News
Duncan
continued from page 2
KW: What is your guiltiest pleasure?
MCD: Cheesecake! I just had some Cin-
namon Chocolate Cheesecake, some Ger-
man Chocolate Cheesecake and some
Pineapple Upside-Down Cheesecake at The
Cheesecake Factory the other night. So, I
had to work my butt off the next day,
because I’m trying to get in shape for my
new television series, “The Finder.”
KW: When you look in the mirror, what
do you see?
MCD: An accomplished actor who was
homeless twice. A person who was down on
his luck in Chicago in 1996, crying his eyes
out on the lakefront. I see a guy who told
himself: There ain’t no use in crying
because nobody cares. You can either be a
bum or follow your dream and try to make
it. Today, I see a successful person when I
look in the mirror.
KW: The Ling-Ju Yen question: What is
your earliest childhood memory?
MCD: [Chuckles] My earliest memory is
of the Christmas my mother bought me an
Aurora race car set. That was the only gift I
got that year, but I was the happiest kid in
the world when she bought me that. I didn’t
care about anything else. But that was back
in the day, I don’t even know if Aurora’s
still in business anymore. That and Electric
Football were my favorites when I was a kid
KW: Tudor Electric Football! I had that,
and an HO-scale race car set, too.
MCD: See, you know what I’m talking
about, Kam. I can reminisce with you with-
out sounding weird.
KW: If you could have one wish instant-
ly granted, what would that be for?
MCD: That’s a no-brainer. Just to have
my mother’s health restored. Arthritis and
other ailments have taken their toll, and
she’s not as vibrant as she used to be. My
wish would be to have her health back the
way it was in the Sixties when she would
play catch with me, throw a football with
me, and teach me how to hold a bat. Yeah,
my wish would be for my mother to have
excellent health.
KW: The Columbus Short question: Are
you happy?
MCD: Yes, extremely happy. You gotta
remember I was homeless. Whenever I
think I have something to complain about. I
go outside, walk across the street and look
at my home, and remind myself of the time
I was living on the damn lakefront in a car
full of garbage bags with clothes, and ask
myself, “What do you possibly have to be
upset about?” Kam, I have nothing to com-
plain about. A friend of mine was just mur-
dered, shot five times last Thursday as he
was driving on a freeway entrance ramp.
The last thing he did was dial 9-1-1. Anoth-
er thing my mother told me as a child was,
“Always wake up with a smile on your face,
because a lot of people who went to sleep
last night are not with us this morning.” So,
I’m extremely happy, Kam.
KW: Looks like your mother has given
you a lot of sound advice over the years.
MCD: Yeah, she’s never steered me
wrong. I remember when Martin Luther
King was shot and people started rioting in
Chicago. My mother whacked me on my
butt just because I balled up a piece of paper
and threw it out the window. She asked me,
“Why did you do that?” I said, “Because
they killed Martin Luther King.” She said,
“just think, where are we gonna buy our
groceries, if they burn all the stores down?”
I hadn’t thought of that.
KW: I had the impulse to riot when King
was killed, too, but I was lucky to have a
teacher who suggested that maybe I should
channel my energy constructively and
become a revolutionary student instead of a
rioter.
MCD: And look what happened, from
those words to you now. That teacher had a
profound impact on the way you think by
saying that one phrase. And then you went
on to Ivy League schools. Growing up back
then, people cared about you. If you misbe-
haved, the elders in the neighborhood
would pull your coat. You got all your
degrees because of the way that your par-
ents, your teachers and your community
raised you and helped you get there. You
probably had some excellent teachers who
inspired you whose names you can still
recall to this day, just like I did.
KW: Yep.
MCD: Did you know that Secretary of
Education Arnie Duncan is from Chicago?
His mother ran a center for underprivileged
black kids in the hood. I told him to let me
know whenever he wants me to speak on
behalf of education. I believe that teachers
committed to the community are the ones
who deserve to earn the top dollar, a starting
salary of a quarter million dollars a year,
because they’re the ones that get the
Michael Clarke Duncans and the Kam
Williams ready for our careers. I’m sorry
Michael Clarke Duncan
for going a little off topic, Kam.
KW: No need to apologize.
MCD: Believe me, Kam, I’m the biggest
sports fan there is, I love sports, but I’m still
convinced that it’s teachers who deserve the
big salaries, not athletes. When I reflect on
my childhood, I could always count on my
mother and my teachers the most.
KW: The Teri Emerson question: When
was the last time you had a good laugh?
MCD: I try to have a good laugh every
day. Every day, Kam!
KW: Well, thanks for another great inter-
view, Mike.
MCD: Hey, much love, Kam, and give
your wife and son my regards.
KW: Will do, brother.
MCD: Take care, man.
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Page 8 The Seattle Skanner September 5, 2012