Meet WILLIAM KECK | Writer/Journalist/Producer & Author, When You Step Upon A Star

We had the good fortune of connecting with WILLIAM KECK and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi WILLIAM, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Writing my book, ultimately titled When You Step Upon A Star: Cringeworthy Confessions of a Tabloid Bad Boy, was an exhausting process many years in the making—evolving with numerous iterations and discarded titles. Ever since I started as a reporter, beginning with my three years with the National Enquirer in the mid-90s, I’d saved everything— knowing one day I’d be writing this book. My treasure trove included huge bins containing all my reporter notebooks with remarkably detailed notes down to license plate numbers and the precise hospital rooms of celebrities. Countless photographs to illustrate my star encounters. All my recorded interviews on tape and digital. And clippings from the hundreds of articles published with my byline in such periodicals as the National Enquirer, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, TV Guide, People, Us and Entertainment Weekly. But It was only during the pandemic that finally I had the time I needed to sit in my garage and go through it all piece by piece, deciding what was relevant to my book and what could be thrown away.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Although I made a name for myself as the West Coast Celebrity Reporter for USA Today, as a columnist and editor for TV Guide, and as a Senior Talent Producer for Hallmark Channel’s daily lifestyle show, Home & Family, it was my first job as a reporter for the National Enquirer that initially shaped me into someone fearless and at times, relentless. My challenge upon leaving the Enquirer was retaining all those qualities that had served me well, while transitioning into reporting jobs for more legitimate publications that employed different tactics and ethics in their news gathering. One of the themes of the book is how even though I’d quit the Enquirer, the Enquirer hadn’t yet quit me. Their tricks of the trade remained in my blood, which both aided and harmed my advancement in Hollywood. So many lessons were learned along the way that each of the book’s 39 chapters concludes with a ‘Lesson Learned’ that I hope will be relatable to all my readers.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Well, because of my career as a celebrity reporter, visiting family and friends expect that I’ll be able to take them to places where celebrities are just hanging out. The issue there is that celebrity ‘hot spots’ change by the hour. However, I’ve found one reliable location where my guests are guaranteed to see some of their favorite old Hollywood stars stars, although the stars aren’t exactly alive.

I was first introduced to the star-studded Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park and Mortuary when I crashed a celebrity funeral by renting a tree with a branch that extended over the cemetery’s wall, enabling me a bird’s eye view of the chapel where a service for crooner Dean Martin was being held.
For many years I’ve taken my guests to Westwood Memorial, where more and more stars seem to end up as the years go by. Here, my guests are assured not only selfies with their favorite stars, but also an “autograph” by way of a headstone etching.

Among the most famous residents crammed into this tiny plot of land hidden behind a Wilshire Blvd. cineplex are Natalie Wood, Donna Reed, Farrah Fawcett, Hugh Hefner, Jim Backus, Don Knotts, Rodney Dangerfield, Merv Griffin, Kirk Douglas, Florence Henderson, Carroll O’Connor, Doris Roberts, novelist Truman Capote and their cremè de la creme guest of honor, Marilyn Monroe.

Curiously enough, there are also an inordinate amount of former on-screen co-stars who seemingly wanted to spend eternity together. These include: Jack Lemmon & Walter Matthau; Green Acres spouses Eddie Albert & Eva Gabor (later joined by a handful of her older sister Zsa Zsa’s ashes); Hogan’s Heroes stars Bob Crane & Richard Dawson; Family Affair co-stars Brian Keith & Sebastian Cabot; and Poltergeist sisters Dominique Dunne & Heather O’Rourke. (And here’s a little exclusive scoop I share in the book: Poltergeist mom JoBeth Williams told me she’s instructed her sons, Will and Nick, to scatter some of her own ashes near Dominique and Heather when her time comes. A bit macabre, but also quite sweet, eh?)

While some of my friends’ children may not recognize these names, they always enjoy hearing the stories and scandals that made each buried star famous and worthy of a mention in When You Step Upon A Star.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
As an author, I am fortunate to be given Acknowledgement pages to list all the employers, colleagues and friends (celebrity and otherwise) who helped make my book possible. But When You Step Upon A Star is dedicated to one man alone, who influenced me both personally and professionally.
I will share this dedication with you:
To my National Enquirer bureau chief and mentor, Jerry George, who sent me out on so many of these morally questionable, traumatizing, mafia-like assignments, but not without equipping me with invaluable life lessons.
“Choose your battles, Kecky.” “Know when to get out.” And most importantly, “Always be true to yourself.”

Website: WhenYouStepUponAStar@gmail.com

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Image Credits
Author Headshot: Vince Trupsin
Dynasty and Dallas cast reunions: (Courtesy CBS)