Behind the Scenes With Lamar Odom

On most days, I’m a mild-mannered life insurance marketer, toiling away on my laptop computer in the quiet confines of my New Jersey home office. No hustle and bustle. No glamor. No bright lights.

But one day each year, all of that changes. Suddenly I find myself surrounded by bright lights and, occasionally, swooning fans. I’m in the presence of celebrity. Yes, it’s my annual pilgrimage to Hollywood for a video shoot with the new spokesperson for Life Insurance Awareness Month.

The setting for this year’s shoot was a high school gymnasium in the San Fernando Valley, a fitting place considering that our newest spokesperson is two-time NBA champion Lamar Odom. We didn’t publicize the fact that we’d be doing the shoot that day, but school officials knew and the students were abuzz in anticipation of the arrival of one of their hometown heroes. Some waited for close to two hours to catch a glimpse of Lamar. Finally, a sleek white Mercedes pulls up with darkly tinted windows. It’s parked, but no one emerges for a while. Lamar is finishing up a call. Then out he comes, wearing the coolest sweatsuit I’ve ever seen. The kids are giddy with excitement. Lamar signs some autographs and poses for a few pictures, but then it’s time to get to work.

We head off to a conference room to talk about the plan for the afternoon. Lamar couldn’t be any nicer. He’s sitting in a director’s chair having some makeup applied by the makeup artist who works with the entire Kardashian clan. He tells me that it can take up to several hours to get each of the Kardashian women ready for their public appearances and taping sessions. But guys are much easier. In 10 minutes, Lamar is ready to go. He quickly changes into a smart-looking black suit, blue shirt and tie, and we head off to the gym for the taping.

There’s just one more thing we need to do before we start. Entertainment Tonight has requested an interview with Lamar to talk about the public service announcement (PSA) campaign and other things going on in his life. Lamar gives them a preview of what he’ll be communicating in his public service messages. The reporter also slips in a question about reports that he and Khloé are trying to conceive. You can watch the ET clip here.

Then it’s time to focus on life insurance.

The taping session works out great. Lamar is passionate in his belief about the importance of life insurance. His appeal to the public stems from his very personal story of loss at a young age: “My mom worked hard to provide me with the opportunity to live up to my full potential. But sadly, she never got to see me grow up to be the person I am today. My mom died of colon cancer when I was 12 years old. Things could have gotten tough for me, but my mom made sure that didn’t happen. Life insurance gave me the foundation to move on in my life and it can do the same for your family.” We only need a few takes for each of the segments, and it’s a wrap on Lamar’s public service announcement.

Lamar signs a few Lakers T-shirts and glossy photos for us to give away during Life Insurance Awareness Month. We say our goodbyes. He exits the gym and the students are still waiting for him. He poses for a few more photos and signs more autographs, and then he’s off.

My once-a-year brush with celebrity is over. Time to catch the red-eye home.