Pittsburgh 2026 Horror Realm Part 4: Clint Howard, William Katt, and Jeffrey Kramer

The Fisch Bowl Podcast had the pleasure of attending Pittsburgh's 2026 Horror Realm Convention, and interview many actors and filmmakers behind the scenes of your favorite horror and sci-fi films! The fourth and final part is with actors Clint Howard, known for his roles in Ice Cream Man and The Wraith, William Katt, known from House and Carrie, and Jeffrey Kramer, best known as Deputy Hendricks from Jaws.

Transcript

Welcome To The Fishbowl

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Attention, all you fishes in the team. Welcome to the Fishbowl. It's Sam my Fish Care.

SPEAKER_05 0:08

Sam Fish the Fishbowl here at Horror Realm Con 2026 with one of my longtime heroes, legends in the business, the infamous Clint Howard. Well, it's good to be here, Sam. Absolutely. Thank you for taking the time to swim in the bowl with me.

SPEAKER_00 0:25

Okay. Is that what we're doing? Swimming in the bowl?

SPEAKER_05 0:27

Or do we got our floaties on? We're doing the backstrokes.

SPEAKER_00 0:30

As long as we don't poop in the bowl.

SPEAKER_05 0:32

Exactly. You know, then people will say it's something smells fishy.

SPEAKER_00 0:36

Yeah, there you go.

Clint Howard Talks New Horror

SPEAKER_05 0:38

Awesome, awesome. Clint, I have been following your career literally since I was a kid. My dad, as we talked yesterday, introduced me to you and your brother and the whole family. So much we could talk about, short amount of time. I want to cover a few roles that are all special to my favorism. In the name of our ice cream man. Yes. Such an infamous film, and I think Eli Roth is supposed to be remaking it or doing. I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 1:09

I don't know if it's well, you got the wrong information in the fishbowl.

SPEAKER_05 1:13

Okay, okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:15

Send me straight. I have nothing to do with the Eli Roth show. He's making a movie that's called Ice Cream Man. Actually, my myself and my wife Kat and Norman Epstein, who was the original director of the original ice cream man, we're making a film called Another Ice Cream Man. That's going to be the real genuine article. I'm playing an ice cream man. I'm not playing Gregory, I'm playing another ice cream man.

SPEAKER_05 1:40

Fantastic. I cannot wait for that to come out. Another role that actually I went to school for screenwriting here in Pittsburgh, and this is a movie that I was watching along with some other films as like inspiration.

SPEAKER_00 1:56

Yes. Well, The Wraith was a very memorable experience for me. I met a lot of longtime friends. Charlie and I are friends, Dave Sherrill, Jamie Bosean, Nick Casavetis. That movie holds up remarkably well. I mean, it's a it's a B action movie, sci-fi, but it's just for whatever reason it resonates with the fans, and I fully appreciate when people embrace Rughead.

Adam Sandler Stories And Timing

SPEAKER_05 2:21

Absolutely. That's that's an amazing film. It I was trying to encompass the racing road rage that that film encompassed. So it did its job. Another two films working with Adam Standler, The Water Boy and obviously Little Nicki. What was it like working with Standler and creating those characters?

SPEAKER_00 2:43

Well, Sandler's a champ. Standler is a very, you know, he's a guy you just want to hang with. And he he takes his job very seriously. He has fun. He's not a megalomaniac or anything like that. He's a good dude and he's very creative. And I'll I'll tell you one little story about Waterboy. Well, little little Nikki, we had worked on Waterboy, and then little Nikki came along and he says, I got a part for you. Are you interested in doing it? And it was, you know, it was Nipples, the transvestite. And my line of saying, I don't need it, like I'm good, is one of the great lines I've ever spoken in any movie. But the thing about Adam is Adam has a great sense of humor. He doesn't, it's not that he's trying to be funny all the time, but he just knows what is funny. And we were acting together, me and Alan Covert, and this the thing about the Joe Montaigne line came up.

SPEAKER_01 3:35

Right, right.

SPEAKER_00 3:36

And I went, you know, to Adam. I went, you know, can we find a better line than that? Because I don't think it's very funny. And Adam just looked at me and he goes, trust me, that's that line's gonna kill. So I did. I said the line. I honest to God didn't really believe that it was gonna work, but sure enough, it's one of the highlights.

Austin Powers And Mike Myers

SPEAKER_05 3:54

Absolutely. But my family and and me go back and forth quoting that movie because we're of this the the prime Samler generation. Yeah. Love his films. Another one, Austin Powers.

SPEAKER_00 4:08

Yeah. Just a great experience to work on those films. Jay Roach, the director, you know, uh he I worked with him a long time ago on a on a show, and he called me and said, Hey, would you want to participate in this one? First, it was one and it worked, and then of course we did another one, and then we did a victory lap.

SPEAKER_05 4:25

Awesome.

SPEAKER_00 4:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 4:26

Uh the those films are from what I've heard Rob Lowe talk about working on Austin Powers, the spider shag me. Is it true that like we were basically witnessing like the improv of the improv like genius of like Mike Myers?

SPEAKER_00 4:44

Well, yeah, he's a smart man. Smart man, like Adam, he knows funny. Mike Myers knows funny. And I I tip my hat, tip my hat to him. Uh, you know, I I've been very fortunate in my life to get to work with a lot of very cool people, and I would consider Adam, I would consider Mike to be right there near the top of the list.

Family Filmmaking With The Howards

SPEAKER_05 5:03

Fantastic. Yeah. Last question. You and your brother, obviously, and Bryce now carrying on a legacy. Are there any memorable experiences working with Ron and just like family dynamics and just I've had a I've had a lifetime of wonderful experiences working for Ron.

SPEAKER_00 5:27

And also I've had a chance to work for Bryce. She's directed me in a thing, and she's a great director, and I'm really looking forward to the you know, the rest of her career because she's a dynamic filmmaker, and and I, you know, I believe in it. Also, one thing, we're making another ice cream man. Yeah. Bryce's sister, Paige. Bryce has two sisters. One of them, Paige. She is an actress, and she's gonna be in another ice cream man. So stay tuned for that.

SPEAKER_05 5:55

Fantastic news here. You heard it from Clint Howard himself. Clint, it's been a pleasure. Thank you so much for taking the time to swim in the bowl with me. We dove inhead first, we rose above the water, and now we're riding the waves.

SPEAKER_00 6:09

There we go. I like it. I like it, man.

SPEAKER_05 6:11

Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_00 6:12

Okay, bye bye.

SPEAKER_05 6:15

Sam fished the fishbowl here at Horror Realm Con 2026 with the great, infamous, talented William Cat. Sam, thank you for taking the time to swim in the bowl with me.

unknown 6:27

Okay.

SPEAKER_05 6:28

I I hope the temperature is just right.

SPEAKER_03 6:30

Yeah, it's it's just right. I feel I feel just like a guppy.

Carrie And Brian De Palma

SPEAKER_05 6:34

That's all my guppies in the sea. Okay. Awesome. First, I just want to say I'm a huge fan. I've literally been following your career since I was a kid. I guess on the subject of horror, two of my top favorite horror films. I'm glad you're not gonna say you're horrible. No, no, no. You're you're wonderful. Okay. Carrie and probably a little more dear to my heart, House. Oh, House. Yeah. Carrie, though, probably considered the first major Stephen King adaptation, and I honestly think they haven't made a better version since.

SPEAKER_03 7:14

They've made a bunch of them, they have, they have. Now Mike Flanagan is making a part series.

SPEAKER_05 7:20

Yes. Yes, and they also did a mini-series which was like back in the I think the late 90s, early 2000s. Yeah, I think so. I think Angela Bettis, I'm not sure if that's she played Carrie, but no one's replacing Sissy Spaces. It's hard to beat Sissy. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That was a great cast. Absolutely. I mean, it's one of those.

SPEAKER_03 7:42

Tiger Laurie and John Travolta. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 7:46

And one of his early, early roles. It was.

SPEAKER_03 7:48

I think he had just done one season of Welcome Back Potter at the time.

SPEAKER_05 7:51

Yeah, yeah, before the whole Grease Lightning thing. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 7:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 7:55

I mean, any stories working with the Palma and just the casting.

SPEAKER_03 7:59

Oh, Brian. I I I feel so blessed to have been a part of that production. You know, originally we did we we screen tested George Lucas. I screen tested for uh for that for Star Wars, and I screen tested for Brian, and uh lucky enough I got I got one of them. You know, so I felt very lucky. Brian gave me my whole career.

SPEAKER_05 8:22

Absolutely. And what an amazing film. I mean it's it's I think the Palmas Carry is still way scarier, way more terrifying than really any version that's that's been done since. It has that it has the 70s encapsulament of it, but also that like you know he he he did a couple of films that, and I think Tarantino refers to Blowout as one of the best films he's done, as well as Travolta's performances.

SPEAKER_03 8:54

Yeah, yeah, I had seen a few of his films, Greetings, Hi Mom, that Brian did prior to doing Carrie, but I think that Carrie was for him, and I think he admitted it, it was a seminal film in his career. And it really, it really uh did the trick of making him an A-list director that film for whatever reason. I don't know. I think I did it. I think because it was all you're all you, yeah, yeah. He didn't give me enough credit, but uh I'll take it now.

House And George Wendt Memories

SPEAKER_05 9:26

I'm giving it to you, it's all yours. Awesome. I'm such a dick, aren't I? Um another favorite horror film of mine. Total fan of Fred Decker. House. House is one of I think the most underrated horror films in of a unique storyline and concept that really was executed so well that it played on like the terror level, the psychological level.

SPEAKER_03 10:00

Well, well, Sean Cunningham had uh produced several terrific horror films before, but it didn't have that same comedic element to them. You know, and then yeah, you had uh Steve Minor, which was so wonderful to work with as a director. Right. He was really always left of center, and a lot of the humor, a lot of the humor from House was because of him. And look at who he cast. He cast George Wendt and Richard Hall and Kay Lenz. It was just it was it was a really well done, underrated film, I think.

SPEAKER_05 10:36

Losing George Wendt recently, great guy. Any any like special stories, anything?

SPEAKER_03 10:42

Uh still to this day, I I I've told it many times. One of my favorite scenes as an actor was working with George Wendt. He he had such a way with his dry sense of humor. We we did a scene upstairs when the monster comes out of the closet, and I and I give him a harpoon, right, right, goggles on his head, and I said, in the closet, there's a big raccoon, and I want you to shoot him when that closet door opens. And uh he didn't have much to say, but he was just all you have to do is look at George. Right, right. And you just want to laugh. Right. He's got so much going on inside of him.

SPEAKER_05 11:19

Exactly. Wonderful to work with. I actually got my name Sam from my parents watching Cheers. Did you really? I did I did, yeah. Yeah, he was great.

SPEAKER_03 11:28

He was great. I miss him because he used to come out and do these uh shows every year for many years.

Favorite Filmmakers And Visual Craft

SPEAKER_05 11:33

I I was fortunate enough to meet him at a different convention here in Pittsburgh, but nothing but kind, wonderful things to say about him. Wonderful guy, wonderful guy. What are what do you consider some of your favorite films of all time? That I've been a part of? In general. What what what do you swim towards?

SPEAKER_03 11:57

David Lean, John Ford. I'm kind of old school, you know? I loved the recent Frankenstein. I mean, it was like watching a painting. Yeah, yeah. The the production design, the cinematography, and uh all aside from the wonderful actors, the whole look of it was just that's what filmmaking should look like.

SPEAKER_05 12:20

Awesome. Well, William, it has been a pleasure having you take the time to swim in the bowl. We dove in head first, we came out above water. Yeah, now we're riding the waves.

SPEAKER_03 12:30

Yeah, I I I totally feel like a mermaid now. Thank you so much. Absolutely, thank you so much. Absolutely. Bye, you guys. Thank you.

SPEAKER_05 12:39

Here we are with Jeffrey Kramer at Horror Realm Con 2026. Jeffrey, thank you for taking the time to swim in the bowl with me.

SPEAKER_02 12:50

My pleasure. The fish bowl.

SPEAKER_05 12:52

The fish bowl. I hope the temperature is just right. It's good for me. Awesome. On the subject of fish in the bowl, Jaws, Jaws and Jaws do.

SPEAKER_02 13:06

Jaws was a perfect creative storm. Nothing worked. I mean, nothing worked. And at one point we thought they were gonna pull the plug, but it was over budget, the shark didn't work, which helped me a little bit because my part got a little bit bigger when they shot out all the cover and they had to shoot something. But when the end came and it all came together, it was stunning. The music, the editing, the uh all together, a perfect creative storm. And who knew? I mean, how blessed are we to be in the first blockbuster? Uh yes, you can't plan that stuff.

SPEAKER_05 13:52

It's it's what's considered a perfect film.

SPEAKER_02 13:56

Well, well, I I get it, it truly is. And Steven was still Steven then, right?

SPEAKER_05 14:02

Right.

SPEAKER_02 14:02

Yeah, he's a one-word Spielberg now.

SPEAKER_05 14:04

Exactly, exactly. So many things about the first film. I mean, everybody's performance, Robert Schneider. Oh, fabulous, right?

SPEAKER_02 14:14

Ricky Dryfus. They were just great. Everybody.

A Skunked Night On Set

SPEAKER_05 14:18

Yes, yes. Any like memorable stories or anything working with Steven or the stories where I loved Murray Hamilton.

SPEAKER_02 14:27

And one night we're walking home from the bar, and we've had a couple cocktails, and Murray goes, here kitty, here, kitty. And he he bends down to pet this cat, and phew, he is skunked. Oh my god. He got skunked. We rode back to the hotel, he refused to go to his room and slept on the couch in the lobby of the Harbor View Hotel, and by the next morning it was almost uninhabitable. Truly, truly, it's so much fun.

Sequels And Shark Conservation

SPEAKER_05 15:02

Awesome, awesome. What did you think about like the sequels and also the fact that like Jaws literally spawned the the I guess quote unquote killer shark like genre?

SPEAKER_02 15:17

That was kind of you know, Wendy Benchley has become one of the great voices for shark preservation. And uh Stephen was upset, I think, when people started killing sharks at the jaws, and they kicked off a big movement that is crucial. I mean, it's their turf, right?

SPEAKER_05 15:41

Right.

SPEAKER_02 15:41

You know, we're just guests, exactly, and uh they don't really want to eat us, and they're but it it I think it was truly important, and what happened with going out and slaughtering sharks, it was yeah, it really was unfortunate. But the sequels, I love Jaws too. John O'Smark was one of my dear, dear friends, and all the kids are still my friends, we're still close together, and and it was lovely. Uh the sequels, well, my dear Jo Alves did the three, and I looped it. But I I four and five, I don't really know.

SPEAKER_05 16:20

Right.

SPEAKER_02 16:20

To be honest with you. I haven't seen them.

SPEAKER_05 16:23

I I think they the they cut it off at four when it was the revenge.

SPEAKER_02 16:28

I get it. There was a five, right? I don't know. Well, there was the but I love Lorraine Gary.

SPEAKER_05 16:34

I think there was because in uh Back to the Future part two, when they when Marty goes to uh The Future, they have uh draws, oh, was it like 20 or 20 or something? You know, I always remember.

SPEAKER_02 16:54

She was just delightful. Smart, talented, lovely. Awesome, awesome. Lovely.

SPEAKER_05 17:01

And and what are some of your favorite films, and I love the 70s.

SPEAKER_02 17:06

I love, you know, the films of the 70s, The Godfather, Jaws, Star Wars, you name it. Those were the great ones. But you know what? I'm getting up there in age. No, and nobody cares what an 80-year-old thinks.

Jaws As A Generational Classic

SPEAKER_05 17:22

I I do, I do. You know, I I personally think the 70s, 80s, and 90s is where it's at.

SPEAKER_02 17:29

But Jaws has affected everything. I stopped at a stop sign in LA years ago, and the cop pulls me over. He says, You know, you went to the stop sign. I said, I'm so sorry. I went a foot over. I apologize. He goes, Why are you wearing that hat? He says, Amity police. I said, I played the deputy in jaws. He goes, Oh, I love that movie. Don't do it again. So now I wear it every day like it's going to protect my life forever.

SPEAKER_05 18:01

It's your get out of get out of shark.

SPEAKER_02 18:03

That's exactly right. Exactly right.

SPEAKER_05 18:06

Awesome, awesome. With with Jaws and the impact that it's had, as well as being introduced to ongoing new generations. Right. And it's, I mean, I guess younger people would say maybe the shark, you know, doesn't hold up as much, but well, it looks a little bit rubbery now, but it still works. That's what I think.

SPEAKER_02 18:28

And people come to these conventions with three and four-year-olds. I said, Oh, have they seen it? They go, Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 18:35

Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 18:35

I said, I should call social services on you. I mean, that's bad.

SPEAKER_05 18:40

You might have to call it on my dad because he uh he let me watch Total Recall and I'll be able to do that.

SPEAKER_02 18:45

Do you know what you find out at these? The love of this movie and the love of her, it's genetic almost.

SPEAKER_01 18:52

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 18:52

Grandparents hand the love down to their kids, they hand it to their kids. And it's a family bonding experience.

SPEAKER_05 19:00

It's wonderful to see. It's it's a film that is a true classic. Yeah, it's generational, it's it's timeless.

SPEAKER_02 19:08

How blessed was I to be in it.

SPEAKER_05 19:10

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 19:11

I mean, I'm so grateful, but I think gratitude is the key to aging.

SPEAKER_05 19:16

Exactly. Exactly. Well, Jeffrey, thank you so much.

SPEAKER_02 19:20

Dr. Fish.

Merch, Support, And Closing Thanks

SPEAKER_05 19:22

All good. Thank you for taking the time to swim in the bowl with me. You got it. We dove in uh head first and we came out above water. You bet. Thank you so much. You got it.

SPEAKER_04 19:34

Hey there, all my fishes in the sea. Thanks for tuning in to today's episode and for being a subscriber. Your continued listenership and support means the most and helps keep the show going to deeper and deeper depths. I want to let all my guppies in the sea know that Fishbowl has now officially partnered with FastcustomShirts.com, where they're now selling custom Fishbowl t-shirts under their podcast and website section. Every t-shirt that's purchased helps and goes a long way to keep the show growing to deeper and deeper in higher, higher depths. I also now have custom hats, beanies, handbags, pens, mouse pads, everything to make you look like the coolest looking fish in the sea. You can DM me directly on Instagram at the Fishbowl88, or on Facebook at just the fishbowl, or you can friend request me, Samfish, directly and get yours today. Your continued listenership and support again means the most. It's the most important fishes that flock together. We are a school fish and we keep the unit going. Let's all keep swimming upstream.