Rex Linn | From “Cliffhanger” to NBC & Peacock’s “Happy’s Place” | Longhorn Drummer

00:00 Rex Linn joins Story & Craft

00:00 Rex Linn: And I was sitting at his drums and, and Marc, all of the musicians in Reba's band were looking at me. I couldn't even breathe. I was like, "Oh my God, I can't drum to this song. I've only done it by myself."

00:14 Announcer: Welcome to Story and Craft. Now, here's your host, Marc Preston.

00:18 Marc Preston: All right, here we are back again, you and I, another episode of Story and Craft.

00:23 Marc Preston: Thanks for stopping back by, and if this is your very first episode, welcome. Uh, glad to have you here. Uh, today we are sitting down with the, uh, talented actor Rex Linn. Just a long, illustrious career going back to Cliffhanger with, uh, Stallone back in the day. Uh, but more recently, like CSI Miami, Better Call Saul, Young Sheldon.

00:43 Marc Preston: Now he's doing his thing on Happy's Place on NBC and Peacock, along with his real-life fiancee, Reba McEntire. We talk about that, as well as just a really interesting life arc to get him to where he is and all the cool experiences he's had. Uh, just a, just a cool dude. Really enjoy the sit down with him, and I think you will as well.

01:02 Marc Preston: Uh, he's just kind of a, just a chill, fun guy. Hey, do me a favor if you would. Grab your podcast app. Make sure to follow Story and Craft. New episode comes out, you get that notification. And of course, like the show. Uh, leave a comment. Helps people find Story and Craft. Uh, and if you wanna know more about the, uh, show, past episodes, past guests, get on the newsletter.

01:22 Marc Preston: It is so easy. Just go to storyandcraftpod.com. It's all right there. Okay, so let's get after it. Today is Rex Linn day right here on Story and Craft. So you're in, uh, Nashville or?

01:37 Rex Linn: Yeah, just actually Leiper's Fork. It's a cool little village just south, 20 minutes south of Nashville. And, um, uh, that's where we got a little ra- I call it a ranch.

01:47 Rex Linn: Uh, Reba called it a farm, but I said, "We're not farmers. We gotta..." She said, "Well, we don't have any cattle." And I, I just bought two Texas Longhorn steers. So now we run two steers, and that makes us a ranch officially.

02:00 Marc Preston: You know, it's so funny. A f- good friend of mine, uh, used to work for Fidelity Investments, and they got, they got a big campus in Texas.

02:07 Marc Preston: And from what I understand, they have cattle on their, their campus because it gives them some kind of a tax break or something like that. Uh-huh. And, uh, only in Texas, 'cause I, I'm not buying any Fidelity Investment steaks or anything. But now I see somewhere you, you are, you are from Texas originally, right?

02:24 Rex Linn: I am. I grew up in a, a little town called Spearman, Texas. Uh, population 2,700 when I left in 1969. It's a little bitty town north of Amarillo, right in the middle of nowhere. And, uh- Oh

02:37 Marc Preston: my goodness, you are, you are out there, aren't you? Yeah.

02:40 Rex Linn: Um- Yeah, it was, it was a great place to grow up though, uh, until I was 12, and then we moved to Oklahoma City.

02:45 Rex Linn: So I spent most of my early adult life in, in Oklahoma City. But born and raised in the Panhandle of Texas.

02:51 Marc Preston: For a Texan making a trip across the Red River, I mean, do they need a passport to do that? I mean, that's, that's a big, that's a big stretch.

02:58 Rex Linn: It's funny you sh- it's funny you should bring that up. Uh, we're Texas Longhorns, so my parents went to University of Texas, my brother.

03:06 Rex Linn: Uh, I've got, uh, I, I was born doing the Hook 'Em Horns sign, uh, coming out of the womb, so I was psychologically scarred from an early age. And so when we moved when I was 12, Oklahoma City is the epicenter of University of Oklahoma Sooners. It was not a good place to be wearing burnt orange and white. Uh, I even, in high school, when I would, uh- When I would, uh, score a touchdown, I played at, uh, receiver, tight end.

03:34 Rex Linn: I'd score a touchdown, I'd do the Hook 'em Horns, and then my own teammates would boo me. They'd go, "D- dude, don't do the Hook 'em Horns. We're in Oklahoma, man." So yeah, it's a tough place to be a, a Longhorn fan there.

03:45 Marc Preston: You had to be very conflicted when you went to the Cotton Bowl, you know, kind of that one time a year.

03:49 Rex Linn: Oh, never conflicted. Always burn orange, baby. Burn orange and white. Yeah, that, uh, that, what a great... Have you gone to that game at the Cotton Bowl?

03:57 Marc Preston: I, I never, I never have. I try to stay away from Fair Park right about that... I guess they don't even, they don't s- still do it there. They do it over at, uh, Jerry World, don't they?

04:06 Marc Preston: Uh, Cowboys Stadium now, don't

04:08 Rex Linn: they? No, no, it's still in the Cotton Bowl.

04:10 Marc Preston: Oh, they... Okay.

04:11 Rex Linn: Yeah, no, they, they have not moved from that venue. They have other games, like Texas A&M goes in there and plays. They have other huge, uh, uh, games scheduled over there, but, uh, no, we're still in the Cotton Bowl.

04:22 Marc Preston: You went to UT also, correct?

04:24 Rex Linn: I did not. I, uh, that, that's a whole nother story, but I'll, I'll use reductionism, as my dad used to say. I, uh, went to school at, uh, in high school in Oklahoma City. I was going to Texas for sure, no doubt about it. My brother was already there. And Marc, I, I made a terrible mistake. I, I fell in love Uh, my senior year and I followed her to Oklahoma State University, and so that's where I went to college.

04:55 Rex Linn: Of course, I had burnt orange, I had burnt orange, uh, on about every other day at Oklahoma State, but, uh, she dumped me once I got there and, and I ended up, uh, I was gonna transfer after my freshman year, and I made friends, and I just stayed there. So I actually graduated from Oklahoma State.

05:13 Marc Preston: What was your realm of study when you were up there?

05:17 Rex Linn: I, I studied... Well, I first started in theater and I- they wouldn't let me really, it was a tight-knit group in the theater, uh, school, the drama department. So a buddy of mine called and said, "Why don't you just switch over to radio, television, and film? You've wanted to be an actor all your life. We're learning about the history of film and television and theater."

05:35 Rex Linn: And so I just transferred to that, so I graduated in radio, television, and film under the headline of, uh, broadcast journalism, I think is what it, what it-

05:43 Marc Preston: So you said you always wanted to be an actor. Was this something that, uh, even going back to school, were you a theater kid in high school?

05:49 Rex Linn: No. You know what, Marc?

05:50 Rex Linn: I did one play in, in high school and I got kicked out after the first night. It was Fiddler on the Roof, and, uh, it was a Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday night production. And I played one of the, uh, like a drunk Russian that d- has the, drinks the vodka and does the Russian dance, and there's a bunch of us.

06:09 Rex Linn: And we were told beforehand to be easy, e- e- easy on the props and stuff, and I guess my adrenaline, I don't know what happened, but I tore, I tore the hell out of that stage. And my, uh, drama coach, uh, at the end of that night said, "You need to direct your energies elsewhere." So that was my only theater experience.

06:29 Rex Linn: My influences, I, I literally started, I became interested in acting as much as you can at five years old, between five and seven years old because I, I- Yeah ... and people think because I'm from Texas that, you know, uh, John Wayne was a big influence, and I love Westerns and all that stuff, and I've been in a bunch of them, but- What really excited me was Lon Chaney Jr.

06:52 The unexpected classic movie monsters that inspired his acting career

06:52 Rex Linn: and Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff, all the Universal monsters, Wolf Man, Frankenstein, Dracula, Mummy. I was enamored with them. And when I was old enough, whatever age that was, my parents, uh, made me realize, they sat me down and said, "Listen, there, we just want you to know there is no Wolf Man." "That's a guy with a mask on, and they pay him, and he's an actor.

07:16 Rex Linn: He's called an actor." And I just didn't believe them at first, but then when I was old enough to realize that was the case, I thought, "Could there be a better job than that? I don't think so." So that really- Yeah ... got me started, uh, yeah. '

07:28 Marc Preston: Cause if you're a kid, that's what you're doing already, you know? You're already living in the land of not make- you're not in make believe, but you got an active imagination.

07:36 Marc Preston: You can, you know, you're pl- like I always t- you know, 'cause I coach voiceover and I always tell my students, one of the things I did when I was a kid was, you know, I liked playing fireman. My wagon was a firetruck. The hose was a fire hose. Garden hose was a fire hose. And you can intellectually know it's not, but it's like when you've bought in, I'm like, that's one of the things I always thought was kind of fun when you're an adult, and the few times I've done some acting stuff on fi- on film.

07:59 Marc Preston: Uh, it's like, oh, we're all adults, but we're doing a very kinda kid-like thing in a way, you know? This is kinda, kinda fun, you know?

08:06 Rex Linn: Well, the thing too is, and I know you've got such a v- man, I wish I had your voice. If I had your voice, Marc, I'd be making so much more money. Uh, the thing is, we were playing cowboys and Indians and all that stuff, but then my family, my, my mom's sister was the manager of the Disneyland Hotel in Santa Ana, California.

08:27 Marc Preston: Okay.

08:28 Rex Linn: We drove, when I was 10, we went to Disneyland, and they had a Wolf Man mask, and my parents bought it for me. And so when I got back to Spearman, when everybody was, had their six guns and we were playing cowboys and all that stuff, I had a Wolf Man mask on, and they were like, "This guy's off the wall here.

08:46 Rex Linn: He's, he's a little off." But I was always enamored with that. And, and, and I did puppets. I, I had puppet show. I had a whole bunch of puppets. So I went to our elementary school and I went to different classes. I went from class to class and I did puppet shows, uh, for, for the different classes, which were...

09:04 Rex Linn: Some of them were good and some of them were terrible.

09:07 Marc Preston: What, what I think is interesting is, you know, people, you know, like you said, Texas thinking, okay, it's Westerns and whatnot. Um, but no, I think it's the things that you watch on TV that's... or, or a film, that's gonna be the thing that kind of fires up your imagination.

09:20 Marc Preston: When you were growing up, what were kind of your Mount Rushmore actors or projects that just really sparked your imagination as you got... When you started thinking, "I wanna do this thing, seriously, I really wanna pl- I really wanna dive in," what was, what was kind of pulling you along?

09:37 Rex Linn: Well, that answers, that, that's a two-part answer.

09:39 Rex Linn: First of all, Adam West and Clayton Moore. Clayton Moore, who played The Lone Ranger, Adam West, Batman. When they came on the scene in 1967, I was all about it. I, I just wanted to be The Lone Ranger, and then Batman came out, I wanted to be Batman. So those two guys, uh, were, at an early age, were very influential for me.

10:00 Rex Linn: I even got to meet Adam West- Really? ... many, many years later, and told him that he was, uh, one of my influences and one of my idols. And, and we, we had a long discussion, and we never brought up Batman, and I didn't want to. So we, when he referred to Batman, he said the series. He talked about his career, and then he goes, "And then the series came along, and then after the series..."

10:23 Rex Linn: So it was really a, a great thing to talk to him and never... I, and I didn't walk up to him and say, "Mr. West, I'm, I, I love Batman." I, I just decided not to do that. We just talked about our past and stuff, and it was great. So early on it was Clayton Moore, it was The Lone Ranger and Batman. But in high school, uh, in No- the month of November, in 1975, I walked in the Continental Movie Theater, which was the best movie theater in the state of Oklahoma at the time, and I watched what is still today my favorite movie of all time, and that's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

10:56 The Jack Nicholson performance that cemented his career path

10:56 Rex Linn: And that's a hard movie to watch the first time. I walked out of it and got on a payphone and called Mom, and said, "I'm gonna stay here. I'm, I'm gonna miss dinner." It was a... I remember we had a, it was a bye week in football. I was a football player in high school, so we didn't have a game. And I went back in the movie theater and bought it again, and watched that movie back to back.

11:17 Rex Linn: And I told my parents the next day, based on Jack Nicholson's performance, this is, I knew for sure this is what I wanted to do. And that, so I would say Clayton Moore and Adam West early on, and Jack Nicholson in 1975 really planted the seed for me to, to, uh, see what I could do to move forward in that

11:35 Marc Preston: direction.

11:35 Marc Preston: What, what were your folks thinking when you said, "This is gonna be my thing. I've, you know, the bug's bit me." Were they like, "All right. Well, go for it," or were they like, or, or were they- They- ... were they thinking you were on a different track of going somewhere else?

11:46 Rex Linn: No, they were completely supportive and, and they knew because I'd been talking.

11:49 Rex Linn: You know, I couldn't stop talking about The Wolf Man early on and about who's the guy that's plays him. I was talking about acting all my life. So when I came home, and then Saturday I said, "I gotta do it," and their first reaction was, "Well, you're gonna have to start studying and get into theater, get into acting, and I don't know how you're gonna do it, but, you know, you need to figure that out."

12:12 Rex Linn: Well, it's hard to do in Oklahoma City. Uh, and so- I graduated from Oklahoma State and I, uh, went into banking. I don't know why, but I started banking. I was a banker. I didn't move to California until I was 34, so-

12:27 Marc Preston: Really? Okay.

12:28 Rex Linn: Yeah. Yeah, I was 34 and I, and so I worked for a bank and, and, um, there came a time in my life, which was 1989, uh, where, uh, uh, I sold my house.

12:42 Rex Linn: The, the market was terrible, lost a lot of money on my house.

12:45 Marc Preston: Bought

12:45 Rex Linn: a

12:45 Marc Preston: couple- And when, this is about, what, what year again was this? '

12:48 Rex Linn: 89.

12:49 Marc Preston: Was that... I'm trying to think. When was the, when was the big oil bust? The kinda, that was right- '82. '82. '82. 80, okay.

12:54 Rex Linn: All right. It's funny you should bring that up. I was working at Penn Square Bank, which was the infamous bank in the shopping mall that almost brought down the five major, uh, banks in the United States.

13:08 Rex Linn: There, there were books written on it. The bank was called Penn Square Bank. Uh, anyway, and then I worked for another bank after that and, um, but '89 I had broken up with my girlfriend. Uh, the company I worked for was declared, uh, insolvent. They, they basically left the, the company, uh, w- they were, actually they were bought out by another company.

13:33 Leaving a career in Oklahoma banking to pursue acting at 34

13:33 Rex Linn: So I was unemployed, I didn't have a girl- my girlfriend broke up with me, and my dad said, "You know, if there's ever a time to move, it's now, and you, you can't keep talking about acting in Oklahoma City. You gotta move to New York or you gotta go to Los Angeles." That planted the, the serious seed. I sold my house, packed everything up, and on February 5th, I put all my stuff in a U-Haul and got on I-40 West and didn't know anybody, and, uh, headed to California to study.

14:05 Marc Preston: Well, I, well that, the question is when, when all this was going on, was this already something on your mind, or did your father kinda like, did he kinda pull that to your, the front of mind for you?

14:15 Rex Linn: It was already on my mind, heavily on my mind. But I w- but, but I tell you, Marc, fear is a terrible thing, isn't it?

14:22 Rex Linn: I was afraid to go. First of all, honestly, I didn't know any better, and I thought since I'm bald, I'm not, I'm not gonna... 'Cause everybody's supposed to, you're supposed to look like Tom Cruise, and I thought I, I can't... I mean, the chances of me going out there at 34, pretty slim of working. Especially I thought, you know, I'm, I'm, the way I look is not Tom Cruise or whatever in my head, whatever actor I had in my head.

14:51 Rex Linn: Uh, so I was scared to death to go. And plus I didn't know anybody. And, uh, so and that's a big move to get in a U-Haul and go out there. But I, I, uh, I decided it was time. My dad told me, "If you're gonna go, you better commit 110%, and you better give yourself a timeframe." And he's right. He said, "Because you're, if you go out there and you don't give it 110%, you're gonna have to more than likely come back to Oklahoma City, and you're gonna have to live with yourself then.

15:22 Rex Linn: So you should go out, give it, give it 110%, set a time limit." So I set a time limit of five years, which is really not long enough, and I moved. And I was lucky enough, and, uh, I was out there a year and a half, I was lucky enough to get my first movie, which was Cliffhanger, which turned out to be the number one movie in the country.

15:42 Landing a breakout role opposite John Lithgow and Sylvester Stallone

15:42 Rex Linn: John Lithgow and I played the two bad guys, and it was, uh, Stallone was the lead.

15:46 Marc Preston: Oh, was the... Yeah. And people forget, John Lithgow played a few really good bad guys, you know?

15:50 Rex Linn: Oh, he, he's one of the best bad guys ever. As a matter of fact, we just got back, uh, to, from watching his play. If he doesn't get the Tony Award, they shouldn't give it out.

16:00 Rex Linn: Yeah, we, we saw his play Giant, and man, oh man, is he ever amazing in that. Uh, but yeah, so John and I, uh, were cast as the bad guys and, and, um- Stallone was the, uh, the lead and it was called Cliffhanger. So I was only out there a year and a half, uh, of acting class. I didn't even have an agent. Uh, I had one when I finally got, uh, Cliffhanger.

16:24 Rex Linn: I had just gotten an agent and they put me on a trial basis, uh, for six months, and I auditioned for that movie. Then the movie went away for whatever reason, and then it came back and they read me for a bigger role, and I ended up getting it, so I spent the next six months in Italy, uh, filming Cliffhanger.

16:41 Rex Linn: And so then that's how that started.

16:43 Marc Preston: Well, going back a little bit now, what were your folks, what was their vocation, uh, you know, when you were coming up?

16:48 Rex Linn: My dad was a lawyer, a, a trial attorney. Uh, mom was a housewife and, uh, and a great mom. And, um Yeah, Mom was the disc jockey at University of Texas on the campus, so she was in, already in radio, uh, uh- Well,

17:05 Marc Preston: they do have a really good radio, television, film department down there.

17:08 Marc Preston: In fact, in fact, if not mistaken, isn't, uh, Matthew McConaughey kind of wired into the ecosystem down there a little bit? Yeah.

17:14 Rex Linn: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. He's, uh, he's, he's, he's, he's, uh, moved him- himself into a, a good position down there at, at- He,

17:21 Marc Preston: he's kind, he's kind of like the unofficial mascot. He's kind of pushing Bevo out the way a little bit, I think.

17:26 Rex Linn: A little bit, yeah. Uh, he sure has. Uh, but no, their, yeah, their department down there is fantastic. Yeah, it really is. And, uh, you know, Mom and Dad were ... I mean, they were, they were so supportive at first, and then w- w- you know, and Dad was a trial attorney. He ... I, I watched him in court.

17:43 Marc Preston: Well, that's theatrical.

17:44 Marc Preston: Yeah. He,

17:44 Rex Linn: he was unbelievable in court. I mean, he was a ... He, he had some amazing clients and, and, and, and ... But they ... And he was an entertainer in, in, in his own right in the courtroom, although it was for, it, it was for, you know, it was real life. It was for ... People's lives were, uh, at stake. But, uh, and then Mom was a disc jockey at Texas, uh, and, and so I've kind of had that.

18:08 Rex Linn: And Dad paid his way through law school playing the trumpet. He was in a jazz band. So there's a lot of music in the background and, uh, and I always wanted to ... 'Cause Mom kept talking about, you know, "I was the voice at University of Texas on the campus." It made me always want to be a disc jockey, always. I, I had that in my mind too.

18:26 Rex Linn: Well,

18:26 Marc Preston: that, that's an era when you grew up, back, back when radio was ... It's ... I try to tell my kids, you know, "Daddy used to be cool once upon a time," you know? "I used to have some pretty big radio shows and..." But they don't look at radio as the thing that, like, when we grew up, that it, it was a ... You know, it can be a cultural thing.

18:41 Marc Preston: Like, I remember going to high school, everybody listened to the same morning show. Or like, you know, the first thing that really, uh, bit me, uh, the bug is watching American Graffiti and, and, uh, you know, Wolfman Jack and, and, and- I

18:53 Rex Linn: was just gonna say Wolfman Jack was my influence in radio. I'm sorry, go ahead.

18:57 Marc Preston: Yeah. Yeah, that, that indoctrinated mental. I don't know. It was like ... Uh, uh, 'cause it was theater of the mind. It was like what was possible. And I saw ... I just remember him eating that popsicle going, "Oh, man, I don't know, man. Uh, I don't know where that guy is," you know? And when Richard Dreyfuss was asking him about it, and then he'd

19:11 Marc Preston: Out of the corner of his eye, he sees him turn into the guy on the radio. And- Yeah ... so it, to me, there was, there was a lot of magic to it, and I had a chance to You know, when I, at, from a, I started at 17 at a very young age, and I had, I was always the young guy, so it was easy to be a sponge, you know?

19:27 Rex Linn: Yeah,

19:28 Marc Preston: yeah.

19:28 Marc Preston: But now, now I, you know, I try to tell my kids and they're like, "Oh, radio, that thing when Spotify doesn't work?" That's, okay, you know, that kind of thing. Yeah. So, but no, that-

19:36 Rex Linn: Did you ever meet Wolfman Jack by any chance?

19:38 Marc Preston: No, but you know, the thing is there, there was a radio station I was working for, it was a Top 40 station, and I left to go somewhere else in, in, in, in Dallas.

19:46 Marc Preston: And, uh, they flipped it to, to, uh, country, uh, uh, oldies. Uh, and, and they brought in Wolfman Jack to do mornings for the first month. So I got a chance to hear him doing mornings, and this is when he was up in years. You know, and I was a big fan of, uh, you know, guys that were big into West Coast radio or, like, East Coast.

20:03 Marc Preston: There was a little different stylistic kind of a thing. Mm-hmm. I was always West Coast, you know. For me, I remember, uh, one of the first things as a child, you know, Disco Duck, Rick Dees, you know, that kind of

20:12 Rex Linn: Yeah, yeah.

20:13 Marc Preston: But radio for me, I was always enamored from, like you talk about being a, you know, acting.

20:18 Marc Preston: For me at seven years old, I was like, "I wanna do radio." I just, it just was... I mean, I was a, such a nerd about it, though. It was so, you know? Um- I was too. But, but your mother was, she was doing that thing too. So did she do it beyond college or was she kinda like-

20:31 Rex Linn: No, no. She a- actually, my parents, uh, uh, she met dad when he got in law school, and the rest is history on that.

20:38 Rex Linn: I think she graduated and then she wasn't a, uh, she didn't pursue it after that. She was, was a, was a mom after that.

20:52 Marc Preston: Now, did you have any brothers or sisters around the house?

20:56 Rex Linn: Yeah. Yeah, I've got an older brother and an older sister, and, uh, they, uh, they both live in Oklahoma City now. S- stay... They, uh, my sister went to Tulsa, uh, for, uh, the first part of her married life, stayed there for years, and then moved to Oklahoma City.

21:10 Rex Linn: My brother went to Dallas, stayed there for years, and then came back to Oklahoma City, so they're- Yeah ... that's where they are.

21:16 Marc Preston: I gotcha. Well, you know, I left, uh, Dallas, spent about 20 years in New Orleans, and I'm kinda in and out of, uh, southern California. Uh, but now I'm down in South Padre. I'm on the eternal spring break program, you know?

21:28 Marc Preston: So

21:28 Rex Linn: Oh my God, you're... I didn't know you were in Padre. Oh my, you're about to, I'm about to have some flashbacks, baby.

21:35 Marc Preston: Woo. You know, I wanna tell, my daughter- Every spring break ... there's, there's a big beach bar down here, the biggest one in Texas, and, uh, my daughter bartends during the summer. You know, when spring break was happening, I was like, man, I remember the days, like Stevie Ray Vaughan was on the beach doing his thing, and n- I know, me too

21:48 Marc Preston: it's a whole different thing. And it was like you had a lot of kids here, but nobody was mischievous, like, in a bad way. Times changed a little bit, but there's still the vestiges of that, and I, you know. It is kinda cool to be here and be a, be a fly on the wall with all the kids here for spring break.

22:01 Marc Preston: Especially- Yeah, but they got the- ... they do UT, uh, they do the first... Actually, I think the first week of spring break is when all the Texas schools are on, you know, they're not... You got Texas- Yeah ... and you got Tech, and everybody else, so, you know, I live vicariously through them.

22:13 Rex Linn: Well, well that whole, the, that whole five state area, I mean, Oklahoma City, when we went, uh, everybody in Oklahoma went to Padre Island.

22:21 Rex Linn: I mean, that was a must- Yeah ... every spring break. And then, and then we would of course accidentally sneak down to Matamoros and- I was

22:28 Marc Preston: about to say Matamoros. Yeah ... yeah,

22:30 Rex Linn: we, we'd cross the border. And we felt we were so cool by doing that, you know, but.

22:34 Marc Preston: Yeah, going to, going down to Mexico, I don't know if it's as big of a thing now.

22:37 Marc Preston: It's a little bit, uh, precarious of a thing to do, uh, you know.

22:40 Rex Linn: Yeah.

22:40 Marc Preston: Um, but you, so you came down here. So you still had your Texas connection even though you were in Oklahoma. Um-

22:46 Rex Linn: Oh, yeah ...

22:47 Marc Preston: now-

22:48 Rex Linn: Yeah, and my, and I had parents down, I mean, parents. I had relatives down in Brownwood. Uh, my, my mom was born in Ranger.

22:56 Rex Linn: Uh, so there's, there's a lot of, uh, yeah, I had, I had a lot of, of, of, uh, relatives in South Texas, and, but I mean, Corpus Christi and Padre Island was a huge part of my life, man. I mean, every spring. I mean, that's the thing, four springs in a row, and then college- Two, two of the spring breaks of college I went to there, so I spent a lot of time down there.

23:20 Marc Preston: You were probably out at, uh, let's see, like Louie's Backyard I think was the, uh- Yeah ... Oh, I don't even know if that was around back then. Um-

23:25 Rex Linn: I think it was, yeah ...

23:27 Marc Preston: The thing to do, though, what's neat about this island, and it's still l- it's still the same, is where you head north and when the road just ends, then you head out to the beach and you just keep driving north on the beach, and you're just nothing but sand dunes and, and, uh, that's, I, yeah, I told my daughter, "We gotta do that," but I don't have a four-wheel drive and I don't wanna be that guy, you know, who, who goes out there in two-wheel drive, he just can't get out, you know?

23:49 Marc Preston: Um-

23:50 Rex Linn: You know, I have, I have a, I just gotta tell you a quick story. I'm, I'm a drummer. I, I played drums, uh, when I was a kid. My mom got me a snare, mom and dad, and I, I'm a not a good drummer. I'm just an amateur drummer. But, uh, I was trying to impress the girl that I really wanted to date. I was in love with her.

24:08 Rex Linn: She was not in love with me. She was the high school head cheerleader. I was captain of the football team. She was a senior. I was a junior. We went down, w- well, the whole class went down to Padre Island. Well, at this bar, I met the drummer, uh, in the afternoon, and he had a set of congas, and he said, "Hey, if you w- wanna drum, just come on in and let's get together."

24:31 Breaking a thumb on the congas to impress a high school crush

24:31 Rex Linn: And I said, "All right." So that night I knew all the girls were gonna be there, and I knew this head cheerleader was gonna be there, and he let me get up on the congas, and he let me play for a couple hours, and I just improvved and I broke my thumb. I didn't have any tape on my thumb, and I was, of course there were a f- a few beers involved, and I, I was up there just going at it and going at it for two hours, and that night my right thumb got...

24:58 Rex Linn: It was huge. Huge. And I kept... Of course, I didn't really feel anything at that time, but the next day I felt a lot. You know, I went to the, uh, emergency room and they did-

25:08 Marc Preston: You wonder if high school girls knew how much effort we put into stuff.

25:12 Rex Linn: I'm telling you, man. And she didn't even, she wasn't even impressed.

25:15 Rex Linn: Re- I broke my thumb for her and, and it didn't do any good ...

25:18 Marc Preston: you know, the percussion folks, they kind of, they're the, they're the foundation of all the music, but, you know, the guitarists are all the ones who, they're the ones who get the, uh, get the accolades. So are you, are you still, are you still playing?

25:28 Marc Preston: Are you still musical?

25:30 Rex Linn: Well, I, I am actually. I, uh, for my, well, three birthdays ago, so for my 66th birthday, uh, Reba got me, uh, a set of dr- Gretsch drums. I haven't play- I hadn't played in 41 years, and I would always walk up to somebody's drums, and I don't know why I had this, this in my head for so long, but somebody told me a long time ago, "You never play another guy's drums.

25:57 Rex Linn: You stay awa- don't get up there and hit on them or play on them."

26:00 The birthday surprise drum kit from Reba McEntire

26:00 Marc Preston: Right.

26:00 Rex Linn: So I, I hadn't played in 41 years. On my birthday out here at, at the ranch, uh, she said, "Let's go out in the barn. I wanna show you, uh, something, uh, some artwork." And I said, "All right." So I went out there. She had, uh, members of her band, uh, were nice enough, they came out here and built a little two-foot stage, and I got a pair of Brooklyn Series Gretsch drums.

26:26 Rex Linn: Not a pair, a set of, I mean, professional. I got Zildjian cymbals, a two floor tom, tom- Really? ... tom-tom. It was amazing. So we went in the barn, and we were looking around, and she goes, "Oh, look what they... Look, look over here in the corner," and they had lights coming down.

26:42 Marc Preston: I just- Oh, so she had a whole theatrical thing, a presentation going.

26:45 Rex Linn: Oh, yeah, it was all set up. It was all set up. I just started bawling. I just started crying. And she goes, "Look, now you don't have to say you can't hit another man's drums. So just get after it, 'cause those are your drums."

26:57 Marc Preston: Wow.

26:58 Rex Linn: And so here's what I did. We had a band in the sixth grade in Spearmint, Texas. We played two songs, Wipe Out and Louie Louie.

27:08 Rex Linn: Louie Louie is boring on the drums, so I just, I got up there, and I didn't know what to play, uh, and I hadn't played in 41 years. And she said, "Just play the first song that you played that you can remember." So I just did that, that

27:27 Rex Linn: So I did Wipeout and, uh, and-

27:30 Marc Preston: Which is iconic. You know, it's-

27:32 Rex Linn: It is. I had so much fun doing it. It was great. So now you ask me if I play. I go out to that barn as much as I can, especially for therapy sessions, and I get my headphones on and, um Listen to my favorite band are the Eagles, so I listen to Eagles and I'll play, play Eagles songs and that kind of thing.

27:54 Marc Preston: Of course, Don Henley, another fellow Texan.

27:56 Rex Linn: He is from Linden, Texas, and my f- my, my favorite, uh, lyricist and drummer and singer of all time. And matter of fact, we just, uh, uh, Reba knows him well. They did a duet together. We just went to see the Eagles, uh, at the Sphere and, and, uh, and Don gave her a, Don gave her a guitar with, uh, little signed notes from all the Eagles members, and I was in heaven, of course.

28:20 Marc Preston: Wow. Th- that is so cool. That... You know, especially when you have somebody who knows kinda what your jam is. Not, you know, literally jamming out, but, like, the thing that- Right ... really kinda resonates with you, and then to have a kit that's all your own. I mean, I... It's funny 'cause I've been watching lately, there's a couple people I catch online that they're not really doing drumming lessons.

28:38 Marc Preston: There's a guy named, uh, like, it's, like, Estopari or... He's some Spanish guy on YouTube. Uh, you just watch him, it's like, I'm not even a dr- I'm not a drummer, but it just keeps floating up into my YouTube or my socials, and I don't know if you- You mean

28:50 Rex Linn: that guy that does all those weird... He does everything.

28:54 Rex Linn: Uh, uh, I mean, he's a great drummer it looks like.

28:56 Marc Preston: Yeah, he's got, he's got, like, a beard and he's, he's the- Yeah ... uh, he's... Yeah, he's, he's real kind of a buff guy. Yeah, yeah, he's... I'm, like, watching, how does that guy do all that stuff? He's just- Oh, I,

29:04 Rex Linn: I've watched him a lot. Yeah. He's, he's brilliant.

29:07 Marc Preston: When you watch someone who can do something effortlessly, even whether it be singing or playing an instrument or what, those are the fun ones to watch.

29:14 Marc Preston: It's like, I don't know how they do it. They cracked some code. There's something in the DNA that, you know, and that guy definitely has it. Mm-hmm. Now, now the question is, th- this is the big thing, have you ever said to Reba, "Hey, can I, can I sit in?"

29:25 Rex Linn: Marc, I've got it on film. Here's the thing. One of her songs is, uh, Consider Me Gone, was a huge hit for her.

29:31 Rex Linn: I like the song a lot, mainly because it would be easier to drum to if I were to do it, so I listened. I didn't tell her. I listened to Consider Me Gone probably 50 times and learned how to drum it, uh, uh, uh, the way her original drummer did. Well, she went on tour and I hung out, you know. I was the boyfriend that hung out for, followed her around for a few, uh, dates, tour dates.

29:58 Rex Linn: And one day at soundcheck, Garth Justice, her drummer, who's a great drummer and a great guy, he, he called me, uh, well, he didn't call me. He went down there and, and he said, "Hey, come on up for soundcheck. We're gonna play a little..." He said something like, "We're gonna play a little Eagles," or, uh, "We're gonna, we're gonna have fun and mess around."

30:18 Rex Linn: I said, "Great." So I went up there, and they didn't tell Reba at first, and there's the band. Garth asked me to come up to the s- to the drums. I walked up to the drums and he said, uh, "Go ahead and sit on my drums." And I said, "No, dude, I'm not gonna do that. I don't wanna do that." He said, "No, sit on the drums for a minute.

30:37 Rex Linn: I wanna take a picture of you." That's all he said. So I got on the drums And then he said, "And now you're gonna play Consider Me Gone." And Reba walks out on the stage, and they start the song, and Reba just smiles at me. Oh. And so I got the drums to be- Oh, so she

30:54 Playing the drums live on stage with Reba's touring band

30:54 Marc Preston: was in on it.

30:56 Rex Linn: Yeah. Yes. But I'm gonna tell you, I didn't think she was, uh, but I wanna tell you this.

31:00 Rex Linn: To look... That moment, that two or three seconds when I realized what was about to happen, and I was sitting at his drums, and, and Marc, all of the musicians in Reba's band were looking at me. I couldn't even breathe. I was like, "Oh my God, I can't drum to this song. I've only done it by myself. I can't do..." And I said, "Guys, I'm...

31:22 Rex Linn: Here's the thing, I'm, I..." And I just started blabbing, and then Reba walks out on the stage, and they go, "One, two," and Garth says, "Get going."

31:33 Rex Linn: And I had to start with a hi-hat, you know, and I just got into it, started it. It was one of the highlights of my life. I'm telling you, it was a... That's a long-winded answer to your question. No, that's,

31:43 Marc Preston: that, that's

31:44 Rex Linn: wonderful. But yes, I got, I got one song off the stage.

31:46 Marc Preston: Yeah. That's, that's fantastic. So w- now where were y'all, where was the venue?

31:49 Marc Preston: Where were y'all playing?

31:50 Rex Linn: I don't remember, and I should remember. I th- I really think it was Little Rock, Arkansas, but I'm not sure. Uh, I wish I, I did. We had 17 cities we were going to, so she would... And we were filming, at the time, Reba and I were filming, uh, Big Sky on ABC. We were in the same series together.

32:09 Rex Linn: She literally would film Monday, f- Tuesday, Wednesday, and then Thursday get on the jet Thursday morning, fly to wherever, concert Thursday night, we would fly to the next town that night- Friday night concert, Saturday night concert. We get back to Albuquerque, we're filming in New Mexico, get back to Albuquerque about 3:00 in the morning, go to sleep, wake up, start rehearsing Sunday, and then she'd have a 5:00 AM call to film for the next three days.

32:40 Rex Linn: And she did that for n- about eight or nine weeks.

32:42 Marc Preston: God, I mean, that's... I, I never understood how people do that, 'cause, um, being on tour is different than going from one acting gig to the other. You know, it's like there's a physicality to it, so, you know, you gotta have stamina to knock that out.

32:53 Rex Linn: I don't know how she does it, and she does it without drugs.

32:55 Rex Linn: I mean, those, those days, I mean, in the '70s it was easy to figure out how they did that, but-

33:00 Marc Preston: Yeah. ...

33:00 Rex Linn: she's a, she's an amazing, amazing person. I, we were all in awe of how she did it. Hell, I was exhausted and I wasn't even singing.

33:08 Marc Preston: Speaking of Big Sky, I just spoke with, uh, Natalie Alyn Lind. I think she, she was in, uh, Big Sky as well.

33:13 Marc Preston: Yeah. Yeah. Now she's on that Dutton ranch, which is, uh, you know, I'm a big Taylor Sheridan fan. I really like what he's up to. I think he's a- Right ... wonderful writer, and plus he's kinda celebrating, kinda bringing production back to Texas, which we've never had that thing down in Texas. We've had fits and starts.

33:27 Marc Preston: You know, I did my, when I was a little, little kid, I did my... Well, I have to tell you, you can appreciate this. Now, I don't want you to g- be too impressed here, but, uh, I was actually a child actor who was in the, the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders movie. It was an ABC movie of the week. What? It was, uh, with John, it was a sequel, John Davidson, you know, from That's Incredible.

33:47 Marc Preston: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sure, sure. Yeah. He was the, he, he was, he was kind of the star in this one, but they shot it and it was, it, I remember I was, uh, gosh, s- eight, I think. And, uh, we were at, and Texie Waterman, who was the, uh, she was the head of the, you know, cheerlead- she was the choreographer of the cheerleaders.

34:02 Marc Preston: Uh-huh. She had a studio, like in a strip shopping mall. Uh, and, that they were shooting something out there and they had a break. They had to flip the cameras around or do something, and one of the cheerleaders had, they used the real cheerleaders, they had a birthday. And they're like, "Hey, come on in. We got some cake.

34:16 Marc Preston: Come on in here." I was like that one little, like, kid that they thought was really cute, and they w- so all the girls are sitting in a circle, and they had me eating cake with them. And now, 8-year-old me didn't appreciate it the way maybe 15-year-old me would've. Oh. Oh, sure. Yeah. But I figure, I don't think you get too much more Texas.

34:31 Marc Preston: Well, it was in Dallas. I was a, uh, well, you know, I did some kinda scene where I walked through. I think I was an extra, you know, with Larry Hagman- Oh, go- ... and everything, so. Yeah. But, but Texas has never had that kind of level of production. I think it's long overdue, 'cause you got, you can shoot literally everything in Texas, and that's one thing I liked

34:47 Rex Linn: when- It, it, and I, and I, I've never understood it except the fact that tax incentives come into play, I think, and all that.

34:53 Rex Linn: Mm-hmm. But for, for decades You, it, it would be hard to beat a state better suited for film than Texas.

35:02 Marc Preston: Mm-hmm.

35:02 Rex Linn: You got mountains- 'Cause

35:03 Marc Preston: you got everything. Yeah ...

35:04 Rex Linn: everything. You have everything there. And I, I think it's, it's been coming around the last 10 years, 10, 15 years, a, a lot more productions coming through there.

35:13 Marc Preston: I know speaking of McConaughey, I know he's leaning in. You know, they had this whole thing, they're kind of pushing people to promote, you know, in, in Austin. Go- Yeah ... God only knows what's going on in Austin. You never know. But, uh, you know, in legislature, not in the city itself. Right. That, uh, Dutton Ranch, they shot that in Fort Worth, you know?

35:29 Marc Preston: So it's-

35:30 Rex Linn: Again, my good friend, my good friend Ed Harris is on it, and, and, uh, uh, uh, we watched two episodes, I guess now. We've, we've gotten, uh, two. I guess one... Is this Thursday or Friday? Friday. Uh, yeah, they're, uh, have you seen the two first two episodes?

35:45 Marc Preston: I have. They sent me the first four to check out, and I just got an email last night.

35:49 Marc Preston: Oh. I got five through eight, I think. I'm like, I'm power watching through... It is, I, I gotta tell you, uh, you know, I never really watched Yellowstone. Everything else he's done. I just never really kind of locked down Yellowstone for whatever reason. But everything else. And Land Man, that's, I'm just, I think Billy Bob Thornton's just knocking that out of the park.

36:05 Rex Linn: Um- I, I love Land Man. So you, you, so you didn't really watch Yellowstone, but you're liking Dutton Ranch

36:10 Marc Preston: and not- Yeah. And, and when I talked to Natalie Ellen, I said, "Can you jump in midstream on this?" And she's like, "Absolutely." And I th- and you c- I think you can, but I think there's a lot that gets missed.

36:19 Marc Preston: I'll circle back and I'll, I'll go through Yellowstone, but I kind of feel that's a big bite to take. You know, I watched all the prequel, you know, like with, uh, w- 1883 and, uh- Yep ... um, and that was, um-

36:31 Rex Linn: I've seen parts

36:31 Marc Preston: of it ... his writing... It's funny 'cause you'll appreciate this. I, I spoke with Jim Lampley. We were talking and he says, "You know, I got a..."

36:37 Marc Preston: He's got like a phone date once a week with, with Taylor Sheridan. I'm like, man, I am coveting this. I'm like, how, how cool is that? Yeah. And one of the things I think you'll notice if you like, if you like watching all his stuff is, and I told Natalie this, I said, "You know, if you look at everything he does, the underpinning, the foundation of the show is really strong women, if you really think about it."

36:58 Marc Preston: 'Cause you can't really easily crack the code on the politics. It's, it's a very well-balanced, well-written... He does it from a kind of apolitical standpoint. I don't know how he can write all that stuff and have it all be a hit.

37:09 Rex Linn: I, I don't either. I have no idea. I mean, he's got a lot of guys helping him and, and girls.

37:13 Rex Linn: I mean, he's got lots of writers helping him, but he's, he is really, really impressive. And, and he's, he's, he's got a dynasty going, that's for sure.

37:22 Marc Preston: Well, I was gonna ask you, you know, we talk about like at the beginning, you know, the things that you, that grabbed you when you, when you were young, the, the scary stuff, you know?

37:29 Marc Preston: Or the, or the monsters and all that. And then, you know, he, you know, fast-forward, now you're doing something comedy and along the way you've been kind of the bad guy. W- what... Is there anything that you feel it's like that broken in pair of tennis shoes or blue jeans, you can just kinda, it feels good for you, uh, or any genre that you love jumping into?

37:47 The advice John Lithgow shared about working on sitcoms

37:47 Rex Linn: Well, I will say this. You, you mentioned the comedy. Uh, John Lithgow, who's one of my dearest friends, he did a comedy called Third Rock from the Sun, a sitcom.

37:57 Marc Preston: Mm-hmm.

37:57 Rex Linn: And he put me on it a couple times. And he said, "Rex, if you ever get a chance to do a sitcom, two things will happen. One is they're gonna be lucky to have you because you're one of the funniest dudes I've ever met," even though nobody ever gives me, has ever given me a chance to try to be funny.

38:13 Rex Linn: Uh, and he said, "The other thing you're gonna realize, it'll be the best job you will ever have." And he was right. Happy's Place has been such a joy. And, and I tell you what, Marc, it's been intimidating because I'm, I'm, I'm, you know, I was thrust into working with a bunch of sitcomers, p- people that are funny.

38:32 Rex Linn: Mm-hmm. Reba, Melissa Peterman, Melyssa, Pablo. Uh, Tokala hadn't done much, uh, sitcom. But I, I, I was, I, I had to realize that, um, you know, the, there's everything about timing, everything about what's on the page. Uh, and they change the dialogue. I'm telling you, and Lithgow told me, he said, "Now Rex, one thing you better get used to, they will change that dialogue every two hours."

39:00 Rex Linn: Uh, and, and, and it'll go, it'll happen right up until you're filming in front of a live audience.

39:04 Marc Preston: And- Well, the question I got is how much improvisation have you found yourself doing? Or do they encourage or discourage that at all?

39:10 Rex Linn: They don't e- Neither. I mean, they don't encourage it and they don't, uh, uh, they don't, you know, they, they don't say, "Don't do it," but, uh, if there's too much improv it, it gets, you know, I mean, they, it gets, it gets off course.

39:26 Rex Linn: But I don't try to improv that much, but I have a little bit. Mm-hmm. Uh, and it's made it fun. But the whole world of sitcom is, it's just a lot of fun, and we're having a lot of fun. And, and I w- I learn. I learn from other actors, not just in sitcoms, but every day that I w- I go to work I try to pick something up from somebody n- no matter what the age or what their status is.

39:50 Rex Linn: I've been stealing a lot of stuff from these actors.

39:52 Marc Preston: Even the people you're stealing from have stolen and down the line. And I don't even know if it's stealing, it's... I, I think it's really like finding that one thing that somebody does that connects with you, like, "Okay, that makes sense to me," you know?

40:03 Rex Linn: Yeah.

40:04 Marc Preston: How long have you and Reba been together over, uh, how m- how many years y'all been together?

40:07 Rex Linn: We've been, uh, together a little over six years.

40:10 Marc Preston: When you're going to work with someone and coming home with that same person, does that, is this like, boy, do you ever, ever look at you like, "Okay, I, I gotta not look at you for a little bit"

40:19 Rex Linn: No, you know what? Honestly, this is not, I'm not trying to be, uh, uh, campy here, but it doesn't really at all. We love to be around each other. It helps to be in love, but it really helps to like the person, and I genuinely like Reba. She's a g- one of the most amazing human beings on the planet. So we, we find time to be serious at work, uh, and pay attention to work.

40:45 Rex Linn: We rehearse at home. I mean, when, when the sitcom is on, she, she can memorize dialogue in one minute on a page. Really? I have to look at it, I have to look at it for hours and hours.

40:58 The dynamic of rehearsing and acting alongside his fiancée

40:58 Marc Preston: Uh, I'm- You're like me, yeah, yeah ...

40:59 Rex Linn: I'm a rehearsal freak. She's not. She doesn't have to really. Uh, but, but it's 24/7, so we really don't have time It's just worked out great.

41:10 Rex Linn: We love waking up together and going to work together. We're around a bunch of people. We're not really totally engaged during the day, you know? I mean, she has scenes with other people. I have scenes with other... Sometimes I don't, we don't even visit during the day, uh, even though we're in the same space.

41:29 Rex Linn: Uh, but no, it's worked out great, Marc. It's just we go home, we talk about the day, and then we have to rehearse for the next, for the next day. And,

41:37 Marc Preston: uh- Well, that sounds per- that sounds very, like, that sounds almost like if you can kind of carve out perfect, you know? Be doing the thing you love with somebody you deeply care for.

41:45 Marc Preston: I think it also helps in the world of acting to be able to pick up and read, uh, and pay... 'Cause, you know, acting's reacting, they, as they say. But you're, you can- That's what it is ... you can read kind of where someone's at and, you know, follow. You know, there's the unspoken.

41:57 Rex Linn: I, I even, I even rehearse so much, Marc, that it, it drives her...

42:01 Rex Linn: She'll just, sometimes in the house she'll look at me and, and before I even say anything she'll go, "No, we rehearsed all day long. I'm not rehearsing right now." I go, "But we got some lines that were change-" "Well, I saw them. We're good." Mm-hmm. "No, let's rehearse." "I'm not rehearsing, Rex. I'm done for tonight." And then I'll go rehearse by myself and, and, uh, it's worked out so far so good.

42:24 Rex Linn: We're getting ready to start August 12th. We're getting ready to start our third season. Very excited about it. Uh, we got some, uh, additional writers coming in. Uh, we got some guest stars that I can't mention that are coming in, uh, that they're gonna be a blast. Last season we had Eric Stonestreet and Jane Lynch- Mm

42:42 Rex Linn: and Shari Oteri and, uh, Joanna Garcia and, and, uh, Steve Howey. We had a lot of great, uh, Christopher Lloyd. Uh, we had a lot of, uh, a lot of great guest stars that came in and, and, uh, but we're gonna have some more coming in.

42:58 Marc Preston: You're having a blast on this obviously, but what is... Is there something out there that you have, that you're like, "I, I, I wanna..."

43:04 Marc Preston: There, there is still a bucket list, if you will, of kind of projects or things you'd like to do. What's still out there for you that you, you would like to dive into?

43:13 Rex Linn: Well, I would love, you're gonna laugh at this, and it's not gonna happen. Man, I'd love to play the Wolf Man. Maybe the old father of the younger Wolf Man in the woods or something.

43:26 Rex Linn: But, but in all seriousness, I would love to play Well, I actually did. I wouldn't call it handicapped, but, um, a, a very challenging role. I just finished the second season of the new hit series, Apple TV series, called Stick with Owen Wilson.

43:45 Marc Preston: Oh, yeah, yeah, with Owen Wilson and another Texas guy. Yeah.

43:49 Rex Linn: Yeah.

43:49 Marc Preston: Yeah. And, uh, Marc Maron, I think Marc Maron's knocking it out of the park on that show, absolutely.

43:53 Rex Linn: Well, he is, and, uh, Timothy Olyphant. And, uh, but I just did, uh, uh, the second season, and I play, uh, a retired famous golf coach who has Alzheimer's. So I had to do a lot of research. They gave me about a month to prepare for that, and I, I had, uh

44:12 Rex Linn: Man, what a brutal disease. And I, and you know, I, I ... It was challenging for me because I just wanted to bring something to the table that ... Because everybody's affected by Alzheimer's, indirectly or directly.

44:24 Marc Preston: Yeah. And I think, uh, Marc Maron's father, I think, even, uh, is- Yeah ... is dealing with that.

44:29 Rex Linn: Yeah. So, and, and I knew people, some of the actors, and were gonna be looking at me like, "How's he gonna play this?"

44:36 Rex Linn: But I worked, I worked hard at it. I wanted to just bring something to the party that, that, uh, was legitimate i- in the way that I portrayed the person, uh, uh, with Alzheimer's, and I just wanted to do it the right way. Uh, and, and hopefully for the most part that happened. But, uh, to answer your question, I always said I would love to play a handicapped person or, or something challenging other than, uh, you know, the, the normal thing.

45:08 Rex Linn: And, you know, people do it all the time and, and, uh ... So I'd say bucket list wise, I, and I will say this also, I've been really lucky. I've gotten to play a lot of things that I wanted to play, um, and, and, uh, so far so good. But if you see me on a poster as a grandpa wolf man, don't be shocked.

45:30 Marc Preston: Yeah, that's a

45:30 Marc Preston: You know, I, uh- That's, I'm, I'm- I'm a p- I'll be the first one in line to buy that ticket. I wi- I'll tell you that. Well, it's funny you mention Stick. Uh, Mariana Treviño, I don't know if you worked with her at all. Yeah. I did. She's actually from Montere- Monterey. I, I spoke with her and we talked about, she used to come up and I

45:45 Marc Preston: You remember South Padre had that ... I don't know if you remember that, it has a putt-putt golf course with a geodesic dome thing. Yes. Yes. And she remembers playing putt-putt there, that ... And they just tore it down. I'm like, "Why did y'all tear it down?"

45:57 Rex Linn: Yes.

45:58 Marc Preston: Oh, they did. And, and so- Oh, we played there a lot.

46:00 Marc Preston: It's a, it was kind of where all the kids, you know, all of us feral '80s kids would, you know, find our way over to this putt-putt course and, you know, meet all the other kids from all the other condos.

46:16 The Seven Questions

46:16 Marc Preston: I always end up doing what I call my seven questions, kind of the, on the back end of our chat, a little extra fun. And I always talk food at least once, and, you know, you're a fellow Texan. Oh, good. I'm a foodie. Well, actually, you know, uh, before I, before I ask you this que- first question of seven questions, I'm gonna ask you, okay, let's pretend like you're back in high school, uh, or, you know, you've been out with your friends, you know, you had one of those quintessential evenings, kind of like was illustrated in Dazed and Confused.

46:37 Marc Preston: You go out to the Moon Tower or whatever, and but you're gonna go to Whataburger afterwards. What are you ordering at Whataburger?

46:44 Rex Linn: A double, a double cheeseburger at Whataburger, but I'm ordering two of them.

46:49 Marc Preston: Really? With french fries.

46:50 Rex Linn: Yeah, or it was either Whatab- I can't believe you brought that up, because it was where we always went at 3:00 AM.

46:56 Marc Preston: Yeah.

46:57 Rex Linn: Of course, uh, but here's the another place we frequented at 3:00 AM, Taco Bell, and I would always get two Burrito Supremes and two Burrito Supremes. They had something like a... Oh, oh, yes, a Gordita. Yeah. I would get, yeah, two Gorditas and two Burrito Supremes. That would be the 3:00 AM, Whataburger and, and Taco Bell.

47:21 Marc Preston: Yeah, Whataburger- Double supreme ... was al- is always, was always our post... You know, back in the, in the day when nightclubs were a thing, Whataburger was always the jam, and that was, uh- Oh, yeah ... and that's something my daughter gets done working, and that's the only thing open when she does her, uh, when she works the weekends at the, uh, big beach bar here.

47:35 Marc Preston: So we'll go to Whataburger and, you know, and I'll l- I'll do my, uh, uh, oh-

47:38 Rex Linn: When was, when was the last time you had a Whataburger? I haven't had one in years.

47:43 Marc Preston: Uh, about a month ago, I think, or something like that. Yep. They got, only got one on the island, and, uh, so we actually go drive across the bridge to Port Isabel, because when it's like spring break, there's a line- Uh-huh

47:55 Marc Preston: that's at least an hour long. So we go across to, you know, the bridge to that Whataburger- Right ... and it's a lot faster, you know? So- Yeah. But, uh, see, now, now let's talk food, because now I make myself hungry. It's about lunchtime. But, uh, well, the fr- going back to the food thing, the first question I ask in my seven is what is your favorite comfort food?

48:12 Marc Preston: That thing that you're having a great day, it makes it better, or if you're having a crummy day, it kind of, you know, kind of, kind of lifts you up a little bit.

48:20 Rex Linn: Well, that'd be two things. I'm, it's not comfort food, but it is to me. I'm a sushi freak. Mm. I, I started eating sushi in 1985 in Oklahoma City, uh, when they first opened the sushi bar in Oklahoma City.

48:34 Rex Linn: Uh, sushi's my f- one of my favorite foods, but if I was gonna... And I love to cook. I would have to say a really good chili with Hatch green chilies from New Mexico.

48:47 Marc Preston: Yes, yes. Okay, there you go. It, it, yeah. You're my people. It would be good. Yeah.

48:50 Rex Linn: Yeah.

48:50 Marc Preston: But don't you love that time of year when they, it was about, it's about August was when they have the big Hatch chili, everybody gets them.

48:56 Marc Preston: Yeah. You know.

48:57 Rex Linn: Oh, yeah. It's in, it's in Ju- it starts in July. So, uh, the first harvest is in July, goes into August, then late harvest is September. Uh, and, and so those Hatch green chilies, they get, they're not that hot in July. Mm-hmm. They get hotter end of August and then late July, or late, late harvest is in October, uh, into September.

49:19 Rex Linn: They get really hot then. So I would say Hatch green chilies in a chili. Of course, that's chili with no beans. Mm-hmm. And then, 'cause I'm from Texas, and then another comfort would be pinto beans with Hatch green chilies, and I would have to have, uh, maybe I smoke some, uh, pork shoulder and put the pork shoulder in the beans and the pinto beans and the Hatch green chilies and Texas sweet onions.

49:43 Rex Linn: So I would put that up there with my comfort

49:45 Marc Preston: food. Very, very good. Now, see, that's, okay. You know, uh, I'm just saying if you, if you ever make your way back down to South Padre, I'm gonna put you to work, you know, 'cause that's, that sounds- All right ... absolutely delicious. Now, the next question, if you were to sit down and you're gonna have coffee, you and three people, you're gonna be spending an afternoon just talking story.

50:01 Marc Preston: Now, living or not, who would those three people be that you would like sitting at your table?

50:08 Rex Linn: Living or not? Uh, I would go, well, you would almost have to, my parents are not with us anymore. I mean, you would almost feel obligated to say Mom and Dad, but I, I think if they're listening to me, they would say, "No, you can't say that, Rex.

50:22 Rex Linn: You gotta pick somebody else."

50:23 Marc Preston: Well, tell you what, we'll make it, we'll make it four people, and then your, your folks can be there 'cause, uh, I-

50:27 Rex Linn: Yeah, well, I would, I would love to have Mom and Dad there. Um, Jack Nicholson. Mm. See, I'm going back to the, you know, I would- this is so goofy, but man, I'd love to have talked to Clayton Moore and say, "Did you like playing the Lone Ranger?"

50:45 Rex Linn: I mean, it would be Cl- probably Clayton Moore too, and there could be a list of a thousand other people, but I'm gonna go with my parents, uh, uh, Nicholson, and, and, uh, Clayton Moore.

50:57 Marc Preston: So the things that as a kid, yeah, L- plus Lone Ranger, back then you only had three networks, you know? And so- I know ... everything was so big, you know, so I think celebrity is even elevated at some level, you know?

51:07 Marc Preston: They're almost mythical. Um- This, this

51:08 Rex Linn: is gonna kill me too, because when we hang up from this, all day long I'm gonna be thinking, "I gotta call Marc back because here are 10 other people- ... that I could have." Yeah, that's- So anyway, I'm going with those four right now.

51:20 Marc Preston: Very good. Very good. Now, going back to when you were a young guy, who, who was your very first celebrity crush?

51:25 Rex Linn: Oh, there's no question about that. I was in love and wanted to marry immediately Elizabeth Montgomery on Bewitched.

51:34 Marc Preston: Oh, yes, yes. Yeah.

51:36 Rex Linn: Oh, my gosh, she was just like, in a, and the way she wiggled her nose, and na, na, na, na, na. And, and she, uh, f- I was in love with that woman.

51:44 Marc Preston: So funny, I never understood the switching of the husbands, uh, you know, mid, mid-series or whatever.

51:50 Rex Linn: I never got that either. I didn't like either one of them. I was jealous

51:52 Marc Preston: of both of them. Well, of course we were jealous, absolutely. Yeah. Now, the next question I got for you, now if you're gonna be living on an, on an exotic island, somewhere you really wanna be, you're gonna be there a whole year though, there's no streaming.

52:03 Marc Preston: Uh, so if you want music you're gonna have to bring one CD, and you're gonna bring, uh, one movie on DVD that you could watch over and over and over again. What would that CD and what would that DVD be?

52:13 Rex Linn: Without question it would be One of These Nights by the Eagles. Uh, that record, and it would be, uh, probably One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

52:24 Marc Preston: Very good.

52:24 Marc Preston: It'd be very good. Yeah. Well, I, I, I haven't seen that in so long. It's one of the ones I wanna revisit. You know, I was just talking to somebody the other day, I was like, "You know, a lot of things I remember watching when I was young just on TV, just on regular tube." Now I got the big 75-inch TV, I can revisit it and, you know, enjoy it.

52:39 Rex Linn: Oh, it's good, Marc. You know, they just had the 50th anniversary. I took the cast of Happy's Place, all the cast, four of whom had not seen, they were younger, younger people, had not seen the movie. I bought all the tickets. I put, I, I reserved, uh, two rows in the movie theater, and we got to sit down on the big 70 millimeter screen and watch Cuckoo's Nest.

53:00 Rex Linn: I was in heaven. Wow. That's- It was great Lo- And it was fun to look down the aisle to these younger actors that I've worked with on Happy's Place, and they were just mesmerized. I mean, they were just like, "Oh my God, didn't know this movie was like this." You know, it was- Well,

53:15 Marc Preston: there's something about seeing it on the big screen, you know.

53:17 Marc Preston: That's why I'm excited about the Star Wars anniversaries, getting back into the theater and seeing, you know, k- part of remembering why you liked it so much. Yeah. Yeah. Because it's, it started in the theater. Yeah. Now, the, uh, next question. If, i- if you were to say from time you get up, time you go to bed, what are...

53:32 Marc Preston: If you said this is a perfect day, what are the ingredients that went in to say, to making that a perfect day for you?

53:39 Rex Linn: Waking up, uh, would be the first one. Uh, spending time with Reba and, uh, uh, uh, spending time on the phone maybe with my family, eating a really good meal. Uh, you know, I'm a movie freak. I love the movie theater.

53:59 Rex Linn: I love it. I, I go 99% of the time by myself, not intentionally necessarily- Mm-hmm ... but a lot of people don't go in the morning or middle of the day. Uh, it would be going to a good movie and then having a great dinner, uh, and, uh Yeah, maybe being around an animal, whatever. I, I'm a dog freak. I love, I love all animals, so I would have to include an animal in that day.

54:25 Rex Linn: Uh, and, and, you know, that, that would be a pretty good day for me.

54:29 Marc Preston: Very, very cool. I'm a, I'm a big dog guy also, so yeah. Yeah. In fact, you'll appreciate this, my golden, I have a two-year-old, very much an adolescent golden retriever. He's, uh, his name's Ranger, so you know, had to, had to keep it Texas. Oh,

54:40 Rex Linn: that's great.

54:42 Marc Preston: He's a sweetheart. He's w- he's st- How old is- I think he's our third golden. He's two years old and he's still got a lot of puppy in him, but he is extremely intelligent, and he knows how to play me. Yeah, my 20-year-old daughter, he, she's, she's, she's upstairs, and he- they're, they're a team. There, there's a lot of mischief going on, that's all I'll say.

54:57 Marc Preston: But, um- You

54:57 Rex Linn: know, I've, I've shown dogs, I've shown dogs since 1981. I used to show mastiffs. You know what a mastiff is? Y-

55:04 Marc Preston: yeah, the big, big dogs.

55:05 Rex Linn: Big English dog. And then later on in life, in the last 15 years, I've been showing, uh, French bulldogs, who ironically, that breed came from the mastiff. But, um, yeah, and I named all four, all three of my, uh, uh, all three of my French bulldogs have been pretty famous.

55:23 Rex Linn: Uh, the last one we had, and we're no longer with us, uh, uh, was Riddler, and then the do- the French bulldog before him was Joker, and then the French bulldog before him was Batman. So I've kept it in the Batman family and- ... and, uh, I've had a great time with that breed. That breed's phenomenal, too. And- Yeah

55:40 Rex Linn: and we've really got dog fever right now, so we're maybe thinking about checking that

55:44 Marc Preston: out. Well, uh, the dogs always keep me grounded. It's, it's always, you know, it broke my heart, we had a golden who passed a few years ago and, uh, and it was just, it just broke me up. And then so it took- I love pets ... you know, it was about a couple years later, and then we got this little guy when we moved down to the island.

55:57 Marc Preston: And, uh, at first he was out to the beach two seconds after we got... He loves, loves the beach, and he loves... He's a magnet for all the girls on the, on the beach.

56:06 Rex Linn: Of course. Dogs are... I've always told people this, and I mean it, dogs are important. Mm-hmm. I mean, they're important in life. I don't care, and I, it, it shocks me every time I meet somebody that, that, that doesn't care for dogs.

56:19 Rex Linn: I, I don't- Mm-hmm ... I don't get that. I've never, never understood that. But they're important in this life, and certainly important in mine for sure.

56:26 Marc Preston: I don't know, they k- they keep you connected to, to... I don't know if it's y- you know, it's parts of you that you access better when you have dogs around, you know?

56:33 Marc Preston: And it, it, it's a more complete life. I don't know. Right. I don't mean to sound philosophical, but, you know. Um-

56:38 Rex Linn: No, I agree.

56:39 Marc Preston: Well, the last two questions I got for you. Now, if you weren't doing this, if somebody said, "You know, Rex, the, the whole doing the acting thing, this is just not available to you anymore."

56:47 Marc Preston: Uh, but what would be your number two that would bring you joy, that would be a vocation, that would be your, be your jam?

56:56 Rex Linn: Well, I'd have to s- uh, uh, can I give you two answers?

57:00 Marc Preston: Sure.

57:01 Rex Linn: Uh, one would be a veterinarian. I, I, I always wanted to either be an actor or, or Or a veterinarian. And, uh, I would say that or a professional drummer

57:13 Marc Preston: I was about to say drummer.

57:15 Marc Preston: Yeah, absolutely. The, uh, but you know, the thing is if you're in Texas and you wanna be a veterinarian, that means you probably have to end up going to A&M, and I don't know if that would really square up with your-

57:23 Rex Linn: I would not do that. No. Uh-uh. No, I'd go to Oklahoma State vet school is where

57:28 Marc Preston: I'd go. Okay.

57:29 Marc Preston: Way

57:29 Rex Linn: before I'd go to Texas A&M.

57:31 Marc Preston: Now the last question I got, if you, if you had that DeLorean, you could go back in time to when you're 16 years old and you got a few minutes with yourself, uh, what piece of advice in that moment would you offer yourself to either make that moment of your life somehow a little bit, a little bit better, a little easier, or to put you on a little bit different track?

57:47 Marc Preston: What would that piece of advice be?

57:49 Rex Linn: Uh, always be kind no matter what. It's, it's, it's, in this world just, just be kind, and that- that's, that's the advice that I would give myself. And also, don't worry about so much bullshit. You know? Just don't worry about that, because a lot of it is not gonna happen anyways.

58:12 Rex Linn: So I mean, uh, just be kind to people, be kind to yourself, and, uh- Yeah ... the rest of it will take care of itself.

58:20 Marc Preston: I love that, 'cause I, I think in the world we live in now, I think if everybody just, you know, dialed in a little empathy, and even if you don't understand, just be kind. That's kind of the thing I, I default position- Amen, brother

58:31 Marc Preston: I try to raise my kids to, is just, just be kind, you know? And do the right thing, whatever that is, you know? Yeah. Try to figure that out and, but, uh- I agree ... but my friend, it's been such a pleasure. I, I've really enjoyed sitting down with you. This has been a blast, and I appreciate you sharing time with me.

58:45 Marc Preston: I really do, and I hope-

58:48 Rex Linn: Thanks to you, Marc. Since you got the big 75-inch screen too, you gotta go back and revisit Cuckoo's Nest, but you gotta start watching, if you're not watching, you gotta start watching Happy's Place.

58:56 Marc Preston: You know, that is on the list, 'cause I, I love Reba. I think she's in the same ecosystem with me as with, uh, with Dolly.

59:03 Marc Preston: You know? Just, just- Oh, yeah ... you know, there's, there's wisdom, there's, there's kindness, there's that kinda genuine a- approach to life. I, I just adore her, so you're a lucky, lucky man, my friend. Um- Yeah,

59:13 Rex Linn: I am, and do me, do me one other favor, 'cause I don't have one within 100 miles of here. G- just go eat a Whataburger for me, will you please?

59:21 Marc Preston: You know, I'll do that, and I, I'll take a, I'll get a little picture of it and I'll tag you on it, and I'll say- Okay. ... "Hey, this is..." But I'll, I'll do a little, the, the french fry- I, I, Ranger, the golden, he is a good boy. He will come sit next to me on the sofa and he'll sit there- He is my dog ... and wait. Oh, he, he waits for the french fries.

59:38 Marc Preston: I mean, he, he's, you can get that dog to do anything with Whataburger french fries, so.

59:42 Rex Linn: Of course you can.

59:44 Marc Preston: But, uh, well, my friend, have yourself a wonderful one. I hope we have a chance to catch up down the line, and, uh, Happy's Place, I'm gonna be power watching the first couple seasons here, and, uh- Yeah ... but best of luck to you, my friend.

59:54 Rex Linn: Thank you, and I'll see you down the road, Marc. Thanks for having me on. I appreciate it.

59:59 Marc Preston: All right, there you go, Rex Linn. That was a cool conversation. I like him. He's a cool dude. Just, just really enjoy. I, I wanna go to Whataburger with him sometime. I think, I think he's game. I think I, I think I can get him down here.

1:00:11 Marc Preston: Uh, for the amount of times Whataburger has been mentioned on this program, uh, you know, I'm thinking sponsorship. Uh, it's all, I'm just throwing it out there. At least get me a chocolate strawberry shake. And just in case you haven't tried it and you live in Texas or you have access to a, a Whataburger, they'll mix it for you.

1:00:28 Marc Preston: It's so much better like that. As always, you can tell I haven't eaten yet. And don't forget to check Rex out, Happy's Place, NBC and Peacock, and of course Stick. I'm not sure when the new season's coming out. Season two with Owen Wilson and Marc Maron and Mariana Trevino. Uh, it's gonna be, uh, I don't know, sometime this year probably.

1:00:46 Marc Preston: I'm not sure, but I'm looking forward to it on Apple TV. Okay, so I'm gonna get on out of here, but before I do, I wanna remind you real quick to grab your podcast app and like the show. Make sure to leave a comment if you would. I would love that because it helps people to find Story and Craft. Uh, also follow the show because that way you get notifications every time a new episode comes out, and that way you don't miss anything.

1:01:08 Marc Preston: And of course, everything you could possibly wanna know about the show, super simple. Just go to storyandcraftpod.com. Past guests, past episodes, it's all right there. Okay, I'm gonna jump on out of here, but as I always say, thank you very much for making what I've got going on here part of what you've got going on.

1:01:26 Marc Preston: It does mean a lot to me, and I like the emails. Always just shoot me a note. Just go to the website. Like hearing from you. Okay, so you go have a great rest of your day. Great weekend if you're listening to this episode on the release day, today, Friday. Go enjoy yourself. Be safe, and, uh, we'll talk to you next time right here on Story and Craft.

1:01:45 Announcer: That's it for this episode of Story and Craft. Join Marc next week for more conversation right here on Story and Craft. Story and Craft is a presentation of Marc Preston Productions, LLC. Executive producer is Marc Preston. Associate producer is Zachary Holden. Please rate and review Story and Craft on Apple Podcasts.

1:02:07 Announcer: Don't forget to subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. You can subscribe to show updates and stay in the know. Just head to storyandcraftpod.com and sign up for the newsletter. I'm Emma Dylan. See you next time, and remember, keep telling your story.