The Odd Podcast with Joe Parisi

Examining the bizarre and fascinating life and career of a fringe Old Hollywood celebrity known as The Amazing Criswell.  Joining me is the author of the book " Fact, Fictions, and the Forbidden Predictions of the Amazing Criswell", Edwin Lee Canfield.   Instagram: @joeparisivo  

    A deep dive into the 1996 film Swingers.  Joe Parisi is joined by Deena Martin Delucia, who played Christy (The Vegas Waitress).

  Al Leong has probably been in your favorite action movie. In fact, he's probably been in half of the action movies you saw in the 80's and 90's.  Join Joe Parisi and Al Leong for a fun discussion about the martial arts film genre and Al's incredible life on screen.

  A deep dive on the 1986 pro-wrestling comedy "BodySlam". Join host Joe Parisi and cast member Michael Moynahan, who played "Pee Wee Hutchens" as we discuss this somewhat obscure 80s cult classic.

If you spent time watching ABC's TGIF lineup in the 90's, this episode is for you!  Join Joe Parisi and guest Brian Pocrass as they take a deep dive into one of the most beloved sitcoms of the 90s.

A deep dive into the 2004 classic Napoleon Dynamite.  Join Joe Parisi and Trevor Snarr (who played "Don" in the film) for a fun look back at this highly influential movie.

F_ _ _ FACE!  In 1989, Fleer released their annual set of baseball cards, having no idea what was about to happen and what had slipped past them.  A few weeks after the cards started being sold, word started to spread that the Bill Ripken card  in the set featured a very explicit phrase written on the handle of the bat he was holding in the picture.  As the company scrambled to halt production, save face, and edit the card, a frenzy among collectors broke out and copies of the card became highly sought after.  30 years later, people still actively search for this card and many questions still remain unanswered.  Over the years, many of the stories and explanations have been changed. Join Joe Parisi for a deep dive on this historic incident that changed the trading card industry forever.  We're also visited by Jon Pederson who runs the website dedicated to this card, www.billripken.com 

Dissecting the 1985 John Hughes classic "Weird Science".   Joining Joe Parisi is longtime Hollywood character actor Britt Leach who played the father of "Gary" (Anthony Michael Hall) in the film.  Also, Rhonda Wong joins the show.  Rhonda worked as a background performer in the iconic party scene at the end of the film and was in the blue kitchen!  

Joe Parisi is joined by Brian Pocrass for a deep dive on 1991's odd coming of age hit "My Girl".  

Join Joe Parisi and Brian Pocrass as they dissect the 1991 cult classic Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead.

Join Joe Parisi, Brian Pocrass and Jen Chaney (author of the book "As If: The Oral History of Clueless as told by Amy Heckerling, the Cast and Crew") as they take a trip back to 1995 and explore this influential teen film.

The unlikely story of an unlikely hit: LFO's Summer Girls.  Joining Joe to explore this 1999 hit is LFO member Brad Fischetti.

Exploring the Punky Brewster show which originally ran from 1984-1988.  Along for the ride is Hollywood insider and filmmaker Brian Pocrass and Hollywood dog trainer Robert Weatherwax (who worked with "Brandon" on multiple occasions).  

DC The Brain Supreme joins me to look back at the party anthem that took over the world in 1993, Tag Team's hit single "Whoomp (There it is).  We also discuss the song's resurgence thanks to the Geico ad campaign featuring Tag Team.  

A deep dive into The Karate Kid 3.  Join Joe Parisi and Brian Pocrass as they examine the strange third installment in this classic film franchise.  Cast member William Christopher Ford (who played "Dennis", a sidekick of Mike Barnes) joins the program to share some behind the scenes stories.   Will the Cobra Kai series start bringing in cast members from The Karate Kid 3? Brian and Joe make their predictions.

Ice Ice Baby took the world by storm in the fall of 1990.  But it was more than just another hit song.  On this episode I'm going to present a theory that this turned out to be one of the most influential songs in pop culture history.   Join Joe Parisi and DJ Earthquake (who produced and appears on the track) as they sort out the fact, the fiction and the incredible legacy of "Ice Ice Baby".

Joe Parisi and Brian Pocrass take a deep dive on a little known Christmas film from 1991 called "All I Want for Christmas".  Why is it that so many Christmas movies from this era have become "classics" but this film has been widely forgotten?  

A look back at the career of the late-great Jonathan Brandis.  He made so many cool contributions to pop culture throughout the 90's.  Join Joe Parisi and Brian Pocrass for a trip back to the 90's! 

Darryl Vidal has the incredible honor of being one of the people who competed on-screen in the 1984 "All Valley Karate Championship" in the movie The Karate Kid.  In fact, he went all the way to the semi-finals in the film where he faced off against Johnny Lawrence.  Well, Darryl played a much larger role than anyone really knew as he is also credited as the creator of the Crane Kick as we all now know it. Join me and Chinese Kenpo Grandmaster Darryl Vidal as we hear his first hand account of working on this classic film.

Exploring the 1985 cult classic "Heaven Help Us" with actor Jay Patterson who played "Brother Constance".