Jonathan Goldsmith (2014)

He was a very good student.

Yes.

I think it's a wonderful idea.

Get a catheter!

Victoria, why don't you answer the question?

It also depends on the time of day. I have a twilight voice: I have a secretive voice: and I have a real secret voice that only you know, Victoria.

Well, of course i was delighted. And I must say I was surprised. When the campaign came out, nobody had expectations of it becoming as successful a campaign as it is. So I'm delighted, I feel very blessed, and extremely lucky.

I could, but it's highly personal. And I don't want to break her heart again.

What drew me to it was a trip with another organization, where I went to Vietnam, and I saw the horrible results of ordnance that was left behind from a 40 year old war! I mean, the Vietnam situation ceased 40 years ago, and still, every day, children and farmers were injured and crippled and killed. And how could i not help? I have always been involved with giving back to causes for children, ever since I started working at 18 years old for the Herald Tribune Fresh Air Fund. And always been involved with kids, and to see these beautiful kids who were crippled and maimed, I knew I had to get involved and any way I could call attention to this horrendous problem. That led me to get involved with MAG (Mines Advisory Group), and it's become something that's extremely important to me. What they do is amazing. And i'm so glad to lend whatever celebrity status I have to bring attention to it. I mean, for 26 years, they've been able to clear thousands and thousands of acres of land - in fact, there's a statistic, I believe, if I remember correctly, of 2100 square miles of land cleared for local populations - that's like having a one-mile road stretching from DC to Las Vegas.

I'll give you some other statistics that may be of interest, certainly of importance:

• MAG has destroyed over 400,000 land mines
• 16 million items of unexploded ordnance have been destroyed
• And that includes ammunition.
• MAG is currently working, I believe, in 17 countries and in many areas with ongoing conflicts.
• what they have been able to do in Syria, especially with the refugee population, 50% of whom are children - 10,000 refugees entered the country in a SINGLE day in August.
• In Cambodia - the numbers of funding is dropping, so this campaign today is very important that we raise money to help Cambodia, so if you go to http://www.prizeo.com/jonathan and give what you can, that would be tremendous.

Although MAG has some government funding, it's an ongoing challenge to find enough funding. When you are helping children and people at risk...

Well, it depends on the time of the year.

If it's summertime, I like tequila with fruit juice. If it's the winter-time, I like good whiskey.

And in between, I like a fine Armagnac with my cigars.

I didn't need Tinder, she was within earshot!

Please reach out to http://www.magamerica.org. Absolutely.

Finding somebody charming, extremely handsome, well-built, and really sexy.

Well, I would say President Obama. I had the pleasure of actually being a guest of his, a surprise guest, at Camp David for his birthday a few years back. And had the pleasure of meeting him, spending 1.5 days at Camp David. He had brought out 10 of his dear friends going all the way back to Grade School, I felt very honored and privileged to be there. And it was indeed an honor. We shot skeet (and I will report that the President is a very good marksman, contrary to frequently held opinions). We bowled. We played archery. And he played basketball, my basketball playing days are a little behind me and I didn't want to embarrass myself with these kids. We talked. And he was sharing a lot of stories with his dear friends, going back to some of the early years of school, to as far back as grad school. and I was very glad to be there, it was a lot of fun.

I guess because you're...interested.

I like different whiskies. I particularly like a peaty single malt.

HAHA! Let me see. The most interesting thing in the world, I think, is probably the reason for life. And that's love.

I'm falling in love with you right now, Victoria. I can see you now, wearing a cardigan sweater and penny-loafers...

I will tell you, I knew about the cardigan sweater because i do have ESP (at times it's more acute than others).

Well, I think it's the involvement, for sure, with these marvelous animals. A rhinoceros, an owl ( a barn owl), a hawk, a puma... that's been the most interesting, the interaction with the animals, and talking to their trainers. The rhino WAS real. I asked the trainer - there was nothing separating me from this rhino except for this young trainer with a tiny whip like a kid would buy at a circus! And I said "Listen, what should I not do?" and he said "Just don't run!" and I said "Don't worry - if he comes for me, I'll have a heart attack anyway."

Obviously my wife.

Well.

There's a formula of stuff.

You have to find some bat droppings, guano. Which is not too easily found. But there is a bat cave nearby where I live, and I have a steady supply of that. And mix in a little rainbow dust. And starlight, starlight is also one of the ingredients. But i can't give you the other secret ingredient because... well, it's proprietary.

Well, I think that every country has a right to their ownership of their own country. They've been aligned with England for 300 years, apparently that's been a good relationship, but I can understand national pride. It might be a difficult transition, but it's important for the Scot people to go the way that they choose to through their election.

Yes, I do have plans. There are things that are being developed. But right now I am involved with Dos Equis, but life will be going on. There are things in the works, and I look forward to that.

I think he was also one of my students. And I flunked him.

Well, I think Nelson Mandela is certainly one of them.

But who could go against Superman? He was a cool dude.

4th grade. I was 9.

Haha! That's kind of a long question. No, I don't. Because I enjoy what I'm doing. I'm confident about what i do. I love the character that I portray. And so I find it enjoyable. Of course I always want to inspire others to want to listen. But I don't try or worry about being interesting. It's just effortless.

In all truth - I love Dos Equis. I prefer it in the summertime, when it's hot, the dark, and in the wintertime, I like the lager. I also would recommend cooking with it! Yea, I cook with it all the time! You've heard of beer-can chicken, haven't you? If you haven't look it up on the internet! It also makes a great batter - I'm sure most of the people listening have heard of beer-batter. Great for onion rings, and fine for seafood.

Also a very good marinade for brisket or pot roast.

Well, I was much more interesting, obviously!

I think a personal thing that many people wouldn't know about me is that I cry rather easily. Anything that's aesthetically pleasing, but frequently it's moments of love - it can be lovely moments of shared joy or a special relationship, and it even could be the weatherman, if he talks about love - not him personally, but just a good report about promises of snow on the mountains, the colors moving down the hills, things like that can actually bring tears to my eyes.

Dogs.

I do a lot of charity things for dogs. I recently worked doing a fundraiser for the local rescue, but I'm very involved with Morris Animal Foundation and their cancer research. It's a wonderful organization, responsible for most of the vaccines and lots of the progress on the cancer front going back 50 years. I've been a spokesman for them a few times. I have two Anatolian Shepherds, flock-herding dogs from Turkey, and if you have a flock of animals, they will live with them outside. If you don't have a flock, you bring them inside the house, and they will protect you. They are very bright and very protective, but not aggressive. And I'm training my male dog to be a therapy dog. They're giants, and they're gentle giants. Very loving, adore children, very good with people. I am looking forward to particularly going to old-age homes and working with the vets in institutions.

Yes.

Hit it with a high-pressure water pump. I guess they call that "fracking" in a way, but it will do it. At least we are not upsetting the shale, and the oil. And if you're out in the country, and it's your well - I don't know what the technique is, exactly, but they hit it with high-pressure water and it does help.

Eleven.

I love the ability, the few times that I am totally aware of the present moment. It doesn't happen all the time, but that kind of clarity, where I am uncluttered in the mind, just enjoying the moment and not thinking about the past (which is gone) and not thinking about the future (which has never occurred) but just being in the moment is a glorious feeling for me.

Well... I am who I am, and if people find me interesting, I'm delighted.

Well, my father was a retired teacher that bought an old farm in upstate New York, and the most beautiful times I spent with my dad were fly-fishing on the Battenkill River... and those were my most pleasant memories growing up. And I want them to be my most treasured memories growing old.

Where I am with somebody I love.

I didn't have to, because I just knew.

I guess the fact that other people might find boring about me is that I can be completely content to be alone. And to some people, they find that boring. I don't like to waste my time on frivolous social things of no consequence.

Well, I have 2 vehicles. I have a beautiful Ford King ranch pickup echo boost, 1/2 ton. And I have my father's old 1994 Jeep, and that covers me for if i have to haul fertilizer - you can't put that in my father's car! That's a shrine. No fertilizer in the Jeep.

"He once warned a psychic."

Thank you very much for that. Yes, people stop me often on the street, and if they are polite and not pushy or aggressive, I thoroughly enjoy the exchange. I willingly pose for pictures, and I will just share a story that happened to me. My wife and I were eating at a restaurant, and a dozen or so people came over and asked for pictures, and I always give pictures, and then the food was finally delivered, and a man and his daughter came over, and said "Excuse me" and i said "I would be delighted to take a picture with you, but our food has just come - if you wait a few minutes, I would be delighted to take a picture with you and your daughter." And he turned and said to his daughter "No, he's too much of a big shot, let's go honey." So there's somebody who will not think very highly of me and will probably tell people that I'm a jerk. But that happens. It's unfair, but it happens all the time. I feel very very lucky to be an ambassador of fun, and I feel obligated to my fans. And if I can bring a smile and a little joy into somebody's life that takes me just a moment, it gives me great pleasure.

I wear a tuxedo all the time.

Willie and Zoe.

Nelson Mandela.

Well, it's very beautiful. It's a very old form of hunting. And they have to pick up these birds when they are very very young and train them. And it's amazing, the relationship between the falconer and the bird. And it's quite a unique experience, to watch these birds of prey hunt. they actually hunt and bring back game to the hunter. I've done it. I don't do it often. But it is exciting. I don't particularly like the fact that animals are sought after by these birds, but to witness the exquisite beauty of a bird in full plummet after a game animal or a rodent - it's very primitive, it touches something primordial perhaps, but it's an interesting experience to share with a bird. Or with you. Enter here: http://www.prizeo.com/jonathan

Well, I've been to many different countries, I'm not going to list them all - many diverse and distant lands. My favorite place of all is being in my backyard at sunset, and my backyard (for many years) was aboard a sailboat.

Never have.

I'd rather not make that public. But I would like to add: perhaps the most joy - I wouldn't call it fun - but the most joy I've ever was when I was 18 years old, and I worked at a summer camp for handicapped children that would come up from the inner cities, and to see a child who had never ben out of the concrete jungle run through the grass and drink milk - that was a very important time in my life. I actually wanted to become a cottage parent, working with kids that are in facilities, sometimes for their own protection or who have been abused, and be a psychiatric social worker when I was younger. And I got sidetracked by a psychiatrist that suggested I study acting, which I did, at a young age, and my life changed. I got involved with the theater and all of those pursuits, but I never stopped working as a volunteer. There were many moments that give me joy, which I guess is synonymous with fun, and that took place with an organization that is still in existence, and that is called Free Arts for abused children. They are based in California, they can be seen on FreeArts.Org, and what we did - the mission really - was to bring arts programs to children that were incarcerated or in protective custody, frequently from their own parents. And also in prisons, where I also taught. We provided a non-threatening environment, using art was a cathartic experience, as a way of unlocking personal pain and then working so that the therapists that did work with these children had insights. Teaching in prison and making a difference in their lives was one of the most joyous experiences of my life.

I think to be an interesting person, you have to be interested In things.

I have always been a very curious person. I experienced things that - for instance, I like getting lost. That's an experience. It's an adventure. I find that people who go from Point A to point B to be missing something. I feel if I have any qualities that might make me interesting, it's my desire to experience the journey, the journey of life. I'm not particularly interested in flying over things, so to speak, but rather experiencing the hike, the journey, the flavors, the tastes, the feelings, of being involved.

I feel, for instance, that I guess i would put it this way: to me, life is a parade of events, and incidents. And most people watch them go by, living vicariously through others. I live for the experience.

Well, it depends on which shows or movies - they can both be wonderful, or they can both a chore. It depends on the project.

No, he was a little bit too old.

Oh sure!

Of course. I mean blowing up bombs, that was an interesting thing to do. I have met people that have done incredible, wonderful things for humanity - like these humble and wonderful people that risk their lives every day to find ordnance and destroy them. It's very very dangerous work, and I admire what they do greatly.

I guess I would say... a destination that I haven't been to. A new experience.

It depends on the time of day, and if I'm eating or not.

Oh surely! I think one of the books goes back to one of my heroes - The Long Road Home by Nelson Mandela. And I find him to be an incredible, enlightened human being that has suffered such great inequities and pain and personal loss, and came through on the other side, surviving to be a man free of bitterness, and to go on and to lead people into a better life by his example. And the same with Gandhi. And Martin Luther King. People that have suffered so much, and given their lives to the service of others. People that are contributors, that give back, and inspire, and enlighten others to find freedom intellectually, freedom spiritually, freedom politically, freedom to enjoy the fruits and potential of life.