Posted in: streaming, TV | Tagged: Bill Leff, MeTV, Toon In With Me
MeTV’s Toon In With Me host Bill Leff spoke with us about developing his various characters and interacting with “Major League” film fans.
It’s hard to break into Hollywood as an actor and make a career out of it, but Bill Leff is making the most of his opportunities to entertain audiences and bridge older and younger generations on MeTV. Following his role as Cleveland baseball fan Bobby James in Paramount’s first two Major League films, Leff went on to become a successful DJ in Chicago before embracing his opportunity to recreate the Saturday morning experiences of his youth not only presenting the classic cartoons from animation giants like Warner Bros’ Looney Tunes, Fleischer Studios cartoons featuring Betty Boop and Popeye, Hannah Barbera, and Walter Lantz. As a fixture on variety programming like Toon In With Me and The Svengoolie Show, Leff spoke to Bleeding Cool about the various characters he’s developed over the years, from Bill the Cartoon Creator to Curtis Blurtis, Simon Shock, and the inspiration behind them, and his reaction to fans who remember him from the “Major League” films.
MeTV’s Toon In With Me Host Bill Leff on Developing Characters & “Major League” Fan Interactions
Bleeding Cool: What goes into developing your characters with Bill, the Cartoon Curator, and other characters like Classy Bill, Predict-a-Bill, Nostalgiaferatoo, Curtis Blurtis, and Simon Shock?
Simon Shock is a character before I did MeTV when I was a radio show host in Chicago, especially Curtis Blurtis, who is a parody of Harry Carey, a baseball announcer. Simon Shock is a parody of a couple of guys here in town who are shock-jock DJs. What I would do is I would start those off on the radio, and once I switched over to TV, it became more three-dimensional. The costume people and I would sit down and decide what these characters would wear. The writers and I would sit down and decide what their point of view is on certain things. It’s still a cartoon show at heart, so we’re doing our best to keep those characters as filler between the cartoons. It’s fun to play different roles on the show and I always enjoy that. I’ve been lucky enough because Kevin Fleming’s on the show with me, who plays so many great characters. It’s a nice place to be.
I’m going to throw you a little bit of a curveball. Do fans still approach you about the times you are in the ‘Major League’ films?
They do, so if you don’t know, I played Bobby James in ‘Major League’ and ‘Major League II’. He’s one of the four guys out in the outfield who when the [Cleveland] Indians are doing horribly. As the team gets better, their crowd gets larger and larger. I’m recognized a couple of times a year, especially at baseball games. One time I was at a Cubs game and there was a ball that was hit, one of the guys behind me quoted a line I said in the movie, and he goes, “It’s too high. It’s too high.” My friend who I was with the game with goes, “Turn around and tell them that’s you!” I go, “I can’t do that; it would blow his mind. He will have a heart attack, and I’m not up for that.” It happens every once in a while, and it’s always fun when it does.
Have you been to a Guardians game in Cleveland to see if people recognize you?
No, I’ve never been to a game in Cleveland. Back when I was doing standup, I used to work a few times at a comedy club in Cleveland, and the crowds were gigantic. I’m like, “I wonder if,”…and then one of the night shows on stage, I go,” Are you guys here because you’re fans of ‘Major League?'” The place went nuts, and I went, “All right, let’s just talk baseball instead of different comedy.”
Bill, I want to thank you for your time. You did great work, and I enjoyed your films. You do the rare work we don’t see much in general anymore because there are so many options, and growing up with Saturday morning cartoons, I live for that. Over time, they eroded and felt like an afterthought. Here you are, doing things like ‘Bozo the Clown’ used to come out and ‘Pee-wee Herman.’ A lot of love and credit to you guys for doing something special.
First, thank you. That’s so nice of you, but kids are missing out. When you and I were growing up, Saturday mornings were a magical and mystical time where you would park yourself on a couch for three hours and watch these incredible cartoons. Sadly, that’s gone away. If you watch TV now on a Saturday morning, it’s all political stuff, but we need to hold on to those [childhood nostalgia]. We need those feelings because it feels so good on a Saturday. Let me just say, if you’re anywhere near MeTV, this is the Halloween Bonanza Single who’s been doing this for three years now. It’s a combination of great, scary cartoons along with old classic TV episodes. We’ve got something for everybody, and it’s all starting now. Tune in over to MeTV and watch it. You’ll love it!
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