CHELSEA HANDLER: NETFLIX

I recently appeared on a segment on Chelsea Handler’s Netflix show. If you have a Netflix subscription, you can watch the episode now. The episode is 2016 S1 E63, titled “It’s Girl Empowerment”. Our segment starts at the 12 minute mark.

How did this come to happen?

There is a group of about 4,000 private investigators that belong to a Yahoo group that post requests, updates, news items and announcements relative to our industry. It was started many years ago by John Grogan. Mr. Grogan deserves a lot of credit for the original idea and maintaining the group. Most of the time this group allows a private investigator in Los Angeles to post a request for services in New York City. The requester always receives a multitude of responses.

I saw a post in the group that the producers of Chelsea were looking for an “expert” private investigator to appear on the show. Some of the reaction in the forum was less than positive, with many advising not to appear. I gather there were two reasons for this thinking:

First, Ms. Handler is an open book and not hard to figure out. My impression prior to the show was that she is direct, knowledgeable and fiercely competitive. Some of the private investigators in the forum thought that one of her goals would be to “cut up and shred” the PI selected. As I read though these fears, I figured that I would not even appear as a blip on Ms. Handler’s radar. On the other hand, over the last decade or so Handler has hosted some very popular shows, and she has a huge following. I’ve seen some really scary and mean people in my life – Ms. Handler isn’t one of them.

Second, the segment was to be held in a classroom-type environment at The Broad Museum in downtown Los Angeles. The class, to be conducted by Ms. Amy E. Herman, was titled The Art of Perception. Many on the forum figured the smart money was that Ms. Herman would also be out to demonstrate how intuitive and brilliant she was and make the guest look foolish. Again, my thinking was different. I’ve taught interview and interrogation courses in over 60 foreign countries, throughout the U.S. with local law enforcement officers and at the Federal academies. This did not seem to be a daunting opportunity. Heck, maybe I might even learn something.

Two of the producers of the show ended up calling my Los Angeles office directly. They were cordial and informative in explaining they wanted to have an attorney, a medical student and a private investigator on the show. I told them to count me in.

I reviewed Ms. Herman’s website, to get an idea what The Art of Perception was all about. It stated:

The Art of Perception is a highly participatory, proprietary training seminar that teaches professionals how to enhance their observation and communication skills. The program’s dual objectives are achieved by removing participants from their daily work environment and developing and improving observational skills that are relevant to their specific professions. Participants analyze works of art to reconsider their skills of critical inquiry and articulation, thereby improving their individual and collective abilities to discern the distinctions between perception and inference.

Quite a mouthful indeed.

Upon arrival at The Broad, I was greeted by staff and ushered through security. I was introduced to Ms. Herman and the other two guests. We never met prior with Ms. Handler.

With cameras rolling, she made her appearance in the lobby of the museum followed by a large staff. We made introductions, and without hesitation she let Ms. Herman state what she hope to accomplish.

She then asked the three of us to state our occupations. (The disdained reaction to the criminal attorney by Ms. Handler was priceless. Not so much for the young medical student and myself.)

We filmed for over two hours, and this was edited into the 12-minute segment that was aired.

Ms. Handler gave Ms. Herman an initial platform but cut to the chase within seconds of us viewing the first piece of art. It was like the truth detector meets someone who doesn’t want to be challenged. Simply stated, my advice is that if you go on the show, leave all the fluff and bluff at home. Ms. Handler is a street-smart host that will tolerate nothing less than your A-game and no self-promotion.

Off-camera, Ms. Handler is engaging. My perception is that her life experiences have molded her to have no tolerance for idle chit-chat and nonsense… a straight-shooter.

My overall takeaway was positive. The Art of Perception course reminded me of the importance to never take intuition for granted, I got to view some fantastic art and I met one of Time magazine’s top 100 most influential people.

I was most appreciative of the opportunity to do the show.