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Tim Russell Has a Broken Ankle

Published
by
Tim Russell
on February 16, 2009
in News, Prairie Home and Tim Russell
. 4 Comments

I had a nasty slip on the ice taking the garbage out before work at my day job ( as Entertainment Editor for “The Morning News with Dave Lee”, 5-9 am on WCCO Radio). I was walking back up the driveway my right leg slipped out from under me and my left foot, was dislocated, breaking both the tibia and the fibula right at the ankle. It felt like a compound fracture and when I looked at my foot after hitting the ground, it was dangling off to the side at a right angle.

Tim's left ankle before surgery.

Tim's left ankle before surgery.

Screaming ensued, at that point you think of all the things you wanted to do , clean the garage, move furniture for a sale, start the Nordic Track training again, things that you know are out the window for a while. I had my Cell with me so I called my wife, in bed sound asleep ( it was 4:45am), then I called 911. Some of my neighbors heard the screaming and they called 911 and came by to help. We had to salt the driveway so no one else would be hurt. I was there on the icy driveway for about 20 minutes waiting for the ambulance, it seemed like an hour. I like it when they say “which foot is it?”. That would be the one dangling off to the side, I believe! They loaded me up with morphine and took me to Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital. I cursed every one of those Minnesota potholes while calling the boys at WCCO to tell them I wasn’t going to be around for a while. My wife followed armed with a small Kodak Z16 HD pocket video camera to document the proceedings. The sight of my ankle in the ER is perfect for viewing at family gatherings at holidays… like HALLOWEEN! My first holding room was so small that the personnel kept bumping into my foot; it was a “Three Stooges” routine. After some X-Rays, they reset the dislocated foot. This is where in the old Western movies, they would say “Drink a swig of this and bite down on this leather” but today they have these things called drugs, I didn’t feel a thing. I couldn’t eat or drink before surgery, which finally happened at 8pm, it was 1 hour and 40 minutes long, took 8 screws and a plate and the orthopedic surgeon did a great job.

Tim's ankle with all the new titanium.

Tim's ankle with all the new titanium.

I stayed in the hospital until Thursday afternoon (2/12), resting; being poked and prodded, learning to handle the crutches and the bathroom.

tim-in-hospitalI needed some grab bars installed at home, so my wife arranged the installation for Friday morning. I moved to a transitional care unit near our house Thursday to have an extra day for Judy to get the house ready.

Valentine’s day I went home to my new bed/office/media center. Judy cleared out the area rugs, had the bars installed, moved the furniture around and had everything just right. Luckily, I had a Valentine present sitting in the back seat of my car for a couple of weeks so I had some small way to thank Judy for all the hard work.

I need to stay in bed until Monday (2/23) when the surgeon will open up the splint and wrap to check and hopefully remove the staples and sutures. She would then put a removable cast on and I’m on a non-weight bearing situation for another 4 weeks. She says it will be another 6 months or so before the ankle will be somewhat normal.

The biggest loss in all of this is missing work for a couple of weeks. I so enjoy the camaraderie and good times on the morning show on WCCO, and the movie preview screenings 4 or 5 times a week. I hope to look into an ISDN installation for voice-overs and WCCO, but losing the chance to be on stage live with Garrison Keillor’s “A Prairie Home Companion” is particularly rough.

Fortunately, PHC has a three-week break before a 3/21 show at the State Theater in Minneapolis and by that time I should be hobbling around with skill. I look forward to it.

Tim Russell’s Oscar Blog

Published
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Tim Russell
on February 4, 2009
in Tim Russell
. 0 Comments

OscarOscar

Hats off to the Academy for putting together a very entertaining show last night. Hugh Jackman proved to be a great pick as  host, kicking things off at 7:3o with a recession shaped musical tribute to the 2009 nominated movies, and later anchoring an overblown big-time production number created by Baz Luhrman with Astaire like grace.”Slumdog Millionaire” was the night’s big winner with 8 statues and it was a joy to see the entire cast hit the stage to accept, especially the adorable child actors who were flown in from India for the event. I had “Slumdog” as Best Film and Danny Boyle as Best Director but overall my picks were not quite as successful. I was skunked on several peripheral categories, I missed with Mickey Rourke as the best actor,  but was impressed with Sean Penn’s acceptance. I had Kate Winslet as Best Actress and even though I thought Amy Adams would win as Best Supporting Actor I was right in saying Penelope Cruz should win, and she did. My pick tabulation: 9 right, 11 wrong, and in four categories I was correct with my “should win” predictions. This is why I stay away from VegasThe attempts at comedy were thankfully more successful than not. Tina Fey and Steve Martin set the bar high with some clever writing, Ben Stiller hot the mark with his parody of a distracted Joaquin Phoenix , and Judd Apatow delivered a clever “Pineapple Express” segment with James Franco and Seth Rogan reprising their stoners in a salute to the Comedies of 2009.I really liked the concept of having past winners deliver their well written tributes to the nominees in each of the major acting categories. The emotions seemed quite heartfelt.The show has it’s legitimate detractors, it’s always too long, but I must say I was very impressed with what seems to be a very successful reworking of the production. Way to go Academy, I’m looking forward to another year of cinema.

These were my picks for the 81st Annual Academy Awards as the Entertainment Editor for WCCO Radio:

1.        Best Picture: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Frost/Nixon,” “Milk,” “The Reader,” “Slumdog Millionaire.”

Should win: Slumdog Millionaire

Will win: Slumdog Millionaire

2.        Actor: Richard Jenkins, “The Visitor”; Frank Langella, “Frost/Nixon”; Sean Penn, “Milk”; Brad Pitt, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”; Mickey Rourke, “The Wrestler.”

Should win: Mickey Rourke

Will win: Mickey Rourke

3.        Actress: Anne Hathaway, “Rachel Getting Married”; Angelina Jolie, “Changeling”; Melissa Leo, “Frozen River”; Meryl Streep, “Doubt”; Kate Winslet, “The Reader.”

Should win: Melissa Leo

Will win : Kate Winslett

4.        Supporting Actor: Josh Brolin, “Milk”; Robert Downey Jr., “Tropic Thunder”; Philip Seymour Hoffman, “Doubt”; Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight”; Michael Shannon, “Revolutionary Road.”

Should win: Heath Ledger

Will win: Heath Ledger

5.        Supporting Actress: Amy Adams, “Doubt”; Penelope Cruz, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”; Viola Davis, “Doubt”; Taraji P. Henson, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”; Marisa Tomei, “The Wrestler.”

Should win: Penelope Cruz

Will win: Amy Adams

6.        Director: David Fincher, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”; Ron Howard, “Frost/Nixon”; Gus Van Sant, “Milk”; Stephen Daldry, “The Reader”; Danny Boyle, “Slumdog Millionaire.”

Should win: Danny Boyle

Will win: Danny Boyle

7.        Foreign Film: “The Baader Meinhof Complex,” Germany; “The Class,” France; “Departures,” Japan; “Revanche,” Austria; “Waltz With Bashir,” Israel.

Should win: “Waltz With Bashir”

Will lwin: “The Class

8.        Adapted Screenplay: Eric Roth and Robin Swicord, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”; John Patrick Shanley, “Doubt”; Peter Morgan, “Frost/Nixon”; David Hare, “The Reader”; Simon Beaufoy, “Slumdog Millionaire.”

Should win: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

Will win: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

9.        Original Screenplay: Courtney Hunt, “Frozen River”; Mike Leigh, “Happy-Go-Lucky”; Martin McDonagh, “In Bruges”; Dustin Lance Black, “Milk”; Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon and Pete Docter, “WALL-E.”

Should win: “Frozen River”

Will win: “In Bruges”

10.     Animated Feature Film: “Bolt”; “Kung Fu Panda”; “WALL-E.”

Should win: WALL-E

Will win: WALL-E

11.     Art Direction: “Changeling,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight,” “The Duchess,” “Revolutionary Road.”

Should win: “The Curious case of Benjamin Button”

Will win: “The Curious case of Benjamin Button”

12.     Cinematography: “Changeling,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight,” “The Reader,” “Slumdog Millionaire.”

Should win: “ Slumdog Millionaire”

Will win: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

13.     Sound Mixing: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight,” “Slumdog Millionaire,” “WALL-E,” “Wanted.”

Should win: “The Dark Knight”

Will win: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

14.     Sound Editing: “The Dark Knight,” “Iron Man,” “Slumdog Millionaire,” “WALL-E,” “Wanted.”

Should win: ”WALL-E”

Will  win: “Slumdog Millioaire”

15.     Original Score: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” Alexandre Desplat; “Defiance,” James Newton Howard; “Milk,” Danny Elfman; “Slumdog Millionaire,” A.R. Rahman; “WALL-E,” Thomas Newman.

Should win:” Slumdog Millionaire”

Will win: “Slumdog Millionaire”

16.     Original Song: “Down to Earth” from “WALL-E,” Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman; “Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire,” A.R. Rahman and Gulzar; “O Saya” from “Slumdog Millionaire,” A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam.

Should win:”Down to Earth”

Will win: “Sown to Earth”

17. Costume: “Australia,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Duchess,” “Milk,” “Revolutionary Road.”

Should win:” The curious Case of Benjamin Button

Will win:” The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

18. Documentary Feature: “The Betrayal (Nerakhoon),” “Encounters at the End of the World,” “The Garden,” “Man on Wire,” “Trouble the Water.”

Should win: “ Man on Wire”

Will win: “ Trouble the Water”

19. Film Editing: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight,” “Frost/Nixon,” “Milk,” “Slumdog Millionaire.”

Should win:”Slumdog Millionaire”

Will Win: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

20. Makeup: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight,” “Hellboy II: The Golden Army.”

Should win: “ The Curios Case of Benjamin Button”

Will win: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

21. Visual Effects: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight,” “Iron Man.”

Should win:” The Curious Case of Benjamin Button “

Will win:” The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

Sue Scott and Tim Russell on You Tube!

Published
by
Sue Scott
on January 27, 2009
in News, Prairie Home, Sue Scott and Tim Russell
. 1 Comment

Yes, Tim and I can now be heard AND seen doing our thing each week on A Prairie Home Companion.  Various sketches from the radio show are now being video taped and uploaded to YouTube.  You can peek in on what we’re doing live on the air for listeners all across the globe! Check out the videos of our APHC scripts posted on You Tube. Just to get you started, here we are (with Garrison and Tom Keith) in “Ruth Harrison: Reference Librarian”… Enjoy!

Tim Russell is cast in new Coen Brothers Film

Published
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Tim Russell
on September 18, 2008
in Tim Russell
. 0 Comments

I was cast as a Detective, circa 1967, in the new Coen Brothers Film “A Serious Man”, now shooting in Minneapolis, St. Paul, MN. I auditioned for casting agent Rachel Tenner August 5 and had a callback on the 12th with the Coen Brothers. It’s a small speaking part but it’s a thrill to be involved.

On August 23 I met with Mary Zophres, the costume designer for a wardrobe fitting. There was a large room filled with every conceivable outfit, male and female, from the late’60’s, a look I remember very well. I received a nice dark suit, skinny tie black shoes and socks, white shirt and a “Blues Brothers” hat. I had a nice chat with Debbie DeLisi, the extras casting director. She worked on the Robert Altman film “A Prairie Home Companion” with me and brought me up to date on what the producers and crew had been up to.

September 1, Labor Day, took me to the floor of the Republican National Convention as part of my day job with WCCO, a CBS radio station, and “The Morning News with Dave Lee”. I’m the Entertainment Editor as part of the morning show, but during the convention I served as a roving reporter ambushing the big names with my trusty Flash Mic, a portable digital Microphone with a built in flash memory. I Talked with Laura Bush, NBC’s Meredith Vieira, Rep. Ron Paul, Face the Nation’s Bob Shieiffer, former Governor Jesse Ventura, CNN’s John Roberts and many others. The security was intense, but since we arrived at 4am each morning it was smooth sailing getting in and out.

After the last day, September 4, my wife and I left for vacation in Buenos Aires, Argentina The Coen Brothers had some concerns about our planned return date of September 15th since my shooting day was to be the 16th, so we arranged to come back on the 13th, traveling back through Houston.

Buenos Aires Filete paintingArgentina was great, good food, great people, and fine architecture. Hurricane Ike was of some concern through our week there, so we moved our return to September 11th, arriving in Houston on the 12th. It became a race with the clock, when we arrived in Houston our 11am flight had been canceled; they were closing the airport at Noon. We were able to rebook getting the last two seats on the 7:10am flight to MSP, but had just 20 minutes to make the flight. We were very lucky. Judy’s cousin Patty lives in Houston and said we could stay in their guest room if we got stranded. Ike hit in the wee hours of Saturday the 13th and later that day we got a call from Patty that a tree had smashed through their roof right into the guestroom that had been prepped for us. We were very, very lucky.

1.jpgTuesday the 16th I arrived at the base camp of the Coen Brothers Film at 9am, got into my costume and waited for my call. The base camp is a Lutheran Church in Bloomington, a postwar suburb with the right look for the period. The block of homes that serves as the exterior set was hit with straight line winds a few years back so all these ramblers had newly planted trees making it look like 1967. We I got the call for my scene after a great film set meal, I was blown away by the time travel aspect of the one story houses with mid 60’s cars in every driveway.

11.jpgI play Detective #1 and my partner, Detective#2 is played by Guthrie Theater actor, Jim Lichtscheidl. We looked like Jake and Elwood, The Blues Brothers, in our hats so the Coen Brothers decided to ditch the hats. We blocked the scene then waited 20 minutes for them to set the camera and lights. The props department had just given us badges to use…”Badges! Badges! I don’t need no stinking badges!” I used the time practicing whipping my badge out of my suit coat pocket with authority.

We did four takes, shooting us from inside the house through a screen door, with minor adjustments each time. The brothers were very nice and seemed pleased with the results. They even thanked me for coming back from my vacation early. When I told them about our close call Ethan said, “I guess we saved your life then”. We return on October 13th to film the scene again from our viewpoint of the scene, the exterior of the house looking in to the living room.

It’s about 30 seconds, so I don’t think I’ll be submitted for anyone’s consideration come Oscar time, but it was a big thrill. I just hope I escape the cutting room floor.

The Los Angeles Show

Published
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Tim Russell
on June 12, 2008
in Prairie Home
. 0 Comments

A Prairie Home companion made its annual trip to Los Angeles for a June 6th performance at the fabulous Greek Theater in Griffith Park.

On stage at the Greek.JPGWe recorded this on a Friday night for broadcast the next day. It’s one of the few times Garrison will do this, out of deference to the LA audience who would bake in the sun if we did the show live at 3pm LA time.

We were pleased to work with Martin Sheen and Bonnie Raitt. Martin has been with us twice before and is a huge Garrison fan, having listened from the earliest days of the show. He took part in the “Guy Noir” and “The Lives of the Cowboys” scripts as well as a tribute to Robert F. Kennedy. Garrison also poked fun at his “struggling actor days” with a presentation of several fictitious appearances on TV and the big screen.

Bonnie Raitt has been with us once before and, in addition to her fabulous musical performance, aided by Richard Thompson, Keb Mo, and The Guys All-Star Shoe band, she showed her acting skills in the “Guy Noir” script.

The amazing Jearlyn Steele had her usual show stopping performances.

After the show the backstage crowd included Martin’s family, Emilio Estevez and his significant other, Sonja, plus several more.

Vince Vaughn and Peter Billingsley showed up with Peter’s 103 Great Aunt Blanche. She was lively and loved the show.

Vince, Peter, His 103 year old Great Aunt, and Maritn.JPGVince Vaugn talks to writer Laura Buchholtz and Sue Scott.JPG Vince and Peter came back to say hello after our Minnesota State Fair Show last September. Writer Greg Fiedler is a contributor to A Prairie Home Companion in addition to writing for “The Soup” on the “E” Network. He often appears on the live comedy segments with host Joel McCrae on “The Soup”.

Vox AgentsThursday, June 5th, we drove to the offices of our LA agents Vox, Inc. on Wilshire Boulevard. We met with Tom Lawless, Jerome Titshaw, and Jason Merrell. Jason came to the show with a friend and enjoyed the backstage scene as well.

Tim had a call Friday night from Vox booking him for a series of spots Monday morning at LA Studios near Universal City. Turns out it was an ISDN patch with a Twin Cities Agency. Technology has made this a small world, we can do a job on a moment’s notice wherever we are.

Some of the Tourist highlights for Tim and his wife Judy include the new Glendale shopping attraction, Americana at Brand, from the folks who did the popular Grove Shopping Mall near The Farmers Market. We enjoyed a great meal at the new Katsuya Restaurant at Americana.

The Griffith Park Observatory has just completed a 93 million dollar renovation and is a must see attraction. The Planetarium Show is spectacular.

Cactus at Huntington Gardens.jpgThe Huntington Library and Gardens has also undergone a total renovation, 20 million dollars worth, and proved to be a lovely place to spend a beautiful Saturday afternoon. The Cactus Gardens were surreal for a couple Minnesotans.

If you go to Old Pasadena, we would recommend the Santorini Café for outdoor dining with a Mediterranean flair.

Los Angeles in early June with the Jacaranda Trees in full bloom, is a great place to be and we always look forward to our visit.

Washington Post on our Presidential Candidate Voices

Published
by
Tim Russell
on May 17, 2008
in Prairie Home and Tim Russell
. 0 Comments

The Washington Post has been listening to “A Prairie Home Companion” the last couple of weeks and thought we were ahead of the curve with our impersonations of the current presidential candidates:

McCain Might Not Like the Sound of This

By Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts
Friday, May 16, 2008; C03

The man’s been the presumptive GOP nominee for two months already, so it’s about time someone mastered a John McCain impression.

Tim Russell performing Bush 5-2008That person is voice actor Tim Russell, a 16-year veteran of Garrison Keillor’s “A Prairie Home Companion” public-radio show, who in a skit last week showed off a delightfully husky Bill Clinton and a somberly resonant Barack Obama– but whose McCain voice was so eerily evocative you’d think the Arizona senator himself stepped in for a cameo. (With all due respect to Darrell Hammond, who recently debuted a solid McCain on “SNL.”)

“Let me tell you something, my friend,” Russell-as-McCain warned the show’s Hillary Clinton ( Sue Scott). “When you and the skinny guy get done cutting each other up, I’m waiting for the winner in the parking lot.”

How does he get that voice so right? “It’s a little bit of Ronald Reagan,” Russell told us on the phone from Minnesota, “a little bit of Carol Channing, and Liberace.”

Carol Channing?! “It’s the ’s’ [sounds] — there’s a little sibilance involved. It’s the nasality that comes from Liberace. From Reagan, it’s just that breathy tone.”

Plus, there’s McCain’s trademark verbal tic. “I saw him doing a town hall meeting and I was struck by the number of times he said, ‘my friend.’ I thought, ‘Holy cow, there’s a hook.’ We always have our ears open to that kind of thing.”

McCain is easy, he said, compared with Obama, whose tics are subtler, as Russell demonstrated for us: “He only talks [pause] in two or three words [pause] at a time.” And he contracts “you know” to “yo.”

Russell’s big concern: That Minnesota’s own Gov. Tim Pawlenty may end up as McCain’s VP pick. “He’s got a good talk-show-host voice, very straight, nothing to pick up on,” he said. “Anyone who’s normal is always trouble.”

Vintage Tim Russell (with hair)

Published
by
Tim Russell
on May 16, 2008
in Tim Russell
. 2 Comments

This is a spot I did some 30 years ago with Heidi Lynch (actress Kelly Lynch’s little sister). I told them I could ride a motorcycle ( a Honda 50cc) but I could barely control this big 600cc beast. Radio acting on “A Prairie Home Companion” is much safer.

Las Cruces Newspaper Interview With Tim and Sue

Published
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Tim Russell
on May 15, 2008
in Prairie Home, Sue Scott and Tim Russell
. 0 Comments

picture-1.png

“A Prairie Home Companion’: From Lake Wobegon to Las Cruces
By S. Derrickson Moore/Sun-News reporter

LAS CRUCES — The folks of Lake Wobegon are coming for the first-ever Las Cruces live broadcast of “A Prairie Home Companion” from New Mexico State University’s Pan American Center on May 31.
Here on the Southwestern prairies, fans are eagerly awaiting the event, according to David O’Neill, “PHC’s” marketing director.
“We are very excited to be coming to Las Cruces and from the moment that Garrison (Keillor) made mention of our coming there in a New Year’s Eve special, we have been hearing from folks telling us how excited they are — we honestly have been given an incredible welcome have received a ton of the nicest messages from people in and around Las Cruces,” O’Neill said.
In phone interviews this week from their home base in Minneapolis, longtime cast members Tim Russell and Sue Scott talked about what it takes to bring the beloved PBS show to its fans every week.
“Usually we come into town the day before the show,” said Russell, whose motley crew of characters have been described by legendary show host and author Keillor as “the mafioso, callow youth, Yale smoothie, prickly curmudgeon, Paris boulevardier, Russian artiste, Swedish sourpuss and cowpoke president.”
This year, Russell has added some new voices to his repertoire.”Because it’s political season, I’m also doing John McCain and Barack Obama in addition to the current occupant” of the White House. “And sometimes I still bring out Al Gore,” said Russell, breaking into character to announce that “I didn’t really invent the Internet.”
He has a Monday through Friday show on a Minneapolis radio station and spends most weekends on the road with “PHC.”
“We’ve been on the road for the last six weeks,” said Russell, adding that broadcasts from the Midwestern environs envisioned by most “PHC” fans are rare these days.
“We actually do most of our shows on other locations: maybe 10 or 12 in the twin cities (Minneapolis-St. Paul) and all the rest, 24 or so, are on the road. I love to travel and enjoy going to museums in whatever city we’re in,” Russell said.
He said the show is full of surprises for the cast and rewrites continue until just before broadcast time.
“Garrison is a genius and what makes it fun for us is that we really don’t have to think about it. The writing is so good everything just falls into place. We’re always in hog heaven,” said Russell, who has been with the show since 1994.
There are also perks like the chance to hobnob with a highly diverse group of celebrities that range from legendary musicians to movie stars.
“Leon Redbone was just on the show,” said Russell.
He and Scott also have fond memories of the 2006 movie based on the show with an all-star cast that included Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin and Lindsay Lohan.
“Lindsay calls me grandpa,” Russell reports.
Scott, a native of Tucson, Ariz., said she is looking forward to a visit to desert country. She’s been with the show since 1992 and said she has “the best job in show business. We are truly like a family. Some people have been with the show for 33 years, since the beginning. Garrison writes brilliant dialog and at 65 going on 66, he seems to have more energy and gets busier all the time.”
She has recently added Hillary Clinton to a list of characters that Keillor describes as “Lutheran lunch lady, grizzled waitress, supermodel, suburban mom, bimbo, harridan, harpy and siren.”
She and Russell also team as Barb and Jim, the popular Ketchup Advisory Board couple.
“I say that they are all my favorites because I don’t want any of my characters to feel left out. Tim is great with impersonations and I would say that I am more of a character actress. I try to find some kind of hook. Laura Bush is easier because of her thick Texas accent. Hillary is harder. I try to pick up something from her stump speeches,” she said.
Her adventures with “PHC” have included theme cruises with the cast and live broadcasts from exotic locales like Iceland.
“We broadcast to about 5 million fans in the United States but we’re aired in other English-speaking countries, on the BBC in London and in Ireland, Australia and New Zealand,” she said, and Internet streaming is making “PHC” a worldwide phenomenon.
She said an 18-wheeler with sets and equipment will roll into Las Cruces a few days before the May 31 broadcast, and a cast and crew of about 25 will gather for rehearsals on May 30.
“Garrison keeps doing rewrites and the script keeps evolving until broadcast time,” she said.
The “PHC” Web site recently announced that the musical guest will be Grammy Award-winning mandolin player and vocalist Chris Thile.
“We’ve been working to get this show here for three years. I’m really excited about this,” said Bobbie Welch, Pan Am’s special events coordinator, who reports that 3,000 of 4,500 available tickets were sold by this week.
“That includes almost all of the top-end tickets,” she said, adding that Pan Am officials are considering whether to open up additional seating areas to a maximum capacity of 5,300 seats for the show.

Tim Russell’s Impression of George W. Bush on WCCO Radio

Published
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Tim Russell
on January 15, 2008
in Tim Russell
. 0 Comments

Listen as I do an impression of George W. confused as to his whereabouts on “The Morning News with Dave Lee” on WCCO Radio:

Tim Russell Featured on TV Magazine Show!

Published
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Tim Russell
on January 15, 2008
in Tim Russell
. 0 Comments

I was pleased to be featured on “Out and About” with veteran Twin Cities broadcaster Ralph Jon Fritz. Out N About with R J Fritz LogoHe visited the Prairie Home Companion stage at the Minnesota State Fair this last September and grilled Sue Scott and the rest of the cast members, who feigned ignorance of any existence. Actually, they were very gracious. Ralph even got a quote from Garrison Keillor who was more than gracious. It was a lovely profile, in spite of the inclusion of my baby picture. Check it out for yourself.