TV Confidential with Ed Robertson

TVC 705.3: From August 2018: Chuck Harter and Ed remember The Music Scene (ABC, 1969), the short-lived music comedy series from the fall of 1969 that featured such top Billboard artists as The Beatles, James Brown, Neil Diamond, Three Dog Night, Tom Jones, Janis Joplin, Sly and The Family Stone—all performing live every week. Hosted by comedian David Steinberg, and also featuring a house band led...

TVC 705.4: Ed welcomes back Ruta Lee ( High Rollers, Witness for the Prosecution, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Consider Your Ass Kissed ), legendary singer, actress, and philanthropist, and the chairperson emeritus of The Thalians , the charitable organization to which Ruta has dedicated much of her life over the past seventy years, and which to date has raised has raised more than $50 million...

TVC 705.5: Entertainment legend Ruta Lee talks to Ed about why live theatre has always been near and dear to her heart. The Thalians , the charitable organization to which Ruta has dedicated much of her life over the past seventy years, will present Neil Sedaka with its annual Mr. Wonderful award at this year's Thalians Christmas gala, which will take place at the Bel Air Country Club Saturday, De...

TVC 704.1: Part 2 of a conversation that began last week with award-winning producer, director, and author Joseph Wallenstein ( Knots Landing, Hotel, Seventh Heaven, Flynn vs. Miranda, Nothing Dies for Film ), longtime director of physical production for the USC School of Cinematic Arts and the host of the new podcast Whatcha Know Joe? Topics this segment include Joe's experience working with Chuc...

TVC 704.2: Ed welcomes retired U.S. Army Airborne Ranger Barry Todd . Barry is the author of Stand Your Ground: One Man's Self-Defense Nightmare , a firsthand look at the emotional and financial toll of defending oneself within a flawed judicial system, which Barry had to do in 2014 after he was wrongfully incarcerated on charges of attempted murder and aggravated assault—despite overwhelming vide...

TVC 704.3: TV Confidential commemorates August 29, The Day The Running Stopped, the date on which the famous final episode of The Fugitive originally aired in 1967, by bringing you encore presentations of some of our interviews with actors who appeared on The Fugitive , beginning with a clip from a conversation that originally aired on Talking Television in which Barry Morse shares a few memories...

TVC 704.4: TV Confidential commemorates August 29, The Day The Running Stopped, by bringing you encore presentations of some of our interviews with actors who appeared on The Fugitive , including this clip from August 2015 in which Richard Anderson ( The Six Million Dollar Man, The Bionic Woman, Perry Mason, Dan August ) talks to Ed and guest co-host Alan Doshna about meeting Gary Cooper and Clark...

TVC 704.5: TV Confidential commemorates August 29, The Day The Running Stopped, with an encore presentation of our January 2012 conversation with actress Jacqueline Scott ( The Fugitive, Duel ). Among other topics in this segment, Jacqui answers email questions from listeners about working with David Janssen and Barry Morse on The Fugitive .

TVC 704.6: TV Confidential commemorates August 29, The Day The Running Stopped, with an encore presentation of our July 2014 conversation with actress Diane Baker. Television writer Paul Robert Coyle co-hosts.

TVC 703.1: Part 2 of a conversation that began last week with Joseph Atkins, author of Harry Dean Stanton: Hollywood's Zen Rebel , a deep dive into the life and times of the angular-faced character actor who became a leading man in the 1980s (most notably, with  Paris, Texas and Repo Man) . Topics this segment include how the success of Paris, Texas paved the way for Stanton's singing career (even...

TVC 703.3: From August 2018: Chuck Harter joins Ed for Part 2 of our look at the era of pop music TV shows from the mid to late 1960s . Topics this segment include The Lloyd Thaxton Show , a popular weekday afternoon show featuring teenagers dancing to hit records, plus guest appearances by such top artists as The Byrds, The Turtles, Jan and Dean, and Sonny and Cher. Originally produced for local...

TVC 703.4: From August 2018: Chuck Harter and Ed continue their look at nationally syndicated pop music TV shows from the mid to late 1960s . In this segment, we focus on Shebang (hosted by Casey Kasem), Hollywood a Go Go (aka Ninth Street West ), Shivaree , and Groovy .

TVC 703.5: Ed welcomes back award-winning producer, director, and author Joseph Wallenstein ( Knots Landing, Hotel, Seventh Heaven, Flynn vs. Miranda, Nothing Dies for Film ), longtime director of physical production for the USC School of Cinematic Arts (where he helped oversee more than 15,000 student film projects without a single injury), and now host of the new podcast Whatcha Know Joe? Topics...

TVC 703.6: Award-winning producer, director, and author Joseph Wallenstein talks to Ed about how Knots Landing producer Michael Filerman helped him become a director. Joe's podcast, Whatcha Know Joe? , is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever else you find podcasts.

We'll be back with a brand new edition of TV Confidential later this week. In the meantime, please enjoy this clip from August 2012 in which Tony, Donna, and Ed remember the life and career of Groucho Marx and the broadcast history of You Bet Your Life .

TVC 702.1: From August 2018: Chuck Harter joins Ed for Part 1 of a three-part look at Shindig, Hullabaloo, Where the Action Is and other national and syndicated pop music TV shows of the mid to late 1960s—a genre that not only showcased such popular groups as The Kinks, The Righteous Brothers, Herman's Hermits, Darlene Love, Paul Revere and The Raiders, and Ike and Tina Turner, but which broke gro...

TVC 702.2: From August 2018: Chuck Harter and Ed continue their look at national, syndicated, and (in a few cases) locally produced pop music TV shows of the mid to late 1960s. Topics this segment include the back story of Hullabaloo , NBC's answer to Shindig , which premiered in January 1965.

TVC 702.3: From August 2018: Chuck Harter and Ed discuss the on-air history of Where the Action Is (ABC, 1965-1967), a weekday afternoon music series, created by Dick Clark, that featured such artists as James Brown, Herman's Hermits, and Paul Revere and The Raiders.

TVC 702.4: Part 2 of a conversation that began last week with Joseph Dougherty , author of Comfort and Joi , and Alexis Hunter , author of Joi Lansing: A Body to Die For, about the life and career of singer/actress Joi Lansing . Topics this segment include how Joi's third husband, producer Stan Todd, not only helped Joi launch her nightclub singing career, but stepped up for both Joi and Alexis, p...

TVC 702.5: Ed welcomes Joseph Atkins, author of Harry Dean Stanton: Hollywood's Zen Rebel , a deep dive into the life and times of the angular-faced character actor who not only became a leading man in the 1980s (most notably, with Paris, Texas and Repo Man), but was also an accomplished singer and musician. Joe's book includes interviews with such Harry Dean Stanton contemporaries as Nehemiah Per...

TVC 702.6: Joseph Atkins, author of Harry Dean Stanton: Hollywood's Zen Rebel , talks to Ed how director Monte Hellman cast Stanton frequently in his movies, yet never saw him as a lead; how Stanton and Alex Cox, director of Repo Man , did not always see eye to eye during the early production of that movie; and how the soundtrack of Repo Man kept the film in the public eye. Harry Dean Stanton: Hol...

TVC 700.1: Emmy Award-winning writer, director, and producer Joseph Dougherty and author and artist Alexis Hunter join Ed for the first of a special two-part look at the life and career of Joi Lansing , the legendary Blonde Bombshell best known for her pin-up photos, her frequent work in movies and television throughout the '50s and '60s, and her successful nightclub singing act. Joe's latest book...

TVC 701.2: Joseph Dougherty , author of Comfort and Joi , and Alexis Hunter , author of Joi Lansing: A Body to Die For, talk to Ed about the many times in which producer Al Simon and actress Nancy Kulp crossed paths with Joi Lansing; Joi's notable television appearances, including her recurring role as Gladys Flatt in The Beverly Hillbillies ; and Hot Cars (1956), a film noir thriller that, in man...

TVC 701.3: From August 2016: Steve Binder, Emmy Award-winning producer and director and the co-author, along with Mary Beth Leidman, of Fade Up 26: The Movers and Shakers of Variety Television , talks to Ed about the controversy involving Petula Clark and Harry Belafonte behind the scenes of Clark's 1968 special for NBC, and why both The Ed Sullivan Show and The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour reall...

TVC 701.4: Part 2 of a conversation that began last week with actor, author, playwright, and Emmy Award-winning producer Laurence Luckinbill ( The Boys in the Band , The Delphi Bureau , Star Trek V: The Final Frontier , Lyndon, Hemingway, Teddy Tonight!, Clarence Darrow Tonight! ). Topics this segment include how Larry and Mart Crowley, author of The Boys in the Band, had more in common with each...