TV Confidential with Ed Robertson

TVC 532.6: Academy Award winner George Chakiris talks to Ed about some of his early screen appearances as a dancer in such films as Gentleman Prefer Blondes, White Christmas, and There’s No Business Like Show Business; assisting Robert Alton with the choreography of Judy Garland’s first stage show in Las Vegas; and how George came to develop his interest in designing jewelry. George’s memoir, My West Side Story, is available in hardcover and as an eBook and includes a wonderful back cover quote from George’s co-star, dear friend, and fellow Oscar winner from West Side Story, Rita Moreno. Want to advertise/sponsor our show? TV Confidential has partnered with AdvertiseCast to handle advertising/sponsorship requests for the podcast edition of our program. They’re great to work with and will help you advertise on our show. Please email sales@advertisecast.com or click the link below to get started: https://www.advertisecast.com/TVConfidentialAradiotalkshowabout Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TVC 520.2: Actor, comedian, and voice artist Hank Garrett talks to Ed, Tony, and Donna about how an intervention from Sammy Davis Jr. when Hank was thirteen years old saved him from a life on the streets and opened the doors for what would become a sixty-five-year career as an entertainer. Hank’s memoir, From Harlem Hoodlum to Hollywood Heavyweight, is available through Briton Publishing, Amazon.com, and other online retailers. Proceeds from sales of Hank’s book will support Wounded Warriors and Disabled Veterans of America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TVC 516.6: From November 2010: Ken Corday, executive producer of Days of Our Lives, talks to Ed and Tony about some of the notable storylines of the first twenty years of Days of Our Lives, as well as the show’s occasional struggles with network Standards and Practices over certain subject matters (and, in more recent years, product placement). Ken’s book, The Days of Our Lives: The True Story of One Family’s Dream and The Untold History of Days of Our Lives, not only chronicles the history of Days of Our Lives on television, but pays tribute to his parents, Ted and Betty Corday, the creators and original executive producers of the series. Want to advertise/sponsor our show? TV Confidential has partnered with AdvertiseCast to handle advertising/sponsorship requests for the podcast edition of our program. They’re great to work with and will help you advertise on our show. Please email sales@advertisecast.com or click the link below to get started: https://www.advertisecast.com/TVConfidentialAradiotalkshowabout Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TVC 513.2: Game show historian Steve Beverly talks to Ed about Tom Kennedy’s versatility as a game show host; how he and his real-life brother, Jack Narz, came to be related to fellow game show legend Bill Cullen; why many, including Kennedy himself, considered Cullen to be the best in the business; some insight on Kennedy’s experience hosting The Price is Right; and why You Don’t Say, Split Second and Name That Tune were all “Tom Kennedy shows.” Steve knew Tom Kennedy for more than twenty years. Tom Kennedy passed away on Wednesday, Oct. 7 at age 93. Want to advertise/sponsor our show? TV Confidential has partnered with AdvertiseCast to handle advertising/sponsorship requests for the podcast edition of our program. They’re great to work with and will help you advertise on our show. Please email sales@advertisecast.com or click the link below to get started: https://www.advertisecast.com/TVConfidentialAradiotalkshowabout Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TVC 674.1: TV Confidential remembers Michael Schlesinger, the film executive and champion of classic movie restoration who was also the writer, producer, and director of The Misadventures of Biffle and Shooster, a collection of 1930s-style comedies—all starring Will Ryan and Nick Santa Maria—that pay homage to The Three Stooges, Abbott and Costello, Laurel and Hardy, and other vintage comedy teams from the Golden Era of Hollywood. Though filmed circa 2013, the sets, camera shots, attention to detail, and, above all, the performances of everyone involved in the Biffle and Shooster films are all so convincing, they look and sound as if they really were unearthed from the 1930s. Michael Schlesinger passed away Thursday, Jan. 9 at age seventy-four. In this segment, which originally aired in August 2018, Mike and Will join Ed and Greg Ehrbar for a conversation about the origin of the Biffle and Shooster characters (and how Mike came to be involved with them); the painstaking dedication to authenticity that Mike took to making the Biffle and Shooster shorts; and how Mike parlayed his friendships with such stars as Robert Forster, H.M. Wynant, and Robert Picardo into getting each of them to appear in the films.

TVC 674.2: Part 2 of a conversation that began last week with singer, actor, producer, and entertainment legend Pat Boone. Pat stars, along with Michael Learned, Kevin Sorbo, Tom Wopat, and Dean Cain, in the biopic Our Crossroads, a true story of family and faith that is scheduled for release in July 2025. Pat and Kevin Sorbo also both play Thomas Jefferson in The American Miracle, another film that is slated for release later in 2025, while Pat can currently be seen in Reagan and Miracle in the Valley, both of which are available now for viewing on demand through Amazon Prime. Topics this segment include Pat’s longtime friendship with Elvis Presley, which began in 1956 and continued until the day The King died in 1977; why Elvis was terribly shy with most people when he wasn’t performing onstage; and the time that Elvis met evangelist Oral Roberts, which Pat had arranged at Elvis’ request.

TVC 674.3: Pat Boone talks to Ed about working with Shirley Jones in April Love, with Ann-Margret in State Fair, and with Barbara Eden in All Hands on Deck. Pat can currently be seen in Reagan and Miracle in the Valley, both of which are available now for viewing on demand through Amazon Prime, while Pat’s latest movies, Our Crossroads and The American Miracle, are both scheduled for release later in 2025.

TVC 673.1: Part 2 of a conversation that began just before the holidays with Nick Nugent, author of The Knight Rider Companion: Abridged Edition, everything you wanted to know about the classic TV series starring David Hasselhoff, Edward Mulhare, and the voice of William Daniels. Topics this segment include how series creator Glen Larson originally saw Knight Rider as a contemporary rendering of The Lone Ranger; why KITT and the car were two different entities; the show’s impact on 1980s pop culture; and the throughline between Knight Rider, My Mother the Car, and 2001: A Space Odyssey. The Knight Rider Companion Abridged Edition is available from Black Pawn Press and includes new and updated interviews with series creator Glen Larson, series stars David Hasselhoff, William Daniels, and Rebecca Holden, and many other key personnel; an updated Hall of Fame Autograph Guide, Vehicle States Guide, Knight Rider Fonts Guide, Knight Rider Logos Guide, Knight Equipment Guide, and a complete series episode guide; several pages of one-of-a-kind artwork created exclusively for the abridged edition.

TVC 673.2: Nick Nugent, author of The Knight Rider Companion: Abridged Edition, discusses some of the new material available in his book. The Knight Rider Companion Abridged Edition is available from Black Pawn Press.

TVC 673.3: Ed welcomes back Pat Boone, the legendary singer, actor, and all-around entertainer who not only celebrated his ninetieth birthday a few months back, but also recently marked his seventieth year in show business. Pat Boone and Michael Learned star as Bob and Barbara Fraley in the biopic Our Crossroads, a true story of family and faith that also features Kevin Sorbo, Tom Wopat, and Dean Cain. Our Crossroads is scheduled for release in July 2025. Pat Boone and Kevin Sorbo also both play Thomas Jefferson in The American Miracle, another film that is slated for release later in 2025. Pat can currently be seen in Reagan and Miracle in the Valley, both of which are available now for viewing on demand through Amazon Prime. Topics this segment include how Pat met Michael Learned for the first time just before filming their scenes together in Our Crossroads; how Pat approached providing the voice of our sixteenth president for “The Legacy of Abraham Lincoln,” a 2023 episode of the animated series Star Spangled Adventures; and why films have always been influential on our culture, particularly among young people.

TVC 673.4: Ed welcomes Dawn Moore, one of the top marketing and branding professionals in the luxury retail industry, and the daughter of Clayton Moore, the actor known to three generations of television viewers as The Lone Ranger. The 2024-2025 television season marks the seventy-fifth anniversary of the premiere of The Lone Ranger (ABC, 1949-1957) on TV. Topics this segment include the throughline between what Dawn does for a living today and what her dad was doing forty and fifty years ago, when he was promoting the brand of The Lone Ranger through his many personal appearances; how her dad was a master of crafting whatever questions were asked of him, whenever he did interviews; the many people who entered careers of service because of the values that Clayton Moore embodied through his performance as The Lone Ranger; and her dad’s wry, nonchalant reaction to Dawn telling him that she had met Elizabeth Taylor one day in the course of her work. 

TVC 673.5: Dawn Moore, daughter of Clayton Moore, talks to Ed about the origins of the Lone Ranger Creed; how her dad embodied the words of the Creed every day for the last fifty years of his life; and how Dawn displayed quotes from some of the tenets of the Creed on the window of the Harry Winston jewelry store on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills to help calm her neighborhood on the day after of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Other topics this segment include the various connections between Clayton Moore, Roy Rogers, and Dale Evans, and how that is captured in some of the vintage photographs that are currently on display as part of the Happy Trails exhibit at TheHollywoodMuseum.com. For more about Dawn, go to MooreAbout.com.

TVC 672.1: Ed welcomes entertainment journalist and comedy historian Tripp Whetsell. Tripp’s latest book, Norman Lear: His Life and Times, is the first comprehensive biography of the legendary, Emmy Award-winning producer of All in the Family, Maude, Good Times, The Jeffersons, The Fact of Life, and many other series that helped elevate the American network sitcom. While much has been written about Norman Lear, before and after his death on Dec. 5. 2023, Tripp’s book shows that there remains much to learn about the legendary “man in the white hat”— since Lear himself was often reluctant to discuss his early life in great detail. Topics this segment include how Lear got his foothold in show business by way of Danny Thomas, and his roots in the golden era of variety television throughout the 1950s and early ’60s. Norman Lear: His Life and Times is available wherever books are sold through Applause Books. For our listeners in Southern California, Tripp Whetsell will appear at Book Soup, 8818 Sunset Blvd. in West Hollywood on Wednesday, Jan. 8 beginning at 7pm.

TVC 672.2: Tripp Whetsell, author of Norman Lear: His Life and Times, talks to Ed about how the latitude that Norman Lear often gave his actors and his writers on his television shows was often a double-edged sword; Lear’s years as a motion picture producer in the 1960s; and the events that led to the premiere on All in the Family on CBS in January 1971. Norman Lear: His Life and Times is available wherever books are sold through Applause Books. Tripp Whetsell will appear at Book Soup, 8818 Sunset Blvd. in West Hollywood on Wednesday, Jan. 8 beginning at 7pm.

TVC 672.3: Part 2 of a conversation that began just before the holidays with Steve Randisi, author of Penny Singleton: A Biography, a comprehensive look at the life and career of the actress who not only achieved worldwide fame in the 1930s and ’40s as the star of the Blondie movie series from Columbia Pictures (and, later, to TV audiences as the voice of Jane Jetson on the original Jetsons TV series and, later, the Jetsons movie), but who made history in 1958 when she became the first female president of an AFL-CIO union, the American Guild of Variety Artists. Topics this segment include how Singleton was nearly fired from the first Blondie picture because of an incident over a cigarette; the values she formed while growing up in South Philadelphia; and how her longtime connection with Rod Serling resulted in her appearance opposite John McGiver in the Twilight Zone episode “Sounds and Silences.” Penny Singleton: A Biography is available from Bear Manor Media.

TVC 670.1: Ed welcomes Nick Nugent, author of The Knight Rider Companion: Abridged Edition, everything you wanted to know about the classic TV series starring David Hasselhoff, Edward Mulhare, and the voice of William Daniels. Topics this segment include how series creator Glen Larson’s original concept for Knight Rider was much different from what we eventually saw portrayed in the NBC series; why Knight Rider was essentially about a show about a character—a character that just happened to be a car; and why the original mythology of Knight Rider continues to resonate with millions of fans today.The Knight Rider Companion Abridged Edition is available from Black Pawn Press and includes new and updated interviews with series creator Glen Larson, series stars David Hasselhoff, William Daniels, and Rebecca Holden, and many other key personnel; an updated Hall of Fame Autograph Guide, Vehicle States Guide, Knight Rider Fonts Guide, Knight Rider Logos Guide, Knight Equipment Guide, and a complete series episode guide; several pages of one-of-a-kind artwork created exclusively for the abridged edition.

TVC 670.2: Ed welcomes back film and television historian Steve Randisi (The Merv Griffin Show: The Inside Story, Behind the Crimson Cape: The Cinema of George Reeves). Steve’s latest book, Penny Singleton: A Biography, chronicles the life and career of the actress who not only achieved worldwide fame in the 1930s and ’40s at the star of the Blondie movie series from Columbia Pictures (and, later, to TV audiences as the voice of Jane Jetson on the original Jetsons TV series and, later, the Jetsons movie), who but who made history in 1958 when she became the first female president of an AFL-CIO union, the American Guild of Variety Artists. Topics this segment includes how much of Singleton’s personal history as an entertainer coincides with the history of show business at large in the 20th century. Penny Singleton: A Biography is available from Bear Manor Media.

TVC 670.3: Steve Randisi, author of Penny Singleton: A Biography, talks to Ed how about Singleton came to adopt her screen name; why Singleton had a lot of the Blondie character as a person; and why the Blondie movies continue to endure after ninety years. Penny Singleton: A Biography is available from Bear Manor Media.

TVC 670.4: Ed welcomes back Stefanie Powers, the actress known around the world as Jennifer Hart on Hart to Hart (ABC, 1979-1984), and the founder and president of the William Holden Wildlife Foundation, a nonprofit organization that Stefanie established in 1982 in memory of her longtime life partner that continues and furthers the conservation work of William Holden in East Africa. Topics this segment include why Stefanie considers herself a conservationist, as opposed to a philanthropist; how Stefanie’s interest in wildlife stemmed from a young age, long before she met Holden; and the difference between “going on vacation” and “traveling with purpose.” The United Nations honored Stefanie Powers earlier this year as an Agent of Change in recognition for her work with the William Holden Wildlife Foundation. She is also featured in Vision for the Future: Capturing Inspiring Stories from Leaders and Changemakers, a new anthology eBook that profiles twenty-five visionaries who not only are making a significant impact in their respective fields, but are dedicated to making the world a better place through hope, action, and lasting change. Vision for the Future is available for free at visionforthefuture.ai.

TVC 671.5: Part 2 of a conversation that began last week with Stefanie Powers, the actress known around the world as Jennifer Hart on Hart to Hart (ABC, 1979-1984) and the founder and president of the William Holden Wildlife Foundation (WHWF.org). Topics this segment include Stefanie’s work as chair of the Seasoned Performers Committee for both the L.A. Local and the National Board Committee of Seniors for SAG-AFTRA, where she continues to deal with the recent lawsuits over ageism and recent insurance issues for SAG members. She also shares a few memories of co-starring with Harold Gould on The Feather and Father Gang (ABC, 1976-1977), as well as the story of how she and Robert Wagner met St. Pope John Paul II in Italy in the summer of 1983, just before they went to Greece to film the season premiere of Hart to Hart that year. Stefanie Powers is also featured in Vision for the Future: Capturing Inspiring Stories from Leaders and Changemakers, a new anthology eBook that profiles twenty-five visionaries who not only are making a significant impact in their respective fields, but are dedicated to making the world a better place through hope, action, and lasting change. Vision for the Future recognizes Stefanie for her work with WHWF.org, the nonprofit organization that Stefanie established in 1982 that continues and furthers the conservation work of William Holden in East Africa. Vision for the Future is available for free at visionforthefuture.ai.