April « 2014

Archive for April, 2014

Michael St. John, Film Noir and the Worlds Fair: Next on TVC

Tuesday, April 29th, 2014

Actor and author Michael St. John and film historian Alan Rode will join us on the next edition of TV CONFIDENTIAL, airing Friday at 7pm ET and PT on Share-a-Vision Radio, KSAV.org.

Our second hour will include a return appearance by Michael St. John, actor, author, playwright, onetime San Francisco radio personality and the first African-American man hired as a director for NBC television. Michael’s play, I Feel Sin Comin’ On, which he adapted partly from his memoir, Hollywood Through the Back Door, received critical acclaim when it was performed as a dramatic reading earlier this year in Los Angeles. We’ll talk about the play, but we’ll also ask Michael about working on such classic shows as Laugh-In and The Andy Williams Show at the legendary NBC studios in Burbank. Michael St. John will join us in our second hour.

Joining us in our first hour will Alan Rode, one of the foremost experts on the subject of film noir, and the author of such books as Charles McGraw: Biography of a Film Noir Tough Guy. Alan is also the producer and host of The Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival, which will take place May 8 thru May 11 at the Camelot Theatres in Palm Springs. The lineup for the weekend will include screenings of Sunset Boulevard, The Window, Sorry, Wrong Number, Too Late for Tears, Laura and the original 1946 version of The Killers, while the weekend’s scheduled guests include Barbara Hale, Nancy Olson, Terry Moore, Susie Lancaster and Barbara Stanwyck biographer Victoria Wilson. We’ll ask Alan about the eternal appeal of film noir, plus preview his upcoming book on iconic film director Michael Curtiz.

Plus: Tony Figueroa and Donna Allen with a look at some of the early experimental broadcasts at the 1939 Worlds Fair, which included a speech by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the first televised speech by a U.S. president.

TV CONFIDENTIAL: A radio talk show about television
Wed and Sun 8pm ET, 5pm PT on WROM Radio
Wed 9pm ET, 6pm PT on WYYR: Yesteryear Radio
Fri 7pm ET and PT on Share-a-Vision Radio, KSAV.org
Weekends, various times, on IndianaTalks.com
Sun 11am ET, 8am PT KSCO-AM 1080 (San Jose, Santa Cruz and Salinas, CA)
Sun 11am ET, 8am PT KOMY-AM 1340 (La Selva Beach and Watsonville, CA)
Sun 8pm ET, 5pm PT Boost Radio Network
Sun 9pm PT, Mon Mid ET on KHMB-AM 1710 (Half Moon Bay, CA)
Mon 10pm ET, 7pm PT on The Radio Slot Network
Replays various times throughout the week on the Entertainment Channel at PWRNetwork
Tape us now, listen to us later, using DAR.fm/tvconfidential
Also available as a podcast via iTunes, FeedBurner
and now on your mobile phone via www.stitcher.com/TVConfidential
Follow us online at www.tvconfidential.net
Follow us now on Twitter: Twitter.com/tvconfidential
Like our Fan Page at www.facebook.com/tvconfidential

Posted in internet radio, old time radio, radio | Comments Closed

The Late Show, The Big Show and Fred de Cordova: Next on TVC

Tuesday, April 22nd, 2014

Author and television producer Mark Bennett and former Tonight Show publicist Charlie Barrett will join us on the next edition of TV CONFIDENTIAL, airing Friday at 7pm ET and PT on Share-a-Vision Radio, KSAV.org.

The longtime producer and director of such classic television series as The Jack Benny Program, Burns and Allen, The George Gobel Show, My Three Sons, The Bob Cummings Show and The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, Fred de Cordova was also a bona fide Hollywood legend known for his charisma, sharp wit, and close connections with Anybody Who Was Somebody in show business and high society. In the early 1990s, de Cordova was more or less winding down his career when he happened to meet Mark Bennett, a young actor and producer who at the time had recently relocated to Los Angeles from his native Colorado. In an unlikely twist, Fred not only became Mark’s friend and mentor, but would lead Mark on a journey that would change both their lives.

That story is at the heart of The Big Show, a new novella by Mark Bennett that is also a memoir of Mark’s years working with Fred de Cordova. Though set in the world of set business, The Big Show is, at its heart, a story about mentorship that readers will enjoy no matter what their profession. The book includes a very heartfelt foreword by comedian Bob Newhart. Mark Bennett will join us in our second hour.

To get us in the mood for our conversation about Fred deCordova, this week’s program with also include a replay of our July 2013 visit with Charlie Barrett. Charlie runs The Barrett Company, one of the top PR and marketing communications firm in the entertainment industry since 1992. Prior to starting his own company, Charlie was one of the top publicists at NBC throughout the 1980s, when he was charge of media relations for such shows as The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.

And, in keeping with the overall theme for this week’s program, Tony Figueroa and Donna Allen will join us in our first hour as we take a look at what Comedy Central might do next year to fill its 11:30pm time slot, in light of the recent announcement that Stephen Colbert will succeed David Letterman as host of The Late Show in 2015.

Posted in internet radio, old time radio, radio | Comments Closed

Dave White Presents

Thursday, April 17th, 2014

Ian Whitcomb, Bulldog Drummond, and a Book Oprah Really Likes on the Next *Dave White Presents*!

In 1965, Ian Whitcomb’s Top 10 hit, “You Turn Me on,” made him a bona fide star of the British Invasion. He appeared on shows like *Shindig* and *American Bandstand* and performed with The Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones, and The Kinks. Since then, he’s been a versatile renaissance man, an entertainer, singer, songwriter, author, record producer, and actor. A noted expert of the music of the ’20s and ’30s, he’s credited with renewing interest in the ukulele.

Now, Ian’s acting work includes playing the title role in a new radio dramatization of the classic action hero, Hugh “Bulldog” Drummond. Bulldog, of course, was created by novelist H. C. McNeile in 1920. The character not only went on to feature in a series of original novels and sequels until 1983, Alfred Hitchcock wasn’t the only film director to dip into the Bulldog Drummond well (as in *The Man Who Knew Too Much*). From 1922 to 1969, few years went by without a Bulldog Adventure on the large or small screen. In 24 films, Drummond was played by the likes of Ronald Coleman, Ralph Richardson, Ray Milland, John Howard, Walter Pidgeon, and Richard Johnson. Without question, Drummond was a major influence on Ian Fleming and one Mr. Bond, James Bond.

Bulldog Drummond was also a radio star, but he never sounded better than in the new *Bulldog Drummond: A Full Cast Audio Adventure* starring Ian Whitcomb. Running over five hours with period music, sound effects, and produced to emulate the flavor of Old Time Radio, this is the *Bulldog Drummond* for a new generation.

On Tues. April 22, *Dave White Presents* will explore all things Drummond with two special guests. First, Ian Whitcomb stops by to talk about his musical career, his love of old-fashioned songs, and why he suggested that *Bulldog Drummond* be brought to life anew. Then, we’ll talk with Roger Rittner, the scriptwriter and producer of the project who’ll describe how he shaped the sonic soundscape of the first of a new exciting series.

Speaking of writer/producers, that’s what Emmy and Peabody award winner Richard Kramer did for TV classics like *Thirtysomething*, *Family*, and *My So-Called Life*. His highly praised debut novel, *These Things Happen*, was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award in 2012. Now, Oprah Winfrey has purchased the rights for a HBO movie based on the book.

In an engaging conversation with Dave White, Kramer gives you the inside track on what the movie promises to be and we’re sure you’ll be adding *These Things Happen* to your reading list.

So we’ll turn you on with Ian Whitcomb, Bulldog Drummond, and a book Oprah really likes on the next *Dave White Presents*, Tuesday, April 22 at 7:30 p.m. Eastern, then 7:30 Pacific over–

www.KSAV.org

You can pre-record the show at Digital Audio Recording (DAR)–

http://www.dar.fm/faq.php

On Wed. April 23, the 90 minute show will be available as a podcast, mp3 download, from itunes, through TEVO and Sticher.com, or on the player at–

www.audioentertainment.org/dwp

You can also listen to the show from the *Dave White Presents Facebook page*:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dave-White-Presents/153177177306

Posted in internet radio | Comments Closed

Shirley Jones, Hugh Hefner, plus Lucille Ball FAQ: Next on TVC

Tuesday, April 15th, 2014

Actress Shirley Jones and authors Barry Monush and James Sheridan will join us as part of a “Best of” edition of TV CONFIDENTIAL, Friday at 7pm ET and PT on Share-a-Vision Radio, KSAV.org.

This week’s program will feature encore presentations of segments about people who were recently in the news, including Shirley Jones and Hugh Hefner — both of whom celebrated birthdays earlier this month.

Long before she began playing Mrs. Partridge, Shirley Jones was not only one of the top musical stars in film and on Broadway (including Oklahoma, Carousel and The Music Man), but an accomplished dramatic actress in such films as Silent Night, Lonely Night, The Happy Ending and, of course, her Academy Award-winning turn as Lulu Baines in Elmer Gantry. But because she left such a lasting impression as an ingénue in the ’60s, and as the beloved mom on The Partridge Family in the 1970s, many people tend to assume that Shirley Jones is as squeaky clean in real life as the fictional characters she’s played.

Shirley debunks that myth in a very candid new book, Shirley Jones: A Memoir, that not only discusses her life and career on stage, film and television, but reveals for the first time the story of her often tumultuous marriage with the love of her life, actor Jack Cassidy. In fact, in many ways Shirley’s book is much a biography of Jack Cassidy as it is the story of her own life. We’ll talk about that, as well as ask her about The Partridge Family and some of her other famous film and TV roles when Shirley Jones joins in our second hour.

Our first hour will include a look back at April 25, 1989 — the day on which television icon Lucille Ball passed away — as part of This Week in TV History. Although known by three generations for her comic genius, Lucille Ball was also the first woman to head a major production company, Desilu Productions, during which time she gave the greenlight to some of the most popular and profitable TV shows of all time, including Star Trek and Mission: Impossible. We’ll then round out the hour with a replay of our October 2011 conversation with James Sheridan and Barry Monush, co-authors of Lucille Ball FAQ, a full portrait of Lucy from her life growing up, her love interests, her various inspirations, and, of course, tons of information about her films and TV series.

Also this week: An encore presentation of a July 2011 edition of The Sounds of Lost Television in which Phil Gries remembers some of the early television ventures of Playboy magazine Hugh Hefner, including Playboy’s Penthouse (a precursor to Playboy After Dark) and 1962 profile on Keyhole, a documentary series produced by Ziv.

Posted in internet radio, old time radio, radio | Comments Closed

Ruta Lee, plus Inside Pioneers of Television: Next on TVC

Tuesday, April 8th, 2014

Actress Ruta Lee, television writer/producer Michael Trinklein and author Mary Ann Anderson will join us on the next edition of TV CONFIDENTIAL, airing Friday at 7pm ET and PT on Share-a-Vision Radio, KSAV.org.

One of Hollywood’s most glamorous leading ladies, Ruta Lee is known throughout the world for her roles in such films as Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Witness for the Prosecution, Funny Face, and Sergeants Three, as well as her work in such classic TV series as The Fugitive, The Twilight Zone, The Lucy Show, The Andy Griffith Show, Perry Mason, and Gunsmoke, plus her appearances on such popular game shows as Hollywood Squares, The Match Game and High Rollers (the latter of which she co-hosted for two years along with Alex Trebek). What you may not know is that Ruta is also one of the entertainment industry’s most active civic contributors, having devoted most of her life to such charitable organizations as The Thalians, the very first Hollywood charity dedicated to the promotion of good mental health. We’ll ask Ruta how she first became involved with The Thalians, plus she’ll share some memories of her work with the likes of Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, David Janssen, Debbie Reynolds and James Arness. Ruta Lee will join us in our second hour.

The Thalians will be honoring Smokey Robinson at the House of Blues Sunset Strip on Saturday, April 26 as part of a benefit concert that will support the mental health and wellness services provided to America’s wounded warriors and their families served by UCLA Operation Mend. If you can’t make the event, you can still support the efforts of The Thalians and Operation Mend by making a donation at Thalians.org.

Also joining us in our second hour will be Mary Ann Anderson, author of Ida Lupino: Beyond the Camera and The Making of The Hitch-Hiker Illustrated. Mary was recently honored at the American Cinematheque in Los Angeles as part of the Noir City Film Festival’s celebration of the 60^th anniversary of The Hitch-Hiker, the classic 1953 thriller directed by Ida Lupino, and the first American example of film noir that was directed by a woman.

Our guest during the first hour of this week’s program will be Michael Trinklein, the sole writer and co-producer of Pioneers of Television, the popular oral history of TV that begins its fourth season on PBS on Tuesday, April 15. This season of Pioneers of Television will include a look at the making of Seinfeld, Roseanne, Home Improvement, The Bob Newhart Show, The Cosby Show and Everybody Loves Raymond, while also exploring the appeal of medical dramas, as well as the inroads made by African-American actors, Asian-American actors and Hispanic-American actors on television over the past five decades.

Posted in internet radio, old time radio, radio | Comments Closed

Dave White Presents

Saturday, April 5th, 2014

Dave Mason & More *Star Trek* Highlight the Next *Dave White Presents*!

Back in 1967, multi-instrumentalist Dave Mason came to prominence as a founding member of the ground-breaking band, Traffic. Along with bandmates Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, and Chris Wood, Mason penned some of the most memorable songs of the late ’60s like “You can All Join In,” “Hole in My Shoe,” and a hit for Joe Cocker, “Feelin Alright.” After his Traffic days, his solo hits included “We Just Disagree” and “Only You Know and I Know.” Through the years, he’s worked with the likes of Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones, George Harrison, Delaney & Bonnie, Graham Nash, Paul McCartney, Joe Walsh, and Fleetwood Mac.

On Tues. April 8, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee comes to *Dave White Presents* to talk about his upcoming album, *Future’s Past*. It’s a look back to his past, alright, with re-workings of Traffic hits like “Dear Mr. Fantasy.” Other revised nuggets include “World in Change,” “Sad and Deep as You,” and, well, you’ll just have to join us to find out the inside story to *Future’s Past* and what’s going on with Dave’s current band, Traffic Jam.

If you heard our last outing, you’ll recall Wes Britton sat down with *Star Trek*’s Walter Koenig (Checov) and Marc Cushman, author of the *These Are the Voyages* book series. In a DWP first, Cushman moves over to the interviewer chair to talk with award-winning writer

John D.F. Black. The conversation covers John’s remarkable career, spanning five decades, from the first *Star Trek* (as a writer/producer) to *Hawaii Five-O*

(as a writer and story consultant) to the first *Shaft* feature film (as screenplay).

For this conversation, John is joined by his wife Mary, who first worked for him as his Assistant on *Star Trek* in 1966. So both the Blacks will share the stories of a legendary WGA award-winning writer (*Mr. Novak*), Edgar Allen Poe award-winning writer (the TV movie *Thief*), Hugo award nominated writer (the *Star Trek* episode “The Naked Time”), and Emmy nominated writer (*Combat!*).

So you’ll be feelin’ alright when you trek with us on the next *Dave White Presents*, Tuesday, April 8 at 7:30 p.m. Eastern, then 7:30 Pacific over–

www.KSAV.org

You can pre-record the show at Digital Audio Recording (DAR)–

http://www.dar.fm/faq.php

On Wed. April 9, the 90 minute show will be available as a podcast, mp3 download, from itunes, through TEVO and Sticher.com, or on the player at–

www.audioentertainment.org/dwp

You can also listen to the show from the Dave White Presents Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dave-White-Presents/153177177306

Posted in internet radio | Comments Closed

The Life and Career of Roy Huggins: Next on TVC

Tuesday, April 1st, 2014

Film and television author Paul Green will join us on the next edition of TV CONFIDENTIAL, airing Friday at 7pm ET and PT on Share-a-Vision Radio, KSAV.org.

One of the first “star” producers to emerge from the Golden Age of Television, Roy Huggins not only created and/or produced such classic shows as The Fugitive, Maverick, 77 Sunset Strip, Run For Your Life and The Rockford Files, but in many ways elevated the form of television writing while also leaving his distinct mark in the genres of Westerns, private eye dramas, and hour-long anthology series. One of the first to recognize the potential of television, Huggins initiated many staples of the medium that are still very relevant today. He was also a complex man who, like many successful people, was not universally liked, for reasons we’ll discuss when Paul Green joins us in the second hour of this week’s program.

Paul’s latest book, Roy Huggins: Creator of Maverick, 77 Sunset Strip, The Fugitive and The Rockford Files, is an intimate portrait of the Emmy Award-winning writer/producer that includes in-depth interviews with many members of Huggins’ personal and professional family, including actress Katherine Crawford (Roy’s daughter), film and television executive Frank Price (Roy’s colleague on The Virginian and, later, his son-in-law), actress Stepfanie Kramer (Hunter), and Roy’s longtime right-hand man at Universal Television, Jo Swerling Jr. Paul was also granted access to Roy’s personal papers and unpublished memoirs, giving the book direct insight into Huggins’ formative years and early career at RKO, Columbia Pictures, 20^th Century Fox and Warner Bros. Television.

Roy Huggins: Creator of Maverick, 77 Sunset Strip, The Fugitive and The Rockford Files also includes one of the last interviews given by Juanita Bartlett, the Emmy-nominated writer-producer who passed away on Tuesday, Feb. 25. Bartlett collaborated on many occasions with both Roy Huggins and James Garner, most notably on The Rockford Files. With that in mind, we will replay our August 2012 conversation with Juanita as part of our first hour.

TV CONFIDENTIAL: A radio talk show about television
Wed and Sun 8pm ET, 5pm PT on WROM Radio
Wed 9pm ET, 6pm PT on WYYR: Yesteryear Radio
Fri 7pm ET and PT on Share-a-Vision Radio, KSAV.org
Weekends, various times, on IndianaTalks.com
Sun 11am ET, 8am PT KSCO-AM 1080 (San Jose, Santa Cruz and Salinas, CA)
Sun 11am ET, 8am PT KOMY-AM 1340 (Watsonville, CA)
Sun 8pm ET, 5pm PT Boost Radio Network
Sun 9pm PT, Mon Mid ET on KHMB-AM 1710 (Half Moon Bay, CA)
Mon 10pm ET, 7pm PT on The Radio Slot Network
Replays various times throughout the week on the Entertain Channel at PWRNetwork
Tape us now, listen to us later, using DAR.fm/tvconfidential
Also available as a podcast via iTunes, FeedBurner
and now on your mobile phone via www.stitcher.com/TVConfidential
Follow us online at www.tvconfidential.net
Follow us now on Twitter: Twitter.com/tvconfidential
Like our Fan Page at www.facebook.com/tvconfidential

Posted in internet radio, old time radio, radio | Comments Closed

KSAV

Archive for April, 2014

Michael St. John, Film Noir and the Worlds Fair: Next on TVC

The Late Show, The Big Show and Fred de Cordova: Next on TVC

Dave White Presents

Shirley Jones, Hugh Hefner, plus Lucille Ball FAQ: Next on TVC

Ruta Lee, plus Inside Pioneers of Television: Next on TVC

Dave White Presents

The Life and Career of Roy Huggins: Next on TVC

Pages

Archives

Categories