TV Confidential with Ed Robertson

TVC 680.3: Part 2 of a conversation that began last week with Harrison Page, the actor known around the world as Joshua in Lionheart, Captain Trunk on Sledge Hammer!, CPO Robinson on CPO Sharkey, and Niles in Russ Meyer's Vixen! Topics this segment include how Harrison approached playing Niles when he first read the script for Vixen; why it's important for every actor to know the difference between listening and hearing every time they take the stage or work; and the success of Vixen at the box office led Meyer to cast Harrison in Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, after he had sent Harrison the script for Beyond in advance and asked for his input.

TVC 680.4: Harrison Page talks to Ed about how the success of Vixen led Michael Landon to cast him in "The Wish," an episode of Bonanza written and directed by Landon that not only aired in 1969, but also marked Harrison's first network appearance; how, upon completing production of "The Wish," Landon made a phone call that resulted in Harrison being cast in "Tooth of the Serpent," an episode of Mannix that also aired in 1969; and how Peter Falk immediately made Harrison feel at ease by paying homage to the character Harrison played in Lionheart on the first day of the shoot for Columbo: Undercover. Harrison Page will be seen opposite Jonathan Majors in Magazine Dreams, the story of a man who looks after his ailing grandfather while trying to succeed in the world of professional bodybuilding. Magazine Dreams is scheduled for release in theaters on Friday, Mar. 21.

TVC 680.5: Ed welcomes Anne Serling and Jodi Serling, the daughters of Rod Serling, and Marc Scott Zicree, longtime television writer/producer and the author of The Twilight Zone Companion, for a celebration of both the 100th anniversary of the birth of Rod Serling and the 65th anniversary of the premiere of The Twilight Zone on CBS television. Anne's book, As I Knew Him: My Dad, Rod Serling, is an intimate portrait of the Emmy Award-winning writer/producer that is also a moving testament to the love between fathers and daughters, while The Twilight Zone Companion (now in its third edition) not only has influenced such TV show runners and filmmakers as J.J. Abrams, Vince Gilligan, Brannon Braga, Matthew Weiner, and Ron Moore, but created the genre of books that capture the history of popular television series. Topics this segment include how Serling never let his tremendous notoriety go to his head because he kept himself grounded (and his family kept him grounded).

TVC 680.6: Anne Serling and Jodi Serling, the daughters of Rod Serling, and Marc Scott Zicree, author of The Twilight Zone Companion, talk to Ed about how Rod Serling was not only the first modern-day show runner, in that he was a writer who also served as his own producer, but also the "Leonardo da Vinci of television," in that he represented the pinnacle of what the medium can do. Other topics this segment include thoughts on such notable Twilight Zone episodes as "Eye of the Beholder," "Walking Distance," and "On Thursday We Leave for Home." Both The Twilight Zone Companion and Anne's book, As I Knew Him: My Dad, Rod Serling, are available wherever books are sold.

We'll be back with a brand new edition of TV Confidential later this week. In the meantime, please enjoy this clip from February 2020 in which Tony and Ed remember Pink Lady and Jeff (NBC, 1980), the short-lived and, in many respects, infamous variety series produced by Sid & Marty Krofft, which premiered on Mar. 1, 1980 during This Week in TV History. Tony's coverage includes first-hand knowledge: He was in the studio audience at NBC/Burbank on the night that the first episode of Pink Lady was taped in December 1979.

We'll be back with a brand new edition of TV Confidential later this week. In the meantime, please enjoy this clip from February 2015 in which Tony, Donna, and Ed remember some of the early TV roles of Howard Hessman, before he became known as Dr. Johnny Fever on WKRP in Cincinnati, as part of This Week in TV History. Howard Hesseman was born on this day in 1940.

TVC 679.1: TV Confidential remembers actor, author, playwright, and decorated U.S. Army veteran James McEachin (Tenafly, Matlock, The Perry Mason Mysteries, Play Misty for Me, The Heroin Factor, Farewell to the Mockingbirds, The Alpha Caper, Above the Call: Beyond the Duty, Reveille, Swing Low, My Sweet Chariot: The Ballad of Jimmy Mack) by bringing you an encore presentation of a conversation with James that originally aired in February 2013. James McEachin passed away on Jan. 11, 2025 at the age of ninety-four. At the time we spoke with James in February 2013, he had just released the audiobook edition of Tell Me a Tale: A Novel of the Old South that delves into the many issues of slavery during the Civil War era while also offering a better understanding of the white man's view of the times. James' reading of the Tell Me a Tale audiobook "is so good," said Peter Bart of Daily Variety, "it would make Morgan Freeman a fan." Topics this segment how James originally wrote Tell Me a Tale in 1965, and how the novel generated interest from both Henry Fonda and Hal Holbrook. TV Confidential spoke to James McEachin a second time in November 2014. That conversation is available for listening on demand for free by clicking here.

TVC 679.5: From February 2013: Actor, author, playwright, and decorated Korean War veteran James McEachin talks to Ed about why he re-enlisted in the U.S. Army to serve in Korea after previously serving in Japan (and why it was important to James that he serve on the frontlines in Korea); serving with the 9th Infantry Regiment, an all-black unit; living with post-traumatic stress disorder after being shot at in Korea; working with Gary Sinise on behalf of U.S. veterans; reuniting with David Huddleston, his co-star on Tenafly, in the short film Reveille; and how James' experience in Reveille led him to write his one-man show, Above The Call: Beyond the Duty. James McEachin passed away on Jan. 11, 2025 at the age of ninety-four. TV Confidential spoke to James McEachin a second time in November 2014. That conversation is available for listening on demand for free by clicking here.

TVC 679.6: From February 2013: James McEachin talks to Ed about the important role that Jack Webb played early in his acting career, particularly when James was under contract at Universal. He also shares a few memories of working with Clint Eastwood, Charles Floyd Johnson, David Janssen, and James Garner. James McEachin passed away on Jan. 11, 2025 at the age of ninety-four. TV Confidential spoke to James McEachin a second time in November 2014. That conversation is available for listening on demand for free by clicking here.

TVC 679.4: Ed welcomes Harrison Page, the actor known around the world as Joshua in Lionheart, Captain Trunk on Sledge Hammer!, CPO Robinson on CPO Sharkey, and Niles in Russ Meyer's Vixen! Topics this segment include how Meyer first cast Harrison in Vixen!; working with Erica Gavin in Vixen! (and, particularly, how she and Harrison approached playing the controversial scene in the film in which Niles rapes Vixen); how Harrison came to be cast in Sledge Hammer!, and how he drew on some of his training with Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio to ground his performance as Trunk, especially whenever the script called for Trunk to yell at Hammer. Severin Films has just released Russ Meyer's Vixen!, Russ Meyer's Supervixens, and Russ Meyer's Beneath the Valley of the Ultravixens on Blu-ray for the first time as part of a landmark partnership with the Russ Meyer Trust. The Blu-ray release of Vixen! includes more than three hours of extra features (including a brand-new audio commentary by Erica Gavin, plus archival interviews with Erica Gavin and Harrison Page), while both Supervixens and Beneath the Valley of the Ultravixens are likewise chockful of extra features. In addition, both Russ Meyer's Up! and Russ Meyer's Motorpsycho are now available for pre-order at SeverinFilms.com.