Director & Producer Tommy Avallone on Fatherhood, Filmmaking, & Fuddruckers

Filmmaker Tommy Avallone has built a career telling quirky, deeply human stories from I Am Santa Claus to The Bill Murray Stories to the recent I Love You, You Hate Me about Barney the Dinosaur. But behind the camera, Tommy is also a dad navigating fatherhood with honesty, humor, and heart. In this conversation, we cover everything from his son’s “No Haircut Summer” to monster truck shows, Disney trips, and what it means when Blink-182 is suddenly considered “dad rock.” Tommy also shares stories about Gilbert Gottfried, the strange magic of Fuddruckers, and how his kids benefit from Dad’s unusual connections like getting personal letters from Santa Claus himself. But this episode also dives into the fragile side of fatherhood: Tommy opens up about losing his first daughter Clementine, raising an autistic son, and the complicated ways parenting reshapes your identity. Equal parts hilarious, nostalgic, and deeply moving, this episode is a snapshot of what it means to live creatively, love your kids fiercely, and still try to figure out who you are along the way.