Nostalgia is our podcast's bread and butter (that and actual bread and butter, which is delicious). And if one episode perfectly encapsulates that feeling, it was our deep dive into the talent show that came before any of the modern shows like "Britain's Got Talent" or "American Idol." So sit back, turn on that public access channel, and listen back to our episode on Frank Masi's legendary "Stairway to Stardom"!

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Turn your dials to station Manhattan Neighborhood Network station 13 because we are going to explore the confidentially, untalented denizens of Stairway to Stardom.

Learn about the most optimistic master of ceremonies, Frank Masi, who unwittingly gave birth to America's obsession of televised shock and awe.

Rob gives Ray a lesson in the history of public access television and how the Government's attempt to connect communities went horribly awry, the dreams of Frank Masi, the song stylings if Lucille "Hairdresser" Cataldo, debating if Star Search stole Frank's idea, and why YouTube took over the realm of public access.

 If you like what we’re doing, please support us on Patreon, or you can subscribe to our bonus content on Apple Podcasts. And we’d love to find even more listeners, so if you have time, please leave us a rating or review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. And if you have any other thoughts or feedback you’d like to share with us, we’d love to hear from you - feel free to email us or send us a message on social media.

TEAM

Ray Hebel

Robert W Schneider

Mark Schroeder

Billy Recce

Daniel Schwartzberg

Gabe Crawford

Natalie DeSavia

 AUDIO/VISUAL

Stairway To Stardom YouTube Channel

ARTICLES

NPR Interview

Dangerous Minds

The AV Club

Showtunes on Stairway To Stardom

Teevee Games

ADDITIONAL MUSIC & SOUND EFFECTS

Three Taps on Microphone by Foley for Free

“Turbo Rush” by Aries Beats

“Happy Bee”

• Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

• Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0

• http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Additional Sound Effects from Final Cut Pro, iLife, and Logic Pro