Park Slope Profiles In Courage: Gavin Purcell of Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

Okay, I don't have all that much to say in the way of introduction about Gavin Purcell except... HOW did he escape Amy Sohn's DILF list? I mean, look at that head of hair alone.

As Emmy-award winning Co-Executive Producer of Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, Purcell has a very cool job. The show is on a roll--it's up 16% in ratings in the last year, just got renewed, and they're regularly giving viewers some seriously laugh out loud moments (the Charlie Sheen cologne ad). And let's not forget about the groundbreaking interviews (beer pong with Betty White), one-of-a-kind musical interludes (Yo Gabba Gabba jamming to Kool and the Gang), and a daily dose of the Roots as house band.

For all this we have to thank Gavin Purcell and his colleagues who have the awesome (& possibly overwhelming) task of putting it all together every week night.

And when Gavin's not there, he's here in ours truly, hanging with his loving wife and daughters in Park Slope. And gathering material, of course.

What's your job like? Can you tell us a little about it?

 So my job is like most TV producing jobs, it involves little bit of everything.

First and foremost, it's meetings. I attend six standing meetings everyday and additional ones on other days of the week. There's a morning writers meeting where we discuss the news and new topical ideas, the full staff production meeting, a series of meetings with Jimmy about the show's content that day, rehearsal on the floor (kind of a meeting), a pre-show meeting in Jimmy's dressing room to go over the monologue and then the show itself.

Then there's all the extra meetings we have to fit in where we can, in addition to work on our website. And that's not even counting coming up with new ideas and writing for the show. We're all regularly putting in 60+ hour weeks to make the show what it is.

Luckily for everyone, the staff, especially Jimmy, is awesome to work with. When we started the show, we really wanted to go out of our way to make the environment positive and fun for everybody, which I think is why so much of that comes out on the air.

Highlights/lowlights?

I'm so happy with so much of what we do it's hard to pick a highlight. But I think the Bruce Springsteen show is a great example of what we can do when we're firing on all cylinders. The writing in that show (specifically the "Whip My Hair" song written by staff writer Mike Dicenzo was redic. Jimmy's interview of Bruce is still my favorite one we've done - I think he's really excelled at making interviews interesting and fun to watch. And finally, the Roots performing with Bruce was just out of this world.

Lowlights? There are days when the healthy vending machine at 30 Rock runs out of Clif Bars. And I need those things to live.  

 Any celebrity gossip on the set? Unreasonable demands, diva like behavior from unexpected quarters, most douchey guest? Anything?

 Oh man! You would not believe it. So much gossip. And endless fountain of totally crazy gossip about everyone!  Wait, we're talking about the PS 321 PTA right?

There really isn't any gossip on our show. Most of it all boils down to one thing: Nearly every single celeb that comes on our show, is nicer and cooler in person than the press would have you believe.

I know the gossip world gets off on talking about diva-ish behavior and people who have problems but truthfully 99% of the time it's the opposite. People want to have fun and they know Jimmy is there to make them look the best they can.

There was one guest who wasn't exactly the best behaved. He was one-half of a very famous reality couple and his name rhymes with Fencer Fatt. But even then, given what he was going through at the time, it was kinda understandable and our staff did their best to accommodate him.

Does Jimmy Fallon make fun of you for living in Park Slope?

Nope, in fact he really loves Brooklyn. He was born in Bay Ridge (who knew!?) before moving upstate as a young kid, and tries to get back when he can.

He does make fun of me for jumping on every internet trend way too early but I can't help it. That's just what I do. Follow me on Twitter and you'll see what I mean.

What do you like most/least about Park Slope?

What I like most: If you have kids, it's probably the greatest place in the country to meet and hang out with interesting people. Even the kids your kids meet and hang out with are interesting. Also, the park is a miracle on sunny days.

What I like least: Coming to the sudden realization that in preparation for some insanely long road adventure with your two young children that you’ve entirely forgotten where you parked the car. Then walking up and down every street in Park Slope desperately searching for some sign of the stupid car. And when you do find it, also finding a stupid parking ticket tucked neatly under the stupid wiper.

How’s your commute? Do you ride on the subway or do you have a helicopter come land on your roof to ferry you into the city? 

I take the B Train every day. I often stay late at work so sometimes I take a car home but I prefer the subway. New York City is the subway. I’d feel weird about living here if I didn’t ride it.

Also, subway time is me time and Daddy needs his me time. 

When and why did you move here?

I've been here for three years. I moved from LA in 2008 after I got hired to help start this new version of Late Night with Jimmy and former SNL producer Mike Shoemaker.

It was crazy. I’d been living in LA for ten years and then suddenly this happened and I had all of a single weekend to check out NYC neighborhoods before we moved. My wife and kids stayed at home so it was up to me to figure the whole thing out.

We’re from the Northwest originally so we’re pretty much straight-up granola liberals. I knew finding a place in the city to match us wasn’t going to be easy but someone told me about Park Slope and I went to check it out.

I got off the D train on 4th Ave and at first I was like “Oh man, this isn’t what we want.” Luckily, I walked a block further up to 5th and I started to get it. Then I saw the Park and that was it. I was sold.

What are your favorite restaurants in the area (divey and fancy)? 

Well, it's not totally divey but I think Cousin John's is the most underrated place in the whole Slope. Their breakfast/brunch kills anyone else’s in quality and cost. Dizzy's, I'm looking at you. 

For nicer dinners, I'm a big fan of Stone Park Cafe on 5th or Blue Ribbon & Blue Ribbon Sushi a few doors down. But I love trying places so I'm always up for a new spot.

Coffee Shop?

Cocoa Bar (but they seriously need to get their outlets fixed).

What’s your experience with the Food Coop or any other coops, for that matter? Have you experienced this uniquely New Yorky rite of passage? 

My wife and I joined the Coop twice and then immediately quit both times. We were into the whole thing, sat through the orientation, imagined ourselves meditatively separating raw almonds into little baggies and then just got spooked.

We love the idea of it but the thought of having to do work after work always gets us. That and the fact that my wife realized early on that I'd never be able to do my shift because of the hours I work and that she'd have to do them. She's smart like that.

Also on the subject of the Coop, I’d just like to say that there are way too many people in that place all the time. That is not how human beings are supposed to grocery shop.

Any New York moments yet? 

Funny things happen all the time. People are thrown together in NYC is such a haphazard way that you can’t help but get insanely crazy moments all the time. 

For instance, in our first place in Park Slope (on 3rd St between 7th & 6th) we had a Russian handyman who was straight out of Dostoevsky. This man was RUSSIAN. He drank, he was constantly depressed and when you asked him a question about your leaky faucet he’d stare at you for thirty seconds, then at the faucet for thirty seconds, and then just hold his hands up as if to say “Nothing will ever work. Ever.”

We ended up kind of loving him though, and my daughters would do impressions of him that made all of us laugh.

Breeders in Park Slope are officially an international punch line. Do you have any opinions on whether Park Slope parents (not the listserv) deserve our bad rep? Should we rebrand, do some reputation management, or some shit like that? And if so, your suggestions for righting the ship?

Here’s the thing: Park Slope parents are the good ones. They care about their kids in the right way.

Most of the time, Park Slope parents are cool(ish) people who decided that even though it was time to have kids, they wanted to live in a place where they could be happy too.

Trust me, there are many parents in other parts of the city (or the burbs) who are significantly more overbearing than those in Park Slope. And way more annoying. You could all be stuck with those assholes.

Instead you get us. Sounds like a deal, right? Right?

Do you love/hate the PS 321 annual potluck and what dish did you bring?

PS 321 is an amazing place. My daughter is in First Grade there and she loves it.

That said, I always think potlucks are a load of BS, mostly because people end up eating what they brought themselves. I know what I feel like eating, so I make it. Don’t ask other people to make food for you and then expect to like it. 

We brought our Lentil Orzo Pasta Casserole which is awesome. And I think I ate most of it.

Where do you come down on:

Babies in bars?
Not a fan. Great name for a kid’s band though.

The PPW bike lane?
At this point, all I really want is to see it turned into an excellent Alexander Payne film.
 
The Food Coop suing Barneys Co-op for name infringement?
Ugh. I tell you one thing, if Barney’s was that full of people every time you stepped into it, someone would get fired.
 
Nannies working their bosses food coop shifts?
This seems like cheating but since I’m not a member, I don’t really get a vote.