‘The Mystery Hour with Jeff Houghton’ returns to Iowa City

The University of Iowa Career Center changed Jeff Houghton's life. The City High alum, class of 1996, wasn't certain about career direction while attending college.

"I chose communications because it was so broad," Houghton said. "I had no idea what I was going to do at that time of my life."

When Houghton, 46, was looking for an internship, he landed a most coveted gig. Houghton applied and landed an internship with "The Late Show with David Letterman."

"I loved watching Letterman," Houghton said while calling from his Springfield, Missouri home. "It was a dream situation. When I look back at it I'm amazed since I worked at the coolest place in New York City."

Houghton ran errands, made coffee and enjoyed interacting with guests. "Tom Hanks was so nice," Houghton said. "He showed up by himself whenever he came on the show and was just so friendly."

Occasionally Houghton would run into Letterman. "He would say hello to me in the hallway, but he was a pretty reclusive guy," Houghton said. "The experience overall was incredible."

Houghton was in a couple of "Late Show" skits and learned much about how the talk show business works. However, how can an intern, who would like nothing more than hosting his own talk show, utilize such a unique experience?

Well, Houghton figured it out even though he moved to Springfield after meeting and marrying a local gal shortly after graduating from the University of Iowa in 2004. Houghton became the host of "The Mystery Hour," a chat show based in Springfield that started as a program in 2006 for a live audience in a basement improv theatre. "The Mystery Hour" defied the odds and grew into syndication. After 10 seasons and 225 episodes, Houghton captured the show and presented it as digital content. He commenced touring.

"I knew I wanted to host a talk show, and I tried it here in Springfield and it took off," Houghton said.

Initial guests on "The Mystery Hour" were local newscasters and athletes. "I tried to have guests on who are doing interesting things," Houghton said.

Once the show, which aired on a variety of Fox, NBC and ABC affiliates, took off, Houghton started booking film and television actors. Efren Ramirez, who stole scenes as Pedro in the cult classic "Napoleon Dynamite" flew in for the show.

"It was so cool having Efren on the show," Houghton said. "Who doesn't love 'Napoleon Dynamite?’"

Stanley Hudson from "The Office,“ and Christa Flanagan from "Mad Men" and MadTV" also appeared on "The Mystery Hour."

Chappell Roan is the most famous "Mystery Hour" guest. "She was just 16 or 17 when she came on," Houghton said. "She was just a quiet teenager."

"The Mystery Hour Theater" will return for the second time to the Englert Theater. The show, which is slated for Saturday, will feature actor Jim O'Heir from the sitcom "Parks and Recreation."

"I'm looking forward to going back home and being on with Jim," Houghton said. "We'll have a great house band with James Tutson, who is an amazing Iowa City musician. I love coming back home and look forward to doing my show back there since Iowa City is a great literary scene. I have so many great memories growing up there."

Part of the appeal of coming back is due to family since the four-time Emmy Award winner enjoys visiting his relatives with his wife and three children. "The kids are (ages) 2, 7 and 12," Houghton said. "They need to come back to Iowa City to see my family, and it's always a good time. I come back home about four times a year."

The Mystery Hour energy is good, and it's obvious what kind of impact Letterman and Conan O'Brien had on Houghton. "I love both of those guys," Houghton said. "They're both late night heroes of mine. I learned from the best."

And Houghton followed in their footsteps. "I look back at that internship and think about what life would be like if I didn't have that opportunity back in my college days. My life would be pretty different."