Episode published: Friday 01/10/2025
Michael: Hi everybody. Welcome to another episode of Every Day is Groundhog Day (Except for the Days When It's Not), the only podcast devoted to the holiday Groundhog Day. Hope you enjoyed our last episode about Buffalo Groundhog Day and Buffalo Bert, one of the most powerful groundhogs in the New York area.
This week, we have something a little different. We're speaking with someone who has their own special connection to the holiday, actor Rich Sommer. You almost certainly know Rich from one of his many roles over the last two decades. He was Harry Crane on Mad Men and has appeared in other shows like Minx and Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp, as well as movies like The Devil Wears Prada and BlackBerry. But why am I talking to him on this Groundhog Day-themed podcast? Listen to the interview to find out.
So, today I'm speaking with actor Rich Sommer, known for his numerous appearances on The George Lucas Talk Show, for maybe, sort of trying to steal Pam from Jim on The Office but maybe not, and of course for his roles in many shows and films such as playing Harry Crane on the critically-acclaimed TV series, Mad Men. So, thank you for being here with me today, Rich.
Rich Sommer: Thank you for having me. This is a very important appearance for me.
Michael: Oh, great.
Rich Sommer: It's focusing on an aspect of my life that has just barely been touched on, so this is good.
Michael: Okay, and I'll want to get to that later, but I was curious about that because once I found the connection to Groundhog Day, and that you were born on Groundhog Day, I started trying to see, like, have you talked about this anywhere? And I didn't see a whole lot of that.
Rich Sommer: I've been saving it for today.
Michael: Okay, awesome. All right. So, I guess I kind of jumped the gun there. I was going to say, listeners, you might be wondering what the connection between Rich Sommer and Groundhog Day is… Did he have a minor role in the movie or has he performed in the Groundhog Day musical? The answer to those questions, I believe, is no, right?
Rich Sommer: That is no. Yeah, correct.
Michael: Okay. So, as we just mentioned, Rich's connection is to Groundhog Day itself, the holiday, and that he was born on that day, February 2nd.
Rich Sommer: That's right.
Michael: So, I guess my first question to you is, when did you become aware that you shared your birthday with this very important holiday?
Rich Sommer: Pretty early, I feel like. My grandfather, who died when I was not yet 3, I think, his nickname for me was Piggy because of the hog, half of "groundhog."
Michael: Oh, wow.
Rich Sommer: It was pretty early on that the connection was made. And we always, sort of, tuned in to see what the groundhog had to say on that morning, it was always sort of a part of the day's celebration. But yeah, so I'd say pretty much from as early as I can remember, I was aware of the connection.
Michael: Oh, wow! See, I was curious about that because I think you and I are of a similar age. If the internet is correct, you were born in 1978?
Rich Sommer: The internet is correct.
Michael: Okay. So I was born in 1979, and I was thinking, I was like, "Would I have known what Groundhog Day is when I was young?" I mean, I feel like it was kind of something I might have been aware of, but maybe not until the movie did it really enter more of the mainstream. But you had that connection, and so it was always something you're aware of.
Rich Sommer: The movie was, like, an additional little fun buffer for me. I was very excited about the movie, obviously, and I've seen it several times, as I know you have. I always liked that there was, you know, there are plenty of holiday movies, and just very few tend to touch on February 2nd. So, it was thrilling for a young Rich Sommer, especially with Bill Murray, I was a big Bill Murray fan, you know, Ghostbusters and all that. So, it was very exciting for me.
Michael: Did people get you, like, Groundhog Day-themed gifts for your birthday? I mean, I kind of jokingly, when I reached out to you was like, "Do people ignore your birthday and just get you Groundhog Day gifts, or do they combine the gifts for the two?" But like, is there any sort of theme, growing up, where you would have, you know, groundhogs? Anything like that?
Rich Sommer: From time to time, there have been, like, birthday cards or things that people could scrounge up that somehow had a groundhog involved, but I think that sort of celebration of the esoterra of Groundhog Day didn't really, like you said, it wasn't really in vogue until later.
I will say this is something, I don't know if you know, and it's an important part of my story, but my wife's birthday is also February 2nd. She was born February 2, 1979. So, since then, since us getting together, we've been married almost 20 years, the groundhog-themed stuff has sort of expanded. Her sister, actually, both of her sisters, often give us groundhog-themed things. Last year, her younger sister gave us sort of matching T-shirts; they're gray T-shirts with a drawing of a groundhog, but my groundhog has glasses because I wear glasses. And her older sister gave us a Groundhog Day, the board game, which is, you know, based on the movie for our birthday a couple of years ago. So, definitely, that has expanded a little bit our enjoyment of the holiday.
Also, now this you definitely haven't seen online, but Virginia, my wife, her grandfather was a groundhog, and our niece, Margaret, is a groundhog, our youngest niece, her younger sister's daughter. So, it's a big day in our, in our extended family.
Michael: Oh, wow. All right. There's a lot for me to process there. So, yes, I did come across the fact that your wife shares the same birthday as you, or at least February 2nd. That was the one thing, when I found out that your birthday was February 2nd, I did a search for your name and Groundhog Day, and Instagram posts came up where there were pictures of you and your wife and I think you had some sort of comment, like, "Can you tell how they feel about both of us?"
Rich Sommer: Oh, yeah, it was a pair of drawings our daughter did for us. She drew a groundhog for each of us. And my wife's groundhog is very cute and sort of rounded edges and has a little birthday hat on and, you know, very, very what one would deem cute. And my groundhog is… [chuckles] what one might call horrifying. It's a very creepy, scary-looking groundhog with a sort of sleep cap on instead of a birthday hat. I don't know, it's a gnarly pair of drawings if you're trying to take a swing at how she feels about the two of us. That was the intimation of my Instagram post.
Michael: Yeah, I'll share that in the show notes, a link to that. I believe yours had… Your wife seemed like it was in, like, a cupcake container or something like that and yours said something like, "Scary, claw shoo, groundhog" or something.
Rich Sommer: Honk shoo.
Michael: Oh, honk shoo, honk shoo.
Rich Sommer: This is my… The reason it said, oh god… My daughter is quite into what she calls the honk shoe look, which is… "Honk shoo" is like a verbalized approximation of [snorts then exhales] a snore. So, what you traditionally see Ebenezer Scrooge wearing, a sleep cap and a sleep gown; she's very into that look, she has her own pajamas that fit that. So, she wrote "Scary honk shoo groundhog." That's why the groundhog is wearing a sleep cap and a, sort of, nightgown type. You're learning a lot about my family dynamics here.
Michael: [laughs] I can cut any of this out.
Rich Sommer: [laughs] No, no, no, no, no, it's all good. It's all good.
Michael: The fact that your wife and you share the same birthday was… When I saw that you had Groundhog Day as a birthday, I was like, "Oh, it would be cool to get Rich Sommer on this podcast," I've seen you on a number of episodes of The George Lucas Talk Show, as I mentioned before, I was like, "He'd be a great guest." And then when I found that post and you said "My wife and I have the same birthday, "I was like, well, I absolutely have to get you on because you and I, we don't share the same Groundhog Day birthday, but we are in the same club of requiring the people we marry to have the same birthday as us.
Rich Sommer: Oh! Really?
Michael: Yes, because my wife and I… Also, she is born in 1978, I'm born in 1979, so a year apart and same birthday. That's part of the reason why we ended up meeting was because we share the same birthday. So, you know, I thought that was an interesting coincidence.
Rich Sommer: Okay, well, let me ask you this now. How far away is your anniversary from your birthdays? Our anniversary, we were married in March. So, it's like, three months earlier. I don't have an exact…
Michael: No, no, no. I just wondered. Our anniversary is in August, so it's roughly six months after our birthday. So, our birthday ends up being sort of like another anniversary for us. I don't know if that happened when you and your wife got married. But for us, in the very beginning of our marriage, we started kind of, we'd try and celebrate each whoever's birthday was the even number would celebrate. And then it just sort of like it was like, we'll do joint birthday party or no birthday parties. And it has become more like an anniversary. So, we kind of have these two touch points in the year, roughly six months apart that we can kind of do that.
We did have one shared birthday party, this was back when we had… We had a big joint birthday party, and we hired a guy— This is a long story. But basically, we had a friend who created cocktails as part of his deal so we hired him to do a cocktail tasting for our birthday party and we asked him to come up with a— So, there were two classic cocktails, one sort of based on the kinds of drinks she would like and one based on the drinks that I would like. And then a new cocktail called the Whistling Groundhog. I will have to find the recipe for the Whistling Groundhog and share it with you because it was a great drink. And the reason was called the Whistling Groundhog is apparently, [chuckles] when groundhogs mating, they make this sort of whistling sound or when they're trying to mate. So, you know, in honor of our love and commitment, created a cocktail called the Whistling Groundhog. The only ingredient I remember it had is cardamom bitters. So, I'll have to dig it up for you and share it with you. You can share it with your listeners.
Michael: Oh, awesome, that would be great. So, yeah, I know "whistle pig" is another name for groundhog.
Rich Sommer: That's right.
Michael: I want to ask… When I reached out to you, you said something along the lines of "My children have requested that I accept your request" or something like that. So, is that just that they want you to be talking more about your connection to Groundhog Day, or just want you to be on more podcasts?
Rich Sommer: They like when I do fun things, I guess. And so, this was one of those things I mentioned at breakfast. "Oh, this dude has a podcast about Groundhog Day and he asked me to be a guest." And both my kids were like, "You have to do it! You have to do it!" And I was like, "I do?" They said, "Yes, you've got to do it!" I said, "All right, fine." I think I said to you, "My children have requested that I accept your invitation."
Michael: Well, you can thank them for me because I do appreciate it.
Rich Sommer: Okay, I'll pass it on.
Michael: I was not sure how willing you would be to do this. Here's something I did want to ask about because I know you've been on The George Lucas Talk Show a bunch. I'd seen a few of your appearances previously, but there's many, many hours. But I did go back and there was like a supercut of your appearances.
Rich Sommer: Yes, I've seen that.
Michael: It's, like, six hours.
Rich Sommer: I've seen that it exists, I want to be clear. I have not watched it, I just know it exists.
Michael: So, I watched that, and I was like, "He must have mentioned it. Six hours, it must have come up at some point." And then I found, oh, there's you know, there were additional appearances after that. So, I just kept finding more and more of your appearances and I was and you still hadn't talked about the Groundhog Day connection, but there was one episode and you said, "Oh, my birthday is coming up. It's February 2nd." And I was like, "Oh no, they're going to they're going to scoop me." Because at this point, I was like, "Oh, you really haven't talked about it." But they don't mention… The fact that it's Groundhog Day never comes up and I was surprised by that. Like, you kind of went off on some other tangents. I was like, I would definitely say, "Oh, Groundhog Day!" Like, there are certain days you should know, but maybe not.
Rich Sommer: We have to be real about where Groundhog Day lies in other people's priorities. You and I obviously have it a little higher on the list, but not everyone. They'll be like, "Oh, February 2nd." I say, "Yeah, Groundhog Day." And they go, "Oh, that's Groundhog Day, oh! Wait, so your birthday, is it on Groundhog Day every year?" I'm like, "Yeah, it's always on the same day." It's not like Easter or whatever or Thanksgiving. It's always on the same day. But no, I think it's… I don't know it. It's 50-50 knowledge, I feel like. It's not necessarily general knowledge that February 2nd is Groundhog Day.
Michael: I think that's something we should talk about as well. Like, do you try to get the word out or are you willing to try to lean more into the Groundhog Day connection that you have? [Rich chuckles] Like, from this point forward, maybe try and work it into interviews.
Rich Sommer: Yeah. Well, listen. I mean, you've raised its profile for me, obviously. No, I don't... I've not been much of a Groundhog Day evangelist. See, Groundhog Day is something that you've chosen. It was bestowed upon me. So, I feel like those of us for whom— I mean, I suppose you could go either direction, but I've known a couple other groundhogs in my life. Zosia Mamet, who was on a handful of episodes of Mad Men and has a fantastic acting career of her own, also is a groundhog. I think we mentioned it at one point and she's like, "Oh, weird." I was like, "Yep, okay. Good talk." Like, it's just not a… Unfortunately, the fun of that holiday hasn't reached everyone yet, and it's people like you, I'm hoping, can get the word out and people like me can help you. But it does take someone who chose this mantle, not one for whom they were born into it.
Michael: I got you. So, yes, it is definitely one of my missions to raise the profile. I do not have the star power, though, that you will. I did see there were some other famous people who…
Rich Sommer: Yeah, one of the Smothers Brothers. Brent Spiner from Next Generation.
Michael: Oh, I don't think I saw that one.
Rich Sommer: Oh, yeah, he's got it. One of the Smothers Brothers, I never remember which one. And a guy I went to a junior high with, Tim Chrisman. Those are all the groundhogs I know.
Michael: You've also got Shakira.
Rich Sommer: Oh, yeah, that's right, Shakira, who I think is one year older than me, I think.
Michael: I haven't reached out to her yet, but we'll see if I can get her on here.
Rich Sommer: I'm an important step on the way to Shakira.
Michael: Who else? Oh, Paul Mescal, who…
Rich Sommer: Oh no kidding! Who just hosted— Well, I don't know when this airs, but he hosted SNL recently. Really? He's a groundhog!
Michael: Yeah. See, see.
Rich Sommer: There we go, that's exciting. I'll have something to talk about if I ever run into him. You've got a deep bench of guests you need to corral.
Michael: Yes. So, it's exciting. I'm glad that I've discovered this avenue of people to talk to, because originally, I was thinking, I want to find people that I can talk to who Groundhog Day is their favorite holiday. And surprisingly, you can't find all that many celebrities talking about it. So, then I kind of was like, "Oh, well, what about people who are born on the day? There's a good chance that they'll at least have some awareness and if not, I can inform them about it and maybe they will," just as you and I are now, evangelize about Groundhog Day.
Oh, I want to get back to this. You said you watched the ceremony, I assume the Punxsutawney ceremony.
Rich Sommer: Yeah, I mean, we try to tune in. We're in LA so the timing doesn't always work. But we'll always catch it on YouTube at some point in the day or on the news. But growing up, I was on the Eastern Time Zone and so I was able to more readily watch it before school or something.
Michael: Are you from… Am I remembering Cleveland?
Rich Sommer: Well, I was born in Toledo. I grew… well, grew up. I lived my first eight years in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio so right outside of Cleveland. But then I moved to Minnesota. And so, from age 8 on, I was in Minnesota, which is the Central Time Zone. Still easier to see the groundhog, check out his deal, than out here because it's only an hour off. But yes, I claim Minnesota as home. That's really where my formative years were.
Michael: I'm sure you're aware that, you know, there's Punxsutawney Phil but then there are other prognosticators.
Rich Sommer: I wasn't aware until I checked out your show and you and your daughter walked us through many of these.
Michael: Oh, okay! I didn't even know you had you had done that. Yes.
Rich Sommer: Well, I had to do a little recon before I just dove in, you know?
Michael: Yes. So, there are tons of them, and more and more each year, seemingly. So, do you have any feelings on that? Do you… I guess you're just finding out about them. Are you, kind of like, loyal to Phil or are you open to the idea of other ones?
Rich Sommer: I have no real interest in anything outside of Gobbler's Knob when it comes to that morning. If my wife and I ever fulfill our, so far, 20-year goal, Punxsutawney is where we will go for some Groundhog Day, someday. It'll probably have to be after the kids have graduated so we've got a few more years here. But once we find our way there, that's where I want to go. So, no, I'm not interested. I'm not interested in all these others! I just want Phil.
Michael: All right. Well, then this might answer a suggestion that I was going to have, was what if Rich Sommer did a Groundhog Day prediction on Groundhog Day? Like, I don't know if you have a PO box. I could send you a Groundhog Day hat and maybe, you know, here's something you could be like "Rich Sommer saw his shadow, it's going to be a long winter."
Rich Sommer: I don't know, man. It feels a little fraudulent, it's a little fraudulent. I don't know, it's a little sacrilegious for me. I don't I mean, look, I'll take a hat, but I don't think… Whether I see my shadow or not, I can't imagine anyone cares whether I see my shadow or not. I'm not the expert.
Michael: You are talking to someone who cares. See, [Rich laughs] as someone who doesn't necessarily feel like we only have to listen to one groundhog, I am open to any and all predictions. I have this list of several hundred; sometimes it's living groundhogs, sometimes it's dead groundhogs, chickens, dogs dressed up as bears pretending to be groundhogs. So, why should one, you know, have any more power than the other one?
Rich Sommer: I suppose, it's a good point.
Michael: Rich Sommer, and you didn't hear the catchphrase that I want to add.
Rich Sommer: Oh, this might do it.
Michael: So, you could be like, "It's going to be an early spring, but it's going to be Sommer year-round."
Rich Sommer: Oh, yeah, no, I hate that. So, I'm not going to do it.
Michael: [laughs] Oh no!
Rich Sommer: [laughs] No, I listen, I live in California. I'm always going to see my shadow. It's an extraordinarily rare day where I don't see my shadow in California. So, you know, it's Sommer year-round already.
Michael: That makes it easy. Okay, all right. I'll still send you a hat.
Rich Sommer: I'll take the hat.
Michael: And maybe your kids can work on you a little bit.
Rich Sommer: [laughs] We'll see.
Michael: I was going to ask, is there a Groundhog Day celebrity birthday club or group chat? I guess not. So, I was going to ask if you were comfortable becoming the patron saint of Groundhog Day? Kind of seems like maybe you don't want that title.
Rich Sommer: Yeah, no. No, no, no. I don't want to be the patron saint of anything, ever. [laughs] I am happy with my just regular human role. I don't need any elevation.
Michael: I was going to say, because you might have to take it away from Bill Murray, but I feel like he's more associated with the movie where you, you know, you could have been the patron saint of the holiday.
Rich Sommer: Nah, that's Bill too, though. That's the groundhog… I'm just happy to be happy to be me. [chuckles] I'm always happy. I've made it another year around the sun. That's all I need.
Michael: Speaking of Bill Murray, have you ever met him? I couldn't think of a connection where you've worked with him, although you did work with his brother or at least you were on the same show, right? Mad Men.
Rich Sommer: Joel Murray, great guy, did several episodes of Mad Men with him. And he is yeah, he's the ninth of nine Murray kids, he's the youngest and the greatest. He does great impressions of his brothers, particularly Brian Doyle-Murray and Bill Murray and he has just, as you can imagine, endless stories growing up in Chicago with that many siblings and those particular siblings. He's a great guy. He's also just wicked talented guy and really a kind and funny gentleman.
Michael: Yeah, I mean, I always liked his character and I was happy when he would show up. I know he was in he was in the first couple of seasons. I feel like he maybe made a few additional appearances a little.
Rich Sommer: Yeah, Freddy Rumsen was the character. A lot of pathos in that guy. If you get the chance, if someone hasn't seen the show and they get to see it, keep an eye out for Freddy Rumsen. He's got some of the… In my opinion, some of the heartbeat of the show is in Freddy Rumsen sort of as a picture of what a person like that was truly like back then.
Michael: Something you mentioned was that… I've seen you talk about being into board games. And you mentioned that someone has gotten you the Groundhog Day board game, which I didn't even know existed. Can you explain what happens in that game?
Rich Sommer: If I'm not mistaken, I'm trying to remember if we actually played it. I don't think we actually played it from Funko Games… I'm trying to find it. I'm sitting by my board game shelf now. Oh, it's way over there. Well, I see it. But if I recall correctly, you're laying out a sort of a timeline of a day and you're trying to get the perfect timeline, you know? You have to kind of pick up the cards and you lay them out again and you're trying to get them in the exact right order, like, enough good cards in the right order, or something like that. I think that's the basic premise. It's ordering a timeline, which makes sense.
Michael: And now that you mention it, I do think maybe I do have it. I remember there was something with the Funko. I have not played it either. I've kind of left those things in their original packaging. So, I might have to get that out.
Rich Sommer: Well, I think it came with a little Funko groundhog as well.
Michael: Yes, I think so. I think that's what I have. So, I'll have to check that out. I guess getting back to the Groundhog Day movie, you said that you were excited about it. You knew it was coming out before it came out. Like, it was something that you looked forward to or just…
Rich Sommer: Yeah, I mean, I was always a bit excited about movies, a movie head, when I was younger, and still a little bit. And that was one, obviously, again, Bill Murray fan, comedy, Harold Ramis, you know, why not? And it was about my birthday. So, I was very excited and I was, I think like many people, pleasantly surprised with how it came out because, you know, those movies are 50-50. And that one ended up being pretty dang good and a little philosophical, thoughtful to boot. I love that movie.
Michael: Awesome. So, I feel like I would be remiss if I didn't ask… Many of your fans know that you have a roommate named Steven Charleston.
Rich Sommer: I feel like fewer of my "fans" or your fans know about this roommate than you're leading us to believe here.
Michael: Well, I feel like we have to expand the universe here.
Rich Sommer: Okay, sure. Sure. Good. Good.
Michael: So, Steven Charleston, and I don't know what the IP is, I don't know if George Lucas Talk Show has exclusive on it. Is there any chance he's around or at the very least? You know, I maybe have a couple of questions about him.
Rich Sommer: Yeah, blessedly, I'm able to say he's not here right now. It would be very unfortunate were he here. But no. Also, have you told your listeners what The George Lucas Talk Show is? I think that's an important aspect of this element of the conversation, this part of the conversation.
Michael: So, I guess I haven't specifically talked about it on this podcast, no. The George Lucas Talk Show is exactly what it sounds like. The conceit is that after selling Lucasfilm to Disney about 10 years ago, instead of, you know, just sitting around doing nothing, George Lucas decided to start hosting a talk show. And it is a very funny comedian, Connor Ratliff, portrays George Lucas, and he also has a sidekick, Watto.
Rich Sommer: Played by Griffin Newman. The three of them… Well, it's George and Watto and their producer, Patrick Cotnoir, who generally are present at these shows. It started as a live stage show in New York. During the pandemic, during the real throes of the pandemic, it went online, and they would have these unbelievable, many hours long marathons online, fully in character. And they have had just a shockingly huge lineup of guests over the years from the tip-top of entertainment all the way down to me.
It has been a long-running moment on the show, it was born out of the question… Patrick Cotnoir pointed out that I had played, I had at the time 68 credits on my IMDb, and were I to play one more character, they would be very excited about where that would leave my number of credits. And so, Steven Charleston, my roommate, found his way to the show. There's a deep, deep canon. I wouldn't say they own the licensing to Steven Charleston, but I would say that Steven and I have to check in with Patrick Cotnoir to be reminded of the depth of lore, and particularly since our last appearance on the show, which was a live show here in Los Angeles where, for the first time ever, Steven and I appeared together on stage, things really, really got deep because I was finding things out about Steven that I didn't know. So, I would really, before… Luckily, again, luckily, Steven's not here, and before he would come back, I would have to read a whole bible of things to remind myself what Steven and I have been through together.
Michael: My question was going to be… And I guess this can be something going forward that we determine is: Does Steven Charleston share the same birthday as you? So, in canon, are there three people with the Groundhog Day birthday living in your house or apartment?
Rich Sommer: I'll be honest, it hasn't come up. We've talked about as little as possible, Steven and I. We can, from time to time, have been known to have a contentious relationship. And I'll just be honest and say, in all the years that we've lived together, it hasn't come up. But I'm sure it will at some point now, because whether he hears this show, or George or Watto or Patrick hear this show, I can pretty much guarantee it will be a point of conversation the next time we're all together.
Michael: All right. That's good enough for me.
So, I was wondering if you could tell me what some of the characters you've portrayed would think about Groundhog Day. Do they celebrate it? Do they not? [Rich laughs] Bonus points, if you want to answer in character.
Rich Sommer: Oh god. I don't want to answer in character. But look, I think everybody cares a little bit about Groundhog Day. I don't know what Harry Crane thinks about Groundhog Day! I never wrote a word the guy said. You'd have to ask Matthew Weiner and the many, many writers of Mad Men what Harry Crane thinks of Groundhog Day, and I'll say that for every character I've played. [laughs] I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I just, I don't know.
Michael: That is fair. When you send me your PO box, if you got, like, Matthew Weiner's email, whatever, and we can check with him.
Rich Sommer: Yeah, sure. Okay, we'll check with him and see what Harry Crane would have thought about Groundhog Day. I know it's been gnawing at him. He's wanted to tell you for a very long time.
Michael: Well, I mean, I keep coming back to this. I feel like there needs to be more Groundhog Day movies, music. And I guess maybe we have different opinions where it's not, as you said, it's been bestowed upon you, whereas I chose it. So, maybe you're not as curious or…
Rich Sommer: Look, I think we could safely say I'm not as curious, but I am mildly curious about these things. Again, it's something that's gone noticed in my life. It's just I've never been someone who's like, "Hey! Hey! It's Groundhog Day!" I just never… You get to and we and we appreciate you for it.
Michael: Okay, and I'll suggest you should maybe do that, too. Hey, hey, it's Groundhog Day.
Rich Sommer: Yeah. All right. All right, I'll consider it.
Michael: Just consider it. I did want to share with you the predictions from 1978 when you were born.
Rich Sommer: Oh! Sure.
Michael: Every forecaster that I have found that did a prediction said long winter. Does that ring true?
Rich Sommer: Are you asking about when I was from zero to six weeks old, whether I experienced a longer winter than usual?
Michael: Yes. How was winter that year?
Rich Sommer: I'll say the winter of 1978 was the most intense winter I had ever experienced, until that point.
Michael: Okay, and I'll tell you, these are the predictions we have. Jimmy the Groundhog is a groundhog; Octoraro Orphie, that is a taxidermy mounted groundhog; Punxsutawney Phil, who you know; and Squeaky and Toby, who are a pair of groundhogs, all said long winter.
Rich Sommer: And every prediction from ‘78 said long winter, huh? Wow.
Michael: Yep. At least as far as I found.
Rich Sommer: Every recorded prediction.
Michael: Every recorded prediction that I have found, it is a work in progress. I'm continuing to try and find… It's a little harder than you might think.
Rich Sommer: Oh no, it sounds like it's actually easier than I would think, because you found any of it. So, it sounds like it's… I would think it's not possible, but it sounds pretty easy so far if you have all that. How far back do you have predictions?
Michael: So, I have predictions from 1887, which is the year that Punxsutawney claims I was the first Groundhog Day prediction. So, for maybe, like, the first two decades, it's just Punxsutawney Phil. And there's a number of years there where they have no recorded entry. And then you have a few ones come in and out like Octoraro Orphie, that seems to be the second longest predicting groundhog who, again, seems to also not be a living groundhog. But then you have certain you have certain zoos that will pick up the tradition and then they drop them. But then as you get, you know, I feel like after the movie came out and also with the advent of the internet, you know, the word spread. So, you just have, like, this explosion of prognosticators.
Rich Sommer: I think what you've got to do is for those years where there's no recorded prediction, you're going to have to go to, like, a bunch of estate sales in and around Punxsutawney and find letters, boxes of letters. Someone, somewhere has to have said, "Oh, and PS, that damn groundhog predicted six more weeks of winter." It's got to be in a letter somewhere and you have to find it. That's your life's work.
Michael: I do agree with you. Most of most of my work has been online. Unfortunately…
Rich Sommer: That's the easy stuff. You've got to get your hands dirty.
Michael: And all I need is for one eccentric billionaire who really likes Groundhog Day to say, "Here's a few million dollars, go do this," and I will go to estate sales, I will be looking at microfiche in libraries. You know, absolutely. That's the dream.
Rich Sommer: There's got to be some billionaire who cares about this, right? That's how they got where they are, with weird stuff. They've got to believe in this, someone.
Michael: So, we need that. And hey, you are more likely to run into billionaires than I am. So, you know…
Rich Sommer: I don't know about that.
Michael: Hundred millionaires, at least.
Rich Sommer: The last interaction I had with a billionaire was when I pretended to be Elon Musk for a day, and he kicked me off of formerly known as Twitter. So, that's about that's about as close as I've come.
Michael: So yes, absolutely. I would love to I love to do that and I'm glad you agree that this is important work.
Rich Sommer: Vital. Vital!
Michael: So, we'll see. I'm working on it. I've been going through the digital archives. I've added a bunch of information.
I did want to ask you, I know we're getting close to when you've got to go, were you aware of the fact that Punxsutawney Phil is 138 years old? That there's only ever been one.
Rich Sommer: No, not until I heard you mention on the show that that's the same groundhog that's been doing it for over 100 years. I had no idea. Feels pretty… Like, this should be a bigger news story. That's shocking. What did you say? The life expectancy of a groundhog is something like four years, three years in the wild?
Michael: Yeah, in the wild, it's like three, four years, five years. In captivity, it's still usually, like, 12-15 years I think.
Rich Sommer: I mean, this is an extraordinary story for a groundhog to have outlived life expectancy by that far. Now, I know they're giving him some sort of elixir but this feels like a breakthrough that has gone untapped. And, you know, there's a lot of conversation about stem cells and different types of medical research. I mean, they've been doing the testing, the testing's done! Give that elixir to a person, let's see what happens.
Michael: Yeah. I mean, I don't know if you heard this, but they won't even give it to his wife. It's Punxsutawney Phil and that's it.
Rich Sommer: I know. That's sick to me. That's sick. That's a sickness. That's unfortunate because that's, like… I mean, that's like the vampire who, you know, falls in love and is cursed to live beyond the life of any mate they find. What a terrible existence. What a curse to give to Phil, who's done nothing but serve for over 100 years.
Michael: Yeah. I'm glad you learned about this fact and feel free to share it with anybody. As I said, this is like a gold mine? More people need to know this stuff.
Rich Sommer: I do like that when you said, "It's like a gold mine?" you sort of asked the universe, "Is it? Is it? I think it is."
Michael: More Groundhog Day shows, more music. Wouldn't you love it if the beginning of January, you go into a store and you hear "Here Comes Punxsutawney Phil"?
Rich Sommer: Yeah, I would love that.
Michael: "12 days of Groundhog Day."
Rich Sommer: Yeah, I would love that. You're right.
Michael: So, it's our mission. I'd say it should be our mission.
Rich Sommer: You've convinced me.
Michael: Good. All right. So, I'm sure I could ask you a ton more. I want to ask, though, is there anything that you're working on right now that you want to share, plug, get out there? Anything that's currently out or that you're they're working on now?
Rich Sommer: No, I mean, I'm you know, my work is oddly both rolling and sporadic. So, by the time this comes out, I'm not sure what will be headed anywhere. But, you know, there's lots of things I did on streaming and every time you watch when I'm streaming, I get that much closer to earning another dime. So, hey, search "Rich Sommer" on your streaming platforms and I'm sure I'll see my, you know, quarter two residuals will be bumped by maybe a dollar and I'll know, that was due to this moment.
Michael: Okay, absolutely. I don't know that we can promise a full dollar, but we'll see.
Rich Sommer: I was promised a full dollar. Okay, all right. Well, we'll figure it out. We'll figure it out.
Michael: All right. We'll try. We'll see what happens. And if you do decide that you want to do Rich Sommer's Groundhog Day prediction, I will absolutely put it in my database and it will hold just as much weight as Punxsutawney Phil, if that.
Rich Sommer: Well, that is a very generous offer. I would say it is just this side of a zero chance. But hey, listen, that is exciting, to have a legacy like that might, might just be worth it at least once.
Michael: And if you talk to Shakira, Paul Mescal say happy birthday and happy Groundhog Day as well.
Rich Sommer: [chuckles] I'll do that, thanks.
Michael: All right. Thanks so much for talking with me today and I really appreciate you taking all this time to speak with me.
Rich Sommer: Thanks, Michael.
Michael: And that's the interview. Hope you enjoyed learning all about Rich Sommer, one of the most famous Groundhog Day babies. I hope you and your wife, and all of your Groundhog family members have great birthdays/Groundhog Days this year, Rich. And even though you don't want the title of Patron Saint of Groundhog Day, I think I'm still going to consider you that, in my heart. Let's try to get Rich at least one dollar in additional streaming revenue. Go look for any shows that have Rich Sommer in them and stream them as much as possible, at least through Groundhog Day. Also, Rich sent along the recipe for the Whistling Groundhog cocktail recipe that he mentioned in the show. I'm including a link to that recipe in the show notes. If you try it, let us know.
Music for the show was written by the spectacular Breakmaster Cylinder. Show artwork is by Tom Mike Hill. Transcripts are provided by Aveline Malek at TheWordary.com. If you want to learn more about Groundhog Day, visit CountdownToGroundhogDay.com. Any feedback or voice messages about the show can be sent to podcast@countdowntogroundhogday.com. Also, if you want to send along a birthday email or voicemail for Rich, you can do that, too. Thanks for listening, talk to you next time!