Forgotten Hollywood

In this episode, I spoke with Michael Benson about his book "Hollywood vs Nazis: How The Movie Studios Took On Nazis Infiltrating Los Angeles". The true story of Hitler’s plot to turn Hollywood’s Dream Factory into a Nazi propaganda machine—and the Jewish moguls’ clandestine operation to sabotage the Reich’s insidious reach.

In this episode, I spoke with author Tony Lee Moral about his book "A Century of Hitchcock: The Man, the Myths, the Legacy". For over a century, Alfred Hitchcock has remained one of the cinema's most influential directors. Known as the Master of Suspense, this visionary filmmaker directed more than fifty films over six decades. His thriller  The Lodger  (1927) marked the start of his signature sty...

In this episode I spoke with actress Kathy Garver who played "Cissy" in the television show "Family Affairs".  The sitcom ran from 1966-1971 and Terre Haute, Indiana is the established hometown on Cissy, Buffy, and Jody Davis.  Kathy has also written 5 books and also down voice acting and audiobooks.

Guest Host James Lott Jr, spotlights the first soap opera created for Radio, Painted Dreams and its successor Todays Children. Irna Philips created both and changed the course of dramas forever! 

In this episode I spoke with William Bernhart about his latest book "The Superman Wars: A Battle For Truth, Justice, and An American Icon". Almost everyone knows about the man from Krypton who, disguised as mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent working with the fearless Lois Lane, fights for the vulnerable and the oppressed. But few know the truth about this indelible character’s creation.

In this episode, I spoke with mobster expert Larry Gragg about the film "Bugsy". 

In this episode, I spoke with author Mayukh Sen about his book "Love Queenie: Merlie Oberon, Hollywood's First South Asian Star". A beautiful reclamation of a pioneering South Asian actress captures her glittering, complicated life and lasting impact on Hollywood.

In this episode, I spoke with author Joseph Hulihan about his book "Vietnam on the Big Screen: How the Vietnam War Changed Hollywood". America, it is said, deals with its trauma through the medium of Hollywood, and few experiences have been more traumatic than its involvement in the Vietnam War. As the last US helicopters fled the American Embassy compound during the fall of Saigon, they left behi...

In this episode, I spoke with author Robert Guffey about his Book "Hollywood Haunts the World".   In Hollywood Haunts the World: An Investigation into the Cinema of Occulted Taboos , Robert Guffey deconstructs the most powerful taboos of the twentieth century (and the initial decades of the twenty-first century) by analyzing how disturbing and transgressive ideas involving Theosophy, Gnosticism, F...

In this episode, I spoke with author Carl Rollyson about his book "Marilyn Monroe Day by Day: A Timeline of People, Places and Events." From hefty biographies and fact-based novels to photograph collections and memoirs, more books have been written about Marilyn Monroe than any other female over the past century

In this episode, I spoke with author Matt Browning about his latest book "Gilmore Girls: Pop Culture Reference Guide". Finally understand every single pop culture joke, obscure reference, and witty one-liner that makes Gilmore Girls one of the most reference-packed shows in television history.

IN this episode I spoke with author Kathleen Brady to discuss one of her favorite Lucille Ball films Stage Door. A boardinghouse for female theater actresses gets a new arrival in the form of Terry Randall (Katharine Hepburn), an upper-class woman pursuing her dreams against her wealthy father's wishes. At first, her status makes her unpopular with the other boarders, particularly her roommate, Je...

In this episode Robert Ray comes on to discuss Ben-Hur (1959) in 4K for the Easter season.

In this episode I spoke with author Rachel Walther about her book "Born To Lose: The Misfits Who Made Dog Day Afternoon". This is the plot of Dog Day Afternoon , the 1975 film directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Al Pacino, John Cazale, and Chris Sarandon. It remains a high-water mark of New Hollywood, where the best acting talent of the day came together on a film that was truly exceptional.

In this episode I spoke with author Karen M. Spence about her recent book "The Companion Guide to The Godfather Trilogy: Betrayal, Loyalty, and Family". The Companion Guide to The Godfather Trilogy: Betrayal, Loyalty, and Family  offers a fresh perspective, going beyond the surface to uncover the real-life context and historical inspirations behind the story.

James Lott Jr is the guest host. In the golden age of Hollwyood, Actors could not be openly NOT straight. But onscreen, different ways to let that out happened!

Guest host James Lott Jr does something a little contraversial and goes to the newest technology that is spreadung thruout the world, Chat GPT, and asks it: What Is Forgotten Hollywood?

Guest Host James Lott Jr talks about some Oscar winners from the 1970s that may have been forgotten. Congrats to all the latest winners of 2025! 

In this episode I spoke with author Kathleen Brady about the 75th Anniversary of I Love Lucy.  The 75th anniversary of  I Love Lucy is October 15, 2026. The iconic sitcom, starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, originally premiered on CBS on October 15, 1951. Doug Hess is the host and producer! 

In this episode, I spoke with author Chris Enss about her latest book "Daughters of Daring: Hollywood Cowgirl Stunt Women". Discover  the untold stories of the bold women who rode harder, roped faster, and stole the spotlight in early Hollywood.  Since the famous “first” western movie, The Great Train Robbery , starring Broncho Billy Anderson, made its debut in 1903, cowboy heroes have continued t...

In this episode I spoke with authors Kathy Fuller and Frank Thompson regarding their book "The First Movie Studio in Texas: Gaston Melies's Star Film Ranch".  In 1910, the Méliès Star Film Company of Manhattan set up a moving-picture studio outside San Antonio, the first in Texas. Determined to make the most authentic Westerns possible, the company filmed there for a little over a year. In that br...

In this episode I spoke with author William J. Mann about his latest book " Black Dahlia: Murder, Monsters, and Madness in Midcentury Hollywood". The brutal murder of Elizabeth Short—better known as the Black Dahlia—in 1947 has been in the public consciousness for nearly eighty years, yet no serious study of the crime has ever been published.

In this episode I spoke with Suzy Miles, the widow of the late filmmaker Christopher Miles. To be a filmmaker, Miles had to sidestep parental plans to enrol him in the family steelworks. He had already been filming in communist China and Argentina when he escaped to Paris where he made his first professional film.

In this episode I spoke with Anthony Taylor about his book "Classic Monsters, Modern Art." Explore the groundbreaking (and terrifying) pantheon of monsters from the 20th century’s greatest films and fiction interpreted by the world’s most exciting contemporary artists and illustrators in Classic Monsters, Modern Art !

Ethel Barrymore: Shy Empress of the Footlights  unveils the captivating duality of one of America's most revered theatrical legends. Known for her poise, talent, and commanding presence on stage, Ethel Barrymore was paradoxically a woman of deep reserve and quiet introspection. This richly detailed biography offers an intimate portrait of the First Lady of the American Theatre, tracing her journey...