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Hugh Laurie David Letterman Video Interview
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Analysis:Hugh Laurie on David Letterman telling a story about his father at the 1936 Olympics. ... (read more)
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Thursday February 12th 2009 01:40 PM
Tags:David House Hugh Laurie Letterman
Categories:Analysis
Hugh Laurie on David Letterman telling a story about his father at the 1936 Olympics. Laurie, from England originally, plays the title character on the hit TV show House. In this video clip, House claims that his father witnessed a famous moment in history.
The Believability Meter says that House is perhaps exaggerating a bit. The Believability Meter stays red through much of his story about Jesse Owen and Hitler at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, but it's still a good story. Do you believe House here?
The Believability Meter can say what it wishes. A little fact checking will reveal a lot more. A Net search for "Ran Laurie obituary" will clear this up nicely. The facts reveal more than the meter. Mr. Laurie's father, Dr. Ran Laurie, was in the Berlin Olympics in 1936 (finishing 4th in the Olympic 8). Dr. Laurie later won a Gold Medal in 1948 Olympics; just as Mr. Laurie recounts. The only confusion is that it was Cornelius Johnson (another African-American athlete), not Jesse Owens who was snubbed by Hitler. An online search for "Jesse Owens Olympics myth" will clear this up, also. I can't say that I have all the details of my dad's stories spot on. It doesn't mean they did not happen or that I am some how stretching the truth deliberately when I recount them. I really like the new TV show "Lie To Me," BTW!