Brian Grazer | Straight F's, But a Gift for Gab
In fifth grade, a teacher took Brian Grazer outside, screamed at him for being unable to read, and hit him in the face with a board. He was getting straight F's. Nobody had a word for what was wrong with him — the dyslexia would go undiagnosed for years — so he assumed he was simply dumb and built a system around hiding it, tracking the rhythm of the teacher's questions and asking to go to the bathroom before one could land on him. He would not read with any real comprehension until his junior year of high school.
His grandmother, Sonia Schwartz, told him he was a genius. She said he had a gift for gab, that not knowing an answer only meant he was more interested. Every weekend she drove over the hill from Beverly Hills and took him somewhere new — the racetrack, where she taught him to gamble; Dodger games, where she talked her way down to meet Tommy Lasorda; restaurants, where she introduced him to the chef. She always found the person in charge. He built a career on the habit. In this conversation with David Begnaud, he talks about the meeting with Lew Wasserman that ended before it started, with a pencil, a legal pad, and an instruction to come back with something of value. About the coach who cut him from high school football with one word, and the phone call he made years later. About standing up at the Oscars for Apollo 13 before the wrong name was read. And about his son Riley, whose Instagram bio he had never seen.
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Chapters ☀️
ABOUT THIS PODCAST:
The Person Who Believed In Me is hosted by David Begnaud, founder and CEO of Do Good Crew and often called "America's storyteller." In each episode, David sits down with world-class guests to ask one simple question: Who believed in you before the world did? Big names. Honest stories. Relatable takeaways.
David is also a CBS News contributor and host of the weekly segment Beg Knows America, which airs every Monday morning.
Host: David Begnaud
Guest: Brian Grazer
Executive Producer: David Begnaud, Olivier Delfosse, Justin McGoldrick
Booker: Sully Bloch
Director of Photography: Foster Parks
Live Production Technician: Joseph Gabay & Will Whitley (Statik Creative)
Social: Kylee Anderson, Maxim Trofimenko, Gracie Pekrul
Theme Music: Slipstream
Post-Production: Longwave Digital & David & Luana Co.
CONNECT WITH US:
The Person Who Believed In Me:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/believedpodcast
More description
In fifth grade, a teacher took Brian Grazer outside, screamed at him for being unable to read, and hit him in the face with a board. He was getting straight F's. Nobody had a word for what was wrong with him — the dyslexia would go undiagnosed for years — so he assumed he was simply dumb and built a system around hiding it, tracking the rhythm of the teacher's questions and asking to go to the bathroom before one could land on him. He would not read with any real comprehension until his junior year of high school.
His grandmother, Sonia Schwartz, told him he was a genius. She said he had a gift for gab, that not knowing an answer only meant he was more interested. Every weekend she drove over the hill from Beverly Hills and took him somewhere new — the racetrack, where she taught him to gamble; Dodger games, where she talked her way down to meet Tommy Lasorda; restaurants, where she introduced him to the chef. She always found the person in charge. He built a career on the habit. In this conversation with David Begnaud, he talks about the meeting with Lew Wasserman that ended before it started, with a pencil, a legal pad, and an instruction to come back with something of value. About the coach who cut him from high school football with one word, and the phone call he made years later. About standing up at the Oscars for Apollo 13 before the wrong name was read. And about his son Riley, whose Instagram bio he had never seen.
Get more stories that remind you the world is still good. Sign up for our free newsletter: https://www.thedogoodcrew.com
Chapters ☀️
ABOUT THIS PODCAST:
The Person Who Believed In Me is hosted by David Begnaud, founder and CEO of Do Good Crew and often called "America's storyteller." In each episode, David sits down with world-class guests to ask one simple question: Who believed in you before the world did? Big names. Honest stories. Relatable takeaways.
David is also a CBS News contributor and host of the weekly segment Beg Knows America, which airs every Monday morning.
Host: David Begnaud
Guest: Brian Grazer
Executive Producer: David Begnaud, Olivier Delfosse, Justin McGoldrick
Booker: Sully Bloch
Director of Photography: Foster Parks
Live Production Technician: Joseph Gabay & Will Whitley (Statik Creative)
Social: Kylee Anderson, Maxim Trofimenko, Gracie Pekrul
Theme Music: Slipstream
Post-Production: Longwave Digital & David & Luana Co.
CONNECT WITH US:
The Person Who Believed In Me:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/believedpodcast
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