TV CONFIDENTIAL

Your Mental Sorbet: Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy fire back at Fox News

Tony Figueroa — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 07:00:00 GMT

Here is another "Mental Sorbet" that we could use to momentarily forget about those things that leave a bad taste in our mouths.

Miss Piggy hits back at Fox News during a UK press conference following the London Premiere of their new film. Fox had criticized the film http://disney.go.com/muppets/">The Muppets for supposedly pushing a 'dangerous liberal agenda' at kids.

Stay Tuned

Tony Figueroa

Don Cornelius

Tony Figueroa — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:26:11 GMT

We lost Don Cornelius of an apparent suicide on this morning at his home in Sherman Oaks . Law enforcement assumes this due to evidence of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. He was 75. A complete investigation is still pending.

Born Donald Cortez in Chicago on September 27, 1936. The television show host and producer is best known as the creator of the nationally syndicated dance/music franchise Soul Train, which he hosted from 1971-1993. Cornelius sold the show to MadVision Entertainment in 2008.

Originally a journalist (one of the early employees of WVON) inspired by the civil rights movement, Cornelius recognized that in the late 1960s there was no television venue in the United States for soul music, and introduced many African-American musicians to a larger audience as a result of their appearances on Soul Train, a program that was both influential among African-Americans and popular with a wider audience. As writer, producer, and host of Soul Train, Cornelius was instrumental in offering wider exposure to black musicians like James Brown, Aretha Franklin, and Michael Jackson, as well as creating opportunities for talented dancers that would presage subsequent television dance programs. Cornelius said "We had a show that kids gravitated to," and Spike Lee described the program as an "urban music time capsule."

The 2008 Soul Train Music Awards ceremony was not held due to the WGA strike and the end of Tribune Entertainment complicating the process of finding a new distributor to air the ceremony and line up the stations to air it. The awards show was moved in 2009 to Viacom's Centric cable channel (formerly BET J), which now airs Soul Train in reruns.

Cornelius most recently appeared at the 2009 BET Awards to present The O'Jays with the 2009 BET Lifetime Achievement Award.

Besides his smooth and deep voice, Cornelius is best known for the catchphrase that he used to close the show: "... and you can bet your last money, it's all gonna be a stone gas, honey! I'm Don Cornelius, and as always in parting, we wish you love, peace and soul!" After Cornelius's departure, it was shortened to "...and as always, we wish you love, peace and soul!" and was used through the most recent new episodes in 2006. Another introductory phrase he often used was: "We got another sound comin' out of Philly that's a sure 'nough dilly".

Good Night Mr. Cornelius

I wish you love, peace and soul.

Stay Tuned

Tony Figueroa

TV CONFIDENTIAL Show No. 123: Hour 1 with guest Julie Adams

TV Confidential — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT

TV CONFIDENTIAL Show No. 123: Hour 2 with guest Robert Davi

TV Confidential — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Hawkins, Dickens and Fenster: Next on TVC

TV Confidential — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 06:55:10 GMT

Emmy nominee Tommy Hawkins and DVD producer Jim Benson will join us on the next edition of TV CONFIDENTIAL, airing Feb. 1-7 at the following times and venues:

WROM Radio
Detroit, MI
Wednesday 2/1
8pm ET, 5pm PT
2am ET, 11pm PT
Sunday 2/5
8pm ET, 5pm PT
Click on the Listen Live button at RealmsofMusic.com

Talktainment Radio
Columbus, OH
Thursday 2/2
9pm ET, 6pm PT
Click on the Listen Live button at TalktainmentRadio.com

Share-a-Vision Radio
San Francisco Bay Area
Friday 2/3
7pm ET, 4pm PT
10pm ET, 7pm PT
Click on the Listen Live button at KSAV.org

The Coyote KWTY-FM
Ridgecrest, Calif.
Sunday 2/5
9pm PT
Monday 2/6
Midnight ET
Click on the Listen Live button at Coyote395.com

Passionate World Radio
Ann Arbor, MI
Tuesday 2/7
11:05pm ET, 8:05pm PT
Click on the Listen Live button at InternetVoicesRadio.com

An Emmy Award-nominated broadcaster, Tommy Hawkins enjoyed a 10-year career in the NBA for both the Minneapolis Lakers, the Los Angeles Lakers and the old Cincinnati Royals, playing alongside such Hall of Famers as Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor and Oscar Robertson. When his basketball career ended, Tommy embarked on new challenges, first in radio and television (including co-hosting Mid-Morning Los Angeles with Stephanie Edwards and Meredith MacRae, as well as broadcasting for NBC Sports), then as a baseball executive for 18 years with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

A renaissance man if ever there was one, Tommy has just published a new coffee table book, Life’s Reflections: Poetry for the People, that reflects his many interests, which include such subjects as sports, jazz, art, poetry, travel, life, love, family, and the turbulent decade known as the 1960s. Not only that, each of Tommy’s poems is accompanied by a captivating painting or photograph that illustrates his words, including works by legendary artists Leroy Neiman and Ernie Barnes. We’ll ask Tommy about his playing career, his passion for poetry, and how Regis Philbin played a role in one of his first breaks as a broadcaster, when he joins us in our first hour.

For our listeners in Southern California, Tommy Hawkins’ upcoming appearances include Tuesday, Feb. 7 at 7pm at the Pepperdine University Library in Malibu, CA; Wednesday, Feb. 8 at 7:30am at the Malibu Rotary Club; Thursday, Feb. 9 at 7pm at the Sportsman’s Lodge in Studio City, CA Thursday, Feb. 16 at 10am at the Pasadena Senior Center in Pasadena, CA; Wednesday, Feb. 29 at 7pm at Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena, CA; Saturday, Mar. 3 at 2pm at the Eso-Won Bookstore in Los Angeles; Tuesday, Mar. 7 at 7pm at Chaucers Bookstore in Santa Barbara, CA; Tuesday, Mar. 14 at 1pm at the Culver City Senior Center in Culver City, CA; and Wednesday, Mar. 15 at 6pm at the Los Angeles Athletic Club.

Also joining us this week will be Jim Benson, host of TV Time Machine and the executive producer of I’m Dickens, He’s Fenster: Vol. 1, the first 16 episodes of the critically acclaimed yet short-lived comedy series created and produced by Leonard Stern. An homage to Laurel and Hardy, as well as the comedies of Preston Sturges, I’m Dickens, He’s Fenster starred John Astin and Marty Ingels as construction workers who were also the best of friends. And though Leonard Stern would achieve far greater success with Get Smart and the Mad Libs book series, he always had a special place in his heart for I’m Dickens, He’s Fenster... as have those who are discovering the show for the first time, now that it is back in circulation for the first time in fifty years.

We will talk about the lengths Jim took to bring back I’m Dickens, He’s Fenster, as well as look back at the legacy of Leonard Stern in general, when Jim Benson joins us in our second hour. We’ll also discuss one of the show’s most memorable episodes, “The Joke,” as well as the contributions of Astin, Ingels, their co-star Emmaline Henry, and director Arthur Hiller.

TV CONFIDENTIAL: A radio talk show about television
Wednesdays and Sundays 8pm ET, 5pm PT
WROM: Realms of Music
Thursdays 9pm, 6pm PT
Talktainment Radio
Fridays 7pm ET and PT
Share-a-Vision Radio, KSAV.org
Sundays 9pm PT, Mondays Midnight ET
The Coyote KWTY-FM (Ridgecrest, Calif.)
Tuesdays 11:05pm ET, 8:05pm PT
Passionate World Radio
Follow us online at
www.tvconfidential.net
blog.tvconfidential.net
Also available as a podcast via iTunes and FeedBurner
Find us on Facebook

This Week in Television History: January 2012 Part V

Tony Figueroa — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 07:00:00 GMT

Listen to me on me on TV CONFIDENTIAL:

Realms of Music
WROM
Wednesday 9/7
9pm ET, 6pm PT

Share-a-Vision Radio
KSAV.org
Friday 9/9
7pm ET, 4pm PT
10pm ET, 7pm PT

KWDJ 1360-AM
Ridgecrest, Calif.
Saturday 9/10
Following Dodgers baseball

InternetVoicesRadio.com
Tuesday 9/13
11:05pm ET, 8:05pm PT

As always, the further we go back in Hollywood history, the more that fact and legend become intertwined. It's hard to say where the truth really lies.

February 1, 1887

Official registration of Hollywood.

Harvey Wilcox officially registers Hollywood with the Los Angeles County recorder’s office. Wilcox and his wife, Daeida, had moved to Southern California four years earlier from Topeka, Kansas, where Harvey had made his fortune in real estate. They bought 160 acres of land in the Cahuenga Valley, located in the foothills to the west of the city of Los Angeles. A once-sleepy settlement founded in 1781 as El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de Los Angeles de Poricuncula, Los Angeles was by then expanding rapidly thanks to the completion of the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1876 (the Santa Fe Railroad would arrive in 1885).

Wilcox, who had lost the use of his legs as a child due to polio, envisioned the land as the perfect site for a utopian-like community for devout Christians, where they could live a highly moral life free of vices such as alcohol (Wilcox was a prohibitionist). Daeida Wilcox called the new community “Hollywood,” borrowing the name from a Chicago friend who told her that was the name of a summer home she had in the Midwest. Harvey laid out a street map of the settlement, centered on a main street he called Prospect Avenue (it was later renamed Hollywood Boulevard). After filing the map with the L.A. County recorder’s office, Wilcox set about laying out Hollywood’s streets, made of dirt and lined with pepper trees.
As Harvey sold lots, Daeida worked to raise money to build churches, a school and a library. By 1900, nine years after Harvey Wilcox’s death, Hollywood had a population of 500, compared with 100,000 people in Los Angeles at the time. It was connected to L.A. by a single-track streetcar running down Prospect Avenue; it took two hours to make the seven-mile trip, and service was infrequent. In 1910, the community of Hollywood voted to consolidate with Los Angeles due to an inadequate supply of water. Shortly thereafter, the fledgling motion-picture industry began growing exponentially, as moviemakers found their ideal setting in the mild, sunny climate and varied terrain of Southern California. As the years went by, Harvey Wilcox’s dreams of a sober, conservative religious community faded even further into the background, as Hollywood became known throughout the world as the gilded center of an industry built on fantasy, fame and glamour.

February 1, 1937

Garrett Gonzalez Morris is born.

The comedian and actor from New Orleans, Louisiana was part of the original cast of the sketch comedy program Saturday Night Live, appearing from 1975 to 1980. In 1986, Morris began playing a regular occasional character, "Arnold 'Sporty' James," on the NBC cop drama Hunter, starring Fred Dryer and Stepfanie Kramer. Morris continually appeared as "Sporty" on "Hunter" through 1989.

In 1994, he was shot in an apparent robbery attempt but went on to make a full recovery. In a radio interview, he mentioned that the robber who shot him was eventually incarcerated, and in prison some fans of Morris's who happened to be inmates there teamed up and beat up the robber in revenge.

Morris starred on Martin as Martin's first boss Stan. Morris's shooting had caused him to be unable to continue in the role, and he was written out of the show by having the character become a national fugitive. The scene where he is about to undergo plastic surgery was shot on the hospital bed Morris occupied while recuperating from the 1994 assault.

February 1, 1982

Late Night with David Letterman premieres.

David Letterman's offbeat late-night talk show debuts on this day in 1982. A favorite of college students, the show aired after Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show. When Carson retired in 1992, Letterman and rival comic Jay Leno engaged in a heated battle for the coveted host slot. When Letterman was passed over, he left NBC for CBS, where his new program, Late Show with David Letterman, outperformed Leno's show almost every week in its first year.

February 2, 1937

Thomas Bolin "Tom" Smothers III is born.

Comedian, composer and musician, best known as half of the musical comedy team the Smothers Brothers, alongside his younger brother Dick.

February 2, 1947

Farrah Fawcett is born.

A multiple Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominee, Fawcett rose to international fame when she first appeared as private investigator Jill Munroe in the TV series Charlie's Angels in 1976. Fawcett later appeared off-Broadway to the approval of critics and in highly rated television movies in roles often challenging (The Burning Bed, Nazi Hunter: The Beate Klarsfeld Story, Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story, Margaret Bourke-White) and sometimes unsympathetic (Small Sacrifices). Fawcett was also a pop culture figure whose hairstyle was emulated by millions of young women and whose poster sales broke records, making her an international sex symbol in the 1970s and 1980s.

Fawcett was diagnosed with anal cancer in 2006, and began treatment, including chemotherapy and surgery. Four months later, on her 60th birthday, the Associated Press wire service reported that Fawcett was, at that point, cancer free.

Less than four months later, in May 2007, Fawcett brought a small digital video camera to document a doctor's office visit. There, she was told a malignant polyp was found in the area where she had been treated for the initial cancer. Doctors contemplated whether to implant a radiation seeder (which differs from conventional radiation and is used to treat other types of cancer). Fawcett's U.S. doctors told her that she would require a colostomy. Instead, Fawcett traveled to Germany for treatments described variously in the press as "holistic", "aggressive", and "alternative". There, Dr. Ursula Jacob prescribed a treatment including surgery to remove the anal tumor, and a course of perfusion and embolization for her liver cancer by Doctors Claus Kiehling and Thomas Vogl in Germany, and chemotherapy back in Fawcett's home town of Los Angeles. Although initially the tumors were regressing, their reappearance a few months later necessitated a new course, this time including laser ablation therapy and chemoembolization. Aided by friend Alana Stewart, Fawcett documented her battle with the disease.

In early April 2009, Fawcett, back in the United States, was rushed to a hospital, reportedly unconscious and in critical condition. Subsequent reports, however, indicated that the severity of her condition was not as dire as first reported. On April 6, the Associated Press reported that her cancer had metastasized to her liver. Fawcett had learned of this development in May 2007 and her subsequent treatments in Germany had targeted this as well. The report denied that she was unconscious, and explained that the reason for Fawcett's hospitalization was not her cancer but a painful abdominal hematoma that had been the result of a minor procedure, according to the Los Angeles cancer specialist treating Fawcett, Dr. Lawrence Piro. Her spokesperson emphasized she was not "at death's door", adding "She remains in good spirits with her usual sense of humor ... She's been in great shape her whole life and has an incredible resolve and an incredible resilience." Three days later, on April 9, Fawcett was released from the hospital, picked up by longtime companion O'Neal, and, according to her doctor, was "walking and in great spirits and looking forward to celebrating Easter at home."

A month later, on May 7, Fawcett was reported as being critically ill, with Ryan O'Neal quoted as saying that she now spends her days at home, on an IV, often asleep. The Los Angeles Times reported that Fawcett was in the last stages of her cancer and had the chance to see her son Redmond in April 2009, although shackled and under supervision, as he was then incarcerated, Fawcett seemed not to notice. Her 91-year-old father, James Fawcett, flew out to Los Angeles to visit.

Her doctor, Lawrence Piro, and Fawcett's friend and Angels co-star Kate Jackson—a breast cancer survivor—appeared together on The Today Show dispelling tabloid-fueled rumors, including the suggestions that Fawcett had ever been in a coma, had ever reached 86 pounds, and had ever given up her fight against the disease or lost the will to live. Jackson decried such fabrications, saying they "really do hurt a human being and a person like Farrah". Piro recalled when it became necessary for Fawcett to undergo treatments that would cause her to lose her hair, acknowledging that "Farrah probably has the most famous hair in the world", but acknowledged that it is not a trivial matter for any cancer patient, whose hair "affects [one's] whole sense of who [they] are". Of the documentary, Jackson averred that Fawcett "didn't do this to show that 'she' is unique, she did it to show that we are all unique ... (T)his was ... meant to be a gift to others to help and inspire them."

The two-hour documentary Farrah's Story, which was filmed by Fawcett and friend Alana Stewart, aired on NBC on May 15, 2009. The documentary was watched by nearly 9 million people in its premiere airing and it was re-aired on the broadcast network's cable stations MSNBC, Bravo and Oxygen. Fawcett earned her fourth Emmy nomination posthumously on July 16, 2009, as producer of Farrah's Story.

Fawcett died at approximately 9:28 a.m., on June 25, 2009, in the intensive care unit of Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California, with O'Neal and Stewart by her side.

To quote the Bicentennial Minute, "And that's the way it was".

Stay Tuned

Tony Figueroa

John Rich 1925 – 2012

Tony Figueroa — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 06:20:49 GMT

We lost film and television director John Rich today from heart failure after a brief illness. He directed such television shows as Where's Raymond?, Mister Ed, The Dick Van Dyke Show, All in the Family, The Jeffersons, Maude, Good Times, Barney Miller, Newhart, Benson, The Brady Bunch, and Gilligan's Island. His feature film credits include Wives and Lovers, Boeing Boeing, Roustabout and Easy Come, Easy Go (the latter two starring Elvis Presley). He also participated in the live telecast of the opening day ceremonies of Disneyland in 1955. He won an Emmy for The Dick Van Dyke Show, two Emmys for All in the Family, and two Golden Globes for All in the Family. He was also an Honorary Life Member of the DGA and a recipient of the DGA's Robert B. Aldrich Award in 1993.

In the 1980s Rich and Henry Winkler formed a production company called Henry Winkler/John Rich Productions and together they produced MacGyver for Paramount Television.

Rich studied at the University of Michigan earning both a B.A. and an M.A. degree in English.

Robert Hegyes

Tony Figueroa — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 07:57:46 GMT

Robert Hegyes who was best known as Epstein on the 1970s classic Welcome Back Kotter, died this morning after an apparent heart attack in his Metuchen, N.J., home. He was 60 years old.Hegyes grew up in Metuchen, New Jersey and began acting in high school in the mid-1960s. Upon graduation from Glassboro State College (now Rowan University), with a B.A. in Speech/Theater & Secondary Education, Hegyes ventured to New York City to pursue a career in acting and soon became a member of a Greenwich Village children's theater group called, "Theater in a Trunk", performing educational theater at US President Theodore Roosevelt's birth place, on East 13 Street. Hegyes continued performing in the Village in educational children's theater, this time as a puppeteer with an arm and rod puppet company, playing "Mr. Toad," in, "The Wind & the Willows." Robert managed to work a third performing job in Washington Square Park and at the Provincetown Playhouse as a member of the political improvisational guerrilla troupe, "Jack LaRumpa's Flying Drum & Kazoo Band."

Within a year of graduating from college, Hegyes was cast to co-star in the highly acclaimed Off Broadway drama, Naomi Court, starring actor Brad Davis (Midnight Express). After completing the successful Manhattan Theater Club engagement, Robert was cast by Tony Award- winning actor Len Cariou (making his directing debut) to co-star in the Broadway drama, Don't Call Back, starring Arlene Francis and Dorian Harewood. While performing on Broadway, Hegyes auditioned for television producer James Komack and was cast to star in what was to become the award-winning ABC comedy, Welcome Back, Kotter. The show lasted four seasons, from 1975-'79. At the age of 25, Hegyes became one of the show's directors.

On Welcome Back, Kotter Hegyes played Juan Luis Pedro Philippo DeHuevos EpsteinA fiercely proud Puerto Rican Jew (his father was Puerto Rican; his mother's name was Bibbermann), and one of the toughest students at Buchanan High, despite his short stature. He normally walked with a tough-man strut, wore a red handkerchief hanging out of his right back pocket, and was voted "Most Likely to Take a Life" by his peers. In the season one episode, "One of Our Sweathogs Is Missing", Epstein was shown to be the sixth child in his family, although his mother had 10, while in the episode "I'm Having Their Baby" he mentions that his mother gave birth 8 times. The only names of his siblings mentioned in the show are two brothers, Pedro and Sanchez ("One of Our Sweathogs Is Missing") and a younger sister, Carmen ("A Love Story"). Epstein's toughness was downplayed later on, and became more of a wiseguy. He was also known to have a "buddy" relationship with Principal Lazarus as he often referred to him by his first name, Jack. On a few occasions, when Kotter would do his Groucho Marx impersonation, Epstein would jump in and impersonate Chico Marx or Harpo Marx. Epstein's diminutive height and large hair are common jokes associated with him.

Hegyes guest starred in more than thirty television shows, including Saturday Night Live, with Quentin Tarantino, NewsRadio, Diagnosis: Murder, with Dick Van Dyke, The Drew Carey Show (in an April Fools' Day episode where the character, "Oswald", was "recast" for a brief scene with Hegyes playing the role) and The Streets of San Francisco, with Michael Douglas. He also starred in the award-winning Volkswagen Passat commercial, "The Chase", for director Kinka Usher. Hegyes has starred in the following films: Honeymoon Hotel, with Jane Kaczmarek, Underground Aces, with Melanie Griffith, Bob Roberts, with Tim Robbins, The Purpose, with Mia Farrow, and Bar Hopping, with Weeds star Kevin Nealon.
Robert made his Los Angeles stage debut to rave notices as "Chico Marx" in the Westwood and National Touring Company engagements of, An Evening with Groucho. Upon returning from the tour, Robert was cast by Producer Barney Rosenswieg to star as a series regular portraying undercover detective "Manny Esposito" in the Emmy Award-winning drama, Cagney & Lacey, starring Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless.
Hegyes became "Artist-In-Residence" at his alma mater, Rowan University, teaching screenplay writing, acting for camera and public speaking, and was a guest lecturer in the Radio/Television/Film & Theater Departments. He was an adjunct instructor at Brooks College in Long Beach, California, where he taught essay writing and public speaking. Hegyes was a California Certified Secondary Education teacher, but had worked infrequently in recent years.

To quote Epstein, "When my mother was pregnant, she used to want hot peppers, you know? Every day, hot peppers, hot peppers, hot peppers. When we was born, the first thing we asked for was a glass of water!"

Good Night Mr. Hegyes

Stay Tuned

Tony Figueroa

Your Mental Sorbet: Steve Allen Show - Meet Guido Panzini Italian Golf Pro

Tony Figueroa — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 07:00:00 GMT

Here is another "Mental Sorbet" that we could use to momentarily forget about those things that leave a bad taste in our mouths.

We had a great time talking to Pat Harrington yesterday about Guido Panzini, One Day at a Time and comedy in general. That conversation will air next month on TV CONFIDENTIAL: A radio talk show about television.

Steve Interviews Italian Golf Pro Guido Panzini-Pat Harrington Jr. Prior to this Paticular bit,the US Customs & immagration Dept actually checked for a port of entry on Mr.Panzini, then Allen & Harrington Finally had to come clean on the air and reveal Panzini's true idenity-a NY born & bred irish American Actor-Comedian.

Stay Tuned

Tony Figueroa

TV CONFIDENTIAL Show No. 122: Hour 1 with guest Howard Gordon

TV Confidential — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 06:00:00 GMT

TV CONFIDENTIAL Show No. 122: Hour 2 with guest Jacqueline Scott

TV Confidential — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 06:00:00 GMT

Julie Adams and Robert Davi: Next on TVC

TV Confidential — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:37:01 GMT

Actress and author Julie Adams, singer / actor Robert Davi and Emmy Award-winning editor Mitchell Danton will join us on the next edition of TV CONFIDENTIAL, airing Jan. 25-31 at the following times and venues:

WROM Radio
Detroit, MI
Wednesday 1/25
8pm ET, 5pm PT
2am ET, 11pm PT
Sunday 1/29
8pm ET, 5pm PT
Click the Listen Live button at RealmsofMusic.com

Talktainment Radio
Columbus, OH
Thursday 1/26
9pm ET, 6pm PT
Click the Listen Live button at TalktainmentRadio.com

Share-a-Vision Radio
San Francisco Bay Area
Friday 1/27
7pm ET, 4pm PT
10pm ET, 7pm PT
Click the Listen Live button at KSAV.org

The Coyote KWTY-FM
Ridgecrest, Calif.
Sunday 1/29
9pm PT
Monday 1/30
Midnight ET
Click the Listen Live button at Coyote395.com

Passionate World Radio
Ann Arbor, MI
Tuesday 1/31
11:05pm ET, 8:05pm PT
Click the Listen Live button at InternetVoicesRadio.com

Many of us know Julie Adams for her starring role in one of the most famous horror movies of all time, The Creature from the Black Lagoon. Yet Creature is just one chapter in Julie’s life and career, which spans not only the Golden Age of Hollywood and Golden Age of Television, but also saw her work with such legends as Jimmy Stewart, Rock Hudson, Andy Griffith, John Wayne, Milton Berle, Barbara Stanwyck, Angela Lansbury, Elvis Presley and Raymond Burr.

Julie has published a new book, The Lucky Southern Star: Reflections from the Black Lagoon, that is filled with great stories and spectacular photographs that take you behind the scenes of not just Creature from the Black Lagoon, but many of the other stage, film and TV productions on which Julie has worked in the course of her career, including Bend of the River, Mississippi Gambler, Man from the Alamo, The Last Movie, Tickle Me, Perry Mason, The Andy Griffith Show, Rod Serling’s Night Gallery and Murder, She Wrote. Julie’s story is also a reminder of how, with hard work and preparation, it’s possible to achieve even the most faraway dream. We’ll meet Julie Adams when she joins us in the studio during our first hour.

Also joining us in our first hour will be Julie’s son Mitchell Danton. Mitch not only co-authored Julie’s book, he is an Emmy Award-winning film editor who has worked on such film and TV productions as Saving Grace, Christy, Beverly Hills 90210, Dawson’s Creek, In Plain Sight, Survivor and the ABC miniseries The Path to 9/11.

Julie Adams has several appearances coming up in the next few weeks, including the "Women in Horror" panel at the upcoming Horror Hound Weekend that will take place at the Crowne Plaza Columbus North in Columbus, Ohio on March 23, 24, and 25. She’s also scheduled to appear at the annual Monsterpalooza gathering at the Burbank Marriott Convention Center in Burbank, CA on April 13, 14 and 15. For more information on these on other appearances, go to www.JulieAdams.biz.

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Also joining us this week will be Robert Davi, an actor known to many of us as Agent Malone in Profiler, Franz Sanchez in License to Kill, Jake Fratelli in The Goonies, and many, many other appearances in film and television, including Contract on Cherry Street with Frank Sinatra.

What you may not know about Robert is that, in addition to being an accomplished actor, he is a classically trained singer with a deep-seeded love and appreciation for many of the greatest musical artists of all time, including his friend and mentor, Frank Sinatra.

Robert’s first album, Davi Sings Sinatra: On the Road to Romance, pays tribute to not only Ole Blue Eyes, but also The Great American Songbook, which Robert considers to be “the Shakespeare of America.” We’ll ask Robert what he means by that, as well as talk about his friendship with Frank Sinatra, when he joins us in our second hour.

Robert Davi will be appearing at the Venetian Showroom in Las Vegas, the site of the historic Sands Hotel (where Sinatra held court throughout the 1960s), on February 23, 24 and 25. He’ll be performing songs from Davi Sings Sinatra, as well as sharing anecdotes about his film and television career. For more information, go to www.DaviSingsSinatra.com.

TV CONFIDENTIAL: A radio talk show about television
Wednesdays and Sundays 8pm ET, 5pm PT
WROM: Realms of Music
Thursdays 9pm, 6pm PT
Talktainment Radio
Fridays 7pm ET and PT
Share-a-Vision Radio, KSAV.org
Sundays 9pm PT, Mondays Midnight ET
The Coyote KWTY-FM (Ridgecrest, Calif.)
Tuesdays 11:05pm ET, 8:05pm PT
Passionate World Radio
Follow us online at
www.tvconfidential.net
blog.tvconfidential.net
Also available as a podcast via iTunes and FeedBurner
Find us on Facebook

This Week in Television History: January 2012 PART IV

Tony Figueroa — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 07:00:00 GMT

Listen to me on me on TV CONFIDENTIAL:

Realms of Music
WROM
Wednesday 9/7
9pm ET, 6pm PT

As always, the further we go back in Hollywood history, the more that fact and legend become intertwined. It's hard to say where the truth really lies.

January 23, 1977

The miniseries Roots debuts on ABC.

The show traced four generations of an African-American family based on the family of author Alex Haley. Running for eight consecutive days, the miniseries became the single most watched program in American history, drawing about 100 million viewers.

January 28, 1957

Jack Lescoulie takes over the short lived Tonight! America After Dark.

Rather than continuing with the same format after Allen and Kovacs' departure from Tonight, NBC changed the show's format to a news and features show, similar to that of the network's popular morning program Today. The new show, renamed Tonight! America After Dark, was hosted first by Jack Lescoulie and then by Al "Jazzbo" Collins, with interviews conducted by Hy Gardner, and music provided by the Lou Stein Trio. This new version of the show was not popular, resulting in a significant number of NBC affiliates dropping the show.

January 29, 1977

Freddie Prinze’s family removed him from life support, and he died at 1:00 pm at the age of 22.

Prinze suffered from depression, and on January 28, 1977, shot himself with a small automatic pistol after talking on the telephone with his estranged wife. His business manager, Marvin "Dusty" Snyder, tried to intervene, but Prinze shot himself in the head, and was rushed to the UCLA Medical Center to be placed on life support following emergency surgery.

The death, initially ruled a suicide, was years later re-ruled accidental. Prinze had a history of playing with guns, faking suicide attempts to frighten his friends for his amusement. He had left a note stating that the decision to take his life was his alone, but because he pulled the trigger in the presence of a witness —it gave enough weight to the argument that he really was not planning to take his own life that night.

To quote the Bicentennial Minute, "And that's the way it was".

Stay Tuned

Tony Figueroa

Your Mental Sorbet: Colbert Super PAC Ad - Double Negative

Tony Figueroa — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 07:00:00 GMT

Here is another "Mental Sorbet" that we could use to momentarily forget about those things that leave a bad taste in our mouths.

Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow believes that we all deserve a clean campaign.

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

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Tony Figueroa

TV CONFIDENTIAL Show No. 121: Hour 2 with guests Walter Koenig and Peter Ford

TV Confidential — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 06:05:00 GMT

TV CONFIDENTIAL Show No. 121: Hour 1 with guest Larry Brody

TV Confidential — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 06:00:00 GMT

Howard Gordon and Jacqueline Scott: This Week on TVC

TV Confidential — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 19:21:02 GMT

Howard Gordon and Jacqueline Scott: Next on TVC

Actress Jacqueline Scott and Golden Globe Award-winning writer/producer Howard Gordon will join us on the next edition of TV CONFIDENTIAL, airing Jan. 18-24 at the following times and venues:

WROM Radio
Detroit, MI
Wednesday 1/18
8pm ET, 5pm PT
Sunday 1/22
8pm ET, 5pm PT
Click the Listen Live button at RealmsofMusic.com

Share-a-Vision Radio
San Francisco Bay Area
Friday 1/20
7pm ET, 4pm PT
10pm ET, 7pm PT
Click the Listen Live button at KSAV.org

The Coyote KWTY-FM
Ridgecrest, Calif.
Sunday 1/22
9pm PT
Monday 1/23
Midnight ET
Click the Listen Live button at Coyote395.com

Passionate World Radio
Ann Arbor, MI
Tuesday 1/24
11:05pm ET, 8:05pm PT
Click the Listen Live button at InternetVoicesRadio.com

Co-creator, executive producer and show runner of Homeland, the psychological thriller starring Claire Danes and Damian Lewis that just won the Golden Globe Award for Best Dramatic Television of 2011, Howard Gordon is also the author of Hard Target, the sequel to his best-selling debut novel, Gideon’s War, that is every bit as fast-paced and riveting as an episode of 24. We’ll talk to Howard about Hard Target, Homeland, and the appeal of characters such as Jack Bauer and Gideon Davis, as well as get a sneak peek at his latest television series, Awake, which premieres Monday, Feb. 6 on NBC. All this and more when Howard Gordon joins us in our first hour.

For our listeners in Southern California, you can meet Howard Gordon at the Diesel Bookstore at the Brentwood Country Mart, 225 26^th Street in Santa Monica on Wednesday, Jan. 25 beginning at 7pm. He’ll also be appearing at Mysteries to Die For, 2940 Thousand Oaks Blvd. in Thousand Oaks, on Saturday, Jan. 28 beginning at 2pm, as well as at Mysterious Galaxy, 2810 Artesia Blvd. in Redondo Beach on Saturday, Feb. 4 beginning at 2:30pm. For more information on these and other appearances, go to HowardMGordon.com.

Joining us in our second hour will be Jacqueline Scott, an actress who has been a staple on television over the past five decades, including appearances in just about every major show from Gunsmoke to Cold Case, as well as the classic TV-movie Duel (directed by Steven Spielberg) and many of the great shows produced by Quinn Martin. We’ll talk to Jacquie about working with such film and TV legends as James Stewart, Walter Matthau, Cliff Robertson, Dennis Weaver and, of course, David Janssen, as well as appearing on Broadway with such stars as Paul Muni.

Of course, many of us think of Jacqueline Scott as Donna Kimble Taft, Richard Kimble’s sister on The Fugitive. But if all goes well, we may also see her in a Super Bowl commercial next month on NBC. The commercial is called Sling Baby, and it’s one of five finalists in a contest sponsored by Doritos; the two spots that get the most votes will be shown during this year’s Super Bowl broadcast. But for that to happen, we need to get out the vote. So if you’d like to see Jacqueline Scott as part of the Super Bowl telecast, go to www.vote4slingbaby.com, watch the commercial, and cast your vote. There are five different ways in which you can vote, including through Facebook and your smart phone, and you can vote as often as five times a day, every day through Sunday, Jan. 29. Not only that, but Doritos will be awarding $10,000 to several voters, so the more you vote, the better your chances of winning. For more information, check out www.vote4slingbaby.com.

TV CONFIDENTIAL: A radio talk show about television
Wednesdays and Sundays 8pm ET, 5pm PT
WROM: Realms of Music
Fridays 7pm ET and PT
Share-a-Vision Radio, KSAV.org
Sundays 9pm PT, Mondays Midnight ET
The Coyote KWTY-FM (Ridgecrest, Calif.)
Tuesdays 11:05pm ET, 8:05pm PT
Passionate World Radio
www.tvconfidential.net
blog.tvconfidential.net
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