These are among the questions journalist Will Sommer deals with in his new book, "Trust The Plan: The Rise Of QAnon And The Conspiracy That Unhinged America." . And I got in there. SOMMER: Sure. There's a moment when Q is on 8chan where the administrators appear to hijack the account. All rights reserved. I've noticed I've laughed several times while we've been talking 'cause the conspiracy theories are really so ludicrous. I'm going to have to Google this QAnon thing. However, it is not recommended that a "Family Ties" reunion be brought up to the actor as his answer to that question remains as: I mean, the ways that these messages can shift based on who's telling them and sort of the fight over the QAnon audience is really something to behold. "Just because one, I love Burt, but I always thought of him as this guy kind of on the fringes, and I just came to the fore because everybody else walked away.". I mean, we think about Ron DeSantis pushing this idea that every gay teacher is a groomer or that - or now we see Donald Trump revving up and sort of implying that DeSantis is a pedophile. He didn't last long. Michael J. I spoke with a woman named Teresa (ph) who had come from the Midwest to come out to D.C. Michael Gross is known for two things (and more to those who know his voice from Batman cartoons), being the dad on Family Ties and Burt Gummer in the unlikely, still going Tremors series. Now, adrenochrome as a concept was kind of knocking around the counterculture. And so it's stocked with a lot of - it's a lot of kind of COVID quacks, a lot of people, you know, pushing ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine and a lot of leading QAnon figures. I mean, as simple as that sounds, and as silly, that is where they draw it from. Murders. [9], Gross remains close friends with his Family Ties co-star Meredith Baxter. Michael stuck around long enough to watch his adoptive son, Mateo, speak his first words. The film, which debuted on DVD, Blu-ray, and digital today, centers on a group of trophy hunters who go after genetically-modified graboids on a tropical island. GROSS: When was the last time Q sent a message? Soaps.com is disappointed to confirm that Michael Gross [River/Lowell Baldwin], will no longer be with The Young and the Restless. They said they were going to have a lot of security to keep out media and antifa because they were convinced that, you know, antifa would travel to suburban Tulsa to wreak havoc. The writer, who birthed the theory that Elvis had mafia connections and had to go into witness protection, claimed the phone call was recorded after Elvis contacted her directly. The late Dominick Dunne called his books "social history at its finest." His specialty, deconstructing the most privileged lives and revealing the reality behind carefully constructed images . So if you can believe it, it's Hunter S. Thompson and "Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas." Brown is the highest-paid author in the world, and his bestselling books "The Da Vinci Code" and "Angels and Demons" is considered to be two of the popular movies in the world. The estimated Net Worth of Michael S Gross is at least $9.82 Million dollars as of 1 March 2021. But, you know, it is funny they - if they believe in adrenochrome, they sort of play it into real world events. You quote what one of them told you, which pretty well sums up a lot of the craziest of the QAnon beliefs. Will Sommer, welcome to FRESH AIR. SOMMER: Exactly. And do you think that blonde woman near him looks like JFK Jr.'s wife? GROSS: Do they still have that kind of faith in Trump 'cause after all, he was president for four years? She covers immigration. He's the author of the new book "Trust The Plan: The Rise Of QAnon And The Conspiracy That Unhinged America." And it is one that is sort of controversial even within QAnon. And then that was really the start of it for him, as his son sort of withdrew from the world and became obsessed with QAnon. This is real. But as Donald Trump returned to the public stage, we're starting to see QAnon rev up again. He's hanging out with them in their chatrooms. And this kind of keys into who the originator of QAnon is. And ultimately, she would face charges for her role in the riot. He's a politics reporter for The Daily Beast. He - yes, as you say, he's saying - now that he's been cast out of QAnon, he turns on it, and now he says, well, this thing that makes us all look ridiculous, that inspires all this violence, that is - that has nothing to do with me, even though, No. 13 years after Pac was killed, he was spotted throwing back beers in a bar in New Orleans. March 2023. I am Terry Gross, and this is FRESH AIR. So the idea is that there were kind of two stages of who ran Q and that the Watkins family currently controls it. He wears a fedora. Why does that - and military tribunals - why does that figure so much into QAnon? And I said, you know, that guy looks nothing like JFK Jr. And she said, you know, haven't you ever heard of special effects? It's just the start of the all-consuming conspiracy theory movements to come. Lo and behold, this is our Top 60 of celebrities that have been caught smoking or, Celebrities dont always wear makeup anymore. Others believe Jackson faked his own death. He received his drama degree at the University of Illinois at Chicago before attending Yale University for his Master of Fine Arts degree. Accuracy and availability may vary. Investigators swiftly [] He's a politics reporter for The Daily Beast. And this idea of this kind of this hidden figure who's going to come back to life - I mean, there really are some messianic religious aspects to it. [4] However, his longest-running and highest-profile role has been Burt Gummer in the Tremors franchise, having played the role for thirty years from the release of the original Tremors in 1990 to Tremors: Shrieker Island in 2020. They said, 'Look, you've been doing this so long. So adrenochrome is sort of the - is at the heart of QAnon. GROSS: If those two are behind it, if the people who run 8kun are behind it, does that mean that they're doing it just to get more followers, and therefore to maybe make more money? So it was actually a few months ago. But it also seems that these two just love chaos. And then, in a sort of more mundane but similarly tragic way, there are also just all of these families that have been destroyed by QAnon, where suddenly someone in the family starts saying, well, you know, I got this crazy story about Hillary Clinton to tell you. In 1988, he portrayed a murderous bank robber in the true life movie In the Line of Duty: The F.B.I. And we're also seeing the - I think the idea that we - that Republicans got from QAnon, that you could sort of just casually call your political opponents pedophiles or accuse them of being involved in conspiracies to corrupt children, that this is - has become mainstream in the Republican Party. And perhaps they believed, you know, what if we just take control of it and make sure it will stay here on our website forever. When autocomplete results are available use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. We were all aware that this was a big deal, but . Michael Gross. We'll be right back. The actor his starsign is Cancer and he is now 75 years of age. I mean, this is - it's such a tragic thing. But he positioned himself as sort of a trusted acolyte of Q and someone who is sort of the interpreter for Q, his sort of oracle of Delphi. How did Michael Gross die? SOMMER: Yeah, so certainly I think people cycle in and out of QAnon. He's got a kind of a permanent 5 o'clock shadow. 2, it draws on so many of the tropes and the plotlines, if you will, that he's been promoting for decades. Apr 10, 2022 - michael jackson is alive 2021 | NEW LIFE | Storms can COME BACK? While many of the stories in No Time Like the Future revolve around Fox's family and friends having fun and living fulfilling lives, at its core, there's a sequence of frightening brushes with serious illness and even potential death. So how did they become proponents of QAnon? Can you explain what's going on there? After years of speculation the truth can finally be told: Elvis Presley not only faked his death in 1977, he's still alive today (at age 85) - and we've got the photograph to prove it! And so I think, perhaps, if he came to believe that this was something that was turning America to the right, that he saw it as something that was good. GROSS: This is a problem that has faced a lot of families whose children have joined cult groups. He had a van covered in Trump pictures. Nick Jonas The pop singer-turned-actor was the victim of death hoaxes twice in 2009. I saw a woman wearing a JFK Jr. mask, and I said, you know, excuse me, what's the significance of this mask? From August 2008 to January 2009, Gross appeared on the CBS soap The Young and the Restless as River Baldwin. And so the appeal of QAnon, I think what people get out of it, the community, the sense of empowerment, sometimes that overpowers living in reality, and they sort of just escape to this fantasy world. It's hard to understand. People dressed like him on Halloween. "George was the love of his life and if he hadn't died I think George would still be here," he . Yes, Katherine's total net worth is $120 million as of February 2023. Our interviews and reviews are produced and edited by Amy Salit, Phyllis Myers, Roberta Shorrock, Sam Briger, Lauren Krenzel, Therese Madden, Ann Marie Baldonado, Seth Kelley, Susan Nyakundi and Joel Wolfram. But go over again the conspiratorial beliefs about this substance known as adrenochrome. And then the filmmaker said, well, do you mean you're Q? GROSS: And so this wasn't just about who would be president. Pinterest. "Because they came to me. I always said, if Kevin Bacon or Fred or Reba or anybody [wanted to return], Id be there in a minute, he shared. 10. For actor Michael Gross, it's his wife of 35 years, Elza Bergeron. You can subscribe for free on our website, freshair.npr.org. And because there are so few resources for this issue, I often find myself fielding questions from family members who have lost someone to QAnon. If you're just joining us, my guest is Will Sommer. And if you're just joining us, my guest is Will Sommer. The New Zealand shooting, among others, was posted there. He lived long enough to make love with his new bride, Jane, the virgin mother. How did that become a foundational belief of QAnon? They think George Soros, various Jewish - prominent Jewish people in the Democratic Party. And so let's talk a little bit about the dangers. And so that's a taste of what a ReAwaken America tour is like. SOMMER: Sure. All rights reserved. According to wikipedia still alive. Celebrity Net Worth Revealed: The 55 Richest Actors Alive in 2023. So often it is someone who is perhaps into eccentric internet things already, albeit comparatively harmless ones, like Bitcoin or maybe sort of natural wellness, or alternative health things like oils or maybe a multi-level marketing scheme. [10], Gross is a passionate railfan with an extensive collection of railroad antiques. They believe that adrenochrome is a substance you can only get from a child's pineal gland, and you can't just sort of tap the kid and take it out. And often people - they come up with a - they rationalize it, and they say, well, you know, maybe the deep state was tougher than we realized. 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As far as Guantanamo Bay goes, I think a psychologist might be able to say what about the American psyche it is that - and how the war on terror has affected us that Guantanamo Bay looms so largely that people say, well, you know, we just got to - we got to cut through this mess of politics and gridlock. Since his death in mid-2009, he has topped the list every year except for 2009, 2012, and 2021-22. You know, I mean, his motivation here is a little unclear. I mean, these were - Jim Caviezel, the actor who played Jesus in "Passion Of The Christ," spoke about his belief in adrenochrome, this idea that, you know, world elites are terrorizing children and drinking their blood. Hall, Ken; Southeastern Antiquing and Collecting Magazine (2003). Gross expressed his desire for a reunion. What do you think?' SOMMER: The amount of money involved in these events, I think people often really don't realize the - as you said, I went to an auction of QAnon paraphernalia. 'Family Ties' Cast Then And Now 2021. I'm Terry Gross. It is a guy who in some ways seems so venal and is such a slave to sort of his basest instincts, you know, whether it's his ego or sexual gratification or greed. I wound up as the default center of these films because everybody else dropped away, said Gross. And these thousands of people were on their feet crying for blood. (read more) Paul Furber denies that he's Q. And so they said, well, jeez, you know, if this guy doesn't know what he's doing, what chance do we have? His book, Trust the Plan, makes the case that there are more conspiracy theories to come. It's like - it's the fountain of youth, essentially. It's P-A-Y patriots. - March 5, 2021 03:58 pm EST. GROSS: Caitlin Dickerson is a staff writer at The Atlantic. Fury of the Gods Star Asher Angel Reveals His Main Goal for Billy's Growth. Gross was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Virginia Ruth, a telephone operator, and William Oscar Gross, a tool . You actually talked to him. Of course, he promoted birtherism, saying that Barack Obama was really born in Kenya and was therefore not qualified to be president. GROSS: OK. Well, let's take another break here. GROSS: Trump to QAnon believers - at least when he was president - was a savior. And so you have guys who are - they exist in the real world, but people believe that they are JFK Jr. And so they'll show up at these rallies, and everyone says, wow, it's JFK Jr. But sometimes when there's a rival JFK Jr. on the scene, he'll text me and say, oh, look - you know, look at this. "I said, 'I can live with this,'" Gross said. Arrow Video US Announces December 2020 Release Schedule by Sarah Jae Leiber - Dec 1, 2020. GROSS: This is FRESH AIR. Gross and the role of Steven Keaton almost weren't the match audiences now know it as. And, you know, you have to know about politics and medicine and all this sort of stuff. So the blood libel is this topic that emerged around the 13th century. This is FRESH AIR. I mean, just Vincent Fusca alone, this guy who, you know, he knows is sort of impersonating JFK Jr. - there is comedy there. GROSS: So the adrenochrome thing dates back to this medieval conspiracy theory of the blood libel. He's talking about tunnels and cabals and mole children. SOMMER: That really is the sort of the thing you have to balance in your mind, is that it is so ridiculous, and there are a lot of moments of humor to it. I'm Terry Gross. We'll be back after a short break. Tremors: Shrieker Island is now available on DVD, Blu-ray, and digital. Another thing to consider besides his legacy is that Carter is currently part of a dwindling number of living former U.S. presidents. They were convinced that JFK Jr. and all these other celebrities would come back to life. And this idea, obviously, as ridiculous as it sounds, it catches on across Europe and inspires these pogroms where Jewish people are murdered in the thousands, at least, to the extent that one of the popes had to come out and say, just, everyone, stop believing in this. The 20 biggest pieces of proof that Michael Jackson still alive in 2022. And it's almost all Jewish people. SOMMER: It's very complex. Michael Nesmith, who rocketed to fame as the contemplative, wool-cap-wearing member of the Monkees in 1966, then went on to a diverse career that included making . Estimated Net Worth. These Are The 15 Hottest Wives And Girlfriends Of Hollywood! If you'd like to catch up on FRESH AIR interviews you missed, like this week's interviews with actor Ke Huy Quan, who's nominated for an Oscar for his performance in "Everything Everywhere All At Once," or actor Cate Blanchett and writer-director Todd Field, who were each nominated for Oscars for their work in "Tar," or Jeanna Smialek, author of a new book about the power of the Federal Reserve, check out our podcast. And he says, 'You idiots. So two of the biggest conspiracy theorists in America were also two of the biggest promoters of QAnon and its conspiracy theories. You know, I think January 6, they thought, was going to be the moment they call the storm. Writer, journalist, comic reader. He is regarded to be one of the 20th century's most influential cultural icons. And, you know, there's an entire industry built up online focused on sucking people into QAnon. Meredith Baxter, Michael J. GROSS: By the way, if drinking adrenochrome from the brains of children who had been sexually abused by Satan is really - if that's a fountain of youth and gives you kind of eternal youth, which is one of the beliefs of QAnon, why have Democrats been accused of being a gerontocracy? And Paul Furber suddenly says, this is not the real Q anymore. But even within the movement, you have people who say, well, that group's looking - making us look silly; we're a serious operation here. "Frankly, I thought to myself -- I didn't express it to them, but I thought to myself -- 'Maybe Universal's getting a little tired of this franchise.' And an interesting thing about Michael Flynn is that we know privately that he feels that QAnon is fake and that it is a ruse because Lin Wood, one of his rivals, secretly recorded him saying as much. Alimoorad Farschian, who was Michael Jackson's doctor for 2 years, and Jack Crooner, known by his stage name, said he believed Michael Jackson still . So tell us a little bit about 8kun and its predecessor, 8chan, and how they have been linked to either knowing or being Q. SOMMER: Sure. SOMMER: Right. You just expose adrenaline to oxygen. So this - but at its core, it is this idea of this kind of satanic or this occult ritual involving children's blood. Nancy Pelosi does not look young. GROSS: And Alex Jones actually sends the message, I'm sick of all these witches and warlocks. Let's get back to my interview with Will Sommer, author of the new book "Trust The Plan: The Rise Of QAnon And The Conspiracy Theory That Unhinged America." Gross appeared in 2000 on Spin City as a therapist to Michael J. So 8chan/8kun is an anonymous image board, and so it's essentially this very anarchic message board based on Japanese anime communities. Jim Watkins runs a pig farm in the Philippines. And everybody else is like, Nah, Ive had enough. His fear of the world at large, including other people and what they might demand of him, or ask of him, he added. But basically SOMMER: There is an internal logic to it because the idea is that the deep state, the people who are out to get Donald Trump, the cabal, assassinated John F. Kennedy, the president. And one of the people who impersonates him, Vincent Fusca, developed his own following. [5] His performance in Tremors 3: Back to Perfection earned him a Best Actor award from the DVD Exclusive Awards, formerly known as the Video Premiere Awards. Received an M.F.A. Q was offline for about a year. As I said before, you know, I've been laughing at some of the wild QAnon conspiracy theories. So I had that sense of this really unsettled anger that QAnon had caused that ultimately did help end up driving the riot. Apr 10, 2022 - michael jackson is alive 2021 | NEW LIFE | Storms can COME BACK? So let's talk about attempts to find out who Q is. So the best guess we have for who originally started it is a South African programmer named Paul Furber, who is sort of a - just a random guy who is interested in conspiracy theories. Sommer is a political reporter for The Daily Beast and co-host of the podcast "Fever Dreams.". Just because one, I love Burt, but I always thought of him as this guy kind of on the fringes, and I just came to the fore because everybody else walked away.. So Q ends up on 8chan, where - there's an interesting moment. Even now, you know, I think there are a few more psychologists who are getting interested in this work. Copyright 2023 NPR. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. And then Q has revved up as of the fall and, you know, same kind of cryptic messages - stay the course, patriots, these kind of things. Where does that originate? And the singer claimed that he knew instantly that he was seeing someone that was going to come to mean a whole lot to him in due time. We don't all live in peace. "And he's really pissed off at them. And it's also hosted by Clay Clark. How Old Is Michael Gross? That's why, you know, Trump couldn't take them down this time. With that being said, Michael Gross is far from done with the film industry. In his book, the Hunter S. Thompson character receives a drug called adrenochrome from another character, and that guy says, you know, you can only get this from a pedophile. Today. "We shot it both ways, where everybody's mourning Burt, and he climbs up over the cliff and looks at all of them in mourning and goes, 'Jesus, God, I'm not dead,'" Gross told ComicBook.com. Gross was born in Chicago, the son of Virginia Ruth Gross,a telephone operator, and William Oscar Gross, a tool designer. Many viewers who knew Michael from Primetime television were excited to see him in Daytime, and were intrigued with his interactions with his son, Michael [Christian LeBlanc], and his ex, Gloria [Judith Chapman . And so I've run into him repeatedly, and he'll say, well, you know, I'd actually love to talk with you about that; can we meet up in an hour? But people buy into it to the extent that dozens of people flocked to Dallas last year. Why do you - what makes you say that? What impression did you take away from this guy? GROSS: So where do you trace this conspiracy theory about having to harvest adrenochrome from children so that the elites can have a fountain of youth? On 21-6-1947 Michael Gross (nickname: Michael) was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States. His most notable roles are fatherly figure Steven Keaton from Family Ties and graboid hunter Burt Gummer from the Tremors film and television series. 2020 has been a tough year for us all, leaving many to look forward to 2021. And they would have kind of a shoddily Photoshopped picture of Michael Flynn as a Revolutionary War hero, perhaps with a Q or a 17, which is a prominent Q symbol. I mean, I think about someone like Donald Trump or perhaps Kevin McCarthy or Sean Hannity or Tucker Carlson, all of these people either chose to, you know, engage with QAnon in a positive way, like Donald Trump trying to whip up their numbers or posting pictures of himself memes - QAnon memes of himself, or to look the other way, someone like Kevin McCarthy who said, well, I don't know what that is and just sort of letting it fester. SOMMER: Sure. Yes, prominent Jewish people in Hollywood. Michael Gross has played Burt Gummer in seven movies and a short-lived TV series on Syfy. Why do they, you know, stage these mass shootings? SOMMER: There really are not a lot of options. So initially, Alex Jones and QAnon are best friends. GROSS: This is FRESH AIR. It's like, 'How would you possibly think?' Michael Gross was born in 1947 in Chicago, Illinois, to Virginia Ruth (Cahill), a telephone operator, and William Oscar Gross, a tool designer. He's been reporting on QAnon since it began. GROSS: You end your book by saying that QAnon isn't a one-time phenomenon. The 1988 Elvis Presley phone call. And when I was there before the riot happened, I realized how many QAnon believers were there, and they were chanting QAnon slogans. But he still appears at all of these events. Michael knew he was important, he knew that he had struck gold, but nothing changed," Gross said of Fox, who starred as Alex P. Keaton on the show. By subscribing, you agree to receive email communication from Bounding Into Comics. And the psychologist said, all right, well, you know, first thing's first. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. He's a politics reporter for The Daily Beast. Fox says living with Parkinson's disease has influenced the projects he selects in his acting career.. Let's start a little bit with family, because you've written about families where one family member becomes a part of QAnon, tries to convert the rest of the family. Gross on the contrary found himself drawn time and again to the films and Gummers misanthropic loner persona. MICHAEL Jackson is alive and well and preparing to make a massive comeback, according to a group of his friends and collaborators. Diseases haven't been cured. During his lifetime, Prince amassed a fortune estimated at more than $300 million. Michael Gross Death Fact Check. A tumor on his spine sends Fox to the hospital for a highly invasive, intricate surgical procedure. - he would say, well, I don't know what you're talking about, so a very slippery character. I talked to people who had lost family members to this group. Some of them call him the God emperor of the United States. Related Dune: House Atreides First Look Revealed. He warns that QAnon isn't a one-time phenomenon. SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:NASDAQ:SLRC) Q2 2021 Earnings Conference Call August 4, 2021, 10:00 AM ET Company Participants Michael Gross - Chairman and Co-CEO Bruce Spohler - Co-Chief. But what's next for the character, or the franchise, if things have a futrue at all? And then suddenly, it's being packaged in this way that almost looks like a news network. And people say, wow, it's JFK Jr. And he says, well, maybe, maybe. Michael Gross has been celebrated as a true miracle since his 1982 World Cup. These 10 Whopping Homes & Cars Of Celebrities Look Amazing! It is dangerous. So one of the major ones is a question of whether JFK Jr. faked his death in the '90s from a plane crash and is, in fact, still alive. And there were, like, deprogrammers who were, you know, like, their profession was figuring out how to change the minds of people who believed false prophets and who had joined groups that were harmful to their health. It was sort of a fringe person who other QAnon believers think is a kook. But it's an idea that persists into the 20th century and was inspiring violence against Jewish people even after World War II. But it's dangerous. I mean, so much of QAnon is about saying don't trust independent sources of truth - the media, the government, academia, scientists - because all of those people are lying, and they're conspiring to trick you. SOMMER: For adrenochrome. In addition, he makes $0 as Chairman of the Board, President, and Co-Chief Executive Officer at SLR . He's been reporting on QAnon from its start, which has led him to become a target of the group. Various writers had used it as sort of a stand-in for a very powerful drug, I think, because it just sounds cool. Trump is posting about QAnon on Truth Social, his platform. And it goes from this thing where you really have to be just really devoted to to conspiracy theories to find this stuff online. Disclosure Information: Some of the organizations with products on our site may pay us a referral fee or affiliate commission when you click to apply for those products. has called for the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games until 2021 or 2022 in a direct appeal to Thomas . And they started to say, well, maybe Q was just a guy in his mom's basement, but what he taught us was real. At the same time, this is a really dangerous group. And I, you know, I kind of slipped past security. Michael Edward Gross (born June 21, 1947) is an American television, film, and stage actor.