When last we checked in with David Foster, the Grammy-winning producer was caught on camera calling his 34-years-younger wife Katharine McPhee “fat” when she first appeared as a contestant on American Idol (where he was a behind-the-scenes mentor). I wonder what he’d call Betty Boop’s figure, the voluptuous Fleischer Studios cartoon character from the 1930s. Foster has written the music for a new Broadway show based on the foxy vixen, Boop! The Musical, that’s playing now. So Foster is doing some press for Boop!, including a new interview with the Wall Street Journal. When WSJ asked about Foster’s exercise habits, Foster revealed that a good chunk of his fitness comes down to his taking the stairs everywhere — he’s afraid of elevators! To the point where he’ll walk up 65 flights to a hotel pool. For the sake of the other swimmers, I hope Foster was able to shower post-climb and pre-dip. He shared even more about his elevator phobia:
David Foster is so afraid of elevators that he can only remember being in five of them as an adult.
The 75-year-old music producer, who is a 16-time Grammy winner, opened up about his fear of elevators after being asked about his workout routine.
“I try to go to the gym three times a week. Also, I literally never take an elevator. It’s claustrophobia. I’ve been in an elevator five times in my adult life. Three of those were for surgeries in the hospital. I was drugged so it was OK,” David told the Wall Street Journal.
David revealed one incredible story about why he went in an elevator.
He said, “The other two times were extraordinary circumstances. One was with Pavarotti and his 20th floor place in New York. I was working with him and Celine [Dion] on a duet and then the wine’s flowing, everybody’s drinking and I said, ‘I’m leaving now,’ and I started to go for the stairs. And he goes, ‘No. Today you don’t, today you take the elevator.’”
“He gets in this little elevator with a little seat in it. He sits down, he grabs me, he pulls me onto his lap, and he sings ‘Ave Maria’ in my f—ing ears so loud. I mean, Pavarotti’s singing to me all the way down. Anyway, to answer the question about exercise, I’ve taken millions of stairs in my life,” David said.
David also talked about walking up 65 flights of stairs so he could use the swimming pool at Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands.
“There’s this place in Singapore called the Marina Bay Sands. We were staying there while shooting Asia’s Got Talent [in 2015]. From time to time I wanted to go to the pool, so I would walk up the 65 flights to get to the pool,” he said.
I may not be a big fan of the man, but that is a great story Foster tells about being serenaded by Pavarotti as a distraction/sedative for a 20-flight elevator ride. He should write a song about it! At age 75, I’m assuming Foster has already tried all the therapy he wishes to in terms of tackling this particular phobia, and they either didn’t work or he’s decided, “Hey, it’s good for my heart.” 65 flights, though, is just crazy. My only frame of reference is when I was living on the 15th floor of a building in Manhattan during Hurricane Sandy in 2012. (Technically it was the 14th floor, because it was a superstitious building that had no floor 13. Seriously.) So Sandy cut our power and I had to haul my ass up those stairs, guided by the super with a flashlight, whereupon I packed a bag of essentials and immediately hot-footed it to my aunt uptown who still had electricity. Those 14 flights were plenty for me, thankyouverymuch, and that was when I was in better shape. And, not for nothing, isn’t Foster rich enough that he could’ve helicoptered his way up the building? I mean, what are those song royalties for anyway?!
Photos credit: IMAGO/Jennifer Bloc/Avalon and Faye’s Vision/Cover Images
I heard Boop isn’t selling well. And that Smash, based on the tv series Katherine starred in, is a great show.
I saw it in previews in Chicago last year and was disappointed.
I kind of understand this, and applaud his stair walking? I once got stuck in an elevator and waiting to be freed was horrible. I also took an elevator eith my kids once that stopped about 60cm/ 2 feet lower than the floor and had to lift them out and scramble out afterwards. I still take elevators, but not if I only need to climb a few flights of stairs.
I prefer to take the stairs too — up, for exercise. But I’d draw the line around thirty floors, I guess.
Down I mostly use the elevator, because going downstairs puts quite a lot of wear and tear on the knee — cartilages, tendons, the whole mechanism.
Every once in a while…I wish that Foster (who is a TITAN regarding my 😍 for modern 🎶 since the 1970s)…NEVA got on “RHOBH”…I NEVA needed or WANTED to know MOST of the things I know about him now😒 This info dosen’t fall into that category 😊 To sit on Pavarotti’s lap while he sang in my ear…would be like going to ACTUAL Heaven❣️
I’m fine going up two or three floors on the stairs, but 65! That would be a strenuous session on Stairmaster for sure.
All it takes to make one phobic is to be stuck alone in an elevator while hearing fire alarms go off. No phone, all I could do was bang on the door until someone said they would call security to come help. It was only half an hour but seemed like ages. I also use stairs only and will not check into a hotel above the 2nd floor. The fear is real.
When I was in middle school visiting Disney, I got stuck in an elevator for 30 minutes after we got back from Hollywood studios where I had just been traumatized by tower of terror. Put me off elevators for long time. But between shin splints and a couple dislocated knees, I’ve had to get over it. 65 floors is definitely not possible for me!
I have an employee that always takes the stairs. For years I thought he was just choosing the health-conscious option. No. He’s afraid of elevators, it turns out.
I’d be walking right beside him. I do not, will not, can not do elevators.
I think about Prince, who sang, ” Are we gonna let de-elevator bring us down? Oh, no let’s go!”
Prince didn’t like elevators, reportedly called them “the devil.” When he died, guess where he was found? In an elevator.
Always found that chilling.
I don’t like elevators either, but I feel better if they are a see-through outdoor elevator or I can tell they’re really in tip-top shape. I hate when places lock the doors to the stairway, preventing people from walking up even a couple of flights of stairs.
I’m completely the opposite. Having been locked in office tower stairwells for some considerable times and more than once over the decades, I take the elevator almost always.
After being locked in office stairwells for hours and hours, I know I hesitate and want someone to check that the inner doors are unlocked so I can get out of a stairwell anytime. If I’m with a co-worker, cool, they can do that for me. If alone, I’m in the elevator, even if just for one floor. These days its more because hips hurt, knees hurt, ankles hurt, everything hurts. But I do still fear being locked in a stairwell.
When I was in my 20s, I would go up 9 flights at work, partly for exercise and not like elevators after being stuck in one. Now in my mid-30s I do 3 switch-back flights (so about 6 flights) and I want to die by the second floor
I grew up in Manhattan NY so elevators abound. I first lived on the 10th then 19th. When I lived on the 10th floor, if 2 or more boys got on, you (girl) got off. There was a way you could stick the elevator between floors. I don’t need to elaborate.
In the 80s in super high rise office buildings they had super fast elevators and some would run on the same lines but only went to certain floors. Always wondered if they would crash but I don’t think it ever happened. I personally love elevators!