Speaks to the Plannet.
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Hey guys, welcome to another episode of Eating While Broke. I'm your host, Coleen Went and today we have very very special guests. Berger is in the building and I keep having I think I'm so focused on your voiceover talents that I'm like starting to funel my words because I really want to hear rhyme from Pokemon on the mic.
Oh please, stuff, now listen. You gotta just think within yourself, be yourself, be Judy yourself, baby girl.
I love this. What can you do? More voiceovers too? Since I have you, I'm gonna take you.
I do this.
I was like, if a singer is sitting here, I'm like, you gonna sing me my one on one concert right now.
I'm enjoy this, enjoy well. First of all, let me tell you something you don't know me. So we got a little missus Pancakes. Wow, I'm Ricky Morty. Wow. And then there's there's just always my bubby, my Jewish bubby from Brooklyn. Will forget about that. Now Ruthy Burger is in the building and she's gonna be She's gonna stay,
so don't start with her. Wow. Ever, there's just so many of this beautiful, just so many characters, and there's always there's always a cerebro from X Men, which welcome professor.
Oh my gosh. So, just so you guys know, you are the first black female actress in the Pokemon series Guys that is coming out on Netflix right now, is on Netflix. You can ask them right now.
She's and I want to say something even more. I mean, I'm the first female black queer gym leader and trainer. Now my character, I'm not going to classify her as queer, but I will classify her as the first female black trainer and gym leader.
Wow.
So that that's that's a big deal. And for it to happen on Black History Months, I mean, yeah, this is incredible. And she dropped on my birthday on February seventh, So oh, you're a catch. You down come to you that? OK, it's just an honor. It's an honor, and you know, you always just want to reach one other sister, one little girl that's talking into her hairbrush like I was my entire life.
I'm like, I know we're supposed to get into the dish, but I'm really curious. So I'm gonna go ahead, just get into a guy early. But this interview is gonna be a little backwards, but I'm just curious. So, like, you get the roles, how does it work?
Are you?
Do you have your own recording studio at home or do you have to go into studios?
Have cur okay? Well, things changed with the pandemic. People started having their own studios and recording that way. But this was something that I went into the studio and I did the audition from home, but then the job happened in studio. I do a lot of my auditions from home, but I've also been a working voice of for actor for thirty six years.
I think that's amazing. And then you've never did you have to ride the bus of the roller coaster from hell in the industry because you've had a long career. Is it like they just go call Malik on this, Malik will handle it?
Alike, will do it?
Or do you still have to pay your dues even though you have such a long resume.
My dues are very interesting. We'll say I have always paid dues. But my mother, God rest her soul, Myra Berger, was a very big commercial agent and on camera commercial agent, and before that she was a theater producer. So I'm born and raised in this business. I have been working since I was three, starting with Russian ballet. I got my first acting scholarship at five from the Alphan Theatrical
Ensemble so I've been working by disciplined. Yes, by seven, I was playing the flute with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and James Galway. I started studying Shakespeare at nine and ten.
You're making my daughter look very lazy.
Right, She's not lazy.
I didn't even get her to brother, let alone audition and memorize. Well, lower was your mom? Your mom hasn't been strict. I'm just trying to imagine, because I'm telling you right now my daughter tap dances all over me.
Well, well, my kids are also, hopefully they're more wildly talented than I'll ever be. I got two lyricists that are giving you their drop of knowledge that I'm like, they listened, Wow, I listened, Oh my god.
But to start at three, four or five, seven and a half, all these responsibilities, I would imagine your home life was very strict or not at all.
My mom was a bohemian. I lived in a theater. That's how it started. My mom was a theater producer. My mom and my antiguin they were just like there were art people and my mom being you know, this cool Jewish check from Brooklyn. Before I came around, she was very much into the black theater scene in the early sixties, mid sixties here in Hollywood. She my family moved here from Brooklyn in the mid sixties. My mom's older brother, Shelly Berger, was as one of his I
guess still was, Well he is. He's the Temptations manager. So he was in business with mister Hardy and he was one of the vice presidents of Motown Wow. And he had already moved to California, and my family decided to follow him.
Oh wow with it.
Yeah they did. And so my mom found out they were moving to California and she was always just drawn too.
And how old were you when you had to move?
I wasn't I wasn't here yet.
Oh you weren't here. Oh so you're not a Brooklyn girl. You're a Calli girl. You want to raise for household damn. But you got to accident down good? Yeah, that accident down good. That was totally believed that.
Okay, No, I'm not Brooklyn, I am La. I'm West Hollywood.
That's how you know your voiceover work is platinum status because I was like, you do that voice great sang? Okay, so you're gonna take me into what you're eating when you're broke. What are you gonna have me eating today?
Okay, so I will tell you the broke situation.
Good.
My mother was and is and will always be my life, my mentor, my everything because it was just my mom and I. When my mom decided to marry my dad, who was black and God rest his soul, also, she went to my Jewish grandparents and said, the night before mel and I are going to get married, and we'd very much like you to come to city Hall tomorrow. My Jewish grandparents said, we understand what we're going to do. Please call us when you're done, and do not have any children.
I believe that as a Jewish and black child, I believe that I've been there. Okay, so totally relatable. See, we're gonna be best.
I told you, I told you, I told you so. When this happened, she was just owned by my grandparents. And even though my uncle could you know he was doing what he was doing, and that was cool because he's a man, but this was their daughter.
So wait, your uncle was doing because he was because temptations and all that.
Yeah, it still does. God bless them.
Yeah.
Yeah, so it's not It wasn't a broke thing. It was an away thing, and you know, my mom and dad did what they did. It worked as much as it worked. But by nineteen months it was done. And she called my uncle Shelly, and he got us home. And there are a lot of issues with my mom and my dad, but they made sure to tell me you were made out of love, and I was love that and that was And I never saw my dad again. They got divorced. I never saw him again. So my mother, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever again?
How old were you?
I was nineteen months most half? I guess, yeah, do you even remember that?
None?
I have no recollection of any of it.
But do you have like pictures or something?
I have a picture. I have a picture. So it's very interesting to not know that entire side.
Oh so you don't know the whole entire side. No, oh, we got stuff, We got stuff.
Relate O. Okay, we really do. So you will now tell you about Jewish spaghetti and Jewish hampergos. So this is arrested.
I'm going to backtrack. So were they when they were together and she got disowned for the time that she got disowned, were you guys struggling? Did she share that? Were they struggling together during that period.
The struggle was my my father was a huge which she didn't know. He was a drug addict and a huge alcoholic. And it's really funny. She met him at Bonnie's Beanery. I'm Santa Monica in Los Angle and he walked up to her and he said, hey, you want to be my old lady, and she said yes, and that's how that happened. Okay, So, yeah, there was some problem she didn't know about.
Okay, Okay, Okay, that's a that's a lot to handle.
That's that happens.
Yeah, I feel like I'm so invasive.
No please show I'm ready. Okay, there's no shame.
Okay, tell me this story. My new friend Malik, So you know that she.
Moved to Baldwin Hills, she had her baby and up there was a lot of alcoholism and a lot of drug abuse in that situation, you know, and she took it. She took it because my mom's a G. She's a G. And again, she was really into the theater scene. So and it was absolutely it was black a blaxploitation time when she was hanging with like dope black actors at that time. Arnold Williams was one of them. Ron Rich
was another one of them. She also, come to find out later in life, was dear close with her true prior. And that's another story because we'll get into she's my relationship Raine Pryor, who is my sister. Okay, and that's where fried Chicken Unlacus comes in. But that's that's that. That's another story which we will talk about too. Good. So this recipe that we're going to talk about about our George spaghetti and hamburgers. It wasn't that that we were broke. We were well. It was we were broke.
We were broke because we were alone because we didn't get that money anymore from my grandparents. They didn't know me.
Yeah.
But when we came back and my uncle Shelly did come and basically rescue us from a situation. He called my grandparents and he said, you better get up here and meet your granddaughter. Oh that one got emotional for you.
Yeah good, I want to see you cry before me. Okay, sorry because I cried with the Okay, so.
Sorry, you go. And I will forever be grateful for him to bring me home. I had to bring my mom home and to keep us safe and I'll tell you when Jack and Ruth Berger saw their grand baby, they gave me the most beautiful life and my Jewish Jewish education, and they threw me to the arms of the rabbi and I am very proud. Drew.
I love that. So there was that, Yeah, so my grandma's So they embraced you. It just.
Was I was a baby girl.
Did they ever talk about not trying to be negative? But did they ever at some point bring up the biracial part of denied it? They denied it.
I was so light skinned. They just didn't talk about it until I talked about.
It, and then you started getting more vocal with it.
I got very vocal with it. I'm super vocal with it. In nineteen eighty nine, I was a big dancer still and I went to a club called Water the Bush and met Africa Islam and got very indoctrinated into the zulination. I actually was the second name Zulu Queen in Los Angeles. Hip hop and graffiti are a big part of my life, and that was it. That was my thing, and I was very proud. I still am proud to anybody who's listening, and that I talked about it. A lot, and I
think by the air of young you poor. One year, I was going to see the minister Farrakhon speak and my mother called my grandfather and she was like, Daddy, like she's gonna go and she's gonna hear fharicn. And my grandfather said, my you have to let it do what she's gonna do, because one day she's going to have to pick. And then my cousin Nicole was like, Papa, you can't make her pick.
Yeah, she's everything. Yeah, but did you feel a lot of pressure growing up like you had to pick? So because it eventually becomes like this prevailing like thing culturally right, because are the blacks really accepting you? And are the Jews? Definitely? Are the whites accepting you?
Well, I went to Hebrew school for a long time, so I'll tell you there's a lot of are you adopted? Did you convert? And Jewel?
Well, if your mom is Jeelle.
That's the thing though in different spaces, and I talked to rain about this all the time. You are asked if you converted, and we're to the place where no, we did not convert, And why are we being asked that if our mother's are Jew? Why are you asking me this? Now? We've risen above that and there's so many more black Jews now, which really leads me to the ninth birthday I had at Flipper's roller boogie ballas
I saw Rain. She was skating there and I was nine and I saw this girl that looked like me, and I skated right up to her and I said, you have to come to my birthday party. And she was like, when is it? And I said, it's right now, because I never saw another person that resembled me, and it wound up being Rain and Rain and I have been together ever since, and we didn't know who we were, that our parents knew each other. And we forged through this together because we thought we were the only two
black Jews in the world at that point. And we have gone through it together. So she's mine. There's the other tier, she's the other foot, you know. And we did it and we had no idea that our folks even knew each other. And that's pretty did and then yeah, and so I'm the fast one and she's the one that got the straighted.
You did mention though it was your mom that called your dad that was concerned about the you showing up to the Fara con.
No, it was my mom that called my grandfather.
It was your mom calling your grandfather.
She was with my dad.
No, I met your mother calling your grandfather. So she was concerned about it too though.
Because she thought that I would turn my back on the Jewish community. And she didn't know. There was never a dad.
There was my papa, I met your I met your grandfather.
Yeah, but I will tell you there never was a dad.
Yeah.
My grandfather was the the patriarch, and that was the everything, and that's who sent me to Hebrew School. And you know, so I went through a lot. So I went through a lot there, but my Jewish identity is everything to me and sisters, I'll tell you, I've had some some renans. I've had some rennans, especially dancing back dancing Russian ballet. That was a lot too, you know, And it was a lot on camera because you can't be funny and curvy, I mean eighty one, eighty two, eighty three, eighty five.
It was like, you're too funny to be curvy, and you're too light to be connected with another family. So you either need to get really really fat or lose all all of everything to get a job. Wo you know, a different world was where we went here in La to like it was the stable, like here's your pink and green sweatshirt, and here's your special business. And it just turned into something that got very sad. It was sad. Maybe coming on voiceover artists was a fluke. It was
an accident. Oh, it was an accident.
It is so it is almost lunch stiff and we're gonna be eating. So what do you was sorry to derail you one hundred times about eating.
We are eating Jewish spaghetti and hamburgers, which was my It was my grandma Ruth, My bubby roots was the recipe. So this is the recipe that you could do it two ways. If you had a little extra money, you could make it with salmon croquettes. If you were ball and on a budget, you could do it with hamburger. We're going to do it with turkey, Yes, tonight, accommodate
with turkey. We're going to do some accommodations. And the reason we call it Jewish spaghetti is there's no olive oil, there's no garlic.
Got it?
Got it?
Also, I should remove the garlic powder that is.
Fine, don't worm about gard but it is basically butter instead of oils, onions instead of garlic, and it's a it's quick and simple, large can of tomato sauce, tomato paste, a lot of love. And what I did motsa meal instead of bread crumbs. And what I did as my son's got older, was we had to get that creolesis and just a little bit to get as of blackness that sounds of blackness.
And then you had the eggs.
The eggs are going to bind our meat. And then it served with our favorite This is like the kool aid of of Jewish grape juice last right, which is non alcoholic. And so we have that and we'll talk about that stuff too. So what do we do? You get to do it?
You down, I'm gonna be the lazy side chip that's like, please don't burn down and ooh that's how you make it. And I'm gonna be eating very good today. So go ahead, start cooking. Here we go, let's get I'm gonna get all up in your business and find out more she up in my business exactly, all right, all right, go ahead, start cooking, cooking.
Okay, So I'm going to start with the.
Share out the way, so chair it's trying to like it's because it's.
This is not the big d it. Okay, here we go. I'm gonna start with my of my onions just this.
Oh no it's not on Okay, so that the right one. Tell you a joke. I can't do it on the spot like that. But while you're heating the oven, well, actually you could. Just most of our audience are listeners and they're not able to watch the episodes, so you could go ahead and start telling us how to make the dish.
Knife.
She needs a knife. You know. We kept just so you guys know, we kept going Malik, I'm missing anything and within.
Ten seconds missing knife. Okay, well then I will tell you listeners. Butter in the burger household is basically it's everything.
That's how you know if someone could cook good by the way, if they use butter. I go through just so you know about twelve sticks a butter a week.
I love you for that, really, I love you for that.
People always ask like, what's so good about it? I'm like, butter, real butter, and it's not a.
Bit of salted. It has to be salted. I don't care if you say and don't use unsalted better butter.
I saw we had Chris Spencer on the show and he said something I never heard someone say. He said, unsalted butter is just like using macoline, Like what are you doing? And I was like, oh my god, that was so brilliant.
That is good and pick up just Chris Spencer. My mom was Chris Spencer's agent. So what Chris Spencer. Everyone knows spaky. It's laky. What's that? You know? Funny thing about butter? People are so scared of it. Please don't be scared of but it.
Butter.
It's a fine thing. Butter is a fine thing. So there's that. So I'll tell you some more. Then I'll give you some more of the story. My mom suddenly passed away in twenty six, twenty thirteen. My mom found out that she contracted hepatitis se from my dad because he was an intravenous drug user. And in ninety nine I got sober because I had some really bad issues with drugs and alcohol and it was something that needed to happen. Now, God spared me because I happened to
believe in God that I don't push it on anybody. Else. But that's just who I am. I'm a child of God, and that's why I'm still alive because the things I've done in my life, you would I'm walking miracle straight up. And I got sober, and my deal was because it was just me and my mom, who was my agent, my manager, my life force.
I mean, my mom and.
I got sober. But the outclause was if anything God forbid were to happen to her, I was going out. I had been married to my kid's dad. I'm also queer. He knew that's the deal.
From one day to dude, just know you told him up front.
Any guy I dated son, if you're watching, I didn't know because you do.
Oh well, so he knew. I gotta get I'm curious. Okay someone wait wait, so he knew any signed up? And what was the arrangement? Like you could tolerate?
Absolutely? Absolutely, okay, absolutely, that's just how it is.
And he was cool with it, of course, very because I mean, that's not a bad deal too.
Listen, well, you know I separate my poisons. You don't have anything to do with what I do on my day.
What if he says, though, did it open him up to say, well, can I opt for extras.
To you know what? That was? Even he was a musician, so when he was on the road or whatnot, that doesn't have anything to do with me. I'm a lot of what you do does not anything to do with me.
Okay, o.
Business.
As I get older, I'm starting to get there. I'm starting to be like, I'm going to do myself. Yeah, I know who I am.
So there's that. And what it is is what it is, what it is, what it is, you know what I'm saying. So I say that because there was a reason I was saying that.
So wait, wait, if you were if you are queer, sorry, but you married a man? What what what was your intention to marry him? Were you just in love or something?
I fell in love. I fell in love. And that goes back to the sobriety because I met one of my first sponsors was black and Jewish and I'm also a singer. So she said, okay, I'm gonna take you to this church because they need singers. And I walked into this little we went into it. It was like an alley in Englewood. It was a garage and so funny, and you know, I'm in my Fred Siegel's Best. If
you don't know Fred Siegel, everybody it was. It was terribly expensive clothing still and Lauros and I had just turned thirty. It was like two weeks in the thirty and I walked in. This brother was warming up his sacks, and I was dressed terribly inappropriately to go to church. Of course, because you know me, you already know me, and I can.
I'm visiting it.
I'm fierced. And you know I met I met Damon Renti, and he was the original saxophonist of Atlantic Star and de Barge and this and that and this and that. I'm putting my hand in here right now.
I was just more concerned that she is not even used in the Little Spring.
You gotta feel it. You gotta feel. You have to your onions, you gotta feel your salt. You what's going on?
Very fancy.
She's a fancy last, She's a fantasy live.
I've never in my life cooked and did that whole spriggle thing, but I think I'm going to steal that sprinkle on.
You gotta get your sprinkled and teach my daughter how to do this, just even if you don't know how to cook. Just do it. Do that.
So you walk into the walk into the.
Church and and it's on because he's warming up his sacks, and like, oh, that's what I'm going to marry. Also without having a dad. You know, I knew that this was He's fifteen years my senior, and I wanted to have children, and I said, oh, this is going to be safe. And I needed safety because I had just gotten sober and I knew I didn't want to be who I was any longer. And that's what happened. And we were together for quite some time, and we had
beautiful boys. Lys lyricsis shout out to seventy, shout out to Negro Ku, Kooli Jackson and Julian and we did that. We you know, we did this thing. We made a beautiful album together and we're still. That's one of my best friends. Man, that's that's one of my best friends.
So you meet him, meet.
Ministry two thousand.
Ministry two thousand, and then does Sobriety end up creeping in there?
Nope, stayed Sobriety stayed good. But him and my mom were like oil and water.
Okay, there was that because.
First of all, my mom was tough from Brooklyn five feet tall.
Wait it was he he's black? Yes, okay, okay, got.
It, got it. And but we all lived together because my mom had just what does it call when you leave your job because you retire?
That's it?
Okay, And you don't separate me from my mom.
Yeah, you just don't package steel.
We're a package steel. But all in all, oh, pepper, pepper gone. All in all, we had two beautiful babies. And I say that because in this he did support my sobriety so much and I was able to stay sober. But when we had started parting our ways, I did find out that my mom was very sick, and it happened very quickly. My mom had gout and after we separated, they had given my mom a medication that woke up the pepsi and within three years my mom was gone.
Wow.
So I didn't have the upbringing as many folks do. When you're in my industry. This is what you do with your money, this is how my mom handled everything. And even in marriage, my mom still handled all of my because she was my ancient and a manager, my business manager.
So and were you and your husband at the time doing really well?
Or we were we were fine, but everything was separate.
Everything was separate.
So she was most definitely So I didn't know how to pay a bill or right. I knew how to write a check, but you know, I didn't know how to take care of myself. And I had my two boys, and you know we lived the life of Riley m Well, that's not realistic. I then found out the hard way, so like when they turned the lights off at the condo that we got, and when I didn't know how to go shopping and I didn't know that you needed like quarters and stuff when you didn't have a washing machine.
The night of my mom's memorial, I just said, well, Fitt, call the dude, and I was out. You know, within minutes of my mom passing, I took, well, you know you're going to call someone when you're gonna start using drinking. So while my mom was dying, I packed it in and gave up fourteen years of sobriety.
Fourteen years, my goodness, fourteen years. You wasn't lying when you said this story was how was that?
Now was that? And at that time I want to say that Jackson and Julian were oh no, oh tomato paste tomato paste, So you want to get the tomato paste into the butter, into the onions first because you want to melt it down. And this is one small can of tomato paste. Yeah, I'm gonna put this here.
Do whatever you want.
Everything, Thank you. Everything's going together and.
This story is so good. Every time you step and now it's agree.
It's just all there, we go, there, we go.
Okay, So you so you had I'm just curious, genuinely, like emotionally, how did you feel on the inside when you like just said goodbye to fourteen years of sobriety because that had to have been a tough pill.
I felt nothing because I lost my mother and I was not prepared and I didn't want to be here anymore because I didn't know how to survive without her, because we didn't have a plan for that. And I was very angry with God and I I didn't know what to do with my babies, and I even asked him to take them. I didn't know what to do. And Jack and Julian are eighteen months apart, an aquarius and a cancer. They are anointed angelic. They're everything good about me. And I did not deserved to be their
mother as far as I was concerned, Tomato sauce. I lost it. I lost it.
So how long were you in the I lost it mode?
Three years? Three years, three years.
You're so strong, it's so powerful right now, it's crazy to imagine that three years.
Yeah, I did some research for three years, and for three years, these young men grew up. These young men.
Grew How old were they at the time, I'm sorry to be.
They were in third So it started third and fifth grade into oh no, no, no, no, it was middle school. They were middle school getting ready like Jack. At the end of it, Jack was just starting high school. You eated his first year ninth grade. I signed him up for ninth grade with a big gulplovodka and in my hand and in uber.
Oh, you were in it.
I was in it. Okay, I was in it. And I was, you know, leaving notes with money for pizza hut and still going to my auditions, you know, still doing my thing, still working.
At this point, who's managing your money while you're in this kind of you're stuck in it.
Yeah, it's just straight thugging.
Did your ex take full Well he wasn't. Really, it doesn't sound like he was saying, full responsibility of the kids.
He did everything he could, like he'd see them on the weekend. But what my ex did, and I you know, God bless him for the rest of every day of this life. He made sure that that rent was paid. There was always a roof over our head. He was doing their laundry, he was picking them up when he could. There's food in the house. And that's when when my friends, you know, we're gathering, you know, they were gathering. They were No one didn't check in on those babies. Those
babies were never alone. But it was those babies that checked in on me. And that's when Jackson and Julian grew up and they saved me, and they checked in on you. Yes they did.
Are you comfortable getting into that, Yes i am.
I'm very very I'm truly blessed that I'm alive to tell you the story. And when that happened, it was like, what were they gonna do? You know, I don't have There weren't many people they could have called. Now the sauce as hopefully you see.
Is it looks good, it looks delicious. I'm hungry.
There we go, there we go. We're going to move over to the Jewish hamburgers.
Now do you want to put this here?
Is that? Okay?
I'm pretty sure if we burned down the house, you and I were doing it together, doing it together. And by the way, I don't have real insurance. Hare shout outs to the mall for not.
Knowing we're gonna you know what, we're actually gonna do tape that we could put the sauce in here. Then okay, okay, great, go back to the story. So they check it on me. But you know it turned. I went to a place where I was this is really you know that, this is real, y'all because I was wearing a gown at pastout time every night, with a full face of makeup. So when they came in and saw me not here any longer, at least they'd have a memory of a beautiful mom oh my gosh, and they could say and
not be scared to say, doesn't mommy look beautiful. I never wanted them to walk in if I wasn't here any longer and be scared. I mean, that's when you've really lost it. Yeah. So I had a spiritual awakening, and since I had so much time and so much ego. I decided that it was time to get clean, and I called a friend and I said, I'm going to DT or detox alone, because I had too much pride to step into a meeting as a newcomer again.
Okay, oh yeah, because you've kind of you've been okay, okay, you know, so you go, you go into detox by yourself.
Myself, I sweated out a dear friend that I'll always love. We don't speak any longer, but she came to the house. She made sure that the boys were okay. You know, I was in the bends. I got through it, I went, I did it, but I was still working as an actor. I knew how to get there, do my job, get out.
Now did other people in the field know that you were struggling with this problem?
Or I asked that really really well one job, not so well? Every everybody else? Well, okay, real well, at least I thought I did. And I was very skinny, and I was a little green, a little of a green haze. And you can laugh now, because tragedy pleus comedy equals sign if it does. Yeah, but I held it together best I could, and thank you so much. And I need a little room. I'm gonna go, and I did.
They're like watching a movie. When I say you ever see a movie and they go to commercial, You're.
Like, fuck stop commercial all.
She put the bowl down, guys, let's put the meat in there. Fast forward. I want to get to the story just like you, guys.
So we're gonna take two eggs right now, full starters, two eggs. And my very best friend said, listen, if you don't get clean, I will leave your life. And you've got to do it for the boys.
But this is after you did detox or before.
Right before she said, if you don't get clean, she took me and my best friend is Welsh, as is my new husband. She said, if you don't get you have a new husband. We'll talk.
Oh my gosh. When I saying I like this story.
I'm like my husband funny enough is trans I'm from Wales, so I got, we got. We got to talk.
When I say, I've never been so curious, we have what forty five minutes we're gonna go all the time. Katie already knows that I feel bad because we have another guest, but we'll figure it out.
A lot of talk about so anyway, if you don't get clean, it's done. I'm out of your life. Matthles, So in here right now, two eggs. We're using turkey for my sister because she's not gonna eat ground beef. And she said, so listen, let's have our last shot at Jamison. Get your ass clean, so then clean detox. Here comes the matzamal again. This is Jewish breadcrumbs. And I had my last shot at Jamison and then I went and detoxed because it wasn't just alcohol, it was
also drugs. My jug of choice is very Rick James. And I'll leave it at that. And I'm glad I would have asked one hell of a drug and and I did it. I went home and I started so in.
My seasoning, and she put the tonys.
I believe Tony's just last.
Tony's last. I'll startry season. I'm paying attention to the story gains.
I'm going to I'm gonna do some onion powder after that.
Just seasoning all the meat.
Guys us name to me.
And she's she's gangster with it because she's not even using the little sprinkle tops.
All that look looks, smell and touch.
Oh there we got the onion.
You know what it looks like, you know what it looks like it's gonna be. And then this is where the garlic comes in at my house. Garlic at my house just a tast a little because you know it's a gas drop. Now what I did, though, I do hear. My father's from New Orleans. We didn't live. We get our our little bit, just our little bit.
Of our Tony's okay.
And then this is when I put the gloves on because I'm on the TV. Okay, you know it's my hand.
Oh yeah, So back to the story. So you go, you go to.
Oh, I don't know the detax. It's in my bed, sweating it out. Oh I thought you said you wish, So I don't go anywhere. I'm having my sheets changed every six hours or so, sweating out GATORID B twelve vitamin C.
And during the whole details, are you like pooping yourself, throwing up and all that? You have to go through all those motions, like you have to go through everything, and then like, is there is there family on site to like get you drinks or just stay and are.
You there's not? There's there's there's main family. There's not family. Family. I don't have a lot of family, family, a and and that's what it was. Okay, it was what it needed to be for me to do it. I don't have anya people around, but I have who I need to have to get me through because I'm in a lot of prayer. I have God, yeah, and a lot a little too much pride. But you know, if I was going to go, I was going to go. Had a couple of conversations with with death. Who to me.
She never scared me. She was never coming with a sickle to take me. I felt when I saw her the three times. And I'm just going to tell everyone this might sound strange, but she's super hot. She has red hair, she looks I she had badass boots on and a hell of a belt buckle.
Milike. I love you, I really think, I genuinely.
Just love you. I love you too. I knew when I saw you so and she you know, she's she stood over the bed a couple of times and she just checked in just to let me know she was there and I didn't have to come. She never put her hand out to me and said let's go. She stood there and let me know I didn't have to come detox is.
Really bad trip.
It's a trip.
So how long do you have to detox for?
It took me about fourteen solid days.
Fourteen days of hanging out with the girl. What's you say? She was worth?
Just badass, a badass belt buckle on bad She was like, hey you she was good, she was good. Made it fourteen days?
What do you so? Then you start your walk?
Officially, I didn't start my walk yet. I waited thirty I waited thirty. But in this time my best friend yet again. Her husband was, I'm just gonna like clean this, you know, when I'm not, I'm gonna use the same pan and nice and hot. Here comes to oil because I'm getting ready to make some little Jewish mebals.
Guys, we're gonna eat good.
We don't eat good, and we're going are we hot orre we We're still hot? Okay, we're gonna put that oil in. And there was a screening for a film that he had just produced, a documentary, and their friend, who had many, many years of sobriety, was that the screening, here's the setup, and I'm in a program and of sobriety. And when there's someone there that that has time. They're sometimes called your eskimo, and your eskimo is who kind of brings you back. Right. So she comes up to me,
a very dear friend and says, so you got some time? Now, how's that? How's that doing? How's that going for you? Thank? Yeah? Here, you haven't gone to any other meetings? How's that gonna worry you? And I'm like, I'm fine, I'm doing great, I'm wonderful, terrific. Well, if you ever want to, you know, you can call me. And my prideful ass waited thirty days. Okay, so I did not have to walk in New Okay.
Was walking anew that tough for my ass? Okay?
Yeah, it was because I still wasn't ready to Now I would. I would never suggest hello, if you're struggling, please just get some help please. And I'm a'm eight year staff now.
Wow, Congress, thank you, Congret, thank you for coming back.
Thank you.
Now we have Rhyme and Pokemon. We had a lot more, but you know, we got a lot. We got a lot to look forward to it and I got a new frame.
But life, that's man.
I would to now learn, you know what, when I got the recipe for a Jewish spaghetti and Jewish meatballs. I was like, Jewish spaghetti, yes, there is jewishballs.
There we go. So I can't say that that like this was like my my jelly, my jelly, you know, sandwich. But it means so much because this was what I could do. This was pretty much all I could bring myself to make because it still smelled like my mam was home who and it was something that my baby's loves, and it was something I knew how to do. So that's what I made.
We're gonna end It's gonna be my new favorite dish.
I hope it is.
So what's the deal with the oil? You have to put a lot and then you put a lot.
Crying meat balls.
I've never made meatballs in my life.
Crazy?
Are they terrible?
People? Hate? They're terrible people. You're gonna hate them. They're gonna hate them.
Use the tight ones. Everyone likes the tight ones.
Make little one.
I always give the big ones.
Make the little ones because they cook faster. And these gloves are really hard and I'm so ready to take them off. Sorry, please take them off.
You could take them off. Just don't touch your hair. I want it's gonna be that awkward, like, hey, you got.
Kill me, they would kill me.
That is your hair naturally curly? Is it like mine?
My hair is like yours?
Okay?
Cool?
I was just curious, all right.
How's my hair not like yours?
I'lly I always gotta ask.
Yeah, yeah, just thick.
Yeah, it's actually.
You're real thick. I'm unbelievable. So that's thank you.
Kimming like, okay, so you're frying these and you're making you do you have to take off your rings? Are you good?
I don't take off my ring? Oh god?
Okay, so okay, so cast me up. Okay. So we went through one hell of a journey with you. Thank you for all the transparency. Now you're going through the detas and everything your career. You're still managing to hold up a really good career and you're making this money, but your ex is still helping out make it short at So is your career like, make it enough to pay for everything? What's going on during that whole period?
Well, I don't know how to. I still don't know how to handle my money.
Though, Okay, So, and then is the addiction sucking up some of that money too?
Oh, the addiction. Well, you know, we all do what we do to survive and try to use our addiction money to just take care of our addiction. So that might mean, you know, I don't know, you might start your own secondary business to keep that afloat. You might I don't know, you might have wait in the car or something so you don't have to worry about you.
You are beyond real.
We might do some of the You might start a pizza delivery service. I mean, I don't know you so oh but no, but actor as actor and nightlife is nightlife. That's what happens to some folks.
So when did you end up learning about how to take care of the bills and stuff?
I was with my agency that I loved, and I again another guide shot by the grace of God. I ran into my agent, Portia Scott, my current agent and business partner. Hi Porscha, I love you so very much, and I had already booked Missus Pancakes on Rick and Morty, and more needed to be going on because again she was the only black female character. You know, I've been these black female iconic characters and nothing was being done
with them. And I loved my agency but the animation department just didn't do what could have been done because I don't think they got it. Portion I had to talk, and I decided to leave my agency and I go over to Portia. Wow, a black agent, a black female agent that had her finger on the pulse. And when that happened, life changed, and we've been together ever since. I created my own acting technique because even before all that happened, I started coaching.
This stuff is popping, but you sound like a pro in a kitchen.
You're good.
You're not even flinching. I'm over here praying.
Girl, Come on now. I created my I started coaching actors. I started coaching animation and commercial a while before that with the casting director and because my mother always said those who can't do teach, and a casting director said, you know, we'd like you to start coaching for us. And I came home, was over. She's like, not you, not you? And I so I started coaching and I realized I was a great director. How could I not
be doing this my whole life? Yeah, And then it turned into this weird cult like people just wanted to keep working with me. And I told my mother I wanted to start a company and call it the Darchy Emingite Company because I'm that girl. And she was like, Malik, your name is Malik Burger. You're gonna make reels. You're gonna call it Burger's Reels. Duh. So I did that and I wound up starting something. She's here, she's here,
she likes you. So so I started Burger's Reels and I became the first black female to produce and direct animation and commercial demos. And then I created my technique, art of the pivot, the art.
Of the pivot.
So when I started reading over your stuff today, I was like, pivot. Oh, this is it. And because I have so much training, and I just took all the Meisner and Stanislavsky and Uda Hagen and everything I've studied and started teaching beyond of the pivot.
So now, how how can people sign up to get those classes and all that?
You could go look me up Malik Berger dot com or Burger's Reels la dot com or is it yeah, okay it is and not do that. That's what I do. Come, but you need you know, this is the thing about voiceover. It doesn't have ship to do with your voice acting. This is acting acting first voice seconds and now so people think you need to make funny voices and blah blah blah, be an actor.
That's now. You were so good because you started as an actor, So you're really an actress with that's it.
Oh, you're an actor and voiceover is the truest form of acting.
Why do you say that because you got you don't have.
A set, you don't have props, you don't have someone you're working with. This is this is the Greek chorus. They had masks on their face.
Baby, wow, this is a thing.
This is this is your mind. So people don't think about that, do that? No, these are my glasses and not their hair. But yeah, that's very important because you know, I hear people all the time they go.
You know, people think that I had to really good for right, and they.
Was, no, honey, take it an acting class.
Because you have to be so many different characters.
Right.
So if it if it's just a voice for for for you have a good voice, that doesn't make sense.
Why are you opening your mouth? What's your moment before? Who are you talking to? Where are you when you're talking to them? What are you talking about? What's the beginning in the middle of the end.
I actually think about that sometimes when I'm watching a movie, like, I'm like, man, they had to really get into that, like mentally, you had to picture yourself there to really pull it off. Right. So when you're recording now, I want to get into the business side. So when you're we're gonna we're gonna call uh, we're gonna call a cut. Damn, guys, can you could just well, I'll help you pause commercial break. She needs to wash her hands. So we're mixing the
spaghetti noodles and the sauce. So take me up to right now where you're at in your life career. Right now, you have a huge hit. Right now, Pokemon, we know successfully you are where you are. I don't think you quite answered the question about who ended up teaching you about how to manage money. I know your agent ended up in the picture, but you didn't tell me.
Like Portia Scott ended up, you know, waking me up and saying, listen, you got too much, you're too good, let's get let's get it together. And I opened my own business and then I felt, you know it truly was my duty to be of service to other actors. So I started directing and coaching, and then I realized I had a huge gift of making demos and teaching the truth. Then I developed the art of the pivot.
Out of the Pivot is also the sister to Porsche's Method, which is method on the mic and the actor's toolkit. And we just have a beautiful, beautiful business teaching other actors and trying to get Like, if you wanted to be a dentist, right and you went to dental school, you'd be able to leave and actually start an office. In this situation, you can't leave a university and have a degree and voiceover. It doesn't exist, and we don't
think that's right. So we're fighting for that. And then I have the most brilliant PR manager with Shannon Shannon Barnes Strategic. We love you, We love you, And now I'm just trying to spread spread the word. Now this is a little small, so what I'm going to do is the old trick. I'm going to take this and I'm gonna do the old I was almost going to do a different recipe for you, which I would have had to have done this and get everything over on
the plate. We're gonna hopefully well do it different when we tape this from my house on our phones. But now you'll see that doesn't have to be pretty. Okay, does not have to be pretty, but at least you're seeing that everything is mixed up, and it's that butter that's going to stick everything together. I like mine saucy, my grandmother. I'm gonna take this other plate my grandmother, and it's had. It's fine, don't worry about it, my grandmother,
and then they liked it. A little dryer may serve you, Madame del And this is just thank you. So again, this not only has no that's another thing. There's no cheese on it, but it's Jewish. It's no, it's not I'm not kosher. It's not kosher. It's funny because I guess I guess you don't worry. We're gonna we're gonna teach you more about your Judaism. But please enjoy, Please enjoy, and tell me what it's like with turkey, because that
sounds really fun to me. So I'm not going to say it was what did you What was it like when you were broke? What I will say, this meal to me signifies what I could do in honor of my mother, and in honor of a time when I wasn't all myself, and now I can make it with a lot more pride. I love that because it's really nice to be alive and around.
Yes, and I'm very happy and thankful that you alive, around and back. Yeah, we're going to try this.
Do it well.
She loves me, I like to the people. Is that the masa meal, the masa oil?
So my new best friend of me here, guys, look at this.
Mhm.
There was the sweet with the salty, right, and then if you the.
Tomato paste makes sense now, right, And then if.
You can get it all in one bite, then you see there's a crunch from the onion. Still oh right, but it's not it's not nasty onion. It's still been.
I really like the onion in it.
Mm hmm.
I really like the onion. And I was trying to give you very little onions. You don't know this, but throughout, like I think you had two onions. I cut up half an onion, and then you came back it was like that's not enough onion.
I was like, oh, ship, what's your thing with onions?
You have to slice them really thin. That's what I think the secret is, you know, when they have the big old chunks, you can't do that.
But did you get a bite with both? Now? Hmm? Did you gotta buy it with both? What do you think? I love it so Jewish spaghetti and.
Jewish spaghetti Sambi balls definitely a good one. I would maybe add some cheese.
You totally can.
I would maybe add some cheese. But I can also see that the paste actually helps for all of you guys that don't try to opt out for the paste. I think the paste helps. Gluid is the paste that's glued. I think it's the paste.
And then there's you know, there's a lot of butter in here because I like it and it tastes good, and that's why they make it.
When you cook all your onions at home, you use butter. You and I it just butter. Let me tell you something, butter me.
You know all that.
Sister, we are sisters.
Oh wait, we didn't in our cutdamn. We have to drink the c yes, the pre hugof in shall my love.
Thank you so much for I mean, these two go together really well.
Like Shamalama Lama lamading.
Real, they really do go together like.
Shoe Bop Showaddy Waddy Hippie Dippy Dip.
From now So I got eating because it's a food show. It's a food show. People actually get irritated by that. But why she's smacking so much the game? It's a food show. You don't listen to eating while broke. I expect to hear some smacking. Now you are stable, I don't imagine what was like a little under I would say I'm God at three. So you're definitely like almost fifty years in the.
Game, fifty two fifty two years ago.
So yeah, I thought, you don't look at it. You don't look at it all.
But it's the scare of dealing nice sleep without Manchester.
And then you wait, you also remarried. We didn't cover that.
Yes, I remarried Jay Robertson from Mertha to Bill. Let's hear it for whales, yay Wales, and just really quick. During the pandemic, it was very easy to start ordering things online. So I ordered a trans man from Whales, Yes, and he showed up at the doorstep and I was like, great, I'll take it.
So transman is.
Female to male, female female to male, and I've got to tell you Jay if you're watching, which you will be. I love you so much, baby, by the love of my life. And thank you.
No, I'm I don't know why.
I don't know why you're covering your mouth like I haven't seen you eat already?
Girl?
To what what you.
And I eating?
Like you feel better? You're cute? I really cute.
You should be because so your ex husband and everybody gets along great?
Sure do they should do?
That was beautiful and I think that's really great for your sons.
It absolutely is.
Absolutely What advice would you give to someone trying to get into this game?
Biggest advice go into the Voice Over Reese Guide. Can I look there? And I really tell you the Voiceover Resource Guide. The BORG is something that you can find online. You can look under NAVA, which is the National Association of Voiceover Artists. Do not fall into a trap where someone is going to offer you something where you spend money to become a star able. I can teach you this in two weeks. No, study your craft and work
with reputable people, people who are in this industry. This is a very easy business to get into and get robbed. Please do not do that. Learn to be an actor this is a craft and it is not going to happen overnight, so please save yourself a heartache. Work with real people.
Yes, and then where can they go to Malik Burger School.
You can check me out at Burger's Reels b E r g e R sreels dot com or go over to Malikburger dot com. You could see what else is going on with me. Please check me out on Pokemon Horizons. I want to say, yeah, season two airing now on Netflix. I am the character rhyme and there's a whole bunch of lot of stuff coming up too, so hopefully I will be seeing you at Como Con soon.
And do you have socials? Are you doing?
I'm on all kinds.
It's just Milie Berger, okay, perfect.
No, just and it's b e r g e R. That's where everybody messes up. M E l i q U E b E r g e R. I'm also this one's best friend, so.
Yeah, you guys, just slide in the d MS. I'll tell you how great she is. But thank you, guys, thank you so much for feeding me and opening up and telling your whole story. And you were write this story. I definitely am like in love, love love, love you. Thank you, you know, and I can't wait to meet the family.
You're meeting everybody, So to me, I just wanted to tell you thank you. I might not have been broke, but I was broken, So.
This was perfect. I think. I think you you really understood the concept of the show. And one thing I tell people, like, if you were middle class, if you were rich, or your family was successful, do not hide your story because the road to success, as you see with Malik, is never straight. It's a roller coaster. Right, Malik went through a lot, she did. She was exposed to success. But even talking about financial, money management, or dealing with traumas and all that, and you know, hanging
out with death. You know, even as fine as she was fine, you know, she can't us with us, you know. So shout outs to you and definitely thank you, and we all can say thank you for keeping it one hundred percent real.
Thank you, Thank you Malik.
Peace out, guys, peace.
Mel blank And he did all these.
Johnny Carson unbelievable day dunk. The question is was he an inspiration for him?
Absolutely?
Oh damn, you should have texted me that one. Why do you think he did.
Over industry. I think that he is the original of you can do anything you set your mind to do, because who took over is a man named Bob Bergen. And Bob Bergen's dream was to be Porky Pig. And this was a young Jewish guy from Middle America that moved out here when he was fifteen years old, and he is now the voice of Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, Bugs, Bunny. And he did it, so talk a little bit about mel blank, what it melt blank? A Jewish guy that got up and made it, made the voices and made
room for us to do it. That's what he did.
He did every Let me just say something right now, we gonna keep keep this edit not the educational dead moment, but keep my dad askn't a really good question in the episode. For more eating while Broke from iHeartRadio and The Black Effects, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite Jos