TV Confidential with Ed Robertson

TVC 729.2: Emmy Award-winning writer and producer Robert Illes talks to Ed about how he and James Stein got their first big break in television when they wrote the weekly monologue for comedian Bill Cosby on The New Bill Cosby Show (CBS, 1972-1973); working with Tom and Dick Smothers on The Smothers Brothers Show (NBC, 1975) and with legendary comedy writer Pat McCormick on several TV shows; and h...

TVC 729.3: From March 2016: Tony, Donna, and Ed discuss the influence of comedian George Burns on two generations of TV comedy writers. George Burns died on Mar. 9, 1996 as part of This Week in TV History.

TVC 729.4: Ed welcomes back renowned actress, author, and conservationist Stefanie Powers ( Hart to Hart , The Girl from U.N.C.L.E ., One from the Hart ). The United Nations recently honored Stefanie as an Agent of Change in recognition for her work with the William Holden Wildlife Foundation , the nonprofit organization that Stefanie established in 1982 in memory of her longtime life partner that...

TVC 726.5: From March 2016: Tony, Donna, and Ed remember the premiere of the Emmy Award-winning drama Family (ABC, 1976-1980) as part of This Week in TV History.

TVC 726.6: From February 2014: Ed and guest co-host Phil Gries welcome Joe Franklin, the legendary TV talk show host whose popular weekday talk show, Joe Franklin's Memory Lane , not only aired every day on New York television for more than forty years (1950-1993), but was also broadcast nationally for many years on superstation WOR and syndicated in many other markets. This past Thursday, Mar. 12...

TVC 726.7: Ed and guest co-host Phil Gries play more of their conversation with legendary TV talk show host Joe Franklin. Our conversation with Joe originally aired in February 2014, eleven months before his passing in January 2015. Thursday, Mar. 12, 2026 would have been Joe Franklin's 100 th birthday.

TVC 728.1: Part 2 of a conversation that began last week with authors, playwrights, and producers Anthony Wynn and Robert Wood. Tony and Bob's latest book, Two for the Road , chronicles the lifelong love story of Barry Morse and his wife of sixty years, actress Sydney Sturgess, as told through the many cards, letters, and audio recordings that Barry and Sydney sent to each other in the course of t...

TVC 728.2: TV Confidential remembers Neil Sedaka, the Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, and pianist who sold millions of records worldwide and who wrote or co-wrote more than five hundred songs for himself and other artists in a career that spanned nearly seven decades. Neil Sedaka passed away Friday, Feb. 27 at the age of eighty-six. Because of the often symbiotic relationship between musi...

TVC 728.3: Our remembrance of Neil Sedaka continues with clips from our conversation from March 2024 with legendary music manager Harvey Lisberg about "Is This the Way to Amarillo," the Sedaka-penned song that became a huge hit in 1971 for British singer Tony Christie; from April 2016 with Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Toni Tennille about "Love Will Keep Us Together," the Sedaka tune that...

TVC 728.4: Ed welcomes back actor, author, and documentary filmmaker James Rosin . Jim wrote, produced, and directed Philly Hoops , a deep dive into the early years of one of the NBA's most storied franchises, The Philadelphia Warriors (now the Golden State Warriors), that also traces the rise of professional basketball in the City of Brotherly Love, including the history of the Philadelphia SPHAs...

TVC 728.5: Actor, author, and documentary filmmaker James Rosin talks to Ed about Wilt Chamberlain's historic 100-point game for the Philadelphia Warriors, which occurred on Mar. 2, 1962 in Hershey, Pennsylvania (the Warriors beat the New York Knicks that night, 169-147); how many of the Warriors players during the first sixteen years of the franchise, including Chamberlain, had direct ties to the...

TVC 728.6: Actor, author, and documentary filmmaker James Rosin talks to Ed about how the Philadelphia SPHAs, the first professional basketball team in Philadelphia, were also one of the best teams on the East Coast during the first part of the twentieth century, competing against—and often beating—some of the best teams in the country, including the Harlem Globetrotters; and how the SPHAs eventua...

TVC 727.1: Tony Figueroa and Donna Allen join Ed for an expanded edition of This Week in TV History that remembers Rob Reiner, the Emmy Award-winning actor and writer and Academy Award-nominated director and producer who died tragically on Dec. 14, 2025. Reiner was born on Mar. 6, 1947. The segment begins with Tony sharing a story about the circumstances that led him to spend an afternoon with Rei...

TVC 727.2: Tony, Donna, and Ed discuss Rob Reiner's experience as a staff writer for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (CBS, 1967-1969), as well as some of Reiner's notable "non-Meathead" roles on television, including his guest appearances as Myrna's boyfriend Sheldn on The Odd Couple in September 1974 (in the episode that also marked Penny Marshall's final appearance as Myrna) and as second-rate...

TVC 727.3: Tony, Donna, and Ed discuss Rob Reiner's production company, Castle Rock Entertainment, which produced, among other things, the long-running sitcom Seinfeld ; the role that Reiner played in bringing Michael McKean and David L. Lander to the attention of Garry Marshall, which led to Marshall casting McKean and Lander as Lenny and Squiggy on Laverne & Shirley ; and Reiner's marriages to P...

TVC 727.3a: Tony, Donna, and Ed discuss some of the lighter moments between Mike and Archie on All in the Family ; why it was notable that many episodes of All in the Family took place on a Sunday; and how Rob Reiner created Norman Lear with recognizing that he could be funny on camera, even before his dad, Carl Reiner, did. Rob Reiner was born Mar. 6, 1947 as part of This Week in TV History.

TVC 727.4: Ed welcomes back authors, playwrights, and producers Anthony Wynn and Robert Wood. Tony and Bob worked closely with actor Barry Morse on numerous projects during the last thirteen years of Barry's life, including the publication of his memoir, Remember with Advantages , as well as two stage productions of A.R. Gurney's Love Letters featuring Barry Morse. Tony and Bob's latest book, Two...

TVC 727.5: Barry Morse biographers Anthony Wynn and Robert Wood talk to Ed about how Morse helped start PAL, the Performing Arts Lodges of Toronto (the Canadian equivalent of the Motion Pictures Actors Home in Woodland Hill, CA), shortly after his wife, Sydney Sturgess, was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, as well as Morse's many efforts to raise funding for PAL throughout the last two decades...

TVC 727.6: Barry Morse biographers Anthony Wynn and Robert Wood share some behind-the-scenes stories about the benefit productions of Love Letters from 1995 (featuring Barry Morse and June Lockhart) and from 1999 (with Morse and Barbara Bain). Other topics this segment include how Morse considered the fans of  Space: 1999 to be his "honorary grandchildren." Tony and Bob's latest book, Two for the...

TVC 726.1: From February 2016: Tony, Donna, and Ed discuss the final episode of Shindig (ABC, 1964-1966) on Jan. 8, 1966, the premiere of Third Rock from the Sun (NBC, 1996-2001) on Jan. 9, 1996, and the premiere of Sam 'n' Henry on Chicago radio station WGN on Jan. 12, 1926. Created by and starring Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll, and considered by many to be the first situation comedy, Sam 'n...

TVC 726.2: Part 2 of a conversation that began last week with Hal Eisner , the multiple award-winning broadcast journalist who covered the news every day for fifty-eight years, including fifteen years at various radio stations in Texas and Louisiana and the last forty-three years on television in Los Angeles. Hal's memoir, An Accidental Career , is available through Amazon.com. Topics this segment...

TVC 726.3: Ed welcomes Jennifer Jones , the first African-American member of the world renowned Radio City Rockettes, and an award-winning performer who is celebrated for her pioneering achievements and unwavering advocacy for equal rights in the arts. Jennifer's memoir, Becoming Spectacular: The Rhythm of Resilience from The First African-American Rockette , not only tells the story of how she he...

TVC 726.4: Jennifer Jones , the first African-American member of the Radio City Rockettes, talks to Ed about her battle against colorectal cancer in 2018 (including the importance of having the right medical team for her); how she came to write her children's book, On the Line ; how she came to create the Dancing Jenn doll ; and how she first dreamed of dancing on stage when she was nine years old...

TVC 725.1: Part 2 of a conversation that began last week with Harvey Lisberg , the legendary music manager who shaped the careers of such iconic artists as Herman's Hermits, 10cc, and Tony Christie. Topics this segment include why Herman's Hermits did not tour the United States during the last three years when they were together; how changing trends in the music industry ultimately played a role i...

TVC 725.2: Harvey Lisberg , manager of Herman's Hermits, talks to Ed and guest co-host Chuck Harter about the important role that radio played in the band's rise to the top of the charts; Harvey's favorite songs of Herman's Hermits; and why Peter Noone continues to be a true showman to this day. Harvey's memoir, I'm Into Something Good , is available wherever books are sold through Omnibus Press.