The Big Egg Tavern by Wes Oakley Talk about it with Franjez podcast episode 122 Yonkers NY podcast

Wes Oakley joins Talk About It with Franjez for an unforgettable ride through Yonkers/Hastings history, Hollywood hustles, and wild Prohibition lore. Growing up in Hastings on Hudson, Wes moved to LA in the ’90s, worked across film/TV/music videos, and now creates science storytelling at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles and La Brea Tar Pits. We dive into his grandmother’s jaw-dropping stories from “The Big Egg” speakeasy on Nepperhan Ave mobsters, secret doors, bathtub gin, and the larger-than-life figures of Dutch Schultz, Arnold Rothstein, and “Legs” Diamond plus early DVD/streaming days, Adobe/Premiere workflows, and even Wes’s stint in a cult-classic wrestling league. Highlights • Hastings roots → LA leap to film/TV • The true story of Yonkers’ famed “Big Egg” rock & tavern cover • Prohibition era Yonkers: candy shop fronts, safe houses, mob ties • Natural History Museum LA & La Brea Tar Pits: science films & fossils vs. asphalt preservation • Early DVD & pre broadband streaming experiments • Incredibly Strange Wrestling: “Stash Stevens, the Polish Wonder” • Why these stories deserve a book or series set in Yonkers Chapters (approx.) 00:00 Intro & Wes’s Hastings roots 04:10 Grandma’s birthday, The Big Egg legend 12:45 Prohibition stories: Dutch Schultz & secret tavern door 23:30 Moving to LA in ’93: gigs, animation, post-production 34:15 Early DVD & proto-streaming projects 41:50 Natural History Museum LA & La Brea Tar Pits 51:20 Wrestling stories & live show energy 57:00 Why this should be a film/book + final takeaways If you enjoyed this episode, like, comment, and subscribe. Drop your favorite moment or Big Egg memory below, and tell us if you’d watch a Yonkers Prohibition series! #TalkAboutItWithFranjez #WesOakley #Yonkers #HastingsOnHudson #BigEgg #Prohibition #DutchSchultz #LaBreaTarPits #NYhistory #podcast