TV Confidential with Ed Robertson

TVC 712.2: From January 2013: Phil Gries plays more audio highlights from the early television career of legendary New York TV horror movie host John Zacherle, as well as a clip from Phil's own interview with Zacherle from October 1997, in which Zacherle discusses how he came up with many of the routines that he did on-camera. Other topics this segment include Zacherle's other work in local television, including hosting the afternoon dance party show Disc-o-Teen; his long association with Dick Clark; and Zacherle's popularity with many music artists, including Ringo Starr and Jerry Garcia. John Zacherle passed away on Oct. 27, 2016 at age ninety-eight.

TVC 712.3: Part 2 of a conversation that began last week with Joseph Dougherty, Tony Figueroa, and Dan Farren about some of our favorite local TV horror movie hosts from the 1960s and '70s. This segment particularly focuses on Bob Wilkins, the erudite host of Creature Features on KTVU Channel 2 (Oakland-San Francisco) who was known for his trademark cigar, horn rim glasses, and the catchphrase "Keep America Strong. Watch Horror Movies." Unlike most other local TV horror movie hosts, Wilkins never dressed up as a zany character on Creature Features, but instead kept the viewers tuned in every week by bringing them long-form interviews with the likes of George Lucas, Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, Vincent Price, and Christopher Lee in between movie segments. Wilkins was also the first to air Night of the Living Dead on local television.

TVC 712.4: Emmy Award-winning writer, producer, director, and author Joseph Dougherty (thirtysomething, Pretty Little Liars, The First Cylinder, Comfort and Joi, Rod Serling at 100) joins Ed, Tony, and Dan Farren for some more thoughts on local TV horror movie hosts hosts from the 1960s and '70s. Topics this segment include how part of the appeal of watching horror movies on late night television was that it marked the first time that many of us were allowed to stay up late by ourselves.

TVC 712.5: Part 2 of a conversation that began last week with Paul Myers, author of John Candy: A Life in Comedy, a heartwarming portrait of the beloved actor, improv comedian, and box office star who, had he lived, would have turned seventy-five on Oct. 31, 2025. Topics this segment include how Candy and his fellow cast members of SCTV all embodied the spirit and philosophy of Second City, a "model society for improv" in which all actors sees themselves as talented peers who could help make each other better; why Dave Thomas and Joe Flaherty are the two linchpins behind the story Paul tells in John Candy: A Life in Comedy; and Candy had an unerring knack for always making choices in comedy that he knew were both real and right. John Candy: A Life in Comedy is available wherever books are sold through House of Anansi Books, as well as Amazon.com.

TVC 712.6: Paul Myers, author of John Candy: A Life in Comedy, talks to Ed about two instances in the film career of John Candy in which art imitated life—the scene in Stripes in which Candy's character, Dewey Oxburger, reveals his motivation for joining the Army; and Dell Griffith's "I like me" speech in Plains, Trains, and Automobiles—and how the latter particularly illustrates how director John Hughes understood who Candy was as a person like few others. John Candy: A Life in Comedy is available wherever books are sold through House of Anansi Books, as well as Amazon.com. Paul Myers has several appearances in both the U.S. and Canada over the next several weeks. For details on these and other upcoming events, go to Houseof Anansi.com and type in John Candy A Life in Comedy Book Tour

TVC 711.1: From October 2015: Tony, Donna, and Ed remember the premiere of My Three Sons (CBS/ABC, 1960-1972), one of the few series that enjoyed long runs on two different networks, back in the three-network universe. Topics this segment include why the ABC episodes of My Three Sons, which were filmed in black and white, were rarely seen in syndication until Nick at Nite acquired the rights to them in the 1980s; the various Walt Disney connections among My Three Sons cast members; and how certain stipulations in Fred MacMurray's contract allowed him to continue his motion picture career, even while the show was in production.

TVC 711.2: Emmy Award-winning writer, producer, director, and author Joseph Dougherty (thirtysomething, Pretty Little Liars, The First Cylinder, Comfort and Joi, Rod Serling at 100) joins Ed, Tony, and Dan Farren for a roundtable discussion about some of our favorite local TV horror movie hosts—a staple of television that began in the late 1950s and continued into the 1980s and which, for many of us, was an indelible part of our growing-up years. Topics this segment include how the genre began circa 1958, when Universal released its entire library of horror movies from the 1930s and '40s to local TV stations; why part of the charm from these local TV productions comes from their threadbare production values; and the many ways in which John Zacherle (pictured) set the standard for local TV horror hosts, first in Philadelphia, then in New York.

TVC 711.3: Joseph Dougherty, Dan Farren, Tony Figueroa, and Ed remember Chilly Billy Cardille, Sir Graves Ghastley, Moona Lisa (pictured), and other local TV horror movie personalities from the 1960s and '70s—including Count Floyd, the character played by Joe Flaherty on SCTV that was both a parody of and a homage to the genre.

TVC 711.4: Part 2 of a conversation that began last week with actress, comedienne, author, and entrepreneur Rhonda Shear (Up All Night, Rhonda Shear Intimates, Up All Night: From Hollywood Bombshell to Lingerie Model, Life Lessons From An Accidental Feminist). Topics this segment include the famous "mannequin" act with Rhonda early in her career, along with Kenny Ellis; her many collaborations with game show impresario Chuck Barris, including appearances on The Dating Game and The $1.98 Beauty Show; and how Rhonda came up with the high-pitched "Up!" in Up All Night that is part of her trademark. Rhonda Shear Up All Night premieres Saturday, Oct. 25 at 10pm ET, 7pm PT at KingsofHorror.com, with additional specials scheduled to premiere Saturday, Nov. 22 and Saturday, Dec. 20 (same time, same channel). The series will then expand to twice a month beginning in January 2026. For more details, go to RhondaShearAllUpNight.com. For more on Rhonda Shear Intimates, go to RhondaShear.com.

TVC 711.5: Ed welcomes musician, author, and comedy historian Paul Myers (Kids in the Hall: One Dumb Guy). Paul's latest book, John Candy: A Life in Comedy, is a heartwarming portrait of the beloved actor, improv comedian, and box office star who would have turned seventy-five this coming Friday, Oct. 31. John Candy died tragically of a heart attack in April 1994 at the age of forty-three. Topics this segment include how Paul's book explores a fundamental question: What was it about Candy that made so many people feel the loss of his life sp deeply, even if they only knew him from his movies. John Candy: A Life in Comedy is available wherever books are sold through House of Anansi Books, as well as Amazon.com.