Aaaaaaand we’re back. Episode 1 of season 14 of the Dana Gould Hour Podcast. Has anything of interest happened since the last episode? Don’t think so. Certainly not here in Los Angeles, or America. Okay. Great. Let’s get at it! 

Drew Friedman is here. Drew Friedman is one of the premiere illustrators and cartoonists in America. You know his work from The New York Observer, the New Yorker, his books, Warts And All, Old Jewish Comedians, More Old Jewish Comedians, Still More Old Jewish Comedians, Too Soon, Drew Friedman’s Sideshow Freaks, Heroes Of The Comics, More Heroes Of The Comics, the list goes on and on. In 1987 I discovered his book Any Similarity to Persons Living Or Dead is Purely Coincidental and it quite literally redefined my sense of humor. It is hard to articulate the impact the book had on me. No kidding. Drew has a new book out called Schtick Figures, portraits of people important to Drew. And me. People he refers to as The Cool, The Comical and The Crazy. Portraits of people like Gilbert Gottfried, #2 and #3 as only Drew can draw them. Drew is also the subject of a new documentary that’s about to be released entitled The Vermeer Of The Borscht Belt, Drew Friedman is here. 

Kurt Sayenga is a writer, director and producer. We first met when Kurt ran the series Eli Roth’s History Of Horror. Kurt now has a series on Shudder called Horror’s Greatest. Season #2 just dropped, with guests like Davi Dastmalchian, Joe Hill, Jonah Ray, Alex Winter, Mick Garris, yours truly and many, many more. Kurt’s here to talk about the show and the topics covered this season as it continues to explore our fascination with all things cinematically horrific. 

Cinematically horrific. If you want to examine the realistically horrific, True Tales From Weirdsville takes a deep dive into the 1957 classic A Face In Crowd, starring Andy Griffith, written by Budd Schulberg and directed by Elia Kazan. It tells the cautionary tale of what happens when a corrupt, amoral grifter gains a position of power and influence in America. It was made in 1957 and it was a FREAKISHLY predictive film. 

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Hello! And welcome back to The Dana Gould Hour Podcast. It’s the holidays! The election is over and, although I haven’t been paying much attention to politics, I’m sure everything turned out grea... WHHHHHAAAAAA?!?!?!?!?!

But I’m still me and you’re still you, so let’s be who we are and do what we do. 

Bob Fingerman is here. Bob is an old pal, and one of the finest comic artists in the biz, Bob gained fame in the 90’s with his comic Minimum Wage which was one of my favorites of the era, along with Dan Clowes' Eightball and Peter Bagge’s Hate. Bob has a new graphic novel out called Printopia and a new book that’s sort of a career retrospective to date (anyway, he’s still a young man) called That’s Some Business You’re In. We’ll be talking about that, his days writing for Cracked and then later MAD working with Harvey Kurtzman, all that and more, Bob Fingerman. 

Burt Kearns is here. Burt had visited us before discussing his books The Show Won’t Go On as well as his biography of the great and fascinating Lawrence Tierney. But his new book holds a special fascination for me, and probably you if you’re listen to this podcast with any regularity. It’s called SHEMP! And it’s about Shemp Howard, The great Stooge. People think Shemp replaced Curly. He did not! Curly replaced Shemp, and then Shemp re-replaced Curly after that. But it’s not just Stooge lore, although there’s a lot. It’s also about showbiz in the 1930’s and 1940’s, the experience of American immigrants and how they helped define our culture and so much more. It’s a great read. It has a forward by your friend and mine, Drew Freidman. SHEMP! With an exclamation point.

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Hello! And welcome to the Dana Gould Hour Podcast’s annual Halloween spectacular. Or spooktacular! Ha ha! Get it? Not spectacular but – okay, you get it.  

What a show we have for you today. Mike McCarty and James Knight are brothers, even if they don’t have the same last name. And they are the hosts of a new horror podcast called The Head, the Tail and the Whole Damn Thing. It’s not your ordinary horror podcast as you will soon learn. I have known Mike forever. He is a special effects make-up artist who has worked on Blade Runner 2049, Mind Hunter, The Exorcist, The Orville, Stan Against Evil, if anyone remembers that show. James is an actor and educator but together, they share a love of all things creepy, and, most importantly, they are great guys and they’re super funny. Mike McCarty and James Knight. 

Also, Rob Zabrecky, or just Zabrecky, if you are a fan of magic, is here. Rob is an actor, and an author and a musician, a Valley kid, who has since gone on to become a professional illusionist and a walking encyclopedia if all things magic. Rob runs the Houdini seance at The Magic Castle and is here today to talk about the history of Midnight Spook Shows! He’s also performing one at the Mayan Theater this month here in Los Angeles, but we have him right here, right now, Rob Zabrecky. 

True Tales From Weirdsville takes us on a deep dive on Dracula, from Bram Stoker’s book to Hamilton Dean’s west end production in the 1920’s all the way up to Gary Oldman’s fright wig. We’ll discuss which film version is closest to the book, and why, but also ask, how much does that actually matter?

It’s September! Pumpkin spice lattes are back on sale, the Halloween aisles are up and stocked at stores like Target and CVS, Halloween mazes are getting ready to open, and here in Los Angeles temperatures are dipping down out of the low hundreds to the high nineties and low hundreds. And here at the Dana Gould Hour Podcast are rarin’ to go.

Sam Morrill is here. Sam is one of the best comedians out there right now. Flat out. Done. His special You’ve Changed is currently on Amazon Prime and his previous Netflix special, Same Time Tomorrow is now available on his YouTube channel. One of the best, Same Morril is here. 

Also, in our second half, moving into our holiday mood, Orenda Fink is here. Music fans will know Orenda as the co-founder of Azure Ray, she’s also performed with Rilo Kiley and The Feint among others, but she has a new book out entitled The Witch’s Daughter which is a memoir of her childhood with a mother who was a self-proclaimed witch. Whether she has supernatural powers or not remains to be proven but she put a lot of time and energy into casting spells and the like. It’s an entertaining and sometimes harrowing story, to be completely honest and she’s here to talk all about it. Orenda Fink.

True Tales From Weirdsville takes you into through the past 80 year history of UFOs in America, from the famous Kenneth Arnold Mt. Ranier sighting that coined the phrase “flying saucer” in 1947 to the revelation in the pages of the New York Times of the Department Of Defense’s Office Of Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification. And. Along the way. One of my favorite topics, UFO religions! 

Summer is in high dudgeon. The news is a rollercoaster the asphalt is too hot for the dog to walk on and all the good drive-ins are two hours away. That’s the reality I’m struggling with. I’m trying to adapt and assume you are too. So I offer this, this high summer audio oasis. 

Drew Landry is here. Drew is one of my favorite comedians here in Los Angeles. He’s a buddy, he's super funny, and he has a new special out called All My Friends Are Dead. Drew started doing stand-up at 13, which means that, even though he’s only 30 years old, he’s already a worn out tired has been. NO! That’s me. Comedian Drew Landry. Comin' at ya.

Additionally, you’ve all heard of The Criterion Collection, But have you heard of Vinegar Syndrome? Vinegar Syndrome is basically The Criterion Collection for exploitation films and drive-in movie fair. They are archivists, film restoration experts and curators of our rich exploitation cinema heritage. They have a new box set out called The Lost Picture Show, which features titles like The Las Vegas Stranger, Violated! and The Sex Serum Of Dr. Blake (also known as Voodoo Heartbeat). From Vinegar Syndrome, Dino Proserpio and Oscar Becher are here. 

True Tales From Weirdsville takes an unflinching look at a movie you may not have seen but you have definitely heard of. Caligula! Starring Malcolm McDowell, Helen Mirren, Peter O’Toole and Sir John Gielgud. What’s the one thing that all these actors have in common? They all wish they weren’t in Caligula! Find out why!

As we always say, this show is brought to you by you. If you enjoy it, please consider being a Dana Gould Hour Sky Cadet. Go to DanaGould.com, and sign up for our Patreon. Five bucks a month gets you extra audio content video content and some other junk.

And now… it’s on… to our filthy business.

Our old friend Thom Shubilla is here. Thom joined us previously to discuss his book, Prime Time 1966-1967, which was the story of how network television’s first all color season revolutionized the way we watch TV. His new book is entitled James Bond and the Sixties Spy Craze. They say pop culture in the 1960s was comprised of the Three Bs, Beatles, Batman and Bond. The first James Bond films in 1962, Dr. No, kicked off a pop culture craze the dominated movies and television for the next five pr six years. Some good, a ton bad, some laughably, laughably bad, and Thom Shubilla is here to discuss them. 

Rachel Feinstein is here. Rachel is a really, really, funny stand-up comedian whoes new special Big Guy, is now in Netflix. You may know Rachel from Inside Amy Schumer, the show Not The Place, she’s also on Amy’s new show Life and Beth, she’s been on Crashing, Red Oaks, and you will probably recognize her voice from Grand Theft Auto if you happen to play that. Do you play Grand Theft Auto, or do you just live it? I’m not sure. 

Speaking of spies True Tales From Weirdsville tells the sordid tale of the origin of the CIA, from its sketchy beginnings in World War 2 as the OSS into the mysterious behemoth it is today.

Phil Hendrie is here. Phil Hendrie is a genius, and if you are unfamiliar with his work I am so happy that you get to learn about him through me. Starting out as a rock DJ he moved into talk radio and then perfected his very unique, very specific, very, very hilarious The Phil Hendrie Show, and now has his podcast, The World Of Phil Hendrie. There is a new documentary out about him called, quite simply, Hendrie, that will either introduce you to his incredible talent or will reinforce your appreciation of it. Phil Hendrie, so happy to have him on. 

Additionally, we have nothing short of a broadcasting legend, George Schlatter, who re-invented how sketch comedy is presented on television, with the legendary Laugh-In, he produced series and specials for Cher, Mohammad Ali, Frank Sinatra, he is 93 and still going strong and he has a new book out entitled Still Laughing: A Life In Comedy and he is here to talk about it. George Schlatter. 

True Tales From Weirdsville takes you into the world of cinematic legend Roger Corman, from the Creature From The Haunted Sea up through his two late 60’s counter-cultural epics The Wild Angels and The Trip.

Max Evry is here. Max is the author of a fantastic new book called A Masterpiece in Disarray, the oral history of David Lynch’s Dune. Those of you who have seen the Denis Villeneuve version may only be dimly aware of the David Lynch’s Dune. It was only his third film, and it’s the only film of his that he claims not to love in some form or another. David Lynch’s Dune was, at its time, the most expensive science fiction film Universal had ever made. It starred an unknown actor named Kyle MacLaughlin and the guy who had only directed two film and one of them was Eraserhead. If you don’t think that’s going to be an interesting story, I can’t help you. 

Christina Ward, like Max, is a pal o’ mine. She is the Vice President and Editor at Feral House Publishing, and she has written a book called Holy Food: How Cults, Communes and Religious Movements Influence What We Eat. I learned a whole bunch of stuff I didn’t know including, what major religion used to suggest that after someone died, it was a good idea to eat cake off their corpse.

True Tales From Weirdsville tells the stranger than fiction tale of California’s weird association with religious cults, focusing on two strange organizations that were both HUGELY popular, that both started out with seemingly good intentions, and how, one, specifically, went VERY off the rails. This is the tale of Aimee Semple Mcpherson’s Four Square Gospel Church, and Charles Dederich’s Synanon. You won’t believe your ears!

We have our usual stellar line up to get the season off to, in this case, a rockin’ good start. 

Our old friend Greg Proops is back! Greg has a new album out called French Drug Deal. He is also in a new film called First Time Caller. He’s out on the road with Who’s Line Is It Anyway and is getting ready to record the follow up to French drug Deal AND, greg is going to tell us all about what it is like to perform the Nightmare Before Christmas LIVE concerts, which he does, and about which I am so jealous. 

Also, Leland Sklar is with us. If you own a radio, you have heard Leland’s work. Leland is one of the preeminent session musicians on Los Angeles a bass player of world renown. To let you know how long Leland has been making music, he tells a story in the interview where he was doing a session with another guitarist, and that guitarist was just forming a new band, but was unsure what to call it so he asked Leland, “I don’t know, do you think The Eagles is a good name?” 

Leland can be seen in a new documentary by Denny Tedesco, who made the documentary The Wrecking Crew. This new film is called The Immediate Family and it is available now to stream, and I can’t recommend it strongly enough. And we will be hearing all about it, in today’s episode. 

True Tales From Weirdsville goes deep on of my favorite musicians who is also tangentially featured in Immediate family, Warren Zevon. That story is stranger than fiction.

This is our annual holiday spectacular, with great guests, True Tales From Weirdsville and, of course, hours and hours of Christmas songs and holiday games. Not really. 

Kliph Nesteroff is here. Kliph is a fantastic writer who has been here before discussing his books, The Comedians and We Had A Little Real Estate Problem. He is here to talk about his spectacular and, in my opinion, mandatory reading new book, Outrageous, A History Of Showbiz and the Culture Wars. It’s one of my top five books of this year, just phenomenal and I’m really excited for you to hear him talk about it. 

Also, actor Steven Weber is here. You know Steven from Wings, the TV miniseries The Shining, Chicago Hope and so much more. He is also a hilarious guy, a monster kid, and a terrific storyteller, so happy to have finally nabbed him to be on. Steven Weber is here. 

True Tales From Weirdsville takes the idea of no good deed going unpunished to a whole new level, it’s the making of Monty Python’s Life Of Brian.