Beyond the Fame with Jason Fraley

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley chats with Paige O'Hara, the iconic voice of Belle in Disney's animated classic "Beauty and the Beast," which screens tomorrow at the AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, Maryland for an Angela Lansbury retrospective. They spoke in Washington D.C. in 2016 during the 25th anniversary Blu Ray release of "Beauty and the Beast." (Theme Music: Scott Buckley's "C...

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley chats with Skye Townsend, star of the new comedy flick "Pretty Stoned," which premieres tonight on MTV. They discuss her comedy career, as well as her father Robert Townsend's journey from just one line in "Cooley High" to writing, directing and starring in "Hollywood Shuffle." (Theme Music: Scott Buckley's "Clarion") Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley chats with George Stevens Jr. about his autobiography "My Place in the Sun: Life in the Golden Age of Hollywood and Washington. They discuss his favorite memories, from helping his father make Hollywood classics like “A Place in the Sun,” “Shane” and “Giant,” to making his own history in Washington D.C. by influencing presidents and creating both the Americ...

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley chats with Bill Maher, who performs live at MGM National Harbor near Washington D.C. this Saturday night. They discuss his career from “Politically Incorrect” to “Real Time with Bill Maher,” as well as offering predictions for the 2024 presidential election. (Theme Music: Scott Buckley's "Clarion") Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/...

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley chats with actor Jake Gyllenhaal and double amputee Jeff Bauman as tomorrow marks the 10th anniversary of the horrific Boston Marathon Bombing on April 15, 2013. They spoke in 2017 during the release of the movie "Stronger," chronicling Bauman's recovery after the attack. (Theme Music: Scott Buckley's "Clarion") Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podca...

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley chats with actor and comedian Pauly Shore, who performs live at the D.C. Comedy Loft tonight, tomorrow and Saturday nights. They discuss his career from "Encino Man" to "Bio-Dome" to "Pauly Shore is Dead." Warning: Episode contains explicit language. (Theme Music: Scott Buckley's "Clarion") Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoice...

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley chats with Taraji P. Henson, who guests stars as Quinta Brunson's mom tonight on the ABC sitcom "Abbott Elementary." They spoke in April 2020 during the pandemic release of her Netflix comedy flick "Coffee & Kareem," as well as her roots growing up in Washington D.C. and attending Howard University before iconic roles in “Empire” and “Hidden Figures.” (Them...

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley chats with Glenn Close as today marks the 35th anniversary of her 1988 Oscar loss as the iconic villain Alex Forrest in "Fatal Attraction," probably the closet she ever came to winning an Academy Award. They spoke during the release of her 2018 drama "The Wife," alongside director Björn Runge and co-star Christian Slater. (Theme Music: Scott Buckley's "Clar...

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley chats with Tesla guitarist Dave Rude as the band rocks Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races in West Virginia this Friday night. They discuss the band’s biggest hits from “Signs” to “What You Give” -- and even joke about the band sharing a name with Elon Musk’s electric car company. (Theme Music: Scott Buckley's "Clarion") Learn more about your ad choices....

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley chats with WWE alum Al Snow, who performs live at the D.C. Comedy Loft in Washington D.C. this Saturday night. Snow reacts to "WrestleMania" and shares tales from his memoir “Self Help: Life Lessons from the Bizarre Wrestling Career of Al Snow,” from talking to a mannequin head to his ill-fated chihuahua Pepper, sparking the infamous Kennel From Hell Match....

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley chats with LGBTQ+ icon Billy Porter, who brings his "Black Mona Lisa Vol. 1 Tour" to Warner Theatre in Washington D.C. on June 2. They discuss his is groundbreaking career from his Tony-winning and Grammy-winning role in Broadway’s “Kinky Boots” to his Emmy-winning role in TV”s “Pose,” becoming the first openly gay Black man to win for Lead Actor. (Theme Mu...

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley chats with Director Aviva Kempner & Writer/Producer Kevin Blackistone about their documentary "Imagining the Indian," which screens this week at The Avalon Theatre in D.C. and Cinema Arts Theatres in Fairfax, Virginia. It marks their second conversation after speaking in 2020 just before the Washington football team changed its name. (Theme Music: Scott Buc...

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley chats with actress Brooke Shields, whose Sundance hit documentary “Pretty Baby" premieres on Hulu today. They spoke in 2015 about her book "There Was a Little Girl: The Real Story of My Mother and Me." (Theme Music: Scott Buckley's "Clarion") Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley and tag-team partner Chris Cichon chat with WWE superstar Charlotte Flair, who defends her Smackdown Women’s Championship against Rhea Ripley this weekend at “WrestleMania 39” in Los Angeles. Flair visited WTOP in studio in 2018 when “Smackdown” visited Capital One Arena in Washington D.C.. They also discuss the inaugural Women’s Royal Rumble and what she l...

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley chats with filmmaker A.V. Rockwell about her directorial debut "A Thousand and One," which opens in movie theaters nationwide today after winning the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. (Theme Music: Scott Buckley's "Clarion") Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley chats with *NSYNC's Chris Kirkpatrick, who visits Westfield Montgomery in Bethesda, Maryland on Saturday for the "Y2K Pink Party" as part of the National Cherry Blossom Festival. They discuss the band's biggest hits, including “I Want You Back,” “Tearin’ Up My Heart,” “Bye Bye Bye” and “It’s Gonna Be Me.” (Theme Music: Scott Buckley's "Clarion") Learn more...

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley chats with Lukas Nelson, who rocks Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races in West Virginia on Saturday. They discuss his journey from growing up the son of Willie Nelson to forming his own band Promise of the Real and even training Bradley Cooper during the making of “A Star is Born.” (Theme Music: Scott Buckley's "Clarion") Learn more about your ad choices...

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley chats with Tony Bennett's talented daughter Antonia Bennett, who performs live at Blues Alley in Washington D.C. this Friday and Saturday. They discuss her singing career and performing with her legendary father. (Theme Music: Scott Buckley's "Clarion") Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley chats again with Patrick Page, who currently stars in “King Lear” at Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington D.C. now through April 16. They discuss the iconic role, as well as his Tony-nominated turn in Broadway’s “Hadestown” and his upcoming TV performances in HBO’s “The Gilded Age” and Apple’s “Schmigadoon!” (Theme Music: Scott Buckley's "Clarion") Lea...

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley chats with country music star Sara Evans, who performs live tonight and tomorrow at The Barns at Wolf Trap in Vienna, Virgina. They discuss her biggest hits, including "No Place That Far," "Born to Fly," "Perfect," "Suds in the Bucket," "A Real Fine Place to Start" and her excellent Edwin McCain cover "I Could Not Ask for More." (Theme Music: Scott Buckley'...

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley chats with Janis Siegel of The Manhattan Transfer, which brings its 50th anniversary farewell tour to Strathmore in North Bethesda, Maryland on Friday. They discuss the group's greatest four-part harmonies that dominated the Grammys in the 1980s and even wowed Millennials with an appearance on TV's "Home Improvement." (Theme Music: Scott Buckley's "Clarion"...

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley chats with comedian Bill Bellamy, who performs live at MGM National Harbor near Washington D.C. on Saturday night. They discuss Bellamy's career, including coining the phrase “booty call” on HBO’s “Def Comedy Jam," as well as his reaction to Chris Rock’s recent Netflix special in Baltimore. (Theme Music: Scott Buckley's "Clarion") Learn more about your ad c...

WTOP Entertainment Report Jason Fraley chats with legendary high-wire artists Philippe Petite, who performs death-defying stunts this Thursday and Friday at the National Building Museum in Washington D.C. They discuss his stunning career, including his 1974 high-wire walk between the Twin Towers in New York City, a feat that inspired the 2008 documentary “Man on Wire” and the 2015 narrative film “...

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley chats with Gary Cooper's daughter, Maria Cooper Janis, as this Sunday marks the 70th anniversary of her father winning the Best Actor Oscar for his role as Marshal Will Kane in the classic western “High Noon." They discuss her father's most famous roles, including “Morocco," "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town,” “Meet John Doe,” “Sergeant York,” “The Pride of the Yanke...

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley chats with D.C. author and American University professor Dolen Perkins-Valdez, who just earned an NAACP Image Literary Award for her harrowing novel "Take My Hand." It explores the tragic true story of the Relf sisters, who were sterilized by a federally-funded family-planning clinic in Montgomery, Alabama in 1973. (Theme Music: Scott Buckley's "Clarion") L...