The Originals

Los Angeles mag’s "The Originals" is back for a summer frolic with Andrew’s longtime obsession, Cybill Shepherd. Topics covered: her days with Peter Bogdanovich as the proto-Bennifer. How a ladybug c-blocked Jeff Bridges on the set of The Last Picture Show.  What Elvis was good at doing with his mouth besides singing. And a long, fascinating inquiry into the question of whether Cybill and Moonlighting co-star Bruce Willis spent much of the Eighties hating each other.  Cybill and Andrew together ponder the eternal question: “Am I the asshole?”

Chaka Khan has long held the title of “Queen of Funk,” but after this appearance, shall also henceforth be known as the “Queen of Candor.” Khan, who this year turns 70 and celebrates 50 years in the music business, joins Andrew and gets a few things off her chest. What’s the one thing every performer who hopes to be successful must do? Why are men intimidated by her? What’s the best way to steal a gun from a cop? Which young diva-in-the-making needs to learn some damned manners? PLUS: The surprising reason Sly went silent. AND: Why she believes whoever edited Rolling Stone’s “200 Greatest Singers of All Time” list needs an appointment with an audiologist. Smelling salts should be included with this one.

Referenced: Chaka's new single, "Woman Like Me"

We put author, actor, and E Streeter Stevie Van Zandt on the couch on the eve of Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band’s 2023 world tour. As we learned from Stevie’s excellent 2021 memoir, Unrequited Infatuations, despite appearing to having lived the most charmed life imaginable, he spent decades being haunted by his early Eighties decision to leave the band of longtime best friend Springsteen on the eve of the “Born In The USA” album. Host and guest explore the meaning of failure and success. It gets a little raw. Plus: Steve on why he didn’t care for Peter Jackson’s Let It Be, and the recipe for keeping bands together. And: Andrew nominates Paul Simon for a dubious Rock & Roll Hall of Fame award for a lifetime of questionable behavior.

Miraculously, Andrew lures icon, 100 million+ record seller and 5 time Grammy-winner Dionne Warwick to the show. Warwick, the subject of the new CNN documentary, Dionne Warwick: Don't Make Me Over, brings her famous wry candor to the following topics: how Burt Bacharach blew it by bolting, what Isaac Hayes did right and Barbra Streisand did wrong, why she very nearly quit the business to teach in the seventies just before recording her biggest hits. Finally learn who really writes those funny tweets. PLUS: did she really hate Lisa Rinna as much as it appeared on her season of The Celebrity Apprentice? 

Legend and icon Sherry Lansing reminds us exactly what it took to become the first woman to be head of production of a studio, as she was at 20th Century Fox, and the first to become overall boss of a studio when she landed atop Paramount in 1992. Impediments covered: Everyone in meetings assuming you're sleeping with someone important and nobody in meetings listening to a word you say. How Fatal Attraction both made her career--and attracted the ire of feminists. Lansing might have gotten the reputation as having the nicest "no" in town, but listeners will be rewarded with some impressively gangsta maneuverings involving Goldie Hawn and Mike Myers. Throughout the hour, Lansing provides a masterclass on the kind of soft power talents required of trailblazers.  

It’s possible you’ve never heard of today’s guest, veteran Hollywood producer Howard Rosenman, but after spending an hour with this master raconteur, you will never, ever forget him. Naturally, he’ll share stories of producing such films as Sparkle, Father of the Bride and Call Me By Your Name, but it’s the stories from his rich, turbulent life that will leave you amused, astounded, and occasionally scandalized. Hear tales of: the veiny clay schmeckle he fashioned as a 4 year-old yeshiva kid that blew his gay cover, how Shirley MacLaine saved him from dying, and that special day in Israel he became acquainted with Leonard Bernstein and his…glorious baton. Marvel at the shocking number of lovers he’s had. Puzzle over the doctor who may have gotten Jane Goodall’s chimps hooked on blow. Featuring memorable cameos from: Katherine Hepburn, Bruce Weber, Anthony Perkins, Richard Gere, Edward Albee, Michael Jackson, Carrie Fisher, Charlie Rose, Bruce Vilanch, Marianne Williamson and Stephen Sondheim. 

Mentioned:

Andrew’s 2019 interview with Joel Schumacher

https://www.vulture.com/2020/06/joel-schumacher-in-conversation.html

Andrew, pre-hurl, and son on Air and Space flight simulator

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cka8FDhu1-_/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D

Probably most fun show yet. Andrew spends an eventful day with Emmy-winning actor Joe Pantoliano. Learn how Tom Cruise indirectly inspired Joe to seek rhinoplasty while doing Risky Business. Hear tales of very bad mothering, the wiseguy who fathered him and how a dyslexic, ADD afflicted “closeted actor” came out as a thespian and made his escape from Hoboken. Hear insight on why Joey identified with his treacherous character in The Matrix. Get a masterclass on both acting and how to shoplift expensive shirts. Hear what a three valium can do to an interview subject. Learn the last thing you should ever say to your spouse, and why Joey let it rip right in front of guests at a dinner party.

Mentioned:

Recommended scene. Ralph Cifaretto confronts Tracee in The Sopranos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYDbiodGMKk

Joey’s excellent memoirs:

Who’s Sorry Now, 2002, about his Hoboken childhood

https://www.amazon.com/Whos-Sorry-Now-Story-Stand-up/dp/0525946772

Asylum, 2012, about his acting career and his mental and chemical struggles

https://www.amazon.com/Asylum-Hollywood-Depression-Dis-Ease-Recovery/dp/B00ANY5RCY

No Kidding, Me 2!, Joe's 2010 documentary seeking to destigmatize mental illness

https://www.amazon.com/No-Kidding-Me-Illness-Documentary/dp/B003B3NGS6

Minds will be blown by this latest episode, with Toni Basil, a true show business Zelig. Sure, we all remember Basil’s 1981 hit, “Mickey.” But it turns out this might be the least interesting part of her long career as a dancer, singer, and choreographer. Hear Toni’s tales of: dancing with Frank Sinatra in 1964’s Rat Pack vehicle Robin and the Seven Hoods, boogying in and helping choreograph Elvis’ movie, Viva Las Vegas, that time she watched Mick Jagger nearly faint when he realized he had to follow James Brown on stage. She played a hooker in Easy Rider and sat across the diner booth from Jack Nicholson for his famous toast ordering scene in Five Easy Pieces. Oh, and did we mention that she taught Leonardo DiCaprio how to do the twist for Once Upon A Time In Hollywood? Plus, she basically introduced hip hop dance to America back in the Seventies when she founded the street dance troupe The Lockers. You'll never use the term "one hit wonder" again. 

Stuff to check out:

Toni Basil's House, on youtube, home to the mother lode of clips. 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLDiLz79uHGkK4KyIMl7Ljg

Toni, Sinatra, and Bing Crosby on set of Robin and The Seven Hoods, 1964

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUZXOdsEPJo

Toni does "the dog" for Elvis in Viva Las Vegas, 1964

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLi5PNasbvA

Toni in Bruce Conner's "Breakaway" short

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CHtEASlzG8

Peter Fonda (and Toni) in Easy Rider, 1969

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iamsdf-VSQI

Jack Nicholson (and Toni) in Five Easy Pieces, 1970

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdIXrF34Bz0

Toni and The Lockers on Soul Train, 1975

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwAZoce7QHY

Toni dancing a few years ago (at 74)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xcpjta4q7lc

Somehow, Andrew made it through 26 episodes of the pod without one single guest telling him to fuck off or referring to him as a “cocksucker.” Thanks to novelist James Ellroy, this long national pod-mare is over! The celebrated 74 year-old author of The Black Dahlia came on to promote his new Audible Originals series, “James Ellroy’s Hollywood Deathtrip,” but was not at all interested in discussing his life as a pervert and womanizer, a reputation borne not of tabloid gossip or rumor, but rather exhaustively copped to in his two very dirty memoirs, 1996’s My Dark Places and 2010’s The Hilliker Curse. Whoops! Noted. Come for the swear words and dramatic walk off, stay for the return and the host/guest fragile, edgy détente. Discussed: his father’s alleged “18 incher,” his “Hitler-esque” moustache and John Wayne’s purported life as a crossdresser.

Discussed:

Ron’s amazing Dr. Phil story:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cin0Aiq-ZaY

Where to find the best tequila Andrew has ever tasted, Number Juan Extra Anejo:

https://numberjuantequila.com

Dates for Ron’s farewell tour:

https://tatersalad.com