TV Confidential with Ed Robertson

TVC 667.2: Ed welcomes back Columbo historian David Koenig ( Shooting Columbo : The Lives and Deaths of TV's Rumpled Detective ). David's latest book, Unshot Columbo : Cracking the Cases That Never Got Filmed , takes a deep dive into nineteen Columbo mysteries that were written for either the original NBC series or the ABC revival, but, for one reason or another, never went into production. Topics...

TVC 667.3: David Koenig , author of Unshot Columbo : Cracking the Cases That Never Got Filmed , talks to Ed about how "Old-Fashioned Murder," the sixth-season episode featuring Joyce Van Patten as the murderer, was originally conceived as a modern-day Richard III that would have featured Burgess Meredith as the lead character, and why Peter Falk always wanted female murderers on the series to be s...

TVC 667.4: Part 2 of a conversation that began last week with Robert Crane , eldest son of Hogan's Heroes star Bob Crane , and the author of My UnHollywood Family , a fresh look at his relationship with his famous dad (mostly told from the perspective of his mother's side of the family); the lifelong impact that his dad continues to have on him, his mom, and his siblings; and a story that will res...

TVC 667.5: Robert Crane , eldest son of Hogan's Heroes star Bob Crane , talks to Ed about how he learned a lot about interviewing people from talking to his stepfather, Charles Sloan; how his dad created a style of free-form radio that we can see today in the work of Howard Stern; and why Bob believes that the word "closure" is a newsroom term, borne out of the era of such entertainment programs s...

TVC 666.6: David Koenig , author of Shooting Columbo : The Lives and Deaths of TV's Rumpled Detective and Unshot Columbo : Cracking the Cases That Never Got Filmed , talks to Ed about "Fear No Murder," an innovative mystery that Peter Falk not only wanted to film, but which would've served as the coda to the Columbo series, were it not for an impasse between Falk and ABC over casting that ultimate...

TVC 666.1: From October 2014: Ed welcomes Doug Hill and Jeffrey Weingrad, co-authors of Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live , everything you wanted to know about the first ten years of Saturday Night Live , from its beginnings as an outlaw program produced by an unruly band of renegades from the comedy underground to a TV institution that began its fiftieth season on NBC in...

TVC 666.2: From October 2014: Doug Hill and Jeffrey Weingrad, co-authors of Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live , talk to Ed about the chaos behind the scenes of the premiere episode of Saturday Night Live on Oct. 11, 1975, and how it took about four episodes for the series to find its footing. Recently updated to commemorate the show's fiftieth season on NBC, Saturday Night...

TVC 666.3: Ed welcomes actress, comedienne, and "puppet fabricator" Corinne Britti ( Condor's Nest, For Sale ). Corinne plays real-life 1970s comedienne Valri Bromfield in Saturday Night , the Sony biographical comedy, written and directed by Jason Reitman, that portrays the chaos behind the scenes at NBC in the ninety minutes leading up to the premiere episode of Saturday Night Live on Oct. 11, 1...

TVC 666.4: Ed welcomes back Robert Crane , eldest son of Hogan's Heroes star Bob Crane , and an accomplished screenwriter, journalist , and author in his own right . Bob's latest book, My UnHollywood Family , provides a fresh look at his relationship with his famous dad—mostly told from the perspective of his mother's side of the family—and the lifelong impact that his dad continues to have on him...

TVC 666.5: Robert Crane , eldest son of Hogan's Heroes star Bob Crane , talks to Ed about how his dad was the "Willy Loman of his own career," why the failure of his parents' marriage was the byproduct of his dad's desire for advancement, and how he learned the craft of editing by watching his dad edit segments for his KNX radio show every week in the "back room" of the Crane family home. Bob's la...

TVC 665.6: Part 2 of a conversation that began last week with James Sutorius , the award-winning stage actor who recently starred in My Life with Will: An Evening with Will Shakespeare and James Sutorius , a one-man show (written by Dennis Brown) in which James shares stories from his fifty-year career in stage, movies, and television, and why he always returns to the works of Shakespeare for sust...

TVC 665.1: Ed welcomes William Keck, longtime entertainment reporter for such publications as the National Enquirer, People, Entertainment Weekly, USA Today , and the Los Angeles Times , Emmy-nominated producer for the Hallmark Channel, Discovery Channel, and NBC, and the author of When You Step Upon A Star: Cringeworthy Confessions of a Tabloid Bad Boy , a collection of some of Will's most memora...

TVC 665.2: William Keck, author of When You Step Upon A Star: Cringeworthy Confessions of a Tabloid Bad Boy , tells Ed the back story of the outlandish lengths he took to land the first interview with Juditha Brown, mother of Nicole Brown Simpson, in June 1994 (a few days after Nicole's funeral), when he was a reporter with the National Enquirer ; how he managed to win the trust of Mrs. Brown almo...

TVC 665.5: Ed welcomes back James Sutorius , one of the most accomplished stage actors of our time, having starred on Broadway many times throughout his career (as well as many major theatre groups and repertory companies across the country), and an actor who has appeared frequently on television over the past five decades, including such classic shows as Matlock, Kojak, Columbo, and Murder, She W...

TVC 665.6: Actor  James Sutorius talks to Ed about seeing Richard Burton star as Hamlet on Broadway in 1964; how practicing the famous "To be or not to be" soliloquy from Hamlet helped James overcome a stutter when he was in high school; and his appearance co-starring with Judd Hirsch on stage in Conversations with My Father . James recently starred in My Life with Will: An Evening with Will Shake...

TVC 664.1: Ed welcomes actress Lindsay Bloom ( Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer, Dallas, The Dukes of Hazzard ) and renowned sixties film historian Tom Lisanti ( Talking Sixties Drive-In Movies, Carol Lynley: Her Film & TV Career in Thrillers, Fantasy and Suspense, Trippin' with Terry Southern: What I Think I Remember, Ryan's Hope: An Oral History of Daytime's Groundbreaking Soap ). Lindsay was not o...

TVC 664.2: Actress Lindsay Bloom ( Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer, Dallas, The Dukes of Hazzard ) talks to Ed and Tom Lisanti about working with Stacy Keach and Mickey Spillane on Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer , and with Larry Hagman, Patrick Duffy, and Susan Howard on Dallas . Tom Lisanti's latest book, Dueling Harlows: The Race to Bring the Actress's Life to the Silver Screen , is available from...

TVC 664.6: Ed and guest co-host Chuck Harter welcome back Kathy Garver, the actress known around the world to three generations of television viewers as Cissy Davis on Family Affair . Kathy is on the board of directors for The Thalians , the non-profit organization that partners with UCLA's Operation Mend in providing support and care for those who struggle with PTSD and other mental illnesses (an...

TVC 664.6: Ed and guest co-host Chuck Harter talk to Kathy Garver about her involvement with some of the Mrs. Beasley merchandise now available from the Bradford Exchange; working with Carl Amari on Twilight Zone Radio , including the adaptation of "The Invaders," the famous episode of the original Twilight Zone series featuring Agnes Moorehead; and the three holiday movies that she is currently w...

TVC 663.1: Actor and author James Rosin joins Ed as TV Confidential remembers the life and career of singer/actor James Darren ( The Time Tunnel, T.J. Hooker, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ). Jim knew James Darren as a friend, plus he interviewed Darren at least twice, including for his book Philly Pop Rock Rhythm & Blues: A Look Back at the Musical History of Philadelphia . James Darren passed away...

TVC 663.2: Actor and author James Rosin ( Philly Pop Rock Rhythm & Blues ) talks to Ed about the television career of James Darren, including his starring roles on The Time Tunnel and T.J. Hooker , Darren's favorite episode of The Time Tunnel , and Darren's successful transition from acting to directing later in his career. James Darren passed away Monday, Sept. 2, 2024 at the age of eighty-eight....

TVC 663.3: Actor and author James Rosin ( Philly Pop Rock Rhythm & Blues ) tells the back story of how James Darren came to play Vic Fontaine, the holographic lounge singer who appeared in many episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine —and a role that, in many respects, revitalized Darren's recording career. James Darren passed away Monday, Sept. 2, 2024 at the age of eighty-eight. Learn more about...

TVC 663.4: Award-winning actress, screenwriter, and director Alessandra Williams talks to Ed about being mentored by Martin Landau early in her career, when she studied at the prestigious Actors Studio; how her background as an gymnast helped her later on, once she became an actress; and why she has immersed herself in all aspects of film production. Alessandra has a dual role in Lissa's Trip , th...

TVC 663.5: Ed welcomes back actress, author, and comedienne Geri Jewell ( The Facts of Life, Deadwood, I'm Walking as Straight as I Can ). Geri's latest book, Geri's Jewels & Gems , is a collection of columns that Geri originally wrote for Ability Magazine between 2012 and 2017, but which discuss topics and issues about the human condition that are timeless and relatable to anyone who is trying to...

TVC 663.6: Actress, author, and comedienne Geri Jewell ( The Facts of Life, Deadwood, I'm Walking as Straight as I Can ) talks to Ed about what led her into the world of stand-up comedy in the late 1970s; how stand-up comedy has changed today; and how she was often encouraged by Carol Burnett early in her career. Geri's latest book, Geri's Jewels & Gems , discusses topics and issues about the huma...