Fanacek

More Fanacek and more Warren Oates!  What could be better than that?  This episode will pick up where we left off and look at Warren's late 60s credits before he crushes it in the 1970s.  Warren also began the 80s with a bang, but sadly he died young at the age of 53 on April 3, 1982.  Come with me as I dive into his resume to determine if he is a card carrying Hall of Famer!

Warren Oates.  You either LOVE him or have no effing clue who he is.  Either way, you need to join me as we journey through his credits to determine his Hall of Fame eligibility.  Part 1 focuses on his early TV years as he guests on dozens of western TV shows like The Rifleman, The Westerner, Johnny Ringo, and Trackdown.  In only his fist few years of screen acting, Warren shares the screen with l...

At only 8 years old, Justin Henry was the youngest Academy Award nominee ever...but what did he do next?  Well, I'm gonna take you on a deep dive of his acting resume while also blowing your minds with tales of making short films with the chick from Saturday Night Fever, watching Charmed without the sound, hanging out with Mark Volman of The Turtles, Ashley Scott lying on the ground, meeting Pauly...

Matt Dillon has had an odd career.  Not quite A-List, not quite B-List; he's consistent but not always a star.  Has he done enough in his nearly 50 year career to be called a Hall of Famer?  I'm gonna do my damndest to dig into his resume and find out.  I'm also gonna do my damndest to entertain you with tails of a Chubby George Clooney's back tattoo, my time with the fellas from Workaholics, my l...

With a name like that, he has to be a nice guy, right?  We loved him as Rudy in Meatballs and he stole our hearts in My Bodyguard, but what the hell else has he done and where did he go?  I'll answer these questions and more as I take you on a journey that includes the murder of Bob Crane, my time with Jonah Hill, Corey Feldman's bass player, fake T&A movies, and Dolph Lundgren's ex-girlfriend...

I get it.  She's Lois Lane.  But Lois Lane does not a legend make!  I am compelled to dive into her acting resume to determine if she is a Hall of Famer.  As I go through her credits, I'll also wow you with my commentary on Rob Zombie, Jayne Mansfield, Peter Fonda, abrupt 70s film endings, and Binions Casino in Las Vegas.

Ahh...The Bad News Bears.  One of the greatest kids sports flicks of all time.  We all know what became of Walter Matthau, Tatum O'Neal, and Jackie Earl Haley, but what about the rest of the squad?  Ahmad Abdul Rahim?  Ogilvie? Timmy?  Tanner?  Why don't we know what the hell ever became of these all-stars?  Fear no more as I've done the research and prepared a detailed report to get you up to spe...

She's Connie from The Godfather franchise (nepotism much?) and Adrian from the Rocky films.  But what else has Talia done to earn a spot in Fanacek's Hall of Fame?  Follow me as I go through her screen credits and uncover some projects you've likely never heard of.  I will also brighten your day with tales of Roger Corman, folks I knew at The Second City, Troma films, the Big Bopper, and naked Blo...

You may not know their names, but you've definitely seen their work...and you were likely scared shitless!  These two fellas became famous for starring in Poltergeist and Friday the 13th respectively.  But what happened next?  What kind of careers did they have?  Well, I answer these questions and more as I dig into their lives and resumes while also chatting about prank calls and Bret "the Hitman...

I've heard her describes as "The Incomparable Morgan Fairchild".  But is she really incomparable?  We're gonna take a deep dive into her screen resume and figure that shit out.  We'll also chat about my abandoned Prisoner screenplay, missing Paul Reubens, and chatting with Eddie Deezen.  Enjoy.

My man Robbie Rist is THE original Cousin Oliver!  And, for that, he will always be held in high regard in the annals of pop culture history.  But what else did he do, you ask?  A ton and I take a nice, deep dive on his screen credits while also getting chatty about Friday the 13th Parts 4-6, the Having Babies franchise of the 1970s, Tony Bill & My Bodyguard, David Gordon Green's Halloween tri...

I get it.  You like Paul Sorvino.  I like Paul Sorvino.  We all like Paul Sorvino.  But he is a Hall of Famer?  Or is he just the guy from Goodfellas?  He had a long, career.  Some great, some not.  Now it's time to comb through that resume and determine if he belongs in the Hall!  Along the way, we'll chat about some other fun stuff like Robert Mitchum's drunken antics and the time I saw Jonathan...

What to expect from the exciting new season of Fanacek!

This is the last one, I swear!  No more TV adaptations of 80s movies ever again!  But let's end it with a bang as I chitchat about 1980's Fame, and as I wax poetic 1983's Blue Thunder, or as I contemplate 1988's Working Girl, all before I finally offer my in-depth thoughts on 1980's Stir Crazy.  Who else would do that for you?  And, as an added bonus, I'll offer up some opinions on Sam Peckinpah's...

You thought I was done with this topic, didn't you?  Well, I did some sleuthing and found a few more 80s shows that became short lived, unbelievably bad television shows.  And unbelievably bad television shows is kind of my thing!  We're gonna chat about Richard Pryor's Bustin' Loose which did not turn out to be a DYN-O-MITE series.  I'll also enlighten you regarding Down and Out in Beverly Hills,...

The 80s have finally come to a close, and the decade's final moments did not disappoint.  Join me as I discuss the envelope pushing antics of the Conner family on Roseanne, the "they're not lesbians, I promise" relationship between Kate & Allie, and the trauma we all experienced watching Life Goes On.  I'll also crack wise about the comedy stylings of Wes Craven, stars yelling at audiences, an...

We're closing in on the end of the 80s and things are getting crazy.  Spinoffs are dominating the airwaves as shows like Empty Nest and A Different World crack the Top 10.  Also, our televisions are being assaulted by continuations and reboots that we didn't want as Mission: Impossible, The Munsters Today, and War of the Worlds are brought to life via first run syndication.  The good news is that...

This is the 100th episode folks!  100 episodes of me yapping about stuff that most folks don't care about, but I love it and I'm grateful for everyone that listens.  Join me as I take a look at 1987 television as I experienced it.  We're gonna discuss Remington Steele and The Wonder Years.  We're gonna explore how 21 Jumpstreet made me want to be an undercover cop.  We're gonna chit chat about Ene...

1986.  It was a great year to be alive.  Sure, the space shuttle Challenger exploded killing everyone onboard and traumatizing the children who watching it on TV.  But, rather than dwell on that, I'd rather talk about Night Court.  And Amen.  And T.J. Hooker.  Hell, I'm even gonna educate you on Peter Boyle killing a house full of hippies why Whitman Mayo is a national treasure.  Was Rebecca Schae...

We're halfway through the decade and sitcoms are starting to rule the airwaves!  Audiences are losing interest in the rich folks of Dynasty, Dallas, and Falcon Crest as they fall in love with the likes of Tony Micelli, Alex P. Keaton, and America's favorite gynecologist, Dr. Huxtable.  This episode takes a closer look at classics like The Equalizer, Family Ties, and Alice while also having fun wit...

Forget about George Orwell's 1984.  That book is a downer.  Fanacek's 1984 will lift your spirits as we explore such shows as Crazy Like a Fox, One Day at a Time, and Murder, She Wrote.  We'll also crack wise about some forgotten television shows that included the murderous Delta Burke, monkeys with alien superpowers, and a gay dude in Philly.  It might be the greatest podcast episode of all time....

I'm back and this time I'm exploring shows from 1982 & 1983.  Luck you!  We'll touch on such classics as  Simon & Simon, Newhart, The Incredible Hulk, Cagney & Lacey, Webster, and M*A*S*H.  I'll also explore some interesting programs that are forgotten or that I wish were forgotten...shows that involve horny puppets and racism.  BTW, that was the name of my band in high school.  Horny...

Happy 2025!  A new year and a new season of your favorite (doubtful) podcast, Fanacek!  The next few episodes will deal with the programs that flooded our TV sets in the 80s.  I can't really title the episodes "THE Year in TV" or "YOUR Year in TV" because I often focus on some weird shit.  But rest assured, you'll enjoy learning about obscure TV shows and hearing my thoughts on your favorite class...

It's finally effing here!  The finale in my 9 part series comparing movie and television actors of the 1980s.  This fun filled episode has me discussing three different actors across two categories: Thank God They Left TV and Now You're Just Showing Off!  The former takes a deep dive into the careers of 2 actors who were the stars of their own television shows before throwing it away to become big...

This is a fun episode, folks.  It's also a little depressing.  But depressing can be fun, right?  Well, fun or not, we're about to take a deep dive on three actors whose fall from grace left television as their only option in the 80s.  George Peppard, George C. Scott, and Jan-Michael Vincent were once stars of the silver screen, bur after years of drinking, financial woes, and poor behavior, found...