Eagle-eyed fans of Late Night with Seth Meyers, 30 Rock, and/or Saturday Night Live spotted a familiar face during a July 4th holiday traffic segment on Philadelphia’s ABC6 when John Lutz was interviewed at an I-95 rest stop in Delaware during one of the busiest travel days of the year.
Lutz was apparently passing through with his wife (and fellow 30 Rock alum) Sue Galloway and their two kids en route to Raleigh, North Carolina, when WPVI reporter Jessica Kartalija stopped him for a quick interview.
If Kartalija or anyone else at the station recognized the comedy writer/performer, they did not let on in their reporting, identifying him simply as a “traveler.”
Asked to share some travel tips, Lutz offered a relatable strategy: “We usually pack a lot of snacks,” he said. “And then we have the kids… they don’t watch anything, because they get sick in the car, but they listen to their shows.”
Of course, when you’re in the business of shooting person-on-the-street interviews, it’s inevitable that you’ll run into someone in the public eye every once in a while, and it’s no huge surprise that Lutz might go unrecognized. (The same has memorably happened to the likes of Zendaya, Steve Guttenberg, and Henry Winkler.)
Lutz and the Late Night staff are currently one week into a two-week summer hiatus. New episodes are set to return on July 14. Until then, keep your eyes on your local news—you never know when a late-night comedy veteran might turn up.
My favorite example of not knowing you’re interviewing someone famous for a man on the street interview: https://youtu.be/-OXVQKi9O_c?si=McnL54ak6bHZgTho