Eight-time Emmy winner Joe Buck is one of America’s most decorated sportscasters, but he’s probably best known in North Texas as Cowboys legend Troy Aikman’s Monday Night Football sidekick.
Next Wednesday, though, Buck will be a co-keynote speaker at the Omni Hotel Dallas with a different partner: Bestselling author John O’Leary.
The occasion is Goodwill Industries of Dallas’ 10th annual signature fundraising gala, titled THE LUNCH, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Omni’s Trinity Ballroom.
O’Leary and Buck are linked by their St. Louis roots, tragedy, triumph, Buck’s legendary sports broadcaster father Jack Buck – and as of Friday, the national release of a movie: “Soul on Fire.”
The movie, as well as Wednesday’s gala discussion, is based on O’Leary’s inspirational life story and the first of his two national No. 1 bestselling books: 2016’s “On Fire: The 7 Choices to Ignite a Radically Inspired Life.”
At age 9, O’Leary was playing with matches and gasoline in his family’s garage. A fiery explosion consumed the garage and burned 100% of O’Leary’s body. He was given a 1% chance to live and was profoundly depressed, but miraculously rallied in part due to his love of St. Louis Cardinals baseball and Jack Buck’s frequent hospital visits and pep talks.
There’s much to the story, but no need to spoil the movie or next Wednesday’s gala discussion. Since its inception, Goodwill of Dallas’ gala has generated more than $14 million, providing no-cost career and job-placement services to more than 1,500 North Texans annually.
In advance of his trip to Dallas, Joe Buck spoke to The Dallas Morning News about his friendship with O’Leary, “Soul on Fire” and Wednesday’s event. Buck and O’Leary recently attended the world premiere of “Soul on Fire,” naturally in St. Louis. In the movie, Joel Courtney plays the role of O’Leary and William H. Macy plays Jack Buck.
The movie trailer and John O’Leary’s backstory are fascinating. Have you seen the movie?
Buck: “We just went to the premiere in St Louis. I was in the front row of the theater, one of our symphony halls in St Louis. I was crying the entire time, so I’m glad everybody was behind me. They probably saw my shoulders bouncing as I was trying to hold back my tears.
“It is one of those movies that makes you feel good. It makes you have all the respect in the world for what John’s been through. And for those of us in our family, it makes us really proud of my dad.”
How did William H. Macy do?
Buck: “I talked to him at the beginning of that production, and he wanted to know more about my dad. I kind of colored in some of the missing pieces for him: How my dad saw the world and what made him special – beyond home run calls or touchdown calls or any of that stuff.
“I think [Macy] went into it thinking that he was going to do a Jack Buck voice imitation. And when we talked, I said ‘You don’t have to do that. I think you being him and kind of giving his presence in John’s life is enough.’
“I’m not saying that he took his direction from me at all, but I do know that he went away from thinking he was going to do the voice. He was asking me specifics about how, “When I hear your dad talk, I hear the long vowels; and I hear that kind of grovelly voice.” I tried to imitate my dad for him, and he does it to a degree, but it’s not a pure imitation. It’s just him being the presence that my dad was in John’s life that is really what this is about, at least from my dad’s perspective.”
Do you have a connection with Goodwill? How did Wednesday’s plans come about?
Buck: “I’ve worked with them locally in St Louis before, and they reached out to me. I don’t know if they reached out to John first. And I think the chairman wanted to have us both there.
“John has touched so many lives with his speaking and his motivational message that I get text messages and calls from friends all over the country that see this guy speak. Obviously a big portion of his speech is talking about my father, and so friends come back around and talk to me about it.
“John’s got a huge wake that he has left behind him, of lives that he’s touched with his message. And this is kind of the first time we’ve done this, where he and I are on the stage together. And I am without a doubt Jack Buck’s son, and I think in this case I’m kind of being asked to channel my father a little bit and talk about how proud my dad would be of what John has made with his second chance at life.”
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