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Spalding Gray's L. A. Adventures.

Autobiographical monologist Spalding Gray. Gray is best known for his monologue "Swimming to Cambodia," about his experiences during the filming of the movie "The Killing Fields." "Swimming to Cambodia" was produced as a film last year, and Gray appeared in the David Byrne film "True Stories," as well as a recent installment of the PBS comedy series "Trying Times." Gray is wrapping up a 10-month residency at the Mark Tapper Forum in Los Angeles where he worked on several new monologues.

09:51
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Other segments from the episode on January 28, 1988

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, January 28, 1988: Interview with Miriam Makeba; Review of Kool Moe Dee's album "How Ya Like Me Now?"; Interview with Spalding Gray; Review of the film "The Dead."
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28:14

Miriam Makeba's Life and Career.

Exiled South African singer Miriam Makeba. At 20, she became the lead vocalist for a top South African band. And when her performances brought her international acclaim, she used her forum to speak out against Apartheid. She was subsequently banned from her native country, and then later from America for her marriage to the radical Stokely Carmichael. For the past 20 years, she's toured with her mentor, singer Harry Belafonte, and last year she toured with Paul Simon's Graceland Tour.

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21:36

Spalding Gray Discusses His Latest Monologue.

Monologist, actor and writer Spalding Gray. His newest work is "Morning, Noon, and Night" (Fararr, Straus, and Giroux) about being a father and raising a family. Gray's monologues include, "Monster in a Box" about all the distractions that prevented him from completing his novel, "Impossible Vacation," and "Swimming to Cambodia" about filming a movie in Cambodia. His monologue and book "Gray's Anatomy" was about his eye problems, and his adventures in the mainstream and alternative health care industries.

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45:25

Monologuist Spalding Gray on a Slippery Slope

Since 1979, Gray has been performing monologues about his life and anxieties before audiences. "Swimming to Cambodia" was about the Vietnam war and his acting part in the film "The Killing Fields," "Monster in a Box" was about writing/vacation and Hollywood, and "Gray's Anatomy" was about an eye ailment. His latest is considered his most confessional, "It's a Slippery Slope" about marriage and learning to ski.

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16:45

Spalding Learns to Ski

An excerpt from the next edition of "This American Life" from WBEZ: a performance excerpt from monologist, actor and writer Spalding Gray. His latest show "It's a Slippery Slope" opens this Sunday at New York's Lincoln Center Theater. This excerpt was recorded at Chicago's Goodman Theater.

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