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The essayist chronicles his travels in the new book “We Are Experiencing a Slight Delay”
Gary Janetti really wants air travel attire to step it up.
The television veteran — he’s a longtime writer and producer of “Family Guy” and did the same on “Will & Grace,” “Vicious” and “The Prince” — chronicles his own travel in his new and third collection of essays, “We Are Experiencing a Slight Delay.”
And let’s just say he’s not a fan of casual flying.
“Flip flops should only be worn by the pool,” says Janetti, who has also gained a fandom for his witty captions on Instagram (he has about 954,000 followers on the social media platform). “I don’t need to see your feet on a plane. I don’t understand — how comfortable does one need to be in order to travel? Most people fly as if they’re in bed on day seven of the flu.”
In the new book, Janetti recalls taking many cruises when he was a child because his father was a salesman for Cunard, hosting a charity event on the Orient Express to Venice with his celebrity stylist husband Brad Goreski, an unforgettable dinner with Maggie Smith in London and much more.
I talked to Janetti while he was – what else? — traveling to promote the book before vacationing in Italy.
You have a rule that no matter how long the trip is, you usually only bring a carry-on. You never check luggage.
I have one carry-on with me right now and I’m gone for three weeks. One carry-on and a backpack.
What kind of carry-on do you use?
It’s actually the one on the book cover. It’s an old Louis Vuitton bag from about 20 years ago. It’s soft and I know how to pack it. I can pack in about 15 minutes.
Did Brad get to read the book before it was off to the printers?
Nobody’s reading it. Even my editor didn’t read it until it was done. Brad didn’t read it until very recently. I don’t like to share things. I don’t want anybody else’s voice in my head. It allows me to be as honest and as direct as possible.
Does Brad ever ask you not to write about something?
Never, not once.
Is there something you will never write about?
Yes.
Like what?
I’m not going to tell you [Laughs]. I’m not going to tell Variety! But sometimes I don’t write about something when it’s somebody else’s story to tell. If something focuses too much on another person and not on me, it’s not fair that a reader is getting a version of somebody else’s story through me.
When are you going to write a TV series that takes place on a cruise ship?
I did. I wrote a pilot many years ago about cruise ship entertainers called “The Big Splash.” It didn’t go anywhere.
Do you watch “Below Deck?”
We love “Below Deck.” I always identify with people working on the boat. I worked in the service industry for so many years so I’m always identifying with the crew – never a passenger. I identify with the crew and their struggles and dealing with the passengers.
In one essay you write about your first trip to London when you were enrolled in an acting program in college. On the first night, everyone went to see a production of “Richard III” but you opted for “Starlight Express.”
I was 19 and it was my first time traveling by myself. I was in England for the first time. Everyone was like, “We’re going to see Richard III,” and I was like, “I want to see this big splashy spectacle of a musical called ‘Starlight Express.’” But it was it was kind of not the experience that I should have been having that night.
Will you go see the new “Starlight Express” revival?
I’m not a fan, so I don’t anticipate it. But I did see Nicole Scherzinger in “Sunset Boulevard” in London and she was brilliant. I love Andrew Lloyd Weber but “Starlight Express” again? No.
Have you ventured into writing for Broadway?
I have not yet, but I would love to write the book to a musical. It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do.
I have to ask you to weigh in on Donald Trump once having a crush on Debra Messing while you were making “Will & Grace.”
[Laughs] I thought that was…odd. But I think I’ll leave it at that.
