Artist Corner: Greg Hollimon Interview
Thursday, April 9, 2009 at 5:44PM
In case you are wondering who the immutable Greg Hollimon is, you may remember him from a great show on Comedy Central circa late 90's early 2000's, called Strangers With Candy. An excellent show, and an odd show which many believed to be short-lived. Greg Hollimon played Principal Blackman, a quick witted and quick tempered black man...who just happened to be a principal. Thanks to the power of Facebook and a stalker's determination, I decided to track down Hollimon and proceed to catch lightening in a bottle...I tried to interview him. The interview runs long, hey it's my first time...I was excited. Unfortunately, I scared off Mr. Hollimon who clearly had to fly off and tend to the needs of the many. "Probably the jazziest choice", but you will notice that Hollimon has led quite the interesting life. From his 'first time' to who he hated most on Strangers with Candy, Hollimon spills the bean. Now if only I could have paid the man. *I would like to thank Greg Hollimon. He really is an inspiration...that and I totally did not think he would do this little interview! Enjoy IT: I've got hard hitting questions that the public wants to ask you. Just let me know when I can fire you Question #1. The people need this e-interview Greg! GH: Hard Hitting Questions---D*mn--That Sounds Like An INTERVIEW That Needs To PAY A BRUTHUH..But Okay---I Guess I'll do It.. IT: Well Mr. Hollimon [I'm now wearing my interview hat] to kick things off. I and I am sure others would like to know, how did someone like yourself come to be, what was your upbringing like? GH: Well, i started this way... IT: Ah, so you are a born and raised citizen of Chicago. We share a similiar upbringing. In so much as, being brought up in housing projects. Any fond memories as a youth of your neighborhood you'd care to share? GH: Fond Memories Of My Being Raised In The Cabrini Green Housing Projects? IT: Actually, I really do feel guilty. I'm sure plenty of people will read this and think, "Greg Hollimon gave a fantastic interview...for free. I wonder what he'll say if I pay him oodles of cash." I'm pretty sure that's how this sorta thing works. I digress. GH: You're Wondering If I've Seen Cooley High? IT:[Ducks boot, but prepares for the second] GH: How many bums go diving in Bonaire? Oh yeah, sorry, i drifted off... i was wondering where'd you gone off too sorry, things got busy with a valentines weekend and all i lost track. I don't know the actual numbers of bums that go to bonaire--lol, but bums can be very charismatic so its hard to know - difficult to tell. IT: Seeing as I work around a lot of bums I more than relate to this line of reasoning. Now to re-state my previous question. growing up in Chicago a place that has a wealth of music and a huge art community, would you be willing to divulge who were some of your biggest influences and in what manner they influenced you? GH: Well, I Like All types Of Music. I Grew Up In The MOTOWN era.. The Disco era.. Hip-Hop --Punk etc. IT: Curses Hollimon! You're exposing one of the main reasons I wanted to do this interview! Rewatching some old episodes of Strangers With Candy, for some reason it was really easy to tell [at least from a bboy perspective] that you use to 'get down'. As much as I know about the history of hiphop and street dance I never knew Shabbadoo's original crew name. GH: Did i have to battle and lay down the law while on skates? Well, not against street dancers. IT: So how did you go from throwing $1000 dollar Roller Rink jams to acting? GH: The distance between infrequent skating contest IT: Wow...i remember listening to audio commentaries on SWC and hearing that the 'end show' dance sequences were inspired by the Yardstick Boys. I have a couple friends who are/or where in improv groups, some made the transition to commercials. If you had to pick...which do you prefer: the theater or television? As a performer. GH: If i had to pick...which would i prefer: the theater or television? IT: I'd like to see you on a crime drama. After getting addicted to the Wire and the Shield I can totally see you in a role where you have to be a three-dimensional character. GH: What do i listen too? IT: Guess what Greg? We are halfway there! 10 questions in! How does it feel? GH: How does it feel?
Strangers With Candy Family
Cheap Muthuh~!@#$%*
Whats The First Question?
first, i went to this party with my father...
and left and came home with my mother...
for nine months i lived in womb without a view
the food was decent and then on May 2nd
after nine months - the housing was rather cramped
i busted out from that womb and for these many years
i have lived amongst you wonderful people.
i had two brothers
we grew up in the Cabrini green Housing projects
and attended Cooley High School.
Mom & Dad separated
Meanwhile, back at the ranch Mom had the wonderful idea
to groom her 3 boys to be fine ministers
even though we told her we'd rather watch Star Trek
I Remember Jennifer An Upstairs Neighbor
I Was About 5 or 6 Years Old
She Was Probably 10 or 11 Years Old
A Very Fast Girl.. Very Fast.
It Was A Warm Summers Day We Were Above The 7th Floor
She Took Me In The Stairwell Of A Cabrini Green Housing Projects
She Dropped Her Panties And She Made Me Drop Trouser And
Rub My Devily-Dangly Parts Against Her Ummm ... Thing-A-Ma-Jiggy.
Hmm.. But as I Sit In Repose - Reflecting Here, I'm Trying To Think
Whether That Is A Fond Memory...
I Think Of it Fondly Now, But Now That I Think About It
I Was Sensually Assaulted At Pubic Point By an Older Woman
At The Time - I Remember That I Didn't Necessarily Want To Do It...
As She Did This For A Couple Of Weeks.
Hmm, you really should Be paying Me for this interview
Don't you Feel.. Guilty?
You mentioned going to Cooley High School. Although I love the movie I was wondering had you ever seen the "Cooley High"?
(Throwing A Boot At You)
Quit Playin' Isaiah ~
Before I Go Samuel Jackson Ballistic On Yo' Azz.
Of Course I've Seen It.
It Was My High School.
I Had To See It.
It was Required Watching
I Could Have Been It
But My Late Mother (A Formidable Force Of Femalian Contention)
Wasn't Gonna Have It ~
I Argued: 'I Coulda Been Somebody - I Could Have Been A Contender ...instead of a bum--which is what I am'
Incidentally in The Movie COOLEY HIGH
One Of The Two Guys In The Movie That Played Gangsta's
Well, Them Muthuhfugguhs Were really Straight-Up Thugs
One Guy Actually Robbed My Brother Once...
One Of The Two Got Killed In A Dice Game Some Years Later.
I'd argue against the statement that you, the great Sir Hollimon are a bum. How many bums go diving in Bonaire?
Bonaire
But With The MOTOWN ERA I Like The Instrumentation Of The Music And The Poetry Of The Lyrics...
But as For Influences upon Me, I'd Say Dancers Had An Influence Upon Me
And The Greatest Dancing Influence was My Friend Shabba-doo
(Adolpho "Shabbadoo' Quinones)
He Starred In The Movie "BREAKIN'
But Before That Success
He Was With A Group called The LOCKER DANCERS
And They Were Phenomenal,
He Was Also An Original Soul Train Dancer And
A Bonafide Street Dancer
So He Had The Greatest Influence On Me -
I Was Always A Bit Of Dancer -
But I Picked Up From Him the Dynamics Of Showmanship And
I Learned How To Enjoy Dancing With Me...
I Learned It, So Much So, "
That I Never Ever Had To Ask A Woman To Dance With Me, And
If I Did Ask Her And If She Didn't Want to Dance,
I Was Happy To Dance With Myself
And I Was Able To Take That Dance Energy And Do These Crazy Moves On Rollerskates... And During The 70's And 80's I was Chicago's Most Outrageous Rollerskater
"I'm On The Far Left"-G. Hollimon
We share the sentiment of solo dancing if the ladies aren't taking interest. Tell me something, did you have to battle and lay down the law while on skates?
I used to dance on skates at CHICAGO FEST back when they first opened - I was hired by somebody back then.
I, also, did compete against other rollerskaters for a brief period
and always won when ROLLER RINKS would have $1000 contests
back in the late 70's and early 80's 
to acting was light years from each other.
A very good friend "deborah vibert' convinced me go to an audition at second city - back in 1985 or so.
i didn't want to go - i was dead set against it -
my interest were in dancing and roller-skating and
i had been dancing so long in the night clubs -
that a lot of folks that night-lifed in the RUSH STREET area -
knew me as a street dancer -
some of the 'wise guy' types that frequented the
nightclubs called me "Spaghett'
(as In spaghetti) because I was skinny and flexible and did this controlled but wild dance moves.
Anyway, my very good friend convinced me go to at nipple-point to an audition at second city - back in 1985 or so.
i didn't want to go - i was dead set against it -
as i had no training in IMPROV -
and knew even less about the artform - and i didn't like the IDEA of auditioning for someone - in my mind - i was already an actor and auditioning was just a JEDI-MIND trick for a sucka-emcee to break you down mentally - i just needed you to give me a script and let me do my thang - anyway - with great reluctance i went -
the late great Martin DeMaat was overseeing the audition proceedings
and had us go up in groups of THREE as we performed a quick skit -
i sucked - and not in a good way - some weeks later -
Cheryl Sloane - sent me me a letter that essentally said
"Thank You for trying out at the auditions we enjoyed but
why don't you take an improv course at PLAYERS WORKSHOP
(and some other school whose name escapes my memory)
Yadda-yadda-yadda'
anyway, i threw the letter in the trash,
and my very good friend, unfolded the crumpled letter and
convinced me to go PLAYERS WORKSHOP by saying
"What Did I Have To Lose And If I Didn't Enjoy The Classes
She'd Pay For The Course'
well, i took that first class that was taught by DAVID MURPHY
who was and is a great instructor/teacher and it was for me a
defining moment in my life, it was like being in kindergarten, except we were adults, i had a blast and couldn't wait to attend class the next week, it was in that first class i took that i met Paul Dinello and Rich Kasper.
And During That Year We Formed An Improv Group Called the "YARDSTICK BOYS (Rich Kasper, Tony Dicosila, Paul Dinello & Myself)
And We Performed At A Few Clubs But To Answer Your Question,
I Didn't Really Become An Actor Until I Was Hired And Began Touring An After A Year Of Touring - I BECAME An Actor - Improvising Turned Me Into An Actor.
well, i do think (and i've heard other actors say this
way before i ever got into the life
and i agree (in general) but not absolutely, but in general) i think that an actor has to return to the stage.
television can really afford you the luxury of doing theatre...
but i don't want to any-old-kind-of-tv
given a choice - i'd like to be on a sitcom or a detective show
like a LAW & ORDER or CSI
I would not want to be a GAME SHOW HOST
(Would I Do DEAL or NO DEAL If Howie Mandel Asked Me?)
Yes I would, It would Be Fun For A Minute
But, The point I'm Clumsily Trying To Make Is..
I didn't Go thru All This Training To Be a GAME SHOW HOST
I Would Find It More Challenging And Fun To Act In A TV Sitcom, Or A Film.
A lot Of Folks Think About The Money A GAME SHOW can Offer You
(And Thats A Good Thing To Think About - As I'm In Need Of It)
But I Also Think Past The Money
As Heaven Can Turn To Hell Real Quick
If You Aren't Enjoying The Work You're Doing
So, Yeah, Maybe Being a BAILIFF On JUDGE JUDY Could Pay You
$10,000 A Week.
But I Didn't Go Thru All This Training To Be a
D*mn BAILIFF On JUDGE JUDY.
As For THEATRE
i'm less interested in doing theatre per se'
unless its Improvisation
i still love improvising, i don't get tired of improvising
it's fresh ~ esp. when you're doing it with a season'd players
but when it comes to performing in a THEATRE
Where I'm doing a PLAY
i do tire of the routineness of a PLAY unless its
a complex classical piece like--Shakespeares Julius Caesar -
Or An 'August Wilson Drama' etc.
but i prefer doing improvisation versus a play.
Improvisation is both easy and hard as hell...
As my friend and fellow improvisor Michael McCarthy Used To say
With regards to IMPROV:
"It can be like diving into a pool of broken glass'
when its great its MAGNIFICENT
and when its sucks - its less than INSPIRING
and you want someone to SAVE YOU ---QUICK.
I've even worked with Academy award winning actors
and some are terrified as HELL at the thought of improvising
and conversely some really good Improvisors don't like doing
classical plays or dramas.
Me personally i love it all and at this stage and age of life
I want more film and television and (theatre-wise) improvisation.
Having a couple friends in theater, I notice that they all have a strong music or dance background. They, like myself, need a beat, a rhythm as a kind of starting point for any project they take on. I know it may seem cliche, but what does Mr. Hollimon listen too? What artists or genre of music gets those creative juices-a-flowin'?
well, depends...
i like a lil bit of everything except metal.
i dig old skool MOTOWN...
its got great instrumentation & rhythm..
i dig (some) Disco - when its good..
i dig rhythm & blues - stuff from marvin gaye to isaac hayes..
i dig jazz (although i've a lot yet to listen too)
theres a lot of jazz i don't dig.
but i digs me some miles davis..
i dig pat methaney
i dig (some) opera
i dig (some) country
for high energy dance mixes
i dig stuff by frankie knuckles he manipulates the computer tunage
so that its not just boring digital crap.
(one of the problems with house music or industrial house
is there isn't a real person behind the beat making an intended choice and as a result the real SOUL in music is lost)
which is why old motown is so good
theres real instrumentation behind the beat
go ahead, listen to the first 30 seconds of the FOUR TOPS
"Baby I Need Your Loving'
Thats groovy baby--real groovy--
Chances are --you're gonna dig it-- immediately.
i listen to 90's hip - hop and rap by folks like Chubb Rock
but, very little gangsta rap...
(i ain't feelin' all that negativity most times--ya' dig)
however there are some tunes i dig and some artists i dig
like dre' - snoop dogg - tupac-- ll cool j -- emiminem
but mostly i listen to LOUNGE MUSIC--James Bond Music ---Pink Panther
stuff by Henry Mancini --Sammy Davis Jr. --Frank Sinatra --Dean Martin
cause its mellow--mild--its my driving music---so i don't SNAP into ROAD RAGE whilst I'm rollin' ya' dig?
Feels Like You Should Shorten This Muthuh By 5 Questions.
*[hmm...somethings telling me this is where Hollimon started to wander]
IT: Shorten it? But We've just made it the Strangers with Candy section of the interview. Lightening round. What was the inspiration behind the character Onyx Blackman? sir Hollimon? Are you still there? GH: Yes.. yes.. i've been out very late the past two nights... IT: Mr. Greg Hollimon, wish I could say I was surprised by this revalation of you being a 'partay' animal. And seeing as you were in the movie, I'll let the 'Losing Isaiah' joke slide. It is a joke I was far to familiar with in middle school. GH: I miss the whole cast. IT: [note to self: momentarily crash at Paul Dinello's apartment]
This cake looks like a real 'upper'
and the aqua vitae of the day...
that is to say -- the libational libations have umm (hiccup)
had me at a standstill come morning.
the inspiration behind the character is a secret
i can't tell you
(grabbing a torch)
BACK UP ISAIAH I"D HATE TO LOSE YOU
(Hmmm Losing Isaiah)
But Again I Digress
the Character is a melange (if you will) is a hodge-podged patchwork of personalities - which was inspired by two other actors
one of the two moreso than the other
with a huge blend of me binged cherried on this personae known to all as... onyx.
Seeing as you are a busy man, a galavanter of sorts, I wonder if you and the old cast still keep in touch? Anyone you miss?
I Miss everyone that worked on the show
Except For One girl Named Belle Addison who shall remain nameless
she worked in the office what a b*tch.
Anyway, They're All In NYC and me (here).
If I'm In NYC I'm Apt To Call Dinello He'S gracious Enough To Extend His Sofa To sleep On (But He's Apt To Kick You Out After 7 months Of Staying in his house and eating all his food) Just A Word To the wise.
Colbert, However, Is Like A Senator These Days
I Could Easier Meet President Obama Than See Him.
But If I am in NYC I'll See Him At The COLBERT REPORT
and He Calls Me Indirectly And Directly For TV Projects Every Now And Again.
My favorite episode of Strangers with Candy would definitely be the accident episode. Where Dinello's character gets hit in the face by a car. It kind of put in you in position of 'Detective Blackman'. What was your favorite episode?
Mr. Hollimon? Sir? We are almost finished.
*At this moment the interview was cut. Hollimon grew wings and flew off to save orphans from a burning planet filled with school buses.
You may want to check out Sir Greg Hollimon in his new movie "Tapioca"
Click the Pic For The Trailer!
Celebrity, brog, humor in Artists, Interviews 
Reader Comments (3)
Is this a real interview? I don't live in Chicago, but I think Mr. Hollimon's Principal Blackman is one of the most subtle yet over-the-top hilarious performances I've ever seen. Is Greg Hollimon doing theater in Chicago? He's such a gifted performer I would definitely go out of my way to see him in a play (or movie or tv show).
Chela, I promise you that this interview is very real. Its unfortunate that it was my first interview and me and Greg have talked about finishing it, but were are both jet setting people...that and its clear I can't afford the man. But yeah, feel free to add him on Facebook and asking him...he's one of the coolest people ever.
as you said the men is a real legend, this actor have many works in comedy central, by the way the same place where you can see South Park uncensored and without leave breathing, if this is the case use to get back your breath.