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‘Almost Live!’: ‘Where are they now?’
Published in the Seattle Times online on Aug. 24, 2024
and in Pacific NW Magazine of the printed Times on Aug. 25, 2024
The ‘Almost Live’ gang today
Cast and crew members see show
as key catalyst for later work
By Clay Eals
Has it really been (almost) 40 years? “Almost Live!” — the local weekly comedy show that mocked Seattle and its environs — first aired Sept. 23, 1984, on KING 5 and ended 25 years ago, on May 22, 1999.
Many of the jesters are still here. Some dart around the country. But they all still hold cupid-like arrows in their hearts for the days they impishly roamed our streets dreaming up sketches.
With the Aug. 31, 2024, opening of “Almost Live! (Almost an Exhibit)” at the Museum of History & Industry, we asked these jokesters (and others) to tell us how that pivotal time affected them. Here are highlights, in the order of when they became involved with the show, and their various roles during their years there.
Each vignette is followed by a link to download a pdf file of extended interview excerpts. As a bonus, in 15 instances the interviews were conducted via Zoom, so YouTube video links also are provided. Enjoy!
* * * * *
Bob Jones
KING-TV program director, 1983-1985
The show’s instigator, Jones was “a disrupter,” says first producer, Dana Dwinell. He’d done TV comedy in Louisville before joining KING-TV in December 1983: “The station wanted a new way to relate to the city.” Fired, he left for Philadelphia in 1985, later started production company and retired in Denver. “In my 50-year career, that was a complete study in stars and their orbits just clicking at the right time. It was truly a gift to Seattle. Be perfectly aware it probably will never happen again.”
Bob Jones interview excerpts, July 18, 2024
* * * * *
Dana Dwinell
producer, 1984-1986
Dwinell grew up in Yakima and was hired out of the University of Washington for KING’s “Seattle Today” show, then “Almost Live!” With a loud, infectious laugh, she had no comedy background. “I was more logistics, get things done. It was hard, like: You kids go off and play in the barn.” She followed Jones to Philadelphia, then returned to Yakima in 1990 in marketing and advertising roles and recently retired. “Almost Live!” was “a fun experience. It was goofy and irreverent. An achievement of epic proportions. It had passion and legs.”
Dana Dwinell interview excerpts, June 7, 2024
* * * * *
Ross Shafer
host, writer, performer, 1984-1988
Shafer managed a Puyallup stereo-pet shop and did standup comedy when he was recruited to “Almost Live!” “We literally owned the town. We were given a license to be foolish.” Later, he hosted network and game shows, also headlining as a standup. Today the Denver resident, is a business keynote speaker. He traces it all to “Almost Live!”: “It was the genesis. It started everything for me. I can’t think of a of a better life.”
Ross Shafer interview excerpts, June 5, 2024
* * * * *
Jim Sharp
associate producer, writer, performer, 1984-88, 1992
An ex-social-studies teacher, he’s a “quiet genius,” says first host Ross Shafer. Sharp coined the title “Almost Live!”: “subtle, really easy, humorous if you think about it.” The show was a stepping stone to 30 years of work in Los Angeles and New York, including 14 years directing creative development at Comedy Central. He is retired in Gig Harbor. “We were holding court on Seattle. When you have a platform of observational comedy, that’s a really good target. You have to take on the big guys, but you can’t take on the little guy.”
Jim Sharp interview excerpts, June 10, 2024
* * * * *
John Keister
host, head writer, performer, 1984-1999
Franklin High School alum Keister covered music for Seattle music tabloid The Rocket and KING 5’s “REV” (“Rock Entertainment Video”) before joining “Almost Live!” and, in 1988, assuming host duties. He later worked with Bill Nye and on short-lived sequel shows. Today, “pretty aggressively” retired in south Seattle, he holds high his “Almost Live!” roots. “When you’re the host, everything is designed to make you feel good,” he says. “Without question, it was the best years of my life.”
John Keister interview excerpts, June 1, 2024
* * * * *
Steve Wilson
director, writer, performer, 1984-1999
Wilson joined “Almost Live!” in its first season, soon becoming its director. “I was the hollering guy, not only as director, but if we needed someone in a sketch to yell loud or get mad really fast, that was me.” Today, the Magnolia resident does video work for Microsoft and “never” will retire. “If the phone rings, I’ll answer it,” he says. “Almost Live!” was “my best 15 years — the fun, the notoriety. We had this tool that nobody else had.”
Steve Wilson interview excerpts, May 31, 2024
* * * * *
Bill Nye
writer, performer, 1984-1999
The nation’s best-known science educator encountered “Almost Live!” back when he was a Boeing engineer who also did standup. On “Almost Live!” he embodied the super-heroic “Speed Walker.” Then Shafer told him, “You could be Bill Nye, the Science Guy.” In 1992, Nye embraced that persona as a career. Based in Washington, DC, he still pitches science with wit, “Almost Live!”-style: “It’s a team, it’s telling a story with bare hands. You can have all the digital effects, but it’s the story. It’s evoking emotions in the viewer, and I love that.”
Bill Nye interview excerpts, June 13, 2024
* * * * *
Mike Boydstun
photographer, editor, performer, 1984-1993
Arriving in Seattle in 1983, Boydstun worked at KIRO-TV, then KING-TV, including “Almost Live!” pilots. He moved to a Seattle production company, Miramar, directing music-driven videos, then worked on PBS Biz Kids, using comedy to teach financial literacy to youths. The Crown Hill resident shoots corporate video and commercials. “Almost Live!” was “a magical and yet tortured time. We were given the keys to have fun, yet we wanted to do better than we could. That was the torture of it. I’ll always cherish it.”
Mike Boydstun interview excerpts, July 5, 2024
* * * * *
Pat Cashman
writer, performer, 1984-1999
Inspired by legendary comedian Stan Freberg, Cashman worked at KING 5 producing funny commercials, joining “Almost Live!” while maintaining a radio show. Today, based in his hometown of Bend, Ore., Cashman is a freelance keynote speaker. “Almost Live!” was, he says, “my favorite time and greatest privilege. Most of us just felt lucky to be there. We were a bunch of local yokels who got an opportunity to do this show.”
Pat Cashman interview excerpts, June 12, 2024
* * * * *
Bill Stainton
producer, writer, performer, 1985-1999
Stainton came to “Almost Live!” from Portland’s KGW-TV. He later wrote for “The Tonight Show” and became an author (“The 5 Best Decisions the Beatles Ever Made”), bolstering his current gig as a keynote speaker on innovation. “Almost Live!” is his “glory days,” says the Mukilteo resident. “I couldn’t have invented a better job for myself in the greatest city in the 1990s, Seattle. It was like the swinging 1960s in London.”
Bill Stainton interview excerpts, June 4, 2024
* * * * *
Joe Guppy,
writer, performer, 1985-1989
Keister recruited the journalist and improv comedian and his then-girlfriend (later wife) Nancy Harris to “Almost Live!” There, Guppy specialized in on-the-street interviews. He and Nancy moved to Los Angeles to write for “Not Necessarily the News,” then he became a psychotherapist until 2015. An author (“My Fluorescent God”), the Queen Anne resident is a creativity coach. “Almost Live!” undergirds his work. “As a group, we really set the stage.”
Joe Guppy interview excerpts, June 19, 2024
* * * * *
Scott Schaefer
associate producer, writer, performer, 1986-1988
Growing up in West Seattle, Schaefer wanted to be like his funny father, a real-estate salesman. Influenced by J.P. Patches and Mad magazine, and with an Eastern Washington University degree in film and TV, he began at “Almost Live!” by submitting scripts. He left with Shafer in 1988. Today the Burien resident covers South King County news via the internet. “Almost Live!” was “a dream come true. I dove into it, learned a lot and was around very funny people. It was probably the best job of my life.”
Scott Schaefer interview excerpts, July 15, 2024
* * * * *
Nancy Guppy
writer, performer, 1986-1989, 1992-1999
Guppy, raised in Magnolia, took an acting class and met future husband Joe, leading to “Almost Live!” Returning from L.A. in 1992, she became a “firecracker” for the show, says cast-mate Tracey Conway. The Queen Anne resident created and still produces the Seattle Channel’s “Art Zone” magazine, an “Almost Live!” echo. “It opens doors still,” she says of “Almost Live!” “It’s the gift that keeps on giving. It’s absolutely why I have a career. Best, funnest, coolest job I ever had. Being in the right place at the right time, and saying yes.”
Nancy Guppy interview excerpts, May 27, 2024
* * * * *
Darrell Suto
photographer, editor, performer, 1988-1992
Trained as a videographer, Suto grew up in the Central Area and Beacon Hill, working at KOMO-TV before jumping to KING and “Almost Live!” There he became an initially reluctant on-camera star, the “righteously indignant” Billy Quan. The Oklahoma City resident later made videos for Nye, the Discovery Channel and Microsoft. He credits “Almost Live!” for an enduring identity he embraces. “You couldn’t have planned this show. If you had planned it, it would have failed. It was a unique opportunity. Kudos to KING 5 for believing in it.”
Darrell Suto interview excerpts, June 4, 2024
* * * * *
Ed Wyatt
writer, performer 1988-1994
Wyatt, a language-arts teacher and author (“How to College”), came to “Almost Live!” specializing in stony characters. Later, he hosted a Portland TV magazine show and helped launch Fox Sports World, which sent him in 1999 to Melbourne, Australia, where he is marketing director for a wagering firm. “Almost Live!” was “a huge thing that had a massive effect in many ways. It gave me confidence that I didn’t have, just the idea that people would laugh.”
Ed Wyatt interview excerpts, July 7, 2024
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Bob Nelson
writer, performer, 1989-1999
Idolizing the comedy writers depicted on “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” Nelson worked for KVI-AM, Los Angeles radio and even The Seattle Times classified-ad department. After cracking “Almost Live!” with submitted gags, he says he played “Dumb Guy, Clueless Guy, Boring Guy, Folky Guy, and Angry Guy.” Later, the Whidbey Island resident was Oscar-nominated for writing “Nebraska.” “Almost Live!” tops his working life. “It didn’t feel like work and was a joyful experience with people I liked and admired. I got to write jokes and sketches and see them on TV a few days later!”
Bob Nelson emails June 8, 2024, interview excerpts July 15, 2024
* * * * *
Tracey Conway
performer, writer, 1989-1999
Conway, with master’s-level drama training, broke into “Almost Live!” while a human-resources secretary at KING 5, launched by a frantic 1989 Space Needle bit. Joining the cast in 1990, for two years she was its only woman. Later the West Seattleite turned to speaking and voice work, mostly for heart-healthy causes. “I will be forever grateful and beyond fond for my time at ‘Almost Live!’ All I wanted to be since I was a teenager was a working actor, and there my talent was recognized. To have an ongoing job was beyond my dreams.”
Tracey Conway interview excerpts, June 1, 2024
* * * * *
Hans-Eric Gosch
associate producer, writer, set designer, 1992-1998
A UW broadcast journalism major, Gosch was an NBC-TV page at 30 Rock, with the “David Letterman Show” and “Today.” He returned to write news for KING-TV and designed props and sets for “Almost Live!” He later went to VH1’s “Before They Were Rock Stars” and spent 24 years at Amazon and in business development. He recently produced two TV shows and today is a healthcare fundraiser. “Almost Live!” was “magical,” says the Roosevelt resident. “We got paid to throw dummies off buildings. We dressed up and made each other laugh and threw this show together that became part of people’s Saturday night.”
Hans-Eric Gosch interview excerpts, June 28, 2024
* * * * *
Ralph Bevins
photographer, editor, writer, performer, 1993-1999
After growing up in Orlando, Bevins worked on TV magazine shows in Orlando, Chicago and Dallas. He came to Seattle to work for KING-TV’s Evening Magazine and waited years to work on Almost Live!”, taking Boydstun’s place. Later, the Bellevue resident worked 20 years for the Seattle Channel and retired in 2020. “Almost Live!” was “an impossible act to follow. Everyone could pitch ideas. It was survival of the funniest. I felt like I was somehow cinematographer on ‘Citizen Kane.’ What I enjoyed most was the collaboration.”
Ralph Bevins essay, June 21, 2024
* * * * *
Joel McHale
writer, performer, 1993-1996
After University of Washington stage shows, McHale filled an “Almost Live!” slot left by a departing Wyatt, creating a signature William Wallace (“Braveheart”) character, braying about “our freedom.” The show led to more than 90 TV and film credits, including “The Soup” and “Community.” The Hollywood Hills actor, producer and writer also tours doing standup comedy. “Almost Live!” gave him “an aircraft carrier of confidence as a young performer. Also, all that ribbing and roasting made Seattle really cool because it could take a joke and make really fun jokes about itself.”
Joel McHale interview excerpts, June 7, 2024
* * * * *
Victor Morris
performer, writer, 1994-1995
Morris, born in Germany and raised in New York City, is an actor on stage and screen, with 35 TV and film credits. Most recently, he played Salisbury in “Henry VI” at The Old Globe in San Diego. His “Almost Live!” sketches included “The New Guy in Marketing” “Seventh Vasectomy” and a “Jeopardy” monologue. “We all tried to show our society in a way that was authentic and keeping the humor of the ignorance, as well as laughing at ourselves for being such.”
Victor Morris email, June 8, 2024
* * * * *
Kim Evey
performer, writer, 1995-1996
Evey, moving to Seattle with an Albuquerque improv company, took improv courses from “Almost Live!” writer-performer Joe Guppy, whose wife and fellow writer-performer Nancy Guppy recommended Evey for the show. “Almost Live!” was “like going to comedy school,” says Evey, today with more than 50 acting, producing and writing credits, mostly on TV. “It really taught me the inner workings of being on a professional show. It was a great jumping-off point. It gave me a little bit of confidence coming to L.A.”
Kim Evey interview excerpts, July 17, 2024
* * * * *
Gary Locke
guest performer, 1997-1999
Locke, who served as Washington governor from 1997 to 2005 (earlier as state representative and King County executive, later as U.S. commerce secretary), was a favorite comedic target on “Almost Live!” He was tweaked in monologues and faux news reports 13 times, appeared in one taped sketch and was part of two live studio shows, including what became the final episode. He says “we all came of age” with “Almost Live!”
Gary Locke interview excerpts, June 24, 2024
* * * * *
David Scully
writer, performer, 1997-1999
Discovered by Stainton, Keister and Nancy Guppy while doing standup, Scully made occasional “Almost Live!” appearances, enjoying comedy writing (“the fun part”). He went on to voice-act in more than 50 video games. Today, from various cities, he runs a greeting-card firm. “Almost Live!” was “a dream. It was fun, it was a lot of hard work, and I thought every creative collaboration was going to be like that. And it was not. I’m like, ‘Where’s the support?’ It made me think I was really spoiled.”
David Scully interview excerpts, June 7, 2024
* * * * *
Rhonda Watson
writer, performer, 1997-1998
A high-school “drama kid,” Watson worked at KING 5 in production, eventually joining “Almost Live!” writers’ meetings and performing on-camera. Later, in Texas, she raised funds for the United Negro College Fund. Today, in College Station, she directs the Boys & Girls Club of Brazos Valley. “Almost Live!” was “a pivotal time for me, personally and professionally. I was already an actress and writer. It’s what I consider my claim to fame in the area of performance.”
Rhonda Watson interview excerpts, June 10, 2024
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Lauren Weedman
performer, writer, 1998-1999
Weedman arrived in Seattle by way of Minneapolis, Chicago, New Haven and Amsterdam, making a short film with Keister, whom she perceived as “the king of the city.” After “Almost Live!” the Santa Monica actor, playwright and comic memoirist (“A Woman Trapped in a Woman’s Body”) amassed more than 60 TV and film credits, launched by “Almost Live!” “It started everything. I wouldn’t have gotten ‘The Daily Show.’ I was more of a lone-wolf solo artist and learned about working on camera. It was amazing to be a part of such a cool thing.”
Lauren Weedman interview excerpts, June 18, 2024
* * * * *
Chris Smith, creative director, and
Jay Yovanovich, marketing director, KING 5
Chris and Jay oversee KING 5’s vast archive of “Almost Live!” recordings, photos and other materials, carefully guiding the show’s legacy into the future. Jay says “Almost Live!” is firmly a “part of the Northwest ecosystem.” Read excerpts of their recent interview below, or watch them via the YouTube link!
Chris Smith and Jay Yovanovich interview excerpts, June 10, 2024
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Clara Berg
‘Almost Live! (Almost an Exhibit)’ curator, 2024
Berg, collections curator for the Museum of History & Industry since 2019, started there in 2011 as costumes and textiles specialist. Her “Almost Live! (Almost an Exhibit)” opens Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. Berg was spurred to advocate for the exhibit by family friend Stan Kaufman, for whom a download link is also provided here.
Clara Berg interview excerpts, May 21, 2024
Stan Kaufman email, June 4, 2024
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