TV Confidential with Ed Robertson

TVC 666.1: From October 2014: Ed welcomes Doug Hill and Jeffrey Weingrad, co-authors of Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live, everything you wanted to know about the first ten years of Saturday Night Live, from its beginnings as an outlaw program produced by an unruly band of renegades from the comedy underground to a TV institution that began its fiftieth season on NBC in October 2024. Featuring more than 250 interviews, including many of the show’s original writers and SNL executive producer Lorne Michaels, Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live was hailed by the Associated Press as “maybe the best book ever written about television.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TVC 666.2: From October 2024: Doug Hill and Jeffrey Weingrad, co-authors of Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live, talk to Ed about the chaos behind the scenes of the premiere episode of Saturday Night Live on Oct. 11, 1975, and how it took about four episodes for the series to find its footing. Recently updated to commemorate the show’s fiftieth season on NBC, Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live was hailed by the Associated Press as “maybe the best book ever written about television.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TVC 666.3: Ed welcomes actress, comedienne, and “puppet fabricator” Corinne Britti (Condor’s Nest, For Sale). Corinne plays real-life 1970s comedienne Valri Bromfield in Saturday Night, the Sony biographical comedy, written and directed by Jason Reitman, that portrays the chaos behind the scenes at NBC in the ninety minutes leading up to the premiere episode of Saturday Night Live on Oct. 11, 1975. Saturday Night is now playing theaters everywhere. A rabid sewer in real life, Corinne also hand-crafted the puppets featured in Ice-T’s award-winning music video for “The Hate Is Real.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TVC 666.4: Ed welcomes back Robert Crane, eldest son of Hogan’s Heroes star Bob Crane, and an accomplished screenwriter, journalist, and author in his own right. Bob’s latest book, My UnHollywood Family, provides a fresh look at his relationship with his famous dad—mostly told from the perspective of his mother’s side of the family—and the lifelong impact that his dad continues to have on him, his mom, and his siblings. It is also a story that will resonate with anyone who has survived a broken marriage, grown up in a dysfunctional household, navigated relationships with step parents, or dealt with narcissistic personalities at home or at work. Topics this segment include how the death of Bob’s stepfather, Charles Sloan, spurred him to write this book, and the pivotal conversation that Chuck had with Bob’s dad in June 1978, less than two weeks before Bob Crane was murdered. My UnHollywood Family is available now through Oregon Greystone Press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TVC 666.5: Robert Crane, eldest son of Hogan’s Heroes star Bob Crane, talks to Ed about how his dad was the “Willy Loman of his own career,” why the failure of his parents’ marriage was the byproduct of his dad’s desire for advancement, and how he learned the craft of editing by watching his dad edit segments for his KNX radio show every week in the “back room” of the Crane family home. Bob’s latest book, My UnHollywood Family, is available now through Oregon Greystone Press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TVC 665.6: Part 2 of a conversation that began last week with James Sutorius, the award-winning stage actor who recently starred in My Life with Will: An Evening with Will Shakespeare and James Sutorius, a one-man show (written by Dennis Brown) in which James shares stories from his fifty-year career in stage, movies, and television, and why he always returns to the works of Shakespeare for sustenance. In this segment, James shares a few memories of working in television alongside James Garner, Peter Falk, Angela Lansbury, and Stephen Caffrey. He also talks about the responsibility he felt to the entire cast and crew when he was the lead in his own series, The Andros Targets (CBS, 1977). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TVC 665.2: William Keck, author of When You Step Upon A Star: Cringeworthy Confessions of a Tabloid Bad Boy, tells Ed the back story of the outlandish lengths he took to land the first interview with Juditha Brown, mother of Nicole Brown Simpson, in June 1994 (a few days after Nicole’s funeral), when he was a reporter with the National Enquirer; how he managed to win the trust of Mrs. Brown almost immediately, despite invading her privacy, simply by asking the right question; and how Will’s exclusive access to the Brown family helped changed the public perception of the Enquirer from tabloid rag to the most reliable source of information about the murder of Nicole and the subsequent trial of O.J. Simpson. When You Step Upon A Star is available wherever books are sold through Jacobs Brown Media Group. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TVC 665.5: Ed welcomes back James Sutorius, one of the most accomplished stage actors of our time, having starred on Broadway many times throughout his career (as well as many major theatre groups and repertory companies across the country), and an actor who has appeared frequently on television over the past five decades, including such classic shows as Matlock, Kojak, Columbo, and Murder, She Wrote, the acclaimed CBS miniseries Space, and his own series, The Andros Targets. A Shakespearean actor at heart, James recently starred in My Life with Will: An Evening with Will Shakespeare and James Sutorius, a one-man show (written by Dennis Brown) in which James shares stories from his fifty-year career in stage, movies, and television, and why he always returns to the works of Shakespeare for sustenance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TVC 665.6:Actor James Sutorius talks to Ed about seeing Richard Burton star as Hamlet on Broadway in 1964; how practicing the famous “To be or not to be” soliloquy from Hamlet helped James overcome a stutter when he was in high school; and his appearance co-starring with Judd Hirsch on stage in Conversations with My Father. James recently starred in My Life with Will: An Evening with Will Shakespeare and James Sutorius, a one-man show (written by Dennis Brown) in which James shares stories from his fifty-year career in stage, movies, and television, and why he always returns to the works of Shakespeare for sustenance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TVC 664.1: Ed welcomes actress Lindsay Bloom (Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer, Dallas, The Dukes of Hazzard) and renowned sixties film historian Tom Lisanti (Talking Sixties Drive-In Movies, Carol Lynley: Her Film & TV Career in Thrillers, Fantasy and Suspense, Trippin’ with Terry Southern: What I Think I Remember, Ryan’s Hope: An Oral History of Daytime’s Groundbreaking Soap). Lindsay was not only the third actress to play screen legend Jean Harlow in a major motion picture, which Lindsay did when she played the Blonde Bombshell in Hughes and Harlow (1978), but was among the many people that Tom interviewed for Dueling Harlows: The Race to Bring the Actress’s Life to the Silver Screen, a book that was originally published in 2011, but which Tom recently updated to include the back story of Hughes and Harlow. Lindsay Bloom’s appearance on TV Confidential this week is courtesy of Tom Lisanti. Dueling Harlows is available from McFarlandPub.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TVC 664.2: Actress Lindsay Bloom (Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer, Dallas, The Dukes of Hazzard) talks to Ed and Tom Lisanti about working with Stacy Keach and Mickey Spillane on Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer, and with Larry Hagman, Patrick Duffy, and Susan Howard on Dallas. Tom Lisanti’s latest book, Dueling Harlows: The Race to Bring the Actress’s Life to the Silver Screen, is available from McFarlandPub.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TVC 664.6: Ed and guest co-host Chuck Harter welcome back Kathy Garver, the actress known around the world to three generations of television viewers as Cissy Davis on Family Affair. Kathy is on the board of directors for The Thalians, the non-profit organization that partners with UCLA’s Operation Mend in providing support and care for those who struggle with PTSD and other mental illnesses (and, particularly, our service men and women and their caregivers). She is also on the board of the Motion Pictures Mothers Club, a unique nonprofit organization formed in 1939 that raises funds for items that directly benefit working and retired members of the entertainment industry. Topics this segment include how Kathy became involved with both of these organizations, plus she talks about her appearances on Mr. Novak (NBC, 1963-1965), including an episode that also featured Beau Bridges. For more information on the Motion Picture Mothers Club event coming up on Saturday, Dec. 14, call (818) 986-3735. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TVC 664.6: A special preview of a conversation that will air on next weekend’s program with Kathy Garver, the actress known around the world to three generations of television viewers as Cissy Davis on Family Affair. Kathy is on the board of directors for The Thalians, the non-profit organization that partners with UCLA’s Operation Mend in providing support and care for those who struggle with PTSD and other mental illnesses (and, particularly, our service men and women and their caregivers). Funny for Money, an evening of comedy that will support the efforts of Operation Mend, will take place Thursday, Oct. 24 at the historic El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood. For tickets and more information, call (818) 508-0281 or go to https://www.elportaltheatre.com/ To learn more about information about the Thalians, please visit http://www.thalians.org/ Kathy Garver is also on the board of the Motion Pictures Mothers Club, a unique nonprofit organization formed in 1939 that raises funds for items that directly benefit working and retired members of the entertainment industry. This year’s Autumn Luncheon benefitting the Motion Picture Mothers Club takes place Saturday, Oct. 26 at the venerable Smoke House restaurant in Burbank, CA. For tickets and more information, call (818) 986-3735. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TVC 663.1: Actor and author James Rosin joins Ed as TV Confidential remembers the life and career of singer/actor James Darren (The Time Tunnel, T.J. Hooker, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine). Jim knew James Darren as a friend, plus he interviewed Darren at least twice, including for his book Philly Pop Rock Rhythm & Blues: A Look Back at the Musical History of Philadelphia. James Darren passed away Monday, Sept. 2, 2024 at age eighty-eight. Topics this segment include a look at Darren’s formative years in South Philadelphia, a tight-knit community that gave rise to many recording artists and performers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TVC 663.2: Actor and author James Rosin (Philly Pop Rock Rhythm & Blues) talks to Ed about the television career of James Darren, including his starring roles on The Time Tunnel and T.J. Hooker, Darren’s favorite episode of The Time Tunnel, and Darren’s successful transition from acting to directing later in his career. James Darren passed away Monday, Sept. 2, 2024 at the age of eighty-eight. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TVC 663.3: Actor and author James Rosin (Philly Pop Rock Rhythm & Blues) tells the back story of how James Darren came to play Vic Fontaine, the holographic lounge singer who appeared in many episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine—and a role that, in many respects, revitalized Darren’s recording career. James Darren passed away Monday, Sept. 2, 2024 at the age of eighty-eight. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TVC 663.4: Award-winning actress, screenwriter, and director Alessandra Williams talks to Ed about being mentored by Martin Landau early in her career, when she studied at the prestigious Actors Studio; how her background as an gymnast helped her later on, once she became an actress; and why she has immersed herself in all aspects of film production. Alessandra has a dual role in Lissa’s Trip, the award-winning film, now available on Tubi, that is loosely inspired by Homer’s The Odyssey. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TVC 663.5: Ed welcomes back actress, author, and comedienne Geri Jewell (The Facts of Life, Deadwood, I’m Walking as Straight as I Can). Geri’s latest book, Geri’s Jewels & Gems, is a collection of columns that Geri originally wrote for Ability Magazine between 2012 and 2017, but which discuss topics and issues about the human condition that are timeless and relatable to anyone who is trying to navigate their way through everyday life. Topics this segment include what it means for Geri to have been part of the legacy of Norman Lear and what it means to her to have had him as a friend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TVC 663.6: Actress, author, and comedienne Geri Jewell (The Facts of Life, Deadwood, I’m Walking as Straight as I Can) talks to Ed about what led her into the world of stand-up comedy in the late 1970s; how stand-up comedy has changed today; and how she was often encouraged by Carol Burnett early in her career. Geri’s latest book, Geri’s Jewels & Gems, discusses topics and issues about the human condition that are timeless and relatable to anyone who is trying to navigate their way through everyday life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices