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Lost in Jersey
So close to NYC, New Jersey is a melting pot of creativity, ambition, and culture. Everyone has a Jersey story and on Lost in Jersey, we’re here to share them with you.
Lost in Jersey
Garden State Greatness: The New Jersey Hall of Fame
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What does it really take to turn dreams into reality? In this inspiring episode of Lost in Jersey, we talk to Steve Edwards, President of the New Jersey Hall of Fame, to uncover the success secrets he’s gleaned from interviewing over 100 of the state’s most extraordinary achievers.
Born and raised in Jersey (on the very same date as Bruce Springsteen and Jason Alexander!), Edwards has dedicated his life to celebrating the Garden State’s legacy of grit, creativity, and resilience. From the Hall of Fame’s cutting-edge exhibits at American Dream Mall—including interactive holograms with Frankie Valli and Judy Blume—to its mission of inspiring children with real-life role models, Edwards shows how honoring the past can spark the future.
Along the way, he shares personal reflections from his new documentary Lucky Jack, which tells the incredible story of his father’s journey from high school dropout to neurosurgeon. His insights reveal a simple but powerful truth: perseverance, imagination, and consistency are the keys to achievement.
Whether you’re a lifelong Jersey fan, a seeker of inspiration, or someone who loves a great underdog story, this episode will leave you believing in the power of dreams—and the Garden State spirit.
Want to experience New Jersey's extraordinary legacy for yourself? Visit the New Jersey Hall of Fame at American Dream Mall or attend their 17th induction ceremony on November 21st, hosted by Danny DeVito and featuring the Jonas Brothers among this year's honorees.
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Steve's Jersey Roots and Early Life
Speaker 1Welcome to Lost in Jersey , Steve .
Speaker 2Thank you for having me .
Speaker 1Give us a little bit of your background . How is Jersey a part of your life ? How did you get here ?
Speaker 2I was born on Jersey soil , 1962 , same hospital , beth Israel Hospital on the same day as Jason Alexander and Bruce Springsteen . September 23rd , jason was actually born , I think four years before me , on the same day in the same hospital . Bruce was born down in Monmouth County and then went home to Union , new Jersey , and New Jersey has been my home ever since it's in my blood . I can remember some of my earliest memories were on the beach at Belmar and Bradley Beach . Matter of fact , I was an aspiring musician even in 1965 .
Speaker 2I was three years old and I was on a stage the Pavilion , I don't know if it's still there in Belmar and they did a little talent show and I sang I'm Henry the Ace , I am Henry the Ace , I am , I am and whatever else was the rest of the song . Then I got done like a little short one-minute thing . Everybody applauded and I sang it again and then again and everyone's there . I mean let me do this four times . Finally , the woman running the talent show is like stress . She's got 10 other kids to put on . She literally smiled and pulled me off the stage . Enough enough , my mom said he's the ham .
Speaker 3He's the ham . That's a good story . Did you continue with the showmanship as you grew up ?
Speaker 2You know , as a matter of fact I did . I was lead singer in a rock band in the 1970s called Satellite in Union , new Jersey . We played junior , high and high school concerts and Battle of the Bands and we played in a local pizzeria . And , true story , we played at a carnival and our roadies managed to shut the electricity down at the entire carnival . People were screaming on the Ferris wheel . They plugged our equipment into the wrong thing .
Speaker 3Oh , wow , I'll never forget that .
Speaker 2And my career was over by 77 .
Speaker 3So you grew up in New Jersey and have you stayed in New Jersey for a career ?
Speaker 2Yeah , I've been here just about all of my 63 years on the planet , although we did move to Florida for about six months it got so hot . My mom said we're out of here . We went back to Elizabeth , new Jersey . We did as part of my dad's crazy story that I just did a documentary feature film on . We went to Mexico . We went to Mexico . We escaped the eviction man in Elizabeth in 1970 , and we went to Mexico for about a year . My dad went to medical school down there and then my mom said we're out of here and my dad stayed behind . We came back to Union . I've been here . I went to Rutgers and , as you know , I'm president of the New Jersey Hall of Fame . I've been on the Jersey Shore for 60 years and we love New York too . I have an apartment in New York .
Speaker 2In the interest of full disclosure and travesty , we weren't going to disclose that or like look it up or anything . I just went by the way to my 45th high school reunion , wow , and my question was always where are you living ? This is a nice way to break the ice . Yeah , and most everybody surprised me and said New Jersey . There were a lot of people Florida and South Carolina , whatever California , but I would say 85% were still in Jersey , so that's good .
Speaker 1That is , that's impressive , I mean people who are here , you know .
Speaker 3they see that it's a unique , wonderful , beautiful place to live the beaches , the mountains , the forest , and then the city .
Speaker 2No doubt about it . Anyone who's lived here knows that .
Speaker 3And you also highlight all the incredible people that are from New Jersey . We want to talk about how you got yourself involved in the New Jersey Hall of Fame
Founding the New Jersey Hall of Fame
Speaker 3. Now you're one of the founders . I think two people are founders of it .
Speaker 2Yeah , I had come up with the crazy idea back in 2002 . Long story short , there was a Sports Hall of Fame in New Jersey and it ran its course .
Speaker 2It was defunct financially and so forth . And I happened to call George Zoffinger , who was running the Sports Exposition Authority at the time , and I said what do you think about a crazy idea , new Jersey Hall of Fame ? He said it's so funny that you say this because we were thinking of turning the Sports Hall of Fame into the Sports and Entertainment Hall of Fame . But I like what you just said about Edison and Einstein and people from all walks of life . So the legislature finally officially created the New Jersey Hall of Fame in 2004 . And then we had our first induction ceremony in 2008 .
Speaker 2I don't know what we did for four years and I don't know how I got away . I do remember like a year and a half out . Bart Oates , the former center with the Giants , was the chairman and he's like Steve . We got to do an induction already and I'm like let's get it right . There's a lot of things to think through , but you know we started doing it in 2008 . And we're coming up on our 17th induction ceremony and we don't miss a beat now . So I think we're smart to take our time .
Speaker 1And you're an American dream now .
Speaker 2We have , you know , the only three state halls of fame in the entire United States .
Speaker 3Oh really , what are the other two ?
Speaker 2California and South Dakota . I didn't know that . Yeah , south Dakota's had one since the 70s . They're the most mature hall of fame California actually . Maria Shriver actually got the idea through me , through Mark Shriver , who I worked with at Save the Children , and they created the California Hall of Fame after New York Times did a story about the New Jersey Hall of Fame . We're the first state , though , that has a state-of-the-art interactive and immersive museum , and that's what's that american dream , and I can talk forever about it , but suffice it to say it's a 10 000 square foot state-of-the-art museum .
Speaker 2I'll give you two little tidbits . We've got the model t that's on display , that henry gifted to Thomas Edison in 1916 , one of the most valuable cars in the world permanently displayed at our museum . Wow , what's cool about that car is they literally and there's video footage of it they literally took road trips together . Ford would drive Edison in the passenger seat . He couldn't hear Edison , so everything was like what did you just say ? And Henry Firestone would be in the passenger seat . He couldn't hear Edison , so everything was like what did you just say ? Because the engine was still left and Henry Firestone would be in the back the guy that did the tires . No way . And there's video footage of our car . I say our , it's not ours , it's Edison Foundation , but it's so cool , but most everything else that's like an old-fashioned artifact we remember from museums we've been to for years .
Inside the Interactive Museum Experience
Speaker 2Most of the museum is hologram centric footage . So , for example , you can get up on a karaoke hologram karaoke stage . You can sing alongside white cliff john singing . We've filmed him a special hologram . If I were president frankie valley , can't take my eyes off of you . Gloria gainer , I will survive . Tony orlando , um , tie the yellow ribbon and so many more . And you get up and have somebody film you doing that and if you dare , you can share it on social media . And , um , you know stuff like that .
Speaker 2I mean we've got a late night Jersey television studio where you can sit down and be a host for about 15 , 20 minutes and interview a hologram of either Stevie Van Zandt or Judy Blume . I mean the list goes on . We've got like 50 legends from New Jersey that you can interview and there's like preset questions like 10 to 15 questions . How do I write my first book ? You know , how do I become a musician , stevie ? Really , what this place is about , I should say it's about Jersey pride , right ? That's important . More importantly , now more than ever , we really want to provide children and adults with heroes and wisdom so they can realize their own highest and best sense of self , and hopefully for the greater good . And so that's what we're grinding out , doing every day . I encourage your listeners to come in If you're from Jersey . You got to do the pilgrimage at least once .
Speaker 3Yeah .
Speaker 2It's 10,000 square feet , but it's so immersive that it could be 100,000 square feet once you start getting immersed into the exhibits and you start interacting with them . So I hope the two of you and your listeners- come out ?
Speaker 3Oh , for sure , we plan on coming . When you go to the American Dream Mall . How do you get to your location ? Is it visible ? Is it easy to find , because I know that place is pretty huge .
Speaker 2Everyone's saying complains to me . Ah , steve , I can't find it . It's so easy . Park in any parking lot . Follow the signs for the theme park and the water park . Okay , good Signs are everywhere . When you get in front of the theme park which is amazing Nickelodeon Universal Theme Park they've got a roller coaster which is , to date , the steepest vertical drop in the world . When you're standing in front of that Nickelodeon Universal theme park , turn around , you'll see an escalator . Actually , if you turn around and you look up , you'll see the Hall of Fame at the top of the third floor escalator . So if you find the theme park in the water park and just turn around , you're going to find us .
Speaker 1Great . Third floor third floor , third floor Awesome .
Speaker 3Okay , who was the first inductee that you got ?
Speaker 2So I'll tell you the criteria is you have to have lived here at least five years .
Speaker 3Okay , that's the strictest , strictestest . I've lived here five years . I've been here five years .
Speaker 2There you go . You want to check one box off there .
Speaker 3Okay , let's see One box .
Speaker 2The California in South Dakota . It's if you lived any portion of your life . It sounds like they're desperate for crying out loud . Where are five years ? We got so much talent . You have to , yeah , yeah .
Speaker 3There , where are five years ? We've got so much talent . Yeah , yeah , there's too many great people here .
Speaker 2You have to have lived here for five years . We have a master list so anyone that wants to nominate anyone can go to njhalloffameorg and they could fill out a form . We vet it and then we've got a couple thousand names that are on the master list and then we send it off to expert panelists once a year around January . They narrowed down six different categories , 120 names . We create a ballot that goes to an academy , which is 350 prominent organizations , former governors , very grassroots , you know , and they help narrow to the top 60 . And then we put every year around April we put the top 60 ballot out and the public gets to give us their input and then our board of trustees makes the final decisions . Usually between 15 and 20 inductees every year . All walks of life , all parts of Jersey .
Speaker 1Can you share the categories with us , just so our listeners can know ?
Speaker 2Well , let's see , it's arts and letters , which would be novelists and things like that . It is arts and entertainment , it's sports , it's public service and it's enterprise . And I'm missing one Historical figures maybe .
Speaker 1Yeah , oh I think that is one .
Speaker 2We changed it recently , so if you go to the website you'll see them . They have an educator of the year , that's an inductee oh , that's great . And then we have an unsung hero which we're about to announce this year , in a couple of weeks . Very high-profile person . That is an unsung hero , if that makes any sense . That's how we do it . The first ones were Edison Einstein . Well , I want you to imagine this it's 2008 . No one around the state , including the governor at the time . What the heck is the New Jersey Hall of Fame ? Yeah , bruce Springsteen was so skeptical . He told us that night like what's New Jersey Hall of Fame ? Bruce Springsteen was so skeptical , he told us that night like what's New Jersey ? He actually joked around in a speech and he said does Connecticut have a Hall of Fame ? Does New York have a Hall of Fame ? Maybe they feel they don't need one ?
Speaker 3But , anyway .
Speaker 2So it's the opening of the show and we did what we call a dramatic lineup and the spotlight hits and it's General Schwarzkopf
Lucky Jack: A Father's Extraordinary Journey
Speaker 2saluting the crowd , and then it goes to Toni Morrison , nobel Peace Prize winner , and then it goes to Yogi Berra , and then it goes to Buzz Aldrin and it goes to Nancy Sinatra . It's going all these incredible . And then at the end you hear there's one silhouette left . Everyone starts yelling Bruce , bruce . And there was Bruce and he said you know , he's not to me , said it to a friend of mine . He's like I didn't really expect this . You know , this was pretty good .
Speaker 3Just that lineup for the first . I mean , if you answered his question like why you know , because I mean that's , that's the whole thing when you move to New Jersey , that's . I think the thing that strikes you the most , especially if you're coming from New York City which both Rachel and I moved here from New York City is that you just put your kid in school and you just happen to be at a playground and you're talking to someone and they're telling you what they do and it's so impressive .
Speaker 2Part of the mission is to get that word out about Jersey , but we don't lose any sleep . The two of you know this . We don't really care . I mean , it's more about us feeling good , and we have every right to . That's what our annual induction ceremony is like . Once a year , let's take time to come together and feel great about ourselves .
Speaker 1Yeah .
Speaker 2But the more important issue we live in such chaotic times and our children are getting bombarded with negative images and angry rhetoric . Chance the Hall of Fame and organizations like it to just say , no , look here , look for your heroes , look for the wisdom , look for your purpose , have faith , stay focused on your sacred , blessed missions that are good for the world , and that's what really what we're really passionate about . Most of the organizers for the Hall of Fame .
Speaker 1Yeah , it seems like it , and I like that you use the word heroes and wisdom , because sometimes you know every hero has a backstory and what they've overcome and they have resilience . It's not just like they woke up and were a celebrity or well-known for an invention . You read about Edison , you read about Einstein and Bruce . You get it's grit and perseverance .
Speaker 2Well , yeah , it's interesting you bring that up . Our tagline is everyone needs a hero .
Speaker 3Okay .
Speaker 2There is a formula . I've interviewed by now over 100 of these inductees for hologram interviews . I have my own podcast . We're launching Legends of America . That's going to be launched in a few weeks .
Speaker 3Oh , that sounds great .
Speaker 2Yeah , maybe I should just show that . But we'll work with each other to lift each other . That's what it's all about . But you know there is a formula , and the formula is for each one of them to dream , to tap into your imagination , to think of yourself in your highest , best sense of self , and to do that a lot throughout the day , because we're all sum of all our thoughts and in this world where you're being bombarded with negative thoughts , it's so important for you to be the one with discipline , to spend most of your day dreaming .
Speaker 2And then you know , I call it just a really good to-do list the most strategic , clever that takes time for family and friends and charity and all of the above . A good , balanced life and executing day by day , being consistent . And then the Jersey grit thing man , just being relentless and consistent and never giving up because you could do the first three but you're going to face adversity along the way and it's so easy to give up , you know . I mean like in so many cases we don't even have as many family and friends encouraging us as we should . It's probably a formula that's been around since the beginning of time .
Speaker 3So the formula that you've seen . Let me just want to summarize this so that I can make sure that I'm doing it .
Speaker 2Dream you've seen , let me just want to summarize this so I can make sure that I'm doing it dream . So you have to dream , and then you , you have to first just be persistent and work hard , because I spent many years dreaming about the wrong things . It was more . I was a shallow guy . I'm not going to hesitate to tell you . My 20s into my 30s , my mom and others would say that's not true , stephen . You've always done charity work , but I put too much emphasis on money in the material world , and so I was dreaming about the wrong things . I wasn't dreaming about Stephen , his highest , best sense of self , which has nothing to do with money . It's just a little small piece of my life . So , dreaming about the right thing , we're all figments of our imagination .
Speaker 2This was something David Geffen , the music executive , pointed out . So we're all figments of our imagination . It's just that some of us are better imagining than others . So you've got to dream about the right person that you really want to be deep down . You've got to find your heroes and the wisdom they have to offer . Because you have to be strategic . You can work hard but not really be moving toward your dream fast enough because you're not being strategic . Okay , and then it's getting up every day , whether you're sore , you know it's cold out , whatever being consistent executing that to-do list . You know having fun doing it and then never giving up . So this is my explanation . There's people listening oh that's too technical and it's too anal , retentive , whatever . But you know what it is , that you know you've got to touch certain bases every day .
Speaker 3How many people altogether have you inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame ?
Speaker 2Great question . I think around 250 .
Speaker 3Okay , about 250 people . So there's a common thread , I'm assuming , like what you just described , adversity .
Speaker 2But I will tell you this and this was something else I saw a common thread Every single person that's been inducted has overcome one adversity or another , In most cases , multiple adversities . I'll give you an example . Well , Bruce Springsteen . Bruce had a really challenging childhood with his father and his mom , by the way , was such a sweetheart . She came to our first three ceremonies . She was so supportive of Bruce I think , bought him his first guitar . But he grew up in a very challenging environment and then he had his own problems with depression .
Speaker 2Yet another significant adversity he continues to have to overcome Tom Keene Governor Keene , believe it or not , stuttered and had dyslexia . He talked about this when I interviewed him for the podcast recently and he did it for the Hologram interview . Tom Keene , one of the most articulate , distinguished public servants of all time , had to overcome that very significant adversity . So this is something adversity I'm very passionate about , because I went through a really tremendous burden on my shoulders as a kid . I went through a windshield in 1970 . My mom and I went head-on with a Budweiser beer Mack truck in front of King College . I had over 300 stitches in my face , last rites , three blood transfusions , ears hanging , jaw , broken teeth , knocked out lots of plastic surgery in the years that followed and I needed growth hormone shots so I wouldn't make it to five feet tall and I had ADD . I was failing in school so much .
Speaker 2All of our inductees that overcame adversity had similar moments , but for me it was power of prayer , praying to God for three years and being bitter and angry and why did this happen and how do I get through this ? And I , sometime in 73 73 , remember what I thought was God . Maybe it was saying , Steve , what happened to you happened . There's no taking it back . You alone have the opportunity to overcome this adversity or not . The empowering part was the thing I heard , or not ?
Speaker 3It's up to you .
Speaker 2But if you decide not to don't complain to me I mean I get goose pimples thinking like it was such an epiphany moment lying there in bed at night , union , new Jersey , around midnight , you know , anyway . So I hope that helps somebody out there .
Speaker 1For sure . And then I think that's kind of a good segue into this documentary about your father called Lucky Jack . Just even reading a little bit about it from the
Overcoming Adversity and Finding Purpose
Speaker 1press and all that it's fascinating . And just even you mentioning in the beginning driving down to Mexico for your father to go to medical school . So can you tell a little bit about the ?
Speaker 2film . Yes , Lucky Jack . It's a story about my dad and really my mom very much so as well . My dad grew up in the Seth Boyden Housing Project in Newark in the 1930s , 40s into the 50s . Very dysfunctional family . His dad was an alcoholic . He died of cirrhosis of the liver . My grandfather and my dad , I think , was around 17 , 18 years old . His mom was bipolar and had a congenital heart condition . The point is that he always wanted to be a doctor , even in these bad circumstances , but he never applied himself at school and so in 1953 , Weekwick High School in Newark , he flunked every course , including gym .
Speaker 2I don't know how you flunk gym but , you did , then drifted like a Walter Mitty character . One failed misadventure . He always had a big dream , but everything never worked out and he failed . And then , 1966 , he was 30 years old . We were living in Elizabeth , new Jersey , wife and two children , unemployed , part-time pizza delivery man . He smoked a joint . He put on man of La Mancha's Impossible Dream , he put on a smock that he wore . He drew blood at a local hospital and he looks in the mirror and he says I see a doctor staring back . It was his epiphany moment , he said , not just a doctor , but a brain surgeon . To make a long story short , nine years later I was making rounds with him at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City , standing in the back of the operating theater . Him and his . You know those godlike doctors and nurses saving people's lives . So it's an inspirational story . It's a jersey grid story , but it's also a human grid story and it gets complicated . Um , what his ? He morphed into a marcus willoughby type of general practitioner . Then back into the operating room during neurosurgery . He was like a house surgeon . He was doing all kinds of surgeries and , quite tragically , he contracted hep C in the operating room , which is an occupational hazard for doctors and nurses .
Speaker 2But the best part about this film , I think , is to see and hear how he reflected in those final days . He had no regrets . The name of his boat was called Arate . It's ancient Greek wisdom . It means actualizing your highest best sense of self with a moral excellence of character and for the greater good . That was what Plato , aristotle and Socrates referred to as the essence of life . And , interestingly enough , as we're coming up on the 250th anniversary of America next year , our founding generation looked to concepts like Arete . You could find it in the ideals of the Constitution . He just reflected you know what I did , what I set out to do . I made the world a little better . And he felt and he had faith at that point . For him , his faith was that I'm going to be a powerful beam of light that's going to travel the universe and then I'm going to come back . He said I just have a hunch . I'm going to come back . As a poor Indian boy in a village in India , he felt like that was my dad .
Speaker 1I love it . What an extraordinary person .
Speaker 2He really was . Everyone that met Jack loved him . He was the mayor of the Liberty State Landing Marina slip , one , always helping people out and waving to people , and we miss him . He left us in 2006 , but I stay connected with him every single day and I will to the end of my life .
Speaker 3It's no surprise that you have landed in a career where you are , you know , exposed to people who are making their dreams come true , and that you haven't had that experience so closely and you're heroes when seeing a real live one at home .
Speaker 2Well , that's right and you know part of this . Originally the Hall of Fame was going to benefit children throughout the world . It was sort of outgrowth of my work with Save the Children . And when my dad passed in 2006 , I had a tough time for a few years . I was bitter , I was angry , but I channeled that very difficult time through the Hall of Fame and we changed course . I was able to convince our state leaders let's focus on children .
Speaker 3So can you tell us a little bit about your background with Save the Children ? You've mentioned it a few times . You've always had a kind of a drive to help children .
Speaker 2Yeah , I sure did . And Save the Children started for me in another little point of my life , around 1997 . And I went with the president of Save the Children , charlie McCormick , and Nancy Tusig and a few others . I went to Nicaragua and El Salvador and I saw the great work they were doing . They continue to do to this day and I was really moved by how grateful parents down there were to me and to save the children for helping them . It really moved me . I'm like , wow , they need us , you know .
Speaker 2And the bottom line is , I feel the same way here . I mean , there's so many people . So I think it's a point worth mentioning . The Charlie Kirk thing happened yesterday , two days ago . It was so awful . My daughters saw the video . They're really
The Annual Induction Ceremony Preview
Speaker 2affected by it . I think it's super important . Whether you believe Charlie Kirk or not , nobody should be killed . Violence come on . We also should reflect every day that 99% of the world is not about that . Nobody wants to hurt each other , even if their civil discourse is not so great . It's a safe world 99.99% of the time . So I just think that , going back to Save the Children , we're all living 8 billion people on planet Earth , 200 nation states . We all have the same existential threats . We all got to start working nicely , even if we disagree with each other . We got to work nicely and keep moving forward . So anyway , I digressed a little bit , sorry .
Speaker 3No , I mean , it's on everybody's mind , so I understand it .
Speaker 1One other thing you said that has been playing back in my mind is about you know , with all our kids are bombarded now with imagery of violence on social media . Just conversations , thoughts , all the thoughts that aren't their own thoughts . And you were saying you need to dream so that you can think of your own thoughts and have time away from that .
Speaker 2So I you just hit the nail on the head because my dad used to say it all the time we're a sum of all our thoughts and we can will so many great things to happen . Yesterday , because of the Charlie Kirk tragedy , um , I said to my wife and two daughters let's go to the park and let's go back to where we used to go when they were little kids . Let's See all the smiling kids and all the parents and see all the good in the world and quiet our minds . I just said to both my daughters I'd give them little pep talks , whether they like it or not . Usually I think they roll their eyes .
Speaker 2But I said , weekends are about resetting , no matter what's happened . Resetting , quiet the mind and get excited about the challenge coming up the following week and control those thoughts and be careful . That's why I always encourage them to see good movies and read and listen to great music . And we're going to have to learn and I'm confident . Well , we're going to just have to . We're all going to become experts at regulating , self-regulating what we're taking into our brains what we're thinking about and calming ourselves .
Speaker 2meditation , yoga , stretching yeah , I mean , we're going to have to do that .
Speaker 3We have to , we can't , we can't keep working on this path because obviously , we're destroying each other .
Speaker 1It's not sustainable .
Speaker 2I agree with both of you it's not sustainable . I'm always an optimist because if you look at this country and you look at world history certainly children to remember history , to read up , to be good at , because history always repeats itself and you can learn from it we're going to overcome this . We've overcome two world wars and a depression and , as Warren Buffett says , never bet against American and human ingenuity .
Speaker 3As you had said , your own experience of what was spoken to you is that you can either take what you've gone through which is what we're all going through collectively in the country , and make it better , do something good with it , or not Just let it . You know , let's try .
Speaker 2Exactly right .
Speaker 3I know there's a couple of questions that Rachel wanted to ask you that I want her to get in here .
Speaker 1Who calls the person that tells them they're going to be inducted in the Hall of Fame ? And what are some of those reactions ?
Speaker 2Who calls them . We send a letter .
Speaker 1Okay .
Speaker 2Many of them have gotten a tip off by someone that may have nominated them . But they get a letter . I'm sure they frame it . I mean , why not ? Bruce Springsteen , during his speech , said when I got the letter I saw Edison Einstein , my mom .
Speaker 1Seriously , yeah , yes , show your mom .
Speaker 3That is First thing to do . Show your mom .
Speaker 2That's pretty great when they come to the museum . A lot of them have come recently for the podcast . It's my throwaway line Edison Einstein and Tony Orlando . They love it . How do you not love that one ?
Speaker 3I know it's perfect . Is the induction ceremony ? Is it like a concert or is it closed video ? What is the induction ceremony like ?
Speaker 2We're going to be releasing information . Our induction ceremony is usually a live ceremony . This year it's going to be on the ice skating rink at American Dream , just steps away from our museum . Yeah , and it's going to be Friday , november 21st . Danny DeVito is emceeing . We've got David Bryan from Bon Jovi's band is going to be inducted . Bon Jovi will be there . Jonas Brothers are being inducted this year . They'll be there . It's going to be an incredible event . We'll release information within a couple of weeks . On ticketing there's limited tickets available , but we do make some available to the public . It's just a great night . I encourage your listeners if they want to . There's limited tickets available , but we do make some available to the public . Just a great night . I encourage your listeners if they want to see any of the acceptance speeches for the first 16 ceremonies .
Speaker 1I have watched some of those . They're amazing .
Speaker 2They're swan songs from some of the most legendary people that have lived in the state and are unsung heroes , educator of the Year Awards , and we've got scholarship winners every year . It's not just about famous people , you know , and it's a fun night . I hope you guys can make maybe the next one .
Speaker 1Yeah .
Speaker 3Yeah , we'd love to . Well , maybe I can be inducted
Advice for Difficult Times
Speaker 3.
Speaker 1Yeah , well , I'll nominate you .
Speaker 3Our final question is we'd like to ask our guests tell us something that you love about New Jersey .
Speaker 2I love the people . Obviously , I'm in the people business , with the Hall of Fame , so there's so many people that make me laugh . There's so many people family , friends that love me and I love them . I think I'm going to answer it the same way most people in New Jersey answer it , I think , which is our beaches , that ocean , the sky that salt air . I just love the Jersey Shore .
Speaker 3Well , it's been a pleasure to talk to you and to hear your story and hear your father's story , and it really does make us feel that you know , when you have some adversity , that sometimes that can be the engine to make your dreams come true .
Speaker 2But the worst days in your life are ultimately going to be the best day that ever happens to you and obviously , when you lose someone that you love , that's adversity , that's difficult , but bottom line is yep , you got that choice . Move away from it and on to better things or not . And please , for those that are out there suffering , choose , move on , keep moving forward . Like Frank Sinatra once said , another Jersey inductee , he faced his share of adversity . Just keep moving forward , baby .
Speaker 3Very good advice to end this great interview on . It was really nice to meet you . Thank you so much for coming on . Lost in Jersey .
Speaker 2Ladies , I can't thank you enough . Have a wonderful Jersey day .
Speaker 1This podcast was produced by Rachel Martens and Jeanette Afsharian . You can find us on Spotify , itunes and Buzzsprout . Thanks for listening . See you next week .
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