Fred Newman, Garrison Keillor’s sound-effects wiz, reflects on ‘Prairie Home’ ahead of St. Paul shows

Fred Newman may be a walking sound-effects machine, but he’s been pretty quiet about the star-studded chapters of his life story.

He’s rarely, if ever, publicly shared anecdotes about his early collaborations with stars including Justin Timberlake, “Doonesbury” creator Garry Trudeau and Muppets mastermind Jim Henson.

The 71-year-old Emmy winner agreed to chat this week about “50th Anniversary of Prairie Home Companion,” a nationwide tour that stops for three days beginning Friday at its former St. Paul home, the Fitzgerald Theater. During a one-hour phone interview from his studio in New York City, Newman also reflected on the road that led to his longtime collaboration with show host Garrison Keillor, a journey that allowed him to brush shoulders with an eclectic array of talent.

Q: What do you remember about your first appearance on “Prairie Home”?

A: The only thing lower than a sound-effects person is an author. That’s what I was in 1980, when I was on the show promoting a book called “MouthSounds.” I just did some voices and stuff. Garrison completely knocked me out. I made a mental note that if he ever called me to do anything, I should drop everything and come running. A little while later, I got a call to help with some shows, like a Fourth of July broadcast that required the sound of fireworks. I would contribute about six or seven times a year. At some point, around 2001, the show’s original sound-effects guy, Tom Keith, decided he didn’t want to travel anymore. So I did the road shows and eventually took over for Tom, who died in 2011.

Q: There have been many times that it looked like the end for “Prairie Home.” Did you ever think that the nail was in the coffin?

A: When Garrison gave up the radio show, he said he’d never do a reunion tour, but I didn’t believe him. I knew he’d miss it. The audiences on this tour are the best I’ve been around. They’re maybe 20 percent older than the ones we’ve had in the past. It’s a sacrifice for them to come in person, so they really want to be there. And I’ve never seen Garrison looser or better.

Q: Since it’s an anniversary show, are there a lot of old familiar stories or is Garrison constantly writing new material?

A: One of my favorite stories during this tour is one that references his experiences in a MRI scanner. It may be the longest Guy Noir sketch we’ve ever done. It’s great, but he keeps rewriting it. He gets restless. He uses a teleprompter these days, which is easier than holding a script, but I see the teleprompter sometimes just stop because he’s gone off on a stream of consciousness. He’s writing in the moment.

Q: You’ve done so many sound effects over the years. Does Garrison ever throw you for a loop?

A: All the time. He’ll call out an animal of some sort, like a gazelle or an ocelot, and I’ll have no idea what to do. But if it sounds pathetic, it gets a laugh.

Q: You worked a lot with Jim Henson. Do you see similarities between him and Garrison?

A: I got them together for dinner once, which was pretty great. Sometime around 1986 or ‘87. I had been writing for the Muppet character Dr. Benson Honeydew, and eventually moved over to the puppet department. I starred in a CBS pilot for Jim called “Puppetman,” where I was basically playing a version of him. In person, Jim talked a lot like Kermit the Frog, which is not that far off from Garrison’s voice. During dinner, it seemed like it was a contest to see who could be more soft-spoken. I don’t think I ever saw either of them blow a gasket. They’re gentle souls. Both are extraordinary listeners, always drawing energy from others. Garrison can be in his own world, but he’ll overhear a conversation at the table behind him at a restaurant and write something down. Jim was the same way, always taking notes.

Q: You’ve also done the voice of Duke from “Doonesbury” for animated shorts. How well have you gotten to know Garry Trudeau?

A: He might be my closest friend. There’s a small group of us who watch the same movie once a week, usually online, and then we text notes to each other. But I first knew Jane Pauley [his wife]. When I was on that “MouthSounds” book tour, I did a segment on “Today” where I said I would teach her a sound. I think it was a foghorn or ahooga [horn]. She said she would only do it off camera. So you only heard America’s sweetheart make this sound. The camera was shaking because the cameraman was laughing so hard. [The segment was nominated for an Emmy.] The next day was Black Friday and the book sold out.

Q: That book tour also led to the gig of hosting “Livewire,” a talk show on Nickelodeon. Wasn’t that one of the first TV appearances for R.E.M.?

A: Yeah, I think so. When I was a guest, I did this impression of a housefly. The cameras followed me backstage, where I went splat on a wall. The kids went crazy. About a week later, the producers called and asked if I would come in and audition to host. I did 250 shows for them. One hour a day, no commercials. I was horrible. But I learned. The executive producer, Alyce Myatt, was great. She would get Isaac Asimov and Laurie Anderson to come in and talk about the future. Frank Zappa and Malcolm Forbes came in to talk about maintaining their images. When Mickey Rooney was on, one of the kids asked him why Judy Garland killed herself. “We couldn’t stop her,” Rooney said. The kids were crying. Those were the early days of cable, you could do stuff like that.

Q: You also hosted “The New Mickey Mouse Club” from 1989-93 at a pretty extraordinary time. Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Ryan Gosling, Keri Russell and Justin Timberlake were all there. Did you realize at the time just how much talent they had?

A: Of all the shows I’ve worked on, that was the most extraordinary. It was amazing how hard they worked and how professional they were. But they were also kids coming of sexual age. A few years ago, I went down to Florida for a reunion and I did my impression of the Club. It was just me doing pelvis thrusts. “Mickey Mouse Club” doesn’t seem related to “Prairie Home,” but in an odd way it is. They both show the importance of working with good people. I would call myself the luckiest guy in the tristate area, and I don’t care what tristate area you’re talking about.

When: 7:30 p.m. Fri. & Sat.; 3 p.m. Sun.

Where: Fitzgerald Theater, 10 E. Exchange St., St. Paul.

Tickets: $49.50. All shows are sold out. Saturday’s show also will stream live for $19.99. Sign up at garrisonkeillor.com.