TV Confidential with Ed Robertson

From December 2013: "The Big Little Jesus," the second of two Christmas episodes that Jack Webb produced for Dragne t, aired on Dec. 24, 1953, both on television as well as for the radio version of Dragnet. "The Big Little Jesus" was reimagined for Dragnet 1967 as "The Christmas Story," airing on Dec. 21, 1967, and featuring many of the cast members from the 1953 episode. Also in this segment: Ton...

From December 2013: "The Big .22 Rifle for Christmas," an episode of Dragnet in which Sergeant Joe Friday and Officer Frank Smith search for a missing boy three days before Christmas, airs on Dec. 18, 1952. An adaptation of an episode of the Dragnet radio series that originally aired in December 1949, this was the first of two Christmas episodes that Jack Webb produced for the original Dragnet TV...

From November 2011: Greg Ehrbar and Ed discuss the career of Thurl Ravenscroft, the longtime voice of Tony the Tiger, and an accomplished recording artist whose bass vocals are heard on "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch," "This Ole House" (with Rosemary Clooney), and many projects for Walt Disney Records and the Walt Disney Company.  Want to advertise/sponsor our show? TV Confidential  has partnered...

TVC 520.1: Ed, Tony, and Donna welcome back Hank Garrett , the actor, comedian, and voice artist that Baby Boomers around the world know as Officer Nicholson on Car 54, Where Are You? and that film buffs know as the homicidal postal worker in Three Days of the Condor . Topics this segment include working with the often cantankerous Al Lewis; how Hank learned to develop his talent for creating voic...

TVC 520.2: Actor, comedian, and voice artist Hank Garrett talks to Ed, Tony, and Donna about how an intervention from Sammy Davis Jr. when Hank was thirteen years old saved him from a life on the streets and opened the doors for what would become a sixty-five-year career as an entertainer. Hank's memoir, From Harlem Hoodlum to Hollywood Heavyweight , is available through Briton Publishing, Amazon....

TVC 520.3: Actor James DuMont ( The Righteous Gemstones, Spenser: Confidential ) talks to Ed about Safety , a new drama that is now available for streaming on demand on Disney+, and The Underground Railroad, the highly anticipated miniseries from Amazon Prime Video, which is scheduled for release sometime in 2021. Want to advertise/sponsor our show? TV Confidential has partnered with AdvertiseCast...

TVC 520.4: Part 2 of a conversation that began last week with Burt Ward , the actor known around the world as Robin the Boy Wonder on Batman (ABC, 1966-1968). With January 2021 marking the fifty-fifth anniversary of the premiere of Batman , Burt talks to Ed about working with Adam West, Julie Newmar, and Stanley Ralph Ross on the original Batman , and with William Shatner in the full-length animat...

From December 2010: Tony, Donna, and Ed remember the death of Walt Disney on Dec. 15, 1966; the important role that the Disney theme parks have played in cementing Disney's legacy; and the mutually beneficial partnership between ABC and Disney in the 1950s that directly led to the construction of Disneyland. Want to advertise/sponsor our show? TV Confidential  has partnered with AdvertiseCast to h...

TVC 520.5: Ed welcomes Academy Award-winning, Emmy Award-winning and Golden Globe Award-winning actor Louis Gossett Jr . ( An Officer and a Gentleman , Roots , Enemy Mine , Watchmen ). Lou plays Pastor Jim, a blind man who befriends a drifter who appears to have miraculous powers, in The Reason , a faith-based film that becomes available on DVD and as a digital release on Tuesday, Dec. 15. Lou pla...

TVC 520.6: Actor Louis Gossett Jr . ( An Officer and a Gentleman , Roots , Enemy Mine , Watchmen ) talks to Ed about his early comedic roles in movies and television; the particular challenges an actor faces when playing an actual person, such as Anwar Sadat or Satchel Paige; working with David Janssen and James Garner; and why it was never a good idea to play poker with Jack Elam. Lou plays Pasto...

TVC 520.7: Film and TV actor James DuMont ( Safety , The Righteous Gemstones, Spenser: Confidential, The Underground Railroad ) talks to Ed about the various safety regulations now in effect on film and TV sets because of COVID-19, and the importance of building relationships with producers and directors. James plays Mike Ferro in Safety , a new drama from Disney+ that is now available for streami...

From December 2018: Greg Ehrbar and Ed discuss the lengths to which Rankin/Bass studied and replicated the dance moves of Fred Astaire during production of Santa Claus is Comin' to Town and how Keenan Wynn, in some ways, channels his father, Ed Wynn, when performing "Put One Foot in Front of the Other."  Want to advertise/sponsor our show? TV Confidential  has partnered with AdvertiseCast to handl...

TVC 519.1: Tony, Donna, and Ed pay tribute to Alex Trebek , the Emmy Award-winning game show host who presided over Jeopardy! for an astonishing thirty-six years, beginning in 1984 and continuing up until the time of his death. Alex Trebek passed away on Sunday, Nov. 8 at the age of eighty. Want to advertise/sponsor our show? TV Confidential has partnered with AdvertiseCast to handle advertising/s...

TVC 519.2: Steve Beverl y, game show historian and the host of Steve Beverly's TV Classics , talks to Ed about Alex Trebek's career in television before and during Jeopardy ! He also shares some memories of his various encounters with Trebek—including the time they worked together in 1985 on a promotion for WWAY-TV, the Jeopardy! affiliate in Wilmington, North Carolina. Steve's tribute to Trebek i...

TVC 519.3: Our tribute to Alex Trebek continues with some thoughts from our friend Ruta Lee . One of the grande dames of Hollywood and the world of entertainment, Ruta Lee knew Alex Trebek for more than forty-five years—dating back to 1974, when they starred together on the NBC game show High Rollers —and remained dear friends up until the very end. One of the last things Trebek did was write the...

TVC 519.4: Ruta Lee shares a few more insights into her friend Alex Trebek, including his passion for do-it-yourself projects and building things. Alex Trebek wrote the foreword to Ruta's soon-to-be-published memoir, Consider Your Ass Kissed . Want to advertise/sponsor our show? TV Confidential has partnered with AdvertiseCast to handle advertising/sponsorship requests for the podcast edition of o...

TVC 519.5: Steve Beverl y, game show historian and the host of Steve Beverly's TV Classics , talks to Ed about the moment when Alex Trebek first came into his own as host of Jeopardy! as a result of the then-record cash winnings run of contestant Chuck Forrest during the 1985-1986 season. Trebek's second year as host of the show. Steve's tribute to Trebek is available for viewing on demand at EPlu...

From December 2010: Ed welcomes television producer and New York Time s bestselling author Keith Elliot Greenberg. Keith's book December 8, 1980: The Day John Lennon Died not only provides a minute-by-minute, almost documentary-like look at the last day of John Lennon's life, but is also a moving account of Lennon's life as a whole, his career with The Beatles, his relationship with Yoko Ono, and...

From December 2010: Ed welcomes Keith Elliot Greenberg, author of December 8, 1980: The Day John Lennon , a minute-by-minute, almost documentary-like look at the last day of John Lennon's life. In this segment Keith and Ed discuss the relationship between John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and how both were immediately attracted to each other because they both had the soul of an artist.  Want to advertise/...

From December 2010: Wesley Hyatt, author of Kicking Off the Week , a history of the first thirty-years of ABC's Monday Night Football , discusses the historic cut-in on Dec. 8, 1980, when Howard Cosell informed viewers of Monday Night Football of the death of John Lennon. Want to advertise/sponsor our show? TV Confidential  has partnered with AdvertiseCast to handle advertising/sponsorship request...

TVC 519.6: Ed welcomes Burt Ward , the actor known around the world as Robin on Batman (ABC, 1966-1968). While Robin and Batman saved Gotham City and the world from super villains every week, Burt—along with his wife Tracy—have been real-life super heroes to more than 15,000 dogs of all sizes and breeds since 1994 through their nonprofit animal rescue organization, Gentle Giants Rescue . Besides f...

TVC 519.7: Actor and animal care and nutrition advocate Burt Ward talks to Ed about how his nonprofit organization, Gentle Giants , expanded from dog food to cat food; shares some tips on the proper care and feeding of your animal; and previews the exciting, new virtual fan experience that he will be offering fans of Batman in 2021. Gentle Giants pet products are available in more than 1,100 Targe...

TVC 519.8: Steve Beverl y, game show historian and host of Steve Beverly's TV Classics , talks to Ed about the particular qualities that Jeopardy! producers look for when choosing contestants for the program, including skills in gamesmanship and communications. Want to advertise/sponsor our show? TV Confidential has partnered with AdvertiseCast to handle advertising/sponsorship requests for the po...

From November 2011: Phil Gries plays audio highlights from the Nov. 23, 1961 edition of Joe Franklin's Memory Lane in which songwriter Johnny Marks ("Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer," "Holly Jolly Christmas") tells Joe why Gene Autry was originally reluctant to record "Rudolph," and who Marks originally wanted to record the song. This segment aired as part of a special edition of The Sounds of Los...

From December 2010: Wesley Hyatt, author of Kicking Off the Week: A History of Monday Night Football on ABC Television, talks to Ed about the many ways in which Monday Night Football owed its immediate success in 1970 to Don Meredith. Meredith not only provided the perfect foil for Howard Cosell every week, but conveyed a looseness to each broadcast that you didn't always see in football announcer...