TV Confidential with Ed Robertson

TVC 585.6: Rich Little , America's Master Mimic, talks to Ed about his encounters with Don Rickles, Paul Lynde, and Elvis Presley. Rich can be seen every Thursday thru Sunday at the Tropicana/Laugh Factory , 3801 S. Las Vegas Blvd in Las Vegas. For tickets and more information, call 702-739-2411 or visit TropLV.com or TheRichLittle.com . Rich Little is also the author of People I've Known and Been...

TVC 584.1: An encore presentation of our September 2014 conversation with Larry Storch, the actor known around the world as Corporal Agarn on the classic comedy series F Troop (ABC, 1965-1967). Among other topics, Larry talked about his early career as a stand-up comedian (and how Lucille Ball gave him his first break), plus he shared some memories of working alongside Tony Curtis, Peter Falk, Don...

TVC 584.2: Part 2 of a conversation that began on our last program with Jay Moriarty , longtime producer of The Jeffersons , one of the longest-running shows in the entire Norman Lear canon. Jay's memoir, Honky in the House , takes readers behind the scenes of Tandem Productions and shows why Norman Lear was, and is, one of the most courageous producers in television. Topics this segment include Z...

TVC 584.3: From June 2013: Emmy Award winning writer David Pollock talks to Tony, Donna, and Ed about Jean Stapleton's indelible portrayal of Edith Bunker on All in the Family , and how Norman Lear got the green light for the All in the Family series in 1970 while making Cold Turkey , the first of three motion pictures that Lear was under contract to produce for United Artists at the time. David P...

TVC 584.4: Ed welcomes back Jim Colucci, deputy editor for CBS Watch magazine , and the co-author, along with Norman Lear, of All in the Family: The Show That Changed Television , an oral history of All in the Family that particularly focuses on fifty episodes that, in the opinion of Norman Lear, best exemplify how All in the Family not only changed the face of television when it premiered in 1971...

TVC 584.5: Jim Colucci, co-author, along with Norman Lear, of All in the Family: The Show That Changed Television , talks to Ed about how a good show, such as All in the Family , builds equity in its characters, such that we as viewers feel like those characters are members of our own families. All in the Family: The Show That Changed Television includes behind the scenes photographs, script pages...

TVC 584.6: Jim Colucci, co-author, along with Norman Lear, of All in the Family: The Show That Changed Television , talks to Ed about how Norman Lear and the writers of All in the Family tailored the Edith Bunker character after the innate goodness of Jean Stapleton. All in the Family: The Show That Changed Television includes behind the scenes photographs, script pages, production designs, previo...

TVC 583.1: Phil Rosenzweig , author of Reginald Rose and the Journey of 12 Angry Men , joins Ed for a look back at The Defenders (CBS, 1961-1965), the Emmy Award-winning, highly influential, and sometimes controversial legal drama created by Reginald Rose, and starring E.G. Marshall and Robert Reed, that proved, among other things, that commercial network television and absorbing drama with someth...

TVC 583.2: Phil Rosenzweig , author of Reginald Rose and the Journey of 12 Angry Men , and Ed discuss the interesting relationship The Defenders and Perry Mason , including how both were water cooler-type shows, albeit for completely different reasons. Phil's book includes several chapters that discuss the back story of The Defenders , including the toll that the series took on series creator Regi...

TVC 583.3: Ed welcomes Christian Ganiere, the actor who plays Ten on the popular Netflix series Stranger Things . All four seasons of Stranger Things are available for streaming on demand. Want to advertise/sponsor our show? TV Confidential has partnered with AdvertiseCast to handle advertising/sponsorship requests for the podcast edition of our program. They're great to work with and will help yo...

TVC 583.4: Ed, Tony, and Donna welcome back writer, producer, and author Jay Moriarty . Jay's career in network television spanned than thirty years, including eight years with Norman Lear and Tandem Productions. Along with his longtime writing partner Mike Milligan, he spent seven of those years writing and producing The Jeffersons , one of the longest-running shows in the entire Norman Lear cano...

TVC 583.5: Ed, Tony, Donna, and writer, producer, and author Jay Moriarty ( The Jeffersons, All in the Family , Honky in the House ) discuss how episodes such as "The Draft Dodger," "Florence's Problem," and "The First Store" are just a few examples of Norman Lear's trademark balancing of uproarious comedy with serious topical issues. Jay's memoir, Honky in the House , takes you behind the scenes...

TVC 583.6: Ed, Tony, Donna, and writer/producer Jay Moriarty ( The Jeffersons, All in the Family ) continue their discussion about "The First Store," the episode of The Jeffersons set against the backdrop of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., as well as how Sherman Hemsley helped paved the way for Mike Evans' return to The Jeffersons after an absence of four seasons. Want to advertis...

TVC 583.7: Ed, Tony, Donna, and writer/producer Jay Moriarty ( The Jeffersons, All in the Family ) discuss the memorable episode of All in the Family that not only introduced Beatrice Arthur as Edith's cousin Maude, but paved the way for the Maude spinoff series. Jay's memoir, Honky in the House , takes you behind the scenes of not only The Jeffersons , but Tandem Productions in general. His new b...

TVC 582.1: Musician, historian, producer, and author Chuck Harter joins Ed for the first of two programs that will celebrate the life and career of Elvis Presley. Chuck helped produce I, Elvis , a three-part profile of The King that originally aired in 1992 on the syndicated magazine series Hard Copy . While working on this project, Chuck not only interviewed and got to know several members of the...

TVC 582.2: Musician and historian Chuck Harter talks to Ed about some of the similarities between Elvis Presley and Richard Nixon, Elvis and Michael Jackson, and Elvis and Frank Sinatra. Chuck interviewed several members of the Memphis Mafia while producing I, Elvis , a highly acclaimed profile of The King that originally aired on the syndicated magazine series Hard Copy . As a result of this proj...

TVC 582.3: Chuck Harter talks about the time when Elvis Presley met The Beatles (and, later, Led Zeppelin); why Elvis was always a very song-oriented performer; and how Elvis' career was confined because of the management of Colonel Tom Parker. Chuck interviewed several members of the Memphis Mafia while producing I, Elvis , a highly acclaimed profile of The King that originally aired in 1992 on H...

TVC 582.4: Ed welcomes Emmy nominated actress Naomi Matsuda ( The Bold and the Beautiful ) and her best friend for more than thirty years, fashion designer and entrepreneur Ginger Che . Ginger designed the lotus flower-themed gown and ensemble that Naomi wore for the red carpet ceremonies for at the 49th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards on Friday, June 24. Not only that, but Naomi wearing one of Ginger'...

TVC 582.5: Emmy nominated actress Naomi Matsuda ( The Bold and the Beautiful ) talks to Ed about how she joined the cast of Bold ; the importance of creating a back story for whatever character she plays (including Li Finnegan on Bold ); and the many ways in which she and her best friend and fellow "Goddess Sister," fashion designer Ginger Che , try to empower other women by example. The Bold and...

TVC 582.6: Ed welcomes Da'Jour Jones , one of the stars of Players , the new comedic documentary-style series from Paramount+ about a team of eSports players who must put their egos aside and work together as they pursue their first league championship. Players is now available for streaming on demand. Want to advertise/sponsor our show? TV Confidential has partnered with AdvertiseCast to handle a...

TVC 581.1: Part 2 of our special roundtable discussion devoted to Columbo featuring Emmy Award-winning writer, producer, director, playwright, and author Joseph Dougherty ( thirtysomething, Pretty Little Liars, Saving Grace, Chester Bailey ), David Koenig , author of Shooting Columbo: The Lives and Deaths of TV's Rumpled Detective , writer/producer Dan Farren (Story Salon), and Tony Figueroa of Th...

TVC 581.2: Emmy Award-winning writer/producer Joseph Dougherty, author David Koenig ( Shooting Columbo: The Lives and Deaths of TV's Rumpled Detective ), Dan Farren, and Tony Figueroa discuss the important role that music played in the original Columbo (particularly the score that Oliver Nelson wrote for "The Greenhouse Jungle"); favorite moments of Columbo episodes; and the New York company that...

TVC 581.3: Emmy Award-winning writer/producer Joseph Dougherty, author David Koenig ( Shooting Columbo: The Lives and Deaths of TV's Rumpled Detective ), Dan Farren, and Tony Figueroa discuss the important role that the first clue plays in a given Columbo episode, and why Columbo has discovered new viewers of late, for reasons that go beyond the pandemic. Shooting Columbo is available in hardcover...

TVC 580.1: Ed welcomes film historian Andrew Erish , author of Vitagraph: America's First Great Motion Picture Studio , a comprehensive history of The Vitagraph Company , the first major motion picture studio in the United States, yet a company that is virtually forgotten, despite establishing many of the norms of movie making as we know it today. Vitagraph: America's First Great Motion Picture St...

TVC 580.2: Film historian Andrew Erish , author of Vitagraph: America's First Great Motion Picture Studio , discusses the vital role that businessman William T. "Pop" Rock played in stabilizing the fortunes of The Vitagraph Company , as well as the studio's often contentious relationship with inventor Thomas Edison. Vitagraph: America's First Great Motion Picture Studio is available wherever books...