TV Confidential with Ed Robertson

TVC 708.6: Howard Smith talks to Ed about the five characteristics that Johnny Carson, Sidney Poitier, Clint Eastwood, Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, and many other successful people from business, sports, politics, and entertainment have all embodied throughout their life and career. Howard's new book, My Friend Johnny: The Last 20 Years of a Beautiful Life with Johnny Carson and Friends, is now available at MyFriendJohnny.com

We've been away for a few days, but we'll have a brand new edition of TV Confidential ready for you later this week. In the meantime, please enjoy this special preview of our upcoming conversation with Emmy Award-winning actress Mariette Hartley (Goodnight, Beantown, Law and Order: SVU). Mariette stars, along with her husband Jerry Sroka, in Our (Almost Completely True) Love Story, a romantic comedy that also includes a cast of such other film and TV favorites as Tess Harper, Bernie Kopell, Morgan Fairchild, Peter Onorati, Peter McNichol, and many, many others. Our (Almost Completely True) Love Story is available now for streaming on demand on Amazon Prime and other major platforms. Our complete interview with Mariette will air later in October.

Paul Myers, author of John Candy: A Life in Comedy, talks to Ed about the famous "I like me" speech that John Candy delivered as Del Griffith in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (1987) and how director John Hughes understood the essence of Candy as few others did. John Candy: A Life in Comedy becomes available wherever books are sold Tuesday, Oct. 7 through House of Anansi Press, as well as Amazon.com.

Listeners in the San Francisco Bay Area can meet Paul Myers at Mrs Dalloway's Literary and Garden Arts, 2904 College Avenue in Berkeley, CA on Tuesday Oct. 7 beginning at 7pm. Paul will also appear on stage at the 4 Star Theatre, 2200 Clement Street in San Francisco, CA on Saturday Oct. 11 beginning at 7pm; Paul's appearance that night will be immediately followed by a screening of Uncle Buck. For details on these and other upcoming events, go to Houseof Anansi.com and type in John Candy A Life in Comedy Book Tour. Our complete interview with Paul Myers will air later in October on TV Confidential. 

From September 2015: Tony, Donna, and Ed look back at the broadcast history of The Wild, Wild West (CBS, 1965-1969), which originally premiered on CBS in September 1965.

From September 2015: Tony, Donna, and Ed remember the premiere of The Smothers Brothers Show (CBS, 1965-1966), a short-lived sitcom starring Tom and Dick Smothers that is mostly remembered today for being part of Nick at Nite's weekend lineup in the late 1980s. The failure of The Smothers Brothers Show spurred the Smothers (and Tom in particular) to take more creative control when CBS gave them a second chance in January 1967, with the premiere of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (CBS, 1967-1969).

TVC 707.1: From September 2015: Tony, Donna, and Ed discuss the legacy of Get Smart (NBC/CBS, 1965-1970), which premiered on NBC on Sept. 18, 1965.

TVC 707.2: From September 2015: Tony, Donna, and Ed remember the premiere of Hogan's Heroes (CBS, 1965-1971) on Sept. 17, 1965.

TVC 707.3: From April 2012: Tony, Donna, and Ed remember the premiere of Truth or Consequences on television on Sept. 7, 1950, ten years after it had premiered on in 1940.

TVC 707.5: Part 2 of a conversation that began last week with John McCafferty, the actor known around the world as Billy Joe Wright on Texas (NBC, 1980-1982), and Tom Lisanti, sixties movie historian and 1970s daytime TV historian. John is among the many actors, writers, directors, NBC executives, and other behind-the-scenes personnel that Tom interviewed for his latest book, Texas: An Oral History of Daytime's Answer to Dallas. Topics this segment include how series producer Paul Rauch pushed for casting stage actors fro the series whenever possible, while then-NBC president Fred Silverman insisted on casting younger actors. Texas: An Oral History of Daytime's Answer to Dallas is available wherever books are sold through our friends at Bear Manor Media.

TVC 707.6: John McCafferty, Tom Lisanti, and Ed discuss why Texas (NBC, 1980-1982) remains popular with fans more than forty years later, and how the series was particularly popular in Canada during its original network run. Tom's latest book, Texas: An Oral History of Daytime's Answer to Dallas, is available wherever books are sold through our friends at Bear Manor Media.