TVC 716.5: From February 2014: Prolific television director Ralph Senensky takes listeners behind the scenes of "Grandma Comes Home," the episode of The Waltons from March 1978 that marked Ellen Geer's return to the series after she had suffered a stroke the year before. Other topics this segment include how Corby and Will Geer were "the salt and pepper of The Waltons ," plus Ralph shares a few memories of working with John Ritter, Richard Thomas, Mickey Rooney, and Bill Quinn. Ralph Senensky pa...
Dec 05, 2025•20 min•Season 18Ep. 716
TVC 716.6: From February 2014: Prolific television director Ralph Senensky talks to Ed about directing Shirley Jones, Ray Bolger, and Rosemary DeCamp in the "Forty-Year Itch" episode of The Partridge Family (ABC, 1970-1974), as well as how he first worked with actress Jennifer Raine at the Pasadena Playhouse. Raine is the mother of Brian Forster, the second actor who played Chris Partridge on The Partridge Family .
Dec 05, 2025•17 min•Season 18Ep. 716
TVC 715.1: Ed welcomes back author, essayist, novelist, and TV historian Mitchell Hadley ( The Electronic Mirror , ItsAboutTV.com ). Mitchell's latest book, Darkness in Primetime: How Classic-Era TV Foresaw Modern Society's Descent into Hell , is a series of essays that shows how certain episodes of such classic series as The Twilight Zone , The Outer Limits , Star Trek , and The Prisoner , as well as some of the live dramas that originally aired on Studio One , Playhouse 90 , and Kraft Televisi...
Nov 27, 2025•21 min•Season 18Ep. 715
TVC 715.2: Mitchell Hadley, author of The Electronic Mirror and Darkness in Primetime , talks to Ed about how "The General," Episode 6 of The Prisoner (ITC, 1967-1968), the classic allegorical series created by Patrick McGoohan, discusses the dangers of rapidly accumulating a vast amount of knowledge—without any understanding of what that knowledge really means. Also in this segment: Mitchell discusses One , the dystopian novel by David Karp from 1953 that Karp subsequently adapted for televisio...
Nov 27, 2025•20 min•Season 18Ep. 715
TVC 715.3: Ed welcomes Arnie Holland, president and CEO of Lightyear Entertainment , and executive producer of Heaven , the acclaimed feature-length documentary from 1987 that also marked the directorial debut of Academy Award-winning actress Diane Keaton. Recently re-released and digitally remastered, Heaven is a free-wheeling, offbeat pastiche of original interviews by Keaton that, combined with clips from such films as Metropolis , Green Pastures , and Stairway to Heaven and songs like "Endle...
Nov 26, 2025•14 min•Season 18Ep. 715
TVC 715.4: Part 2 of a conversation that began last week with Les Lannom , the actor known around the world as Lester Hodges on Harry O (ABC, 1974-1976). Topics this segment include a few behind-the-scenes anecdotes about filming "Mister Five and Dime," Les' favorite episode of Harry O , including a funny story about an ad-lib in a scene near the end of the episode that originated with Les, but which David Janssen appropriated....
Nov 25, 2025•22 min•Season 18Ep. 715
TVC 714.5: Actor and musician Les Lannom talks to Ed about learning how to play the bagpipes when he was age forty; why one needs strong stomach muscles and a strong neck to play the bagpipes; the upcoming audiobook project about explorers Lincoln Ellsworth and Raold Amundsen in which Les will provide the voices; and the events leading up to Les' guest appearance on Kung Fu in December 1972—a role led to Les being cast in the first pilot of Harry O in early 1973. Les not only wrote the foreword ...
Nov 25, 2025•28 min•Season 18Ep. 715
TVC 714.6: Actor and musician Les Lannom shares a few memories about working with Peter Falk in Columbo Goes to College (ABC, 1990), with James Garner in the miniseries Space (CBS, 1985), with Henry Fonda in the acclaimed made-for-TV movie Gideon's Trumpet (CBS, 1980), and with Dennis Weaver in the epic miniseries Centennial (NBC, 1978-1979).
Nov 25, 2025•26 min•Season 18Ep. 715
TVC 714.1: TV Confidential remembers Ralph Senensky , longtime member of the Directors Guild of America and one of the most prolific directors in TV history (particularly when it comes to episodic television) with an encore presentation of a conversation that originally aired in February 2014. Ralph Senensky passed away on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025 at the age of 102. Topics this segment include a look at Ralph's early career in television on such live dramas as Playhouse 90 , as well as his work wi...
Nov 21, 2025•22 min•Season 18Ep. 714
TVC 714.2: From February 2014: Prolific television director Ralph Senensky talks to Ed about working with Ralph Waite, Will Geer, Ellen Corby, and Michael Learned on The Waltons , and with Richard Thomas on "Game of Terror," an episode of The FBI that aired in 1971, one year before the premiere of The Waltons . Ralph not only helmed twelve episodes of The Waltons , many of which rank among the very best episodes in the history of that series. Ralph Senensky passed away on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025 ...
Nov 20, 2025•22 min•Season 18Ep. 714
TVC 714.3: Ed welcomes Les Lannom , the actor known around the world as Lester Hodges on Harry O (ABC, 1974-1976), and a man who has worked with such movie and TV legends as Lee Marvin, Gene Hackman, Henry Fonda, Robert Mitchum, Joe Don Baker, Sissy Spacek, Dennis Weaver, Pat Hingle, James Garner, David Carradine, and David Janssen in the course of his career. Topics this segment include the appeal of the smell of a good pipe, the merits of pipe smoking versus cigar smoking, and the bad experien...
Nov 19, 2025•17 min•Season 18Ep. 714
TVC 714.4: Part 2 of a conversation that began last week with Louise Sorel ( Days of Our Lives, Santa Barbara ). Louise's new book, If There Were No Dogs: Musings and Mutterings , is a collection of prose pieces and poems drawn from her life, childhood, and career that reveals how Louise navigated a sometimes difficult childhood with emotionally distant parents by discovering the theatre at a young age and through her lifelong love of animals. Topics this segment include the surreal, almost sitc...
Nov 19, 2025•22 min•Season 18Ep. 714
TVC 714.5: Les Lannom talks to Ed about how his penchant for performing cold readings stems from his longtime passion for reading out loud; how his youthful appearances has sometimes worked in his favor (and sometimes not); and how a guest appearance on Kung Fu in 1972 not only put him on the radar of producers Jerry Thorpe, Alex Beaton, and Robert Dozier, but paved the way for his being cast in Such Dust as Dreams Are Made Of, the first pilot for Harry O ....
Nov 18, 2025•28 min•Season 18Ep. 714
TVC 714.5: Les Lannom talks to Ed about how he and David Janssen bonded almost immediately when they worked together on Harry O , partly because they shared an ability to laugh at themselves and not take themselves too seriously. Les not only wrote the foreword for The Harry O Viewing Companion by Steve Aldous and Gary Gillies, but contributed many behind-the-scenes anecdotes about production of the series. The Harry O Viewing Companion is available wherever books are sold through McFarland Book...
Nov 18, 2025•17 min•Season 18Ep. 714
TVC 713.1: TV Confidential remembers June Lockhart ( Lassie, Petticoat Junction, Lost in Space ) with an encore presentation of our conversation from June 2014 with the beloved actress. June Lockhart passed away on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025 at the age of 100. At the time we spoke to June in June 2014, she had just been honored by NASA with its Exceptional Public Achievement Medal for inspiring the public about space exploration. Topics this segment include June's longtime interest in both space tr...
Nov 13, 2025•22 min•Season 18Ep. 713
TVC 713.2: From June 2014: June Lockhart talks to Ed about some of the many TV game shows on which she appeared throughout her career, including Who Said That? (NBC, 1948-1955), a show that also began June's long association with the White House press corps, and Take My Word For It (Synd., 1982-1983), a show hosted by Jim Lange that was filmed at the studios of KGO-TV in San Francisco. June Lockhart passed away on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025 at the age of 100.
Nov 13, 2025•14 min•Season 18Ep. 713
TVC 713.2a: From November 2015: Tony, Donna, and Ed remember the premiere of F Troop (ABC, 1965-1967) in September 1965. Topics this segment include how the influence of Buster Keaton can be seen in many of the pratfalls that Ken Berry performed when he played Captain Parmenter on F Troop ; the on-screen chemistry between Forrest Tucker and Larry Storch, and how they recaptured that ten years later, when they starred in the Saturday morning series The Ghost Busters (CBS, 1975-1976); and how the ...
Nov 12, 2025•18 min•Season 18Ep. 713
TVC 713.3: As long as we're in an F Troop frame of mind, we thought we'd bring you an encore presentation of our conversation with Ken Berry ( F Troop , Mayberry, R.F.D. , Mama's Family ) from January 2018. Topics this segment include the role that Leonard Nimoy played early in Berry's career, and how Ken learned both how to be a straight man and how to deliver a punch line when he worked with Abbott and Costello in Las Vegas in the early 1950s. Ken Berry passed away on Dec. 1, 2018. Our convers...
Nov 12, 2025•10 min•Season 18Ep. 713
TVC 713.4: From January 2018: Ken Berry talks to Ed about his early years as a dancer with the Billy Barnes Revue; his friendship with Buster Keaton (not to mention the major influence the silent film star had on his career); and the important role that Carol Burnett played throughout Ken's career. Ken Berry passed away on Dec. 1, 2018. Our conversation with Ken was one of the last, if not the last, interviews he ever gave.
Nov 12, 2025•21 min•Season 18Ep. 713
TVC 713.5: Ed welcomes back actress and author Louise Sorel ( Days of Our Lives, Santa Barbara ). Louise's new book, If There Were No Dogs: Musings and Mutterings , is a collection of prose pieces and poems drawn from her life, childhood, and career that not only shares memories of her working with Art Carney, Charles Boyer, George C. Scott, Walter Pidgeon, Rita Moreno, Dame Judith Anderson, Don Rickles, and many others, but reveals how Louise navigated a sometimes difficult childhood with emoti...
Nov 11, 2025•18 min•Season 18Ep. 713
TVC 713.5: Louise Sorel ( Days of Our Lives, Santa Barbara ) talks to Ed about why she enjoys writing about some of the many canine companions she has had in her life, including a poem that she once wrote from the point of view of her dog Jiggs. Louise's new book, If There Were No Dogs: Musings and Mutterings , is available wherever books are sold online through Book Baby and Amazon.com. Louise Sorel will read passages from If There Were No Dogs at United Solo , the world's largest solo theatre ...
Nov 11, 2025•16 min•Season 18Ep. 713
TVC 712.1: From January 2013: Phil Gries joins Ed for a special edition of The Sounds of Lost Television honoring John Zacherle, the popular New York TV personality known as The Cool Ghoul. At a time when horror movies were a staple of local late-night television, Zacherley set himself apart from his contemporaries with an array of zany antics that were usually far more entertaining than the films he introduced, including sound effects, props, and cleverly inserting himself into the movie (usual...
Nov 05, 2025•23 min•Season 18Ep. 712
TVC 712.2: From January 2013: Phil Gries plays more audio highlights from the early television career of legendary New York TV horror movie host John Zacherle, as well as a clip from Phil's own interview with Zacherle from October 1997, in which Zacherle discusses how he came up with many of the routines that he did on-camera. Other topics this segment include Zacherle's other work in local television, including hosting the afternoon dance party show Disc-o-Teen ; his long association with Dick ...
Nov 05, 2025•26 min•Season 18Ep. 712
TVC 712.3: Part 2 of a conversation that began last week with Joseph Dougherty , Tony Figueroa, and Dan Farren about some of our favorite local TV horror movie hosts from the 1960s and '70s. This segment particularly focuses on Bob Wilkins, the erudite host of Creature Features on KTVU Channel 2 (Oakland-San Francisco) who was known for his trademark cigar, horn rim glasses, and the catchphrase "Keep America Strong. Watch Horror Movies." Unlike most other local TV horror movie hosts, Wilkins nev...
Nov 04, 2025•14 min•Season 18Ep. 712
TVC 712.4: Emmy Award-winning writer, producer, director, and author Joseph Dougherty ( thirtysomething, Pretty Little Liars, The First Cylinder , Comfort and Joi , Rod Serling at 100 ) joins Ed, Tony, and Dan Farren for some more thoughts on local TV horror movie hosts hosts from the 1960s and '70s. Topics this segment include how part of the appeal of watching horror movies on late night television was that it marked the first time that many of us were allowed to stay up late by ourselves....
Nov 04, 2025•21 min•Season 18Ep. 712
TVC 712.5: Part 2 of a conversation that began last week with Paul Myers , author of John Candy: A Life in Comedy , a heartwarming portrait of the beloved actor, improv comedian, and box office star who, had he lived, would have turned seventy-five on Oct. 31, 2025. Topics this segment include how Candy and his fellow cast members of SCTV all embodied the spirit and philosophy of Second City, a "model society for improv" in which all actors sees themselves as talented peers who could help make e...
Nov 03, 2025•19 min•Season 18Ep. 712
TVC 712.6: Paul Myers , author of John Candy: A Life in Comedy , talks to Ed about two instances in the film career of John Candy in which art imitated life—the scene in Stripes in which Candy's character, Dewey Oxburger, reveals his motivation for joining the Army; and Dell Griffith's "I like me" speech in Plains, Trains, and Automobiles— and how the latter particularly illustrates how director John Hughes understood who Candy was as a person like few others. John Candy: A Life in Comedy is ava...
Nov 03, 2025•16 min•Season 18Ep. 712
TVC 711.1: From October 2015: Tony, Donna, and Ed remember the premiere of My Three Sons (CBS/ABC, 1960-1972), one of the few series that enjoyed long runs on two different networks, back in the three-network universe. Topics this segment include why the ABC episodes of My Three Sons , which were filmed in black and white, were rarely seen in syndication until Nick at Nite acquired the rights to them in the 1980s; the various Walt Disney connections among My Three Sons cast members; and how cert...
Oct 28, 2025•26 min•Season 18Ep. 711
TVC 711.2: Emmy Award-winning writer, producer, director, and author Joseph Dougherty ( thirtysomething, Pretty Little Liars, The First Cylinder , Comfort and Joi , Rod Serling at 100 ) joins Ed, Tony, and Dan Farren for a roundtable discussion about some of our favorite local TV horror movie hosts—a staple of television that began in the late 1950s and continued into the 1980s and which, for many of us, was an indelible part of our growing-up years. Topics this segment include how the genre beg...
Oct 27, 2025•20 min•Season 18Ep. 711
TVC 711.3: Joseph Dougherty , Dan Farren, Tony Figueroa, and Ed remember Chilly Billy Cardille, Sir Graves Ghastley, Moona Lisa (pictured), and other local TV horror movie personalities from the 1960s and '70s—including Count Floyd, the character played by Joe Flaherty on SCTV that was both a parody of and a homage to the genre.
Oct 27, 2025•19 min•Season 18Ep. 711
