From his most embarrassing moment to his thoughts about the reverse space, we get the personal and professional facts from Marty Bell, SVP of NRMLA, in our monthly edition of The Hot Seat.
My parents taught me humor and kindness.
You can’t always be your brother’s keeper.
When I was a kid I refereed Peter Bell’s basketball games. I didn’t want him to go home sad, so if he didn’t score, I put him on the foul line a lot near the end.
When I was younger I wanted to be taller.
I’ll never forget Sly and the Family Stone at the old Forest Hills Tennis Stadium in the summer of 1970.
My first job was editor and columnist at Sport magazine.
The craziest thing I’ve ever done was walk through Central Park at midnight—but I was with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Really!
Before I entered the reverse mortgage industry I was a Broadway producer, a politics junkie, thinner.
My most embarrassing moment was at the White House. Explanation required: I had the privilege of producing the first entertainment of the Clinton Administration. As I was teching in the East Room, I felt a tap on my shoulder, turned and found the first lady there in a revealing gown and jewels. I blurted out to Hillary Clinton, “My God, are you gorgeous.” We both blushed.
Every morning I read The New York Times first thing.
I can’t go without jokes.
My favorite time of the day is definitely night. I miss those late-night, post-show dinners in NYC.
The worst purchase I’ve ever made was two counterfeit tickets to a sold-out Knicks-Lakers game from a dude on 7th Avenue.
My favorite book is The Great Gatsby.
Something nobody knows about me is I was briefly married to Angelina Jolie.
I entered this industry because watching my parents age (they’re now 88) inspired me to want to help others through it.
The most fascinating thing about the reverse mortgage is its poetry: You spend most of your life working to support your home and then, when you can no longer work, your home supports you.
The biggest challenge in the reverse mortgage industry is clearly explaining an inherently complex product.
If I could change one thing about the reverse mortgage industry it would be the name of the product.
