I Am the New Black

Is Tracy similar to his character Tracy Jordan on 30 Rock?

The character is based on Tracy’s most outrageous behavior, which stem from his most outlandish tendencies, so yes, he is. Tracy Morgan isn’t like Tracy Jordan 24-7 and he’s a pretty sensitive, soulful guy, so there are other elements to his personality. But the left-field insanity, the sheer intensity, the stream of consciousness comments and the type of personality that owns a room is all there, all the time.

How did you and Tracy conduct interviews?

Some of them took place on the 30 Rock set, which was great, just being able to watch them shoot. Most of them took place at his apartment - the one that caught on fire because of the light in one of his aquariums or snake tanks. Our best interviews, however, took place on the move. We spent an entire day driving around the Bronx, visiting locations that were significant to his childhood. It was the first time he’d seen many of them in years and they brought back a flood of memories, and quite a few tears. We also did an interview at Yankee Stadium sitting right behind home plate, during a game. In terms of paying complete attention to my subject it wasn’t an ideal setting. I’m a huge Yankee fan so to say the least I was a bit distracted.

Are there any funny Tracy stories that didn’t make it into the book?

I think the book is going to surprise people, because Tracy has had a very tough upbringing full of hardship and loss. He wanted to do a book because he wanted to share that with the world in hopes that his story will inspire people in similar straits to strive for more. He overcame tremendous odds to get to where he is and he’s very earnest and honest about his life. That’s what attracted me to the project, because it wasn’t expected. There is humor in the book to be sure, but it’s a different variety. Tracy’s brand of humor and persona is so out there that I think it’s quite arresting to hear such an honest story of struggle and achievement from him. In telling me the story, he’d veer from being outlandishly hilarious to crying, within minutes of each other. To answer the question though, the one thing I would have liked to include in the book is impossible to capture on paper because video is required. Tracy is pretty fond of getting pumped up to shoot scenes on 30 Rock by listening to Michael Jackson’s Thriller. When the 25th Anniversary edition of the CD came out, complete with bonus DVD footage, I was treated to Tracy’s sing along version of nearly every song on the album. My only hope is that he shares his rendition of the “Thriller” and “Beat It” choreography with the public one day, because it kills.