DAN'S PAPERS, October 2, 2009 Page 28 www.danshamptons.com
O’Reilly Factors in on “The American Dream Show” Christine Morton McDonald
By Eugenia Bartell With no spin, no airs, no limo nor driver, Bill O’Reilly of FOX’s “The O’Reilly Factor” drove from Manhasset last Saturday to Gurney’s Inn for his interview with Ingrid Lemme, hostess of “The American Dream Show.” Dozens of people watched as the tall, lean, good-looking icon dressed in khakis, a cornflower-blue shirt and sneakers, walked through Café Monte to the Admiral’s Room, where 30 invited guests greeted him. After pouring himself a cup of coffee and sitting down to sign copies of his New York Times bestseller, A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity, he graciously posed for photos. O’Reilly fulfilled a promise he made to Lemme six years ago, when she joined him and his wife Maureen during a Mother’s Day dinner, and he
Bill O’Reilly with Ingrid Lemme, on her show
asked her if she’d like to interview him. After much schedule-juggling, the right time came: noon on September 26 against the backdrop of a sparkling blue Atlantic. ZE RI O T O M
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In contrast to his manner on his own show, O’Reilly chatted easily and informally about his book and spoke of his simple, happy childhood in Levittown. Lemme gave him the opportunity to tell anecdotes of this life—funny, serious, dangerous and ordinary. He spoke of his early education with Catholic nuns, saying, “I annoyed them. I was annoying. I’m still annoying.” He spoke of his college days at the University of London, where he spent his junior year, his time in graduate school at Boston University, where he received a Masters in Journalism, and his return to school decades later for a Masters from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. But it was in England that he began what would be a lifetime interest in travel. Motorcycling across Europe during any free time, he visited almost every country in one year. O’Reilly began his carreer as a teacher before movig into the news business. “After terrorizing teachers for years, the Almighty dropped a teaching job right in my lap,” he said. He taught English at a high school in a crime-ridden Florida town. But he knew that broadcast journalism was his calling. As a journalist working in no less than 75 countries, he had many dangerous incidents—some too close for comfort. He covered the wars in Northern Ireland, Israel and El Salvador. He described a strategy he employed in South America: If a gun is pointed at you, as it was at O’Reilly, begging or showing fear would result in instant death. At that moment, he calmly stated he was a journalist and asked to be set free—no more, no less. It worked. “The American Dream Show” has featured more than 500 interviews over the course of 13 years. The show featuring O’Reilly will air this week to over 5,000,000 households in the TriState area.
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sir.” To which the LTC yelled back, “You think the back of a Jeep is appropriate sleeping quarters for an officer?” Uncle Neilly said he was already trying not to laugh when Jackie said, “No, sir. I’ll fix it right now.” Then, he reached into Neil’s knapsack, pulled out a bottle of good whiskey that Neil had been saving for leave, placed it gently next to the makeshift pillow, turned back to the LTC and said, “I think Major Sheehan will validate this as appropriate now, sir.” To which the LTC replied, “You’re killin’ me Flynn, your (expletive) killin’ me,” and dismissed them. The story ends that Maj. Sheehan returned to base in his mobile sleeping quarters driven by Staff Sgt. Flynn all safe and sound. The whiskey, however, became another casualty of war. He will be buried with honors near his beloved Fort Bragg, home of the 82nd Airborne. The bad news is that we’ll miss him terribly. The good news is that he’s back with his parents, Audrey and Ervin Flynn. But the really bad news is “Big Erv” is probably still mad at him for never fixing the hood latch on his car when he was 17. Every time Pop drove over the nearby railroad tracks, the hood flew up, forcing Pop to open the door and lean half his body out to find a place to pull over.