TV Confidential with Ed Robertson

TVC 675.2: Julie Rogers Pomilia, granddaughter of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans and the author of Your Heroes, My Grandparents: A Granddaughter’s Love, talks to Ed about how why Roy Rogers and Dale Evans came to adorn their costumes with rhinestones; Dale’s prolific writing career, which included thirty songs and many songs (including “Happy Trails” and “The Bible Tells Me So”); and why Roy and Dale didn’t always comprehend the impact of their lives and career on the public at large. The Happy Trails exhibit at The Hollywood Museum features a host of never before seen personal items from the Roy Rogers collection, including an impressive array of vivid color movie posters, personal furniture made for Roy and Dale by actor George Montgomery, plus vintage photos, collectibles, costumes, merchandise, and more. For tickets and more information, go to TheHollywoodMuseum.com.

TVC 675.3: Ed’s guests are Emmy Award-winning actress, screenwriter, and novelist Louise Shaffer (Ryan’s Hope, Search for Tomorrow, The Edge of Night, All My Suspects, Talked to Death) and film and television 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, Dueling Harlows). Louise is among the four dozen alumni of Ryan’s Hope (ABC, 1975-1989) that Tom interviewed for his latest book, Ryan’s Hope: An Oral History of Daytime’s Groundbreaking Soap, everything you wanted to know about the Emmy Award-winning daytime drama, as told from the perspective of the people who brought you Ryan’s Hope. Topics this segment include why part of the appeal of Ryan’s Hope for viewers and performers alike was that it was very concrete; why series co-creator Claire Labine was such a great writer of dialogue; and why many of the actors on Ryan’s Hope bonded with each other because they shared a background working on the stage.  

TVC 675.4: Emmy Award-winning actress Louise Shaffer (Ryan’s Hope) talks to Ed and guest co-host Tom Lisanti about the instrumental role that Ryan’s Hope co-creator Claire Labine played in helping Louise transition from acting to writing, and why Maeve Ryan, Helen Gallagher’s character on Ryan’s Hope, was the hardest character on the series for Louise or any other writer to write for. Other topics this segment includes Louise and Tom’s favorite storylines of Ryan’s Hope, plus Louise shares a few memories of working with Ben Gazzara on Run For Your Life. Louise is among the four dozen alumni of Ryan’s Hope that Tom interviewed for his latest book, Ryan’s Hope: An Oral History of Daytime’s Groundbreaking Soap.

TVC 675.5: From June 2016: Actress and author Charlotte Stewart (Little House on the Prairie, Twin Peaks, Little House in the Hollywood Hills) shares a few memories about working with David Lynch on both Twin Peaks and Eraserhead, plus she talks to Ed about the “David Lynch-like” approaching to directing that Neil Young took when Charlotte worked with Young on the film Human Highway. David Lynch passed away on Wednesday, Jan. 15 at age seventy-eight.

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.