TV Confidential with Ed Robertson

TVC 701.5: Actor and author Laurence Luckinbill ( The Boys in the Band , The Delphi Bureau , Star Trek V , Affective Memories: How Chance and The Theater Saved My Life ) talks to Ed about working with writer/producer Sam Rolfe on The Delphi Bureau (ABC, 1972-1973); how Larry's portrayal of Glenn Garth Gregory as a "reluctant hero" was a first for American dramatic television (beating out James Gar...

TVC 701.6: Actor and author Laurence Luckinbill talks to Ed about why St. Thomas More, the protagonist of Robert Bolt's award-winning play A Man for All Seasons , was one of the true disciples of Christ. Larry's autobiography, Affective Memories: How Chance and The Theater Saved My Life , is available wherever books are sold through Sunbury Press . Larry Luckinbill's A History and a Quest is a min...

TVC 701.7: From August 2022: Chuck Harter shares a poignant memory of a scene that he witnessed at a Washington, D.C. tavern on Aug. 16, 1977, the day that Elvis Presley died.

TVC 700.1: From August 2016: Ed welcomes Steve Binder, Emmy Award-winning producer and director ( Diana Ross: Live in Central Park, Elvis: The 1968 Comeback Special, The T.A.M.I. Show ) and the co-author, along with Mary Beth Liedman, of Fade Up 26: The Movers and Shakers of Variety Television , an oral history of variety television, as told through the voices of the men and women who were and are...

TVC 700.2: From August 2016: Steve Binder, Emmy Award-winning producer and director and the co-author, along with Mary Beth Leidman, of Fade Up 26: The Movers and Shakers of Variety Television , talks to Ed about working with Dwight Hemion on the pop music series Hullabaloo (NBC, 1965-1966). Gary Smith, Hemion's longtime producing partner, passed away on Saturday, July 19 at the age of ninety.

TVC 700.3: Via remote from Las Vegas: Part 2 of a conversation that began last week with Morgan White, Jr. , longtime late night radio personality for WBZ AM-FM/Boston , author of many books on a variety of subjects, and the Undisputed King of Trivia . Topics this segment include the back story of Morgan came to wear his trademark black leather cowboy hat; how he came to be immortalized in two of...

TVC 700.4: Part 2 of a conversation that began last week with Kathleen Bradley , the first African-American model to join ranks with Barker's Beauties on The Price is Right , and the actress known around the world as Mrs. Parker in Friday . Topics this segment include Kathleen's years traveling the world as a member of the female soul and disco group The Love Machine ; the time when director Olive...

TVC 700.5: Ed back welcomes actor, author, playwright, and Emmy Award-winning producer Laurence Luckinbill ( The Boys in the Band , The Delphi Bureau , Star Trek V: The Final Frontier , Lyndon, Hemingway, Teddy Tonight!, Clarence Darrow Tonight! ). Topics this segment include why both the original stage production and the original theatrical release of The Boys in the Band are literature in the tr...

TVC 700.6: Actor and author Laurence Luckinbill ( The Boys in the Band , The Delphi Bureau , Star Trek V , Affective Memories: How Chance and The Theater Saved My Life ) talks to Ed about the many times in which providence has played a role in his life, including a pivotal night at the end of his first year as a pre-med student at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. Larry's autobiography,...

Please enjoy this special bonus edition of the TV Confidential podcast honoring the memory of Loni Anderson, the actress known around the world as Jennifer Marlowe on WKRP in Cincinnati . Loni Anderson passed away Sunday, Aug. 3 at age seventy-nine. While we never had the opportunity to interview her directly on TV Confidential , Loni Anderson did appear on our program — kinda sorta — in September...

TVC 699.1: An encore presentation of a conversation from May 2015 with Mick Martin, the longtime blues artist and radio host who enjoyed a parallel successful career as film critic for  The Sacramento Union and other newspapers. Mick Martin passed away on Sunday, July 13 at age seventy-six . Mick  interviewed hundreds of actors and musicians, including Clint Walker, Jack Kelly and Christopher Lee,...

TVC 699.2: From May 2015: Blues artist, radio host, and film historian Mick Martin and Ed discuss why John Mitchum, the younger brother of Robert Mitchum, was something of a "Hard Luck Harry" until his memorable role opposite Clint Eastwood in the original Dirty Harry . Other topics this segment include a look at such other notable character actors as Andrew Robinson, Richard Farnsworth, and Wilfo...

TVC 699.3: Via remote from Las Vegas: Ed welcomes Morgan White, Jr. , longtime late night radio personality for WBZ AM-FM/Boston , author of many books on a variety of subjects, and the Undisputed King of Trivia . Besides his deep roots in radio, Morgan has hosted live improv trivia shows, both in Boston and in other parts of the country, for more than forty-five years—and, as you're able to hear,...

TVC 699.4: Via remote from Las Vegas: Longtime Boston radio personality Morgan White, Jr . talks to Ed about meeting some of his animation heroes, including Daws Butler, Jay Ward, Bill Scott, and June Foray; how both Matt Damon and Ben Affeck were regular listeners of his late night show, before they became stars; and how Morgan became dear friends with one of his TV heroes, David McCallum. You ca...

TVC 699.5: Ed welcomes Kathleen Bradley , the first African-American model to join ranks with Barker's Beauties on The Price is Right , and the actress known around the world as the voluptuous Mrs. Parker in the 1995 cult comedy  Friday . Kathleen recently reunited with Ice Cube, one of her co-stars in Friday , on the set of Ice Cube's music video for "It's My Ego." (Kathleen appears prominently i...

TVC 699.6: Actress, supermodel, speaker, and author Kathleen Bradley talks to Ed about working with some of the other cast members of Friday , including Bernie Mac, Regina King, Tiny Lister, and John Witherspoon. Calendar year 2025 marks the thirtieth anniversary of the release of Friday . Kathleen's memoir, Backstage at The Price is Right: Memoirs of a Barker Beauty , is available both at Amazon...

TVC 698.1: Ed welcomes Taylor Blackwell, the writer, director, and star of It Happened , the award-winning short biopic about legendary comedienne Judy Tenuta . It Happened was made with the cooperation and financial support of the Judy Tenuta Legacy , which also allowed Taylor to use Judy's actual accordion in the film, as well as wear Judy's jewelry, accessories, flowers, feather boas, and wardr...

TVC 698.5: Ed welcomes Kiki Ebsen , youngest daughter of Buddy Ebsen, and an accomplished singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist in her own right. Kiki will perform her Joni Mitchell Tribute show at the Festival of Arts/Pagent of the Masters in Laguna Beach, CA on Saturday, July 26. She'll also be part of the Al Jarreau Band Reunion Show at Southcoast Winery in Temecula, CA on Sunday,...

TVC 698.6: Singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist Kiki Ebsen talks to Ed about the tapestry of stories available in The Great American Songbook; how Kiki's lifelong passion for horses led her to start The Healing Equine Ranch , a nonprofit organization whose equine-assisted services integrates yoga philosophy, natural horsemanship principles, and trauma-informed science to create a pro...

TVC 697.1: Ed welcomes back  Rich Manley , world-renowned "adventure illusionist" and the writer, producer, director, and host of Culture Shock: Bridging Cultures Through Magic , the popular series on Tubi that communicates the energy, humility, and compassion of people coming together through the shared experience of magic. The first season of Culture Shock is available for viewing on demand on T...

From June 2023: Ed and Greg Ehrbar look back at the music and television career of Bobby Sherman as part of a conversation about the home entertainment release of  Here Come the Brides (ABC, 1968-1970). Though Sherman first came into prominence as the house singer on Shindig (ABC, 1964-1966), the success of  Here Come the Brides made him a teen idol, not to mention a gold-selling recording artist....

We'll be back with a brand new edition of TV Confidential later in July. In the meantime, please enjoy this clip from June 2011 in which Tony, Donna, and Ed remember The Bicentennial Minutes (CBS, 1974-1976), a series of one-minute educational television segments, produced by CBS News, that every night aired in prime time (usually at the end of the 8pm hour) to commemorate the 200th anniversary of...

TVC 696.4: Via remote from Davenport's Restaurant in Encino, California: Part 2 of a conversation that began last week with Robert Crane , co-author, along with Christopher Fryer , of Three-Cornered Circle , is a screen play released in book form that is also an adaptation of one of the most poignant stories of Bob and Chris' book Crane: Sex, Celebrity, and My Father's Unsolved Murder : the period...

TVC 696.5: Via remote from the back patio of Davenport's Restaurant in Encino, California: Robert Crane , John Cerney , and Meagan Bejar talk to Ed about Bob's experience with dealing with tragedy and loss; why "closure" is a media term; how John Candy came from a humble background, after losing his father when he was five; and how Candy once lobbied NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana to pla...

TVC 696.6: Christopher Fryer , co-author, along with Robert Crane , of Three-Cornered Circle , shares a few of his favorite stories about his encounters with John Candy, including the time when he, Bob, Candy, and then-NBC broadcaster Bob Costas were all stuck in the same car together along the Garden State Parkway while heading for a concert in New Jersey. Three-Cornered Circle is available throu...