Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist - Ryan Seacrest

Episode Date: September 24, 2023

On this week's episode, Willie sits down with the busiest man in show business, Ryan Seacrest. They talk about the hustle that has taken him from "High School Radio DJ" to media titan, and his new gig as host of "Wheel of Fortune". Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hey guys, Willie Geist here with another episode of the Sunday Sit Down podcast. My thanks as always for clicking and listening along. Got a great one for you this week with the busiest man in show business, Mr. Ryan Seacrest. You know about everything this man does, the host of American Idol. New Year's Eve and Times Square. He hosted live with Kelly and Ryan for a bunch of years in the morning. He executive produces tons of reality shows that you know and love. You know, he's got three radio shows. and has filled the shoes in jobs of his heroes growing up. People like Casey Kasem and Rick D's and Dick Clark, even Merv Griffin now, as the new host of Wheel of Fortune.

All these people he looked up to, he's worked for or with over the years. You won't believe it when you hear him talk, but from the time he's about 10 years old growing up outside Atlanta, he knew what he wanted to be, which was a radio guy, a broadcaster. He mowed lawns, save money, not to buy like a baseball glove, or G.I. Joe's or any of that stuff. He wanted a mixer and a headset so he could start doing radio broadcast at home. And he did it. It's a guy who's known what he wanted from a young age. He went to the University of Georgia for a little while, left at 19 to go to L.A. and begin this

career of his. And look at him now. It has brought him to a place of success. And this is really cool. And this is why he was in New York. And we got a chance to sit down to open these Seacrest Studios, what they are. And I've been to the one in Nashville. read some children's books there with my wife. They set up in children's hospitals, state-of-the-art studio, you know, radio, you can do podcast, you can broadcast to all the rooms in the hospital, and bring some joy to the patients. Some of them can come down and listen and watch. Others, because of germs and everything else, stay up in their rooms, but this is all broadcast

up to their rooms. It's such a wonderful idea and a great way for a guy who's achieved everything he hoped to achieve in his life to give back. and what do you do with that? And this is what he's doing. So he just opened his 13th Seacrest Studio, this one in New York City over at a children's hospital called Cohen Children's Medical Center in Queens, New York. So we got a chance to sit down to talk about that, his career. And yeah, that new gig as the host of Wheel of Fortune, you might hear over the course of the interview, I ask him about Vanna White, how important is it to him that she come back?

Gives me a good answer. Just as we're ending the interview, knock on the glass of the radio studio at A. Iheart Studios in New York. And he gets the word that Vanna has agreed to return to come back with Ryan when he starts next fall, not this fall, but next fall of 24. So enough wind up. Let's sit back, relax, and listen now to Ryan Seacrest on the Sunday Sitdown podcast. Thanks for doing this, man. Good to see you. So good to see you. I feel like I'm on your home turf in here in the studio. Yeah, don't make a mess over there. Turn in the tables on you. I know. Maybe we should take some calls. I don't know. Yeah. Calls. Call her. Call her. You're on.

I look Larry King over there. You're on there. Tallahassee. Tallahassee. You're on. Go ahead. So you have fit me into your incredible schedule that we were just talking about, which is you got a radio show after this, before this, opening a new Seacrest studio, which we're going to get deep in that because I love those so much. Can you tell me right now every job that you currently hold? Yes, I can, Willie. I host on air with Ryan Seacrest on Kiss FM, American Top. I host American Idol. I will host Wheel of Fortune and I host New Year's Rockin' Eve. I will host the I Heart Radio Music Festival this weekend. And I think that covers it. And I host some things in my

foundation studios. I think that's, those are the spokes, the cogs in the wheel. While producing major television franchise is on the side. I do less of that. There are a lot smarter people doing that for me. Your name's on the door. It's on the door. It's on the cards at the end. What is that schedule like for you? Because you've had it for a long time, to be fair. You've always been a hustler. How do you get through it? I've only known this schedule.

Even when I was in high school, I believe it or not, I was playing football. And I was working at the local radio station at night. So my days and my afternoons and my nights were filled, and I thrived off of that. Never did I think I'd have the stamina or endurance to do it in real life for a long time. But it just sort of happened to be that way. And I think the other thing is I always wanted to do this. I always wanted to sit near one of these. I always wanted to be on the air.

And I think the fact that I get to do it, I'm grateful, but I'm always afraid it might not be there. I think you can relate, right? Yeah. I mean, that's one of those things that drives us, I think. Yeah, gobble it up while it's here. Yeah. You spent some time this morning in Queens,

the Children's Hospital over there, opening, I think it's the 12th, is that right? 13th, with another one to come in basically a media center. And I was just telling you, I had a chance to go. the one in Nashville. And first of all, they're so cool. They're so well made, state of the art. Explain for people what exactly happens in those rooms because it really is magic. Well, thank you. You and your wife were there in Nashville and you were reading stories to the kids that came into the Seacrest Studio. You know, Willie, I wanted to do something that made an impact but also was tangible, something that really created an energy inside children's hospitals. So I came up with the idea

to develop these state-of-the-art media centers, content centers, broadcast studios that become the heartbeat of these hospitals. They become the pulse in the middle of the lobby, in the center of some very serious things that are happening inside those places. And the idea is to create that energy and destination for patients and families to totally escape if they can, just for a few minutes, what's happening, what they're going through. And I wondered, before we created the Seacrest Studios,

would it be possible that a patient might wake up one day having to seek treatment and be excited to go because they were going to see their friends or they were going to meet a celebrity inside the studio? And we hear stories of that happening now, which is, it's just so very exciting. So today, number 13, I did the debut broadcast, state-of-the-art equipment, something nicer than what we've got here, and we saw a lot of smiles. It is to have experienced it and seen it. So people can sort of paint a picture in their minds. My wife and I are in there.

You're in there with a celebrity guest. And a lot of the kids can't come down because it can't be exposed to germs. So you're, in a sense, putting on this show for them and bringing light into their lives. But they also, they get to come down and do some production themselves, right? They do. We wanted it to be all-inclusive because, like you said, there are patients who just they can't, for many reasons, come down to be a part of it in person. but they're not excluded because we can video them in. We can have them call in on the phone lines and they can talk to the person that's there,

or they can play games. Some of the bingoes is the most popular game we have in the country in our Crest Studios. So no one's left out. And even today we had Stephen Sanchez come in and sing until I found you, which is a huge hit. And I saw patients singing along to him. Patients that are going to have things happen to them and doctors seeing them in treatments in a few hours, singing a song. And that's what the studios create. It has to be so gratifying to have worked as hard as you have worked over these years

to get where you are, to be in a position to do something like this, to say, all right, I'm here. What do I do? What do I get back? And to see kids with those looks on their faces in some pretty dark times in their lives, it's got to feel really good. I think, you know, fortunately, I have worked hard, and I have met a lot of people who, who do good things, and I early in my career wondered, well, what will my legacy be? What is it that I can do and really add value to? Not just donate, but really make something and make something that kids will appreciate

when they're going through tough times. You know, the kids that are in these children's hospitals, if anybody's been to them, you don't know when you're going to have to go, and you're so happy there's a great one near you in your community. But when you're there, families miss birthdays, kids miss proms, And we want to create a place where they can continue to celebrate that, make friends, and connect. And that's what these studios do. Is there a particular story or stories from a kid or a family that has stayed with you about the impact of these studios?

I remember there's a young girl in Dallas at her studio who wasn't the most confident. She really wanted to work on herself confidence, but she was nervous about it. And she wanted to be a part of the studio. But she didn't want to go down and be in front of other people and certainly be broadcast to all the rooms. So we created an avatar for her through our technology where she could have a personality and a presence and she could host some shows. Well, she got so excited about it and it built up her confidence so much that she then decided to start hosting the show in person, in front of audiences, in front of people, and letting it be broadcast. And I know her parents were just so taken aback by seeing her grow into this self-confident girl. And that's just one of the stories of people who've used the studio to see themselves grow.

What a gift. What a gift you've given these hospitals and these kids. Good on you. Thank you. It's really, it's awesome. And it actually makes sense, given what you just said about being 10 years old, growing up in Dunwoody, Georgia, up 400 there, just outside the perimeter. You haven't in know Atlanta pretty well. A little bit, a little bit.

To have had that dream yourself and to have known at that age, I'm going to be a broadcaster. I think you were mowing lawns to raise money, at Radio Shack. All of that is it. I mean, it was very strange to, even my parents, I think, at the time. And my friends who also mowed lawns, but they would spend their money at the arcade at the mall.

I wanted to go to the mall in Radio Shack and buy a mixer, a tiny one of these things. At 10? At 10. And I was pretending to be Casey Kaysen, counting them down from coast to coast. I would go in with a little microphone. I'd plug it all together.

And I would make tape. for my parents that they would use on our road trips to Florida when we'd have our summer vacation. And I just, it's, to me, I always love music, but I had zero talent in singing or performing or playing an instrument. Like most of us, yeah. Like probably a lot of us here. But I love music. I love being around it. And that's, that's just what I wanted to do. What did your parents think about the 10-year-old kid who was obsessed with Casey Kaysson and Radio Shack? They wondered why I was in my bedroom with the door closed for so many hours. What is he doing in there until they hear these tapes. You know, I remember that the day that I said to my mom,

mom, I'm looking for some extra work. Could I make some outgoing messages at the time on the little micro cassette tapes for answering machines for our neighbors and charged them like, you know, two bucks? She laughed and I said, no, I'm not kidding. I'm being serious. And I think they realized that this was something that I just was struck by and something I was so interested in. And in Atlanta, where I grew up, the biggest stars were the DJs, the most famous people and those with all the access were the ones on the pop radio station. And so I was just fascinated by that world. Where do you think that came from?

Most kids attend toys, video games, sports, all the things you might expect. It's just not a normal thing. I think it's fair to say for a kid to be that obsessed of becoming a broadcaster. It's a little unconventional, right? In a good way, by the way. You knew what you wanted. I knew what I wanted. I don't know.

I remember being so excited to audition to be the guy that does the morning announcements and the Pledge of Allegiance at school. And I thought, gosh, is there a way to do this for a living? And I wasn't quite sure, neither were my parents. But fortunately, I found a way. Story goes, so you do the morning announcements, I'm pretty good at it, right? Well, I knew the pledge. Yeah, well, that's key.

I knew that. You got to have that. I had that down then, yeah. You will make it show business. The story goes, you get a radio show at 16 years old on an actual FM radio station. in Atlanta. How did that job come about at 16? I called into the nighttime DJ to request songs often, and eventually he recognized me as a caller that calls every single night, and I said, could I come down after school one day and take a tour of the station? Sure,

come down. Went down, my parents drove me, I toured the studio, and I was just fascinated by seeing things happen that were being broadcast to other people outside of the room and all over this great big city in my mind. And I thought, this is really cool. So I kept coming back at night. Eventually, I was an unofficial intern. And then I learned to run the board. A couple years later, there was a night where the tape that I was supposed to run of, the DJ, broke. I don't think it was my fault. And I signed on the air and said the call letters. It was the first time I ever did it. And I thought, okay, this is it. This is what I want to do. They let me do it. They let me sign on and say the station call letters.

And that was it. So what was your rap back then, Ryan? Would I recognize it? Radio Ryan reaching the beaches and rocking the docks, everybody. Let's go. You're on the air. Call her.

My rap was very cheesy. Not that it's not now. I mean, not that it's changed much. That happens to be my sweet spot, my lane. But it was like, I was over the top. I was one of those, you know, guys that thought you had to talk like this all the time

to make everybody, you know, listen and get your attention. like that. And slowly, that waned and went away. And I looked up to, you know, Casey and Rick Dees and Larry King and Regis and Merv and Dick. I mean, as a teenager as a kid, these were my idols. These are the guys that made me feel so comfortable. You know, Dick Clark, for example, watching him on New Year's Eve as a kid, you wanted to be there. I'd never been to New York City. You wanted to be part of that party. And he made you feel welcome and made you feel a part of it. And the wild thing is, is almost everyone you just listed, you filled their shoes in a job. I can't even believe it. I mean, Rick D's, Casey Kasem, Dick Clark, go down the line. It doesn't make any sense. It really does.

I have no formal training. You're a self-made man. And you obviously, you were super focused. You went to college to Athens for broadcast journalism. Yeah. For a while. And then I dropped out. And then you're like, I got to get there faster.

I was really struggling, Willie. I was struggling because I knew everything I wanted to do. I knew that I'd have to go somewhere else to really pursue it as big as I wanted to pursue it. And that was either here in New York or Los Angeles. And I was losing sleep. I wasn't studying because I wanted to go do it. I was working at the commercial radio station on the weekends. I was missing the football games.

I was already in it. And so I decided that I was going to go tell my very traditional parents who, God bless them and love them. They were married 53 years. But they thought I would go to school, get a degree, get a job. It didn't work out like that. I went to school, dropped out. drove across the country and pursued entertainment. What was that conversation like with your parents?

My father's a lawyer. Difficult. He's the defense attorney. I had to present a very strong case, but I just knew that I wouldn't be okay with myself if I didn't go for it. If I didn't try it, and if it didn't work out, I would probably come back and finish

and do the things that maybe I thought I should do. But when I got to Los Angeles and saw, you know, no ceiling on opportunity, there, I was very focused and driven. But like so many people who go to L.A. or Hollywood to chase their dream, it's a grind. It's not I move there and I get idle. There's almost

a decade in there. But I was chasing like being a DJ. I wasn't chasing being a movie stuff, right? No, but still, I mean, you weren't the place where you wanted to be overnight, no one is. So what were those what was that first decade like? I still feel like I have that in me, right? Like I still go to bed at night wanting to be

better at everything that I was the day before and wanting to be welcomed into people's cars or homes. But that grind at the beginning when you don't know anyone. I didn't know anyone in the business. And so you're chipping away at what you think is the best way to do it, sending audition radio tapes to different radio stations. I remember my first job when I got out to LA was driving the van. I drove the promotions van, and then I did eventually the overnight shift,

but to be on overnights in Los Angeles. Big time. Made it. Yes. I want to sign autographs at that point. No one wanted them. But yeah, you do. You chip away and you learn and then American Idol comes along and that still was, I was scared to death to host that because it was a live primetime show, had no idea it would become a popular primetime show. So that was nerve-wracking too. But then eventually you realize this is kind of all I know how to do. I love the story that you go into audition for Idol as a judge. Yeah, they're talking me about being a judge. But then it was, how do you feel about hosting live TV? And you confidently said, oh, of course.

I got it. Yeah, of course. Same thing about Wheel of Fortune. I got this. How do I do it? I just, yeah, I figured I'll learn by doing. And I did. But those first few seasons, I was so worried about making a mistake.

I wanted to be so perfect. And then you get reps at it. It becomes more second nature. And whoever could have seen coming what that became. I mean, even inside of it couldn't believe that it was what it was, you know, to have people tuning in 40 million a night, watching it in bars and big cities and rooting for their favorites and in stadiums cheering on in the finale. It was crazy. Yeah, I don't think people, young people, particularly now, would really sound old when I talk about young people.

What do you mean, we? You're going to disabuse yourself. Don't associate yourself with my age. But people don't understand what the show was like. because it doesn't exist anymore. It doesn't exist. There's no show that it's 40 million people to watch. So what was it like being inside

and feeling your life change every night that show came on the air? It was exciting. It was really cool to be out and have people come up and say, I really love Rubin. He's got to win. Or, you know, Carrie just changed my life.

You know, watching her change my life and seeing her story changed my life. They don't say hi, Ryan. They just launch right into the person and the story that they associate with that they loved on the show. And we all thought that was just amazing. And it was

unscripted, it was loose, we weren't quite sure what was going to happen every night. I think the imperfections were the beauty of it. For you personally, what was it like? Here's this show, blows up. Massive cultural phenomenon. Now everybody knows your name and your face.

Was that hard to get used to for a while? It wasn't how to get used to. I embraced it. And, you know, frankly, if I see anybody today and they say hello, I love it. Like, I like people. And I love that somebody I've never met, feels like they know me. I will tell you, when I saw the success of it, for me personally, professionally, I made a commitment to dive deeper into working harder on more things to leverage the moment. Because I knew that this was an incredibly unique moment.

It may never, will never happen again. how do I learn and how do I leverage it so that there's a career that I can have and longevity I can have? And those were lessons I learned from Merle. I worked for Murph Griffin for a little while. And he really taught me how to be the best person you can in front of the camera. And also look at opportunities that are created from that and make those some businesses so that you can have some longevity. Well, to that point, if you look at the years, so 2002, right, I think. I think it starts. O2 started. So a couple of years later, you're on air with Ryan C. Crest. Then all of a sudden, you're doing the top 40. Then all of a sudden, you're doing New Year's Eve. Now you've got a production company. You're following the Merv Griffin path. So that was by design. It sounds like.

It was by design. It was literally looking at the days of the week and seeing when we were doing idle, when we weren't, and how do I feel those other days with other things? And one of the best things suited for me, where can I add value? Who are the best partners? And I would sit and think about it. that. It was mapped out. I didn't know if it worked, but it was mapped out. Was that daunting, though? I mean, it still has to be a little bit daunting. Just, okay, you're going to walk out of here. You're going to do your radio show, and then you're going to go, okay, now where do I go? Or is that exciting? Is that a thrill? I think it's exciting. I do. If I look at some of the days, certainly over the last few years when I was going coast to coast to coast every five days, if I look at it on paper, it's overwhelming. But when I do it, it's fun. You know? It's everything I always wanted.

And I think that the, that the pace actually fuels my energy. If I were to do one thing once a week, I'd be terrible. Yeah. I'm with you on that. You know, I'd slow everything down. I wouldn't be able to make a decision now.

I can move with some velocity. And I think it, it helps. Hey, guys, thanks for listening to the Sunday Sit Down podcast. Stick around to hear more from Ryan Seacrest right after the break. Welcome back. Now more of my conversation with Ryan Sechrest. On Idol, are you aware that Seacrest out is still a thing people say? Yeah, because I hear it, right?

Now they go, Seacrest in. If I come into a restaurant, Seacrest in. It's crazy that that was, I don't know how many years ago, I signed off on the show, and it seemed to stick. Where did that come from? Me, I honestly, I think I remember, actually, one of the nights, there was some more things for me to say, but I couldn't get it in in time before the show was going to end, five, four, three, two, one. It just went, Sechrest out! Before we got cut off by the local news.

And I think I just, it stuck. Little did you know, 20 years there. Dudes are yelling to each other. My legacy, right there. Seacrest out. That's it. That's it. That's it. Not so bad. It's not so bad. That's not so bad. I mentioned the production company. Massive success, beginning with Keeping Up with Kardashians. I've heard Kim talk about how instrumental, obviously, you were to it.

Kathy Lee Gifford was involved somewhere at the beginning, talking to Chris. the production company, the idea behind that for you was what kind of stuff did you want to make? Things that I wanted to watch, things that were mainstream and pop culture,

I love popular things. I love pop movies, pop TV, pop music. And when I started the company, that was the lens I and we were looking through. And Chris Jenner wanted to do a show with the family.

we were connected and set up to meet, and we had an incredible meeting, and the rest is still happening. What was the pitch? Just bring cameras in our house? We took cameras to a barbecue that they had in Calabasas one weekend. I remember we didn't have a camera. I bought the camera for the person that worked for me to go up there. It was the first thing we purchased at the company. And Elliot Goldberg went up there, and he shot it for us, and he called me to say, said, you're really going to like the footage. And it was them being them and throwing each other into the pool and loving each other at the end of the day and sitting in their family room and having a moment where they all hug. And it had all of those interesting things, but it also had incredible heart.

And you saw it. And they made a commitment to be very vulnerable and honest from day one. And we've seen that every episode. It's still there. Yeah. Not to be overly grand about it, but in some ways, that changed popular culture that show? I mean, do you think so?

That elevating real people, they become celebrities and some business people and everything else. And sort of something that was aspirational to young people. It certainly made an impact all over the world. I mean, they are so well known, and they've created such remarkable businesses. And, you know, Chris Jenner is one of my dear friends, and I think one of the smartest people on the planet.

And they're also brilliant marketers. I mean, you know, major companies should take a page from their book. Yeah. They're good at what they do. Yeah, no question about it. You mentioned your back and forth when you took the job with Kelly. When they announced your name, I was like, how is he going to do that? Me too.

And I mean that as like just a practical question. What was that decision like for you to hop into morning TV here in New York when you had an awful lot of jobs in L.A.? It was a lot of thinking. and many conversations with Kelly. She and I talked a lot about it, and she really, she explained to me what that show is and how it operates and how it works

and how it's very unique. It is a small family operation, that show. It's not a big staff, like a lot of shows out on the West Coast. It really is a group of people who have been there a long time, and it comes together a lot of times at the last minute, and that's its beauty.

I mean, I watched Kelly for so many, many years and watched how unbelievably brilliant she is and funny she is without a script, without a lot of pre-meetings or any pre-meetings, and it just happens. And I thought, gosh, how am I going to do that? And you get in there, and it just goes. But moving out here was something I really had to think about. And then when, so I made the, I agreed to come out here. And then American Idol at the time wasn't on the air. And then a few weeks later, American Idol went back on the air on Sundays in L.A. So I thought, okay, so Monday I'm in New York

and Sunday I'm in L.A. So it was a lot of overnight travel. I was interested to see you read, you've done almost everything you can do in TV and radio, that this was different and that at the beginning anyway, you were a little nervous about it. Live? Yeah, at Live. Like this wasn't a natural thing necessarily.

It is, I think, the only thing I can relate to live is being on the radio. Radio has a lot of freedom and a lot of fluidity. You know, the first 20 minutes of live with Kelly and Mark or live with Kelly and Ryan, that, we don't know where we're going. And at times you can probably tell.

But it's the magic of it. It makes it so much fun. And you can get in there and talk, I could get in there and talk about, you know, this day with you for 22 minutes. And hopefully people don't tune out. But the freedom really taught me a lot. But yeah, I was nervous because I wanted to deliver. I wanted the audience to be happy I was there. And I wanted to do great for Kelly, too.

I love that Reg told you, you got to go out at night. You got to get stories. You got to go, you got to go do stuff. I mean, I'm thinking, it became a running gag on the show that I would go out at night, but it was 4.30. I would have dinner. I'd be at every restaurant here waiting for them to unlock the door so I could be the first-seated and get out of there by five. You're talking my language. Morning TV people.

Right. Because they scare you off with, yeah, we have a table at five. We'll take it. We'll take it. They think you're not going to want it. I'm like, the problem is on Saturday when you want to go with your friends and you invite them at 4.30, they don't want to go. They're like, we're not, no, we're not doing that. It does limit your social circle just a little bit. We've got to talk about wheel. I'm so excited. How did that come about? We heard

Pat Sejack was retiring. Everyone wondered who's it going to be, who's it going to be. We heard your name. We said, of course, it's Ryan. Well, wheel of fortune is something that so many of us in this country have grown up with, spent every evening with. It's a part of our. It's a part of our family, our tradition, our habits every single night, I was saying to you that, you know, that show on the air makes me feel like the world's going to be okay. And when I would watch that show and anything was going on in the news, real of fortune's on, you know, there's going to be a tomorrow. It's going to be all right. It's just one of those incredible franchises that when I worked for Merv, I remember him telling me he created it based off of Hangman, you know,

that simple game that we all grew up playing in grade school. And, I think it stands the test of time because it is simple and it is something people play along. And Pat Sajak is an icon in this business and he's made it so comfortable for everybody to watch it. You feel like you know him. You feel like you know Vanna. You feel like you want to be there on that set with them. So I am like a kid so excited about just being, seeing the set, you know, to walk out on that set. If I weren't hosting the show, I'd still want to go see the set and watch them do the show.

It is because of all the things you said, because it has such a place in our culture and it does, it's comfort food. It seems to me you don't want to change too much about it, right? No, the game works. All you want to do is walk in and say, good evening, grab your devices, and here's the first puzzle. That's it. Solve by a vow, or spin, what do you want to do? So do you have any plans yet? I know it's still a year or so way.

but what your version of the show will be? My version will be the version that is. I think that I will, I'll walk out there and just be so excited to see people take home $10,000, $30,000 a new car every single night. But it really is. When I think of the jobs that I have or have had, every single one feels like the dream job.

This does too. This is like, I really can't believe it. One thing I've noticed about it, shows like that. You watch it at home and you go for the host, oh, that looks easy. And then you get in there and you go, oh, wait a minute, I've got to know how many T's there are. Like, there are some mechanics to that show. I don't want to get you panicked a year out. There are four S's. How do you know that? So fast. I mean, this is what I'm thinking about every night. Yeah. Look, with a game show, you've got to know the rules and my mind stay out of the way and let the contestants win as much as they can and play the games. And people love to watch. the puzzles. How important is it to you that Vanna be back for your version of the show? I think it's extremely important. I am a huge Vanna White fan. We've known each other for a very long time. I've spoken to her. When I signed on, I called her and said, I very much look forward to being on that set with you. And so I think that to have Vana on the show is extremely

important. And people absolutely love Vanna White. You feel confident it'll happen? I do, but I'm not making the decision. I hope so. I think everybody hopes so in the end. I think a nation hope so, right? Yeah, yeah. I mean, you just talked about it. Let's go back down the list.

The people you looked up to as that 10-year-old 14, 16-year-old kid in Georgia, whether it's Casey Kaysam or Rick Dehees or Dick Clark or Merv Griffin, you've either inherited their jobs and their shows. You've worked with them. Do you still have pinch-me moments when you think about the 10-year-old kid buying the headset at Radio Shack for everything you've done? I do. I think about the moment where I met all of those people.

I think of that as a highlight of my life. I think about the moment where I first got to sit with Dick in a meeting and ask for advice and guidance before I was working with him. I think of the late Merv Griffin and sitting with him where he would give me advice and guidance on how to build a career in this business and now being able to step in and host this great show he created. I do think about all that. And I'm very, very grateful.

for it. And I really do appreciate each one of those roles and hope I'm good at them. You are. I hope I'm good tomorrow. No questions. The reason you've been doing it as long as you have. We were both lamenting a little while ago. We're approaching a birthday, both of us. We are. We were discussing how we used to be the young guys. And I think in this moment, a few minutes we realize that's over. That's over just now. Yeah, we just realized that. So as you turn the corner toward that birthday, what else is out there? I mean, you've done so much from the time you left the University of Georgia and went to L.A. to now, surely, knowing you and knowing the way your mind works, there's a whole bunch of other stuff out there. I think in terms of broadcast

and work, I'm doing what I love to do. This new opportunity is going to be something I'm fully focused on. The other passions of mine that love are foods and learning how to make wine and I have an olive orchard. I was going to ask you about that. So that's a whole food and traveler is such a passion of mine. I'm not a trained cook, but I love to cook. I have just started making my own olive oil, extra virgin olive oil. I've been studying how to make wine, but I'm sure I'll never be good at it. But those things are fun for me. Does that come from travel and you say, boy, that's delicious. I wonder how you do something like that. I think, I remember when I was a baby DJ starting out, when I got, you know, overtime for working a hot.

holiday, I couldn't wait to go out and spend that on dinner. That's what I wanted to do. I wanted to go out for, I wanted to, you know, be an adult and go out for dinner. And I still think that way. It's like, you know, when I do have some time off, what cool place can we go to? Where can we taste some really local foods? And so, those are the types of things. Someday, I don't know, maybe a cooking show or an eating show. Those can be one and the same. Yeah. Like a Stanley Toot-Chay situation. That's the one you want. So are we saying? So are we saying? selling wine or this is something that may be coming down the road? So I have, I do have grapes and I'm working on that now. I think it may come down the road. I think it may happen at some point, but just for fun and love and hobby. So that's the business side. What about personally?

What do you want out of the next chapter in your life? I think, you know, a little more balanced personally probably, right, to focus on personal relationships in my life. I've had to say no to weddings and birthdays and all kinds of things because of my schedule. I haven't had to, but I have. Because I have a difficult time saying no, right? It's like, yes, I'll be there. Yes, I want to do it.

Please let me have this opportunity. So I think I'll probably take a beat and focus on that a little bit more. You slowing down doesn't seem like it's going to happen. But we'll hope for the best. About 7 o'clock tonight, I'm going to take it slow. After your 430 dinner. Right. Congratulations on opening the new Sechrest Studios.

Thank you. They're just extraordinary. People should look them up, see what they do. It's just awesome. So I applaud you for doing with your platform what you do every day. It's great to see you, man. Thank you. Now you're going to be a guest on my show? Yeah, let's flip. Okay, great. Nice, buddy. Just as our interview was ending, Seacrest got word that Vanna had agreed to return to Weal for his inaugural season next year. So, Ryan, even as we've been sitting here, a little knock on the window here, news. that Vanna White will be back on your version of Wheel of Fortune. This is such great news. I'm glad the timing worked out perfectly in this moment.

But yes, Vanna has been such a staple on that show and in our living rooms for so many years. I have been very excited to work with her. But now that it's official, I can say, congratulations, Vanna. I can't wait. And congratulations on their 41st season. You know, Vena and Pat will have this season together. And then she and I were going to a chance to work together. It's big news.

How important do you think it is to have her on this show? It's super important to have Anna White on Wheel of Fortune. She's beloved by this country and by the viewers. And I can't even imagine standing next to her on that set being able to say, okay, let's get to it. It's great news. I'm very, very happy to hear it and very happy I'll get to work with her. And also probably nice for the new guy to have somebody who's been there a while. Yeah, who I can say, how does this work?

Where do we go now? What's next? Okay. Got it. And just a little luck to her probably centers you a little bit. Yeah. She can definitely, please tell me what to do. Stick around for more of my conversation with Ryan Seacrest right after a quick break. Welcome back now to the rest of my conversation with Ryan Seacrest. It's Calliucci's 102.7, Kiss FM Los Angeles, Ryan Seacrest with you. thanks for having us on

we are going to bring in a deeper voice than mine Willie Geist is with us Is it deeper? Yeah I have to put I have to turn your mic on Tubbs well done Tubbs we have a national broadcast star in here Tubbs and you didn't turn his microphone on Willie Geist from Sunday today with Willie Geist

Morning Joe MSNBC Today meet the press more shows more shows than one person should have I think we've made up half of those that's okay It sounds good on the introduction But you have serious jobs Like you have, you actually have to, we don't. We will talk about things that, well, people don't have to know.

Do that. I just interviewed you for my show. We're getting as much content out of this day as we can. So here we are. And listening to you list your jobs exhausted me, to be honest. I mean, I do, so I do morning Joe every day during the week. That's a 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. show. That's four hours. It's early.

You wake up at 4. And then I have the Sunday show, which is one hour, but it's a lift. You know how it is. You can produce it right and do all that stuff. But I'm not, I'm not a, quarter of the way to Seacrest Town. Question. Tom, can I, can the room sound less hollow on his microphone while we're here?

Can you, can you, is there one extra? Yeah, I think you're on a different mic. Just, right, Mark? Let me hear you, Willie. One, two, three, four, five. Okay, we solve that problem. There we go. So, but when you have interviewed interesting people on your Sunday show,

does anybody stand out? Like somebody that you were so excited to talk to you? Because we get kind of giddy about certain people to come through. We do, we do. I think on some level you kind of get used to the experience of sitting down with someone famous once in a while, as you do too. But then there are moments. For me, the first one I can remember, we're still scrappy trying to get our show off the ground on the weekend on Sunday. And Bill Murray agreed to do our Sunday sit-down, which is our long eight, 10-minute profile, which is you this week, by the way.

Oh, yeah. Cicini and Tanya, look out. You can watch. Oh, yeah. You can hear me talk about stuff. You were excellent, by the way. Oh, thanks. I want to be.

Our producers are nodding. Ryan Secrets was excellent. He knows what he's doing. So Bill Murray, for people who don't realize, has a 1-800 number. He has no publicist, no manager, no nothing. Really? It's like from the 80s. You call this 1-800 number.

You leave a message. And if he wants to call you back, he will. Usually he doesn't. For interviews. For interviews. Hi, this is Brittany from Sunday. Today we'd like to interview for the show. Yeah.

Usually doesn't call you back. He didn't call us back, did not. Then he showed up on the Today Show to do a live interview with Savannah. and in the green room he said, hey, by the way, I want to do that Willie Geist show. And they went, okay, can we just do it right after this? And they're like, well, no, we have to get the crew and a location. He goes, all right, I'm here tomorrow,

have him come to the hotel at 10 o'clock tomorrow morning. There's a bar on the roof of the hotel. Let's do it there. Okay, scramble the jets. Next morning, I go up to the roof of his hotel, 10 o'clock in the morning. Elevator doors open. Bill Murray steps off wearing like a fleece zip up,

green corduroy pants, old new balance shoes. sits in the chair and literally ask anything you want. Stories of the parties at SNL in the 70s. You know, Caddyshack, Ghostbusters, all that stuff. And he was there for it. So that was a big moment for me because I love the guy and look up to him, but also for our show because he sort of stamped and validated it. And then all of a sudden, other publicists look at that, said,

oh, you have Bill Murray on the show. David Letterman's available. Jerry Seinfeld would like to do it. And so that was a huge moment for us on Sunday. It would be a slow week for you Sunday with me on it. But thank you very much. No, come on. Can we play match game?

Let's do something fun with Willie since he's here. So we bring back all these old games and play on the air. This is match game, right? All right. So here is how it's going to work. We'll give you a phrase, you know, with the blank in it. Our panel here, Is this a need, Tanya? Who's going to be on it?

Hi, guys. All right. Everybody is going to be on the panel and we'll see if we can get a match. Okay, so you will, Mark, is he going to write it down? Is that the plan? Oh. Okay, great. So give it to me.

Give me Willie's, uh, give me his entry. Okay, so good, think about this. Don't say that out loud. Good blank. Good blank. All right, what's the panel going to come up with? Panel write down your answers. Good blank.

Willie Geist right now playing the match game on the air. Okay, Willie, what do you say? Good what? Goodbye. Goodbye, he said. Looking for goodbye. Goodbye. Goodbye.

We need goodbye. Okay, now you can tell by Tanya's face that she must have said goodbye because she's so excited about it and that gives it away. All right, Cisini, good. Good job. Thank you. Tanya, good. Oh, that makes more sense. Good morning, Joe.

Okay, let's see. Ruby. Good morning. Well, nobody got that. That one's on me, guys. Let's play one more time. Come on, here we go. One more mark. Willie guys playing match game.

This is what you live for, Willie. Thank you very much for coming in to do this. Okay. Here we go. Okay. New. new blank will he think about that panel write down your answers new blank what's it going to be new all right he's got it ready is it balance because of his shoes new balance is not you ready for it yeah right new york new york well then clearly cissony you give it away you don't have new year what do you guys

cissy oh no new balance you just told the story of the shoes you guys have better answers than i do Come on. We were just thinking about the groundbreaking interview in the new balance shoes. Tanya. Of course. New. Oh.

Wow. Is that a suggestion? Yeah. For me? Can we make a note for therapy segment? Tanya's on the couch. We'll talk offline, Tanya. Ruby.

New York! Ruby! Oh my gosh. Congratulations. We have nothing to give you, but a farewell. Hey, you're good at hosting game shows. You should try something else. I'm practicing.

I'm running. I'm cutting through it now. Willie, great to see you. Thank you so much for coming, everybody. Good, see you, Ryan. All right, thanks. Thanks, pal. Tune in Sunday today with Willie Geis for something really special.

We'll come back here, 102.7, Kiss FM, Nott's tickets, and Ryan's roses on deck. Don't move. That is next. Dude, you're a machine. Thanks, guys. My thanks again to Ryan for a great conversation and the great news about Vano White coming back to his version of Wheel of Fortune, which you can see next year. My thanks to all of you for listening. If you want to hear more of these conversations with my guests every week, be sure to click follow so you never miss an episode.

And don't forget to tune in to Sunday today every weekend on NBC. I'm Willie Geist. We'll see you right back here next week on the Sunday Sit Down podcast.