In my quiet time of meditation this morning I let myself just be. A thought occurred to me: who or what am I? Well, for many, I’m Ben Hollis. This just in: there are at least 10 Ben Hollises on Facebook. Ben Hollis is a name.
Ben Hollis is not as common a name as Michael Jordan, agreed? And this piece introduces you (and me) to a Michael Jordan just as much a Michael Jordan as the more famous Michael Jordan. This lesser known Michael Jordan deserves a little screen time too.
This is just the perfect kind of story for me. I’ve always enjoyed giving focus to people who are ordinarily not in the limelight. While doing Ben Loves Chicago on Channel 50 WPWR, I was now circulating in the world of commercial TV. Business. Money. Ratings. It became clear that if I wanted to stick around on TV in this milieu, I needed to think a little more about how to draw viewers. (Truth is, ratings were important at WTTW too, a PBS station, but still, it’s a different animal, WTTW, versus a commercial station.) So maybe I could find a way to get some star power on my show.
A great way to attract viewers is to attract celebrities to your show, to get them on your show. Then you can promote their name and hope that their fans will flock to you. But that philosophy did not jibe with my working belief that my thing was featuring non-famous people on my shows. You see where I’m going? Learning of this Michael Jordan, the dentist, would be a great way to use his famous name to attract viewers, while playfully teasing that maybe, just maybe the Michael Jordan you’ve come to see on our show, might be THE Michael Jordan of the Bulls, the Champion. Of course, we would not deceive or mislead, but we would enjoy toying with your expectations. And, above all, the story had to deliver on the underlying premise: that this Michael Jordan was in fact interesting enough to merit you taking time to watch.
What do you think? I think we pulled it off. Plus, it helped a whole lot that Michael the dentist was very happy to play along. He was funny, had a sense of humor, and was willing to join in the fun.
Who else appeared on Ben Loves Chicago in this quirky, non-direct way? Jay Leno. Jenny McCarthy. Jerry Springer. John Astin. Steve Martin. Maybe more. Just can’t remember.
I hope you enjoy this piece. I had a ball. And we can talk about the meditation stuff another time. If you’re interested, send me a message, or leave a comment. Hint: my true, essential nature is not in my name. Why, just this morning in my earlier mentioned quiet time, I realized I was Walt Whitman. Are you laughing?
Well, guess what? You’re Walt Whitman too!
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