On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we talk about the magical kings of Las Vegas, Siegfried and Roy. Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Horn were a magician and animal handler who moved from crappy cruise ships to Sinatra’s Vegas and then dominated the town for over thirty years with their insane, extravagant illusions. They were known for their magical pets, the legion of white tigers and lions that they raised, trained, lived with, and included in their magic. This duo were at times romantic partners, at times business partners, and always—somehow—friends with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Their empire came to an end, however, when a tiger named Manticore attacked Roy on stage one night. How much damage did the attack do? What did the main animal trainer say? What was their reputation in the magician community? What happened to the tiger? Listen, laugh, learn. Visit Our Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siegfried_%26_Roy https://www.biography.com/celebrities/roy-horn https://www.biography.com/celebrities/siegfried-fischbacher Guardian Article Here People Article Here New Atlantic https://facts.net/celebrity/16-surprising-facts-about-siegfried-and-roy/ https://www.magicana.com/news/blog/take-two-21-siegfried-roy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father_of_the_Pride

On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we talk about one of the biggest True Crime cases of the 1990s, that of Lorena and John Bobbitt. In June of 1993, Lorena famously cut off John’s penis with a Ginsu knife, threw it in a field, and later helped the police find and reattach it. The media circus that followed was intense. Cameras were allowed in the court room and listened to Lorena and a majority of the witnesses back up her claims of domestic abuse and rape. We do our half assed best to figure out what really happened, but it ends with John starring in one of the highest grossing pornos of all time and Lorena playing herself in a documentary series by Jordan Peele. Listen, laugh, learn.   Visit Our Sources: https://www.biography.com/crime/lorena-bobbitt https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_and_Lorena_Bobbitt https://time.com/5317979/lorena-bobbitt-today-anniversary-interview/ https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/battered-woman-syndrome-it-enough-not-guilty-reason-insanity-plea https://www.nickiswift.com/380822/the-most-bizarre-things-about-the-lorena-bobbitt-case/ https://commons.und.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5068&context=theses

On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we look at the colorful life of Randy "Macho Man" Savage. Randy was one of the all-time greats of wrestling. His character work and wrestling promos are among the most bizarre and hysterical of all time. He had a famous love affair with his manager (and actual wife) Miss Elizabeth, and helped to make WrestleMania, perhaps more than even Hulk Hogan did. Some say he was paranoid and intense, protecting Elizabeth from rivals he didn’t have, and he fell into a 9 year feud with Hogan and an even longer one with Vince McMahon. What turned him into a global pop culture phenomenon? What tore him and Vince apart? What famous wrestler was his brother? Why do they call him one of the best in the history of the business? Listen, laugh, learn. Visit Our Sources: https://www.biography.com/athletes/macho-man-randy-savage https://www.wwe.com/superstars/randysavage https://prowrestling.fandom.com/wiki/Randy_Savage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Savage https://nationaltoday.com/birthday/randy-savage/ https://play.aetv.com/shows/biography-wwe-legends/season-1/episode-3 https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/513498/9-things-you-might-not-know-about-macho-man-randy-savage https://uproxx.com/prowrestling/ohhhhh-yeah-10-things-you-might-not-know-about-the-mad-life-of-macho-man-randy-savage/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnBUbRowRgM

On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we dig into the biography of the one and only Dan Aykroyd. He earned his chops as one of the original cast members on Saturday Night Live, but this cultural legend has brought to life some of the most important characters in all of film. He blew the roof off the joint in 1984 with his film The Blues Brothers, and a few years later, he changed the world of comedy by writing and starring in Ghostbusters. And Ghostbusters was no accident for this man who is a spiritualist and firmly believes in ghosts, UFOs, and the paranormal. What UFO sightings has he had? Why did he create the spirit brad Crystal Skull Vodka? How much money is he worth for all his ghosts and spirits? Listen, laugh, learn. Visit Our Sources: https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/dan-aykroyd-3412.php https://elevatesociety.com/dan-aykroyd/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Aykroyd https://www.independent.co.uk/tv/culture/ghostbusters-dan-aykroyd-ufo-sighting-b2475454.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rvxPNHf-z4 https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/us-news/-it-was-a-vivid-sighting-actor-dan-aykroyd-claims-he-had-spectacular-ufo-encounters-four-times-101704794103774.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_Head_Vodka https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ya0DQwWCO3o  

On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we talk about the life of an understated comic genius, John Candy. For two decades Candy was in some of the best comedies that Hollywood had to offer. But it all started with the famous comedy troupe Second City and his involvement with Emmy winning comedy show, SCTV. In his early years, he befriended and worked with comedians like Dan Aykroyd and Rick Moranis, and eventually became close friends the film legend John Hughes. From Stripes to Uncle Buck and from Home Alone to Planes Trains and Automobiles, this everyman of comedy dominated the scene.     Visit Our Sources: https://www.biography.com/actors/john-candy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Candy https://www.secondcity.com/people/other/john-candy/ https://variety.com/2023/film/news/john-candy-documentary-amazon-colin-hanks-ryan-reynolds-1235517899/ https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/610983/john-candy-actor-facts https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/25-fun-facts-about-john-candy-and-the-comedians-legendary-career https://facts.net/celebrity/18-mind-blowing-facts-about-john-candy/ https://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-celebrities/actors/john-candy-net-worth/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtayB-vIyfY

On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we talk about one of the largest cults in Japan—the Happy Science Cult. Yes, that’s really their name. They were founded by Ryuho Okawa who was the key rival to the Aum Shinriko cult (who tried to kill Okawa with poison gas in his car). The Happies believe that Okawa is the embodiment of the god El Cantare who was born on Venus millions of years ago. Their leader channels people like Jesus, Buddha, Socrates, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and even Michael Jackson to write books for him. They produce tons of horrible anime, try to influence elections, and of course take all the money they can. Why does Okawa’s son claim he is a fraud? How many books have they written? Why are they called Happy Science? Listen, laugh, learn.   Visit Our Sources: https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Happy_Science https://www.vice.com/en/article/jmvan4/my-afternoon-with-a-failed-japanese-cult https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Science https://theworld.org/stories/2022-11-30/japan-s-infamous-happy-cult-sets-sights-united-states https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20230302-japan-happy-science-cult-leader-okawa-dies-media https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Death-of-the-founder-of-Happy-Science,-a-controversial-Japanese-religious-sect-57887.html https://gamerant.com/japanese-cult-happy-science-anime/

On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we explore one of the worst regimes in the West: the dictatorship of Papa Doc Duvalier. François Duvalier came to be the sadistic president for life of the island of Haiti, running the island through a regime of terror, voodoo, and secret police for 14 years. He had a murder squad called the Tontons Macoutes, named after a Haitian boogey man who would eat children for breakfast. He killed tens of thousands of Haitians during his dark reign, claimed to have killed President Kennedy through voodoo, once had every black dog in the country killed, and kept the head of an enemy on ice in a special closet, so he could talk to it. If you like them bloody and crazy, it doesn’t get much better than Papa Doc. Visit Our Sources: https://www.nytimes.com/1971/04/23/archives/papa-doc-a-ruthless-dictator-kept-the-haitians-in-illiteracy-and.html https://www.historyanswers.co.uk/people-politics/papa-doc-duvalier-the-voodoo-president-who-killed-kennedy/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_Duvalier https://www.doctorsecrets.com/papa-doc-duvalier-haiti-s-voodoo-doctor https://medium.com/lessons-from-history/papa-doc-the-voodoo-tyrant-of-haiti-654a41a68474 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_occupation_of_Haiti

On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we talk about the career of the one and only Conan O’Brien. Conan went from utterly unknown to become one of the all-time greats of late night television. He had a major feud with Jay Leno (who screwed him out of his dream job), but nothing could dampen his impact on American comedy. From amazing remotes to unbelievable characters (I’m looking at you, Masturbating Bear), his late night shows were among the best. We talk about his crazy pranks he pulled at Harvard, his podcast, and even his classic moments with Norm McDonald.   Visit Our Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conan_O%27Brien https://www.biography.com/movies-tv/conan-obrien https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/conan-obrien/bio/3030386650/ https://histlit.fas.harvard.edu/people/people/alumni/conan-obrien https://www.universallifechurchministers.org/celebrities/conan-obrien https://www.ranker.com/list/facts-about-conan-obrien/jacob-shelton https://www.cracked.com/article_37683_60-conan-obrien-trivia-tidbits-on-his-60th-birthday.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpIEyn9G6_8&t=371s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKmadR4Ye54&t=1s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-MJy7w69EU

On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we say a hearty “Live from New York…It’s Saturday Night.” That’s right. We talk all things Saturday Night Live. This American television institution has been responsible for discovering some of the most important comic voices over the past five decades. It has been a bastion for counter culture, political satire, musical discovery, and dicks in boxes. It was created by Lorne Michaels who has succeeded in keeping the show somehow relevant, fresh, funny, and on the air all these years. Whether you like old school SNL like the Blues Brothers or dig Michael Che and Colin Jost, we’ve got you covered. Visit Our Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturday_Night_Live https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/saturday-night-live-debuts https://snl.jt.org/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorne_Michaels https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/harry-shearer-interview-simpsons-spinal-tap-b2456903.html https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/69730/facts-about-saturday-night-live https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEKul4088ug https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Saturday_Night_Live_cast_members https://ew.com/music/sinead-oconnor-pope-photo-snl/

On this episode of The Sofa King Podcast, we talk about the ultimate case of forbidden love—the story of Mary Kay Letourneau. Letourneau was made (in)famous in the late 1990s when she had a love affair with a student of hers named Vili Fualaau. Why would this propel her to the heights of tabloid fame? Because she was 35, and he was only 13. She gave birth their first daughter while still awaiting trail for child rape, and she broke the rules of her parole and got pregnant by him again almost the instant she got out of prison. So, how long did she serve time? How long did they stay together? How did marijuana cause them to get a divorce? Listen, laugh, learn. Visit Our Sources: https://www.biography.com/crime/mary-kay-letourneau https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Kay_Letourneau https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/mary-kay-letourneau-may-december-true-story-1234918355/ https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/obituaries/mary-kay-letourneau-dead.html https://www.crimelibrary.org/criminal_mind/psychology/marykay_letourneau/1.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RezOEn0daNU https://www.intouchweekly.com/posts/mary-kay-letourneau-vili-fualaaus-interview-inspired-film/ https://facts.net/celebrity/39-facts-about-mary-kay-letourneau/  

On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we look at the amazing underground city of Derinkuyu. This tomb of a city is in modern day Turkey and dates back thousands of years. Nobody is sure when they started building it, but at its peak, it held a sustainable population of 20,000 people. It held its own food stores, animal farms, churches, wine makers, you name it. It had giant stone doors that no attacker could budge, and it was used over the centuries by multiple cultures and religious groups. In fact, it wasn’t fully abandoned until the early 1920s and rediscovered by accident in the 1960s. If you like the cities of the dwarves and underground catacombs, this one is for you.   Visit Our Sources: https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20220810-derinkuyu-turkeys-underground-city-of-20000-people https://sometimes-interesting.com/derinkuyu-the-underground-cities-of-cappadocia/ https://tomorrow.city/a/elengubu-derinkuyu-underground-city-thousands-of-people https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/derinkuyu-turkey-underground-city-strange-maps https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derinkuyu_underground_city