TV Confidential with Ed Robertson

TVC 555.7: Ed welcomes actress and monologist Veronica Redd ( The Young and the Restless ). Fans of The Jeffersons  know Veronica best for her lead role in "Once a Friend," the groundbreaking episode of The Jeffersons in which George learns that his old Navy buddy, Eddie Stokes, has undergone a sex change operation and is now living life as a woman, Edie. Written by Jay Moriarty and Mike Milligan...

TVC 555.8: Actress and monologist Veronica Redd ( The Young and the Restless ) tells Ed a poignant story about when she first realized just how much her performance as Edie Stokes "Once a Friend," the groundbreaking episode of The Jeffersons , meant to real-life transgender people. She also talks about working with Ed Asner on the set of Lou Grant . Want to advertise/sponsor our show? TV Confident...

TVC 524.1: A program-length celebration of the life and career of Ed Asner , the eight-time Emmy Award-winning actor who passed away this past Sunday, Aug. 29 at age 91. Known to three generations around the world for his portrayals of Carl Frederickson in Pixar's UP ! ; Santa Claus in several films (including, most notably, Elf ); his stellar performances in the classic miniseries Roots and Rich...

TVC 524.2: Tony, Donna, and Ed discuss their favorite "Lou Grant" moments from Ed Asner , both on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Lou Grant ; his work as president of the Screen Actors Guild; his activism (including his controversial stance on the U.S. involvement in El Salvador in 1982); and some of his many other roles, including Two Jews Talking , the stage production with Jamie Farr that he was...

TVC 524.2a: From May 2013: Jennifer Armstrong , author of Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted and All the Brilliant Minds Who Made The Mary Tyler Moore Show a Classic , talks to Ed about the difficulty that Ed Asner initially had with delivering the now iconic line "I hate spunk" during the original taping of the pilot for The Mary Tyler Moore Show . Ed Asner passed away this past Sunday, Aug. 29 at ag...

TVC 524.3: Greg Ehrbar joins Ed for a special Ed Asner -centric edition of our DVD and streaming report, with particular emphasis on Ed's extensive work as a voice artist on many animated films and TV specials (including the many times other than Elf in which he played Santa Claus), as well as his performances as a reader on audiobooks. This segment also includes quotes from Bob Bergen and Leonard...

TVC 524.4: Greg and Ed discuss Ed Asner 's performance in The Gathering (ABC, 1977), the made-for-TV holiday classic that was also among Hanna-Barbera's first ventures into live-action movies. 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 hel...

TVC 524.5: Emmy Award winner Geoffrey Mark joins Ed to share a few memories about Ed Asner . Geoff not only interviewed Ed for a documentary he produced about The Mary Tyler Moore Show, but was among the many recipients of Ed's generosity of spirit. Want to advertise/sponsor our show? TV Confidential has partnered with AdvertiseCast to handle advertising/sponsorship requests for the podcast editio...

TVC 524.6: Chuck Harter joins Ed to share a few memories about Ed Asner . Chuck interviewed Ed in person for his book Mr. Novak: An Acclaimed Television Series . 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. Pl...

TVC 524.7: Nine-time Emmy Award-winning writer, producer, and humorist Ed. Weinberger ( The Mary Tyler Moore Show , Taxi ) talks to Ed about his three collaborations with Ed Asner over the past ten years, including Two Jews Talking , a new stage comedy that Asner was rehearsing with Jamie Farr two days before he died. Ed Asner passed away this past Sunday, Aug. 29 at age 91. Want to advertise/spon...

TVC 524.8: Writer, producer, and humorist Ed. Weinberger ( The Mary Tyler Moore Show , Taxi ) talks to Ed about his three collaborations with Ed Asner over the past ten years, including The Grouchy Historian: An Old Time Lefty Defends Our Constitution Against Right Wing Hypocrites and Nutjobs , an earnest, engaging, and well researched look at the back story of the U.S. Constitution. Ed Asner pass...

TVC 524.9: Actress Veronica Redd ( The Young and the Restless ) talks to Ed about why Ed Asner was not only a good leading actor, but a good leader who set a tone of camaraderie on the set for everyone for who worked on his shows. Veronica's many TV appearances include three episodes of Lou Grant . Want to advertise/sponsor our show? TV Confidential has partnered with AdvertiseCast to handle adver...

TVC 524.10: Susan Silver , one of the original writers of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, talks to Ed about "The Square Shaped Room" and "Is a Friend in Need," two episodes of the Moore show that created singular moments for Ed Asner as Lou Grant. Asner not only acknowledged Susan Silver in his acceptance speech when he won his second Emmy for playing Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show , but wrote...

TVC 524.11: Ed welcomes filmmaker Matthew Asner , eldest son of Ed Asner , and the president and CEO of The Ed Asner Family Center, a nonprofit organization that provides an oasis of creativity and support for families with special needs children. Topics this segment include the Asner family's longtime commitment to children with special needs, as well as some of Matt's favorite Ed Asner roles. Wa...

TVC 524.12: From October 2016: Ed Asner talks to Ed and guest co-host Deborah Pearl about how he learned to hone his approach to comedic roles; how he played Lou Grant differently on Lou Grant than he did on The Mary Tyler Moore Show ; and how, upon reflection, he would have handled his stance on the El Salvador controversy differently than he did at the time it happened. A longtime friend of Ed A...

TVC 524.13: From April 2017: Ed Asner talks to Ed about his one-man show A Man and His Prostate ; his love of the Los Angeles Dodgers; and his admiration for Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully. Ed Asner passed away this past Sunday, Aug. 29 at age 91. Ed's memoir, Son of a Junkman: My Life from the West Bottoms of Kansas City to the Bright Lights of Hollywood , is available wherever books are sol...

TVC 553.1: Game show historian Steve Beverly helps Ed sort through the latest developments in the ongoing search for a new permanent host of Jeopardy! When Steve visited us in August, Sony Pictures Television had just named Jeopardy! executive producer Mike Richards as the official successor to Alex Trebek —a controversial choice that, among other things, called into question the integrity of havi...

TVC 553.2: Game show historian Steve Beverly talks to Ed about what Sony Pictures Television must do to right the ship and restore the public's confidence in the Jeopardy! franchise; why naming Michael Davies as the interim show runner of Jeopardy! is an important step in that regard; and why it would be a bad idea for the series to do another prolonged round of guest hosts. Want to advertise/spon...

TVC 553.3: Part 2 of a conversation that began on our last program with Susan Silver , one of the original writers for The Mary Tyler Moore Show and one of the very first female writers to break the glass ceiling in the world of TV comedy. Topics this segment include The Girl Who Came Gift-Wrapped , the romantic comedy starring Karen Valentine, Richard Long, and Louise Sorel that Susan wrote for t...

TVC 553.4: Ed welcomes Emmy nominated actress and stunt woman Janeshia Adams-Ginyard ( Black Panther , The Falcon and The Winter Soldier ). Janeshia was recently nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Stunt Performance for her work in Lovecraft Country . This is the first year that the Academy has created the category of Outstanding Stunt Performance—and while other women received nominations...

TVC 553.5: Ed welcomes AIDS/HIV activist the Reverend Steve Pieters . One of the first non-celebrity figures to be identified with AIDS in the early 1980s, Steve's amazing story of surviving AIDS and two forms of cancer in 1985 is considered a medical anomaly and a modern-day miracle. In the world of popular culture, Steve is best known for an interview that he gave televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker...

TVC 553.6: AIDS/HIV activist the Reverend Steve Pieters talks to Ed about how he fought AIDS in 1985 with a self-devised wellness plan that combined prayer, meditation, exercise, nutrition, music, and laughter (including healthy dosages of I Love Lucy reruns), and the circumstances that allowed Steve to thank Lucille Ball in person for the healing power of laughter four years later. Steve's affirm...

TV Confidential honors the memory of Ed Asner , the eight-time Emmy Award-winning actor known around the world as Lou Grant on both The Mary Tyler Moore Show and his own show, Lou Grant . Ed Asner passed away on Sunday, Aug. 29 at age ninety-one. We are putting together a formal tribute to Ed Asner that will include memories from some colleagues of his that we've gotten to know as a result of doin...

From March 2020: Ed welcomes back eight-time Emmy Award winner Ed Asner ( The Mary Tyler Moore Show , Lou Grant , Elf , Disney Pixar's UP , Briarpatch ). Ed's new memoir, Son of a Junkman: My Life from the West Bottoms of Kansas City to the Bright Lights of Hollywood , is a charming, funny, and often very poignant look at his life and career, from his colorful childhood as the son of a junkman in...

From March 2020: Legendary actor, author, and activist Ed Asner ( The Mary Tyler Moore Show , Lou Grant , Elf , Disney Pixar's UP , Briarpatch ) talks about the roles that actor Richard Crenna and The House on Greenapple Road —a made-for-TV movie produced by Quinn Martin—both played in helping him land his signature role of Lou Grant. Ed Asner passed away on Sunday, Aug. 29 at age ninety-one. Want...