Media Path Podcast

Nancy Olson Livingston joins Weezy and Lisa for a captivating journey through Hollywood's Golden Age and show business history, all seen through the eyes of a woman who was there for so many of its defining moments. Her memoir is titled A Front Row Seat and wait until you hear what she has witnessed! Nancy Olson (now 98!) was once a UCLA student and a Paramount contract player learning every facet...

If you've ever found yourself  quacking, Aflac!, singing "I don't wanna grow up, I'm a Toys 'R' Us Kid," or yearning for your own Yes! Yes! Yes! Herbal Essences shower moment, you've experienced the work of advertising legend Linda Kaplan Thaler. A member of the Advertising Hall of Fame and one of the industry's most influential creative minds, Linda joins Weezy to discuss her new memoir, My Life...

Can Lisa and Weezy keep up with Craig Bierko’s nimble (ADHD) mind? You decide as we raise the curtain on an adventurously waggish conversation, loaded with delightful detours, captivating tales and hilarity!  Craig reflects on growing up in Rye, New York, where his mom ran the community theater and he began imagining an acting career after seeing Ben Vereen in Pippin at the age of nine.  Among his...

From classic Westerns to Emmy-nominated TV and modern-day hit streamers, Barry Corbin is the go-to-pro actor who adds his signature country charm to project after project, upstaging the leads and creating quotable TV and movie memories! Barry joins Weezy to reflect on a remarkable career that began with a childhood dream inspired by movie cowboy Wild Bill Elliott. But Barry understood early that h...

Before he was one of Broadway's youngest Tony nominees, the voice of Donatello, or a hot tot  recording artist, Barry Gordon was a door-to-door performing toddler, entertaining any neighbor who would answer. Barry joins Weezy and Lisa to reflect on an extraordinary career that began when, at age three, he entered The Ted Mack Amateur Hour and placed second with his heart wrenching interpretation o...

Danielle Nicolet's journey stands as proof that mentorship and community make big dreams possible! This TV and film star’s directorial debut, Long Time Listener is now streaming!  When her mom joined a cult, Dani became emancipated at 15 and began supporting herself with roles in commercials, and on Family Matters, and 3rd Rock From The Sun. In fact, her first TV credit is Urkel’s first kiss! Dani...

You may know her face best from her six years as Samantha Kanisky on Gimme A Break but her voice is now everywhere from The Loud House to Digimon Adventure to Doc McStuffins to Clifford’s Puppy Days and well beyond.  Laura Jill Miller was a little girl from Allentown, PA with a big talent who was starring in local dinner theater productions when she stuck her head into a Broadway door playing a fa...

Was Elvis Presley’s generosity as epic as his moves and his music? Author Sally A. Hoedel, says, yes! Sally, who joined us back on Episode 82, returns with her latest book, Destined to Give: The Legendary Generosity of Elvis Presley. It’s the third installment in her acclaimed Destined series. Sally traces Elvis' big heart back to his childhood in Tupelo, where growing up in deep poverty taught hi...

WARNING: THIS INTERVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR DEADWOOD (and almost for JUSTIFIED, but we caught ourselves!) How do you know you've found your calling? For Jim Beaver, it happened the instant he stepped onto a stage, before even speaking his first line.  Jim joins Weezy and Lisa to reflect on a career that's taken him from sitcoms to Supernatural to Shakespeare and Shakespearean Westerns to some of...

She could not simply listen to the soundtrack of the 60s. She had to find a way inside of it… or, at least backstage. She is Glorious Groupie Goddess, Pamela Des Barres and she joins Weezy and Lisa for a captivating conversation about love, music and the cultural revolution that forever changed us all. Pamela reflects on coming of age as the buttoned-up 50s gave way to the clothing optional 60s, w...

How do you go from voicing a beaver in a sleep med commercial to portraying TV’s most amoral attorney on its most iconic crime drama?!  For actor, author, and teacher Michael Kostroff, the answer is: embrace the unexpected. Best known as cunning defense lawyer Maurice Levy on HBO's The Wire, Michael joins Weezy this week to reflect on a career that has taken him from television dramas and Broadway...

If you had nearly 300 screen credits, would you spend your free time mentoring new SAG-AFTRA members and helping fellow performers navigate a rapidly changing industry?? If your hand went up, you may be this week’s guest, Lee Garlington! Lee joins Weezy and Lisa to discuss the unique, "hired gun" craft of popping into iconic shows with scene stealing roles and becoming what she calls "a director's...

From overnight heartthrob to enduring pop culture icon, Christopher Atkins joins us for a funny, revealing conversation that delves into Hollywood, celebrity, and changing cultural mores… all while cooking a Peruvian dinner for his girlfriend! #multitasker  Chris looks back at the Blue Lagoon phenomenon, reflecting on why the film remains  such a lasting pop culture touchstone as a coming-of-age l...

Stephen Tobolowsky has gifted us with indelible character performances while living an extraordinary life that spans from Texas roots to show biz lore to telepathy and beyond. Stephen reflects on his earliest pull toward Hollywood, when even as a child playing cowboys, he imagined the action as if it were being filmed. That instinct would carry him from Texas to Broadway to Los Angeles, constantly...

As a small child, Ike Eisenmann manifested his dream of being a Disney performer when he landed the lead in Escape To Witch Mountain and became the top child star of the ‘70s.  But the joy and pride of appearing in Gunsmoke, Kung Fu, Mannix, Emergency, and Little House On The Prairie was shadowed by the abusively cruel insults hurled at him by his jealous and mentally ill actor father. Ike titled...

From playing army on his boyhood farm to portraying some of film’s more memorable characters, Bill Sadler's journey proves that great storytelling often begins in the simplest places. Bill and Weezy kick things off with shared memories of growing up in the Buffalo, NY area, where running through the woods, horsing around in the hay loft and inventing games, laid the foundation for Bill's future in...

From improv stages to some of the most beloved comedies of the last two decades, Wendi McLendon-Covey joins Media Path for a lively, laugh-infused conversation about finding and trusting her voice. Wendi looks back on her Groundlings run where she honed fearless comedic instincts and created characters that would define her career.  Though she always knew she wanted to perform, it took time, and a...

The Golden age, silver-screen legend who lived to tell a tale that could have only unfolded in Hollywood , Mamie Van Doren joins Media Path for a candid conversation about a life shaped by resilience, reinvention, and remarkable twists of fate! The woman who helped define an extraordinary era of entertainment and cultural change has chronicled both her escapades and her conquered adversities in a...

From tween garage band beginnings to chart-topping success and a shocking behind-the-scenes story that reads like a Hollywood script, Tommy James, of Tommy James & the Shondells, joins Media Path to share dishy details about his remarkable journey while creating some of the most enduring hits of a generation! Tommy traces his musical roots back to age 12, when he formed his first band, The Ech...

Best known for his unforgettable turn as Jackie Chiles, the fast-talking, high-powered attorney Kramer turns to in Seinfeld, actor Phil Morris joins us for a thoughtful, funny, and full-circle conversation about legacy, identity, and the unexpected paths that lead to a life in show business! Phil shares how his portrayal of the character, famously inspired by Johnnie Cochran, took on a life of its...

Best known for her roles as Lynn Williams on Hill Street Blues , Alieen Lewis on Double Trouble and Raj’s wife, Nadine on What's Happening Now!! , Anne-Marie Johnson played Althea Tibbs on In the Heat of the Night , Alycia Barnett on Melrose Place , Sharon Upton Farley on Girlfriends , Liz Shelton on Tyler Perry's House of Payne and Dr. Patel on Days of our Lives . She was also on In Living Color...

80s/90s Comedy/Music/Satire Icon Julie Brown joins us and prepare to mop up some tea! Just exactly how did Julie Brown become an MTV trend setter? She made fun of the videos. Fans loved it and the frenzy gave rise to Julie’s very own show, Just Say Julie.  We head back to an innocent age when it was still ridiculously ludicrous for the homecoming queen to have a gun. Then we explore the inspiratio...

From growing up on the fringes of Hollywood’s inner circle to navigating the highs and lows of an unpredictable acting career, William McNamara brings a lifetime of stories, and hard-earned perspective, to this episode of Media Path. The seasoned actor has produced a series called The Trouble with Billy, based on his own life (now available for purchase in pre-release) and Billy joins us to reflec...

Before celebrity culture was manufactured and media-trained, Ann Moses was right in the middle of it, capturing a generation of hot, young stars just as they were becoming icons. In 1966, an 18-year-old Ann Moses landed a position as the editor of Tiger Beat Magazine where she worked until ’72! Ann remembers serving Walt Disney a refreshing orange juice, at the Sunkist booth where she worked at Di...

The story of Exposé includes hit songs, groundbreaking sounds, and a behind-the-scenes journey that is as compelling as the music itself. We sit down with artist manager and producer Ray de la Garza, original Exposé member Laurie Miller, and former Arista Director of Dance Music Promotion David Jurman to discuss Point of No Return: X-posed, the new documentary on Tubi that revisits the rise of the...