TV Confidential with Ed Robertson

TVC 744.1: Tony, Donna, and Ed discuss the life and career of Emmy Award-winning director and producer James Burrows ( Cheers, Frasier, Taxi, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Will and Grace ) in the first in a series of segments that commemorate notable TV actors and behind-the-scenes personnel who passed away earlier in 2026. James Burrows died Friday, June 19 at age eighty-five. Topics this segment in...

TVC 744.2: Tony, Donna, and Ed discuss James Burrows' impact on Taxi and Cheers (including the famous "What does a yellow light mean?" scene in the Taxi episode in which Reverend Jim takes his driving test), and why laughter is his legacy as a producer and director. James Burrows died Friday, June 19 at age eighty-five.

TVC 744.2a: Tony, Donna, and Ed discuss the TV work of noted film critics Gene Shalit and Rex Reed. Shalit passed away on June 12, 2026, a few weeks after turning 100, while Reed died on May 12, 2026 at age eighty-seven. Photo of Gene Shalit courtesy IMDb.com

TVC 744.3: Tony, Donna, and Ed discuss the life and career of actor, comedian, and voice artist Ronnie Schell ( Gomer Pyle, USMC, Good Morning, World, That Girl, The Cat from Outer Space, Gus ), including his many appearances on the popular morning show hosted by L.A. radio personality Rick Dees. Ronnie Schell passed away on June 12, 2026 at age ninety-four. Photo courtesy B. Harlan Boll Public Re...

TVC 744.4: Ed welcomes Christopher Martini , stepson of actor Stuart Margolin (the Emmy Award-winning actor known around the world as Angel Martin on The Rockford Files ) and an award-winning filmmaker in his own right. Chris is the director of Everybody's Angel , a forthcoming feature length documentary that will celebrate Stuart's remarkable life and career. There is a crowdsourcing campaign goi...

TVC 744.5: Christopher Martini , director of the forthcoming documentary Everybody's Angel: The Stuart Margolin Story , talks to Ed about why James Garner was the important person in Stuart's life; how their long association began after Jim discovered Stuart performing in one of the blackout sketches on Love, American Style , which led him to cast Stuart in Nichols (and, later, in The Rockford Fil...

TVC 743.1: Ed welcomes Mary Hampton , widow of beloved character actor Jim Hampton ( F Troop, The Longest Yard, Sling Blade, Teen Wolf ), and an accomplished actress in her own right. Mary is also the driving force behind What? And Give Up Show Business? , the story of Jim's life and career as a working actor, which was published just before Jim's death in 2021. What? And Give Up Show Business? is...

TVC 743.2: Actress Mary Hampton , widow of Jim Hampton , talks to Ed about how Jim enjoyed playing golf and backgammon with James Garner; the pivotal role that Casa Manana, the venerable theatre in Fort Worth, Texas, played early in Jim's career; and how Jim landed the role of Michael J. Fox's dad in Teen Wolf . What? And Give Up Show Business? , Jim Hampton's memoir, is available in hardcover thr...

TVC 743.3: Actress Mary Hampton , widow of Jim Hampton , talks to Ed about how Burt Reynolds provided a vital assist behind the scenes during the episode of Gunsmoke that also marked Jim's very first television appearance, and how Jim helped Burt many times in return, including the night when Burt  guest-hosted the Johnny Carson Tonight Show shortly after posing for Cosmopolitan magazine ; and how...

TVC 743.4: Ed welcomes Jane Seymour , the Emmy Award-winning and Golden Globe Award-winning actress known around the world as Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman and, more recently, as the star and executive producer of Acorn TV's hit Irish mystery series Harry Wild . Season Five of Harry Wild recently premiered on Acorn TV and is marked by the highly anticipated on-screen reunion between Jane and her longt...

TVC 743.5: Part 2 of a conversation that began last week with   Cindy Mitchum , youngest daughter of legendary character actor John Mitchum and the niece of screen legend Robert Mitchum. Cindy has just rereleased Them Ornery Mitchum Boys: The Adventures of Robert and John Mitchum , her dad's raw, funny, and unforgettable memoir about growing up with his older brother—before fame, during fame, and...

TVC 743.6: Cindy Mitchum , youngest daughter of John Mitchum and the niece of Robert Mitchum, talks to Ed about the time when her dad helped his friend Father Latimer Garrett, an Episcopal priest, raise the money needed to build Father Garrett's Boys Ranch, a foster care facility in Acton, California. Them Ornery Mitchum Boys is available in hardcover and in paperback through Henry Gray Publishing...

TVC 742.1: Ed welcomes back Cindy Mitchum , youngest daughter of legendary character actor John Mitchum and the niece of screen legend Robert Mitchum. Cindy has just rereleased Them Ornery Mitchum Boys: The Adventures of Robert and John Mitchum , a rollicking look at the lives and careers of her famous dad and famous uncle as they move through decades of adventure, war, celebrity, vice, loyalty, a...

TVC 742.2: Cindy Mitchum , youngest daughter of John Mitchum and the niece of Robert Mitchum, talks to Ed about how both her dad and her uncle became actors by accident; how John was an accomplished prize fighter who could also handle himself in a street brawl if necessary; and the many ways in which Them Ornery Mitchum Boys is like a family album. Them Ornery Mitchum Boys is available in hardcove...

Please enjoy this special preview of our upcoming conversation with Jane Seymour , the actress known around the world as Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman and, more recently, as the star and executive producer of Acorn TV's hit Irish mystery series Harry Wild . Season Five of Harry Wild recently premiered on Acorn TV and is marked by the highly anticipated on-screen reunion between Jane and her longtime c...

TVC 741.4: Ed welcomes Perry Hibner, author of Centennial Revisited , a deep dive into the epic length, twelve-part, twenty-six hour miniseries that originally aired on NBC at various times throughout the 1978-1979 season. Centennial was ambitious in scope, majestic to watch, and almost universally praised by television critics for its quality production values and stellar acting performances. And...

TVC 741.5: Perry Hibner, author of Centennial Revisited , discusses some of the differences between Centennial the miniseries and the original James Michener novel; how the tragic death of actor Richard Kelton affected production of the miniseries; how Andy Griffith saved the life of Sharon Gless during filming of the final episode; and how executive producer John Wilder originally wanted James Ga...

TVC 741.5a: Perry Hibner, author of Centennial Revisited , discusses some of his favorite characters in Centennial and shares a few final thoughts about both the miniseries and the legacy of James Michener. Centennial Revisited: An Oral History of the Epic TV Miniseries is available in hard cover, paperback, and as an eBook from DorrancePublishing.com, Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and wherever...

TVC 741.1: Phil Gries joins Ed for Part 2 of our special Independence Day-themed edition of The Sounds of Lost Television that looks back at how network television covered the Bicentennial celebration of July 4, 1976 , including a few clips from In Celebration of US , the sixteen-hour CBS special, hosted by Walter Cronkite, that aired on July 4, 1976. Highlights this segment include coverage from...

TVC 741.2: Phil Gries of Archival Television Audio plays a few more audio highlights of In Celebration of US , the day-long CBS special that aired on July 4, 1976, including Johnny Cash performing at the Pageant of Freedom festival in Washington, D.C.; coverage of the air show in St. Louis commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of Charles Lindbergh's flight across the Atlantic in 1927; Charles Kur...

TVC 741.3: Phil Gries of Archival Television Audio and Ed discuss some of the other television offerings on the days and weeks leading up to July 4, 1976, including audio highlights of The Today Show 's weeklong series of programs from Philadelphia. Audio courtesy Archival Television Audio .

TVC 741.6: Phil Gries of Archival Television Audio and Ed discuss Sing, America, Sing , the PBS special from March 1976 written by Oscar Brand (pictured above) that originated from the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and a rarely heard Bicentennial Minute featuring Burgess Meredith. Audio courtesy Archival Television Audio . Also in this segment: Phil discusses the upcoming Blu-ray release of...

TVC 740.1: Phil Gries joins Ed for a special Independence Day-themed edition of The Sounds of Lost Television that looks back at how network television covered the Bicentennial celebration of July 4, 1976. Audio, as always, is courtesy Archival Television Audio . Highlights this segment include the first few minutes of In Celebration of US , a sixteen-hour, day-long special produced by CBS News an...

TVC 740.2: Phil Gries, founder and owner of Archival Television Audio , and Ed discuss how In Celebration of US , the sixteen-hour CBS special hosted by Walter Cronkite that aired on July 4, 1976, not only was inclusive in tone and presentation, but marked the first time that a network had devoted day-long coverage to a single event since the moon landing of July 20, 1969.

TVC 740.3: Phil Gries of Archival Television Audio plays a few more audio highlights of In Celebration of US , the day-long CBS special, hosted by Walter Cronkite, that aired on July 4, 1976, including coverage of the largest naturalization ceremony in U.S. history and of the massive parade in Philadelphia that included representatives from the forty-eight continental states plus several other cou...