TV Confidential with Ed Robertson

TVC 506.1: Ed welcomes author, screenwriter, USA Today opinion columnist , and educator Larry Strauss . Larry has taught high school English in South Los Angeles for nearly thirty years, while his books include The Facts of My Life , the memoir of his mother, stage and television actress Charlotte Rae. Topics this segment include the misguided federal pressure to reopen campuses in the face of the...

TVC 506.2: Author, screenwriter, USA Today opinion columnist , and high school educator Larry Strauss talks to Ed about working with his mother, Charlotte Rae, on her memoir, The Facts of My Life . 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 wi...

TVC 506.3: Greg and Ed discuss the DVD release of The Practice (NBC, 1976-1977), the short-lived sitcom that, in many respects, was a change of pace for Danny Thomas. 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 sh...

TVC 506.4: Actress Amy Stoch ( Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure , Dallas , the Gunsmoke reunion movies ) talks to Ed about reprising her role as Missy, Bill Preston's stepmom, in Bill and Ted Face the Music . She also shares the story of the wonderful compliment that Barbara Bel Geddes paid her early during her arc on Dallas . Bill and Ted Face the Music is now showing in select drive-ins and is...

TVC 506.5: Actress Amy Stoch ( Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure , Bill and Ted Face the Music ) shares a few memories of playing Matt Dillon's daughter in the Gunsmoke reunion movies . She also talks to Ed about her second career as an adjunct instructor at four universities (and the challenges of teaching her students online this past semester, in light of COVID-19). Bill and Ted Face the Music...

TVC 506.6: Greg Ehrbar provides a thumbnail history of The Danny Thomas Show (ABC/CBS, 1953-1964), including how, in many respects, the series paved the way for such future sitcoms as The Andy Griffith Show and The Dick Van Dyke Show . Seasons Five and Six of The Danny Thomas Show are available on DVD through S'more Entertainment; Seasons Five, Six, and Seven are also available for streaming on de...

From January 2011: Ed welcomes Ray Starman, author of TV Noir: The Twentieth Century, a book that discusses the portrayal of film noir in Dragnet, The Fugitive, The Untouchables, M Squad, The Lineup, The Prisoner, Miami Vice and other popular television series over the past six decades. Want to advertise/sponsor our show? TV Confidential  has partnered with AdvertiseCast to handle advertising/spon...

From Januay 2012: Ed welcomes Jacqueline Scott, the actress known around the world as Donna Kimble Taft on The Fugitive. 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. Please email  sales@advertisecast.com  or...

From January 2019: Tony, Donna, and Ed welcome Douglas Howard, editor of such books as Dexter: Investigating Cutting Edge Television, and David Bianculli, longtime television critic and contributor to NPR's Fresh Air, and the author of such books as Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. Doug and David are the co-editors of Television Finales: From Howdy Dood...

From January 2019: Tony, Donna, and Ed welcome Douglas Howard , editor of such books as Dexter: Investigating Cutting Edge Television , and David Bianculli , longtime television critic and contributor to NPR's Fresh Air , and the author of such books as Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour . Doug and David are the co-editors of Television Finales: From Howdy...

TVC 506.1: Tony, Donna, and Ed take a look at how network and cable television covered the death of Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), the longtime civil rights leader who passed away on July 17, 2020.  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 he...

TVC 506.2: From August 2013: Phil Gries presents audio highlights of how network television and network radio covered the historic March on Washington on Aug. 28, 1963, when more than 200,000 Americans of every age, race and religion came to Washington, D.C. to support the passage of the landmark Civic Rights Bill. This segment includes clips of ABC News correspondent Howard K. Smith interviewing...

TVC 506.3: From August 2013: Phil Gries plays audio highlights of an ABC News segment from Aug. 28, 1963 in which Sen. Strom Thurmond (D./R.-SC) voiced his opposition to the March on Washington , and of the rebuttal by ABC News correspondent Howard K. Smith (pictured) voicing his opposition to Thurmond. The audio heard in this segment is from Phil's private collection. Want to advertise/sponsor ou...

TVC 506.4: From August 2013: Phil Gries presents audio highlights of how network television and network radio covered the historic March on Washington on Aug. 28, 1963, including NBC News interviews with march supporters Marlon Brando and Burt Lancaster, and ABC News correspondent Lisa Howard interviewing James Baldwin. Also in this segment: A brief excerpt from Dr. Martin Luther King's iconic "I...

TVC 505.5: Ed welcomes singer/actress Linda Purl ( Happy Days, Matlock, The Young Pioneers, The Office, Homeland , Desperate Housewives ). Linda's latest CD, Taking a Chance on Love , includes fresh takes on classic pop tunes from The Great American Songbook. Proceeds from sales of Linda Purl: Taking a Chance on Love will support the Actors Fund. Want to advertise/sponsor our show? TV Confidential...

TVC 505.6: Singer/actress Linda Purl shares a few memories of working with Don Most, Jerry Paris, and Garry Marshall on Happy Days . Linda's latest CD, Taking a Chance on Love , includes fresh takes on classic pop tunes from The Great American Songbook. Proceeds from sales of Linda Purl: Taking a Chance on Love will support the Actors Fund. Want to advertise/sponsor our show? TV Confidential  has...

From June 2013: An excerpt from Ed's conversation with David Pollock, Emmy Award-winning television writer and author of Bob and Ray: Keener Than Most Persons, a comprehensive dual biography of Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding, the comedy twosome who not only created such classic characters as Wally Ballou, Tex Blaisdell and The Slow Talker, but influenced three generations of comedians and comedy wri...

From August 2011: Tony, Donna and Ed continue their discussion about the longevity of the Star Trek phenomenon. 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. Please email  sales@advertisecast.com  or click the...

From August 2011: Tony, Donna and Ed celebrate the legacy of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, born Aug. 19, 1920 as part of This Week in TV History. 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. Please emai...

TVC 504.1: From August 2012: Tony, Donna, and Ed remember the birth of Julia Child and how the success of The French Chef (PBS, 1963-1973) paved the way for such other notable TV chefs as Graham Kerr, Martha Stewart, and Rachael Ray.  Want to advertise/sponsor our show? TV Confidential  has partnered with AdvertiseCast to handle advertising/sponsorship requests for the podcast edition of our progr...

TVC 504.2: From August 2012: Tony, Donna, and Ed remember how television covered the death of Elvis Presley on Aug. 16, 1977. 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. Please email  sales@advertisecast.com...

TVC 504.3: Ed welcomes back Steve Beverly , television historian and professor of communications arts at Union University (Jackson, TN), where he coordinates the Broadcast Journalism major and supervises the daily student-produced newscast, Jackson 24/7 . Steve discusses the challenges that he and his students faced earlier this year, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced classes at Union to go online...

TVC 504.4: Steve Beverly , journalism professor at Union University (Jackson, TN) and a former news director and on-air correspondent for WBBJ-TV, talks to Ed about the toll that covering the daily COVID-19 news cycle can take on the mental health of reporters. A member of the National Association on Mental Illness, Steve Beverly is ready, willing and able to speak to any television news operation...

TVC 504.5: Ed welcomes actor, comedian, impressionist, and voice artist John Byner ( Soap , Something Else , The Practice , The John Byner Comedy Hour , Bizarre ). John's memoir, Five Minutes, Mr. Byner , not only shares many stories of his work with the likes of Steve Allen, Mel Torme, Dinah Shore, Johnny Carson, Ed Sullivan, Henry Fonda, and Elvis Presley, but gives readers a glimpse of the pers...

TVC 504.6: Actor, comedian, impressionist, and voice artist John Byner talks to Ed about working with the cast of Soap (including the famous "Step Brothers" episode); why the ambiance on talk shows during the era of Johnny Carson, Merv Griffin, and Dinah Shore was often like going to a cocktail party; and how, in many ways, he inherited his gift for humor from his father. John's memoir, Five Minut...