TVC 701.3: From August 2016: Steve Binder, Emmy Award-winning producer and director and the co-author, along with Mary Beth Leidman, of Fade Up 26: The Movers and Shakers of Variety Television , talks to Ed about the controversy involving Petula Clark and Harry Belafonte behind the scenes of Clark's 1968 special for NBC, and why both The Ed Sullivan Show and The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour really shaped the genre of variety television as we know it today....
Aug 11, 2025•14 min•Season 18Ep. 701
TVC 701.4: Part 2 of a conversation that began last week with actor, author, playwright, and Emmy Award-winning producer Laurence Luckinbill ( The Boys in the Band , The Delphi Bureau , Star Trek V: The Final Frontier , Lyndon, Hemingway, Teddy Tonight!, Clarence Darrow Tonight! ). Topics this segment include how Larry and Mart Crowley, author of The Boys in the Band, had more in common with each other than either had realized; and the night when Larry saw actor Charles Laughton perform passages...
Aug 11, 2025•21 min•Season 18Ep. 701
TVC 701.5: Actor and author Laurence Luckinbill ( The Boys in the Band , The Delphi Bureau , Star Trek V , Affective Memories: How Chance and The Theater Saved My Life ) talks to Ed about working with writer/producer Sam Rolfe on The Delphi Bureau (ABC, 1972-1973); how Larry's portrayal of Glenn Garth Gregory as a "reluctant hero" was a first for American dramatic television (beating out James Garner's reluctant hero Jim Rockford by two years); and the invaluable lesson about blocking that Larry...
Aug 11, 2025•20 min•Season 18Ep. 701
TVC 701.6: Actor and author Laurence Luckinbill talks to Ed about why St. Thomas More, the protagonist of Robert Bolt's award-winning play A Man for All Seasons , was one of the true disciples of Christ. Larry's autobiography, Affective Memories: How Chance and The Theater Saved My Life , is available wherever books are sold through Sunbury Press. Larry Luckinbill's A History and a Quest is a mini documentary that provides a primary lesson in fundamental civics and a history of why America exist...
Aug 11, 2025•8 min•Season 18Ep. 701
TVC 701.7: From August 2022: Chuck Harter shares a poignant memory of a scene that he witnessed at a Washington, D.C. tavern on Aug. 16, 1977, the day that Elvis Presley died.
Aug 11, 2025•9 min•Season 18Ep. 701
TVC 700.1: From August 2016: Ed welcomes Steve Binder, Emmy Award-winning producer and director ( Diana Ross: Live in Central Park, Elvis: The 1968 Comeback Special, The T.A.M.I. Show ) and the co-author, along with Mary Beth Liedman, of Fade Up 26: The Movers and Shakers of Variety Television , an oral history of variety television, as told through the voices of the men and women who were and are responsible for bringing these shows into our homes for the past sixty-five years....
Aug 04, 2025•25 min•Season 17Ep. 700
TVC 700.2: From August 2016: Steve Binder, Emmy Award-winning producer and director and the co-author, along with Mary Beth Leidman, of Fade Up 26: The Movers and Shakers of Variety Television , talks to Ed about working with Dwight Hemion on the pop music series Hullabaloo (NBC, 1965-1966). Gary Smith, Hemion's longtime producing partner, passed away on Saturday, July 19 at the age of ninety....
Aug 04, 2025•16 min•Season 17Ep. 700
TVC 700.3: Via remote from Las Vegas: Part 2 of a conversation that began last week with Morgan White, Jr. , longtime late night radio personality for WBZ AM-FM/Boston , author of many books on a variety of subjects, and the Undisputed King of Trivia . Topics this segment include the back story of Morgan came to wear his trademark black leather cowboy hat; how he came to be immortalized in two of the works of artist John Wilson , including the statue Father and Child Reading on the campus of Rox...
Aug 04, 2025•11 min•Season 17Ep. 700
TVC 700.4: Part 2 of a conversation that began last week with Kathleen Bradley , the first African-American model to join ranks with Barker's Beauties on The Price is Right , and the actress known around the world as Mrs. Parker in Friday . Topics this segment include Kathleen's years traveling the world as a member of the female soul and disco group The Love Machine ; the time when director Oliver Stone met with Kathleen to discuss her playing a role in one of his films; and why, in many respec...
Aug 04, 2025•25 min•Season 17Ep. 700
TVC 700.5: Ed back welcomes actor, author, playwright, and Emmy Award-winning producer Laurence Luckinbill ( The Boys in the Band , The Delphi Bureau , Star Trek V: The Final Frontier , Lyndon, Hemingway, Teddy Tonight!, Clarence Darrow Tonight! ). Topics this segment include why both the original stage production and the original theatrical release of The Boys in the Band are literature in the truest sense of the word; Larry's detailed recall of many of the events he depicts in his autobiograph...
Aug 04, 2025•20 min•Season 17Ep. 700
TVC 700.6: Actor and author Laurence Luckinbill ( The Boys in the Band , The Delphi Bureau , Star Trek V , Affective Memories: How Chance and The Theater Saved My Life ) talks to Ed about the many times in which providence has played a role in his life, including a pivotal night at the end of his first year as a pre-med student at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. Larry's autobiography, Affective Memories , is available wherever books are sold through Sunbury Press....
Aug 04, 2025•15 min•Season 17Ep. 700
Please enjoy this special bonus edition of the TV Confidential podcast honoring the memory of Loni Anderson, the actress known around the world as Jennifer Marlowe on WKRP in Cincinnati . Loni Anderson passed away Sunday, Aug. 3 at age seventy-nine. While we never had the opportunity to interview her directly on TV Confidential , Loni Anderson did appear on our program — kinda sorta — in September 2019, when we brought you remote coverage of the Opening Night ceremonies of a special exhibit at t...
Aug 04, 2025•6 min•Season 17Ep. 700
TVC 699.1: An encore presentation of a conversation from May 2015 with Mick Martin, the longtime blues artist and radio host who enjoyed a parallel successful career as film critic for The Sacramento Union and other newspapers. Mick Martin passed away on Sunday, July 13 at age seventy-six . Mick interviewed hundreds of actors and musicians, including Clint Walker, Jack Kelly and Christopher Lee, while his books included Video Movie Guide, a guide to movies and TV shows available on home entertai...
Jul 28, 2025•21 min•Season 17Ep. 699
TVC 699.2: From May 2015: Blues artist, radio host, and film historian Mick Martin and Ed discuss why John Mitchum, the younger brother of Robert Mitchum, was something of a "Hard Luck Harry" until his memorable role opposite Clint Eastwood in the original Dirty Harry . Other topics this segment include a look at such other notable character actors as Andrew Robinson, Richard Farnsworth, and Wilford Brimley; why Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones are really "character actors" at heart; and why Lo...
Jul 28, 2025•20 min•Season 17Ep. 699
TVC 699.3: Via remote from Las Vegas: Ed welcomes Morgan White, Jr. , longtime late night radio personality for WBZ AM-FM/Boston , author of many books on a variety of subjects, and the Undisputed King of Trivia . Besides his deep roots in radio, Morgan has hosted live improv trivia shows, both in Boston and in other parts of the country, for more than forty-five years—and, as you're able to hear, no one else approaches the subject of trivia quite like he does. You can listen to Morgan every Sat...
Jul 28, 2025•16 min•Season 17Ep. 699
TVC 699.4: Via remote from Las Vegas: Longtime Boston radio personality Morgan White, Jr . talks to Ed about meeting some of his animation heroes, including Daws Butler, Jay Ward, Bill Scott, and June Foray; how both Matt Damon and Ben Affeck were regular listeners of his late night show, before they became stars; and how Morgan became dear friends with one of his TV heroes, David McCallum. You can listen to Morgan every Saturday at 10pm ET on WBZ AM-FM/Boston ....
Jul 28, 2025•23 min•Season 17Ep. 699
TVC 699.5: Ed welcomes Kathleen Bradley , the first African-American model to join ranks with Barker's Beauties on The Price is Right , and the actress known around the world as the voluptuous Mrs. Parker in the 1995 cult comedy Friday . Kathleen recently reunited with Ice Cube, one of her co-stars in Friday , on the set of Ice Cube's music video for "It's My Ego." (Kathleen appears prominently in several scenes of the video; she is the stylishly dressed churchgoer in the blue dress and blue wid...
Jul 28, 2025•19 min•Season 17Ep. 699
TVC 699.6: Actress, supermodel, speaker, and author Kathleen Bradley talks to Ed about working with some of the other cast members of Friday , including Bernie Mac, Regina King, Tiny Lister, and John Witherspoon. Calendar year 2025 marks the thirtieth anniversary of the release of Friday . Kathleen's memoir, Backstage at The Price is Right: Memoirs of a Barker Beauty , is available both at Amazon and at KathleenBradley.tv ....
Jul 28, 2025•14 min•Season 17Ep. 699
TVC 698.1: Ed welcomes Taylor Blackwell, the writer, director, and star of It Happened , the award-winning short biopic about legendary comedienne Judy Tenuta . It Happened was made with the cooperation and financial support of the Judy Tenuta Legacy , which also allowed Taylor to use Judy's actual accordion in the film, as well as wear Judy's jewelry, accessories, flowers, feather boas, and wardrobe. Topics this segment include how Taylor came to make the film, how she channeled Judy's voice in...
Jul 21, 2025•20 min•Season 17Ep. 698
TVC 698.5: Ed welcomes Kiki Ebsen , youngest daughter of Buddy Ebsen, and an accomplished singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist in her own right. Kiki will perform her Joni Mitchell Tribute show at the Festival of Arts/Pagent of the Masters in Laguna Beach, CA on Saturday, July 26. She'll also be part of the Al Jarreau Band Reunion Show at Southcoast Winery in Temecula, CA on Sunday, Sept. 14 beginning at 7pm. For more details on these and other events on Kiki's calendar, go to the ...
Jul 21, 2025•20 min•Season 17Ep. 698
TVC 698.6: Singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist Kiki Ebsen talks to Ed about the tapestry of stories available in The Great American Songbook; how Kiki's lifelong passion for horses led her to start The Healing Equine Ranch , a nonprofit organization whose equine-assisted services integrates yoga philosophy, natural horsemanship principles, and trauma-informed science to create a profound connection between humans and horses; and how Kiki was once nearly strangled to death by the r...
Jul 21, 2025•13 min•Season 17Ep. 698
TVC 697.1: Ed welcomes back Rich Manley , world-renowned "adventure illusionist" and the writer, producer, director, and host of Culture Shock: Bridging Cultures Through Magic , the popular series on Tubi that communicates the energy, humility, and compassion of people coming together through the shared experience of magic. The first season of Culture Shock is available for viewing on demand on Tubi , while the series was also recently renewed for a second season. Rich's live stage show, Journal...
Jul 07, 2025•24 min•Season 17Ep. 697
From June 2023: Ed and Greg Ehrbar look back at the music and television career of Bobby Sherman as part of a conversation about the home entertainment release of Here Come the Brides (ABC, 1968-1970). Though Sherman first came into prominence as the house singer on Shindig (ABC, 1964-1966), the success of Here Come the Brides made him a teen idol, not to mention a gold-selling recording artist. Bobby Sherman passed away on Tuesday, June 24 at the age of eighty-one....
Jul 05, 2025•15 min•Season 17Ep. 697
We'll be back with a brand new edition of TV Confidential later in July. In the meantime, please enjoy this clip from June 2011 in which Tony, Donna, and Ed remember The Bicentennial Minutes (CBS, 1974-1976), a series of one-minute educational television segments, produced by CBS News, that every night aired in prime time (usually at the end of the 8pm hour) to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the American Revolution. The series premiered on July 4, 1974 and was originally scheduled to end o...
Jul 04, 2025•7 min
TVC 696.4: Via remote from Davenport's Restaurant in Encino, California: Part 2 of a conversation that began last week with Robert Crane , co-author, along with Christopher Fryer , of Three-Cornered Circle , is a screen play released in book form that is also an adaptation of one of the most poignant stories of Bob and Chris' book Crane: Sex, Celebrity, and My Father's Unsolved Murder : the period in Bob's life when he had to juggle the biggest break of his career at the time—being hired as righ...
Jun 30, 2025•23 min•Season 17Ep. 696
TVC 696.5: Via remote from the back patio of Davenport's Restaurant in Encino, California: Robert Crane , John Cerney , and Meagan Bejar talk to Ed about Bob's experience with dealing with tragedy and loss; why "closure" is a media term; how John Candy came from a humble background, after losing his father when he was five; and how Candy once lobbied NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana to play for the Toronto Argonauts in the CFL when Candy co-owned that team. Bob's latest book, Three-Corne...
Jun 30, 2025•21 min•Season 17Ep. 696
TVC 696.6: Christopher Fryer , co-author, along with Robert Crane , of Three-Cornered Circle , shares a few of his favorite stories about his encounters with John Candy, including the time when he, Bob, Candy, and then-NBC broadcaster Bob Costas were all stuck in the same car together along the Garden State Parkway while heading for a concert in New Jersey. Three-Cornered Circle is available through Kill Fee Publishing....
Jun 30, 2025•17 min•Season 17Ep. 696
TVC 695.1: Ed welcomes Academy Award-nominated director and animator Bill Kroyer ( FernGully: The Last Rainforest , Tron , Technological Threat ). The title of Bill's memoir, Mr. In-Between: My Life in the Middle of the Animation Revolution , is a play on words: He began his career in animation drawing something known as "in-betweens," while the story arc of his career in animation happens to coincide with the many changes in the landscape of animation that have occurred over the past five decad...
Jun 23, 2025•22 min•Season 17Ep. 695
TVC 695.2: Academy Award-nominated director and animator Bill Kroyer talks to Ed about what an "in-between" is in animation; why it took more than the success of Tron , the first feature motion picture to integrate computer-generated imagery, for CGI to take off; what led Bill into directing; and how he came to work with Mick Jagger on the music video for "Hard Woman," one of the first videos to use CGI software that implemented movement. Bill's memoir, Mr. In-Between: My Life in the Middle of t...
Jun 23, 2025•22 min•Season 17Ep. 695
TVC 695.4: Via remote from the back patio of Davenport's Restaurant in Encino, California: Ed welcomes back Robert Crane , eldest son of Hogan's Heroes star Bob Crane , and the author or co-author of several books on movies and television, including My UnHollywood Family , Hollywood Plateau , Jack Nicholson: The Early Years , Bruce Dern: Things I've Said, But Probably Shouldn't Have: An Unrepentant Memoir , and Crane: Sex, Celebrity, and My Father's Unsolved Murder (the last three of which were ...
Jun 23, 2025•24 min•Season 17Ep. 695
