S1 · E329
Saturday · 47 min
Counted on this page — what you have heard stays on this device, so it is not something the list can be paged by.
- ITS1 · E328August 29 · 43 min
Ken Lerner (Rocco Malachi on Happy Days / Lou Schwartz on The Goldbergs)
Ken Lerner joined me to discuss growing up in Brooklyn as a Yankee fan; being in the peanut gallery on Howdy Doody; his brother, the late Michael Lerner; studying with Stella Adler; Hot Tomorrow with Oingo Boingo and Herve Villechaize; being on the Happy Days episode "Richie Fights Back"; "Fonzie Love Pinky"; playing 3 characters of Happy Days; being a member of the Coney Island Whitefish; demolition derby stunt drivers took liberties on him; Roz Kelly fights with Winkler; being in Grand Theft Auto; Ron Howard mentored his son about being a child actor; Laverne & Shirley; Jerry Paris; Gas Pump Girls; did not know how to ride a motorcycle; Any Which Way but Loose; playing doctors, lawyers and rabbis; "Don't Shoot, I'm a Lawyer"; new character on Happy Days; worked throughout his 40's and 50's; Buffy the Vampire Slayer; Irreconcilable Differences; working with George C. Scott in Exorcist III; Love on the Run; The Feud; The Goldbergs asked his son if his real dad Ken can play his TV dad; The Running Man; Family Ties; Lafayette High School; Gravesend; Sledge Hammer; Adam Schiff fan of his on West Wing; Fabulous Baker Boys; Marc Maron and his brother; supposed to be in cast of Chicago Hope but given four episode run; auditioning on Zoom; Marty Brest; coaching on Zoom; loaded dreidels
- ITS1 · E327August 22 · 45 min
Morgan Fairchild
Morgan Fairchild joined me to discuss not being allowed to watch Dobie Gillis; improv and acting training from Larry O'Dwyer; being in the Junior Players; Happy Days; seeing Robin Williams rehearse Mork; getting called to be a recurring cast member on Mork & Mindy; David Letterman; Robert Conrad; doing a Bob Hope special with George Burns, Tony Randall, and Danny Thomas; Milton Berle shows up for shop talk; Jack Lemmon saves her on the dance floor; working with Rodney Dangerfield; hosting An Evening at the Improv and befriending Pee Wee Herman; being in Pee Wee's Big Adventure; Night of 100 Stars; "killing" Lee Strasberg; meeting Rosa Parks and Paul Newman; introducing Billy Crystal to Esther Williams, wife of Fernando Llamas; introducing Pee Wee to Willie Nelson; catching a bullet in her teeth on Circus of the Stars; guest starring on The Bob Newhart Show; co-hosting Battle of the Network Stars with Howard Cosell; Jon Lovitz and the Liar; being booked to host SNL and not knowing or in the country; Lorne wouldn't take her call to apologize; Blondes vs. Brunettes; going on Friends and realizing she knew Matthew Perry as a child; earning an Emmy nom on Murphy Brown; guesting in the lesbian kiss episode of Roseanne; The Simpsons; her podcast with her sister, Two Bitches from Texas; Anson Williams; and love in your 60s and 70s
- ITS1 · E326August 15 · 1 hr 14 min
Catlin Adams (The Jerk / A Jazz Singer / Sticky Fingers)
Catlin Adams joined me to discuss immigrating for Israel; Our Miss Brooks and The Gale Storm Show; 1950s anti-Antisemitism; being in acting class taught by Anna Mizrahi; auditioning for The Actor's Studio with Margaret Sherwood; her 60 years of friendship with Ellen Burstyn; taking class with Stella Adler; acting was about the craft; demystifying acting as making choices and sense memory; first TV role on He & She; parents let her stay in Actors Studio if she could pay for it and have a B average; her first film Up in the Cellar; getting cast; having to have stunt breasts; doing a McMillan and Wife; meeting Christopher Guest on The Fortune; shooting movie Katherine with Sissy Spacek and an unsure Henry Winkler; The Jerk is a smart dumb comedy; Theodora Van Runkel created her character's look; learning how to ride a motorcycle; improv in scenes with Steve Martin; her son watching it in school; Stanley Kubrick being a fan; getting the part by tackling Steve Martin and biting him on the nipple; Steve stood in lobby at premiere because of nerves; Jazz Singer is a great soundtrack; Neil Diamond was not a good actor; read for both female parts; changed scene to Neil turning her down for sex; her character kept changing; Olivier's acting was terrible; admitted doing the job for the money; quitting Square Pegs after being told teachers were going to be just as important as kids; going to AFI to learn directing; not knowing what to do; Obsession; Parasite; film waves; becoming friends with Melanie Mayron; writing Sticky Fingers for her and Rae Dawn Chong; Rae Dawn drops out and Helen Slater takes role; after movie, taking time out to have children; becoming an acting coach; Danitra Vance; Christopher Guest; SNL; Ellen Burstyn at 93; Lee Grant at 100; theater is for the rich now; directing Carol Kane
- ITS1 · E325August 8 · 49 min
Bill Nuss (Mee-Ow show / NBC exec / 21 Jump Street ep / Pacific Blue creator)
Bill Nuss joined me to discuss watching Off. Joe Bolton as a child; writing to Johnny Carson; his love of Honeymooners; going to film school backward; creating the Mee-Ow show at Northwestern with partner Dusty Kay; Seth Myers crediting it with his pursuing comedy; meeting Brandon Tartikoff; auditioning for SNL; Brandon gets them a pitch at Eight is Enough; going with Brandon as an exec to NBC; creation of Diff'rent Strokes; being in the room when the cancellation of SNL was discussed; worked on Cannell and Larson series; asked to write for A-Team & later 21 Jump Street; casting Johnny Depp; writing the Hulk Hogan A-Team episodes; "Lease with an Option to Buy" w/ Della Reese and worst episode of A-Team; writing a Psycho homage for Knight Rider and a The God's Must Be Crazy takeoff for the A-Team; creating the Booker character for Jump Street; favorite Jump Streets; Raven; guesting on his shows; The Hat Squad; Renegade; directing was easy for him; favorite episode of Booker; creating Pacific Blue; WWE & Mario Lopez; PB episodes "Stargazer' and "59 Minutes"; creating North Shore and having young Jason Momoa in the cast; NCIS; Hawaii 5-0; his passion project, the musical version of The Honeymooners
- ITS1 · E324August 1 · 40 min
Melody Anderson (Flash Gordon / Manimal)
Melody Anderson joins me and discusses having a crush on Tonto; going into radio journalism; hearing a radio broadcast of Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf and wanting to go into acting; moving to LA and modeling to pay bills; getting gigs of Welcome Back, Kotter, Pleasure Cove, Elvis, and BJ in the Bear quickly; starring in Flash with Max von Sydow; playing it straight; meeting Queen; co-starring in Dead and Buried with a sick Jack Albertson; getting great reviews as an undead school teacher; going against type on Bunker's Place; wanting to be like Jean Arthur or Carole Lombard; guesting on Fall Guy and with Dirk Benedict on A-Team and Battlestar Galactica; CHiPs; Police Woman Centerfold; starring in movies of the week; Manimal; loving the animals; show is made fun of but was a fun job; playing Edith Adams to Jeff Goldblum's Ernie Kovacs; High School USA; Boy in Blue with Nicholas Cage; St. Elsewhere; Murder, She Wrote; going to NYU to get her masters in social work; being a trauma treatment specialist; wants to be known for doing good; EMDR treatment; sees patients 20 hours a week; Zoom therapy; www.counselingbymelody.com; calming techniques; what she does if patients recognize her
- ITS1 · E321July 25 · 41 min
Jill Kleck Woo (p.a. Fridays, The Blues Brothers, Eye Magic Productions)
Jill Kleck Woo and I discuss being restless on a farm; watching the Brady Bunch and wanting to go to California; going to Ohio University; Bernie Brillstein offering a job in California; working with John Moffitt and Bill Lee; Friday Edition; musical guests; Andy Kaufman; Fridays next to Lawrence Welk; Don Novello; Maryedith Burrell; cancellation of Fridays; Not Necessarily the News; Rich Hall, Conan O'Brien, Al Jean and Mike Reiss; Tom Kramer & Michael Richards; Fridays now streaming; how she started her business; moving to Santa Monica; hiring crews for The Daily Show; sending crews to Fairbanks, Alaska and jungles of Thailand; working with The Daily Show since Craig Kilborn; Amy Kimmleman; how Fridays had pictures of their crew in the credits
- ITS1 · E322July 18 · 1 hr 1 min
Robert L. McCullough (Bionic Woman / BJ & the Bear / Falcon Crest)
Robert L. McCullough joined me to discuss watching test patterns and Captain Tom; going to BHHS w/ Burt Ward; going to Stanford to mingle; became a page and a gopher at Universal; becoming a set locator for Bionic Woman and pitching a script; goes to Eight is Enough, then BJ and the Bear; writes "Gasohol", "Beauties and the Beasts" and the creepy "Blonde in a Cell of Gold" guest starring Paul Williams; getting call to "fix" Falcon Crest, makes it more soapy; creates show bible on stories on his wives 10 siblings; Jane Wyman was the hard worker ; getting Lana Turner to guest star; Jackie Collins Hollywood Wives; Arthur Hailey's International Airport; Dark Mansion; odd meeting with Loretta Young; signing Joan Fontaine; O'Hara, with Pat Morita; Zorro, four seasons with Duncan Regehr; Daniel Craig's first TV appearance, High Tide with Rick Springfield; Soldier of Fortune with Dennis Rodman; Tag Team pilot with Jesse Ventura & Randy "Macho Man" Savage; creating script contests that lead to things; going one on one with new writers and creating a how to podcast.
- ITS1 · E321July 13 · 1 hr 6 min
Art Dielhenn (director Punky Brewster / Head of the Class / Sister Sister)
Art Dielhenn joined me to discuss watching Roy Rogers; having celiac disease and dyslexia; a drama coach turns him onto acting; realizing in college he is not an actor; moving Oppenheimer's possessions as a moving man; spending 7 years directing at KRMA Denver; moving to KQED San Francisco and directing Pauline Kael; Peter Bonerz is a guest and invites Art to L.A.; Norman Lear hires him as an AD on Apple Pie and Hello Larry; does Sanford and says Redd and Jamie Foxx are two funniest people he's ever worked with; working with Jack Shea on Silver Spoons; Insight; getting the job on Punky Brewster; "Perils of Punky" episode; censor problems; 15 minute episodes; going to Webster; everyone hates Susan Clark; being friends with Soleil Moon Frye's mom and they both protect Soleil; going to Head of the Class; Howard Hesseman being miserable; working with Brian Robbins, Dan Schneider, and Elaine Stritch; getting hired to direct Free Spirit, wanting Amy Yasbeck as star, but getting Corrine Bohrer; wanting and getting Allison Hannigan as co-star; directing a Cosby Show and having to give Cosby notes; directing Pacific Station and dealing with a depressed Robert Guillaume; having fun with Ron Liebman; Sister, Sister with Tia & Tamera Mowry; directing Lifetime show Maggie; going into life coaching; getting clients; going to AA; writing Get Out of Your Head and Addiction is a Family Disease; how alcoholism is a progressive disease even if you're not actively drinking
- ITS1 · E320July 4 · 58 min
Dan O'Shannon (Newhart / Cheers / Modern Family)
Dan O'Shannon joined me to discuss Cleveland kids TV and his documentary; going to Cleveland State for a year; doing stand up; getting to know his character; buying a Cheers script to find a template for a spec script; Marc Sotkin reads spec, hires him on It's A Living; writes for Safe at Home; writes a freelance Charmings; getting hired with writing partner Tom Anderson on Newhart; writing a freelance Cheers on off time; coming up with the Newhart finale at same time as Bob's wife; Cheers episode "Two Girls for Every Boyd"; "Who is Cliff Clavin" and Alex Trebek's acting; Spanky MacFarlane; almost getting Bill Clinton; "Severe Crane Damage" - did not write We Will Rock You opening; Freudian slip joke; coining the phrase "Did I say that out loud"; writing the episode were Lilith divorces Frasier; "Woody Gets an Election"; Kelsey Grammar becomes Frasier; the last name Kraypence; his 1993 sitcom The Boys with Anthony Edwards replaced by Christopher Meloni; Suddenly Susan with Rodney Dangerfield; Oscar nominee for Redux Riding Hood; Maggie; Frasier episodes "Sliding Doors", "Rooms with a View"; Don Juan in Hell"; Modern Family "Fly with Me", "having to service all characters, "Undeck the Halls"; his books "What are you Laughing At" and "The Adventures of Mrs. Jesus", pilot "Furst Born"; moving to Cleveland"; long driving trips
- ITS1 · E319June 27 · 54 min
Seth Freeman (Lou Grant / Brooklyn Bridge)
Seth Freeman joined me to discuss going backstage on Kukla, Fran & Ollie; Hop-along Cassidy; writing for his school paper; teaching math to inner city students so they gain pride; deciding to move to LA; becoming a gofer at MTM; being mentored by Gene Reynolds, Allan Burns, and James L. Brooks; Jeff Melvoin's book on TV writing; WGA Foundation for TV writers; knowing all aspects of TV production in case you become a producer; working on the TV show Brooklyn Bridge; CBS wants to spin off Lou Grant; MTM wants to make it a drama; his episode "Hostage", "The Cop"; pitching an episode then doing the research; writing an episode about message parlor girls, prisoners of conscience and the blacklist; "Rape" came from Allan Burns and his wife's charity work; writing a spec Bob Newhart and getting both sitcoms and dramas which made him what Lou Grant producers wanted; creating Lincoln Heights, getting an MA in public health right before COVID 19; CBS thought Lou Grant would be cancelled after 13 weeks; was eventually cancelled last minute because of Ed Asner's politics
- ITS1 · E318June 20 · 37 min
Prof. Frank Chindamo (SNL Season 6 writers assistant / creator LaughMD.com)
Frank Chindamo joined me to talk about being half Ecuadorean and half Italian and can only speak English; living in Queens; Winky Dink and You; getting the writer's assistants job; Ferris Butler; Michael O'Donoghue; Charles Rocket's f-bomb; his sketch that was never produced; Bill Murray teaches him Cronkite; working on the first documentary about Mother Theresa; getting a MFA at Columbia; his shorts Cat and Mousse and Jelly Donut Saga; directing Food for Thought; creating a company Fun Little Movies that produced first internet comedy series and first comedy video for a phone; teaching at USC; learns comedy can reduce stress, pain and heart attacks; writes a book Laugh RX; medicine is the best medicine but laughter helps; Jon Stewart & Patch Adam; LaughterMD.com; worst place to watch comedy is on Tik Tok
- ITS1 · E317June 13 · 1 hr
Marsha Posner Williams (producer, Soap / Night Court / Golden Girls)
Marsha Posner Williams joined me to talk about wanting to know how TV was made; being able to type 122 WPM; getting a job as a secretary for Steve Gordon on "The Practice"; getting hired by Tony Thomas; working for Soap; most controversial show ever; mix of comedy and drama; Billy Crystal's coming out scene; best of season cuts would be 4 hours long; Bea Arthur; Benson; Inga Swenson; Ann Jillian; Condo; Marc Price's set teacher was president of Marlo Thomas fan club; Estelle Getty second youngest on Golden Girls; hoping producing Night Court would get her off jury duty; tallest cast ever; Reinhold Weege would think sitting in dark black rooms; getting married in 1985 and doing 52 episodes of three sitcoms; Hail to the Chief; Dick Shawn; "the woman is a candle"; nuns in the front row; pilot Arena with Ted Bessell; came to Golden Girls after Coco; Golden Girls drag show; WWE wrestler is a huge fan; SNL skit; Lanai; Susan Harris plays a hooker on Soap and uses the phrase "around the world"; John Ritter's testicles and Cheers name mix-ups; Bea & Betty's mothers die the same week; The Golden Girls being easy to work with; Paul Bogart quit as director, replaced by Jay Sandrich and Terry Hughes; Babes; working with Stu Silver on "Good Grief"; wanting an older lead and FOX forcing Howie Mandel; Jerry Lewis directs an episode; Tom Poston; typing 20,000 jokes in two years makes her tough; getting her hand smacked by Ed. Weinberger at Amen
- ITS1 · E316June 6 · 40 min
Susan Silver (Mary Tyler Moore / Bob Newhart shows, author Hot Pants in Hollywood)
Susan Silver joined me to discuss being a Sagittarius; watching Your Show of Shows; being born in Milwaukee and moving to Whitefish Bay; being rocked by her mother; Northwestern; UCLA with professor Francis Ford Coppola; working on Laugh In; writing for Love, American Style and Room 222; writing the Mary Tyler Moore episodes "A Friend in Need" & "Room 223"; writing the pilot to Maude; wearing hot pants and being in a TV guide article; The Couple Takes a Wife and similar Seinfeld episode; Bob Newhart show; her favorite TV movie that didn't go; her political affair; helping Bill Clinton; offered a job writing for NASA; working for the ADL; my grandmothers WWII story; being a UN observer for the Simon Wiesenthal Center; Bob Woodruff a funny person; Square Pegs; saying she's in the age bracket 50 to dead; dating past 50; no longer dyeing her hair; choking stories; Dr. Heimlich & Anson Williams; her "adopted" grandchildren; working with the FIDF; future of Israel; antisemitism; Hitlers Ascent and Trump; being afraid to walk in NYC with the Star of David; NY vs. LA; Donald Trump; Buddy Hackett vs. Don Rickles; her parents
- ITMay 30 · 1 hr 3 min
Kevin Kelton (2021 Interview with Better Audio)
Kevin and I discuss Face the Music; Fridays; Twilight Theater; Laugh Trax; No Soap, Radio; The Jeffersons; getting SNL; Eddie Murphy's showcase; getting stuff on his second show; Subliminal Advertising Sketch, Lie Detector Sketch; Chess Club Coach sketch; Trivial Pursuit sketch; being locked in Dick Ebersol's office to write Eddie Murphy's Christmas 1984 show; Christopher Guest Auctioneer Sketch, I Am Also the World, Prison Rape Sketch; Women in Prison tv show; Night Court and favorite episodes; Boy Meets World and the genius of Will Freidle; Townsend TV; Boogies Diner; Girlfriend Guy; BIFL; and what he's doing now.
- ITS1 · E315May 23 · 59 min
Ross Shafer (Almost Live!/Late Show/Match Game)
Ross Shafer joined me to talk about watching Rusty Nails as a kid; flipping bikes, cars, houses, and businesses; college football; owning a stereo / pet store named Woofers and Tweeters; hamster drag racing; going to a comedy club when he had an ulcer; seeing there was a science there; trying it and getting good enough to win Showtimes Comedy Laugh Off; having a day job and not being able to move to LA; bombing on Alan Thicke's Canadian talk show; pitching Almost Live!; getting the show on the air on the fly; creating fame for little towns near Seattle; Louie, Louie campaign makes it a hit, but no one wants to syndicate; gets job to host Late Show but has to cancel remaining gigs; writers to Johnny Carson; Writer's Strike causes theme shows like TV reunions; Ozzy Osbourne; Hollywood Squares & Howard Stern; finding out Late Show is cancelled that morning; getting Match Game; memorable trip; Sally Struthers and Charles Nelson Reilly; Iraq War preempts show and ratings dive; began doing corporate gigs; his WOW versus POW theory; the book Love, Johnny by Mark Malkoff
- ITS1 · E315May 16 · 56 min
Peter Lefcourt (author The Deal & The Dreyfus Affair, writer / producer Cagney & Lacey)
Peter Lefcourt joined me to discuss listening to Jean Shepard, his first TV, joining the Peace Corps and going to Togo; living in Paris three months a year; coming back and teaching in the Dalton School; being a cab driver and studying dialogue; becoming a professor at Marlboro College in Vermont; wrote a TV movie that sold and didn't get made; writing pornography and turning a story into a TV movie with Barbara Eden and Barbara Feldon; early freelance jobs; Eight is Enough; Dick Van Patten and the ponies; Rivkin the Bounty Hunter TV movie; American Dream; Scarecrow & Mrs. King; pilot Bulba with Jeff Altman & Bill Hicks; Devlin Connection with Rock Hudson; Cagney & Lacey, his 1st episode "Jane Doe #37" nominated for Writer's Guild Award; wins Emmy in 1985; creating I Had Three Wives and casting Victor Garber; working on Our Family Honor; writing Monte Carlo for Joan Collins and George Hamilton; Studio 5B; writing his first novel The Deal, a harsh satire on the film industry; his second novel, The Dreyfus Affair, about a homosexual love story on an MLB team; optioned three times and now being looked at by Timothy Chalamet; Di & I a fictional love story between Princess Diana and a Jewish screenwriter; working on Due South with Paul Haggis; The Woody satirizing Bob Packwood; Abbreviating Ernie about rough sex that leads to death and dismemberment; his TV satire Beggars and Choosers he co-created with Brandon Tartikoff; Eleven Karens about a man who had relationships with 11 women named Karen; Manhattan Beach Project, a satire on reality TV; his love of dark humor
- ITS1 · E313May 9 · 57 min
Marc Weingarten (comedian, owner of the Ice House 1978 - 1982)
Marc Weingarten joined me to discuss putting color strips on a black and white TV, trying to watch TV with Orthodox Jewish parents; moving from NY to Miami to Israel to California; his first time on stage; learning how to be a standup; producing Count Basie's final album; getting a job at the Laff Stop; investing 1% in that club; hearing the Ice House was for sale and buying it with three partners for $67,000; history of the Ice House; Pat Paulsen; seeing green George Lopez; Gallagher; David Letterman; producing Rick Dees comedy shows and writing an opening for Rick to be funny; sold out 6000 seats in 10 days; doing sports with Sweet Dick Whittington; getting Rudy Tellez as his manager; being a writer on Into the Night when Brad Garrett hosted; producing the Super Bowl of Comedy; creating the Uproar comedy label; becoming a Grammy voter; memories of Richard Jeni, Jay Leno, Harry Anderson, Jay Johnson, Marcia Warfield, Robin Williams, Ben Powers, Howie Mandel; what makes the best comedians; Woody Allen; George Carlin's friendship and advice; Bill Cosby; being bumped by Rodney Dangerfield.
- ITS1 · E312May 2 · 1 hr 5 min
Rebeca Arthur Golden (Perfect Strangers, Scrooged)
Rebecca Arthur Golden joined me to discuss her love of Lucille Ball; her current dogs; her beloved dog Emmy who was her dog on Perfect Strangers; being a born performer and always knowing she would be on TV; playing a stewardess; went to NYU; supported herself as a bank teller, then infiltrated high schools for a private eye; worked the Robert Durst case; being on Search for Tomorrow; getting a pilot Anything But Love with Vicki Lawrence and Marsha Warfield; couldn't get on Super Password but next year was the celebrity; Win, Lose or Draw and March Game; doing a Rodney Dangerfield special; getting Perfect Strangers; learning co-star Melanie Wilson's dad is Mr. Whipple; Bibibopka episode; doing an episode when Bronson couldn't be there; guesting on Johnny Carson, being scared and answering "the laundry" when asked what was next; Circus of the Stars; getting strep during rehearsals of trapeze and being scared on tape night; being on the last Battle of the Network Stars; ABC winning though cast was undersized; Cosell calling her race; winning the Tug O' War; improvising a scene in Scrooged with Bill Murray; leaving show business to raise a family; going back to do a short film and a play; working as a spokesperson for Cabi; charity work; being a class mom and making DVD's on school shows for all the parents.
- ITS1 · E311April 25 · 53 min
Greg Evigan (BJ and the Bear, My Two Dads)
Greg Evigan joined me to discuss writing the theme to My Two Dads; watching Honeymooners; piano lessons; high school bands; winning an Award for Hello Dolly in high school; being i Jesus Christ Superstar & Grease on Broadway and road; being cast in A Year at the Top with Paul Shaffer; All that Glitters; his memorable two-part One Day at a Time; BJ and the Bear not getting a DVD release; driving miles per episode; clapboard motivated Sam; finding out about the 7 Lady Truckers; Lady Truckers do Carson - he gets guest host; Masquerade; Kirstie Alley; participating in the BOTNS; being the 1988 captain; Howard Cosell; winning with Robert Conrad as captain; performing on and with Pink Lady; singing with Valerie Landsburg on Fame; performing My Two Dads theme on an episode; working with Davey Jones & Bobby Rydell; cliffhanger ending; Chuck Lorre = physical comedy; crazy 80s fashion; married 47 years; kids and grandkids around the world; daughter a humanitarian in Zimbabwe; son Jason, a Grammy winning songwriter - producer; doing three Aaron Spelling shows in three years; Pacific Palisades; working; with David Steinberg; doing General Hospital; writing classical music and performing with The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra