GAZELLE SPECIAL
(continued from page 14)
“It’s not that I was dreaming about him at night, but my sister,
Carrie, and I would watch Letterman in the kitchen after doing our
homework. He was just so funny, his sensibility was just so singular. I
tried to watch every time it was on,” she said.
Years later, Kemper herself was a guest on Letterman’s show.
“It was completely surreal,” she said of meeting the talk-show host. “It’s
like meeting a hero and a legend. I compare it to seeing Abraham Lincoln
- like a ghost, a character who had only existed in another dimension.”
Another encounter during which Kemper would find herself “fan-
girling,” also involved, strangely enough, a so-called “Lincoln moment.”
“I was in L.A. when I saw Doris Kearns Goo dwin at a party,” she
recalled. “It was the year the movie, ‘Lincoln,’ was nominated for the
Oscar, which was based on her book, ‘Team of Rivals.’ I was very excited.
“She’s a very slight woman; she’s delicate, but her presence
is imposing. I went to shake her hand, and she smiled at me and
acknowledged me. But then I began to lean forward and hug her ...
and fell on top of her.”
Needless to say, Kemper
was mortified.
“Just like after any
incident of trauma, I
remember being sweaty ...
it all happened so quickly,”
Kemper said, adding that
she once again crossed paths
with the celebrated historian
at a book party. “She said
she had no memory of what
happened, but I realized
she was just too polite to
say anything. That was in
2012, iPhones weren’t as
prevalent, so there was no
video. I fell on her ... at the
right time ... in history.”
There was also that time
when Kemper first met
Tina Fey.
“I told her she had great
hair - really strong and
really thick ... I’m not sure
that’s the most amazing
first thing to say to a
national treasure and icon,”
she said.
Awkward experiences
aside, Kemper’s book also
gives us a candid glimpse
16
GAZELLE
into her flourishing acting career, from star turns as Erin in "The
Office," and in movies like “Bridesmaids,” to shows like “Unbreakable
Kimmy Schmidt,” the acclaimed sitcom (co-created and executive
produced by Fey) about a former cult member adjusting to life in
New York City. It earned Kemper a 2017 Emmy nomination for Lead
Actress in a Comedy Series, and is now in its fourth and final season
on Netflix.
“This will sound corny, but I was very impressed by the character
of Kimmy Schmidt. This is a woman who has been through an
unimaginable ordeal, seeing the very worst of humanity, and yet she
emerges from that experience determined to move forward and see the
light in the world. She is the very embodiment of optimism,” she said.
After the show ends (its second half is expected to premiere in
January), Kemper said she has no definite plans, but is excited to see what
happens next. Probably high on the agenda will be spending time with
her husband of six years, Michael Koman, a screenwriter whose credits
include “Saturday Night
Live” and “Late Night with
Conan O’Brien,” as well as
with their 2-year-old, James.
“James is a wonder. Even
though he’s only 2, I already
get the sense that he has
seen it all – and is unfazed
by anything,” she said. “I
don’t get it. I mean, he cries
and has tantrums and uses a
diaper, but other than that,
he’s way beyond me ... so
much cooler than I am, too.”
On Saturday, Oct. 13,
Kemper will appear at the
St. Louis County Library
Headquarters for a book
signing and discussion
of “My Squirrel Days.”
(Tickets to the event
sold out in less than four
minutes!) Prior to the
library engagement, she’ll
attend a private cocktail
reception to benefit the
St. Louis County Library’s
Career
Online
High
School Diploma Program.
“My Squirrel Days,” which
officially debuts on Oct. 9, is
Kemper’s first book.