Episode 17: Louis Virtel and Laraine Newman

Episode 17

3rd August 2018

In this episode, we’ll learn how Louis’s love of publicly answering trivia questions stems from a 3rd-grade spelling bee that he came up short in and why the winners of Jeopardy love keeping in touch with each other after their victories. Laraine will explain why she never tires of hearing people announce her name in the fashion of SNL’s Don Pardo, and how she decides what the voice of each of her characters sound like.

Episode notes

Louis Virtel is a comedian and a co-host of the podcast Keep It. He’s also the winner of Jeopardy, whose Double Jeopardy celebration went viral shortly after it aired on TV.

Laraine Newman returns to Go Fact Yourself, this time as a contestant. Newman is best known as an original cast member of the Not Ready for Primetime Players on Saturday Night Live, and she was a founding member of the legendary Groundlings Theater in Los Angeles. If she sounds familiar to you, you may recognize her as the voice of Crab Lady on SpongeBob SquarePants, Nana from Trollhunters: Tale of Arcadia and lots of other shows.

In this episode, we’ll learn how Louis’s love of publicly answering trivia questions stems from a 3rd-grade spelling bee that he came up short in and why the winners of Jeopardy love keeping in touch with each other after their victories. Laraine will explain why she never tires of hearing people announce her name in the fashion of SNL’s Don Pardo, and how she decides what the voice of each of her characters sound like.

What’s the difference?

What’s the difference between a “thumbs up” sign and the “okay” sign in SCUBA diving?

What’s the difference between a “Dead-End” and a “No-Outlet” on the road?

Areas of Expertise
Louis Virtel: Jeopardy, world capitals, and Aimee Mann.
Laraine Newman: Electronic Dance Music, cooking, Universal horror movies from the 1930’s and 40’s.

Appearing in this episode:

J. Keith van Straaten
Helen Hong
Louis Virtel
Laraine Newman

With guest experts:
Jerome Vered, writer and all-time winner of Jeopardy.

Donnie Dunagan, U.S. Marine Corp Drill instructor and the voice of the titular character in the Disney movie Bambi.

Go Fact Yourself was devised by Jim Newman and J. Keith van Straaten, and produced in collaboration with Maximum Fun. The show is recorded at the Angel City Brewery in downtown Los Angeles.

Theme Song by Jonathan Green.
David McKeever is the Live Sound Engineer.
Maximum Fun’s Senior Producer is Laura Swisher.
The show is edited by Julian Burrell.

In this episode...

Guests

  • Louis Virtel & Laraine Newman
  • J. Keith Van Straaten
  • Helen Hong
  • Jerome Vered
  • Donnie Dunagan

About the show

Twice a month, host J. Keith van Straaten and co-host Helen Hong quiz the smartest celebrities they know to find out why they love what they love! Recorded before a live audience in downtown Los Angeles, this game show features comedians, actors, and musicians answering arcane questions on topics they claim to be experts in. But don’t worry; if they slip up, there are real experts on hand to give us the facts!

If you’re in the Los Angeles area and would like to be in the audience for a podcast taping, get your free ticket at http://www.gofactyourpod.com!

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