I Smell Pop Culture: Tori Spelling - podcast episode cover

I Smell Pop Culture: Tori Spelling

Dec 19, 202426 min
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Episode description

You probably know Tori Spelling from Beverly Hills 90210, but when Gilmore Girls references someone in pop culture, they always go a bit deeper than you’d expect!

 

Tori is referenced in A Year in the Life: Summer, with a true life disaster that could only happen to someone like Tori Spelling.

 

We’ll hear how she became Donna Martin and learn how hot those hibachi grills can get on an all-new I Smell Pop Culture

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

Speaker 1

I am all in again.

Speaker 2

Oh, I guess you.

Speaker 1

I Smell Pop Culture with Eastern Allen and I Heart Radio Podcast. How do everybody get in my room? Hey, this is Easton Allen. This is I Smell Pop Culture. I am all In Podcast one eleven productions. I Heart Radio, I Heart Media, I heart Podcast. Thanks for joining us

here today. I saw a thing a long time ago that for Sinatra when he would play at the Rap Pack, sometimes he would start the show like the band would play, and he'd come out on stage and see everybody in the audiences say hey out, everybody get in my room. And I always thought that was a fun way to start something. So that's how we're starting this one. This has been so much fun, you guys. We are diving deep into pop culture references in Gilmour girls, what makes them?

Who these people are, who creates them? It's just so fun. We have so much great stuff planned for the next few weeks. We have so many great guests, and I'm personally this is like wish fulfillment for me. This is just so great. I'm so grateful to Scott Patterson for allowing me to do this. I get to talk to all these people that I admire that I that I watch that I listen to my entire life, and it's just it's so much fun. And this week we have truly one of the most influential pop culture icons in

of all time. This is someone that you're very familiar with if you've been near or around a television set at all in the last few decades. This is someone who's star shines so brightly in the world of pop culture, one of the truly one of the greatest stars in all of his toy And I'll tell you more right after this.

Speaker 2

iHeart podcasts. Listen on the iHeartRadio app.

Speaker 1

Oh man, those commercials are so great, aren't they. I just love them. I love listening to them. Thanks for joining us. This is I Smell Culture. My name's Easton Allen. I work here on the I Am all In podcast with Scott Patterson. We're friends, We're good friends. He lets me host this podcast and it's a lot of fun. I really appreciate you guys joining us. So here's what

I want to talk about this week. These days, when you think of a lifetime movie, you probably think about like Christmas movies, right, like those movies where a big city girl goes back to her hometown for like the Gingerbread Festival, reconnects with a good natured country boy, falls in love, learns the true media to Christmas. But there was a time in history where a lifetime movie was like always a gritty crime movie. There's one that I

love that I used to watch a lot. It's called Cool Justice, a fall that gets revenge on a man who attacked his daughter. It's great, it's really thrilling. But in the universe of Gilmour girls, Laura I and Rory love lifetime movies too. They love them. They can't get enough. In a Year in the Life summer, Rory and Laura leer in the kitchen recovering from delivering papers all over

stars hollow feed sore, they're tired. There's this beautiful montage set to these Boots were made for Walkie and Nancy Sinatra. You know that song? And Laura Lai says, last night was a blur and Rory says, what do we end up watching? Laura Lai replies, was it Baby Monitor, Sound of Fear or coed Call Girl? And Rory confidently reacts, no, I remember if we rocked the spelling and Laurie suggests, hey, they should make a lifetime movie out of that poor

toy spelling. Following at Benny Hannah, Teppanyaki grill of Death's so funny. We love it. I don't know if you know this about toy spelling. She fell over at a Benny Hannah and got like third degree burns and it's terrible, but also like such a toy spelling moment. Tory such an icon. We know her from Beverly Hills, nine O two one oh. She's done so many things, so many great things. She's written a ton of books. She's had a real she's had reality shows fake and real. She

has a new podcast on iHeartRadio called Misspelling. She hosts a podcast about nine O two one oh called nine two one OMG. That's also on iHeartRadio. We love toy spelling. She is such an icon. We're going to talk to her. She is sit across from me. I'm going to take her blindfold off. Tory, you are now allowed to speak. Thanks for doing this. I'm so excited.

Speaker 2

Anything for you.

Speaker 1

Oh my god, you're so kind here. You have one of those voices that when you hear it, it gives me chills. Because it's like, this is Tory Spelling's you know, It's like it's such a unique and iconic voice that is instantly recognizable. So when I hear it, I get so excited. I don't know if anyone's ever told you that before, but.

Speaker 2

No one has ever talked about my voice. But I have something. I I think I have a terrible voice. Really yeah, it really like even as we're talking, I can hear myself and I'm like, I'm so annoyed by myself. Is he annoyed? Her listener is annoyed?

Speaker 1

Like, not only is it a pleasant voice to hear, it's very comforting. Your voice is in a meter that is very soothing to my brain. I know a lot of other people agree with me, but.

Speaker 2

Uh, is there a business here?

Speaker 1

I think there is.

Speaker 2

Well, you know, I'm a creator, an idea person. Wait wait, so if my voice soothing, possibly I could Well it's not amr it would be.

Speaker 1

I mean I would listen to like you reading me a bedtime story.

Speaker 2

That's so different discussion.

Speaker 1

But like when before I got to know, So, just to set up for the audience, the audience does not know who I am. My name is Easton I'm hosting the show. It's called I Smell Pop Culture here on the I Amlin podcasts. And something they need to know is that Toy Spelling is my best friend. Tory Spelling is my friend. Yep. I've known Toy for four years now. Yeah, I work on her podcast is now two and OMG

and Miss Spelling, which are both available on iHeartRadio. But before I got to know you, before I start working with you, I would hear your voice on TV and in movies and it was like, so it was just one of those things where like I would get excited when I hear your voice because no one sounds like you.

Speaker 2

Wow.

Speaker 1

So I just wanted to I just want to get that out of the way first and foremost.

Speaker 2

Soan you. I do like my giggle, such a good giggle, such a good gig. The only thing about my voice that I actually like, well so much to love.

Speaker 1

Tory was on a television show called Beverly Hills nine O two one O. And if you have not seen this show, it is such an important piece of television history. You need to watch it. It's so good. But I want to go back to the beginning. We're going to talk today about a TV movie that you did. Yes, it was called co Ed Call Girl.

Speaker 2

Yes.

Speaker 1

So we'll get into this more in a bit here. But when you were doing nine O two one O, you would do these like movies of the week, right, how did that work?

Speaker 2

Like?

Speaker 1

You would you film these while you were doing nine to two and O?

Speaker 2

Was it?

Speaker 1

Yeah? Oh? It was doing like breaks in the in the schedule.

Speaker 2

Yes. So the first movie of the Week that I did was A Friend to Die For or Death of a Cheerleader. We talked about it. I'm the spelling, but that was like the first one I was offered, and that was like a big d and it was Monday nights were the TV movies and they were always on what were the only networks then which were I mean we were on Fox on nine O two and oh, but the three like mega ones were like NBC, ABC and CBS, And if you did a TV movie movie of the week, it would once a week they would

have these movies. And yeah, we started they start rolling in because they were super successful. So all the girls and boys on nine O two and oh got offered them. I love to work, as you know, so we couldn't do anything else while we were filming nine, O, two

and oh because the schedule was too crazy. So anytime we got a hiatus, which would be twice a year, so we would have our summer hiatus and then we would have our winter one, I would go do a TV movie the summer one was longer, or I did a couple like indie films back then, but the summers were longer, so I would always get two TV movies in back to back and then go back to work in nine on too and O the winter break was shorter,

so I would film one only one oh one. So Coed Call Girl originally on CBS.

Speaker 1

Nineteen eighty six sounds good to me. Yeah, Jerry Ryan was in it too.

Speaker 2

Who was on it?

Speaker 1

Became seven of nine on Star Treks.

Speaker 2

She was, Yes, we played hookers.

Speaker 1

Yeah, well you were co Ed's that became hookers Ladies of the Night, the world's oldest profession. Yeah right. The reason we're talking about Coed Call Girl is because it was mentioned in Gilmore Girls, What a Year in the Life, which is the Netflix revival. The two the mom and daughter, Laura and Rory. They're having a conversation and they're asking, what did we watched last night and lourle I says,

was it Coed Call Girl? And then Rory says, I would have known if we had seen a spelling what And as a fan of yours, I got really excited when I saw it. I was like, yeah, of course you would. But that movie clearly made an impact on the writers of Gilmore Girls.

Speaker 2

Oh my god, like I'm blushing and I'm feeling all hot inside.

Speaker 1

Yeah, Amy Sherman Palladino clearly loves Coed Call Girl. I think it got. It was kind of like in the early Lifetime movies, We're kind of like that same thing.

Speaker 2

Yep, it definitely got. It wasn't you know, Okay, let's face it. I took that one strictly because of the name. I was like, really, yeah, kidding me. I was like, gohed call Girl, I'm in. I didn't even open a page and read it. I was like, yes, of course. Like I played Donna Martin the Virgin on the show on nine O two and zero, I was like, now I'm going to be a hooker. Perfect No, but it was fun. I got so many different costumes and I got to, you know, be a different type of girl.

So that was a really fun role. And I got to say that I really want to remake that movie because it did it was it was so bad it was good. It was one of those it became like a cult followed TV movie and not for the right reasons. And anyway, I want to remake that one. And instead of being like there's I'm like the student that gets hired and there's the pimp and you know he, I want to be the madam. I have all like the teen girls, like not teen girls, sorry, college age girls,

you know, come work for me. So yeah, just putting it out there into the realm.

Speaker 1

I think people would love that. That is a great idea. How long did it take to shoot that movie? Do you remember?

Speaker 2

I think like three weeks three weeks.

Speaker 1

And I love the idea that you're like doing this crazy big TV show and then like during your breaks you're going to making these movies that I mean, the work ethic of toy Spelling is I'm paralleled.

Speaker 2

Yeah, I wouldn't have had it otherwise. I yeah, some people were taking vacations and I was like no, Like, oh my gosh, so is it.

Speaker 1

The other thing that I think is so interesting is like if this must have since an O or two. And I especially like this must happen to you all the time where you're like watching TV, you're watching a movie and someone like mentions your name? Does that? How like do you remember a specific moment where that happened? Does that come to mind other.

Speaker 2

Than like TMZ or like what are we talking about? Yeah? Like like, uh, I don't know.

Speaker 1

If someone mentions like Don Martin or something in a movie like does that?

Speaker 2

I don't feel like it happens all the time, but it definitely like I remember with my friends. This is going back though, like going to see the Brady Bunch movie with like my friends and they're like, oh my god, did you get the new Tory spelling perfume or something?

Speaker 1

Yes?

Speaker 2

And my friends were like what And I'm like what? And I was like fangirling out because it was like in the Brady Bunch movie and I had no idea what was going to be in there. Yeah yeah, yeah, like Once in a Blue Moon when it happens or my like kids just realized like the that song was it Supermodel? Is it from Clueless? Like I want a car like Tory spell or god like tory spelling, Like I don't know whatever I mean.

Speaker 1

You are, You're a pop culture icon. Something else I think is so fascinating is that you're in Scream two. You're playing yourself in Scream two. Yes, and then you're in Scary Movie Too, like the parody of Skin. There's so many layers on that. I like, how did you get involved in scary movie? That's what I want to know.

Speaker 2

It's so funny when I compare those two, I'm like, oh, I was in Scream two and then playing myself and playing Sidney Prescott. Yeah, like I And then I was in Scary Movie Too. I'm like, oh, it's so funny. I guess I always get cast in the sequel of something, but I never even thought about it. That Scary Movie Too is a take a spoof on scary movies like Scream, and like, sorry, I never got real meta there. I auditioned for it.

Speaker 1

Wow.

Speaker 2

Yeah, I just went in like casting call, like so many girls out there, went in read it. I remember then getting a callback and I read for Keenan Wayans and somehow I didn't realize there was a second scene. So I got there and he's like, okay, great second scene, and I was like, I didn't get the second scene, and I was like, oh, this is it. I'm not

going to move any further. And then he was like, Okay, if we give it to you, can you go out and come back in, which is technically called a cold reading, and when they give you something, you go out and you come right back in, like you get five minutes to look it over. And so all these other girls had studied it and I had to come back in.

I'm like, oh, I'm never going to get this. And it's actually one of the audition scenes was one of the scenes where I'm having sex with the ghost and I was like, how far do you go in a room when there's writers and producers sitting there in cha looking at you in the small office and you're just standing in front of them, And that was one of them. Yeah, and then the monologue when I first meet meet Anna Faris's character. But yeah, so wait, was it that scene

or when I was waxing my puff? And that scene was deleted but you can find it on YouTube. I just watched it the other night, not that I look at myself or anything, but you can find it. But I mean, anyway, I went for it, and I'm like throwing myself on the ground humping the air. And because here's the thing, I'm Tory spelling, like, I'm not gonna and I don't mean this in the way it just

came out. I'm Tory spelling. I feel like me like, to me, the odds are stacked against me, so I'm not you know, other famous people are going to walk in They're like, oh, she's gonna get the role. So for me, I've always felt like I have to go further, like I have to I got to go for it because I like, I'm going to walk in that room. They're like, oh, great, come story spelling. What is she going to give us? Probably she's gonna suck. That's what's in my brain because of nine to two to zero

and my dad and everything. So yeah, I was just like flopping all around that room got the part.

Speaker 1

So the other part of this reference in Gilmore Girls, Yes, might be a sensitive topic, but I do need to ask about it. In the clip, they also say they would like to see a lifetime movie made about the time you fell into the grill at Beni Hanna. For those who don't know, Tory had an unfortunate experience at a Los Angeles Beni Hannah, and you fell into the hibachi grill and got it some serious burns. Yeah.

Speaker 2

Well, I'm an idea of person. So I'm hearing you. And what I'm thinking is perhaps we could make this movie and I would actually get paid more than the settlement I got for Benny Hannah, because you guys, it was not a lot. And it really sucks, you guys, because I wear my thigh on my arm, now, my heart on my sleeve, my thigh on my note. Literally really, oh my god, you have no idea, You're like, no, I do not. Yeah, well, let me take you back

from one second. How long do you have? No? It was Easter and at the time, I just had four

kids at the time. Finn was a baby. I think he was like fourteen months old, and we went with the gunkles so and their kids, and yeah, we decided to have Easter there because we couldn't get a reservation anywhere else because it was Easter, and we waited the last minute, because I waited to the last minute on everything, and all the hotels, the brunches were taken and it was like, Benny Hanna, I remember saying, my friend's scout, I said, Benny Hannah like that doesn't seem like an

Easter type of restaurant, like, and he's like, oh, Mama, it'll it'll be fun. OK So we went and yeah, everyone's always like, oh, were you like drunk? Had you had drinks? It's like, no, we hadn't even had our drinks delivered yet. They had status around Hibachi grill or the two families together, we're a big family. We took up a whole one and they came and they turn on the grill, they put the oil, turn on the grill, and then they leave before the you know what is he the bochie griller?

Speaker 1

Yeah, the chef, the chef, the guy you form a chef is a chef chef performer very much.

Speaker 2

So. Oh, I used to always catch the shrimp in my mouth. Well, but now I can't go back to Beny hos so really well, I don't know it's a thing, but I got I missed that salad dressing. It's my favorite. Oh the ginger. Yeah, anyway, turn the grill on.

Speaker 1

The guy comes over.

Speaker 2

They turned the grill on and at the time they give my son, who's young, he was fourteen months, the chef's hat. They give them the cute little paper chef's hat, and I'm like, oh, this is a great picture, so I said on Dean's lap at the time, and I'm like, oh, I want to get a picture. And I needed to step back to take the photo. And at the time, it's all carpet, and then you step onto a tile right behind where the habachi grill is and that's where

the chef stands, and they had turned them on. I believe it gets to like five six hundred degrees something like that. Anyway, I took one step back with my camera up, my phone up to take a picture of Fin on my husband's lap, and as I took a step back, there was so much grease and oil on the ground that my feet literally I remember the stakes. I could never wear them again, but they were God,

they were a good pair of shoes. It was Chloe heels, like vintage ones, and I just could see them up above my head as they flew up and I landed on the grill. I caught myself on the way down because I put my arm out to like brace myself, but like the badass bitch I am, I quickly peeled it off and then hit the ground and my husband said, He's like, oh my god, you could smell like it smelled like food cooking. You could smell it. And I was so embarrassed that this happened that everyone ran over.

And it's one of those things when you fall in front of people and they're all up above you, and I'm like, I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine. Nothing to look at here, and like, my arm's literally sizzled. Anyway, it was easter, So for the kid's sake, they're like, you know, buddy, Hanta was like, would you like to scull an ambulance? I was like, no, thank you, I'm fine, No, thank you, I'm fine. So we ate, did the whole meal and we went home and then put Easter eggs out.

Speaker 1

Did you eat the same grill that you had fallen on? So was there a chance your arm was in the bread rice?

Speaker 2

Oh my god, yes we No one has ever asked that. Wait, that's where I was running out cannibalism to a whole new level. Wait, I ate myself, I ate yourself.

Speaker 1

Oh my god, check that off the bucket list.

Speaker 2

So I went home. We had an Easter egg hunt, we baked cookies. My arm was red, but it hurt, but I was like, Okay, the show must go on. So we celebrated Easter, and then the next day I was like, wow, this is real bad pain. And I literally, in the middle of the night because Deane had to watch the kids, drow is my right arm, I'm right handed, drove myself to the er and I was like, oh, two days ago I had this really bad accident. And they were like, uh, it was like not third degree.

They were like, it's like fourth degree burned, Like it's so burned that it's like the skin's dying inside stead. So the next morning I had to go to the Grossman burn Clinic there and they had to literally shave my skin down to the bone, and then I had to have another surgery where the doctor came in I'm telling this so quick, sorry and grossing everybody out. Hope you're not eating while you're listening. You're not eating me.

That was crazy. I ate myself. They the doctor came in and he was like, okay, so we have to do a skin graph to put it on unless I wanted a cadavers graph, which I didn't feel comfortable with because because I'm really into horror, and I was like I don't want to like I thought I would like haunt me or something. I wasn't sure. So anyway, although I do love vintage clothing, so I do like to repurpose things, so I'm into that. I don't organs, not all skins, but maybe oh Organs. I'm open. Okay, See

this is the new me. I'm open to things fearless. So he was like, we can either take it from your head, which we have to shave part of your head, and I was like, that doesn't sound like idea, or we could take it from your thigh and I was like, okay, I'm I'm gonna go with my thigh. And then I said how much you have to take and he kind of showed me, and then I was like, doctor, I have to be honest with you. I'm a bikini model

and as if you didn't know who I was. And I was like, I'm a bikini model and I take a lot of my livelihood and is there any way you could go higher up so that I can still take photos? And he said yes, which is ironic because my dad in World War Two when he was in the war and he was shot, his finger was shot and when he went to the hospital. They were like, we have to amputate, and he was like, doctor, I'm a piano. I'm a pianist, and a piano is my life.

It's my livelihood. So please is there and they're like okay, and they repaired it. And my dad always had a crooked finger all through life because he had been shot there and they repaired it anyway. So yeah, I joke all the time that I have here. It is right here, skin graft.

Speaker 1

You would never know there.

Speaker 2

So it went yeah, so it went like this, I went here here, and then I went boop boop, and then got.

Speaker 1

Up, Oh, I'm so glad you survived. And Sam, I'm so happy that you should.

Speaker 2

Be making it into a TV movie. Wait, who should I call about this? Lauren Graham?

Speaker 1

Wait? Who Amy Sherman Palladina, That's who you should call?

Speaker 2

She uh uh. The line was, oh, wait, I have the best thing to say about this, lest say it. So when this was going to go to court, yes, because oh so thanks to me, you guys, and you're all welcome. They now have a chain across America. There's a chain that goes across from where the grill is and where you stepped there. They didn't have a chain. There's a chain that no patrons can walk there because

of me, and they had to enforce that. But when this was going to go to court, they did this document, you know, this drawing and enacted it like where everybody in the restaurant was seated and the anyway there, Yeah, I don't whatever the defense the I played an assistant

da once in the courtroom show. I have no idea. Anyway, They had this woman that was going to testify, like against my case because I was suing Benny Hannah just for medical bills, because it's a fortune to get your thigh put on your arm and high enough so you can still wear bikini. So I'm just kidding. It's not funny, you guys. It was the worst pain I've ever had my entire life, even past childbirth, like traumatizing. My poor

kids had to see it. But she was like when they took her deposition, she was like, I saw the whole thing. She was drunk. I watched her stumble around. I saw Donna, and Donna was just fall down drunk, and they were like, Okay, that's out of here. Like she had she just kept call me Jonna, she had no idea, so anyway, and we figured it out that her where she was seated in the rest of our her back was to me. So anyway, I'll leave you on that note.

Speaker 1

So hopefully we can see you in Teppanyaki Grill of Death. That is the name of the movie. That is what they called it.

Speaker 2

Thank you so much for.

Speaker 1

Doing this, Toy, You're just the absolute best. I'm such a big fan. We're all such big fans, and everyone listening should listen to misspelling. It's on iHeartRadio nine O two one o MG if you love Beverly Hills now two w O. They recap a new episode every week and follow Toy on Instagram and everywhere else. She's the best.

Speaker 2

Thank you, I love you.

Speaker 1

Love you so much, everybody, don't forget. Follow us on Instagram at I Am all In podcast and email us at Gilmore at iHeartRadio dot com.

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