In the second half, comedian and author Leland Gregory returns with his collection of outrageous real 911 emergency calls. Gregory reveals he was in the NBC makeup chair at 30 Rockefeller Center on September 11, eight minutes from appearing on the Today Show, when the first plane hit. He describes the chaos that followed and how his book promotion collapsed because its title contained "911." The pair listen to recordings including the legendary "Joe and the Deer" call and a woman who demands police put her cat to sleep, then spirals into a profanity-laden tirade against the dispatcher.
Gregory shares stories from his dumbest criminals research, including a suspect who identified his own robbery victim in a lineup and a burglar who showed up to court wearing the stolen suit. Art and Gregory discuss the importance of humor in difficult times and the underappreciated work of 911 dispatchers across the country.
Key Moments
Burglar shows up in stolen suit: Gregory tells Art about a burglary suspect who pointed at his victim during a one-on-one identification and confessed, plus another defendant who arrived for court wearing the suit he stole, padded with two sweat suits to make it fit.
Gregory was in 30 Rock makeup chair on 9/11: Gregory recounts being eight minutes from a Today show appearance promoting his 911 book on September 11, 2001, watching pandemonium break out at NBC, seeing Ann Curry kick off her shoes, and standing next to Harry Belafonte as the first tower fell.
Empty Broadway after the towers: After the attacks, Gregory called his wife and told her to empty the safe deposit box, pull their son out of school and head to her mother's in the country, then walked the length of a fully deserted, secured Broadway from 65th to 14th Street.
The deer, the dog, and the phone booth: Gregory plays the now-classic 911 call from 'Joe', who hit a deer, threw it in his back seat, was bitten in the neck by the revived deer, and is now trapped in a phone booth by a dog that wants the deer carcass.
Lady demanding police euthanize her cat: A 911 caller insists the police pick up and put down her cat, saying the animal is scared of her and she is scared of him; the dispatcher refuses, prompting the woman to call him a dog and threaten that all hell will break loose.