Media Path Podcast

We welcome actor John Kapelos, whose unforgettable turns in The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles enshrine him as a John Hughes Universe fixture. From Second City to Shermer High, John weighs in on comedy, character & The Hughes legacy. John takes us back to his youth in London, Ontario, Canada, and his first big leap into show business as a member of Second City Chicago, from where he toured...

We’re joined by two authors whose stories illustrate courage, creativity, and the unpredictable tides of adversity and accomplishment, while also uniting us through humanity’s common threads. Greg Cope White is the Marine whose true story inspired Boots on Netflix. His book is called The Pink Marine and Greg takes us behind the scenes on its screen adaptation with the cast going through actual boo...

We’re pulling back The Tonight Show curtain, not only to reveal Johnny Carson, but to explore the lore and the legend that were Johnny’s Tonight Show reign. Joining us are Love Johnny Carson author and The Carson Podcast host, Mark Malkoff, along with Carson Tonight Show guest and Leno Tonight Show writer, Jimmy Brogan. Mark’s new Carson book offers a decade-by-decade deep look at the King of Late...

We welcome Rhonda Shear, an intrepid entrepreneurial trailblazing woman in the fields of comedy, 90s late night TV, and online intimate apparel sales.  Rhonda has so much to tell us! Her iconic USA weekend movie show, Up All Night is coming to Youtube! Her cheeky, late-night, movie marathon antics pulled in big ad dollars and turned B-movies into must-see-TV.  But, before finding her voice, Rhonda...

The Off The Wall Improv Comedy Group has been entertaining audiences for 50 years! Blossoming, in 1975 out of a dance studio next to a West Hollywood hamburger stand, the group has worked with Robin Williams, John Ritter, George Wendt, Chevy Chase, Garry Shandling, and Jim Belushi, with Michael Feinstein at the piano!  Original members, Andy Goldberg, Wendy Cutler, and Paul Willson join us to shar...

We welcome Moosie Drier, one of the most familiar young faces of 70s and 80s TV and film! Moosie takes us back to a time when child actors were a tight crew who worked and auditioned for roles together, forging friendships, supportive rivalries and shared memories. Alongside fellow child actors like Lance Kerwin, Brad Savage, Ike Eisenmann, and Matthew Layborteaux, Moosie carved out a place in sho...

What happens when a big time movie star gets popped for speeding while rolling through Mayberry? He just may learn the value of connection and community, that’s what! Mayberry Man… first a movie, then a series… was inspired by the reverent fervor that is the annual Mayberry Days Festival which takes place annually in Andy Griffith’s hometown of Mount Airy, North Carolina. Producer Gregory Schell a...

For 33 1/3 years, Paul Rappaport made history as a rock promotions kingpin at Columbia Records, shaping pathways for the biggest artists of the ’70s, 80s and ’90s to find their audience. Paul has penned 'Gliders Over Hollywood: Airships, Airplay, and the Art of Rock Promotion', a memoir that captures the creative fun and the rich, human connection at the heart of the record business in its golden...

We stand in gratitude to Bruce Vilanch for Peak Hollywood’s most treasured and iconic entertainment history moments. Bruce is an EGOT Award Show Writer and he’s penned warehouses and server farms full of TV Variety shows and specials with lingering legacies. As infamous Youtube gems were mined, during lockdown, by intrepid Millennial podcasters, Bruce bravely opened wounds to spill toxic details....

We’re joined by actress/singer/dancer Ann Jillian who takes us on an extraordinary journey which begins as her parents escape Soviet-Occupied Lithuania and continues into the Hollywood soundstages that launch Ann’s career as a child star in Gypsy and Babes in Toyland and then winds towards her adult career as a beloved Hollywood icon. Ann shares the powerful story of her family's flight across war...

We’re joined by award-winning Actor/Producer Blair Underwood and Director/Producer/Author Joe McClean to talk about their new novel, Sins of Survivors, written by Joe and presented by Blair.  The book brings Black Bottom back to beautiful and sweeping life through the story of The Carter family. Fictional brothers Jasper and Ben whose heart wrenching journey brings them north to Detroit during the...

Improv is so much more than hilarious. It’s a comedy writing tool, a key to unlocking our truest selves and a valuable collection of life lessons. Whose Line’s Colin Mochrie is here to enlighten and entertain! He starred in the British and American versions of Whose Line Is It Anyway for over 30 years while also making hundreds of TV, film and stage appearances. Colin is an author, an actor, a tou...

Can disinformation really take down a democracy from the inside? This week’s guest, Barbara McQuade, thinks so — and she’s here to show us exactly how it’s happening and what we can do about it. Barbara is a former U.S. Attorney, a law professor, an MSNBC legal analyst and the author of Attack From Within: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America, now out in paperback. We begin with breaking news...

Carol Leifer entered comedy when a woman stand-up was considered a novelty or a niche, but even then she knew "things would eventually change." And change has come, due in no small part to Carol's own stelar show biz contributions.  Carol joins us this week to talk about her formative years, her early standup, giving voice to iconic characters like Elaine Benes and Deborah Vance, and her new book,...

Our guests exemplify the power of passion, mastery and skill blending in creating a lasting legacy. We begin with the co-authors of The Creative Leader: What Every Leader Should Know About The Art & Science of Creative Intelligence. Bob Boden and Dr. Robert Carpenter share how we can all better merge and apply our left and right brain thinking. We then welcome a 70s sensation who walks into th...

Can your keyboard produce enough hyphens to define Hal Sparks? He is a Comedian-Actor-Musician-Magician-Podcaster-Political Commentator-TV and Radio Personality-Host-Podcast Guest, and beyond. We are hoping his mother keeps a scrapbook. Hal has brought us such memorable characters as “Zoltan” in Dude, Where’s My Car, “Elevator Passenger” in Spiderman 2, Michael in Queer as Folk and he proved too m...

You may know Kathy Garver from Family Affair but her career before and since “Cissy” is expansive! She is still extraordinarily prolific with a calendar full of film dates, audio book recordings, and event appearances! Kathy began’ singing and dancing at age three and had already racked up 12 screen credits when she was cast as an extra in The Ten Commandments. From high atop his director crane, C...

You may know him best as the voice of Salem The Cat or Norbert from Sabrina The Teenage Witch and Angry Beavers but Nick Bakay is also the Writer/Producer who brought you Mom, King Of Queens, Paul Blart Mall Cop and Bookie.  What does it take to sustain a multi-decade entertainment industry career? Versatility.  Nick takes us deep into Sabrina lore with tales of the old-school imagineering of Sale...

He has entertained tens of millions of people over the course of four decades with iconic film and TV appearances, yet he remains humble and modest - He is Mystic Pizza, Falcon Crest and Perry Mason (to name a few!) actor, William R. Moses! His Mom, Marian McCargo and big brothers, Rick and Harry Moses were in the business and, although his step-dad, Congressman, Alphonso E. Bell did not entirely...

It's a return trip down the Media Path for Vicki and John and this time Bob is along for fun, games and Cowsill family lore!  We welcome back Vicki Peterson and John Cowsill, who recently joined us to talk about their collaboration on a new album of songs written by John's late brothers, Billy and Barry Cowsill, 'Long After the Fire', plus fellow founding Cowsills member, Bob Cowsill joins the con...

The whole world knows Rick Springfield, the performer, songwriter, idol, rock star, actor, hitmaker....but the real Rick is an introspective deep thinker who has overcome wrenching personal and professional obstacles while remaining true to his purpose and authentic self. Rick joins us this week to talk about a remarkable career trajectory, a new album, a coffee table book and an upcoming national...

Author, performer, podcaster, interviewer and host Nelson Aspen has covered a lot of ground in his highly prolific career, but he continues to return to one spot in particular, figuratively speaking: 41°43'32" N, 49°56'49" W...better known as the location of the most well known and intensely chronicled sea-faring vessel in history: White Star Line's RMS Titanic. For Nelson, his interest in the fam...

When family stories become show biz stories, the world listens. Fitting that very bill we’ve got actor Keith Coogan, the grandson of the original child star, Jackie Coogan, whose namesake law in the state of California, is the first to safeguard the rights of young performers in Hollywood. Keith talks about growing up with this legend plus his own iconic roles as a prolific film and TV child actor...

We have entered an exciting new TV drama era in which creators are immersing viewers in the gritty, heart wrenching details of real life trauma. We are celebrating this provocative and inspiring new chapter by focusing on two of the most buzz-worthy shows in the stream-os-phere, The Pitt on Max and Adolescence on Netflix - Prepare for a fresh frame of reference on the emerging television landscape...

The exuberantly effervescent Jo Anne Worley, queen of the quip and paradigm of the pizzazz, turns our studio into a cabaret club this week, dazzling and delighting with stories of show biz daring do… her fearless stage style, her bold reach for brilliance, behind the scenes lore from the set of Laugh-In and a fabulous flurry of anecdotes and memories from an unrivaled career. The girl from Lowell,...