Lawrence “Larry” Grobel, 79, is one of the most accomplished interviewers alive. Playboy called him “the Interviewer’s Interviewer.” Joyce Carol Oates called him “the Mozart of interviewers.” He is the author of more than 30 books and did 33 Playboy Interviews, among them Marlon Brando, Barbra Streisand, Al Pacino, Dolly Parton, Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, Saul Bellow, Patty Hearst, Bob Knight and Jesse Ventura. He has also sat down with Truman Capote, Linus Pauling, Richard Feynman and Henry Moore. He has written for The New York Times, Newsday, Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, Premiere, Parade, TV Guide, Details and AARP, and was a contributing editor at Playboy and Movieline.
I have been learning the craft of interviewing, and I started with his book, The Art of the Interview, published in 2004. As I was reading it, I eventually wondered — is this guy still around, and could I talk to him? So I sent him an email. He gave me an hour and stayed for two and a half. And lo and behold, here’s the result.
We get into preparation as the root of confidence, the Charles Manson interview he passed on and what it cost him with Dolly Parton, how Brando studied him back, the novel he set aside, and AI — which isn’t abstract for him. His own books are part of the Anthropic copyright settlement.
BOOKS WE DISCUSSEDThe Art of the Interview: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1400050715You, Talking to Me: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1537422316Madonna Paints a Mustache: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B9MZR88The Narcissist: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1720250537Schemers, Dreamers, Cheaters, Believers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08Q4MGGPSTurquoise: Three Years in Ghana, winner of the 2023 Peace Corps Writers Award for Best Peace Corps Memoir: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09QNYKK22All of Larry’s books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B001IXRQNCLarry’s site: https://www.lawrencegrobel.com
WHO LARRY HAS INTERVIEWED (83 NAMED; HE SAYS HUNDREDS)
Halle Berry · Marlon Brando · Joan Collins · Robert De Niro · David Duchovny · Sally Field · Henry Fonda · Mel Gibson · Goldie Hawn · Anthony Hopkins · John Huston · Harvey Keitel · Steve Martin · Nick Nolte · Al Pacino · George C. Scott · Gene Siskel & Roger Ebert · Christian Slater · Jean-Claude Van Damme · Christopher Walken · Robin Williams · Bruce Willis · Henry Winkler. Also: Lucille Ball · Drew Barrymore · Kim Basinger · Warren Beatty · Carol Burnett · Penélope Cruz · Cameron Diaz · Robert Evans · Farrah Fawcett · Jane Fonda · Harrison Ford · Jodie Foster · Ava Gardner · Elliott Gould · Merv Griffin · Jake Gyllenhaal · Angelina Jolie · Nicole Kidman · Louise Lasser · Jack Lemmon · Jack Nicholson · James Spader · Oliver Stone · Sharon Stone · Lily Tomlin · Robert Towne · Mae West · Montel Williams · Dolly Parton · Luciano Pavarotti · Barbra Streisand. Also: Cher · Anthony Kiedis · Madonna · Saul Bellow · James A. Michener · Joyce Carol Oates · Ray Bradbury · Truman Capote · J.P. Donleavy · James Ellroy · Allen Ginsberg · Andrew Greeley · Alex Haley · Joseph Heller · Elmore Leonard · Norman Mailer · Neil Simon · Vincent Bugliosi · Patty Hearst · Bob Knight · Jesse Ventura. Also: Hugh Hefner · Monica Lewinsky · Richard Feynman · Paul McCarthy · Henry Moore · Linus Pauling · Lawrence Schiller
HIS BOOKS (32, 1985–2023)
Interviews & conversations: Conversations with Capote (1985) · Conversations with Brando (1991) · Talking with Michener (1999) · Above the Line (2000) · Endangered Species (2001) · Al Pacino: In Conversation (2006) · Conversations with Robert Evans (2009) · Icons (2012) · Signing In (2013) · Conversations with Ava Gardner (2013)
Hollywood & collaborations: The Hustons (1989) · Climbing Higher, with Montel Williams (2004) · Marilyn & Me, for Lawrence Schiller (2012) · “I Want You in My Movie!” (2013) · Meryl Streep (Axis Mundi, Poland, c. 2015) · Barbra Streisand (Taschen, 2016)
Craft & memoir: The Art of the Interview (2004) · You Show Me Yours (2014) · You, Talking to Me (c. 2016) · Turquoise: Three Years in Ghana (2022) · Hustle: The Making of a Freelance Writer (2023)
Fiction, verse & satire: Catch a Fallen Star (2009) · Begin Again Finnegan (2012) · Yoga? No, Shmoga! (2012) · The Black Eyes of Akbah (2013) · Commando Ex (2014) · Madonna Paints a Mustache (2014) · The Narcissist (2018) · Screenplays: Brando & Akbah (c. 2018) · Screenplays: Fallen Star & Finnegan (c. 2018) · Schemers, Dreamers, Cheaters, Believers (2020) · Stuck: 31 Stories (2021)
Plus Kindle shorts: Harlan Ellison: The Don Rickles of the Literary World · Black Panther Power! · Rhinos & Tigers & Writers, Oh My!
