scott simon of npr will report in our cover story. >> what would make a perfectly rational person run toward danger instead of away from it. >> i just reached down there and grabbed chase and pulled him out. >> the carnegie medal. >> later on "sunday morning." we'll meet some real heroes among us. >> pauley: our sunday profile this morning features viggo mortensen, an actor of diverse talents and many different roles as tracy smith will show us. >> much like snowflakes, no two viggo mortensen performances are alike. >> do these things. >> on purpose. >> my job is to look at the world from points of view other than my own. sometimes radically different. >> the greatest, raising his kids in the wild. off the beaten path with viggo mortensen, ahead on "sunday morning." >> pauley: 'tis the season for a drop in from techno-claus the man in red who some believe resembles our david pogue. >> two weeks before christmas and all through the land, the business of shopping for gifts is at hand. you want great ideas, it's not a lost cause s. good morning. coming up this year's visit from old techno-claus. >> pauley: on broadway is where actress sutton foster got her first break. she's still wowing them on stage. find time to talk to tower mo rocca. >> isn't just a two-time tony award winning triple threat. she's also a tv star. >> you are way too young for me. >> yet she hasn't gone hollywood. >> you want to go poop? we might greta poop. yeah. this is what -- >> a real actress cleans up her dog's poop. later on "sunday morning." >> that was excellent! >> the scoop on sutton foster. >> come on guys. >> pauley: richard schlesinger takes a walk with the very street smart comedian billy eichner. conor knighton is on the trail to hawaii's volcano's national park. bill flanagan remembers a chance encounter with with hero astronaut john glenn. now to the 1th of december, 2016. in some parts of our world this has been a terrible weekend. istanbul, turkey, two bombs near a soccer stadium left 38 people deads most of them police officers. 166 others were hurt. in nigeria, that church roof collapse killed some 160 worshippers. in egypt, a bomb went off in a christian coptic cathedral, 25 dead. and feignly in kenya a gas tanker truck exploded on a highway killing almost 40. iran announced today that it will spend $16.6 billion on 80 boeing passenger jets. it's the biggest business deal between the united states and iran since the 1979 islamic revolution. as promised, bob dylan skipped his nobel prize ceremony yesterday. but patti smith was there to sing in his place. smith was so nervous she forgot the lyrics to dylan's "a hard rain's a-gone nepal." audience loved her anyway. we'll have more on the mr. dylan later on sunday morning. a couple of college football items of note. louisville quarterback lamar jackson last night won the heisman trophy. and in baltimore, with the future commander in chief donald trump looking on, term finally defeated navy. final score 21-17. the cadets of west point hadn't beaten the midshipmen since 2001. today's weather. it's going to be stormy in the pacific northwest with snow in mountain regions. also fall from the midwest into the northeast. cold, too. no relief in sight in the week ahead. consider it a warm up to winter, - announcer: here at airbnb, we want to work with the city on new common-sense home sharing rules. to help protect affordable housing, we've launched a one host, one home policy. so hosts may now only rent space at one address in san francisco. and we want to work together to improve the city's permit system so that it's simple, fair and effective. together, we can make the new rules work acts of heroism in the face of mortal danger are unusual enough when they happen, there ought to be a medal. and scott simon of npr will now tell us, there is. >> do heross look like this. ashlee aldridge in auburn, illinois. >> i was making lunch for the kids and i had just finished cleaning up when i saw earl sitting out here yelling for help. >> she didn't know earl's name, just that he was a stranger in a wheelchair on the train tracks right outside her home. >> i went to the neighbors asked him if he could watch the kids so i could check on earl. >> earl is 75 years old. his wheelchair had gotten stuck on the train tracks he was stuck in his chair. >> at first i tried to lift the wheelchair up out of the tracks but i realized that wasn't going to work. so i grabbed him from behind and tried to lift him up over the wheelchair. >> he's a big guy. >> yes. >> the guard arms had closed. because a train was roaring straight at them. >> every time i looked up it was closer and the point when i actually was able to get him out, i was pulling him back and train smashed into the chair. it was seconds after i pulled him out. are you on the slide? >> heros like ashlee are courageous and rare. but each year, something called the carnegie hero fund commission gives medals, scholarships, medical expenses if required and award of about $5,000 to an average of 88 people in the united states and canada. lots of people think they know what a hero is. you have a particular definition. >> it's a person who is under no obligation to act, who puts his self or herself in serious risk of death or major injury to save the life of another human being. >> mark is chairman of the carnegie hero fund commission in pittsburgh. these people almost always rescuing strangers. they're not bound to them by family or tribe or any personal interest. >> the carnegie hero fund is one of many institutions founded by andrew carnegie. he came to pittsburgh from scotland when he was just a boy and rose to become one of the tight answer of the american steel industry. and one of the richest men in the world. in 1901 at the age of 65, he sold the carnegie corporation and put his billions to work in foundations, that still bear his name. >> he's a man of ideas, who is tremendously concerned with issues of peace and justice and ethics. and established organizations to support all of those things. >> and then, on the frigid january day, in 1904, a mine explosion near pittsburgh killed 181 men. andrew angie was shaken, he shared his sorrow in this letter pulled from the foundation's archive. i can't get those widows and children of the mine out of my head, he wrote. he was particularly moved by the stories to have men, selwyn taylor and daniel lyle who gave their lives trying to save men they had never met who were trapped in the mine. carnegie had two medals gave them to their families making taylor and lyle the first carnegie heroes. >> i really have to say that for our family in general, heroism has always been pretty high. >> linda is his great granddaughter. she sits on the board. >> a tragedy or something terrible can be taking place. whole bunch of people are standing there going, oh, my god, what do we d. or they run the other way. then this individual somehow finds that deeper, inner strength that are compelled to help this person in need. >> in the last 112 years over 9800 men, women stand children have been honored. each has a remarkable story. she was one of the first to receive the award. he rescued a man from drowning on july 17, 1904. march 26, 1912, 12-year-old henry matthews of alabama saved a 3-year-old from an abandoned well. professional boxer received the award twice, first time in 1958 when he rescued a man working on a dam on the ohio river. a second rescue attempt was unsuccessful, both men died. 28-year-old stitch received the award. >> on that second taking my boots stand coat off and i've decided i'm going in after. >> you may remember lenny skutnik. january 13, 1982, he dove into the frozen waters of the potomac river to save the plan crash victim as she began to drown. 78 people died that day. only five survivors then, thanks to lenny skutnik one of them was priscilla who lost her husband and baby in the crash. >> i swam off to the side. >> none think they did anything extraordinary. just something that you do. and yet we well know that that's not true. >> i ran towards it. i would hope this anybody would have done the same thing. >> but would we? andy is 29 years old, husband, father, car racer. he was on the track last year when he saw a rival car crash and burst into a fire ball. he stopped his own racer to run toward the one on fire and reached through the flames for the driver. a 14-year-old kid he'd never met named chase mcdermott. >> i just reached down there grabbed chase, all 90 pounds of him. they walked away from the fire unscathed. >> you risked four life for another human being. >> yeah. i guess so. you don't think of that stuff at that time. it didn't matter then. >> you worried for your own life? >> i don't know. i wasn't -- not at the time. i sure wasn't. >> so, eric, director of the carnegie hero fund presented andy with his medal quietly in the mcdermott family home as this hero preferred. >> thank you very much. >> i'm very honored to get it. i helps sink it all in some. nobody wants to be dubbed the hero, i guess. hard to access. everything is calling me a hero, to me it's just the right place, right time. >> defines us at human beings to take yourself from a place where you are safe to a place in grave danger, to try to save another life is uniquely human. i think it's a wonderful defining attribute of humanity. it makes us special. it makes those who can do that even more special. >> to date almost 89,000 people have been nominated for the award. you would be awed to hear almost any of their stories. only about one in ten is chosen. why did someone not measure up? >> the risk is the primary requirement in many of the cases. >> walter who is now president of the fund is one of its investigators for many years. >> there are life-saving deeds which is wonderful but they don't have that element of extraordinary risk that the commission requires. it's the damsel tied to the railroad track and the knight comes and unleashes her right before the train strikes. >> sometimes, the knight is a damsel, which brings us back to ashlee aldridge. >> it is indeed my honor to present the award to ashlee for her life-saving actions on september 15, 2015. >> biggest reward isn't a medal or money. >> i would want someone to do that for me if that was my grandpa. i just had to. >> just what a hero would say. >> pauley: coming up. >> just what a hero would say. >> pauley: coming up. we say cheese. thma treatment with breo. >> just what a hero would say. >> pauley: coming up. we say cheese. once-daily breo prevents asthma symptoms. breo is for adults with asthma not well controlled on a long-term asthma control medicine, like an inhaled corticosteroid. breo won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. breo opens up airways to help improve breathing for a full 24 hours. breo contains a type of medicine that increases the risk of death from asthma problems and may increase the risk of hospitalization in children and adolescents. breo is not for people whose asthma is well controlled on a long-term asthma control medicine, like an inhaled corticosteroid. once your asthma is well controlled, your doctor will decide if you can stop breo and prescribe a different asthma control medicine, like an inhaled corticosteroid. do not take breo more than prescribed. see your doctor if your asthma does not improve or gets worse. ask your doctor if 24-hour breo could be a missing piece for you. see if you're eligible for 12 months free at mybreo.com. i'm not a customer, but i'm calling about that credit scorecard. give it. sure! it's free for everyone. oh! well that's nice! and checking your score won't hurt your credit. oh! i'm so proud of you. well thank you. free at at discover.com/creditscorecard, even if you're not a customer. but...my doctor recommended prilosec otc 7 years ago, 5 years ago, last week. just 1 pill each morning. 24 hours and zero heartburn, it's been the number 1 doctor recommended brand for 10 straight years, and it's still recommended today. use as directed >> pauley: and now a page from our sunday morning almanac. december 11th, 1874, 142 years ago today. the day james lewis kraft was born on a small farm in the canadian province of ontario. as a young man, kraft went into the cheese business, ending up in chicago, where he sold his wares from a wagon for awhile. in 1914, kraft's company purchased its first cheese factory in stockton, illinois. his big break through came two years later when he received a patent for his improved process of sterilizing cheese, so that it would keep without spoiling. kraft's processed cheese quickly became a huge success. the u.s. army bought six million pounds of it during world war i. and millions of pounds more during world war ii. in between came a product welcomed by families struggling to make ends meet during the great depression. >> it was one our sales reps who put together cheese with the macaroni. >> pauley: a few years ago kraft food's eileen sharkey rosenfeld told the mac and cheese tale to "sunday morning." >> both both things together was in one package was just revolutionary. >> that brings us to another staple of the american diet, the grilled cheese sandwich with processed cheese dominating one category of the 2013 grilled cheese invitational. our bill geist spoke with founder tim walker. >> there's the love american style which is just white bread, orange cheese and butter no additional ingredients. >> how do you stand out in that category? >> grilling accumen. >> pauley: may argue that processed cheese isn't real cheese, that's hardly hurt it's popularity. >> ♪ american spells cheese k-r-a-f-t. >> when it comes to simplicity, practicality and a long shelf life, processed cheese stands alone. hungry yet? ahead -- >> how famous are you? >> i'm on my way. in my mind. jail comic billy eichner, street-wise. ♪ looking for clear answers for your retirement plan? start here. or here. even here. and definitely here. at fidelity, we're available 24/7 to make retirement planning simpler. we let you know where you stand, so when it comes to your retirement plan, you'll always be absolutely...clear. ♪ time to think of your future it's your retirement. know where you stand. it's just a cough.our cough,re sfx: woman coughing you'd see how often you cough all day. and so would everyone else. robitussin 12 hour delivers fast, powerful cough relief that lasts up to 12 hours. robitussin 12 hour cough relief, because it's never just a cough. ♪ in the martin greenery, where god paints the ken re, just two crazy people together ♪ when you love your love let blue skies be your cover ♪ at cancer treatment centers of america. the evolution of cancer care is here. learn more at cancercenter.com/experts announcement: thisbiggest of the decade.the with total accumulation of up to three feet. roads will be shut down indefinitely. and schools are closed. campbell's soups go great with a cold and a nice red. made for real, real life. >> go for a dollar be honest, who is hotter abraham link or barack obama. >> oh, barack obama. >> it all goes by my opinion. >> pauley: joking around with michelle obama is one way comic billy eichner burnishs his street smart credentials confronting regular folks on the street is another. richard schlesinger shows what we mean. >> who do you think is funnier, me or seth rogan,. >> oh, my, god, you. >> a million times. >> really? >> i don't think he's funny. >> he's right here. >> that voice is hard to miss. it belongs to billy eichner, one of the new voices in comedy. >> miss olivia wilde is beautiful. >> you're gorgeous. >> let's go! >> look at her skin. >> he is loud. and in your face. >> i like the movie i hope you do another one. >> thank you. it did make enormous amount of cash. >> we know you're very rich. >> he's starting to be heard in hollywood. >> nor a dollar, look who it is. >> the very city he loves to mock. >> what is his name? >> chris evans. >> no, chris pratt! >> how famous are you? >> i'm on my way. in my mind. i think i've made a lot of progress, i don't know what level of fame that is, but i'm fine with it. i actually really enjoy whatever it is i have right now. >> oh, my, god, it's you! >> yes! >> what he has is this show. for a dollar works would you rather meet your mother or neil patrick harris. >> he's right here. >> on the street, where 38-year-old eichner races around new york -- >> what's his name? >> with a-list celebrities like will ferrell in tow. along with many more. >> i'm john hamm i'm on billy on is the. >> confronting unsuspecting pedestrians. >> don't touch her. >> with a high octane, staccato show, slash, prank fest. >> stand down the stretch they come! >> slash, very low stakes game show. >> miss, for a dollar would you have sex with paul rudd? >> of course i would. >> here's a dollar. >> it started its fifth season now on tru tv. >> billy on the street character, if you know me, is extremely separate from who i am. >> he's loud, he's gay, i can tolerate him in small doses. >> his character is pushy, to say the least. >> okay, flotus, hold on, let me get in the cart. >> here he is being pushed around by first lady michelle obama. >> stop! stop! he also costars on "difficult people" a sitcom about bitter show biz wannabes, it was just renewed on hulu the video streaming service. >> what's today? >> tuesday. >> no, billy, it's thursday. >> what? >> you've been sleeping for three days. >> i slept for three days? until recently, until youtube, he could never have gotten where he did. >> tina fey. >> how he did? >> it's fashion week. >> yeah! [ screaming ] eichner invented billy on is the when he was appearing way off broadway in his own show. >> i go into a store. >> i'm bored. >> it got a little notice. when he put the show on youtube, it got a lot of notice. >> i could take these meeting in l.a. say, hey, half a million people think this video is great, look what they're saying about me on the blogs. like, this is beyond -- this will go beyond a small circle of people in manhattan and it did. >> he started performing in the smallest circle of all. as a child in his parents' living room. >> this is where i lived from like two years on. two years, this is my window right here. it's a very small apartment. >> he was raised in queens, new york. and billy the kid was one lousy neighbor. >> i would sing late at night. people would complain. i remember the neighbors coming down and knocking on our door and saying to my mom, we wish him the best of luck. but it's just very late. >> the songs were mostly numbers from the broadway shows his parents took him to see. >> i want a big hand for my man, bill, he's doing a tremendous job. >> by the time he was bar mitzvahed it was clear where he was headed. he knew it. >> ♪ we be jamimmin'. >> i do hope to see you in hollywood. >> i would put on a suit to watch the oscars. no one is proud of it. but it's what happened. >> nothing to be ashamed of. >> i don't know why but i had show business, performing arts in my blood from as far back as i can remember. >> the thing is, he could have been a rocket scientist or any other kind of scientist. no joking. >> does it look the same? >> looks exactly the same. it's a beautiful school. >> it is. >> are you up here? >> that's me. >> he was accepted into a famed high school for performing arts, but instead, he decided to attend the uber selective steve isn't that high school in new york, one of the top schools in the nation for math and science. >> i was a good student. this is where you went, if you got into this school you went. >> like eichner himself, billy on is the is not just smart, it's quick. >> for a dollar, that's the name of the theater david letterman films his tv show in. >> "the tonight show." >> , no, that never happened. >> no! >> matt day mob. >> if eichner and his act all seem ridiculous, it was tall serious enough for "the new yorker," yes, "the new yorker." >> they wrote about me in the new yorker. not too shabby. >> there was his profile alongside essays about photographer diane arbus and british politician, jeremy corbyn. eichner was dubbed, hyper literate in the language of pop culture. >> he love the incongruity of it. and we belong in the new yorker and we also belong, you know, on some pop culture blog. >> billy, do something crazy. >> if billy eichner is not a name in every household yet, that's okay. that's what he says, of course, he could be kidding. >> i'm very comfortable where i'm at. and as long as i keep working and doing good things, whatever fame comes along with that comes along. if it doesn't, it doesn't. >> i mean -- but it will, richard. >> you'll see to it, won't you? >> pauley: still to come. >> it's techno-claus. >> pauley: start making a list. but first. a musical treasure in tulsa. ,,,, ♪ it's a hard, it's it's a hard, it's a hard -- it's a hara fall ♪ >> that's patti smith singing bob dylan's a sneered rain's a-gonna fall" at yesterday's noble prize ceremony. but a presence nonetheless as he has been in our lives for more than half a century. >> ♪ you better start swimmin', or you'll sink like a stone ♪ is. >> pauley: the words were true then and they're true now. is the 20-something bob dylan who first sang them, well he's now 75. but stage hasn't mellowed america's poet. >> bob dylan! >> pauley: take winning the nobel prize in literature, the swedish academy couldn't even find dylan to tell him the news. when they did finally reach the singer-songwriter he was pleased by the honor. it wasn't totally unexpected, dill tan doesn't talk much. he just sings. and while his story is well-known, where the artifacts of that story are stored, is one of the best kept secrets around. >> what we're looking at is just the tip of the iceberg. >> pauley: welcome to the bob dylan archive. thousands of his personal writings and items, housed at the university of tulsa. michael chaiken is the curator. >> the biggest surprise, not just for me for but people who seriously studied his work was the amount of writing that bob managed to hold on to. >> pauley: why oklahoma? for starters it's the home state of woody guthrie one of dylan's biggest influences. and then there's the money. dylan sold his collection to the school for an undisclosed amount. reportedly as much as $15 million. and it is a treasure trove, among the items, the initial draft of one of the most famous songs of all time. >> ♪ once upon a time you dressed so fine. threw the bums a dime in your prime ♪ didn't you? >> these songs didn't arrive full formed. bob was a worker, whatever his native talents and his wit and his intelligence he had incredible writerly discipline. >> pauley: and here are his notes. the lyrics that would eventually become subterranean home sick blues. >> ♪ johnny's in the basement mixing up the medicine, i'm on the pivot snowing i ain't going to work on maggie's farm no more. >> pauley: there are musings that would become maggie's farm and tangled up in the blue. >> ♪ i had a job in the great north woods, working as a cook for a spell ♪ but i never did like it all that much. >> pauley: along with manuscripts, musical instruments. >> this is the tambourine that inspired the song the tambourine man. >> pauley: also clothes. this is the leather jacket dylan wore the night he went electric. and was boed by fans who felt betrayed. ♪ there's his first publishing contract. >> in 1962 bob got a thousand dollars advance. >> pauley: the goal is to make the archive available to researchers, scholars and the public. but will the man himself pay a visit? >> would you have to ask bob dylan, i don't know. >> pauley: what we do know is what it means to the rest of us. ♪ hey, mr. tambourine man, play a song for me ♪ park pashim not sleepy and there ain't no place i'm going to ♪ >> pauley: ahead. we're broadway bound with sutton foster. long-acting insulin that lasts iba® is a once-daily, even longer than 24 hours. i want to trim my a1c. ♪ tresiba® ready ♪ tresiba® provides powerful a1c reduction. releases slow and steady. works like your body's insulin. when my schedule changes... i want something that delivers. ♪ tresiba® ready ♪ i can take tresiba® any time of day. so if i miss or delay a dose, i take it when i remember, as long as there's at least 8 hours between doses. once in use, it lasts 8 weeks without refrigeration... twice as long as lantus®, which lasts 4 weeks. tresiba® is used to control high blood sugar in adults with diabetes. don't use tresiba® to treat diabetic ketoacidosis, during episodes of low blood sugar, or if you are allergic to any of its ingredients. don't share needles or insulin pens. don't reuse needles. the most common side effect is low blood sugar, which may cause dizziness, sweating, confusion, and headache. check your blood sugar. low blood sugar can be serious and may be life-threatening. injection site reactions may occur. tell your doctor about all medicines you take and all your medical conditions. taking tzds with insulins, like tresiba®, may cause serious side effects like heart failure. your insulin dose shouldn't be changed without asking your doctor. get medical help right away if you have trouble breathing... fast heartbeat, extreme drowsiness, swelling of your face, tongue, or throat, dizziness, or confusion. ask your doctor if you're tresiba® ready. ♪ tresiba® ready ♪ ♪ i greta kick out of you >> jay: that's sutton foster singing the coal porter classic. she's been a star on broadway for awhile now. and though she's branched out recently she's never forgotten her first big break. mo rocca has her tori. >> you're going out a youngster, but you've got to come back a star. >> it's that show biz myth. >> there she is now. >> as old as show biz itself. the under study who overnight becomes a star. ♪ this street 1922 >> but it actually happened. to sutton foster. in the year 2000, foster was the 25-year-old under study to the lead in the broadway-bound musical "thoroughly modern hillly." >> ♪ in my heart he'll be somebody ♪ >> the director michael mayer called her. >> the woman playing hillly has left the show and the role is yours. i was on the other line with the boyfriend at the time. stand i was like, what? like, clicked off with michael mayer, went back to the boyfriend, i was like, i have to call you back. >> but the fact is everything today is thoroughly modern ♪ it. >> was just one week before opening night. >> you have made a mistake. i said that i was like crying. you made a mistake like why would you take a risk on me. ♪ hillly now!" >> it was a risk that paid off. foster went out unknown and came back with her first tony award. >> sutton foster! >> one of the things i'm most proud san francisco that the opportunity came and i was ready. mean, i was prepared. i knew my stuff. i worked really hard. i stepped in. >> ♪ yes, for now we'll go on living ♪ >> sutton fosters was born in georgia, started dancing when she was four years old. her father worked for general motors. her mother, whose dream of becoming a model never worked out. gently nudged sutton and her older brother hunter on to the stage. when mrs. foster saw that a local theater company was producing "annie" she knew who should play the title role. >> my mother said, you should audition. and i was like, i don't want to. i want to play with my friend. my mom is like, should you go. bethany can come, too. we went to the audition, i had to sing. my mom said the room got really quiet. then they cast me as annie. >> ♪ the sun will come out tomorrow, you've got to long on until tomorrow ♪ >> you said your mother was a stage mother? >> wouldn't say my mom was that stage mom. because she wasn't like momma rose, wasn't like that. but i will say she encouraged us to go to the library, take out musicals to listen. because we didn't know what broadway was. what is phantom. she wasn't like aggressive. stage mom has such a negative connotation. she was responsible. >> welcome, 15-year-old, sutton foster. >> it was foster's mother who saw the ad to audition for the tv show that sutton was obsessed with. >> ♪ you're my world, you're every prayer, i pray ♪ >> challenger sutton foster receives three and a half stars. >> i lost. you. came in second. >> out of two people. >> that's kind of gumption that endeared foster to audiences in show-stopping role after role after role. she won her second tony in coal porter's "anything goes." ♪ anything goes >> when you were reno in "anything goes" there was that impossible to believe eight minute tap dance. >> i kept thinking it would gettysier, it never did. i thought, my face was going to explode. ♪ they would never believe fit my friends could see me now ♪ >> foster can sing and she can dance. but what sets her apart is her acting. ♪ a lot of people say, what's most important, acting, singing or dancing. i would say, acting. singing without acting is just noise. >> it's going to be fast. >> dancing without acting is just arm movement. i don't feel like i'm just moving around and doing like fancy footwork. >> that's it. >> same thing going with singing. someone can sing upper high notes. >> ♪ tonight i've landed >> put if it's not based on any reality or any purpose it's just show boating. >> ♪ if my friends could see me now ♪ >> it's the acting that plays lead in her current role as charity hope valentine. >> ♪ the minute you walk in the joint ♪ >> the dance hall hostess searching for love in the new group's off-broadway production of "sweet charity." >> ♪ good looking. >> the part was made famous on stage give gwen verdon and by shirley mcklain. foster's charity is surprisingly funny. >> give me your hand. >> no less poignant. what is charity doing wrong that she has this string of relationships and she can't quite seem to get it right? >> charity is desperate to be saved. ♪ there's got to be something better than this ♪? >> she wants to be saved from the life that these in. she thinks maybe a man will save her. if it's a guy. he's the one. ♪ i'm going to get up >> charity is a woman struggling to figure out what will make her happy. foster faced a similar quandary after her divorce from actor christian borle in 2009. >> i kept equating it to like someone took my purse and dumped it out on the sidewalk it was all my -- all my stuff everywhere. for three years, i was like sludging through mud to sort of rebuild myself. >> very evocative image, dump your purse out, sounds like something that would happen to charity. >> totally. >> we go way back. what's interesting is that i know her. because i think i have been her. luckily i don't feel like i'm her now. >> frost is he now married to screen writer ted griffin. >> you are always compared to mary tyler moore, are you ever tempted to throw your hat up in the air. she stars in "younger." >> you are way too young for me. >> i'm 26, dude. we're the same age. >> she place 40-something single mom passing herself off as a 26-year-old to get work. >> donald trump wants to wear the crown. tell him, no. >> okay. >> amy schumer wants to wear the crown. >> on it. >> this isn't so big a stretch. >> yeah. >> a word that was used to describe you a lot was plucky. >> plucky. >> how did you feel about that word? >> plucky. i mean, it's pretty right on. especially in my youth. i've been like 15 my entire life. my tag line on my phone says sent from the land of puppy dogs and rainbows. i look at that time the world with rose-colored glasses. incredibly hopeful. in many ways still very naive. i think a lot of that has helped me. meaning minority of naivety has gotten me in trouble at times but also i haven't stopped myself from doing things. >> you live in new york city where you work on the stage, just a couple miles away and do a tv show in town. you're living the dream. >> it's pretty cool! >> pauley: next -- here comes techno-claus. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, >> pauley: 'tis the season for gifts. a challenge that cries out for techno-claus, who some people think there's a striking resemblance to david pogue of yahoo tech. >> good morning. yes, it's techno-claus, your gift suggesting friend. appearing on night only, for your pleasure, at year's end. let's be glad this year is over, if i may be frank. with zika, brexit, violence, that election, this year stank! let's turn our minds to brighter things, like what i've brought this year. some hi-tech gifts all guaranteed to spread a little cheer. if you, like me, are longing for less awful years gone by, the classic nes nintendo might just catch your eye. it plugs into your tv here and presto, you're in biz, with 30 games from days of yore, your teenage years, that is. a picture frame that's digital, it's not a new idea. but get your folks a nice one like dis nixplays, you send them shots remote freethrow from your laptop or phone, they will show up in shanghai while you're back here in bayonne. the metal frame looks great, the screen goes dark when it decides that nobody is near. the zus is for your car, you see you plug it in as shown. it charges two devices, like your tablet and your phone. and when the night has fallen, look, it lights up in the dark. best of all, it notes your car's position when you park. an app directs you back to it like radar scans of old. it's 30 bucks in plastic or 500 bucks in gold. alarm clocks wake you up with noise, like hammers in your head. but this one wakes you up with smells. like mint or toasted bread. it's called the sensorwake a handy moniker because, when morning comes a lovely scent goes wafting up your schnozz. if three minutes pass you are still out cold the music plays as back up like alarming clocks of old. it seems as though all things in life go digital one day. and now, it seems, a notebook has seen fit to go that way. the wave, it's called, you use it with dis special kind of pen. you make your brilliant sketches as you always have and then, an app, a snap and presto, all your notes are now online. it's in your e-mail, google docs, what have you. see? here's mine. and when it's full you just erase it, use again. see, look. you pop it in the microwave and simply cook the book. it's all just stuff. i'll grant you dat, but, hey, be of good cheer. i'll also try to bring you all, a happier next year. >> pauley: next -- it's amazing how much history and knowledge sen cased in each one of these individuals. thank you so much for your time. >> pauley: living history. ,,,,, >> pauley: steve hartman has found a young man who means to keep their stories of heroism alive. >> for as long as he can remember, 19-year-old rishi sharma has been fascinated with world war ii. but it wasn't until recently that he realized, this history is still living. >> there are real super hero world war ii vets out there and i wouldn't meet them. >> so in 2014, as a junior in high school, rishi made it his mission. >> i ditched so many days of high school to go do an interview. >> you were skipping school to go interview vets? >> yeah. i started riding my bike to the local senior home. i interviewed those guys. then i started driving. >> today he tries to meet one a day. >> every single day. >> drives all over southern california searching out every world war ii cam bat vet he can find. >> i had lot of missions. >> like ernie isly. >> they were going to make a big camp there and attack us at night. >> he talks to these guys for hours. then gives the recordings to the families. so far he has interviewed more than 210 combat vets. a remarkable total. but a monumental failure as far as he's concerned. rishi says we're losing about 400 ward or ii vets a day. he can't tuck the to them fast enough. >> it's amazing how much history and knowledge sen cased in each one of these individuals. and how much is lost when one of them dies without sharing their story. the fact is i wake up every day to obituaries, guys who i wanted to interview and i have to find out that they died. >> at this point i should tell you, rishi doesn't come from a military family. his parents i am grated here from india. and yet, he cares more about our greats generation than any teenager i have ever met. >> my name is rishi sharma. >> in addition he calls at least five world war ii vets a day just to thank them for their service and sacrifice. >> it means a great deal to me that you were willing to endure all of that so that i could be here today. >> thank you very much. >> thanking veterans and preserving their legacies is so important to rishi, he's now delaying college, starting a go fund me and expanding his mission across the country. >> this is a map of all the places i am planning to go to. >> this is multi-year trip? >> i'm going to be on the road for years. yeah. >> i thank you so much for your time. >> nice to know. as long as there are world war ii veterans willing to talk there will be at least one young man willing to listen. >> i mean it. >> you mean a lot to me. >> i swore to protect you. >> can you protect me from yourself. >> pauley: still to come, viggo mortensen. and later. >> it's so impressive. we go with the flow. and at progressive, we let you compare our progressive direct rate... great deals for reals! ...and our competitors' rates side-by-side, so you know you're getting a great deal. saving the moolah. [ chuckles ] as you can see, sometimes progressive isn't the lowest. not always the lowest! jamie. what are you doing? -i'm being your hype man. not right now. you said i was gonna be the hype man. no, we said we wouldn't do it. i'm sorry, we were talking about savings. i liked his way. cha-ching! talking about getting that moneeeey! talking about getting that moneeeey! savings worth the hype. now that's progressive. >> you must die. >> none but the king of gondor may command me. >> it's "sunday morning" on cbs and here again is jane pauley. >> pauley: the lord of the rings movie trilogy made viggo mortensen a very big star. added proof for anyone who needs it that he can command just about any kind of role. tracy smith has our sunday profile. >> i can avoid being seen if i wish. but to disappear entirely. >> who are you? where are you taking us? >> into the wild. >> watching his bold hero sicks in the lord of the rings trilogy it's clear that the camera loves viggo mortensen. >> there's always hope. >> but the soft-spoken actor isn't so sure whether the feeling's mutual. >> the camera's your friend. >> but it's like this person that's there that doesn't talk. but they have really good eyesight and -- >> that's very true. >> you should be on your toes. it's this mute, hawkeyed friend that doesn't know how to keep a secret. i'm not afraid of you. let us together rebuild this world. that we may share in the days of peace. >> making friends with the camera has turned mortensen into a respected movie star. his holes ranging from blockbuster king. >> i'm going to do his teeth and cut off listeningers. >> to art house village. with some sparks along the way. but his most recent movie "captain fantastic" finds mortensen, who has 28-year-old son, playing a part he says he's more comfortable these days, a dad. >> what ben and i have created here may be unique in all of human existence. we created paradise out of plato's republic. >> i play a father of six children. and we live off the grid. we live in the middle of the forest in the northwest. >> why did mommy have to be gone so long? >> something tragic happens which makes them have to leave the forest. >> attention all campers, this is your captain speaking. here we have the embodiment of calvin coolidge's statement that the business of america is business. >> when they leave the forest and meet other kids, other families, see towns, see cities. they're socially inept, which is understandable. >> what's wrong with everyone? are they sick? >> what do you mean? >> everyone teas so fat. >> yeah, they are. >> fat like hipposz that's not nice to say. >> but look. >> the movie got good reviews and there's lots of awards buzz. but in typical dad fashion he wants to share all the credit with his young cast mates. >> you'll fall in love with these six kids. >> my goodness. they're beautiful. >> mortensen's own childhood was an international one. born in manhattan his mother was american, his father danish, he spent his first decade of life in south america, argentina mostly. when his parents divorced he moved with his mom to upstate new york. when you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? >> a crow was probably what i wanted to be. >> really? why is that? what is it about crows? >> they are survivors. they can live anywhere. they're self sufficient. adaptable. >> that sounds like you. >> yeah. >> do you think you could live off the grid? >> yeah. >> today, the divorced actor splits his time between spain, where his girlfriend lives, and wherever work is. always making sure he can get outdoors often alone. >> some people, if they're not on the phone or hearing the radio or interacting with swab, you know, every half hour sore they start to get nervous. it's like, where is everybody, you know. it's like, i'm glad nobody's here, personally. except you and me. >> all right. thanks for adding that, video goa. he took an acting class on a whim in his early 20s never expecting it would become a career. >> eeyo! >> but a small part in "witness. the got viggo noticed. >> look what i got. i mean, look at me! you got everything, man. >> from there the jobs just kept coming. >> a bird will fall frozen dead from a bough, without ever having felt sorry for itself. >> you have some skill with a blade. >> but this is the role he nearly turned down. cast as the last minute, mortensen was unsure he could do the part. >> i swore to protect you. can you protect me from yourself? >> but his son, henry, who was 11 at the time, told him to grasp the ring. >> he said, dad, that's -- should you do that. it will take a long time, i'm not really ready. he said, you should figure it out. could be good. >> your son convinced you? >> he was right. >> what was his review? >> fortunately it was good. he liked it. >> so did just about everyone else, the film trilogy is one of the most successful franchises of all time. and turned mortensen into tan international movie star. >> mostly look at it as a positive thing. this attention that we got from the extraordinary success because it gave me opportunities. it gave me more options, more stories to pick from. >> this is headquarters? >> yep, this is perceval press. >> chance to tell a few stories of his own. >> our knewer books are out here. new music, too. bunch of cds. >> with money he made from lord of the rings, mortensen was able to start his own publishing company, perceval press, where he can help out lesser known stars in other fields. >> this is a typical book of ours. something that might not have been published otherwise and certainly not in this way. >> it's also tan outlet for mortensen's other talent, poetry and painting, photography and music. >> you're in a very wrong place, anna. you belong in there. with nice people. >> he's found poetic moments in his act cang rear, too. when his role in 2007's eastern promises got him a slew of best actor nominations, he brought his movie-loving mom as his date. >> the best experience that season, where i was nominated that move see was the sag awar awards. he directed this and that and that. and that's john travolta. she goes, hang on a second. she gout walked over, hello, then she pointed over to me. that's my son. i was like, wow, it was great. it was great. she's gone now. but we did do that. and i'm really -- that was a special -- dash very memorable experience. >> that's precious. >> yeah. >> our children shall be philosopher kings. makes me so indescribably happy. >> now, with captain fantastic, there's talk he'll be nominated for some big awards once again. but whatever happens next, viggo says he's already won. >> as far as acting, i mean, if "captain fantastic" was my last role, i've had a good run. that wouldn't be too bad a way to go out. but you never know. then the chronic, widespread pain slowed me down. my doctor said moving more helps ease fibromyalgia pain. she also prescribed lyrica. fibromyalgia is thought to be the result of overactive nerves. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. for some, lyrica can significantly relieve fibromyalgia pain and improve function, so i feel better. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior. or swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters, muscle pain with fever, tired feeling, or blurry vision. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. those who have had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. with less pain, i can be more active. ask your doctor about lyrica. ♪ fifty years ago, humpback whales were nearly extinct. they rebounded because a decision was made to protect them. making the right decisions today for your long-term financial future can protect you and your family, and preserve your legacy. ask a financial advisor how retirement and life insurance solutions from pacific life can help you plan for your future. >> pauley: earlier we met every day heroes who risk mortal danger in order to save others. now, our bill flanagan remembers the time he met an american hero of the sort you really don't meet every day. former astronaut and senator, john glenn. who died this past week at age 95. >> i met john glenn at a reception at the white house in may of 2012. a woman came up to me and said she and her parents were fans of "sunday morning," would i mind saying hello to them. i said, sure, what are your folks' names. she said, john and annie glenn. i almost fell over. i've met a lot of famous people, but john glenn was in a different league. >> i don't know any words ii this except the trite ones. >> my first grade teacher rolled a big black and white tv into our classroom so we could all witness the launch of his 1962 orbit around the earth. >> three... two... one: pray for safe return. >> that view is tremendous! >> i tried to think of something to say to him that wasn't a cliche. i told myself, don't bring up the earth orbit, the presidential run, return to space when he was a 77-year-old senator. so as we were introduce i just pulled something out of the air. i said, senator glenn, did you ever meet lindbergh? john glenn's answer amazed me. charles lindbergh? did i some test piloting for him when he was an aviation executive. but i didn't get to know him until we flew together in the pacific in world war ii. now i was stunned. charles lindbergh, you probably know, went from being most beloved man after crossing the atlantic in 1927 to being hated during ward war ii. lindbergh had campaigned to keep the united states out of the war. >> i do not believe that our american ideals and our way of life will gain through tan unsuccessful war. >> by the time the pearl harbor he was denounced asanas auto sympathizer. he tried to get into combat to redeem his name but no branch of the service would have him. finally, lindbergh was so desperate to get into the fight he flew himself to the middle of the pacific war and volunteered as a civilian advisor. he went into aerial combat 50 times. devised way to deliver payloads of bombs to the japanese mainland get the planes back to base without running out of fuel. stand all of this was done in secret. but no where in any book on either man that i can find is there any mention that one of the hotshot fighter pilots sent up to guard lindbergh's flank was a young ace named john glenn. the most famous aviator of the 1920s and most famous astronaut of the 1960s, flew into combat together in the 1940s. when lindbergh's glory was years behind him and glenn's was years in the future. not long after that meeting at the white house, i visited the national air and space museum. in the same room are two great physical icons, charles lindbergh's spirit of st. louis and john glenn's mercury space capsule. most fame is fleeting. only a few men grow larger with the passage of time. heroes are always exceptions. there was only one john glenn. >> pauley: ahead -- there's a chamber that is coming up from the hot spot feeding the molten magma. >> pauley: on the trail in hawaii. impressive linda. it seems age isn't slowing you down. but your immune system weakens as you get older increasing the risk for me, the shingles virus. i've been lurking inside you since you had chickenpox. i could surface anytime as a painful, blistering rash. one in three people get me in their lifetime, linda. will it be you? and that's why linda got me zostavax, a single shot vaccine. i'm working to boost linda's immune system to help protect her against you, shingles. zostavax is a vaccine used to prevent shingles in adults fifty years of age and older. zostavax does not protect everyone and cannot be used to treat shingles or the nerve pain that may follow it. you should not get zostavax if you are allergic to gelatin or neomycin, have a weakened immune system or take high doses of steroids are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. the most common side effects include redness, pain, itching, swelling, hard lump warmth or bruising at the injection site and headache. it's important to talk to your doctor about what situations you may need to avoid since zostavax contains a weakened chickenpox virus. remember one in three people get shingles in their lifetime, will it be you? talk you to your doctor or pharmacist about me, single shot zostavax. you've got a shot against shingles. >> pauley: conor knighton is in hawaii where the heat is on. >> at close to 2,000 degrees fahrenheit molten lava can be deadly. but its orange glow is also a reminder of just how alive our planet is. here on the big island of hawaii, the youngest island in our youngest state, new land is being formed every minute. as magma from far beneath the earth's surface bubbles up to crackle and cool. >> it's so impressive to see the lava. it you understand we live on this giant, burning cinder. but we never see. that living in new york, when you walk around new york you don't think there's lava like way below me. >> right. >> but here you remember that. >> when robert trickey looks out his windows he gets a daily reminder of how lava built this island. >> my property goes out a little way. >> he built his home here in 2000. a modern structure of glass and concrete that was designed across the pacific by san francisco architect craig steely. it was the first in what has become a series for steely, his lava flow homes. while some would see this jagged, rocky landscape as a challenge, steely saw it as an opportunity. the land is some of the newest land in the country. >> is that exciting to have a chance to build on that? >> it is exciting. also it teams like responsibility to do something right on it. >> steely and his family spend part of the year in lava flow 2. this is all like natural. this is -- >> a small 1400 square foot home, he designed for himself after falling in love with this area. >> what i enjoy most about architecture is building buildings that really compliment and amplify and really connect with where they're located. >> in real estate, it's all about location. and when your location is near an active, erupting volcano, the land comes cheaply for a reason. >> so kilauea volcano are over a geologic hot spot. a magma chamber coming up from the hot spot feeding the molten magma. >> jessica is a ranger at hawaii volcanos national park. that's volcanos, plural. maunu lua the largest volcano on earth last erupted in 1984. kiilaauea has been continuously erupting. >> we like to joke we're the only national park that we get our land for free. kilauea has created more than 550 acres of new land since 1983. >> the east rift zone isn't far from trickey's neighborhood. laugh valves last year in 1955, it will almost certainly be here again. do you think about what could happen in the future? >> sure. that's an interesting question people ask. how can you live mere knowing that it could come. you just make your peace witness. you just simply know that it's part of life. in some ways it makes you remember life is passing. it's not permanent. you're not like permanently here. >> for steely that's part of the allure. it's modern architecture for the present moment. >> i think the fact that it is transient, the fact that it could be gone tomorrow makes you really aware of your time here. in a way makes you appreciate it more. >> for those who live along the lava, it's a mindset. an appreciation for the land and an ability to go with the flow. >> pauley: before we take a leave this morning. some miscellaneous business. we begin apt the mall of america outside minneapolis which welcomed its first black santa claus last weekend. he's larry jefferson, whom we first met last summer when luke burbank took us to a santa convention in bronson, missouri. sadly enough, larry's debut provoked a few racist slurs. far outweighed by expression of support. why does he play santa? let him tell you. >> i do it because bus i love it. i love being san. that i love bringing smiles and joy and happiness to people. >> now what doyle owens brought to people over the years was unclaimed airline baggage, lots and lots of it. his unclaimed baggage center which he started in 1970 buys abandoned luggage, sight unseen, from airlines. and sells it to shoppers, about a million a year, who hope to find treasure inside. >> you say you got your watch here? >> i did. i have my cartier wristwatch. >> his son explained the idea to our bill geist when he visited the huge scots bore row, alabama, warehouse back in 2005. >> it's a little bit like christmas every day. you have no idea what's in them. >> we have no idea -- don't have a clue what's in them. >> brian's father died eight days ago at the age of 856789 but the unclaimed baggage center that he founded lives on. >> it's 9:00 our store is now open. >> pauley: finally this. a letter from minnesota's leta shaffer saying in her words, how about equal time for cats? please do your research give us an honest and genuine story about cat lovers, who, she says, out number dog lovers in this country. we're not sure about that. but without a doubt we're overdue for a cat story. which we will do, miss shaffer, programs. with that, we to go john dickerson in washington for look what's ahead on "face the nation." good morning, john. >> dickerson: good morning, jane. did the russians try to elect donald trump. we'll talk to john mccain who wants a an investigation. donald trump dismisses it we'll talk to his top aide and we'll also talk to bernie sanders. >> pauley: sounds great. thanks. next week, here on "sunday morning." >> it's nice to be taught. >> tracy smith talks with actress nicole kidman. >> don't walk. >> i do walk funny. shuts stomach's active acid pumps... to stop the burn of frequent heartburn... all day and night. have we seen them before? banish the burn with nexium 24hr. so we know how to cover almost almoanything.hing, even a rodent ride-along. [dad] alright, buddy, don't forget anything! [kid] i won't, dad... [captain rod] happy tuesday morning! captain rod here. it's pretty hairy out on the interstate.traffic is literally crawling, but there is some movement on the eastside overpass. getting word of another collision. 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