Handsome - Pretty Little Episode #107

Episode Date: September 4, 2026

"Grandma Cooter" and "Mère Bear" show off their grandma names on a hilarious Pretty Little Episode!Handsome is hosted by Tig Notaro, Mae Martin, and Fortune FeimsterSubmit your questions to speakpipe.com/handsomepodFollow us on social media @handsomepodMerch at handsomepod.comWatch Handsome on YouTubeThis is a Headgum podcast. Follow Headgum on Twitter, Instagram, and Tiktok. Advertise on Handsome via Gumball.fm.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This is a headgum podcast. Checking Allstate First could save you hundreds on car insurance. Not checking that my guest room is all ready to go before my mom visits. Oops. She's ready for a nap, but I haven't made the bed yet. And now I've got to rush to the linen closet post hastes. Yeah, check in first is handsome. So check Allstate first for an auto quote.

It could save you hundreds. You're in good hands with Allstate. Potential savings varies subject to terms, conditions, and availability. Allstate North American Insurance Company and affiliates, Northbrook, Illinois. Chatting the friends on the handsome pot. Chatting the friends on the handsome pot. Pretty little episode. Hi, it is your friend Tignotaro on the Pretty Little Episode,

handsome episode, I think, is what it's called. I'm sitting here with my co-host. This is Fortune Feamster. Yes, it's called Pretty Little Episode. You got it, my friend. And it's been a beat. How do you do? How do you do?

I'm doing good. Just chucking along. How are you? I'm good. We're about wrapping up our Colorado time. And it has been, once again, a lot of hiking, biking and dyken. Hiking, biking and dyken. Yes, indeed.

Has it been a good summer? It's been a great summer. and it's been, it's just been, I don't know, just as a parent, really fun to see the independence and maturity and growth that our kids are showing and because they have a way more like free-range life. Yeah. When we go on summer break,

We like to, you know, they'll do some summer camps that might last a week that are sports related. But other than that, we get really active together as a crew. And it's wild. Like they're, you know, mountain biking for like 15 miles and swimming in lakes and eating lunch by rivers and learning wildflowers. Yeah. It's just, it's like, and really understanding, like, hiking maps and showing us the ropes. Yeah. It's, it's, it's really, really cool.

Like, it's definitely a source of pride. Oh, I love that. Yeah, it's nice. And just seeing friends and family is always nice. And, yeah, I just, I feel very thankful for our summertime. That's great. How are they transitioning back into L.A. once they've spent a summer like that, very outdoorsy?

Max always jokes like, he's like, well, back to our prison. Oh, wow. Just because we have a gate. Oh, I see. Yeah. And at our at our house. And so I think it's good. I think we all kind of leave summer travels with a feeling of, man, that was awesome. Yeah. But I cannot wait to get home to our kitties and grandfather and friends. And it's just that really sweet spot of like, I'm going to miss it. But I'm really. excited to get home. And I think we all feel that way.

Yeah. Yeah. I would like to do that at some point. Do what? Like go somewhere, rent some kind of house like on a lake or something like that, like where you're just like slow it down quite a bit. I just wonder if I can actually make myself go do that sometime. Well, you know, years ago, you know who Joey Soloway is?

Mm-hmm. I do. Yeah. I remember Joey had invited us to go meet their family and some mutual friends. Do you know the actress Carrie Aisley? She's painfully hilarious. I just don't love her. Oh, my God. One of the funniest people walking around the planet. Yeah. They had, I don't know if it's still going on, but like a regular, um, summer trip that they did together. And I remember when they had invited us a few years in a row.

Yeah. And I was always busy and I was like, I don't have time to, like, I can't possibly go do that. Yeah. And Joey was like, I literally shut down from this date to this and it's not negotiable. Yeah. And I was like, that is wild. And so as I got older and had a family, and I started to realize I did have some control that I could shut down, even though I still record the podcast, I have gone and done a show here or there, and I have wrapped up a movie. It doesn't sound like I fully shut down. But it's, you know, to the extent that I can. Yeah. I do shut down and it changed my life.

Yeah. One million percent changed my life. Yeah. And prioritizing that. I only started going on vacations after I met Stephanie. I used to not vacation at all. Uh-huh. And then it got to a different point where our kids got older.

And that's, you know, when you're a kid and summer hits, that is what it is. You're waiting for that. Yeah. And so I don't know. I can't I can't recommend it enough if you can do it however however long then like I said I didn't I couldn't fully do it but as much as I can I do it. Well it's nice it's good to refresh and yeah you know live life little any hoodles. Let's get some questions. Yeah let's do that. That's why we're here. well well well hey there handsoms i'm called katie and i am from the suburbs of chicago illinois i am the mother of seven

and as of last month uh the grandmother of two babies now when my daughter was pregnant with her first people would ask me what do you want to be called and i would say i don't know whatever he calls me and it turns out my two-year-old grandson calls me well well because accordingly i often walk into a room and say well well well so my question's a two-parter if you ever become a grandparent, either because you have boys that become parents or a stepdaughter-ish that that becomes a parent or your fortune and you pull an Angelina Jolie and adopt a whole bunch of kids that have kids. What would you like to be called as a grandparent?

And second part, if some catchphrase of yours were to become that name, what would that be? Thanks so much, you guys. I've already told you my answer, so I don't need to tell you again. But I'm looking forward to hearing what y'all have to say. Love you guys. Love your podcast. And keep up the good work. Keep us giggling.

Thanks. Bye. Well, you have the closest proximity, even though your boys are young, to becoming a grandma. Yeah, but you're all Angelina Jolie over there. Yeah, apparently I'm going to adopt a bunch of kids. I don't think that's going to happen. I don't either. But I feel like there's a good chance that one or both of your boys will have kids one day. They're already talking about it.

Have you thought about what you want to be called? Maybe grandpa. That's kind of funny. Have you ever heard that Willie Nelson song? I'm my own grandpa. Uh-uh. It's good. It's just like broken family tree kind of thing where he ends up his own

grandpa. Yeah. I don't know. What would you name me? Well, they probably can't call you Tigg-old Bitties. That's my nickname for you. Yeah. I like Grandpa for you.

I like, well, mare is your nickname. Would they just continue? Do you think your grandkids would also call you mayor? Mayor Bear. Mayor Bear is cute. Yeah, because Max and Finn will sometimes call me Mayor Bear Bear Bear. Yeah. But mostly Mayor.

That's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's already sort of your name. But mare bear, I think mare bear is a nice little addition. Uh-huh. You know. And those, and they would continue to be your cubs. Yeah, my little cubs. The little cubs. So, Mayor bear, I think, is good.

Yeah. I like Marybear. I actually have thought about what my name would be, but I'm not going to tell anybody because, you know, you never know if one day I were to somehow adopt. a bunch of kids or Mary Angelina. You know, end up with a stepchild at some point. Who knows? Sure.

Yeah, who knows? I have a name that I would want to be called, but I'm not going to tell anybody because I want to. Is it Grandma Cooter? That's pretty funny. I hadn't thought about that. Grandma Cooter. Honestly, that's not a bad idea.

G.C. G.C. for short. If it were to ever happen one day, I would reveal what that name is, but I'm going to keep it a secret. You won't even tell me if we bleep it out? I'll tell you. I'll tell you later. I'll tell you later. But for now, I think Grandma Cooter might have already edged that out, so it won't matter. You know what I have to say also? I don't know if I've talked about it on stage once.

But my nephew, when I hear a well, well, well, well, I don't know if I've told this story. But when my brother and sister-in-law were trying to have a conversation and asked us to distract our nephew, Stephanie was like, come look at the telescope. And he was like, I don't want to. He was three. And because he wanted to be with his parents. Yeah. And she was like, no, no, no. Come on.

Come on. And she was like, oh, it's so cool. And she was pretending to look out of the telescope. She was like, wow. And then he came over and he was like looking up, you know, the situation. Yeah. And then he said, I guess I could look out of the telescope. And then Stephanie goes, well, well,

well and he goes no don't say well well well and it made us laugh so hard because he was three but he totally understood that she was being um what is it condescending or um and uh calling him out on like going back on his word and so to this day anytime truly if a if a waiter walks up to our table and says well well we're always like No. Don't say well, well, well. Don't you dare call. Just let me look out of the telescope and don't call me on it. That's funny. Yeah. I love that. I love you too. Mayor-bear and Grandma Cooter. What if we end up married and go the final stretch in life?

Come on, kids. Are going to Mary Bear and... Grandma Cooter. We're going to Grandma Cooter's house. Checking Allstate First could save you hundreds on car insurance. Not checking that I put away all my puppets before going to sleep. That's the stuff of nightmares. I woke up to get some water in the middle of the night, and I thought an army of tiny folk had come to life in my house.

Yeah, checking first is handsome. So check Allstate First for an auto quote. It could save you hundreds. You're in good hands with Allstate. Potential savings vary subject to terms, conditions, and availability. Allstate North American Insurance Company and Affiliates, North Brooklyn, Linole. Hey. Well, thank you, Katie. That was it true.

Hello, you want to hook us up, Thomas, on our next delightful question. Hey, girly-whirleys and therely-whirlies. This is Kim from Oz, not from Kansas, from Australia. Australia. And I was wondering, what is it that made you believe in yourself? Like to believe in pursuing that you could pursue comedy, believing that you could act in the movies you act or write the movies you write or TV shows. Yeah, what is it that made you believe in you? Or what is it that made you chase these dreams that you have and really start living them out every day? I'm curious. That's a good question.

What do you got to say? I bet your grandma's in there. I mean, yeah, my grandmother was a big influence on me. She, you know, was, we were very close when I was growing up, and she really instilled the sense of, like, belief in me. And, like, she just loved me so much unconditionally. There was never any stipulations or any, you know, that's kind of what's beautiful,

at grandmother is that they're not the ones that are having to parent you per se. They're just going to get to be the like ball of love. And she just was just very like on my team. And that made a big difference for me in my like self-esteem. And this is great, great grandmother Cooter. This is grandma my grandma cooter. And so, yeah, I think, you know, in a time where I could have really felt bad about myself for a multitude of reasons, being a big chubby kid always and, you know, being not knowing I was gay and not being the object of affection for guys growing up, there are things that, you know, chip away at your self-esteem.

Mm-hmm. But I think that like her, her just like that unconditional love really just kept me from getting consumed by that. And my mom also, you know, was always had had a good self-esteem about herself and a good personality. And I think she, you know, kind of taught me to be silly and think highly of myself, but not in like an over, you know, not in a way. that's like annoying or pompous but just like I'm you know I'm good enough like that Stuart Smalley I'm good enough I'm smart enough and doggone it people like me so that so they kind of laid that foundation for me to just like have a belief in myself and so that's kind of square one but then I do think that I just naturally always was curious about what else was out

there. Like I grew up in a very small town, went to a very small college, and I just was always like, what else? This can't be it. There has to be more. And in college, I got to like dip my toe in that by studying the Mayan ruins and the Mayan civilization in Mexico, that really opened up my world. And then that led me to wanting to live in Spain and kind of learn about that other culture and language and that part of the world and living in Spain gave me the courage to move to Los Angeles when I got a job opportunity. And I did not move to Los Angeles with the goal of being a comedian. I thought, oh, how cool. Like maybe there's something fun in L.A. to learn or do. But I didn't go, oh, I'm going to go be a Hollywood actor comedian. I just got a job opportunity and was like,

this will be a fun life experience. And then while I was there, I just, I obviously had some pull towards performing because I had done some theater in college. But I just joined the Groundlings Improv to make friends truly just to have a social life. And my teachers, and I've had teachers my whole life from school to college to the Groundlings,

just be very encouraging of me saying, Like you got something here, keep going. And I think that having people around you encouraging you and say keep going, you got something makes a big difference too. And then once I found what my, that my passion was comedy, there was just no stopping me because I think half the battle was figuring out what you love. And once you figure out what you love, like that cuts out so much. much of the work because so many people struggle just to find the thing they're into. And then when you find it, you're like, well, let's go for it. And then I just kind of had this unwavering, like, I didn't make money forever.

I was broke. But I just loved it so much. And I was like, I'm just going to figure out how to do this more. And that was it. And then you climbed aboard the Hansom Pod. That's right. This was waiting for you out in Hollywood. Yeah.

I mean, I had negative money. Negative, I got my roommate like two grand when I got Chelsea lately. I had literally no money in my bank account. Yeah. I could not. I didn't get paid for a month. And I didn't know how to like pay for lunch while I'm working at the, like, around these very successful comedians. Yeah.

That's how close. I was to just not being able to support myself anymore. Right. But it just came, this huge job opportunity came at the, you know, under the wire. I would say they missed the wire. Yeah. And then I never stopped working after that. That's great.

What about you? I don't have confidence that I can do this. Yeah, I mean, you know, as I've talked before, my mother was very, my mother was an artist. She was very funny, very wild and free-spirited and instilled in me to tell people to go to hell. But not literally, I didn't, you know, go through life telling people to go to hell. But just she just was like, they have a problem with you? They can go to hell. They have a problem with you're gay?

They can go to hell. Everyone can go to hell. You know, you're fine. Yeah. And, you know, I'm definitely not somebody that actually says go to hell, but I have like a part of me that has remained my whole life where I'm like, I think I'm okay. You know, I think I'm doing all right. And actually, as I got older into my teen years, and I was really struggling with school and, you know, I didn't understand myself. I was in trouble a lot in the principal's office, and my vice principal was just saved my life. And I didn't know was gay, but I think she sniffed me out and really guided me and was very involved in my life and in contact with my mother. And she just really instilled the whole listen to your gut, listen to your gut. and I didn't fully get that until I really got out into the world and listened to my gut.

And I think those two people, you know, I also have to say my childhood friend of mine's mother, used always tell me how smart I was. And I, it was kind of not the first time, but really outside of my parents or family that I, I mean, my mother would be like, oh, your teacher called. She says you're so smart. And I'm like, I'd say, what else are they going to tell you? You have a dumb child on your hands. But my friend, Melissa's mother, like really, really saw my intelligence.

You know, it wasn't shining in obvious ways maybe because I was a little off the beaten path. But I would say those three people, I mean, there's been so many, but those are, those are three monumental people and that kind of gave me that feeling that I could do things. Yeah. Yeah. I've surprised myself. I've surprised myself that I can make a living, that I could actually maintain a relationship and that I think I'm an all right parent. decent friend and I'm just like so thankful for the people that have sent me on my way, you know?

And I will say it a million times until I'm dead. I'm not a perfect person. And but I, I've come a long way because of those people. Yeah. And so many others. So many others. And again, comedy, they're everywhere. Like just my friend Beth, like there's so many people that have, I'm just like, God, I can't believe.

Truly. Yeah. So, yeah, there you go. And then you got on the handsome pod. And then I got on the handsome pod. Yeah, so, yeah. Should we hear what Kim has to say? Mm-hmm.

For me, my answer is, I feel like I'm at the beginning of, you know, really. learning how to be myself and figure out all my interests and start to really, yeah, like believe that I can do it, whatever it is that I want to do. And just starting to live every day like I'm living my dream life and starting to pursue the things. But yeah, that's me. Okay. Bye.

I love it. Love it. Well, hopefully everybody's, you know, on their path to living their best life and doing the things that matter to them and bring them joy. We want that for all our handsome listeners. For sure. I mean, why wouldn't you want to see everyone thriving? Thriving. In this world.

That's right. In this world. Thrive your faces off, everybody. Well, another fun episode. Great questions. You can submit your questions and advice request to speakpipe.com slash handsapod if you want to be on here and have us give you some little tips or questions or advice. We're both on tour.

Check out our website for our dates. Yeah, I'm Tignotaro if anyone's wondering, and that's my website. I'm fortunefeamster.com. Uh-huh. Well, until next time, keep it pretty handsome. Pretty handsome. Handsome is hosted by me, Tignotaro,

May Martin, and Fortune Themster. The show is produced, recorded, and edited by Thomas Willett. Email us at handsomepod at gmail.com. Follow us on social media at handsomepod. What a podcast. What a podcast. That was a head gum podcast. Checking Allstate First could save you hundreds on car insurance.

Not checking whether it's a good time to interrupt a conversation before bursting into song. Someone accidentally quoted some lyrics, so I started singing, but it turns out they were talking about something kind of serious. I don't think they're going to ask for an autocor. Yeah, Checkin First is handsome. So check Allstate First for an auto quote. It could save you hundreds. You're in good hands with Allstate.

Potential savings vary subject to terms, conditions, and availability. Allstate North American Insurance Company and Affiliates, Northbrook, Illinois.