Pop Culture Tonight with Patrick Phillips

Screenwriter Michael “MCM” Milligan stops by to chat about his newest project DIRT and merging technology and entertainment. Dave Bickler discusses “Eye of the Tiger” challenges with the band “Survivor” and more!

Richard Hatch is an internationally known actor, director, writer, teacher and motivational speaker who has sustained recognition in such series as All My Children, The Streets of San Francisco (for which he won Germany’s Bravo Award, equivalent to an Emmy Award), and his role as Captain Apollo in the original Battlestar Galactica series (for which he earned a Golden Globe nomination).

Richard’s accomplishments as an author include seven original Battlestar Galactica novels. He also edited and contributed to So Say We All an unauthorized compendium of thoughts and opinions on Battlestar Galactica.

Stu Phillips is an American composer of film scores and television-series theme music, conductor and record producer. He is perhaps best known for composing the themes to the 1980s television series Knight Rider and Battlestar Galactica.

Phillips studied music at The High School of Music & Art in New York City, New York, and at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. While at Eastman, he began arranging music for the Rochester Civic Orchestra.

In 1958, Phillips began composing television and film scores. One of his first scores was for Columbia’s 1964 movie, Ride the Wild Surf. He also founded Colpix Records and produced hits for Nina Simone, The Skyliners and Shelley Fabares, (pronounced ‘fab bray’). Stu Phillips produced “Johnny Angel” for Shelly Fabares, who played the teen-age daughter on The Donna Reed Show. According to Joel Whitburn’s ‘Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits’ “Johnny Angel” was released March 17, 1962 and was a #1 hit from April 7 – 20, 1962 staying on the charts for 13 weeks. There was also a follow-up hit to “Johnny Angel” called “Johnny Loves Me” which also made the Top 40 (#21) in July of ’62.

In the mid-1960s, he worked for Capitol Records and created, produced and arranged for the Hollyridge Strings.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Phillips continued scoring films and television series including music for the films Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970), The Seven Minutes (1971) and the television series The Monkees and Get Christie Love!.

In 1974, he began working at Universal Studios scoring television series; Glen Larson made extensive use of his compositions. During this time, he scored music for the television series The Six Million Dollar Man, McCloud, and Battlestar Galactica. His Battlestar Galactica theme was featured prominently in the film Airplane II: The Sequel (1980). He also composed music for the television series The Amazing Spider-Man (which was for Charles Fries/Dan Goodman/Danchuck Productions) during this time.

In the 1980s, Phillips left Universal and began working at 20th Century Fox, again being a favorite composer of Glen Larson, where he composed music for the television series The Fall Guy andAutoman.[2] Both programs were Larson productions.

Phillips went into semi-retirement in the 1990s. Since that time, he has appeared at fan conventions for Battlestar Galactica and has attended cult-film screenings for Beyond the Valley of the Dolls.

It’s an outright rise of the villains this Halloween as Patrick welcomes true Monsters of Pop Culture!

Richard Brake, best known for his portrayal of “The Night King” on HBO’s “Game of Thrones” discusses the iconic role, makeup process and why he loves playing villains.

Talented actress Tonya Pinkins stops by to chat about her role as evil scientist Ethel Peabody on the FOX hit show “Gotham”, that shocking season three premiere and more!

Composer Ryan Shore talks about his recent scores for the Scooby-Doo! franchise!

Born in Italy , as “The Escapologist”, thousands of people have witnessed his thrilling performances all over the world including Sydney Opera House, London’s Hammersmith Apollo, the Arena di Verona in Italy and over 100 theatres and major arenas in Europe, Mexico, Australia, South America, Asia, United Arab Emirates, New Zealand and the United States.

On stage, Basso takes his audience on an emotional journey with heart-stopping feats, death-defying acts and an amazing mixture of mystifying techniques, all showing the skills that he has perfected in over 18 years. Named by the media as the “Rock Star of Magic” and ” Houdini’s natural successor” Andrew Basso is ready to make You believe in magic again.

His show is a high energy and entertaining audience participation spectacle, featuring the world’s first FULL VIEW Original Houdini Water Torture Cell. This is Basso’s extraordinary signature piece which TV and newspapers have been talking about across the globe.

Film historian Bruce Scivally is Vice President of New Dimension Media in Chicago. Previously, he taught classes in scriptwriting, film history, media theory and pre-production at the Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago, Columbia College, Facets Multimedia and Flashpoint Academy.

Scivally has written articles for Filmfax, Variety, High Life and British Esquire. His latest book, Dracula FAQ, explores all facets of both the historical and literary Dracula. His prior books include Billion Dollar Batman, a comprehensive history of the Dark Knight from 10 cent comic book to global icon, and Superman on Film, Television, Radio and Broadway, which celebrates 70 years of Superman in popular culture.

He is co-editor of The Special Effects and Stunts Guide (Lone Eagle, 1989) and co-author of James Bond: The Legacy (Abrams, 2002), which was featured on The Today Show, CNN, Fox News Network and Headline News, and was highlighted in magazines as diverse as Glamour, Entertainment Weekly, New York Magazine, The New Yorker and Playboy.

The Wizard of Oz’s Ruby Slippers Conservation

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History is heading down the Yellow Brick Road on a Kickstarter campaign to fund the conservation and display of Dorothy’s Ruby Slippers, made famous by the official landmark 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. The Ruby Slippers have become one of the most iconic artifacts in film history and one of the most asked about objects at the Smithsonian. They have been on view at the museum for three decades, and as a Smithsonian cornerstone, they are deserving of special care and attention as a beloved icon to so many.

They have been on view at the museum for three decades, and as a Smithsonian cornerstone, they are deserving of special care and attention as a beloved icon to so many.

The museum launched their Kickstarter on Oct. 17, with a goal of $300,000. The funds will be used for immediate conservation care and a new, state-of-the-art display case designed to protect them from environmental harm and slow their deterioration.

Future plans call for the Ruby Slippers to move into a new exhibition on American popular culture, scheduled to open in 2018. A successful campaign will ensure that millions more people can enjoy the Ruby Slippers for many generations to come.

New Thursday October 20 @ 6:30pm - Patrick discusses "night creatures" with authors Linda S. Godfrey & David J. Hogan.

Linda S. Godfrey's new book "Monsters Among Us" is a meticulously researched and thrilling exploration of the otherworldly will challenge your idea of reality. Mysterious wolf-people, sentient mists, and UFOs…if you’ve ever heard a curious bump in the night, caught a glimpse of a strange-looking someone (or something) out of the corner of your eye, or seen an unusual craft dart across the sky before it vanishes without a trace, there’s only one person to call: Linda S. Godfrey. An expert in strange creatures and lore, she has offered reporting on bigfoots, werewolves, strange energy forms, and other bizarre beings for years.

David J. Hogan's new book "UFO FAQ" features material from a treasure trove of UFO/Project Blue Book archives declassified in 2015. UFO FAQ is an all-inclusive guide to UFO lore – hard science and hoaxes, sightings and abductions, noted UFO proponents and skeptics, and sanctioned research and purported government cover-ups. Readers will meet cultists and explore worldwide UFO “hot spots.” They'll learn about UFOs in World War II, the Cold War, and the age of terrorism. And they'll zip along with UFOs in movies, comics, TV, and other popular media.

Thursday, Patrick interviews Victoria Price & Sara Karloff about growing up with their famous fathers and their lasting legacy.

About The Guests:

Victoria Price brings is a designer, art consultant, author, and public speaker. Growing up in Hollywood as the daughter of actor and art collector Vincent Price and designer Mary Grant Price, Victoria developed her own vibrant contemporary design aesthetic, which she fuses with her extensive knowledge of the visual arts–seamlessly blending modern and historic, regional and international, ethnographic and urban styles to create unique living and working environments.

Price is also a popular public speaker on topics ranging from industrial design to art collecting to making peace with our past stories in order to expand our creative futures–as well as the life of her famous father. She has been privileged to speak all over the United States and Europe–at design conferences, colleges, conventions, and on behalf of private companies.

Her critically acclaimed biography of her father, Vincent Price: A Daughter’s Biography, was published in 1999 by St Martin’s Press. She has also written for the New York Times, A&E’s Biography, and many other national, regional, and local magazines, newspapers, and television programs. Price has also appeared on Good Morning America, A&E’s Biography, NPR’s Fresh Air, and many other national, regional, and local TV and radio programs. Articles about Price and her work have appeared in such national and international publications as USA Today, People, Travel & Leisure, Art & Auction, Sunset, Western Interiors, Santa Fean Magazine, and Santa Fe Trend.

She has taught at the University of New Mexico, New Mexico Highlands University, and the Philos School–an alternative arts-and-humanities school in Santa Fe that she helped to found. Price earned a bachelor’s degree in art history and theatre from Williams College, which has one of the most prestigious art history programs in the country. And she has completed the doctoral program in American Studies at the University of New Mexico. Price also serves on museum boards in New Mexico and California.

Learn More about Victoria on her website!

Sara Jane Karloff is the only child of  Hollywood horror legend, Boris Karloff, and was born while he was working on “Son of Frankenstein”. Surprisingly, he was not an overnight success with “Frankenstein” coming in as his 81st film. Sara quickly reminded me with a laugh “…and nobody saw the first 80.”

So what was this master of horror like as a husband and father out of the makeup and away from the lights of Hollywood? According to Sara, he “was quite literally the antithesis of the roles he played.” Karloff admits she didn’t actually see her father’s most popular film until she was 19, where she saw it in her living room on television for the first time.

While many still fondly call Karloff’s monster “Frankenstein”, it was actually the name of the doctor, “Victor Frankenstein” and when asked why Boris didn’t continue to portray the creature after the third film…  Sara recalls “My father made the decision himself, that after the third Frankenstein film, which was “Son of Frankenstein”, he wouldn’t play the role anymore… He felt that the scripts had gone as far as they could without making the creature the brunt of bad scripts and bad jokes…”

For more information and a brief biography of Boris Karloff

Patrick chats with Director Tim Burton about his recent film “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children”. Actor Ricou Browning (“The creature”) swims by to discuss his role in the classic Universal Studios film “Creature From the Black Lagoon”, and Butch Patrick explains what is what like on the set of The Munsters!

Tim Burton is widely regarded as one of cinema’s most imaginative and visual filmmakers. He has achieved both critical and financial success in the live-action and animation genres. Besides Burton’s dedication to filmmaking, he has an enthusiasm for drawing and painting. His most recent directorial work, Big Eyes, for which Amy Adams received a Golden Globe, is a confluence of his two passions—film and art.

Perhaps his greatest industry achievement is helping to reinvigorate the stop-motion industry, starting with his 1993 creation and cult classic The Nightmare Before Christmas; and followed by the 2005 Corpse Bride and 2012 Frankenweenie, both Academy Award and BAFTA nominated films. He has also produced James and the Giant Peach and 9.

Other film milestones include Alice in Wonderland, which won two Academy Awards, and earned more than a billion dollars at the worldwide box office. Burton has won a National Board of Review award for his directing work on 2007’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, which also won the Golden Globe for Best Film—Musical or Comedy, and best actor–Musical or Comedy for Johnny Depp.

He earlier received a BAFTA nomination for Best Director for the 2003 fantasy drama Big Fish. His most critically acclaimed film, the 1994 Ed Wood, won two Oscars, a Golden Globe, and two BAFTA nominations.

He has a dedicated following, notably for classic and unique features such as his 1985 directorial debut and unexpected comedic hit, Pee-wee’s Big Adventure; the 1988 wildly inventive Beetlejuice; the action blockbuster Batman; and its 1992 follow-up Batman Returns.

Arguably his most beloved film is the 1990 romantic fantasy Edward Scissorhands— directed, co-written and produced by Burton. The film also marked the start of his successful cinematic partnership with Johnny Depp, who delivered a poignant performance in the title role.

Other films of his include Dark Shadows, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; Sleepy Hollow; Planet of the Apes; and Mars Attacks!  He has produced several other films including Alice Through the Looking Glass, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Cabin Boy, Batman Forever, and directed two music videos for The Killers.

In 2009, his enthusiasm for art culminated in The Art of Tim Burton, a 430-page book comprising more than 40 years of his personal and project artwork. In November of that year, the Museum of Modern Art opened an extensive exhibit of his work in New York, which went on to tour in Melbourne, Toronto, Los Angeles, Paris, and Seoul. A new version of his exhibit, The World of Tim Burton, has been to Prague, Tokyo and Osaka, Brühl and São Paulo. In 1997, he published the beloved illustrated series of poetry called The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories.  A collection of Burton’s napkin sketches, entitled Things You Think About in a Bar was released in 2016.

Burton grew up in Burbank, California and attended California Institute of the Arts, where he studied animation, before moving on to the animation department at Disney. While there, he directed the 1982 stop-motion animated short film Vincent, narrated by Vincent Price. He also directed the 1983 kung fu–inspired short film adaptation of Hansel and Gretel, and the 1984 live-action short film Frankenweenie.

Ricou Browning was born February 16, 1930 in Jensen Beach, Fla.

Cathy Rudolph, who dreamed of being an author and meeting her idol, was 17 when a miracle happened. She was doing research on her favorite celebrity, Paul Lynde (best known for his outrageous jokes on Hollywood Squares & Uncle Arthur from Bewitched) in the Levittown Public Library and in a book had a phone number that said it was Paul Lynde’s business phone number.

She went home and dialed and Paul Lynde himself answered-it was his HOME number! She convinced him to meet her in New York and there was an instant bond between them.

She was his friend till he died and now has written her adventures with Paul along with his life story. Both her dreams came true.

Cathy was featured on the front cover of Newsday’s Act 2 in January and then she debuted at the famous Book Revue in Huntington,New York where she talked about her relationship with Paul and her interviews with his relatives, friends, and co-stars including Cloris Leachman, Betty White, Chita Rivera,and Florence Henderson. Peter Marshall, host of the original Hollywood Squares read the book and gave her a wonderful foreword.

Buy Paul Lynde: A Biography – His Life, His Love(s) and His Laughter

James Marsters is an actor, singer and songwriter who first found international fame playing punk-goth Brit vampire Spike in the critically acclaimed American TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the equally popular spin-off Angel. Film roles include live action film Dragon Ball, romantic love story P.S. I Love You with Hilary Swank, Gerard Butler and Kathy Bates, USA Original true-crime film Cool Money, independent thriller Shadow Puppets, Winding Roads, The House On Haunted Hill and Chance with Buffy co-star Amber Benson.

The Californian actor, who grew up in Modesto, has also played Brainiac in TV’s Smallville and guest starred in Without A Trace, Millennium, Andromeda, The Mountain, Saving Grace, Caprica and most recently Warehouse 13, Supernatural and Hawaii Five-O. James’s voiceover talents can be found portraying Lex Luthor on the DVD release of Superman: Doomsday and he continues to read for the very popular Dresden Files books on tape series. He has received numerous nominations and awards, including the Spacey Award, the Saturn Award, the Cinescape Face of the Future Award, the Golden Satellite Award, and the Teen Choice Award.

James attended New York’s prestigious Juilliard, the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts, and the American Conservatory Theatre and spent 10 years doing stage work before moving to LA to work in film and television. He worked in Chicago’s famous Goodman Theater and also set-up and ran companies in Chicago and Seattle. One of his early television appearances was as a hotel bellhop in the television series Northern Exposure. James is also a singer songwriter and has enjoyed sell-out concerts in America, Canada, Australia and Europe with his band Ghost of the Robot. He also has two solo albums, Civilized Man and Like A Waterfall.

Andy Richardson is a stage actor, singer, and dancer who was born in Omaha, Nebraska, and raised in San Antonio, Texas. He has been performing on stage since he was eight years old. In 2007, Andy got his big break when he flew up to NYC to audition for New York City Center’s summer production of Gypsy and he booked the job. The highly acclaimed production, directed by Arthur Laurents and starring Patti LuPone, became the catalyst for Andy’s start on Broadway. In the fall of 2007, he made his Broadway debut as Danny Who in Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! and in March 2008, he and the rest of the New York City Center Gypsy cast transferred to Broadway.

When his run ended at Gypsy, Andy returned to San Antonio and resumed his life as a normal teenager in eighth grade. In May 2011, Andy auditioned for and booked the world premiere production of Newsies at Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey. After a very successful limited run at Paper Mill in the fall of 2011, Newsies transferred to Broadway in March 2012 and Andy was fortunate to transfer with it in the role he originated, Romeo, and as a Crutchie understudy.

In March 2013, Andy was promoted to his first principal role when he was chosen as the Crutchie replacement. He continued to perform in Newsies until the show closed on Broadway in August 2014. Andy is currently performing as Crutchie in the North American Tour of Newsies. Andy is a student at NYU Gallatin School of Individualized Study studying Musical Theatre and American Sign Language.

Conceiving music that can range from acoustically intimate or ethnically eccentric to a grand, adventurous orchestral excursion able to traverse the globe, Tulsa-born composer Greg Edmonson is a unique musical voice in Hollywood, one that has experienced widespread acclaim in the diverse worlds of film, television and video games.

Greg Edmonson’s talent on the guitar first brought him to Los Angeles, where his work as a session player led to composing as the next step in his musical journey. Studying the craft with the renowned Dr. Albert Harris,

For over 35 years Edward Meyer has traveled around the world collecting unusual stories and unbelievable artifacts to fill Believe It or Not! books and museums.

He is a walking encyclopedia of information, some strange, some gross – but all true!  He has acquired over 20,000 different museum artifacts, everything from a pin valued at $1 million dollars, to a two-trunked elephant, to Marilyn Monroe’s lingerie, to Lee Harvey Oswald’s mortuary toe tag, to a meteorite from Mars.  The list is endless.

Editor of the famous Ripley’s Believe It or Not! newspaper syndicated cartoon, producer of countless Ripley museum films, and a researcher for over 200 hundred Ripley television shows, Meyer has appeared on radio and television programs around the world as the Ripley historian and raconteur, the man with the world’s best job!

Paul Leonard-Morgan (DREDD, BATTLEFIELD™ HARDLINE) is a BAFTA award-winning and Ivor Novello nominated composer and producer. His unique cinematic style (fusing orchestra with electronica) has put him in high demand, both as a producer for bands and as a soundtrack composer.

Studying at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Leonard-Morgan quickly developed a reputation as a producer and arranger on the thriving Glasgow music scene, working with bands such as Belle and Sebastian, Snow Patrol, Mogwai and Texas. He has become long-term collaborator of Scottish songstress Isobel Campbell, working extensively on each of her albums, including the Mercury nominated “Ballad Of The Broken Seas” with Mark Lanegan. This led to Paul working with famed producer Phil Ramone on Sharleen Spiteri’s Gold Disc “Melody”. After working with Mogwai on numerous previous projects (including an art installation with Turner prize-winning artist Douglas Gordon), Leonard-Morgan collaborated with them again on their 7th studio album “Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will”. He also worked with producer Mark “Spike” Stent on No Doubt’s highly acclaimed comeback album “Push and Shove.”

Leonard-Morgan won a BAFTA award for his first film score, Pineapple, and earned both BAFTA and Ivor Novello nominations for his first television drama in the UK, Fallen. This led to him scoring 6 series of the hit BBC/Kudos drama Spooks (MI5 in the USA).

His groundbreaking score for Limitless, a paranoia-fuelled action thriller starring Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro, directed by Neil Burger (The Illusionist), was nominated for the prestigious World Soundtrack Discovery Award in Ghent, after topping the box office in both the US and UK. Leonard-Morgan will be revisiting LIMITLESS later this year, as the composer for the upcoming CBS TV series based on the film, helmed by Marc Webb (Spiderman, 500 Days of Summer).

Leonard-Morgan’s film work also includes DREDD, which would also top the UK box office in its first week of release. Variety magazine noted “the throbbing sounds of Paul Leonard-Morgan’s bass-heavy original score”. The groundbreaking soundtrack is widely recognized as launching a new generation of hybrid scores. Other scores include 2013’s thriller The Numbers Station and Legendary, the latter of which opened in over 12000 screens worldwide. On the animation front, his work included three Minions films, released alongside Universal Studio’s all-time highest grossing film DESPICABLE ME 2, and Fox/Evergreen’s $80 million Walking With Dinosaurs 3D.

Leonard-Morgan’s first ever video game soundtrack (EA Games’ flagship $180 million title Battlefield Hardline) was released in 2015, earning top video game sales status in the UK for the first quarter of this year. ESPN recently ran a two-hour block of six short sports documentaries directed by Errol Morris under the moniker of IT’S NOT CRAZY, ITS SPORTS (The Subterranean Stadium, The Heist, The Streaker, Being Mr. Met, Most Valuable Whatever, and Chrome) featuring music by Leonard-Morgan.