TV CONFIDENTIAL: A radio talk show about television

We're taking a few days off for the holidays, but we'll be back with brand new editions of TV Confidential in the new year. In the meantime, please enjoy this Blast from the Past clip from November 2021 in which Ed and guest co-host Chuck Harter ask comedian and voice artist extraordinaire Harry Shearer about the back story of This is Spinal Tap, including the pivotal role that Norman Lear played in helping the movie get made.

We're taking a few days off for the holidays, but we'll be back with brand new editions of TV Confidential in the new year. In the meantime, please enjoy this Blast from the Past clip from December 2015 in which author Paul Green helps Ed revisit the life and career of Pete Duel, the star of Alias Smith and Jones who took his life on Dec. 30, 1971, at the height of his television celebrity. The second edition of Paul's book Pete Duel: A Biography includes new information from not only Duel's family and friends, but the many fans who have kept the memory of Duel alive, more than four decades after his death.

TVC 719.2: Part 2 of a conversation that began a few weeks ago with author, essayist, novelist, and TV historian Mitchell Hadley (The Electronic Mirror, ItsAboutTV.com). Mitchell's latest book, Darkness in Primetime: How Classic-Era TV Foresaw Modern Society's Descent into Hell, is a series of essays that shows how certain episodes of such classic series as The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, Star Trek, and The Prisoner—all of which were originally written and broadcast in either the 1950s or 1960s—not only envisioned a society of 24/7 surveillance, thought control, disinformation, persecution, and loss of freedom, but portrayed those realities in ways that are disturbingly similar to the world that we currently occupy. Topics this segment include a look at The Brotherhood of the Bell (CBS, 1970), a made-for-TV movie starring Glenn Ford (adapted for television by David Karp, based on his novel The Brotherhood of Velvet, about a secret society that is bent on world domination) that is also a variation of the classic tale of Faust; and "Susan B. Anthony, I Love You," an episode of Petticoat Junction from February 1970 that, whether by design or not, has a storyline that is reminiscent of Lysistrata, the classic Greek play by Aristophanes.

TVC 719.3: Mitchell Hadley talks to Ed about "The Running Men," an essay that Mitchell recently wrote for ItsAboutTV.com that makes the case for why it's not necessary for every television series to have a final episode that resolves the premise and ties up any other loose ends. Ed agrees with Mitchell, but adds that the influence of social media on today's TV landscape makes it impossible for show runners to avoid producing a series finale without upsetting the fan base. Mitchell's latest book, Darkness in Primetime: How Classic-Era TV Foresaw Modern Society's Descent into Hell, is available wherever books are sold through Throckmorton Press and Amazon.com.  

We're taking a few days off for the holidays, but we'll be back with brand new editions of TV Confidential in the new year. In the meantime, please enjoy this Blast from the Past clip from March 2016 featuring sixties film historian Tom Lisanti. Tom's books include Pamela Tiffin: Hollywood to Rome, 1961-1974, a comprehensive look at Tiffin's work in film and television that includes insight from Tiffin herself (as well as such co-stars as Franco Nero), while also exploring the reasons why she remains a cult film icon. In this particular clip, Tom and Ed discuss "The Girl from Little Egypt," the episode of The Fugitive that originally aired on Dec. 24, 1963. Not only is "Little Egypt" among the most popular episodes of the series (because it provided viewers with the back story of Kimble's trial and the night of Helen Kimble's murder), but it also marked one of Pamela Tiffin's few appearances on network television.

TVC 719.4: Ed welcomes Tom Sturges, son of Academy Award-winning writer/director Preston Sturges, one of the top executives in the music industry, and the author of such books as Every Idea is a Good Idea, A Good Divorce Begins Here, and Preston Sturges: The Last Years of Hollywood's First Writer-Director. Tom's latest book, Men Explained... Finally, is a humorous, totally unscientific, and yet often very wise look at the male species that reveals such universal Man Truths as Why All Men are Really Fourteen Year-Old-Boys, Why Men Are Like Whales, Why All Men Have Three Basic Needs, and Why Every Problem in the World Can Be Solved with Duct Tape. Topics this segment how Tom's thirty-five years in the music business has helped him develop many of the observations about men that appear in Men Explained... Finally; how the key to survival for most men comes from their ability to compartmentalize; and why the goal of Tom's book is to help men have better relationships with the women in their lives. Men Explained... Finally is available wherever books are sold through Centimilla Press.

TVC 719.5: Tom Sturges talks to Ed about how his father, Preston Sturges, embodied some of the "man truths" that Tom writes about in his new book, Men Explained… Finally; how Tom came to work with NBA star Shaquille O'Neal when O'Neal became a rap artist; and what Tom looks for when determining whether a new song has what it takes to become a hit record. Men Explained… Finally is available wherever books are sold through Centimilla Press.

TVC 718.1: From November 2015: Tony, Donna, and Ed discuss the legacy of The Mary Tyler Moore Show (CBS, 1970-1977), including a look at its spinoff series Rhoda (CBS, 1974-1978), Phyllis (CBS, 1975-1977), and Lou Grant (CBS, 1977-1982).

TVC 718.2: From November 2015: Tony, Donna, and Ed discuss "Rhoda's Wedding" (CBS, Oct. 28, 1974), the famous first-season episode of Rhoda in which Rhoda Morgenstein (Valerie Harper) marries Joe Gerard (David Groh), and why the episode remains a television classic more than fifty years later, even though the decision to marry the two characters ultimately hurt the series.

TVC 718.3: Part 2 of a conversation that began last week with Mark Shaw, author of Abuse of Power: Connecting Robert Kennedy's Assassinaton with the Murders of JFK and Dorothy Kilgallen and The Reporter Who Knew Too Much. Topics this segment include new findings that suggest that the autopsy performed on Kilgallen after her death in November 1965 may have been compromised. As was the case with Mark's previous book, Collateral Damage, Abuse of Power emphasizes the importance of relying on primary sources whenever possible. Abuse of Power, Collateral Damage, and The Reporter Who Knew Too Much are all available through Post Hill Press and Amazon.com.

TVC 718.4: Ed welcomes back Stefanie Powers, the actress known around the world as Jennifer Hart on Hart to Hart (ABC, 1979-1984), and the founder and president of the William Holden Wildlife Foundation, the nonprofit organization that Stefanie established in 1982 in memory of her longtime life partner that continues and furthers the conservation work of William Holden in East Africa. Stefanie will reunite with McLintock! co-star Patrick Wayne for the first time in sixty years for a one-performance-only benefit production of A.R. Gurney's Love Letters that will take place on Sunday, Jan. 11 on the Debbie Reynolds Main Stage at the historic El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood, CA beginning at 1pm. Tickets start at $55. If you purchase a VIP ticket for $150, you'll have a chance to meet Stefanie and Patrick on stage. Proceeds for this production will support the efforts of the William Holden Wildlife Foundation. For tickets and more information, call (818) 508-4200 or go to ElPortalTheatre.com. Topics this segment include why Love Letters continues to appeal to actors and audiences alike; Stefanie's experience working with John Wayne, Patrick Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, and (briefly) director John Ford while filming McLintock!; a trick that Stefanie learned during the production of McLintock! that enables her to drive through dusty terrain without eating dust (a trick that she has used many times during her travels to Africa); and why you can't visit Ireland without seeing The Quiet Man first.

TVC 718.5: Stefanie Powers talks to Ed about why her experience as a contract player at Columbia Pictures at the start of her career was like "a finishing school for actors"; working with Ava Gardner on Maggie (CBS, 1986), a pilot for a series that marked Gardner's final screen appearance (the pilot, however, never aired); and why James Garner ranks alongside Robert Wagner as among Stefanie's favorite co-stars. (Stefanie starred opposite Garner in "The Red Easy Red Dog," a second-season episode of The Rockford Files.) Stefanie Powers will reunite with McLintock! co-star Patrick Wayne for the first time in sixty years for a one-performance-only benefit production of A.R. Gurney's Love Letters that will take place on Sunday, Jan. 11 on the Debbie Reynolds Main Stage at the historic El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood, CA beginning at 1pm. Proceeds will support the efforts of the William Holden Wildlife Foundation. For tickets and more information, call (818) 508-4200 or go to ElPortalTheatre.com. Stefanie Powers is also featured in Vision for the Future: Capturing Inspiring Stories from Leaders and Changemakers, a recently released anthology eBook that profiles twenty-five visionaries who not only are making a significant impact in their respective fields, but are dedicated to making the world a better place through hope, action, and lasting change. Vision for the Future recognizes Stefanie for her work with The William Holden Wildlife Foundation. Vision for the Future is available for free at visionforthefuture.ai.

TVC 718.6: Mark Shaw, author of Abuse of Power: Connecting Robert Kennedy's Assassinaton with the Murders of JFK and Dorothy Kilgallen and The Reporter Who Knew Too Much, talks to Ed about how the City of New York honored Dorothy Kilgallen on Saturday, Nov. 8 by naming a street after her on the sixtieth anniversary of her death. Other topics this segment include why so many of us are enamored with real-life murder mysteries. Abuse of Power and The Reporter Who Knew Too Much are both available through Post Hill Press and Amazon.com.

TVC 717.1: Ed welcomes back Mark Shaw, investigative journalist, former criminal defense attorney, onetime legal analyst for CNN, ESPN, and USA Today, and the author of nearly thirty books, including The Reporter Who Knew Too Much: The Mysterious Death of What's My Line TV Star and Media Icon Dorothy Kilgallen. Mark's latest book, Abuse of Power, includes new information about the mysterious nature of Kilgallen's demise in November 1965 that, Mark believes, links the death of Kilgallen to the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy. Abuse of Power, The Reporter Who Knew Too Much, and all of Mark's books are available through Post Hill Press and Amazon.com.

TVC 717.2: Mark Shaw, author of Abuse of Power: Connecting Robert Kennedy's Assassinaton with the Murders of JFK and Dorothy Kilgallen, talks to Ed about a recently released YouTube video about John Shear (pictured above, left), a longtime paddock captain at Santa Anita Racetrack in Southern California who hired Sirhan Sirhan (pictured above, center) as a "hot walker" several months before Sirhan was arrested for the assassination of RFK in June 1968. According to Mark, Shear's comments in that video not only lend credence to the possibility that Sirhan may have been used as a fall guy by the mob for the assassination of RFK, but make the case that Sirhan should receive a new trial in light of these new revelations. (Though John Shear died in December 2023, Mark interviewed Shear's son, Michael, in December 2024; Michael Shear provided confirmation of his father's account.) Both Abuse of Power and The Reporter Who Knew Too Much are available through Post Hill Press and Amazon.com.

TVC 717.3: From December 2011: Tony, Donna, and Ed send birthday wishes to film and television legend Dick Van Dyke (The Dick Van Dyke Show, Mary Poppins, Diagnosis Murder) as part of This Week in TV History. Dick Van Dyke turns 100 on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025.

TVC 717.4: Ed welcomes back Ellen Geer, daughter of Will Geer and the artistic director of Theatricum Botanicum, the outdoor amphitheatre in Topanga Canyon, California that Will Geer founded in 1973. Theatricum's fifth annual Holiday Family Faire will take place on Saturday, Dec. 13 from 11am to 5pm, followed by a special live production of It's a Wonderful Life featuring Beau Bridges, Wendie Malick, Joe Mantegna beginning at 5pm. Tickets for the live production of It's a Wonderful Life are available as an "add-on" to Faire admission. Please visit Theatricum.com/holiday-family-faire for more information. Theatricum Botanicum is located at 1419 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga CA 90290, midway between Pacific Coast Highway and the Ventura Freeway.

TVC 717.5: Ed welcomes back actress and author Alison Arngrim (Little House on the Prairie, Confessions of a Prairie Bitch). Alison has news about several events coming up over the next few weeks that will celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the premiere of Little House on the Prairie (NBC, 1974-1983), including the recent Live Before a Studio Audience edition of The Little House 50th Anniversary Podcast featuring Alison, Dean Butler, and Pamela Bob that took place on Saturday, Nov. 22 at 1pm; the world virtual premiere of Little House Homecoming, the new documentary by Jonathan Parker that, to quote Alison, "really gets what Little House means to so many people around the world" (now streaming at LittleHouseHomecoming.com); the huge three-day Little House cast reunion at Strathearn Historical Park in Simi Valley, CA beginning Friday, Dec. 12 thru Sunday, Dec. 14 (click here for tickets and more information); and a joint book signing featuring Alison and Dean Butler that will take place Saturday, Jan. 17 at Chili John's Restaurant in Burbank, CA (for more details, call 818 846-3611 or go to ChiliJohnsofCA.com).

TVC 716.5: From February 2014: Prolific television director Ralph Senensky takes listeners behind the scenes of "Grandma Comes Home," the episode of The Waltons from March 1978 that marked Ellen Geer's return to the series after she had suffered a stroke the year before. Other topics this segment include how Corby and Will Geer were "the salt and pepper of The Waltons," plus Ralph shares a few memories of working with John Ritter, Richard Thomas, Mickey Rooney, and Bill Quinn. Ralph Senensky passed away on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025 at the age of 102.

TVC 716.6: From February 2014: Prolific television director Ralph Senensky talks to Ed about directing Shirley Jones, Ray Bolger, and Rosemary DeCamp in the "Forty-Year Itch" episode of The Partridge Family (ABC, 1970-1974), as well as how he first worked with actress Jennifer Raine at the Pasadena Playhouse. Raine is the mother of Brian Forster, the second actor who played Chris Partridge on The Partridge Family.  

Please enjoy this special preview of our upcoming conversation with Mark Shaw, investigative journalist, former criminal defense attorney, onetime legal analyst for CNN, ESPN, and USA Today, and the author of more than thirty books, including The Reporter Who Knew Too Much: The Mysterious Death of What's My Line TV Star and Media Icon Dorothy Kilgallen. Mark's latest book, Abuse of Power, not only links the death of Dorothy Kilgallen in November 1965 to the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy, but includes new information about the mysterious nature of Kilgallen's demise. Our complete conversation with Mark Shaw airs the weekend of Dec. 5-8.

Please enjoy this special preview of our upcoming conversation with Ellen Geer, daughter of Will Geer and the artistic director of Theatricum Botanicum, the outdoor amphitheatre in Topanga Canyon, California that Will Geer founded in 1973. Theatricum's fifth annual Holiday Family Faire will take place on Saturday, Dec. 13 from 11am to 5pm, followed by a special live production of It's a Wonderful Life featuring Beau Bridges, Wendie Malick, Joe Mantegna beginning at 5pm. Tickets for the live production of It's a Wonderful Life are available as an "add-on" to Faire admission. Please visit Theatricum.com/holiday-family-faire for more information. Our complete conversation with Ellen Geer will air during the weekend of Dec. 5-8. Theatricum Botanicum is located at 1419 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga CA 90290, midway between Pacific Coast Highway and the Ventura Freeway.

TVC 715.1: Ed welcomes back author, essayist, novelist, and TV historian Mitchell Hadley (The Electronic Mirror, ItsAboutTV.com). Mitchell's latest book, Darkness in Primetime: How Classic-Era TV Foresaw Modern Society's Descent into Hell, is a series of essays that shows how certain episodes of such classic series as The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, Star Trek, and The Prisoner, as well as some of the live dramas that originally aired on Studio One, Playhouse 90, and Kraft Television Theatre—all of which were originally written and broadcast in either the 1950s or 1960s—not only envisioned a society of 24/7 surveillance, thought control, disinformation, persecution, and loss of freedom, but portrayed those realities in ways that are disturbingly similar to the world that we currently occupy. Darkness in Primetime is available wherever books are sold through Throckmorton Press and Amazon.com.

TVC 715.2: Mitchell Hadley, author of The Electronic Mirror and Darkness in Primetime, talks to Ed about how "The General," Episode 6 of The Prisoner (ITC, 1967-1968), the classic allegorical series created by Patrick McGoohan, discusses the dangers of rapidly accumulating a vast amount of knowledge—without any understanding of what that knowledge really means. Also in this segment: Mitchell discusses One, the dystopian novel by David Karp from 1953 that Karp subsequently adapted for television in 1955 as an episode of Kraft Television Theatre. Darkness in Primetime is available wherever books are sold through Throckmorton Press and Amazon.com.

TVC 715.3: Ed welcomes Arnie Holland, president and CEO of Lightyear Entertainment, and executive producer of Heaven, the acclaimed feature-length documentary from 1987 that also marked the directorial debut of Academy Award-winning actress Diane Keaton. Recently re-released and digitally remastered, Heaven is a free-wheeling, offbeat pastiche of original interviews by Keaton that, combined with clips from such films as Metropolis, Green Pastures, and Stairway to Heaven and songs like "Endless Love," all explore different ideas of what paradise may have to offer. Heaven is now playing in select theaters across the United States; click here to see if it's coming to a theater near you. Heaven is also available for streaming on demand through Wednesday, Dec. 31; click here for information on how to rent it.

TVC 715.4: Part 2 of a conversation that began last week with Les Lannom, the actor known around the world as Lester Hodges on Harry O (ABC, 1974-1976). Topics this segment include a few behind-the-scenes anecdotes about filming "Mister Five and Dime," Les' favorite episode of Harry O, including a funny story about an ad-lib in a scene near the end of the episode that originated with Les, but which David Janssen appropriated.

TVC 714.5: Actor and musician Les Lannom talks to Ed about learning how to play the bagpipes when he was age forty; why one needs strong stomach muscles and a strong neck to play the bagpipes; the upcoming audiobook project about explorers Lincoln Ellsworth and Raold Amundsen in which Les will provide the voices; and the events leading up to Les' guest appearance on Kung Fu in December 1972—a role led to Les being cast in the first pilot of Harry O in early 1973. Les not only wrote the foreword for The Harry O Viewing Companion by Steve Aldous and Gary Gillies, but contributed many behind-the-scenes anecdotes about production of the series. The Harry O Viewing Companion is available wherever books are sold through McFarland Books.

TVC 714.6: Actor and musician Les Lannom shares a few memories about working with Peter Falk in Columbo Goes to College (ABC, 1990), with James Garner in the miniseries Space (CBS, 1985), with Henry Fonda in the acclaimed made-for-TV movie Gideon's Trumpet (CBS, 1980), and with Dennis Weaver in the epic miniseries Centennial (NBC, 1978-1979).

Please enjoy this special preview of our upcoming conversation with Alison Arngrim (Little House on the Prairie, Confessions of a Prairie Bitch) with news on several events coming up over the next few weeks that will celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the premiere of Little House on the Prairie (NBC, 1974-1983), including a special Live Before a Studio Audience edition of The Little House 50th Anniversary Podcast featuring Alison, Dean Butler, and Pamela Bob that premieres Saturday, Nov. 22 at 1pm ET 10am PT (click here for tickets and more information); the world virtual premiere of Little House Homecoming, the new documentary by Jonathan Parker that, to quote Alison, "really gets what Little House means to so many people around the world" (streaming Wednesday, Nov. 26 at LittleHouseHomecoming.com); and the huge three-day Little House cast reunion at Strathearn Historical Park in Simi Valley, CA beginning Friday, Dec. 12 thru Sunday, Dec. 14 (click here for tickets and more information). Our complete conversation with Alison Arngrim will air during the weekend of Dec. 5-8 on TV Confidential. NOTE. If you purchase a ticket for the Little House live stream event on Saturday, Nov. 22, your link will remain available for thirty days after the event, so you can relive the prairie magic anytime over that thirty-day period.

TVC 714.1: TV Confidential remembers Ralph Senensky, longtime member of the Directors Guild of America and one of the most prolific directors in TV history (particularly when it comes to episodic television) with an encore presentation of a conversation that originally aired in February 2014. Ralph Senensky passed away on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025 at the age of 102. Topics this segment include a look at Ralph's early career in television on such live dramas as Playhouse 90, as well as his work with casting directors Marion Dougherty and John Conwell on shows like Route 66 and Naked City.

TVC 714.2: From February 2014: Prolific television director Ralph Senensky talks to Ed about working with Ralph Waite, Will Geer, Ellen Corby, and Michael Learned on The Waltons, and with Richard Thomas on "Game of Terror," an episode of The FBI that aired in 1971, one year before the premiere of The Waltons. Ralph not only helmed twelve episodes of The Waltons, many of which rank among the very best episodes in the history of that series. Ralph Senensky passed away on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025 at the age of 102.

TVC 714.3: Ed welcomes Les Lannom, the actor known around the world as Lester Hodges on Harry O (ABC, 1974-1976), and a man who has worked with such movie and TV legends as Lee Marvin, Gene Hackman, Henry Fonda, Robert Mitchum, Joe Don Baker, Sissy Spacek, Dennis Weaver, Pat Hingle, James Garner, David Carradine, and David Janssen in the course of his career. Topics this segment include the appeal of the smell of a good pipe, the merits of pipe smoking versus cigar smoking, and the bad experience that Les had while smoking a cigarette in 1971 during production of Prime Cut, his first film credit as an actor.

TVC 714.4: Part 2 of a conversation that began last week with Louise Sorel (Days of Our Lives, Santa Barbara). Louise's new book, If There Were No Dogs: Musings and Mutterings, is a collection of prose pieces and poems drawn from her life, childhood, and career that reveals how Louise navigated a sometimes difficult childhood with emotionally distant parents by discovering the theatre at a young age and through her lifelong love of animals. Topics this segment include the surreal, almost sitcom-like way in which she first met Dame Judith Anderson, one of her co-stars on Santa Barbara (and an accomplished stage actress who was one of Louise's idols long before Santa Barbara); how the works of Shakespeare become easier to understand once you realize that The Bard wrote in language that actors could perform; plus Louise shares a few memories of her marriage to actor Herb Edelman. If There Were No Dogs is available wherever books are sold online through Book Baby and Amazon.com.

TVC 714.5: Les Lannom talks to Ed about how his penchant for performing cold readings stems from his longtime passion for reading out loud; how his youthful appearances has sometimes worked in his favor (and sometimes not); and how a guest appearance on Kung Fu in 1972 not only put him on the radar of producers Jerry Thorpe, Alex Beaton, and Robert Dozier, but paved the way for his being cast in Such Dust as Dreams Are Made Of, the first pilot for Harry O.

TVC 714.5: Les Lannom talks to Ed about how he and David Janssen bonded almost immediately when they worked together on Harry O, partly because they shared an ability to laugh at themselves and not take themselves too seriously. Les not only wrote the foreword for The Harry O Viewing Companion by Steve Aldous and Gary Gillies, but contributed many behind-the-scenes anecdotes about production of the series. The Harry O Viewing Companion is available wherever books are sold through McFarland Books.

TVC 713.1: TV Confidential remembers June Lockhart (Lassie, Petticoat Junction, Lost in Space) with an encore presentation of our conversation from June 2014 with the beloved actress. June Lockhart passed away on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025 at the age of 100. At the time we spoke to June in June 2014, she had just been honored by NASA with its Exceptional Public Achievement Medal for inspiring the public about space exploration. Topics this segment include June's longtime interest in both space travel and air flight; the back story of the famous TV Guide cover from September 1965 featuring June and Guy Williams; plus June shares a few memories of working with Edgar Buchanan on Petticoat Junction and with Jon Provost on Lassie.

TVC 713.2: From June 2014: June Lockhart talks to Ed about some of the many TV game shows on which she appeared throughout her career, including Who Said That? (NBC, 1948-1955), a show that also began June's long association with the White House press corps, and Take My Word For It (Synd., 1982-1983), a show hosted by Jim Lange that was filmed at the studios of KGO-TV in San Francisco. June Lockhart passed away on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025 at the age of 100.

TVC 713.2a: From November 2015: Tony, Donna, and Ed remember the premiere of F Troop (ABC, 1965-1967) in September 1965. Topics this segment include how the influence of Buster Keaton can be seen in many of the pratfalls that Ken Berry performed when he played Captain Parmenter on F Troop; the on-screen chemistry between Forrest Tucker and Larry Storch, and how they recaptured that ten years later, when they starred in the Saturday morning series The Ghost Busters (CBS, 1975-1976); and how the switch to color in F Troop's second season may have hurt the series.

TVC 713.3: As long as we're in an F Troop frame of mind, we thought we'd bring you an encore presentation of our conversation with Ken Berry (F Troop, Mayberry, R.F.D., Mama's Family) from January 2018. Topics this segment include the role that Leonard Nimoy played early in Berry's career, and how Ken learned both how to be a straight man and how to deliver a punch line when he worked with Abbott and Costello in Las Vegas in the early 1950s. Ken Berry passed away on Dec. 1, 2018. Our conversation with Ken was one of the last, if not the last, interviews he ever gave.

TVC 713.4: From January 2018: Ken Berry talks to Ed about his early years as a dancer with the Billy Barnes Revue; his friendship with Buster Keaton (not to mention the major influence the silent film star had on his career); and the important role that Carol Burnett played throughout Ken's career. Ken Berry passed away on Dec. 1, 2018. Our conversation with Ken was one of the last, if not the last, interviews he ever gave.

TVC 713.5: Ed welcomes back actress and author Louise Sorel (Days of Our Lives, Santa Barbara). Louise's new book, If There Were No Dogs: Musings and Mutterings, is a collection of prose pieces and poems drawn from her life, childhood, and career that not only shares memories of her working with Art Carney, Charles Boyer, George C. Scott, Walter Pidgeon, Rita Moreno, Dame Judith Anderson, Don Rickles, and many others, but reveals how Louise navigated a sometimes difficult childhood with emotionally distant parents by discovering the theatre at a young age and through her lifelong love of animals. Topics this segment include the unlikely assist that Louise received from her father, film producer Albert Cohen, shortly after she had moved to New York at age twenty to study acting at the venerable Neighborhood Playhouse. If There Were No Dogs is available wherever books are sold online through Book Baby and Amazon.com. Louise Sorel is scheduled to appear at United Solo, the world's largest solo theatre festival, in New York City on Saturday, Nov. 15 beginning at 2pm. She'll read passages from If There Were No Dogs, followed by a Q&A session. Click here for tickets and more details.

TVC 713.5: Louise Sorel (Days of Our Lives, Santa Barbara) talks to Ed about why she enjoys writing about some of the many canine companions she has had in her life, including a poem that she once wrote from the point of view of her dog Jiggs. Louise's new book, If There Were No Dogs: Musings and Mutterings, is available wherever books are sold online through Book Baby and Amazon.com. Louise Sorel will read passages from If There Were No Dogs at United Solo, the world's largest solo theatre festival, in New York City on Saturday, Nov. 15 beginning at 2pm. Click here for tickets and more details.

TVC 712.1: From January 2013: Phil Gries joins Ed for a special edition of The Sounds of Lost Television honoring John Zacherle, the popular New York TV personality known as The Cool Ghoul. At a time when horror movies were a staple of local late-night television, Zacherley set himself apart from his contemporaries with an array of zany antics that were usually far more entertaining than the films he introduced, including sound effects, props, and cleverly inserting himself into the movie (usually just before the cutaway to a commercial). Topics this segment include Zacherle's start hosting horror movies in Philadelphia (where his on-screen persona was known as "Roland"); how Zacherle adapted his onscreen persona on WABC-TV in New York from an undertaker character he'd played on Action in the Afternoon, a daily Western soap opera that aired on WCAU-TV in Philadelphia in 1953; and Phil's own association with Zacherle, which lasted many years.

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.