Last Wednesday, I had the pleasure of meeting one of the greatest celebrities of my childhood, Josh Peck. Cornell Hillel's Major Speaker Series, who invites Jewish celebrities to come and speak at least twice a year, invited one of my all time favorite child stars of all time. A star on the hit Nickelodeon show of the 00's "Drake and Josh", Josh Peck has made my generation laugh and continues to make an impact on kids today. With all time famous lines like, "Hug Me Brotha!" and "See you in Chemistry," Josh Peck sure brought a lot of his fan base to Call Auditorium last week for a truly comedic and highly anticipated event.
Peck started out the show highlighting his Jewish background. He mentioned that growing up Jewish meant a lot to him, noting that one of his all time favorite Jewish foods was Rugelach, among others. He identified Judaism as a culture and religion that made a huge impact on him both growing up and now as he continues his career in the entertainment industry. Peck also promoted Birthright, adding that it would be a great experience to go to Israel with the Hillel team. His Jewish content made a great impact on the audience, as students cheered with smiling faces. I know I was certainly smiling.
He continued to talk about his time on the hit show "Drake and Josh." Peck really highlighted the behind the scenes ~juice~ about the show, to the delight of many fans. He claimed that he really had a great time on the show with the cast, and that, slowly, the cast really banded together and made a great team. He also mused about his weight loss since the show and how much he had changed since the show's inception. Peck also noted that the cast still communicates, despite the many years that have passed since the show ended.
Peck didn't end the night without including some stand up comedy of his own. His comedic jokes, both old and new, definitely brought the house down and had the whole audience cracking up. For us students who had prelims and a lot of stress that week, it was definitely a stress reliever to sit and listen to some jokes that didn't involve prelims and the snow that was about to come this week (winter has officially came).
At the very end of the talk, Peck let the audience ask him as many questions as they liked. To the delight of many students in the auditorium, Peck let the lucky students ask him to recite famous lines from his childhood fame including "See you in Chemistry," "Hug Me Brotha!," and the classic Liar-Truther sequence. Peck, who spotted two students wearing a costume from a famous episode from the series, even walked out towards the audience to give the two students a big hug. Several students also asked him about his personal life, which definitely kept much of the audience on edge. When time was up, Peck received much applause for his talk, and the buzz of the evening continued well into the night as students left the hall.
As a member of Hillel's student executive board, I was able to meet Josh Peck at a VIP reception for the star. Peck was certainly open to answering any other questions students had on their minds about his stardom and life now. He also was happy to stay and take pictures with those who came to the reception, which was definitely a treat to many students, including me.
I know that meeting Josh Peck is an experience I will remember for a long time. It was definitely a treat for many Cornell students who were really excited to meet the celebrity who played a large role in their childhood television and remained a household name for many families across the nation. As for me, I am so excited that I got to meet such a comedian, and I can't wait to keep that memory with me for years to come.
