Coping Conversations

My guest is veteran actress, dancer, humanitarian Ruta Lee, who starred in such classic films as Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Witness for the Prosecution, and Funny Face. She is also known for her decades-long involvement in the charity organization The Thalians.

Grammy-award-winning country singer Charlie Daniels is perhaps best known for his 1979 hit "The Devil Went Down to Georgia". He has been active as a singer for more than 50 years, and in 2008 was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry, a lifelong dream. With dozens of successful albums and singles; his newest CD is "Land That I Love". We discuss his career, the stroke that he suffered early in 2010, and...

Steven Taibbi is the author of the new book, "Grateful Guilt: Living in the Shadow of My Heart". We discuss his serious lifelong medical issues, starting at birth, as well as how he's coped with all of this and the lessons that he can teach people for coping.

In honor of the start of another season of baseball, listen to an interview with one of the most popular New York Yankees of all time, Bobby Richardson. Bobby, who played second base during the era of Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, and Yogi Berra, among other big names, has been considered by many the glue that held the team together. Now 80 years old, we discuss his career, as well as his spiritual...

My guest, Anson Williams, played Potsie Weber on the hit TV show "Happy Days." We discuss his career, how he's coped with his recent experience with colon cancer, his relationship with Dr. Heimlich (of Heimlich maneuver fame) and his experience dealing with the dangers of driving drowsy.

Gabrielle Stone is an actress, author, dancer, and director... and also the daughter of one of our previous guests, Dee Wallace. She is currently getting a lot of buzz for her newest book, "Eat, Pray, #FML". We discuss her acting career, her relationship with her famous parents, and how her book helped her cope with adversity.

Jodie Sweetin, perhaps best known for playing Stephanie Tanner on TV's "Full House," has gone through a lot in her young life. We discuss her autobiography, "Unsweetined", which includes stories about her addictions, failed marriages, and her successful recovery, as well as the current joy in her life.

Perhaps best known as the mother in the hit movie "E.T.", Dee Wallace is known for much more than her performances. We discuss her acting career, as well as her activities as an author and healer. We discuss how healing has helped her to deal with tragedy in her life, and how she has learned to help many more people with her skills.

My guest is one of the most popular singers in America, whose popularity has lasted for more than 50 years, the legendary Judy Collins. Known not only for her singing, but also her writing, and she has long been an advocate for mental health. We discuss the personal reasons for this as well as her lengthy career, and more.

First aired in 2004, this discussion is with one of the most famous psychologists in history. We discuss the development of innovative psychological strategies from its earliest roots to the modern form of cognitive therapy in use worldwide today.

My guest is best known as Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan on the hit television show, "M*A*S*H." We start by discussing her love for painting, and her passion for animal rights, and how that came together in her book, "SwitHeart." Then we discussed how she developed her "Hot Lips" character, growing her to be a "feminist in the 50's before they even coined the word," as well as other recollections of...

In this new show, Tommy James, lead singer of the rock group Tommy James & The Shondells, discusses his hit songs, his rise to fame, and how he dealt with his tumultuous association with Roulette Records and the dark side of the music industry. We discuss his brand new autobiography, "Me, the Mob, and the Music."

My guest is best known as playing the adored "Mrs. C" on the television classic, "Happy Days." We discuss her experiences on the show, how she and the cast dealt with the tragic death of Erin Moran, and how she has coped with a variety of things in her life.

One of the most popular singers of all time, Connie Francis was the top charting female singer of the 1950's and 1960's. She has numerous hits, including "Who's Sorry Now?", "Where The Boys Are", "Stupid Cupid", and "Lipstick On Your Collar". In this new show, taped in February, 2010, we discuss some of the difficulties Connie has had to deal with throughout her life, and how she has coped with th...

My guest is not only an excellent singer, actress and songwriter, but she's also happy to be the sister of the legendary Barbra Streisand. We talk about her relationship with her sister, how she's always been successful keeping her career on the path she chose (regardless of Barbra's fame), how she's dealt with any difficulties she's had in her career, and the importance of her charity work.

This show, originally aired in 2005, shows how maturity transformed the popular comedian by enabling him to use comedy both for laughter and for more serious purposes, including the improvement of his own life.

My guest on this episode is NASA astronaut, Col. Jerry Ross. We discuss his astronaut career, what records he holds as an astronaut, the pure joy he experienced doing his first space walk, and his book, " Spacewalker: My Journey in Space and Faith as NASA's Record-Setting Frequent Flyer ".  

Former Major League baseball player Tommy John, who pitched for the Yankees and the Dodgers among other teams, is my guest. We discuss the reasons for his success, his longevity (he pitched for 26 years!), his surgery (now called "Tommy John surgery"), his son Travis' serious injury, and the importance of having a good attitude.  

My guest is a mentalist who has been astonishing and perplexing audiences for decades. We discuss his career, some of the unique experiences he's had when he first knew he had special talents, and some of the twists and turns he's encountered. Find out more at www.copingconversations.com.

My guest is widely considered to be one of the best impressionists of all time. He's best known for his spot-on impressions of Johnny Carson, George Burns, Ronald Reagan, and more than 200 others. We'll discuss his career, his new book, "Little by Little: People I've Known and Been," and how he's not always able to do impressions of certain celebrities.

One of the most popular television performers of all time, Ed Asner has won more Emmy awards than any performer, and is the only performer ever to win an Emmy for the same role (Lou Grant) on a comedy ("The Mary Tyler Moore Show") and a drama ("Lou Grant"). We discuss many things, including his love of performing, how he has dealt with peer criticism and its ramifications as a result of his politi...

Perhaps best known as "Cousin Geri" in the hit TV series "The Facts of Life," Geri Jewell is known for much more than acting. We discuss her acting career, living with cerebral palsy, and being an author. She recently reprised her role in the HBO series "Deadwood" in the new movie with the same name. We also discuss her belief that it's a gift to represent millions of people with disabilities. To...

In this new show, we welcome popular heavyweight champion (and Olympic gold medal winning) boxer, chef, entrepreneur and author George Foreman. We discuss his boxing career, the most important moments for him in his life, and the lessons he has learned that he wants to share. For more information, visit www.copingconversations.com .

Host Dr. Bob Phillips is also the author of more than 35 best-selling books, and the founder and director of the Center for Coping ( www.coping.com ) on Long Island, New York. On each show, Dr. Phillips interviews a well-known celebrity  or expert , bringing the listening audience up to date on current appearances, performances, publications and other activities of interest.  As the main focus, ou...