In Part 2 of our conversation with actor and sports broadcaster Mitch Laurance, Mitch takes us deeper into the improbable zigzags that turned a behind-the-scenes job at Saturday Night Live into a front-row seat to entertainment history—and ultimately, into a life on camera.

Mitch starts where most origin stories don’t: as a production “gopher” in the early days of SNL, absorbing the chaos, the pressure, and the genius up close. But week by week, opportunity finds him. He becomes a researcher for the writers, hunts down film and music clips, calls cues from the control room, and eventually earns his way into the Directors Guild. Then comes the moment that still feels surreal: Lorne Michaels taps Mitch to produce 20 prime-time “Best of SNL” specials, combing through sketches by theme and cutting them together with what Mitch calls “45-year-old technology.”

As the show explodes, Mitch quietly discovers something else—he likes being in the sketches. A line here, an extra there… and by 1980, with the original era ending, he makes a bold leap: move to Los Angeles and give acting a real shot.

That leap comes with a mind-bending twist. Mitch lands in Penny Marshall’s guest house, surrounded by a revolving door of Hollywood royalty—De Niro, Albert Brooks, Carrie Fisher, and more—while battling the ultimate imposter syndrome. Penny changes everything when she gifts him a role on Laverne & Shirley, getting him his Screen Actors Guild card and breaking the industry’s infamous catch-22.

But the heart of this episode is the complicated, deeply human story of Mitch and his twin brother Matthew—competition, distance, resentment, forgiveness—and the powerful creative reunion that follows, including memorable work together on Cop Rock, The Commish, and a standout Outer Limits episode built on parallel universes.

It’s a story about timing, doors opening, and choosing reconciliation—just before we pivot toward the pool world and one legendary “Striking Viking.”

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Music by Lyrium.

About

"Legends of the Cue" is a pool history podcast featuring interviews with Pool Hall of Fame members, winners of major championships and other people of influence in and around pocket billiards. We also plan to highlight memorable pool brands, events and venues. Focusing on the positive aspects of the sport, we aim to create and provide an engaging and timeless repository of content that listeners can enjoy now and forever. Co-hosted by WPA and BCA Hall of Fame member Allison Fisher, Mosconi Cup player and captain Mark Wilson, our podcast focuses on telling the life stories of pool's greatest, in their voices. Join Allison, Mark and Mike Gonzalez for “Legends of the Cue.”

In this opening chapter of our multi-part conversation, Mitch Laurance takes us all the way back—before the bright lights of television, before the broadcast booth, before the roles that made his career a near-constant highlight reel—back to a simpler time on the south shore of Long Island.

Born in Queens and raised in Hewlett, Mitch shares what it really felt like growing up as an identical twin: the built-in best friend, the constant competition, the comfort of always having someone to throw a football to, run pass routes with, or battle one-on-one on the backyard hoop. It’s a window into a childhood shaped by sports, neighborhood freedom, and family dinners—long before screens took over daily life.

Mitch also paints a moving portrait of his parents: a steady, quiet father who anchored the household, and a magnetic, big-hearted mother who seemed to know everyone, everywhere—right up through her later years. Along the way, he reflects on the one thing many of us wish we’d done more of: asking our parents the deeper questions while we still had the chance.

From there, the story pivots into the late-1960s college experience—an era that cracked Mitch’s world wide open—and then into a string of “how did that happen?” turns: photography school, restaurant work, a short-lived banking career in Louisville that ended with a two-week notice typed in a flash of clarity… and finally, the moment that changed everything.

A friend. A brand-new show. A simple offer: “Lauren Michaels needs a gopher.”
Next thing Mitch knows, he’s making $93 a week, running on no sleep, and living in a tiny room above a sandwich shop—right as Saturday Night Live is being born.

And that’s just the beginning.

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Music by Lyrium.

About

"Legends of the Cue" is a pool history podcast featuring interviews with Pool Hall of Fame members, winners of major championships and other people of influence in and around pocket billiards. We also plan to highlight memorable pool brands, events and venues. Focusing on the positive aspects of the sport, we aim to create and provide an engaging and timeless repository of content that listeners can enjoy now and forever. Co-hosted by WPA and BCA Hall of Fame member Allison Fisher, Mosconi Cup player and captain Mark Wilson, our podcast focuses on telling the life stories of pool's greatest, in their voices. Join Allison, Mark and Mike Gonzalez for “Legends of the Cue.”

In the final chapter of our four-part life story with WPBA Hall of Famer Ewa Mataya Laurance, we land where legends are forged: on the road, under the lights, and in the moments that reveal what matters most.

Ewa takes us inside a whirlwind era when she was traveling 260 days a year—tournaments, exhibitions, corporate events, and the kind of surreal TV appearances that can pull an athlete away from the very craft that made them famous. It’s a candid look at success: how it arrives fast, demands yes, and quietly reshapes priorities.

From there, Ewa opens the curtain on the business battle behind women’s professional pool—her time leading the WPBA, fighting for excellence over image, and pushing back against the idea that the sport should be marketed as entertainment first. She recalls pivotal negotiations with ESPN, the strategy that helped create meaningful airtime for a true tour, and the tug-of-war moments that defined an entire generation of women’s pool.

And then… the match.

Ewa relives the victory she treasures most—not a world title by name, but a win that felt like the ultimate statement: defeating the incomparable Allison Fisher in the finals of the 2012 Soaring Eagle Masters, in what she calls the last great ESPN era before the shift to ESPN3. From switching cues days before the event to reading the smallest signs of pressure across the arena, she brings us shot-by-shot into the mindset of a champion who still knew how to summon greatness.

We close with our signature three questions—Ewa’s moving reflections on forgiveness, the one “mulligan” she’d take back, and how she hopes to be remembered: hard-working, honest, stubborn, fair… and a very good grandma.

This is Ewa’s finish—full of fire, heart, and truth.

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Our website: https://www.legendsofthecue.com

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/legends-of-the-cue/id1820520463

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Za0IMh2SeNaWEGUHaVcy1

Music by Lyrium.

About

"Legends of the Cue" is a pool history podcast featuring interviews with Pool Hall of Fame members, winners of major championships and other people of influence in and around pocket billiards. We also plan to highlight memorable pool brands, events and venues. Focusing on the positive aspects of the sport, we aim to create and provide an engaging and timeless repository of content that listeners can enjoy now and forever. Co-hosted by WPA and BCA Hall of Fame member Allison Fisher, Mosconi Cup player and captain Mark Wilson, our podcast focuses on telling the life stories of pool's greatest, in their voices. Join Allison, Mark and Mike Gonzalez for “Legends of the Cue.”

In Part 3 of our four-part Legends of the Cue conversation with pool Hall of Famer Ewa Mataya Laurance, the “Striking Viking” hits the most turbulent—and transformative—stretch of her career.

We rewind to 1990–91, the period Ewa calls her finest run: taking over World No. 1, stacking five tour titles, and earning Billiards Digest Player of the Year. But the wins came with weight. Newly divorced and raising her daughter as a single mom, Ewa describes the constant hustle—practice squeezed into basement sessions, tournaments with a child in tow, and the pressure of turning greatness into a living.

Then comes the moment that changed everything: the 1992 New York Times Magazine cover story. Ewa walks us through how a “sure, another interview” turned into a two-week deep dive that flipped her life upside down—followed by an avalanche of mainstream attention (Letterman calling the poolroom, national TV hits, glossy magazines)… and a rare opportunity for women’s professional pool.

Because the timing was perfect. As the spotlight intensified, Ewa and fellow players were building the nuts and bolts of a new era—helping launch the WPBA Tour into bigger markets and bigger moments. But the tradeoff was real: fewer hours at the table, more days on the road, and the delicate balance between promoting the sport and protecting your game.

We also hear how meeting (and later marrying) Mitchell reshaped her world, why the arrival of Allison Fisher changed how many top American players approached fundamentals, and the emotional punch of Ewa’s 1998 Brunswick Boston Classic win—running a gauntlet through the very best when she “had something to prove.”

Finally, we reach her BCA Hall of Fame induction and the unforgettable phone call to Sweden—where her dad isn’t quite sure what a “Hall of Fame” even is.

You need to stay tuned for our fourth and final episode with "The Striking Viking"

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Our website: https://www.legendsofthecue.com

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Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Za0IMh2SeNaWEGUHaVcy1

Music by Lyrium.

About

"Legends of the Cue" is a pool history podcast featuring interviews with Pool Hall of Fame members, winners of major championships and other people of influence in and around pocket billiards. We also plan to highlight memorable pool brands, events and venues. Focusing on the positive aspects of the sport, we aim to create and provide an engaging and timeless repository of content that listeners can enjoy now and forever. Co-hosted by WPA and BCA Hall of Fame member Allison Fisher, Mosconi Cup player and captain Mark Wilson, our podcast focuses on telling the life stories of pool's greatest, in their voices. Join Allison, Mark and Mike Gonzalez for “Legends of the Cue.”

Part 2 picks up as Ewa Mataya Laurance—“The Striking Viking”—plants her feet in America with one goal: play pool, and nothing else. From home in Michigan to road trips with her friend Vicky Frechen (Paski), Ewa relives the hustle behind the highlight reels: waitressing shifts, a brief—and doomed—stint in an insurance office (“How did you get here?”), and even landing a job at a Playboy Club, learning the bunny dip while trying to run racks on a bumper-pool table in costume.

But the real story is the turning points. Ewa opens up about becoming a young mother, the fear and responsibility that reshaped her life, and how that pressure changed her relationship with the game. Then comes the breakthrough: the gritty, smoke-thick Maverick Club scene, a title match versus Lori Shampo, and the moment 20 FBI agents storm the room mid-finals—forcing Ewa to fight not only for the trophy, but for the scoreline itself.

Along the way, Ewa, Allison Fisher, and Mark Wilson revisit the stars and influencers of the era—Belinda Bearden, LoreeJon, Gloria Walker, Vivian Villarreal, Billie Billing, Palmer Byrd, and more—painting a vivid picture of women’s pro pool before it went mainstream. Ewa also shares a surprising partnership with “Mr. Humble” Mike Sigel in a pioneering live doubles event, plus what it felt like to watch trailblazer Jean Balukas carry the weight of attention, controversy, and expectation on national TV on ESPN—right up to the $200 fine that became her exit line.

Outside the arena, a Brunswick sponsorship arrives just as Ewa’s marriage fractures—raising the stakes on every rack as she chases big wins like her U.S. Open titles of the late ’80s. And in a fascinating behind-the-scenes chapter, she details the ambitious (and messy) attempt to unite men and women under one tour umbrella—the early blueprint that foreshadowed modern professional pool.

Give Allison, Mark & Mike some feedback via Text.

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Follow our show and/or leave a review/rating on:

Our website: https://www.legendsofthecue.com

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/legends-of-the-cue/id1820520463

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Music by Lyrium.

About

"Legends of the Cue" is a pool history podcast featuring interviews with Pool Hall of Fame members, winners of major championships and other people of influence in and around pocket billiards. We also plan to highlight memorable pool brands, events and venues. Focusing on the positive aspects of the sport, we aim to create and provide an engaging and timeless repository of content that listeners can enjoy now and forever. Co-hosted by WPA and BCA Hall of Fame member Allison Fisher, Mosconi Cup player and captain Mark Wilson, our podcast focuses on telling the life stories of pool's greatest, in their voices. Join Allison, Mark and Mike Gonzalez for “Legends of the Cue.”

In this first chapter of our four-part life-story series, we welcome one of the most captivating figures ever to pick up a cue: Pool Hall of Famer Ewa Mataya Laurance—the iconic “Striking Viking.” From her earliest days in Sweden, Ewa takes us back to a childhood defined by energy, independence, and a love of sport. She was a goalkeeper in soccer, a force on the basketball court, and—by her own admission—a “control freak” who quickly realized team sports couldn’t match her appetite for precision, responsibility, and self-determination.

Then came the moment that changed everything: a curious teenage visit to a local pool hall. What began as tagging along because of a crush soon turned into genuine fascination—especially after someone explained why the best players chose certain shots and patterns in straight pool. That doorway into the chess-like strategy of cue sports lit a fire in Ewa that never went out.

Ewa shares vivid memories of Sweden’s vibrant club scene—Sunday tournaments that were equal parts competition and community, packed Jack-and-Jill events, and long bus trips to challenge rival clubs across the country. She reflects on the mentors who shaped her early understanding of pattern play and the hunger to “open the next door” of knowledge in a game with endless layers.

But the heart of Part 1 is the boldest decision of all: at just 17 years old, after competing in New York City at the World Championship in the storied Roosevelt Hotel, Ewa falls headlong into the electric world of American pool—legends, late nights, and possibilities she’d only seen in magazine pages. Then she makes the call that stunned her parents: she isn’t coming home… at least not yet.

This is where the legend truly begins.

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Support the show

Follow our show and/or leave a review/rating on:

Our website: https://www.legendsofthecue.com

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/legends-of-the-cue/id1820520463

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Za0IMh2SeNaWEGUHaVcy1

Music by Lyrium.

About

"Legends of the Cue" is a pool history podcast featuring interviews with Pool Hall of Fame members, winners of major championships and other people of influence in and around pocket billiards. We also plan to highlight memorable pool brands, events and venues. Focusing on the positive aspects of the sport, we aim to create and provide an engaging and timeless repository of content that listeners can enjoy now and forever. Co-hosted by WPA and BCA Hall of Fame member Allison Fisher, Mosconi Cup player and captain Mark Wilson, our podcast focuses on telling the life stories of pool's greatest, in their voices. Join Allison, Mark and Mike Gonzalez for “Legends of the Cue.”

In the powerful final chapter of our four-part Legends of the Cue conversation with Jerry Briesath, we arrive at the heart of a life devoted not just to playing pool—but to teaching it, elevating it, and preserving its future.

Widely regarded as the most influential instructor in billiards history, Jerry reflects on how the modern game has evolved—from the decline of nine-foot tables and the rise of technology, to the dramatic sophistication of safety play and break mechanics at the professional level. With the clarity that has defined his teaching career, he explains why stroke mechanics—not aiming systems or English—remain the foundation of all great play, and why so many players are still taught the game backwards.

Jerry shares timeless teaching insights: the power of repetition, the importance of “shots you must make,” and why respecting so-called “easy shots” separates good players from great ones. These aren’t theories—they’re hard-earned lessons refined over six decades on the table, in poolrooms, academies, and classrooms around the world.

The episode also turns deeply personal. In a moving moment, Jerry answers the question of what he would do differently if he could start again—an honest reflection that reveals the man behind the mentor. He revisits a missed straight-pool shot against a reigning world champion that still lingers in memory, and he defines how he ultimately hopes to be remembered: as someone who loved teaching as much as his students loved learning.

Joined by Allison Fisher and longtime protégé Mark Wilson, this closing episode is both a masterclass and a farewell—an intimate portrait of a teacher whose influence will outlive generations of players. Jerry Briesath didn’t just teach pool. He taught people how to learn.

A fitting final word from one of the game’s true giants.

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Our website: https://www.legendsofthecue.com

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Music by Lyrium.

About

"Legends of the Cue" is a pool history podcast featuring interviews with Pool Hall of Fame members, winners of major championships and other people of influence in and around pocket billiards. We also plan to highlight memorable pool brands, events and venues. Focusing on the positive aspects of the sport, we aim to create and provide an engaging and timeless repository of content that listeners can enjoy now and forever. Co-hosted by WPA and BCA Hall of Fame member Allison Fisher, Mosconi Cup player and captain Mark Wilson, our podcast focuses on telling the life stories of pool's greatest, in their voices. Join Allison, Mark and Mike Gonzalez for “Legends of the Cue.”

In Part Three of our four-part conversation with Pool Hall of Famer and BCA Dean of Master Instructors Jerry Briesath, we dive deep into the heart of what made Jerry one of the most influential teachers the game has ever known: mechanics, curiosity, passion, and an unrelenting desire to help others get better.

Jerry explains timeless concepts that still confound players today—why banks on balls near the rail come up short, how sliding changes everything, and why “easy” banks must be overcut. These aren’t tricks or systems, but truths passed down from earlier generations of knowledge, including lessons Jerry absorbed and refined long before modern aiming systems existed.

The conversation expands beyond technique into teaching philosophy. Jerry draws a powerful distinction between working on something and committing to it—a mindset shift that separates incremental improvement from lasting change. Alongside Mark Wilson and Allison Fisher, he emphasizes that no aiming system matters if the stroke doesn’t repeat, and that mechanics must always come first.

We also explore Jerry’s remarkable impact on players at every level: from junior programs and BCA youth camps to elite professionals. He shares stories of helping players like Jeanette Lee rediscover winning form, guiding young talents at summer camps, and working with champions who trusted him to rebuild fundamentals at the highest level.

Equally compelling are the stories of Jerry’s legacy beyond the table—his instructional work in Europe, the creation of A Pool Lesson DVD series with Mark Wilson, and the passion that radiated from every lesson he ever taught. As Mark reflects, Jerry wasn’t just teaching shots—he was modeling enthusiasm, patience, and a love for the craft that inspired everyone around him.

This episode captures Jerry Briesath at his best: thoughtful, funny, generous, and forever curious. A master instructor reminding us that the cue ball never lies—and that learning never stops.

Give Allison, Mark & Mike some feedback via Text.

Support the show

Follow our show and/or leave a review/rating on:

Our website: https://www.legendsofthecue.com

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/legends-of-the-cue/id1820520463

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Za0IMh2SeNaWEGUHaVcy1

Music by Lyrium.

About

"Legends of the Cue" is a pool history podcast featuring interviews with Pool Hall of Fame members, winners of major championships and other people of influence in and around pocket billiards. We also plan to highlight memorable pool brands, events and venues. Focusing on the positive aspects of the sport, we aim to create and provide an engaging and timeless repository of content that listeners can enjoy now and forever. Co-hosted by WPA and BCA Hall of Fame member Allison Fisher, Mosconi Cup player and captain Mark Wilson, our podcast focuses on telling the life stories of pool's greatest, in their voices. Join Allison, Mark and Mike Gonzalez for “Legends of the Cue.”