Have you ever met anybody who doesn't want to be cool? I mean, you might as well be searching for a Wooly Mammoth. No such person exists.
But what makes somebody cool? Well, you can have incredible style like Zendaya, incredible looks like Chris Hemsworth, or incredible talent like Bruce Springsteen. But for me, the coolest people have always been anyone who can make me laugh. Growing up, I didn't want to be an athlete like Sandy Koufax or a brooding idol like Montgomery Clift. I wanted to be Dick Van Dyke because I thought everything he did was funny without being a clown. I don't think there is any greater gift than to have that power, which is probably why I'm so enamored of today's guest, David Kohan.
When I was on the board of Live Out Loud, an organization devoted to helping LGBTQ youth, I asked a quartet of students who were being awarded college scholarships to name the one person who had made the greatest difference in our culture. Almost all of them cited either a politician with a vision, back when we still had some of those, gay rights advocates or heads of charities. However, one student stood there wincing and bewildered by the response of his fellow honorees. Noting his apparent dissension, I asked his opinion, at which point he perked up with that knowing grin that people have when they're confident that everyone else has missed the obvious. Will and Grace, he replied, with a hint of ‘duh’ in his tone. Will and Grace made all the difference, not just because they made me laugh, but because that laughter helped save lives. Those two guys who created that show, they should get medals. The other honorees nodded in agreement because they knew he was right. David Kohan, along with his writing partner, Max Mutchnick, created Will and Grace.
David and Max didn't just save lives. They changed our culture by creating a quartet of friends who were equally funny, clever, socially aware, romantically damaged, ever hopeful, often petty, occasionally jealous, but always loving and always loyal. Straight or gay, that's exactly how you want your life to be. Because it proves that regardless of the challenges from inside as well as out, with the right attitude and the right friends, everyone can be happy. Is it any wonder I'm crazy about David Kohan?
