AS Bonus: Genuine Nerd TOBY RADLOFF

Josh & Dean chat with Toby Radloff, a key figure in both American Splendor the comic and the movie. (Josh illustrated a couple of Toby Radloff stories.) Toby talks about working with Harvey Pekar at the VA Hospital, what the job of a file clerk was, and hanging with Harvey on weekends. He discusses what it felt like to be a character in American Splendor, and his “delusions of grandeur” after appearing on MTV and in the Killer Nerd films. Toby weighs in on his favorite moments in the film and Judah Friedlander’s portrayal of him. The interview concludes with Toby’s touching tribute to Harvey, and a mention of the various Cleveland monuments to Pekar’s legacy.

Shout-outs to hot summer days, blackouts, squirrels, Revenge of the Nerd Revenge of the Nerds, Redbox, White Castle hamburgers, Mad Men, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Gerry Shamray, Sean Carroll, Ed Wesolowski, and Jeff Newelt (“Nevelt”).

Episode Notes

The complete story “Hollywood Reporter,” ©2000 by Harvey Pekar, illustrated by Josh, published in Our Movie Year (Random House, 2004).