Still extremely busy moving the Shrine, (I had no idea it would take this much work), I asked the True Fans of Stern from howardshrine.net again to help with an interview of our newest Shrine Inductee, Josh Thompson. Who you ask? Josh is an up and coming stand-up comic, who is better known to most Howard Stern fans as Fake Arnold. I contacted Josh on his myspace and asked him for an autograph and interview. Well, I didn't get the autograph yet, "Shit happens", but I did get an awesome interview. Thanks Josh, and thanks to the True Fans of Stern for helping out once again. 

Porn Queen: How did you get in contact with Howard and begin doing pranks with guests?

Josh: Actually, Howard contacted me.  During the California Recall Election of 2003, I made a prank phone call to “Fox and Friends,” a nationally televised morning show on Fox News.  While interviewing several candidates for California's Governor, the hosts were told that “Arnold Schwarzenegger” was on the line (they actually bumped candidate Arianna Huffington off the schedule to make room for “Arnold”).  Once I got on the air as “Arnold” (which, by the way, was way too easy—the screener was so excited, he never verified my phone number), I busted their balls for about three minutes or so, until I attempted to let them in on the joke.  I say “attempted,” because even after letting the cat out of the bag, two of the three hosts were still convinced it was really Schwarzenegger.  They then proceeded to debate the validity of my call for the next two minutes—on national television.  It was to be my first big break. The following morning, someone told me that Howard was replaying the prank on his show.  And a few days after that I got a call from Gary Dell'Abate, saying that Howard loved the “Arnold” impersonation, and wanted me to phone in to the show.  The first “prank” I remember doing as “Fake Arnold” was on Howard's then general manager, Tom Chiusano.  At that time, Howard was forbidden to interview Schwarzenegger.  And if he did, he'd have to interview the other 134 candidates as well.  Against Tom's wishes, Howard took a phone call from “Arnold Schwarzenegger.”  Even though Tom didn't really fall for it, he still commented that mine was the best Arnold impersonation he'd ever heard. Howard agreed, and a few weeks later I was flow out to NY for my first-ever in-studio appearance on the show.  And the rest, as they say, is history.

Josh: I actually did meet Arnold once, but it was before my impersonation of him gained any kind of notoriety.  It was at a taping of “Hardball with Chris Matthews,” and Arnold was that evening's guest.  This was the fall of 2002, I think—about one year before Schwarzenegger eventually became governor—and he barely mentioned politics at all.  After the show, I walked up to him and shook his hand.  He said, “How are you? Nice to meet you.”  And that was about the extent of it.

If only he knew… From what I hear, though, he does know now, and thinks it's pretty funny.  I do know that during the Recall Election, many people confused “Fake Arnold” with the real one.  There were a few news articles I came across where Schwarzenegger was quoted as saying something like, “That guy they have on Howard's show—he's talking about women and crazy stuff like that.  That isn't me!”  But it was always said in a good-natured, amused sort of fashion.  One thing you've gotta give Schwarzenegger: he knows how to take a joke. 

Josh: You know, I think everyone does Arnold's voice.  Everyone.  And after a while, they all started sounding the same to me.  People weren't really doing Arnold—they were doing “Hans and Franz” from SNL.  And they all used the same catchphrases.  “Hasta la vista, baby.”  “I'll be back.”  “It's not a tumor.”  Eventually, it just wasn't funny anymore. And then one day I discovered “Conan the Barbarian” on DVD.  It had a commentary track by Schwarzenegger—the first one ever, actually—and I listened to it immediately.  What I discovered was that Arnold, the real Arnold, speaks very differently than his movie counterpart.  And he's funny.  Really funny.  For most of the movie's running time he wasn't even talking about the movie—he was too busy reminiscing about “cigar night” and “Richard Simmons Jr.” and “getting laid a lot.”  It was a gold mine! So I took portions of the commentary that I liked, and put them onto disc.  And for about two or three months, I just drove around in my car, listening to Schwarzenegger's voice over and over and over, studying his dialect, his choice of words, his phrasing, etc.  Then I wrote down his key words and phrases on little note cards, reading them aloud every day (my roommate must have thought I'd gone insane).  Once I felt confident enough I started pranking radio stations as Arnold, and that's how the whole thing began.

Janet: How long have you been doing voices?

Doc: Do you do other radio shows? If so, how do you like doing “Free FM” vs. SIRIUS?

Josh: The first FM radio program that “Fake Arnold” appeared on was “Conway and Steckler” on 97.1 KLSX, Los Angeles (Howard's L.A. radio home before moving to SIRIUS).  That was back in March or April of '03, I believe.  Because it was the first time I'd exposed “Fake Arnold” to the public, that show became a kind of training ground for me; with each appearance, the impression got stronger, the jokes less-scripted, and I really learned how to improvise and think on my feet.  So by the time Howard came calling in August of that year, I was more than ready.  (One of the hosts, Tim Conway Jr., actually put me in touch with Gary Dell'Abate.) And I still call in to that show now and again.  A lot of other shows, actually.  Whenever the real Arnold does something that's newsworthy (like break his leg or win re-election), stations from all over the country start calling.  All over the world, I should say, because I've also been appearing on 96 FM (Perth, Western Australia) every week (!) for the last year-and-a-half.  That show's a hell of a lot of fun to do, because I perform several different voices—Arnold, Michael Jackson, Stallone, and Jermaine Jackson—often all at the same time! Admittedly, however, performing on SIRIUS has spoiled me a little.  And it's not about using vulgar language or anything like that (although Arnold's line, “Hey, shit happens,” is quoted by many).  It's just that I feel more uninhibited, more free to discuss whatever topic I choose.  Often with Free FM, I get the sense that they're fingers are already on the dump button, that they're always scrutinizing every word you say.  So it becomes something of a trick to edit my SIRIUS material for FM, which, as a comedian, becomes a fun challenge.