This blog is off the record. (But not really.)
I don’t think I’ve ever heard the phrase “off the record” uttered more during a single day than the Saturday I spent with “The Mystery Hour” host Jeff Houghton.
Yelled, whispered and jokingly commanded – mostly in jest – the phrase became the day’s running joke. Funny face? Off the record. Making a prop? Off the record. Telling a joke? Off the record.
Jeff is a funny guy – obviously – but hidden among the jokes and silly faces is a serious businessman.
Like Carson, Letterman, Leno, O’Brien or Fallon before him, Jeff wants to become a household name in the late night talk show scene, with “The Mystery Hour” now airing in four states and advancing.
Jeff has managed to spin “a concept that shouldn’t work in Springfield” into local gold – with show sponsors, an after-party and a devoted viewership.
As I followed the host for Springfield Business Journal’s June 6 Day in the Life series, I expected to laugh; what I didn’t expect was to nearly fall over laughing.
My words fail to do justice the pure hilarity as Jeff and show writer Nate Black cobbled together and attempted to wear a three-legged suit. I was laughing so hard I cried – literally. SBJ photographer Wes Hamilton and videographer Jeremy Bartley were in stitches, hands shaking as they tried to get the shot.
Jeff was in his element. The trial run wasn’t meant to be funny, but by its very nature it couldn’t help it and Jeff realized that. That’s where his business savvy comes in. The everyday moments become something more, and he’s there to guide them along and bottle that laughter.
As Jeff and I departed after the show, it was nearly 11 p.m. and I was ready to go home and pass out. Jeff on the other hand was headed to the Hotel Vandivort after-party, to be followed by after after-parties. But that’s all off the record.
Reporter’s Notebook
A day for a talk show host is filled with too much to fit on one printed news page. Little tidbits of insight and laughter get left on the cutting room floor.
For example, the cast also has been known to frequent The Hepburn in the wee hours of the morning, Dapper’s underground members-only speakeasy. Jeff recently has stopped wearing socks with his on-air suits, as he’s told it’s the current height of fashion.
During the typical Day in the Life, Wes takes around 500 photos. With Jeff, the tally stands at 1,449 — the most he’s ever taken for one article. Many are in
the gallery, but many didn’t make the cut.
As always, I had my iPhone at the ready to capture each moment. If a picture is worth a thousand words, here’s another couple grand that didn’t make print.
It’s just after 11 a.m., the day is fresh and ripe with possibility.
This hand-drawn mug of Jeff watches over a backstage wall at the Gillioz Theatre. “Hey, Springfield is spelled wrong,” Jeff says as we walk through. “I never noticed that before.”
The set comes over in pieces from a storage unit on Olive Street. In the beginning, Jeff loaded, unloaded and set up everything himself using a box van borrowed from the Springfield Regional Arts Council.
Props for the first episode of the night. The other side says “I solved the mystery.”
There’s never a shortage of events in downtown Springfield, especially on a sunny Saturday afternoon. The finale taping was down 200 people from the show’s 500 average. As Jeff and crew coordinate the outside joggling scene, a wedding party crams under the Gillioz marquee for photos.
“Why are these scissors sticky?” So begins the three-legged pants.
This is about the point when Jeff realized he was in the midst of comedy gold.
Between tears of laughter, I tweeted this photo with the hashtag #mycurrentview.
Jeff’s Mid-America Regional Emmy award sits proudly on his show desk. Note the broken wing tip because the cast has carried it around so much.
After the three-legged suit debacle, we ventured across the street for more props and came across this pancake. “Hey Emily, take a picture of us and send it to me so I can see what we look like.” Done.
Breakfast sidenote: The Houghton family is a bit famous in the downtown breakfast world. Ever had The Mystery Jeff at Gailey’s Breakfast Cafe? You guessed it, it’s his creation. The Michelle is named for Jeff’s wife.
The photo taken here by Wes ended up in this week’s print edition. Here’s the action from the other side.
Makeup artist Cara Griffen drives from St. Louis for each show just to do the cast’s makeup. She started out local and didn’t let a move stop her.
One of the few times Jeff actually dressed in the greenroom/makeup room/dressing room before the crowd got too large. He mentioned I’d probably see him in his underwear at some point during the night, and he was right. That’s a Day in the Life first I doubt will ever be repeated.
Maribeth Monroe was the best. People always say stars are so “down to earth,” and I get it now. She bought that dress at Five Pound Apparel earlier in the day. The Hollywood actress was smitten with our town, gushing about the downtown atmosphere. A fan of HBO’s “The Brink,” I almost asked for a selfie, but didn’t want to seem like a dork after our chill 10-minute conversation.
Jeff’s 3-year-old son Elias was backstage to calm dad’s nerves before taping began.
I watched part of the show on this backstage monitor.
Maribeth joined me as she readied to go on stage.
The rest of the show I watched from this lovely seat behind the camera.
It’s not all movie stars and after-parties for Jeff. Sometimes a guy’s still gotta iron his pajamas on the floor like everybody else.
Even Maribeth donned pajamas for the third episode’s slumber party.
I end each Day in the Life the same way – with a selfie. Thanks Jeff for letting me follow you around, even if most of it was off the record.
