SEATTLE — Talk about your trip down memory lane!
"Almost Live!" cast members Nancy Guppy and Steve Wilson are among the first to get a sneak peek at the MOHAI exhibit celebrating the sketch comedy show that aired on KING 5 from 1984 to 1999.
“It was the coolest job ever,” Guppy said.
“It was an experience that nobody else got to have,” added Wilson.
In its two incarnations, first as a talk show hosted by comedian Ross Shaffer and then as a sketch comedy show hosted by funnyman John Keister, "Almost Live!" relied on the talents of its of smart, funny and especially industrious staff. They found ways to get things done on limited budgets.
“I called it guerilla television," Wilson said. "I think we all did. When we needed to do something we would just fashion stuff together and build it from scratch.”
Like the buzzer bell on exhibit. Used as a game show sound effect, the crude construct was made by Wilson and a KING 5 engineer. In another section of the exhibition there’s a shirt with the letters “SW” emblazoned on the chest.
“Oh man! Speed Walker!” Guppy said, remembering the superhero character her husband Joe Guppy and Bill Nye created. Speed Walker fought crime while adhering to international rules of speed walking.
There were sketches that made us laugh at neighborhood stereotypes, while also making all of us feel a little more at home.
“It wasn’t mean," Guppy said. “It wasn’t mean-spirited. It was super, super community in a way and everybody had a sense of humor about where they lived.”
Now that community is having its moment in a museum.
“Just because something's in a museum doesn't mean it's old," said curator Clara Berg. “It means that it's interesting and it's valuable And I think this is a story a lot of Seattlites love. People really connected with this show. It brought smiles to their faces. And it's about us!”
Almost Live (Almost an Exhibit) opens Saturday August 31 at MOHAI and runs through February 2025.
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