TV Confidential with Ed Robertson

TVC 687.2: Dore Page, author of Leslie Stevens Goes to Hollywood: Daystar Productions, Kate Manx and the Making of Private Property, talks to Ed and guest co-host Chuck Harter about the fragile mix of ambition, frustration, and insecurity that comprised the psyche of actress Kate Manx, and the extent to which depression may have factored into the circumstances leading up to Manx's death in November 1964. Leslie Stevens Goes to Hollywood is available through McFarland Books.

TVC 687.3: Peter Ford, son of screen legends Glenn Ford and Eleanor Powell and the author of Glenn Ford: A Life, talks to Ed about how his dad used his star power to hire directors and actors on Cade's County (CBS, 1971-1972) with whom he'd worked before, including George Marshall, Leo Penn, Edgar Buchanan, Barbara Rush, and Broderick Crawford; how James Woods saved Peter's life in 1976 while the two of them filmed a scene together for "Sins of Thy Father," an episode of Barnaby Jones; and some of the notable people who hired Peter during his twenty-year career as a building contractor, including Don Simpson, Frank Gehry, Blake Edwards, George Clooney, Sally Kellerman, Mary Kay Place, and Steve Tisch. Glenn Ford: A Life is available wherever books are sold through University of Wisconsin Press.

TVC 686.1: Part 2 of a conversation that began last week with Laurel and Hardy historian Randy Skretvedt. Chuck Harter co-hosts. Topics this segment include what first sparked Randy's interest in Laurel and Hardy; Randy's favorite scene in March of the Wooden Soldiers; and why Wooden Soldiers remains so popular, more than ninety years after its original release. Randy's latest book, March of the Wooden Soldiers: The Amazing Story of Laurel & Hardy's Babes in Toyland, is available from Bonaventure Press.

TVC 686.2: Peter Ford, son of screen legends Glenn Ford and Eleanor Powell, helps Ed celebrate the seventieth anniversary of the release of Blackboard Jungle, the iconic film from 1955 that not only starred Glenn Ford as a young English teacher in an inner-city high school, but which prominently featured the song "Rock Around the Clock" in its soundtrack, putting Bill Haley and the Comets on the map while also launching the era of rock 'n' roll music. Peter Ford was just ten years old when Blackboard Jungle was released, yet he played a very prominent role in getting his dad and director Richard Brooks to integrate "Rock Around the Clock" into Blackboard Jungle—indeed, Little Stevie van Zandt once credited Peter as being the catalyst for one of the seminal moments in rock 'n' roll history. Peter Ford is also the author of Glenn Ford: A Life, an intimate look at the life and times of one of our finest screen actors.

TVC 686.3: Peter Ford, son of screen legends Glenn Ford and Eleanor Powell and the author of Glenn Ford: A Life, talks to Ed about working with his dad and Edgar Buchanan on Cade's County (CBS, 1971-1972), including the back story for why the series did not last more than one season; how Peter became a reserve deputy for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department a few years after Cade's County ended; and how both he and Bobby Sherman once appeared together as bachelors (Peter, reluctantly so) on a segment of The Dating Game. Glenn Ford: A Life is available wherever books are sold through University of Wisconsin Press.

From August 2014: Authors Paul Green and Mary Ann Anderson join Ed for a look back at the life and career of Jeffrey Hunter. Paul's book Jeffrey Hunter: The Film, Television, Radio and Stage Performances is a comprehensive look at the actor best known for his starring roles as Martin Pawley in The Searchers, Christopher Pike in the original pilot episode of Star Trek, and Jesus Christ in Nicholas Ray's King of Kings. Mary knew Jeffrey Hunter; her mother, actress Emily McLaughlin, married Hunter just three months before he died in May 1969. By all acccounts, Jeffrey Hunter was not only highly respected as an actor, but a genuinely nice person. His sudden death age at forty-two was a shock to everyone who knew him and left many wondering what direction his life and career would have taken, had he lived.

TVC 685.1: Ed and guest co-host Chuck Harter welcome author, voice artist, radio host, and Laurel and Hardy historian Randy Skretvedt. Randy's latest book, March of the Wooden Soldiers: The Amazing Story of Laurel & Hardy's Babes in Toyland, is a detailed, behind-the-scenes look at the making of March of the Wooden Soldiers (1934), the adaptation of the Victor Herbert operetta Babes in Toyland (which, in fact, was the title of Wooden Soldiers when it was originally released) that not only has remained a holiday tradition on television since the early 1950s, but was reportedly Stan Laurel's favorite film of the ones with he did with Oliver Hardy. Topics this segment include how March of the Wooden Soldiers was originally intended as an Eastertime release in 1934, as well as the many delays that plagued the production of the movie. March of the Wooden Soldiers: The Amazing Story of Laurel & Hardy's Babes in Toyland is available from Bonaventure Press.

TVC 685.2: Laurel and Hardy historian Randy Skretvedt, author of March of the Wooden Soldiers: The Amazing Story of Laurel & Hardy's Babes in Toyland, talks to Ed and guest co-host Chuck Harter about how Stan Laurel not only acted as the de facto director on many of the comedy team's films, but closely oversaw the editing of their films, and how Oliver Hardy was an accomplished actor who was beloved by cast and crew off-camera. March of the Wooden Soldiers: The Amazing Story of Laurel & Hardy's Babes in Toyland is available from Bonaventure Press.

TVC 685.3: Ed welcomes renowned actress, teacher, and independent filmmaker Michelle Danner (Hello Herman, The Runner, Bad Impulse). Michelle's latest film, The Italians, is an ensemble comedy-drama about an idiosyncratic Italian-American family that drive each other crazy, but who pull themselves together upon learning that the matriarch (Michelle's character) has a serious heart condition—a crisis that causes the entire family to reevaluate themselves. Michelle Danner stars in and directs The Italians, which also features Rob Estes, Matthew Daddario, Abigail Breslin, Lainie Kazan, and a lot of scenes with food. Michelle talks to Ed about what attracted her to making The Italians; why the movie represents a change of pace for her; and what it was like to direct Donald Sutherland in Miranda's Victim (2023), a historical drama that turned out to be one of Sutherland's final screen appearances. The Italians is now available for streaming on demand on Amazon Prime.

TVC 684.1: Ed welcomes Nelson Aspen, award-winning entertainment reporter, one of the leading authorities on the subject of the sinking of the Titanic on Apr. 15, 1912, and the author of Kindred Spirits: A Titanic Tale. Inspired by Nelson's personal experiences, Kindred Spirits not only spans the time between the night when the Titanic met her tragic fate and the hedonistic party scene of contemporary Manhattan, but is a story of love and redemption that was denied to gay men at the time because of the constraints of Edwardian England. Topics this segment include why the Titanic tragedy has remained a source of fascination for more a century; how Nelson's knowledge of Titanic history helped actress Alexandra Boyd land a role in James Cameron's Titanic; and why moviegoers are drawn to "water stories" such as Titanic and The Poseidon Adventure. Kindred Spirits is available wherever books are sold through Red Sky Presents. Titanic Talk, the podcast co-hosted by Nelson Aspen and Alexandra Boyd, is available wherever you find podcasts. For our listeners in the greater L.A. metro area, Nelson will appear at the Titanic Anniversary Weekend aboard the RMS Queen Mary in Long Beach California on Apr. 12-13-14. For more on that, check out TitanicWeekend.com. He'll also be at the Lobby Lounge at the Four Seasons / Los Angeles on Tuesday, Apr. 15, the actual anniversary date of the sinking of the Titanic. For our listeners in New York, Nelson Aspen will appear at the Clay Restaurant in New York City on Tuesday, Apr. 29 and at Ortomare Ristorante in New York City on Friday, May 2. He also has events coming up in England and in Ireland during the last week of May, and in Baltimore and New York during the month of July. For details and more information, visit NelsonAspen.com