TV Confidential with Ed Robertson

TVC 572.4: Ed welcomes Marla Gibbs and Ernest Harden Jr., two of the stars of The Jeffersons (CBS, 1975-1985). Jay Moriarty , longtime writer/producer of The Jeffersons and the author of Honky in the House: Writing and Producing The Jeffersons , co-hosts. Marla Gibbs, Ernest Harden Jr., and Jay Mortiarty are all scheduled to appear at the next Hollywood Show , which will take place on Friday, Apr....

TVC 572.5: Marla Gibbs, Ernest Harden Jr., and writer/producer Jay Moriarty ( Honky in the House ) share some more behind-the-scenes stories about their years on The Jeffersons (CBS, 1975-1985), including the family environment among cast and crew, as well as their first experience with the notoriety that came from the series. Marla Gibbs, Ernest Harden Jr., and Jay Moriarty are all scheduled to a...

TVC 572.6: From the floor of the Hollywood Museum 's recent Celebrity Authors Forum : Ed visits with Leron Gubler, former president of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and the author of The Walk of Dreams: Finding Fame in Hollywood or Wherever Life Leads. Want to advertise/sponsor our show? TV Confidential has partnered with AdvertiseCast to handle advertising/sponsorship requests for the podcast...

TVC 572.7: Geoffrey Mark , host of Geoffrey Mark Plays Ella and the author of the forthcoming The New Lucy Book , shares a few memories of his friend Norm Crosby. 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 you advertise on our show. P...

TVC 571.1: Film, music and TV historian Chuck Harter joins Ed for a look back at The Untouchables (ABC, 1959-1963), the long-running crime drama starring Robert Stack as federal agent Eliot Ness, and the show that put Quinn Martin on the map as a creative force in television. Martin produced the first season of The Untouchables for Desilu Productions (Desi Arnaz was executive producer), infusing i...

TVC 571.2: Chuck Harter and Ed continue their retrospective on The Untouchables (ABC, 1959-1963), the long-running crime drama starring Robert Stack as federal agent Eliot Ness, and the show that put Quinn Martin on the map as a creative force in television. Chuck recently rediscovered The Untouchables while sheltering in place during COVID and was pleased to see how well the series continues hold...

TVC 571.3: Greg Ehrbar remembers The Big Valley (ABC, 1965-1969), the iconic Western series starring Barbara Stanwyck, Richard Long, Peter Breck, Linda Evans, and Lee Majors that, in many respects, served as a prototype for such popular night-time soap operas as Dallas , Dynasty , and Falcon Crest . The first two seasons of The Big Valley are available through Shout! Factory, while the last two se...

TVC 571.4: Ed welcomes award-winning actress, author, and fashion model Blanca Blanco ( Tale of Tails , Betrayed ). Blanca's memoir, Breaking the Mold , is the inspiring story of how a young Mexican-American girl, the daughter of immigrants and one of seven children, overcame more obstacles in her life than anybody since Job—including extreme poverty, bullying, and abuse as a child, the loss of he...

TVC 571.5: Actress and author Blanca Blanco talks to Ed about losing her home to the Woolsey Fire in 2018; the important roles that comedienne Kathy Griffin and acting coach Gordon Hunt played during her early years in Hollywood; and how the approach Blanca takes to preparing for acting roles parallels her training as a track-and-field athlete. Blanca's memoir, Breaking the Mold , is available whe...

TVC 571.6: Greg and Ed continue their review of The Big Valley (ABC, 1965-1969), including a look at such notable episodes as "The Disappearance" and "The Great Safe Robbery," as well as how the series really gave Lee Majors an opportunity to shine as an actor. The first two seasons of The Big Valley are available through Shout! Factory, while the last two seasons are available through Timeless Me...

TVC 570.1: Ed welcomes Emmy Award-winning and Tony Award-nominated actress Penny Fuller ( Applause, The Elephant Man, All the President's Men ). Penny stars as an eccentric woman who quietly rebels against a world that records our dreams, taxes our dreams, and infuses them with nonstop advertising latest in Strawberry Mansion , a charming, surrealistic fantasy that is not only futuristic, retro, a...

TVC 570.2: Emmy Award-winning and Tony Award-nominated actress Penny Fuller talks to Ed about co-starring with both Lauren Bacall and Anne Baxter in the original Broadway production of Applause; the difference between an understudy and a stand-by in the world of theatre; and how she has always sought the best roles possible, whether they were for film, stage, or television. Penny's latest film, St...

TVC 570.3: Part 2 of a conversation that began last week with Ketty Lester , the Grammy Award-nominated singer/actress known around the world for her international No. 1 hit record from 1962, " Love Letters (Straight from Your Heart) ," and for playing schoolteacher Hester Sue Terhune on Little House on the Prairie and Juanita, the wise-cracking cab driver, in the 1972 blaxploitation horror movie...

TVC 570.4: Ketty Lester talks to Ed about her love for acting, which began when she was a young girl in Arkansas; how she formally studied acting at Theatre West in Los Angeles (and befriended, among others, Carroll O'Connor); and how she successfully transitioned from nightclub singer to actress when the music industry changed in the late 1960s. Ketty's memoir, Ketty Lester: A Memoir: From Arkans...

TVC 570.5: Grammy Award-nominated singer/actress Ketty Lester talks to Ed about the many ways in which performing a song is another form of acting. Ketty's memoir, Ketty Lester: A Memoir: From Arkansas to Grammy nominated Love Letters to Little House on the Prairie , is available at Amazon.com and wherever books are sold online. You can follow Ketty Lester on Facebook, Instagram and KettyLester.co...

TVC 569.1: Ed welcomes Ketty Lester , the Grammy nominated singer/actress known around the world for her international No. 1 record, " Love Letters (Straight from Your Heart) ," and as schoolteacher Hester Sue Terhune on Little House on the Prairie . Ketty's memoir, Ketty Lester: A Memoir , is the story of how a young girl from Hope, Arkansas—the youngest of fifteen children—not only opened doors...

TVC 569.2: Ketty Lester talks to Ed about working with Maya Angelou when both performed as singers at the Purple Onion in San Francisco; co-starring with Beah Richards on stage in A Raisin in the Sun ; her appearance as Patience Jones in Brewster Place (ABC, 1990), the short-lived series produced by and starring Oprah Winfrey; her first national TV appearance (on You Bet Your Life with Groucho Mar...

TVC 568.1: Ed welcomes The Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook (aka Dr. Sujay ), the nationally known advocate, author, pastor, motivational speaker, and former presidential advisor who was once described as Oprah Winfrey and Billy Graham all rolled into one. Dr. Sujay's books include Rhythms of Rest: 40 Devotions for Women on the Move , a series of devotions that teach the principle of selah , an Old...

TVC 568.2: The Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook (aka Dr. Sujay ) talks to Ed about her latest book, My Fabulous Fifth Chapter: It's My Turn Now! , which explores the five chapters in each of our lives—and how what we learn from the first four chapters not only set the stage for our fabulous fifth chapter, but can keep us from falling into a rut. Also in this segment: Dr. Sujay shares some memories...

TVC 568.3: From the floor of the Hollywood Museum 's recent Celebrity Authors Forum : Ed visits with actress , author , teacher , speaker , radio host , and legendary "scream queen" Dee Wallace . Dee's latest books, Born: Giving Birth to a New You and Buppa LaPaloo and The I Love Mes: The Most Powerful Little Bear on the Planet , are available wherever books are sold online, as well as at IAmDeeWa...

TVC 568.3: From the floor of the Hollywood Museum 's recent Celebrity Authors Forum : Ed chats with Carolyn Hennesy, star of General Hospital , and the author of The Secret Life of Damian Spinelli and the Pandora young adult series of novels. Want to advertise/sponsor our show? TV Confidential has partnered with AdvertiseCast to handle advertising/sponsorship requests for the podcast edition of ou...

TVC 568.5: From February 2020: Tony, Donna, and Ed commemorate the birthday of actor, comedian and improv artist Howard Hesseman, born Feb. 27, 1940, as part of This Week in TV History. Topics include Hesseman's work as a member of The Committee; his appearances on such shows as Dragnet, Harry O , and The Bob Newhart Show ; and the legacy of WKRP in Cincinnati , including the landmark episodes "In...

TVC 568.8: From the floor of the Hollywood Museum 's recent Celebrity Authors Forum : Academy Award winner George Chakiris shares a few thoughts on the life and legacy of composer Stephen Sondheim and the recent remake of West Side Story . George's memoir, My West Side Story , is available in hardcover and as an eBook from Lyons Press. Want to advertise/sponsor our show? TV Confidential has partne...

TVC 567.1: Ed welcomes actor and voice artist Petri Hawkins-Byrd ( Judge Judy ) and his wife, Emmy-nominated producer Makita Bond-Byrd . Byrd and Makita host and produce Bonding with Byrd , a fun web series that Byrd hosts and produces along with Makita, and which provides their friends, fans, and followers with a peek inside their lives. Topics this segment include how Byrd and Makita came to dev...

TVC 567.1: Actor and voice artist Petri Hawkins-Byrd and Emmy-nominated producer Makita Bond-Byrd talk to Ed about some of the other projects they have in development. New episodes of Bonding with Byrd drop every Tuesday at 9pm ET, 6pm PT on YouTube . Want to advertise/sponsor our show? TV Confidential has partnered with AdvertiseCast to handle advertising/sponsorship requests for the podcast edit...