of me because I can't help you if you're in front of me and okay so here we come we did did a half-speed rehearsal you know you come off kind of just a little

little past a trot a little lope down the hill that's okay he did fine I said okay now this is going to be a picture here and I'm going to I'm going to kind of put the steel to him so be ready I said okay I said now remember what they told you you want to you want to hold the reins in your left hand and you hold the tail of the reins because you're going to have to do something with your other hand with in your and your right hand and you just kind of pretend to be whipping your horse don't do it but just kind of pretend to do it just to give you something to do. Well, I knew that wasn't going to work.

But what happened was I gave my horse to spur and he jumped off and he started running down that hill, you know, pretty fast. Yeah, especially horses going downhill. And I said, stay behind me. Well, all of a sudden I heard this thundering noise coming up to my right, wagons to my left. I kind of glanced over there, and this guy is sitting up there, and he's got saddle horn like that with both hands.

Oh, no. The reins are flopping on both sides. That horse is a runaway. He's got his head stuck out in front of him. And we're in Seamy Valley. I thought he was going to be in Los Angeles downtown before I could catch him. I mean, he was on flat-out runaway. Sherry had a terrified expression on his face

Oh, his eyes were bugging out of his head And he was That is scary Yeah, yeah Scream of a school does not make for the best A bad guy henchman And they said cut And then now I saw two wranglers down there

Behind two trees And he was going right between those trees And they came out and stopped his hearts for him Oh, my gosh. But I told him, then I said, you know, anytime you have to ride past a walk, get a double. Get a double. Well, you didn't need a double as Coach Whitey, even though you knew nothing about basketball. No, but what I did, this was the middle of March Madness when I went and talked to him.

Okay. So I came home and went to my favorite bar, sat there drinking beer and watching basketball. But I wasn't watching the players. I was watching the coaches. Yeah. And they all looked like they had their cholesterol sticking out of their ears. And they were screaming and carrying on and hollering. I thought, well, nobody can live past 35 if they're going to act that way all the time.

I decided, well, this coach is going to be kind of like Yoda off the court. But on the court, he's going to be absolutely the most terrible person in the world. And so that's what I did. Wow. When I got here, when I first got here, you were to Wilmington. Yeah. Yeah. The coach that actually put the plays together, and I forgot his name now.

Anyway, he did the one with Gene Hackman, Hoosiers. Oh, yeah. But he said, do you want to come and watch us run some plays in the morning? And I said, no. And he said, well, if you don't watch us run plays, you're not going to know what's happening. And I said, I can watch you run plays from now until Christmas, and I still don't know what's happening. But I don't have to know what's happening.

All I've got to know is, It's how to look like I know what's happening. Yeah. Because I've played jet pilots. I've played brain surgeons. I've played all kinds of things. But you wouldn't want to get on a plane that I'm piloting. You wouldn't want to let me do brain surgery on you.

You wouldn't want me to do anything. You wouldn't want me to fix your plumbing. But I do know how to look like I can do anything. Yeah. And he's, oh, okay. So that's a secret. You just got to set and you... You got to look like, you know, you know,

if you're jet pilot, you've got to know which switches to switch first and you've got to know how all the stuff works. And then it's easy. It may look different, but native culture is very alive. My name is Nicole Garcia, and on Burn Sage, Burn Bridges, we aim to explore that culture. It was a huge honor to become a television writer because it does feel oddly, like, very traditional. It feels like Bob Dylan going electric, that this is something we've been doing for a hundred of years. You carry with you a sense of purpose and confidence.

That's Sierra Taylor Ornellis, who with Rutherford Falls became the first native showrunner in television history. On the podcast, Burn Sage Burn Bridges, we explore her story, along with other Native stories, such as the creation of the first Native Comic-Con or the importance of reservation basketball. Every day, Native people are striving to keep traditions alive while navigating the modern world, influencing and bringing our culture into the mainstream. Listen to Burn Sage, Burn Bridges on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Get this gang, Ray, the founder of Friends with Benefits, the convention company that runs these amazing events that we are currently at, has been working on and designed a one tree hill themed Airbnb set in where else, but Wilmington, North Carolina. And get this gang, it is available for booking now on the Airbnb app.

This is such a cool idea. I remember us talking about this a while ago, and we never actually. followed through with it. I'm so glad somebody else did. Guys, the FWB team led by Ray, Brittany, and Juanita, along with a ton of help from volunteers, are officially turning trick back into the actual trick, like the nightclub in the show. For more

updates about that and other events, follow FWB on Instagram at FWB charity events. Had you filmed anything in Wilmington before? Yes. Because I know there was a lot of things happening in this town, especially Yeah, I did a movie of the week with Diane, not Diane, Cheryl Ladd.

Cheryl Ladd. Yeah. Yeah, and I was, I was going to kill her. I was killer. Oh, no very good guy. So was this a show then, one of the really great, like good guy roles that you had gotten? Because it sounds like maybe you were cast a lot as the villain or the intimidating guy. I was mostly not bad guy.

I'm not really a good, bad guy, because I can, I don't really look like I'm cruel. And if I can jump in here, you have played two of my favorite good guy historical figures, Lyndon Johnson and Santa Claus. Yeah. My question is, which one did you feel more pressure to get right? Well, I knew that it didn't look like Lyndon Johnson. And I knew I was, and I got alopecia, so I don't have any hair. So I knew I didn't want to wear a wig.

So I just wore the hat all the time. And I knew I didn't want to put on the big nose hanging down over my mouth, you know. And, I mean, that didn't really disrupt my lunch real bad. Yeah. So I just, I just kind of. played uh i kind of got his voice you know but i didn't didn't look like him but this was a fictional thing anyway it was uh it was about if if if kennedy had had not been assassinated and uh so that was yeah that was that and that works i guess and the santa claus thing

that was a uh well i did play a man playing like he was santa claus well i did play a man playing like he was Santa Claus one time. I was in Christmas and the smokies. I put on a little Santa Claus beard hung over my ears and stuff. But the

Santa Claus thing was a cartoon. So I could just it's like he's in the room with us. Oh my gosh. I was just six years old all over again. That's fantastic. That's great, man. So obviously you had been working steadily for so long when one tree hill came along and then you were on the show

with all of these relatively green actors and the show becomes a hit what was it like for you because this wasn't your first go around but what was it like watching these very fresh young actors than getting thrown into this big successful show well i knew there were going to be a mistakes made and I knew that I could not warn anybody about those mistakes so I just I pretty much acted like the coach with the cast you know you're talking about like just on set mistakes of in like within film making or what kind of mistakes are you talking about and why did you feel like you weren't able to? Well, I knew that there were, you know, when you're doing your first television show,

you're nervous. Yeah. And in order to make you not be nervous, it's for me not to be nervous. Yeah. And so what I would do, I'd just kind of make a little hint of advice unless somebody just came and asked me something. I wish I'd asked you for more advice. And Chad did a few times. That's great.

And I think I helped him. I don't know whether I did or not. I'm sure you did. So let's talk about Wilmington real quick Because, you know, you had been here once before to film Then you came to Wilmington and lived here And between here and Texas for the 10 years Well, I guess, how many seasons did you do with us?

Three. Only three? Three. Oh my gosh, that blows my mind, Barry. You just are such an integral part of this show. I imagine you with us for so much longer. Well, it's also because we saw Whitey in an episode in season six. Oh, that's true.

So it sort of feels more. Yeah, before we get into the Wilmington of it all, I wanted to ask, when you signed on to the show, what was sort of the expectation were, did they tell you you were going to be around for a long time? Was the idea that it was sort of a smaller arc? What was the thought? No, I was a regular in the show in the first three seasons.

And that was the expectation. They let you know. Oh, yeah. That's so great. Yeah. So. I mean, if they're going to have you as a recurring character, they can't expect you to drop all your other business, you know.

Yeah. So when you were living here then, did you go find a ranch nearby, some sort of local place you could go ride horses? Did you miss it? No. What did you do? What was your first, like, go-to place? I'd go out and sometimes I'd drive the carriage, you know,

with those big old perch from horses. You would? Yeah, I'd go back. As one does on their job. Drive for the guy, you know. That's great. They just let you. They just handed it over.

Once in a while, I'd see a cop. We're riding one of those Australian saddles, and I say, let me, let me try that saddle. I'd get up on his horse and ride up and down front street. Could you imagine just walking up to a car, like a cop car in a parking lot and being like, hey, let me get in that explorer. Let me drive that around. And drive that. Let me take it around the block. Yeah, I was thinking about getting one of those.

Let me kind of see how that rides. Well, you know, I'd find places to ride and do stuff. Imagine if you didn't return the police horse and that cop has to go back to the station and they're like, how did you lose your horse? And the cop's like, he just had a beautiful Western mustache and he asked really politely. Yeah, exactly.

It may look different, but Native culture is very alive. My name is Nicole. Garcia, and on Burn Sage, Burn Bridges, we aim to explore that culture. It was a huge honor to become a television writer because it does feel oddly, like, very traditional. It feels like Bob Dylan going electric, that this is something we've been doing for a hundred of years. You carry with you a sense of purpose and confidence.

That's Sierra Teller Ornellis, who with Rutherford Falls became the first native showrunner in television history. On the podcast, Burn Sage, Burn Bridges, we explore her story along. with other Native stories, such as the creation of the first Native Comic-Con or the importance of reservation basketball. Every day, Native people are striving to keep traditions alive while navigating the modern world, influencing and bringing our culture into the mainstream. Listen to Burn Sage Burn Bridges on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

You were here full-time for three seasons. Where did you end up living in Wilmington? Whereabouts? I was at the little condos over there right across from the battleship. Oh, yeah. That's so nice. I'd go out and sit on the balcony and look at the battleship and wave at the sailors and stuff. And when you come back for conventions or anything else,

do you have any sort of favorite go-to spots or places you like? Oh, they're all gone now. Oh, I know it's changed. Charlie Browns. Charlie Browns is a place I used to like to go. It's changed a lot here. I'd go in there and play trivia and beat them. I remember I think I was in my 60s when I was playing Whitey.

That was before you had lost 50% of everything you knew. Yeah. Okay. So this was a good time for you to be big trivia. Yeah, one of the bartenders said to me, you want another one pop and I said what you want another one pop

and I climbed over the bar and chased him back into the office and then I grabbed him and scrubbed his head real good did you feel like the you know it was such an age difference on our show it's one of the

I think one of the things that made the show great, too, is that there were really legitimate adult storylines and then legitimate young people storylines. And we were in, you know, the age gap between us and the generational gaps, I think actually really helped because it drew in a whole bunch of different audiences. But on set, you're working so closely with these boys that are so much younger than you. And of course, when we're in our early 20s and late teens, there's a, in general, in American culture anyway, I think there's a general sense of, like, disconnect and not knowing how to ask for advice or wanting to, you know, looking at someone who's so much older and being like, well,

you're not interesting to me. That's what you're boring because I'm all about my young, exciting life, not realizing how much wisdom, how much, you know, great stories, how interesting. I don't. How was that relationship between you and the boys on the team that you were coaching? It was, it was on the whole good, you know. Did they ask, did you guys get time to spend together where you got to tell them stories and they would engage with you? Or was it like?

Once in a while, but rarely because I, you know, I had my own group of people at that time, a bunch of old drunks, you know. So you found your people. You got to Wilmington and you found your crew. Yeah. They're going to have infinitely better stories than a bunch of 18-year-old boys. Absolutely, absolutely. Without a doubt. Okay.

I'd go down to the Barbary Coast once in a while. Oh, yeah. Tape and old Steve Bishimi got stabbed in there. Oh, my God, that's right. I forgot that happened in Wilmington. I always forget that happened here. Yeah. Yeah, I just wondered, because I always look back on that time

and wish that I had had the wherewithal to ask for, to ask, like, Moira and Barbara and you, and just to ask you about your advice and your life story and just take advantage of that mentorship opportunity, but I didn't know how at that age. And I wasn't sure of any of the boys, the basketball boys. But you were also going. going through a whole bunch of things yourself. Yeah, that's true. Which I wasn't aware of until I listened to your book on a road trip.

Oh, thanks, Barry. And I want to tell anybody who's listening to this thing, if you have not read Joy's book, don't read it. Get the recorded version, listen to it on a road trip, or just turn it on and listen to it at home. because you're missing half of it if you're just reading it yourself. Oh, thank you. Thanks.

It's a wonderful, it's wonderful writing, and you read it so beautifully. Thanks. I mean, I've heard a lot of actors read their own books. Yeah. And they sound like they're reading some kind of commercial. I'm Ron Burgundy. I'm Ron Burgundy. Oh, thanks.

Yeah, it felt good to read that and just get it out of my body, and I appreciate you listening. You did a wonderful job, and it's also a wonderful lesson for young women, particularly. Yeah. And it, oh, you'll bring your tears out. You're good. Thanks, Barry. I really appreciate you reading it. Thank you.

Well, it means a lot to me. Thank you. Thank you. I wish we'd got to know each other better when I was here. I do, too. It's hard when you're, for me, I was so young, you know. Well, we never had any scenes together, really. I mean, the only scenes that we had was at assemblies and stuff.

There was a couple, I think, in your office when I was. I don't know if it was when I was a student or a teacher. I think it was when I was a student, I guess, and you called me, you would have called me in to give me advice and, you know, And I did always really enjoy those scenes. But yeah, that's one of the beautiful things about doing these conventions and having time to come back to Wilmington and continue to see each other. And now that I'm in touch with your grandson, Jordan,

who's just such a lovely, wonderful person. I get to spend time more with you. I'm so grateful that through the years we're still in touch and the relationship is more meaningful now that we're older and wiser. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I don't know that I'm any wiser. I think maybe wisdom starts leaking out when you get to be about 80.

That's part of that last quarter to go. Yeah. I told Chad today, I said, well, when you get to be 84, you're not feeble. I'll let you know about 85. What do you, when you look at your life right now, you've done so much, you've accomplished so many things. You're still moving forward, as I said, you've got this show that you're going around telling your stories. What are things that are still on your bucket list? Like what's on the Barry bucket list?

I don't just keep working as long as I can. I mean, that's a, I don't have any particular. You're not desperate to go up in a hot air balloon or jump out of a plane? No, no, I've been up in a hot air balloon. air balloon and I have jumped out of planes and I don't want to be either one anymore. Yeah, yeah. Hey, when you do these conventions, is there a particular scene or quote that the fans want to talk to you about?

There was one woman came in and she had one of these, like an undershirt, you know, strap thing and then she pulled off her jacket and she pointed she had a tattoo up and down her arms

of quotes on both arms and she said do you remember saying this I looked at it no and she said well you did

in episode so-and-so oh oh you did Yeah, no, I didn't say that. Waddy Durham said that. Oh, right. Yes. And then I looked, and all those things were things that Waddy Durham had said in this show, all these tattoos.

You were like a mentor to her through the TV. Yeah. Aw. I guess. That's kind of sweet. Yeah. Aw. So, you know, that was, that kind of took me back a little bit.

Yeah. It may look different, but native culture is very alive. My name is Nicole Garcia, and on Burn Sage, Burn Bridges, we aim to explore that culture. It was a huge honor to become a television writer, because it does feel oddly, like, very traditional. It feels like Bob Dylan going electric, that this is something we've been doing for a kind of years. You carry with you a sense of purpose and confidence. That's Sierra Teller Ornelis, who with her. Rutherford Falls became the first native showrunner in television history.

On the podcast, Burn Sage Burn Bridges, we explore her story, along with other Native stories, such as the creation of the first Native Comic-Con or the importance of reservation basketball. Every day, Native people are striving to keep traditions alive while navigating the modern world, influencing and bringing our culture into the mainstream. Listen to Burn Sage Burn Bridges on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. When you think about it, you know, it's been like over six decades that you've been working, is there, I mean, that whole like your favorite job thing, it's such a tricky question,

but is there, is there a job that just was like an especially joyful or special experience? Well, there was one particular series that I did that was probably the most joyful and ultimately the most depressing Northern Exposure. Oh, my gosh, that's right, Barry. My dad had that show on all the time. Same. Yes. It was a fun show to do for the first. First three seasons, first, well, three and a half seasons.

And then they changed producers. They brought in a producer who didn't like the show. Oh. Smart business choice. And he said, well, it was deliberate. Oh. And he said when they, after the show was canceled, he said, well, I never liked the show anyway.

It's too precious. And so, you know. Sad. But anyhow, there was a lawsuit between the guy that wrote the original script and Universal and CBS and the producers and the writers and everybody. What a mess. And I didn't know anything about it because we were shooting the show in Washington. Yeah, where were you guys? Where did you shoot that?

Outside Seattle. Okay. And it was supposed to be Alaska? Yeah. Yeah. Maybe we couldn't shoot in Alaska because we were shooting in the wintertime, you know. It was all dark all the time. So we shot in Seattle where you got maybe eight hours of light, you know.

What was so joyful about that experience? It was just so much fun to explore the character and the town and all the, you know, all the, all the, all the ramifications of it. Yeah. And all the people, you know, and how we changed throughout the process. And then they brought in this guy who didn't like it and started messing with it.

The scripts started getting, I mean, they were undecipherable. You couldn't figure out what in the hell anybody was doing. One year we were nominated for the best ensemble cast in television for the SAG Awards. Yeah. And he sent a directive up to the set up in Washington said, none of the actors are allowed to speak during the Screen Actors Guild Awards. The producers will accept the award. Because that's who the audience wants to see.

Yeah. And I was the only one nominated for an Emmy the last season. Wow. And they said, you can't go. Oh, my gosh. I said, oh, I can't. And he said, no, you'll be working on Monday. You'll be working early Monday so you can't go.

And I said, well, I'll tell you what. That is going to look awful good on this. on the tabloids that the producers have told the nominee that he cannot be at the awards. He said, what do you mean? I mean, I have a publicist too. And he said, he hung up. And then he called back later and said, you can go. but we don't have it in the budget for a limousine or a hotel or a flight down here.

I said, well, I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll fly down there on Alaska Airlines and I'll stay in Motel 6 or whatever is the cheapest one I can find. And I'll take the cheapest transport I can find to the Emmys. And he said, what does that mean? And I said, well, you'll find out. Oh, no. So I called a friend of mine who'd been the Wrangler. A horse and carriage.

No. No. I called the Wrangler up, Jimmy Medearis. And I said, Jimmy, have you got a couple of matching horses that are kind of flashy looking and maybe one of them absolutely bomb-proof. And the other one needs to be used to crowds. Stop. He said, what are you going to do?

I said, me and my daughter are going to ride into the Emmys. Let me tell me you did this. So I told Jimmy that I had to have two good. One of them can't be wild in any way. other one, I don't care. But we also need a pass or a license to ride our horses in Pasadena on that Sunday. And he said, what are you going to do? I said, we're going to ride the horse back into the image.

And he said, oh, wow. I said, how much is it going to cost me? And he said, not a damn thing. I want to see you do it. And so they arranged for it. and by the last minute they arranged for me to have a flight first class down to LA and a hotel room and the and the limo well that was good because I didn't know what I was going to do with the horses when I got to the red carpet imagine that and so I put the wranglers in the limo that's great and they followed us in So you did this? You rode horseback to the Emmys?

Yeah. What? Yeah, Shannon rode in with me. Please tell me there are photographs of this. Well, we got to find this online. It was all over the news that day, but then it completely disappeared. It did. There's some, they did an interview with me.

It's great publicity. Why? Well, they didn't want to, they didn't want any publicity. That's so dumb. Yeah, I get it. They wanted to cancel the show. They didn't want any publicity. So they, so my horse took a dump on the carpet. Couldn't write it any better.

And the wrangler jumped out of the limo and ran off with the horses. And we walked up, people cheering and laughing. Yeah. And I was waving to them, you know. Shannon was slinking up the side trying to keep out of the. out of sight because she thought I was crazy. Oh, my gosh. And so I got up to Army Archard at the stand there

where he's interviewing celebrity arrivals. And he says, well, you picked an interesting way to come into the Emmys. Is there a story behind that? And your producer held his breath. And I said, well, yeah, apparently. And they're not making enough money selling coffee cups and sweatshirts and one thing and another to be able to cover my expenses down here. So I took the cheapest transport I could find.

And I said CBS and Universal in there somewhere. And so I hadn't worked for Universal or CBS since then. Well, you know what? The world is not. is in a better place for it and you are not hurting for work. You've continued to just. I mean, your career has been amazing. Well, I can't think of a better story to go out on. I know. And you riding a horse into the Emmys and taking a dump the horse, not you, on the red carpet. On the red carpet. Well, before we wrap up, Barry, is there anything you want to say to the

One Tree Hill fans that, you know, have been a part of this experience with us and with you? Yes. I would like to say to all the One Tree Hill fans. thank you for your loyalty. When I first did this show, I thought, well, this is going to be a disposable. Because it's number one, it's a teenage drama. Right. I've been through high school. I don't want to go through that angst anymore.

And so I thought, I thought, this is not a good, idea but I did it and I'm glad I did and it was a wonderful experience the whole thing and I've made some beautiful lifelong friends here so thank you for all your loyalty and and stay loyal bring in your grandchildren get them get them to watching it yeah I've got we've got people here mothers and daughters who are grown people now, and the main thing that brings them together is reruns of one tree hell. Yeah.

And thank you. Thank you, Barry. This is the longest we've ever got to sit and chat, but I can do it for a lot longer. You are a delight to speak to. And your stories are tremendous. Yes. Is there any place people can follow along

with the next things that you have? have going on? Do you have a website or Instagram or anything? Yeah, it's www. www. Darrycorban.com. Great. And go to events.

When you get a picture, me sitting on a horse, go to write, just go to, go to the events and you'll see where I'm, I'm peering there. Yes. Oh, fantastic. He heard it from the man himself. www. www. Barry Corbin.

com. Thanks, Barry. Thanks, Barry. Hey, thanks for listening. Don't forget to leave us a review. You can also follow us on Instagram at Drama Queen's O-T-H. Or email us at

Dramaquins at iHeartRadio.com. See you next time. We're all about that high school drama girl, drama girl, all about them high school queens. We'll take you for a ride and our comic girl cheering for the right team.

Drama queens, drama queens. We can be the smart girl, rough, Fashion but you'll tough girl. You could sit with us, girl. Drama queens, drama queens, drama queens, drama queens. Drama, drama queens, drama queens. It may look different, but native culture is alive. My name is Nicole Garcia, and on Burn Sage, Burn Bridges, we aim to explore that culture.

Somewhere along the way, it turned into this full-fledged award-winning comic shop. That's Dr. Lee Francis IV, who opened the first Native comic bookshop. Explore his story along with many other native stories on the show, Burn Sage Burn Bridges. Listen to Burn Sage Burn Bridges on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast.