One of the reasons we decided on the podcast name, "Almost Live!: Still Alive" is because, happily, everybody from that show is still with us. Not necessarily still with IT... me most notably... but everyone otherwise is still breathing and reasonably coherent. However, there's one person who narrowly escaped being the exception - because not only did we nearly lose Tracey Conway some years ago when her heart suddenly decided to stop ticking, it happened in front of a live audience who were still revved up from watching a show taping just moments earlier. I'll just bet that story is gonna come up in the minutes ahead. From the beginning in 1984, Almost Live! was never a television show with money to burn. Its budget required the hiring of writers - and only writers. It never had the luxury of hiring both writers and actors. Take me for example: When I graduated from high school, I thought about studying acting, but I had a decision to make... should I move to New York City and attend the Juilliard School with an emphasis on drama, music and dance?... or instead, stay in my hometown and go to Community College with an emphasis on puppetry, cartooning and pottery? I decided to skip Juilliard.









Tracey Conway official sites



TraceyConway.com

Tracey Conway | IMDb

Tracey Conway | Facebook

Tracey Conway | Twitter











But on one occasion, Almost Live! hired a person who was both a trained actor AND a writer. She owns a Master of Fine Arts from USC. She was - and is - the whole package. Tracey Conway.







To prepare for this episode, I Googled Tracey's name for more information. On her wikipedia page - and I'm not making this up - I read that she is married to cast member, Bob Nelson, and that they have three kids: Alexander, Miriam and Maia. This was news to me - and to Tracey Conway. In fact, the 'Worst Girlfriend in the World' has never been married, and never had kids. Meanwhile, her fictional husband, Bob Nelson, says that because they have never been married, he refuses to pay child support. That figures.







Meanwhile, if anyone ever decides to fix that erroneous Tracey Conway page, they should also add this: She is the warmest, most genuine person you'll ever meet; eternally upbeat, sunny and ready to laugh. She is also one of the finest performers this side of Juilliard.







I found her at her Seattle home, where she lives with Ella, her beloved Siberian husky, to whom the deadbeat, Bob Nelson, also pays no monthly support.