Warning: This post contains spoilers for Season 2 of Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty.
TWO EPISODES INTO the second season of HBO's Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, Jerry Buss's (John C. Reilly) concern about his and his team's legacy is starting to manifest in erratic ways. In the season premiere, he tries to buy players' loyalty with exorbitant contracts to maintain the championship legacy he began at the end of Season 1 and had a Logan Roy-esque blowout at a family Monopoly game night, berating his children for not having the killer instinct necessary to survive in the business world. In the latest episode, he celebrates his mother on the anniversary of her death with a soberingly endearing speech about her importance in their family's success before rekindling a romance with an old flame that could play a huge part in his legacy—Honey Kaplan.
Buss, the flagrantly promiscuous playboy, peruses his scrapbook of romantic conquests at the end of the season premiere before he is frozen in nostalgia at a photo of Honey. Decadent nights out flood his thoughts as he reminisces with his daughter, Jeanie (Hadley Robinson), about how Honey is the only one of his numerous romantic partners who saw him as more than a degenerate millionaire party addict. Even Jeanie vaguely remembers how nice she was through the haze of women Buss shuffled through throughout the years. So, it's no wonder Buss tracked her down and convinced her to attend an intimate fireside dinner date at his palatial estate. As much as he's trying to reconnect with Honey, Buss also tries to rebuild the family structure he bulldozed over in his relentless pursuit of fame and fortune.
By now, we all know Winning Time is the furthest thing from a documentary, so the truth is more of a starting point than a barrier. In an interview, Reilly stressed the importance of Honey's inclusion in Buss's life on the show, stating that Buss was "trying to replace his mother, trying to rebuild his family, trying to make up to his kids for his lack of fathering when they were younger." It looks like she'll be staying around for a bit, so it's best to get to the bottom of who she really is.
Who Is Honey Kaplan?
When Buss rolls back into her life in Winning Time, Honey is somewhat of a childcare provider who reformed from a past life that once included being thrown into a pool to put out a fire. Even though she initially reduces Buss's memory of her as "the girl who used to blow you in your Mustang," they share fond memories of his late mother and trust in one another to share their flaws, suggesting a deeper connection. In real life, there's one woman who Buss had too many marital disputes, lawsuits, and sordid tales from past relationships for Honey to be the representation of only one woman.
Based on the relationship timeline and some key personal details, Honey would be based on Marsha Lee Osborne, who claimed to have met Buss in an elevator hotel in 1969 when she was 19, and Buss was 36. Her storied relationship with Buss fits Winning Time's brand of dysfunctional drama perfectly. From her recollection, she and Buss lived together on and off for 15 years and promised to take care of her for the rest of her life. And she took that promise seriously, legally changing her name to Puppi Buss. Osborne did manage daycare centers as it appears Honey does in Winning Time, but it's only after she and Buss's time together ended that she sued him for $25 million in palimony.
Another potential inspiration for Honey is Veronica Buss, a woman who sued Buss for allegedly marrying her while he was still married to another woman. Karen Demel, the only other woman he had children with other than his ex-wife JoAnn Mueller, would be the only other logical choice as an inspiration for Honey. We'll have to wait for the rest of the season to see if Honey ends up giving birth, taking Buss to court for extramarital deception, or both.
Who Plays Honey Kaplan in Winning Time?
What we know for sure is that Ari Graynor portrays the charismatic Honey. The 40-year-old actress has a knack for playing characters with the sort of witty discernment that is formidable for a slick talker like Jerry Buss. Her role as ambitious stand-up comedian Cassie Feder in Showtime's I'm Dying Up Here, strong-willed Eva Destruction from Whip It, and the hilarious misfit Caroline from Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist is what she's known for. That last TV show you likely saw her in was as duplicitous best friend Caroline in Apple TV's disappointing drama Surface. But, for the foreseeable future, she's Jerry Buss's Honey.
Based on the relationship timeline and some key personal details, Honey would be based on Marsha Lee Osborne, who claimed to have met Buss in an elevator hotel in 1969 when she was 19, and Buss was 36. Her storied relationship with Buss fits Winning Time's brand of dysfunctional drama perfectly.
Honey Kaplan in Winning Time season 2 is an amalgamation of several of Jerry Buss's real-life love interests. Jerry Buss had two sons with Karen Demel after his divorce from JoAnn Mueller. The timing of his fictional rekindled flame with Honey could align with his factual relationship with Demel.
On February 14, 2013, four days before his death, it was revealed that Buss had been battling cancer since 2012. After being hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center with an undisclosed form of cancer, he died of kidney failure on February 18, 2013, aged 80.
Buss, who was 80 when he died of kidney failure on February 18, was worth millions, most of which he left to his family trust. But he set a little aside for a woman in Hawaii - namely his condo in Honolulu and his 2009 Bentley luxury car.
On August 9, 2021, Kaplan resigned from her role as chairwoman of Time's Up, after she was named in the report released on August 3, 2021, by New York Attorney General Letitia James that followed the investigation of sexual harassment allegations against New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, and after an open letter from a ...
But not before a swarm of dedicated fans paid their respects to the Lakers' captain by mobbing him at the arena to give him vinyl records to replace the one he lost in the fire.
" 'Winning Time' is not a documentary. It's almost dramatic non-fiction," Pearlman tells USA TODAY. "But they really got the attack on the bus right, the intensity of it. The fear was legit."
However, Kevin Messick, an executive producer on the series, referred to a dip in ratings during the show's second season, as well as the actors' inability to promote the show amid the ongoing strikes by members of SAG-AFTRA and the Writers Guild of America, according to Vulture, which spoke with Messick and was first ...
As the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers from 1979 until he passed away in 2013, Dr. Jerry Buss oversaw one of the greatest stretches in sports and entertainment history. His beloved Lakers made it to the Finals 16 times – nearly half of his 33 seasons – and won 10 championships while missing the playoffs only twice.
In the legal action, Carnegie was awarded what was then the largest divorce settlement in history—$42 million (equivalent to $176 million in 2023). The "record divorce settlement precipitated his sale of the Lakers, the Kings and the Forum to Jerry Buss".
The University of Wyoming graduate earned a master's degree and then a PhD in physical chemistry from USC in 1957, becoming the Dr. Jerry Buss who made a fortune in real estate and purchased the Lakers a little more than two decades later.
Buss had a complex personal life, with multiple marriages and seven children. His daughter, Jeanie Buss, took over as controlling owner and president of the Lakers after his death in 2013.
Buss made his fortune in real estate, and it was his 20 years of experience in the field that helped start his new life as the owner of the Lakers, which would overshadow anything he's ever done in his life.
Honey Boy is a 2019 American drama film directed by Alma Har'el with a screenplay by Shia LaBeouf, loosely based on his childhood and his relationship with his father. The film stars LaBeouf, Lucas Hedges, Noah Jupe and FKA Twigs. LaBeouf originally wrote the script as a form of therapy while in rehab.
The lab tested eight Allowrie samples as well as IGA's Black & Gold private label and ALDI's Bramwell's private label brand, which are blended local and imported honey, and detected adulteration in almost half the samples.
He's real! The real teacher was called Robert Kaplow, he's Roger Kaplan in the show, played by Michael Nouri. Kaplow was a teacher a couple of towns over from Westfield, and he did actually write letters to a house in Westfield, as in the show.
Hobby: Reading, Ice skating, Foraging, BASE jumping, Hiking, Skateboarding, Kayaking
Introduction: My name is Cheryll Lueilwitz, I am a sparkling, clean, super, lucky, joyous, outstanding, lucky person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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