TV Confidential continues its program-length tribute to Wink Martindale by bringing you an encore presentation of Wink's appearance on our program in December 2018. Topics this segment include how Wink taught himself how to become an announcer when he was a kid by reading ads from Life magazine aloud; the back story of "Deck of Cards," the spoken word recording that Wink first released in 1959 and which has sold than three million copies ever since; the many ways in which providence has played a...
May 05, 2025•21 min•Season 17Ep. 688
From December 2018: Wink Martindale talks to Ed about why game shows remain a popular form of entertainment on television; the importance of matching the right host with the right game format; how Wink happened to be at radio station WHBQ in Memphis, TN on the night of July 8, 1954, when deejay Dewey Phillips played an Elvis Presley record ("That's All Right, Mama") on the radio for the very first time; and how Wink also met Elvis for the first time that night when the King was summoned to the s...
May 05, 2025•17 min•Season 17Ep. 688
TVC 687.1: Ed and guest co-host Chuck Harter welcome Dore Page, author of Leslie Stevens Goes to Hollywood: Daystar Productions, Kate Manx and the Making of Private Property , a deep dive into the life and career of Leslie Stevens—the maverick television writer and producer whom most of us know best as the creator of The Outer Limits —that particularly focuses on Stevens' early career as a playwright (including the Broadway production of The Marriage Go-Round ); the back story of Daystar Product...
Apr 28, 2025•16 min•Season 17Ep. 678
TVC 687.2: Dore Page, author of Leslie Stevens Goes to Hollywood: Daystar Productions, Kate Manx and the Making of Private Property , talks to Ed and guest co-host Chuck Harter about the fragile mix of ambition, frustration, and insecurity that comprised the psyche of actress Kate Manx, and the extent to which depression may have factored into the circumstances leading up to Manx's death in November 1964. Leslie Stevens Goes to Hollywood is available through McFarland Books....
Apr 28, 2025•17 min•Season 17Ep. 687
TVC 687.3: Peter Ford , son of screen legends Glenn Ford and Eleanor Powell and the author of Glenn Ford: A Life , talks to Ed about how his dad used his star power to hire directors and actors on Cade's County (CBS, 1971-1972) with whom he'd worked before, including George Marshall, Leo Penn, Edgar Buchanan, Barbara Rush, and Broderick Crawford; how James Woods saved Peter's life in 1976 while the two of them filmed a scene together for "Sins of Thy Father," an episode of Barnaby Jones ; and so...
Apr 28, 2025•23 min•Season 17Ep. 687
TVC 686.1: Part 2 of a conversation that began last week with Laurel and Hardy historian Randy Skretvedt. Chuck Harter co-hosts. Topics this segment include what first sparked Randy's interest in Laurel and Hardy; Randy's favorite scene in March of the Wooden Soldiers ; and why Wooden Soldiers remains so popular, more than ninety years after its original release. Randy's latest book, March of the Wooden Soldiers: The Amazing Story of Laurel & Hardy's Babes in Toyland , is available from Bona...
Apr 21, 2025•25 min•Season 17Ep. 686
TVC 686.2: Peter Ford , son of screen legends Glenn Ford and Eleanor Powell, helps Ed celebrate the seventieth anniversary of the release of Blackboard Jungle , the iconic film from 1955 that not only starred Glenn Ford as a young English teacher in an inner-city high school, but which prominently featured the song "Rock Around the Clock" in its soundtrack, putting Bill Haley and the Comets on the map while also launching the era of rock 'n' roll music. Peter Ford was just ten years old when Bla...
Apr 21, 2025•21 min•Season 17Ep. 686
TVC 686.3: Peter Ford , son of screen legends Glenn Ford and Eleanor Powell and the author of Glenn Ford: A Life , talks to Ed about working with his dad and Edgar Buchanan on Cade's County (CBS, 1971-1972), including the back story for why the series did not last more than one season; how Peter became a reserve deputy for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department a few years after Cade's County ended; and how both he and Bobby Sherman once appeared together as bachelors (Peter, reluctantly so...
Apr 21, 2025•12 min•Season 17Ep. 686
From August 2014: Authors Paul Green and Mary Ann Anderson join Ed for a look back at the life and career of Jeffrey Hunter. Paul's book Jeffrey Hunter: The Film, Television, Radio and Stage Performances is a comprehensive look at the actor best known for his starring roles as Martin Pawley in The Searchers , Christopher Pike in the original pilot episode of Star Trek , and Jesus Christ in Nicholas Ray's King of Kings . Mary knew Jeffrey Hunter; her mother, actress Emily McLaughlin, married Hunt...
Apr 18, 2025•19 min•Season 17Ep. 686
TVC 685.1: Ed and guest co-host Chuck Harter welcome author, voice artist, radio host, and Laurel and Hardy historian Randy Skretvedt. Randy's latest book, March of the Wooden Soldiers: The Amazing Story of Laurel & Hardy's Babes in Toyland , is a detailed, behind-the-scenes look at the making of March of the Wooden Soldiers (1934), the adaptation of the Victor Herbert operetta Babes in Toyland (which, in fact, was the title of Wooden Soldiers when it was originally released) that not only h...
Apr 15, 2025•22 min•Season 17Ep. 685
TVC 685.2: Laurel and Hardy historian Randy Skretvedt, author of March of the Wooden Soldiers: The Amazing Story of Laurel & Hardy's Babes in Toyland , talks to Ed and guest co-host Chuck Harter about how Stan Laurel not only acted as the de facto director on many of the comedy team's films, but closely oversaw the editing of their films, and how Oliver Hardy was an accomplished actor who was beloved by cast and crew off-camera. March of the Wooden Soldiers: The Amazing Story of Laurel &...
Apr 15, 2025•21 min•Season 17Ep. 685
TVC 685.3: Ed welcomes renowned actress, teacher, and independent filmmaker Michelle Danner ( Hello Herman, The Runner, Bad Impulse ). Michelle's latest film, The Italians , is an ensemble comedy-drama about an idiosyncratic Italian-American family that drive each other crazy, but who pull themselves together upon learning that the matriarch (Michelle's character) has a serious heart condition—a crisis that causes the entire family to reevaluate themselves. Michelle Danner stars in and directs T...
Apr 15, 2025•16 min•Season 17Ep. 685
TVC 684.1: Ed welcomes Nelson Aspen , award-winning entertainment reporter, one of the leading authorities on the subject of the sinking of the Titanic on Apr. 15, 1912, and the author of Kindred Spirits: A Titanic Tale . Inspired by Nelson's personal experiences, Kindred Spirits not only spans the time between the night when the Titanic met her tragic fate and the hedonistic party scene of contemporary Manhattan, but is a story of love and redemption that was denied to gay men at the time becau...
Apr 07, 2025•26 min•Season 17Ep. 684
TVC 684.2: Nelson Aspen, author of Kindred Spirits: A Titanic Tale , tells Ed the back story of his decades-long friendship with actress Carol Lynley, plus he recommends some film adaptations of the Titanic story, including A Night to Remember , the 1958 film starring Kenneth More that is based on Walter Lord's book of the same name. (Nelson wrote the foreword to Tom Lisanti's excellent book Carol Lynley: Her Film and TV Career in Thrillers, Fantasy, and Suspense .) Kindred Spirits is available ...
Apr 07, 2025•13 min•Season 17Ep. 684
TVC 684.2a: Part 2 of a conversation that began last week with Hank Garrett , the actor known around the world as Officer Nicholson on Car 54, Where Are You? and one of the most accomplished voice artists in the entertainment industry. In this segment Hank shares a few memories of working with Peter Falk on Columbo: Undercover and with Buddy Hackett at one of the nightclubs in the Catskill Mountains of New York early in Hank's career. Hank's memoir, From Harlem Hoodlum to Hollywood Heavyweight ,...
Apr 07, 2025•11 min•Season 17Ep. 684
TVC 684.3: Hank Garrett talks to Ed, Tony, and Donna about working with Sophia Loren in the 1979 thriller Firepower ; the night Hank once escorted Audrey Hepburn for a Hollywood event; and the generosity that Tony Bennett showed Hank when he opened for Bennett at the Copa Cabana. Hank's memoir, From Harlem Hoodlum to Hollywood Heavyweight , is available through Briton Publishing, Amazon.com, and other online retailers....
Apr 07, 2025•17 min•Season 17Ep. 684
TVC 683.1: Ed welcomes back David Arnoff , one of the best music photographers of his generation. David's book Shot in the Dark is a collection of photos featuring Patti Smith, The Clash, Devo, Blondie, Lydia Lunch, The Cramps, The Ramones, David Johanson, Misfits, Nick Cave, Siouxsee and the Banshees, Joan Jett, Elvis Costello, and other music artists—all taken circa 1976 to 1985, and nearly of all which capture these performers in seminal moments in their careers. Shot in the Dark is available...
Mar 31, 2025•21 min•Season 17Ep. 683
TVC 683.2: Music photographer David Arnoff discusses some of the photographs that appear in his book Shot in the Dark , including the ones of Lou Reed, Elvis Costello, and The Kramps. Other topics this segment include what first sparked David's interest in photography, why he is particularly drawn to "journalistic photography" (i.e., photos that capture candid moments off-stage, but which do not appear staged because there are usually taken in a more controlled environment), and why black and wh...
Mar 31, 2025•16 min•Season 17Ep. 683
TVC 683.5: Ed, Tony, and Donna welcome back Hank Garrett , the actor known around the world as Officer Nicholson on Car 54, Where Are You? and one of the most accomplished voice artists in the entertainment industry. Topics this segment include how Hank first developed his skill for dialects after watching Sid Caesar rehearse for Your Show of Shows . Hank's memoir, From Harlem Hoodlum to Hollywood Heavyweight , is available through Briton Publishing, Amazon.com, and other online retailers....
Mar 31, 2025•21 min•Season 17Ep. 683
TVC 683.6: Hank Garrett talks to Ed, Tony, and Donna about competing against Sammy Davis Jr. in a "quick draw" competition, sparring with Elvis Presley in Las Vegas, and co-starring opposite James Earl Jones on Paris (CBS, 1979-1980). Hank's memoir, From Harlem Hoodlum to Hollywood Heavyweight , is available through Briton Publishing, Amazon.com, and other online retailers....
Mar 31, 2025•14 min•Season 17Ep. 683
TVC 682.1: Ed welcomes Elva Green , author of The Jeffersons: A fresh look back at The Jeffersons (CBS, 1975-1985), Norman Lear's longest-running sitcom, starring Isabel Sanford, Sherman Hemsley, an Marla Gibbs, and Eddie Green: The Rise of an Early 1900s Black American Entertainment Pioneer . Chuck Harter co-hosts. Topics this segment include how, while The Jeffersons was an immediate hit among viewers, reviews of the show during its first few years on the air were split—both among white critic...
Mar 24, 2025•27 min•Season 17Ep. 682
TVC 682.2: Elva Green , author of The Jeffersons: A fresh look back , talks to Ed and guest co-host Chuck Harter about such notable episodes of The Jeffersons as "George's First Dollar" and "And The Doorknobs Shone Like Diamonds," plus she gives a preview of her upcoming book on Good Times . The Jeffersons: A fresh look back is available through Bear Manor Media....
Mar 24, 2025•22 min•Season 17Ep. 682
TVC 682.3: Ed and guest co-host Chuck Harter welcome award-winning producer, director, writer, journalist, and author Burt Kearns. Burt's latest book, SHEMP! The Biography of The Three Stooges' Shemp Howard: The Face of Film Comedy , not only takes a deep dive into the life and career of Shemp Howard—one of the original members of The Three Stooges and, in real life, the older brother of Moe Howard and Curly Howard—but debunks many myths both about Shemp's career before and during The Three Stoo...
Mar 24, 2025•23 min•Season 17Ep. 682
TVC 682.4: Burt Kearns, author of SHEMP! The Biography of The Three Stooges' Shemp Howard: The Face of Film Comedy , talks to Ed and guest co-host Chuck Harter about some of the more notable roles in Shemp Howard's diverse career as a solo actor, including Private Buckaroo (1942), a musical comedy featuring Harry James, The Andrews Sisters, and Mary Wickes that Burt says is as close to a star vehicle that Shemp ever had; why Shemp rejoined The Stooges in 1946, after Curly's debilitating stroke; ...
Mar 24, 2025•19 min•Season 17Ep. 682
TVC 682.5: Burt Kearns, author of SHEMP! The Biography of The Three Stooges' Shemp Howard: The Face of Film Comedy , talks to Ed and guest co-host Chuck Harter about how the repeated blows to the head that Shemp Howard, Curly Howard, and Larry Fine all took during the many live appearances that The Three Stooges made every year during their annual hiatus from Columbia Pictures resulted in cerebral hemorrhages that proved to be fatal for all three actors. SHEMP! is available through Applause Book...
Mar 24, 2025•16 min•Season 17Ep. 682
We'll be back with a brand new edition of TV Confidential later this week. In the meantime, please enjoy this clip from March 2012 in which Tony, Donna and Ed remember "A House Divided," the famous episode of Dallas that launched the "Who Shot J.R.?" phenomenon of 1980. "A House Divided" originally aired Mar. 21, 1980.
Mar 21, 2025•11 min
We'll be back with a brand new edition of TV Confidential later this week. In the meantime, please enjoy this clip from March 2013 in which Tony, Donna, and Ed remember the first nationally televised broadcast of the Academy Awards ceremony, which took place on Mar. 19, 1953 during This Week in TV History.
Mar 17, 2025•5 min
TVC 681.1: Music journalist A. Scott Galloway joins Ed as TV Confidential remembers the life and legacy of Grammy Award-winning recording artist Roberta Flack . Scott interviewed Flack in 1988 for her comeback album, Oasis , plus he wrote a very eloquent essay on his Facebook page that captures why the news of her death struck a chord with music lovers around the world, particularly those of us who grew up listening to her songs playing on the radio throughout the 1970s. Roberta Flack passed awa...
Mar 10, 2025•24 min•Season 17Ep. 681
TVC 681.2: From October 2010: Charles Fox , the Grammy Award-winning and Emmy Award-winning composer who co-wrote "Killing Me Softly with His Song" along with Norman Gimbel, talks to Ed about the phone call he received from Roberta Flack in 1972, asking if she could perform "Killing Me Softly," and how that call changed Charles' life. Nearly forty years later, Flack wrote the foreword to Charles' memoir, Killing Me Softly: My Life in Music (Scarecrow Press, 2010). Roberta Flack passed away Monda...
Mar 10, 2025•10 min•Season 17Ep. 681
TVC 681.2a: From January 2012: Television writer/producer Larry Brody takes Ed and his listeners behind the scenes of Police Story (NBC, 1973-1979), the Emmy Award-winning police anthology series created by Joseph Wambaugh and executive produced by David Gerber . Larry received one of his first breaks in television working with Gerber. Topics this segment include Gerber's peculiar mandate that discouraged writers on his shows from ever allowing characters to show any positive emotion. Joseph Wam...
Mar 10, 2025•11 min•Season 17Ep. 681
