Almost Live!: Still Alive

About Almost Live!: Still Alive

“Almost Live!: Still Alive” are interviews with the people who helped make the hometown Seattle sketch comedy show ‘Almost Live!’ a hit for more than 15 years. Hear their personal stories and get insights into one of Seattle’s most loved local TV shows.

Publisher

Pat Cashman

Category

comedy · comedy · tv & film

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

20 Jul 2020

Latest episode

1 Apr 2022

Latest episodes

22 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   1 Apr 2022

   Ralph Bevins

   When you talk about the cast and crew of Almost Live!, you're not exactly talking about cookie-cutter versions of personnel. But if you insist on the cookie analogy, we're talking about every kind you can think of: There were ginger snaps, like Nancy Guppy. Sugar cookies, like Tracey Conway. Snickerdoodles, like Steve Wilson, Peanut Butter Keister, Gingerbread men like Bob Nelson, Ed Wyatt, and Joe Guppy - and Animal Crackers with nuts like most of the rest. But one person - Ralph Bevins - is his own kind of cookie... a mix of ingredients - maybe some chocolate chips, butter, eggs, honey, some extracts - and, sometimes, molasses. Ralph was the show's chief videographer, director, and editor during much of its best years. He was also an occasional producer and writer and, like his preceding camera wizard, Darrell Suto (also known as Billy Quan,) Ralph also portrayed an on-camera character you couldn't ignore. As he began his career, he was well-traveled around the U.S. until a bit of fate landed him in Seattle. A life-long fan of all things cinema, Ralph brought a film buff's eye to Almost Live! that helped make it look and feel like a big deal TV show. He's retired now, but he still lives in town with his wife, Beth and two kids - neither of whom is named Ralph. Here's the indomitable, the talented, the beloved, and the incomparable... Ralph Bevins.

2. 

   17 Feb 2022

   Darrell Suto

   Like any sketch comedy show, part of Almost Live's ability to sustain week after week, came from a reliance on recurring characters and bits. Uncle Fran, Capable Woman, Sluggy, The High-Fivin’ White Guys, A Woman’s Place, Speed-Walker, the Joy of Painting guy, The Lame List, Green River Dance, The Worst Girlfriend in the World, and more. But - and I cannot prove this - if you ask most any show fan who’s their most remembered recurring character, the winner has to be the Mind Your Manners guy, Billy Quan. If Almost Live produced, say, 12 versions of 'The Lame List,' there were perhaps twice as many episodes of 'Mind Your Manners.' I could be wrong. I once thought that gravity was a hoax. But in any case, Billy was a mainstay at least once a month. The guy who played the part never auditioned for it. He was, to say the least, a reluctant thespian. But like it or not, Darrell Suto became one of the most recognized figures on a show in which he was not even a formal cast member. His story is remarkable. Born in Seattle, a third-generation Japanese American, raised as a Buddhist, now a Catholic. He earned Seven national Daytime Emmy awards - not as a performer - but as a production photographer and editor. Hard to believe, but he is a man with no formal martial arts training. And yet, as the otherwise peaceable Billy Quan... he could kick your ass. He now lives in Oklahoma City with his wife, Mary. There is certainly no one more beloved among the people who worked with him back in the day, than Darrell Suto.

3. 

   29 Dec 2021

   Mike Boydstun

   When ALMOST LIVE! debuted in 1984, it had several writers, more than a few cast members, a full studio crew - and plenty of critics. But it had only a single field camera guy. But what a guy! A guy gifted enough to carry the load. His name? Mike Boydstun. He's far more than a guy with a camera. He's a director, producer, editor, sound designer, lighting specialist, location planner - but most of all, a storyteller. He was the very first director of photography for Disney's Bill Nye the Science Guy show. And for Biz Kids on PBS. He's been the longtime senior producer for Miramar Productions, and much, much more. He's been nominated for Emmys, Grammys, you name it. Mike is amazing, opinionated, musically-inclined - and one-of-a-kind. And he's extremely fun-loving. He puts the ‘boy' in Boydstun.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

71 ratings

Contact Almost Live!: Still Alive

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.