Podcasts about Fred Astaire

The Bandwagon (1953) / Baron Blood (1972) This week we're checking our blind spots as we dance with Fred Astaire and resurrect the dead with Mario Bava

As always there are spoilers ahead! You can follow the podcast on social media on Threads, Instagram and Bluesky.  If you would like to be a patron of the podcast you can join Patreon and for £3 or $3 a month you can get ad free version of the show. https://www.patreon.com/everyscififilm  In 1959 at the cusp of a new and exciting decade Richard Condon wrote a book that is largely described as a political thriller. And it is a political thriller. But it also fits neatly into my concept of science fiction. To learn more about what is and isn't science fiction you can head to the heady days of the first episode where the topic is discussed with science fiction scholars Lisa Yaszek and Glyn Morgan. (Please do excuse the fear in my eyes.) Just a few years later a film was made by John Frankenheimer, starring Fred Astaire, Janet Leigh and a brilliant and manipulative Angela Lansbury. The 1960s USA is in peak cold war fears, and the CIA is undertaking covert operations of their own, with the MKUltra programme, testing on humans to discover whether they can be manipulated and brainwashed. Although this film continues many themes from the 1950s it is definitely a product of the new age as culture shifts and a new batch of Hollywood directors take cinema in a different direction. I am lucky to have two brilliant guests to talk us through the themes and context of this film. Ian Scott is a Professor of American Film and History at The University of Manchester. He has written extensively about politics and film in Hollywood including the book American Politics in Hollywood Film. Sherryl Vint is Professor of Science Fiction Media Studies at the University of California, Riverside. She has written/edited many books about science fiction. Chapters 00:00 Introduction 02:23 New Hollywood Directors 04:57 Richard Condon's novel 07:00 Mind control in science fiction 09:40 Cold War in the Far East 16:57 The brilliant brainwashing scene 25:28 Raymond Shaw the unlikely hero 29:17 Frank Sinatra as Marco 33:17 Angela Lansbury as Eleanor 37:54 Janet Leigh 44:04Eisenhower and the legacy of conspiracy films 48:31 The remake 52:29 Recommendations   The recommendations this week are the films Suddenly (1954) and Seconds (1966). I will be covering Seconds in the near future so you can get ahead by watching it if you like!   NEXT EPISODE! Next episode we will be discussing the Roger Corman film X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes from 1963 starring Ray Milland. DVDs of the film are available but it is also available to rent and watch online on Apple TV and many other platforms. You can check the Just Watch website to see where it is available in your region.      

Petula Clark has been famous since she was a child, when she was discovered on a wartime BBC radio show, and she has been on the radio, film and television ever since. In this episode she talks to Gyles about her remarkable and long career, about what it was like to grow up as a child star and about her complex relationship with her father. She talks about finding fame in France, and about Downtown, Don't Sleep in the Subway and working with Fred Astaire. She talks about her mother's early death from tuberculosis, and the death last year of her husband, Claude Wolff. This is a fascinating, poignant and intriguing conversation with one of our most enduring stars. Petula Clark's new book, "Is That You, Petula?" is out now and available here. Thank you Petula for taking the time to talk to us at Rosebud. Cue the music. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this impactful and inspiring episode of Unstoppable Mindset, host Michael Hingson sits down with Ronald Cocking—performer, educator, and co-founder of the Looking Glass Studio of Performing Arts—to reflect on a remarkable life shaped by rhythm, resilience, and love. Ron's journey into the performing arts began at just five years old, when his passion for tap dance ignited a lifelong commitment to dance and musical theater. From his first professional role at age 15 in My Fair Lady to founding one of Southern California's most impactful arts schools, Ron's story is one of dedication, creativity, and community.   But perhaps the most moving part of Ron's story is his 49-year partnership—both personal and professional—with the late Gloria McMillan, best known as Harriet Conklin from Our Miss Brooks. Together, they created a legacy of mentorship through the Looking Glass Studio, where they taught thousands of students across generations—not just how to act, sing, or dance, but how to live with confidence and integrity.   Ron also reflects on the legacy Gloria left behind, his continued involvement in the arts, and the words of wisdom that guide his life:   “Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” “To find happiness, take the gifts God has given you and give them away.”   This is more than a story of a career in the arts—it's a touching tribute to passion, partnership, and purpose that will leave you inspired.   Highlights:   00:48 – Hear how early radio at home shaped a lifetime love for performance. 03:00 – Discover why drumming and tap both trained his ear for rhythm. 06:12 – Learn how a tough studio change led to ballet, jazz, and tumbling basics. 08:21 – See the “sing with your feet” method that makes tap click for students. 10:44 – Find out how a teen chorus role in My Fair Lady opened pro doors. 13:19 – Explore the drum-and-tap crossover he performed with Leslie Uggams. 15:39 – Learn how meeting Gloria led to a studio launched for $800. 18:58 – Get the long view on running a school for 44 years with family involved. 23:46 – Understand how Our Miss Brooks moved from radio to TV with its cast intact. 32:36 – See how 42nd Street proves the chorus can be the star. 41:51 – Hear why impact matters more than fame when students build careers. 43:16 – Learn what it takes to blend art and business without losing heart. 45:47 – Compare notes on marriage, teamwork, and communication that lasts. 48:20 – Enjoy a rare soft-shoe moment Ron and Gloria performed together. 56:38 – Take away the “teach to fish” approach that builds lifelong confidence.   About the Guest:   My father was a trumpet player, thus I heard music at home often in the early 50's and was always impressed and entertained by the rhythms and beats of Big Band music… especially the drummers.  Each time I would see Tap dancers on TV, I was glued to the screen.  It fascinated me the way Tap dancers could create such music with their feet!   In 1954, at age 5, after begging my Mom and Dad to enroll me in a Tap class, my Dad walked in from work and said “Well, you're all signed up, and your first Tap class is next Tuesday.  I was thrilled and continued studying tap and many other dance forms and performing and teaching dance for all of my life.     In my mid teens, I became serious about dancing as a possible career.  After seeing my first musical, “The Pajama Game” starring Ruth Lee, I new I wanted to do musical theatre.  I got my first professional opportunity at age 15 in “My Fair Lady” for the San Bernardino Civic Light Opera Association and loved every minute of it… and would continue performing for this organization well into my 30's   I met Gloria McMillan in the late 60's while choreographing a summer musical for children.  Gloria's daughter was doing the role of Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz”.  Then, about 3 or 4 years later I would meet Gloria again and the sparks flew.  And, yes, she was Gloria McMillan of “Our Miss Brooks” fame on both radio and television.  Wow, was I blessed to have crossed paths with her.  We shared our lives together for 49 years.   On November 4, 1974, Gloria and I opened a performing arts school together named “The Looking Glass Studio of Performing Arts”.  We would teach and manage the school together for 44 years until we retired on June 30, 2018.  We moved to Huntington Beach, California and spent 3 beautiful years together until she left to meet our Lord in heaven on January 19, 2022.   Ways to connect with Ron:   Lgsparon@aol.com     About the Host:   Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.   Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.   https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/   accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/       Thanks for listening!   Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!   Subscribe to the podcast   If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset .   Leave us an Apple Podcasts review   Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.       Transcription Notes:   Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 01:20 Well, hi there, wherever you are and wherever you happen to be today. Welcome to unstoppable mindset. I'm your host, Mike hingson, and today we get to chat with Ron Cocking, who is Ron. Well, we're going to find out over the next hour. And Ron was married for many years to another person who is very famous, and we'll get to that, probably not as well known to what I would probably describe as the younger generation, but you're going to get to learn a lot about Ron and his late wife before we're done, and I am sure we're going to have a lot of fun doing it. So let's get to it. Ron, welcome to unstoppable mindset. We're glad you're here.   Ron Cocking ** 01:59 Thank you. I'm so glad to be here. Michael, this. I've been looking forward to this.   Michael Hingson ** 02:04 I have been as well, and we're going to have a lot of fun doing it.   Ron Cocking ** 02:08 Do you one note on that last name? It is cocking. Cocking, he comes right? Comes from a little townlet in the coal mining country of England called Cockington.   Michael Hingson ** 02:20 I don't know why I keep saying that, but yeah, cocky, no   02:23 problem.   Michael Hingson ** 02:24 Well, do you go up to the reps recreations at all?   Ron Cocking ** 02:28 Oh my gosh, Gloria. And I know you and Gloria, did do you still do it? I've it's on my schedule for September.   Michael Hingson ** 02:35 I'm gonna miss it this year. I've got a speech to give. So I was going to be playing Richard diamond at recreation. Well, I'll have to be Dick Powell another time, but I thought that you you were still doing   02:50 it. I'm planning on it cool.   Michael Hingson ** 02:53 Well, tell us about the early Ron cocking and kind of growing up in some of that stuff. Let's start with that.   Ron Cocking ** 02:59 Well, the early part of my story was when I was born just a little before television came in, before everyone had a TV in their home. How old are you now? If I maybe, you know, I am now 76   Michael Hingson ** 03:12 Okay, that's what I thought. Yeah, you're one year ahead of me. I'm 75   Ron Cocking ** 03:16 I was born in 49 and so my earliest remembrances my mom and dad and my brother and I lived with our grandfather, and we had no television, but we had this big it must have been about three to four foot tall, this big box on the floor in a very prominent spot in the living room. And that was the Sunday afternoon entertainment. I remember my family sitting around, and I listened and I laughed when they did, but I had no idea what was going on, but that was the family gathering. And just, I know we'll talk about it later, but I I just have this notion that at that time I was laughing, not knowing what I was laughing at, but I bet I was laughing at my future   Michael Hingson ** 04:02 wife, yes, yes, but other things as well. I mean, you probably laughed at Jack Benny and Amos and Andy and   Ron Cocking ** 04:09 yeah, I remember listening to all those folks, and it was just amazing. Then when television came about and my father was a trumpet player, and I loved his trumpet playing, and he practiced often at home. He would sit in his easy chair and play some tunes and scales and that sort of thing. But what captured my ear and my eyes when I went to on rare occasions when I could go to his engagements, it was always the drummer that just stuck out to me. I was mesmerized by the rhythms that they could produce. And when TV came about, I remember the old variety shows, and they often would have tap dancers like. Had a stair gene, Kelly, Peg Leg Bates and the Nicholas brothers, and I just, I was just taken back by the rhythms. It sounded like music to me. The rhythms just made me want to do it. And so I started putting that bug in my parents ears. And I waited and waited. I wanted to take tap dance lessons. And one day, my dad walks in the back door, and I said, Dad, have you signed me up yet? And he said, Yep, you start next Tuesday at 330 in the afternoon. So I was overjoyed, and I went in for my first lesson. And mind you, this was a private tap class. Total Cost of $1.25 and we had a pianist for music, no record player, live piano, wow. And so I, I rapidly fell in love with tap dance.   Michael Hingson ** 05:56 And so you did that when you weren't in school. Presumably, you did go to school.   Ron Cocking ** 06:00 Oh, yeah, I did go to school. Yeah, I did well in school, and I enjoyed school. I did all the athletics. I played little league, and eventually would be a tennis player and water polo and all that stuff. But all through the years, after school was on the way to the dance classes.   Michael Hingson ** 06:16 So you graduated, or I suppose I don't want to insult drumming, but you graduated from drumming to tap dancing, huh?   Ron Cocking ** 06:24 Well, I kept doing them both together. I would dance, and then when my dad would practice, I would beg him to just play a tune like the St Louis Blues, yeah, and so that I could keep time, so I pulled a little stool up in front of an easy chair, and one of the arms of the chair was the ride cymbal, and the other one was the crash cymbal, and the seat of the chair was my snare drum. I would play along with him. And eventually he got tired of that and bought a Hi Fi for my brother and I, and in the bedroom I had a Hi Fi, and I started to put together a set of drums, and I spent hours next to that, Hi Fi, banging on the drums, and I remember it made me feel good. One day, my mom finally said to me, you know, you're starting to sound pretty good, and that that was a landmark for me. I thought, wow, somebody is enjoying my drumming,   Michael Hingson ** 07:18 but you couldn't do drumming and tap dancing at the same time. That would have been a little bit of a challenge. A challenge.   Ron Cocking ** 07:23 No, I would practice that the drums in the afternoon and then head for the dance studio later. And in this case, I was a local boy. I grew up in Riverside California, and my first tap teacher was literally maybe two miles from our house. But that didn't last long. She got married and became pregnant and closed her studio, and then I she recommended that I go see this teacher in San Bernardino by the name of Vera Lynn. And which I did, I remember walking into this gigantic classroom with a bunch of really tall kids, and I was maybe seven or eight years old, and I guess it was kind of an audition class, but after that evening, I she put me in the most appropriate classes, one of which was ballet, which I wasn't too excited about, but they all told me, If you're going to be a serious dancer, even a tap dancer, you need to get the basic body placement from ballet classes. And I said, Well, I am not going to put any tights and a T shirt on. But they finally got me to do that because they told me that the Rams football team took ballet class twice a week at that time. Ah. Said, no kidding. So they got me, they they got you. They got me into ballet class, and then it was jazz, and then it was tumbling, and so I did it all.   Michael Hingson ** 08:43 I remember when we moved to California when I was five, and probably when I was about eight or nine, my brother and I were enrolled by my mother. I guess my parents enrolled us in a dance class. So I took dance class for a few years. I learned something about dancing. I did have a pair of tap shoes, although I didn't do a lot of it, but I, but I did dance and never, never really pursued it enough to become a Gene Kelly or Fred Astaire. Well, few of us do. I didn't dislike it. It just didn't happen. But that was okay, but it was fun to, you know, to do it and to learn something about that. And so I even today, I I remember it, and I appreciate it. So that's pretty cool.   Ron Cocking ** 09:32 Well, you would understand what I always told my students, that tap dancing is like singing a song with your feet. Yeah. And I would sing, I would say, you all know, happy birthday, right? So I would sing it, and they would sing it along, and then I'd said, then I would sing it again, and I would sing it totally out of rhythm. And they would wrinkle their nose and look at me and say, okay, so what are you doing? And I'd say, Well, you don't recognize it because the rhythm is not correct. So then I would. Would tap dance Happy birthday, and I'd say, you sing along in your mind and I'm going to tap dance it. And that would always ring a bell in their mind, like, Oh, I get it. The rhythm has to be right on the button, or the people aren't going to recognize   Michael Hingson ** 10:16 that was very clever to do.   Ron Cocking ** 10:18 Yeah, thank you. And they got it, yeah, they got it, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 10:22 which is even, even more important. That's pretty clever. Well, so you did that, and did you do it all the way through high school,   Ron Cocking ** 10:30 all the way through high school? And I think when I was 15, I was, I think I was in the eighth grade, maybe ninth, but I was 15 and got my first chance to I was cast in a professional show for San Bernardino civic light opera Association. And the show was My Fair Lady, and it was my English and journalism teacher at the junior high who had been cast. He was a performer also, but something came up and he couldn't follow through, so he had given the association my name, and I was out in the backyard. My mom came out. Said, Hey, San Bernardino clo just called and they want, they want to see it tonight at seven o'clock. So I put on my dance clothes and went over, and the director, by the name of Gosh, Gene Bayless, came out, and he showed me a couple of steps. And he said, Yeah, let's do it together. And he said, Boy, you unscramble your feet pretty well there kid. And he he looked over into the costumers and said, measure this guy. Let's put him in the show. So I was beside myself. And long story short, I Gosh, I'm over the over the years, I my first show was at age 15 with them, and I participated, did shows with them, until I think my last show, I was about 38 years old, and that last show was anything goes with Leslie uggums, wow.   Michael Hingson ** 11:52 So what part did you play on my fair lady?   Ron Cocking ** 11:55 I was just a chorus kid. I remember in the opening when Eliza sings, that wouldn't it be lovely? Wouldn't it be lovely? I was a street sweeper. I remember I had a broom, and there were three of us, and we were sweeping up that street and working in and around. Eliza Doolittle, of   Michael Hingson ** 12:11 course, being really spiteful. You just said a little while ago, you were beside yourself. And the thing that I got to say to that, quoting the Muppets, is, how do the two of you stand each other? But anyway, that's okay, good in the original Muppet Movie, that line is in there. And I it just came out so fast, but I heard it. I was going, Oh my gosh. I couldn't believe they did that. But anyway, it was so cute, very funny. That's great. So and then you were, you eventually were opposite Leslie UB,   Ron Cocking ** 12:39 yes, that was one of the high points talking about dancing and drumming at the same time. In fact, I used to give a drum a basic drum summer camp where I would teach tappers the basics of music notation, quarter notes, eighth notes, 16th notes. And then we would put a tap orchestra together. Everybody had their own music stand and their own drum pad. I would conduct, and we would play little pieces, and they would they would drum a rhythm, tap, a rhythm, drum, a rhythm, tap, a rhythm. And so anyway, it came full circle. One of the highlights of my dance slash drumming career was this show I did with Leslie uggums, the director had done this prior, and he knew it would work, and so so did the conductor in the entre Act. The top of the second act, the pit orchestra starts and plays like eight measures. And then there were six of us on stage, behind the main curtain, and we would play the next 16 bars, and then we would toss it back to the pit, and then toss it back to us, and the curtain would begin to rise, and we were right into the first song that Leslie uggums sang to get into the second act. Then she wanted to add a couple of songs that she liked, and she was very popular in with the audiences in San Bernardino, so she added a couple of songs, and I got to play those songs with her and and that was just so thrilling. And I with the scene finished, I had to have my tap shoes on, on the drum set. I had to hop down from the riser, and came out, brought one of my Toms with me, and played along with another featured tap dancer that kind of took over the scene at that point. So it was, it was really cool.   Michael Hingson ** 14:31 So with all this drumming, did you ever meet anyone like buddy rip?   Ron Cocking ** 14:35 No, I never met any famous drummers except a man by the name of Jack Sperling, which was one of my drumming idols,   Michael Hingson ** 14:44 Donnie Carson was quite the drummer, as I recall,   Ron Cocking ** 14:48 yeah, he did play yeah and boy, his his drummer, Ed Shaughnessy on his on The Tonight Show was phenomenal. Yeah, he's another of my favorites, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 14:57 well, and I remember. I guess Johnny Carson and Buddy Rich played together, which was kind of fun. They   Ron Cocking ** 15:07 played together, and so did Ed Shaughnessy and Buddy Rich did a little competition on the show one time I realized, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 15:15 right, yeah. Well, and it's interesting to see some of the performers do that. I remember once trying to remember whether what show it was on, maybe it was also a Tonight Show where Steve Martin substituted for Johnny, but he and the steel Canyon, the Steve Canyon band, came out. Of course, he was great on the band, and then flat and Scruggs or flat came out. Or which one? Yeah, which one did the banjo flat, I think, but they, but they banjo together, which was fun?   Ron Cocking ** 15:51 Oh, wow, yeah, yeah. Steve Martin is a tremendous band. He is, Whoa, yeah. I,   Michael Hingson ** 15:56 I have a hard time imagining fingers moving that fast, but that's okay, me too. I saved my fingers for Braille, so it's okay. So where did you go to college?   Ron Cocking ** 16:07 I went to for two years to Riverside City College, Riverside Community College, and then I went for two years to San Bernardino Cal State, San Bernardino, and I was majoring in English because I thought I may want to do some writing. But in the meantime, I became married, I became a father, and so I was trying to work and study and maintain a family life, and I just couldn't do it all. So I didn't quite finish a major at Cal State San Bernardino. I continued actually a nightclub drumming career. And now, now we're getting up to where this our performing arts studio began between Gloria and I.   Michael Hingson ** 16:50 So was it? GLORIA? You married first?   Ron Cocking ** 16:53 No, okay, no, Gloria was married. Gloria was a prior, prior marriage for 20 some years, or 20 years, I guess. And I had been married only two years, I think. And when we first, well, we actually met while we were both. I'll tell you the story in a minute, if you want to hear it. Sure, the first time I ever met Gloria Macmillan, I had no idea who she was, because she her name was Gloria Allen at the time that was, that was her married name that she took after the arm is Brooks TV show. Well, she took that the new name before the TV show even ended. But I was choreographing a children's summer musical, and the director came up said, hey, I want you to meet this young lady's mom. So the young lady was Gloria's daughter, her oldest daughter, Janet. And I said, Sure. So he said, This is Gloria. Allen, Gloria, this is Ron. And we shook hands, and I said, Nice to meet you. And that was it. And so the show happened. It ran for a couple of weeks, and Gloria was a wonderful stage mom. She she never bothered anyone. She watched the show. She was very supportive of her daughter. Didn't, didn't stage manage   Michael Hingson ** 18:09 whatsoever, which wasn't a helicopter mom, which is good,   Ron Cocking ** 18:12 definitely that, which was just really cool. So and so I was maybe three, four years later, so Gloria obviously knew that I could dance, because she had seen me choreographed. So I got a phone call from Gloria Allen, and I said, Okay, I remember her. She wanted to meet because she was thinking about starting an acting school and wanted someone to teach actors some dance movement. So I went over for a interview and took my little at that time, about two and a half year old, daughter, three year old, and we chatted, and oh my gosh, I just this, this beautiful woman swept me off my feet. And of course, I by the end of the conversation, I said, Gosh, you know, we talked about how we would integrate the acting and the dance, and I said, Can I have your phone number? Nope, I got the old well, we'll call you. Don't call us. And so I had to wait for a few days before I got a call back, but I got a call back, and I don't remember a lot of details, but the sparks flew really, really quickly, and we started planning our school. And if you can believe that this was 1973 when we started planning, maybe it was early 74 and we invested a whole total of $800 to get ourselves into business. We bought a record player, some mirrors, some paint, and a business license and a little shingle to hang out front. We had a little one room studio, and we. Opened on November 4, 1974 and we would close the studio on June 30, 2018 Wow.   Michael Hingson ** 20:08 Yeah. So you, you had it going for quite a while, almost, well, actually, more than 40 years. 44 years. 44 years, yes. And you got married along the way.   Ron Cocking ** 20:20 Well along the way, my my wife always said she fell in love with my daughter, and then she had to take me along with her. Yeah. Well, there you go. So we were together constantly, just running the school together. And then eventually I moved over to San Bernardino, and it was, gosh, some 1213, years later, we got married in on June 28 1987 and but nothing really changed, because we had already been living together and raising five children. GLORIA had four from a private prior marriage, and I had my little girl. So we we got all these five kids through elementary and junior high in high school, and they all went to college. And they're all beautiful kids and productive citizens, two of them still in show biz. Her son, my stepson, Christopher Allen, is a successful producer now and of Broadway shows. And our daughter, Barbara Bermudez, the baby that Gloria fell in love with. She's now a producer slash stage manager director. She does really well at big events with keynote speakers. And she'll, if they want her to, she will hire in everything from lighting and sound to extra performers and that sort of thing. And she's, she's just busy constantly all over the world, wow.   Michael Hingson ** 21:43 Well, that's pretty cool. And what are the other three doing?   Ron Cocking ** 21:47 One is a VP of Sales for it's a tub and shower company, jacuzzi, and the other one is a married housewife, but now she is a grandmother and has two little grandkids, and they that's Janet, the one that I originally had worked with in that children's show. And she and her husband live in Chino Hills, California, which is about 40 minutes from here. I live in Huntington Beach, California now,   Michael Hingson ** 22:14 well, and I'm not all that far away from you. We're in Victorville. Oh, Victorville, okay, yeah, the high desert. So the next time you go to Vegas, stop by on your way, I'll do that, since that's mainly what Victorville is probably most known for. I remember when I was growing I grew up in Palmdale, and Palmdale wasn't very large. It only had like about 20 703,000 people. But as I described it to people, Victorville wasn't even a speck on a radar scope compared to Palmdale at that time. Yeah, my gosh, are over 120,000 people in this town?   Ron Cocking ** 22:51 Oh, I remember the drive in the early days from here to Vegas in that you really felt like you could get out on the road all alone and relax and take it all in, and now it can be trafficking all all the   Speaker 1 ** 23:04 way. Yeah, it's crazy. I don't know. I still think they need to do something to put some sort of additional infrastructure, and there's got to be another way to get people to Vegas and back without going on i 15, because it is so crowded, especially around holidays, that one of these days, somebody will get creative. Maybe they'll get one of Tesla's tunnel boring tools, and they'll make a tunnel, and you can go underground the whole way, I don't know,   Ron Cocking ** 23:32 but that would be, that would be great. Something like that would happen.   Michael Hingson ** 23:38 Well, so you you started the school and and that did, pretty cool. Did, did Gloria do any more acting after our Miss Brooks? And then we should explain our Miss Brooks is a show that started on radio. Yes, it went on to television, and it was an arm is Brooks. Miss Brooks played by e vardin. Was a teacher at Madison High, and the principal was Osgood Conklin, played by Gail Gordon, who was absolutely perfect for the part. He was a crotchety old curmudgeon by any standards. And Gloria played his daughter, Harriet correct. And so when it went from radio to television, one of the things that strikes me about armas Brooks and a couple of those shows, burns and Allen, I think, is sort of the same. Jack Benny was a little different. But especially armas Brooks, it just seems to me like they they took the radio shows and all they did was, did the same shows. They weren't always the same plots, but it was, it was radio on television. So you, you had the same dialog. It was really easy for me to follow, and it was, was fascinating, because it was just like the radio shows, except they were on television.   Ron Cocking ** 24:56 Yeah, pretty much. In fact, there were a lot, there's lots of episodes. Episodes that are even named the same name as they had on the radio, and they're just have to be reworked for for the television screen,   Michael Hingson ** 25:08 yeah, but the the dialog was the same, which was so great,   Ron Cocking ** 25:13 yeah, yeah. And to see what was I going to add, it was our Miss Brooks was one of the very few radio shows that made the transition to television with the cast with the same intact. Yeah, everybody looked like they sounded. So it worked when they were in front of the camera. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 25:33 it sort of worked with Jack Benny, because most of the well, all the characters were in it, Don Wilson, Mary, Livingston, Dennis day, Rochester, world, yeah. And of course, Mel Blanc, yeah, oh.   Ron Cocking ** 25:49 GLORIA tells a story. She she and her mom, Hazel, were walking down the street on the way to do a radio show in the old days in Hollywood, and here comes Mel blank, he says, he pulls over. Says, Hey, where are you girls headed because I know that he probably recognized them from being at at CBS all the time, and they said, We're headed to CBS. He said, hop in. Oh, that's where I'm going. So Mel Brooks gave her a ride to the Mel Blanc, yeah, would have been   Michael Hingson ** 26:15 fun if Mel Brooks had but that's okay, Young Frankenstein, but that's another story. It is. But that's that's cool. So did they ever? Did she ever see him any other times? Or was that it?   Ron Cocking ** 26:30 No, I think that was it. That's the one story that she has where Mel Blanc is involved.   Michael Hingson ** 26:36 What a character, though. And of course, he was the man of a million voices, and it was just incredible doing I actually saw a couple Jack Benny shows this morning and yesterday. One yesterday, he was Professor LeBlanc teaching Jack Benny how to play the violin, which was a lost cause.   Ron Cocking ** 26:59 Actually, Jack Benny was not a bad view. No,   Michael Hingson ** 27:01 he wasn't violent. No, he wasn't. He had a lot of fun with it, and that stick went straight in from radio to television, and worked really well, and people loved it, and you knew what was going to happen, but it didn't matter. But it was still   Ron Cocking ** 27:16 funny, and I'm sure during the transition they there was a little bit of panic in the writers department, like, okay, what are we going to do? We got to come up with a few shows. We got to get ahead a little bit. So the writing being just a little different, I'm sure that's part of the reason why they went back and kind of leaned on the old, old script somewhat, until they kind of cut their teeth on the new this new thing called television   Michael Hingson ** 27:39 well, but they still kept a lot of the same routines in one way or another.   Ron Cocking ** 27:45 Yeah, when they work, they work, whether you're just listening or whether you're watching,   Michael Hingson ** 27:48 right, exactly what other shows made it from radio to television with the cast   Ron Cocking ** 27:53 intact? You know, I am not up on that number. I   Michael Hingson ** 27:57 know there were a couple that did. RMS, Brooks was, well, oh no, I was gonna say Abbott and Costello, but that was different, but our Miss Brooks certainly did. If   Ron Cocking ** 28:09 the Bickersons did, I forget the two actors that did that show, but that was a really, Francis   Michael Hingson ** 28:13 Langford and Donna Michi could be, but I think burns and Allen, I think, kept the same people as much as there were. Harry bonzell was still with them, and so on. But it was interesting to see those. And I'm awake early enough in the morning, just because it's a good time to get up, and I get and be real lazy and go slowly to breakfast and all that. But I watched the Benny show, and occasionally before it, I'll watch the burns and Allen show. And I think that the plots weren't as similar from radio to television on the burns and Allen show as they weren't necessarily in the Benny show, but, but it all worked.   Ron Cocking ** 28:58 Yeah, yeah. That's why they were on the air for so long?   Michael Hingson ** 29:02 Yeah, so what other kind of acting did Gloria do once? So you guys started the school   Ron Cocking ** 29:10 well after she well, when we started the school, we found ourselves, you know, raising five children. And so I continued playing nightclub gigs. I had one, one nightclub job for like, five years in a row with two wonderful, wonderful musicians that were like fathers to me. And Gloria actually went to work for her brother in law, and she became a salesperson, and eventually the VP of Sales for a fiberglass tub and shower business down here in Santa Ana. So she drove that 91 freeway from San Bernardino, Santa Ana, all the time. But in,   Michael Hingson ** 29:47 yeah, you could do it back then, much more than now. It was a little better   Ron Cocking ** 29:51 and but in, but twist in between, she managed. Her mom still did a little bit of agency. And she would call Gloria and say. Want you to go see so and so. She did an episode of perfect strangers. She did an episode with Elliot of the guy that played Elliot Ness, stack the show Robert Stack the show was called Help Wanted no see. I guess that was an in but wanted, anyway, she did that. She did a movie with Bruce Dern and Melanie Griffith called Smile. And so she kept, she kept her foot in the door, but, but not, not all that much she she really enjoyed when John Wilder, one of her childhood acting buddies, who she called her brother, and he still calls her sis, or he would call her sis, still. His name was Johnny McGovern when he was a child actor, and when he decided to try some movie work, he there was another Johnny McGovern in Screen Actors Guild, so he had to change his name to John Wyler, but he did that mini series called centennial, and he wanted Gloria for a specific role, to play a German lady opposite the football player Alex Karras. And they had a couple of really nice scenes together. I think she was in three, maybe four of the segments. And there were many segments, it was like a who's who in Hollywood, the cast of that show   Michael Hingson ** 31:28 does that was pretty cool.   Ron Cocking ** 31:32 But anyway, yeah, after Gloria finished armas Brooks, she became married to Gilbert Allen, who, who then became a Presbyterian minister. So Gloria, when you said, Did she continue acting? There's a lot of acting that goes on being a minister and being a minister's wife, and she would put together weddings for people, and that sort of thing. And she did that for 20 years. Wow. So she Gloria was a phenomenon. She did so many things. And she did them all so very well, in my   Speaker 1 ** 32:04 opinion. And so did you? Yeah, which is, which is really cool. So you, but you, you both started the school, and that really became your life's passion for 44 years. Yes,   Ron Cocking ** 32:16 we would get up in the mornings, go do a little business, come home, have a little lunch, go back about 132 o'clock, and we would normally crank up about four after the kids get out of school, and we would teach from four to nine, sometimes to 10. Go out, have some dinner. So yeah, we pretty much 24/7 and we had had such similar backgrounds. Hers on a national radio and television scale, and mine on a much more local, civic light opera scale. But we both had similar relations with our our moms after after the radio tapings and the TV things. GLORIA And her mom. They lived in Beverly Hills, right at Wilshire and Doheny, and they had their favorite chocolate and ice cream stops. And same thing for me, my mom would take me there, two doors down from the little studio where I was taking my tap classes. There was an ice cream parlor, haywoods ice cream. And that was, that was the the lure, if you go in and if you do your practicing, Ronnie, you can, I'll take it for an ice cream so that I did my practicing, had plenty of little treats on the way, so we had that in common, and we both just had very supportive moms that stayed out of the way, not, not what I would call a pushy parent, or, I think you mentioned the helicopter, helicopter, but it   Michael Hingson ** 33:37 but it sounds like you didn't necessarily need the bribes to convince you to tap dance, as you know, anyway, but they didn't hurt.   Ron Cocking ** 33:46 No, it didn't hurt at all, and it was something to look forward to, but I I just enjoyed it all along. Anyway, I finally got to to really showcase what I could do when I was cast as the dance director in the show 42nd street. Oh, wow. And I was lucky. We were lucky. San Bernardino clo was able to hire John Engstrom, who had done the show on Broadway. The earlier version that came, I think it was on Broadway in the mid or to late 70s. He had worked side by side with Gower Champion putting the show together. He told us all sorts of stories about how long it took Gower to put together that opening dance. Because everything in the opening number you you see those steps later in the show done by the chorus, because the opening number is an audition for dancers who want to be in this new Julian Marsh show. So the music starts, the audience hears, I know there must have been 20 of us tapping our feet off. And then a few seconds later, the curtain rises about two and a half feet. And then they see all these tapping feet. And then the main curtain goes out, and there we all are. And. I my part. I was facing upstage with my back to the audience, and then at some point, turned around and we did it was the most athletic, difficult, two and a half minute tap number I had ever done, I'll bet. But it was cool. There were five or six kids that had done it on Broadway and the national tour. And then during that audition, one more high point, if we have the time, we I was auditioning just like everybody else. The director had called and asked if I would audition, but he wasn't going to be choreographing. John Engstrom was so with there was probably 50 or 60 kids of all ages, some adults auditioning, and at one point, John pulled out one of the auditioners, and he happened to be one of my male tap dance students. And he said, Now I want everybody to watch Paul do this step. Paul did the step. He said, Now he said, Paul, someone is really teaching you well. He said, everybody that's the way to do a traveling timestamp so and that, you know, I'll remember that forever. And it ended up he hired. There were seven myself and seven other of my students were cast in that show. And some of them, some of them later, did the show in Las Vegas, different directors. But yeah, that, that was a high point for me.   Speaker 1 ** 36:19 I'm trying to remember the first time I saw 42nd street. I think I've seen it twice on Broadway. I know once, but we also saw it once at the Lawrence Welk Resorts condo there, and they did 42nd street. And that was a lot of that show was just a lot of fun. Anyway,   Ron Cocking ** 36:39 it's a fun show. And as John said in that show, The chorus is the star of the show.   Speaker 1 ** 36:45 Yeah, it's all about dancing by any by any definition, any standard. It's a wonderful show. And anybody who is listening or watching, if you ever get a chance to go see 42nd street do it, it is, it is. Well, absolutely, well worth it.   Ron Cocking ** 37:00 Yeah, good. Good show. Fantastic music, too. Well.   Michael Hingson ** 37:03 How did you and Gloria get along so well for so long, basically, 24 hours a day, doing everything together that that I would think you would even be a little bit amazed, not that you guys couldn't do it, but that you did it so well, and so many people don't do it well,   Ron Cocking ** 37:21 yeah, I don't know I from, from the the first time we met, we just seemed to be on the same wavelength. And by the way, I found out as time went by, Gloria was like Mrs. Humble. She wasn't a bragger, very humble. And it took me a while to find out what an excellent tap dancer she was. But when we went to the studio in the early days, we had, we just had one room. So she would teach actors for an hour, take a break. I would go in teach a tap class or a movement class or a ballet class. I in the early days, I taught, I taught it all. I taught ballet and jazz and and and and   Michael Hingson ** 38:01 tap. Well, let's let's be honest, she had to be able to tap dance around to keep ahead of Osgoode Conklin, but that's another story.   Ron Cocking ** 38:09 Yeah. So yeah, that. And as our studio grew, we would walk every day from our first studio down to the corner to a little wind chills donut shop wind chills donuts to get some coffee and come back. And about a year and a half later, after walking by this, this retail vacant spot that was two doors from our studio, we said, I wonder if that might be, you know, something for us, it had a four lease sign. So, long story short, we released it. The owner of the property loved knowing that Gloria Macmillan was that space. And so luckily, you know when things are supposed to happen. They happen as people would move out next to us, we would move in. So we ended up at that particular studio with five different studio rooms. Wow. And so then we can accommodate all of the above, acting, singing classes, all the dance disciplines, all at the same time, and we can, like, quadruple our student body. So then we made another move, because the neighborhood was kind of collapsing around us, we made another room and purchased a building that had been built as a racquetball club. It had six racquetball courts, all 20 by 40, beautiful hardwood. We made four of them, five of them into studios, and then there was a double racquetball racquetball court in the front of the building which they had tournaments in it was 40 by 40 we moved. We made that into a black box theater for Gloria. And the back wall of the theater was one inch glass outside of which the audiences for the racquetball tournaments used to sit. But outside the glass for us, we had to put curtains there, and out front for us was our. Gigantic lobby. The building was 32,000 square feet. Wow, we could it just made our heart, hearts sing when we could walk down that hallway and see a ballet class over here, a tap class over there, singers, singing actors in the acting room. It was beautiful. And again, it was just meant for us because it was our beautiful daughter, Kelly, who passed away just nine months after Gloria did. She's the one that said, you guys ought to look into that. And I said, Well, it's a racquetball court. But again, the first moment we walked in the front door, you start. We started thinking like, whoa. I think we could make this work. And it worked for another 20 years for us and broke our hearts to basically rip it apart, tear the theater down, and everything when we were moving out, because we we couldn't find another studio that was interested in in coming in, because they would have had to purchase the building. We wanted to sell the building. Yeah. So anyway, of all things, they now sell car mufflers out of there.   Michael Hingson ** 41:02 That's a little different way, way. Yeah, social shock, did any of your students become pretty well known in the in the entertainment world?   Ron Cocking ** 41:11 I wouldn't say well known, but a lot of them have worked a lot and made careers. Some of our former students are now in their 50s, middle 50s, pushing 60, and have done everything from cruise ship to Las Vegas to regional some national tours, even our son, Christopher, he did the national tour of meet me in St Louis with Debbie Boone, okay, and he's the one that is Now a successful producer. He's his latest hit. Well, his first, what can be considered legitimately a Broadway hit show was the show called shucked, and it opened about two years ago, I think, and I finally got to go back to New York and see it just a month before it closed. Very hilarious. Takes place in Iowa. The whole show is built around a county in which everybody that lives there makes their living off of corn, making whiskey. And it is a laugh, way more than a laugh a minute. But anyway, we had one of Gloria's acting students who was hired on with a Jonathan Winters TV sitcom called Davis rules. It ran for two seasons, and here he was like 16 or 17 years old, making, I think it was. He was making $8,000 a week, and he was in heaven. He looked like the Son he played, the grandson of Jonathan Winters and the son of Randy Quaid and so he, yeah, he was in heaven. And then after that, he did a very popular commercial, the 711 brain freeze commercial for Slurpee. The Slurpee, yeah, and he made the so much money from that, but then he kind of disappeared from showbiz. I don't know what he's doing nowadays,   Speaker 1 ** 43:00 but it's, it's, it's interesting to, you know, to hear the stories. And, yeah, I can understand that, that not everybody gets to be so famous. Everybody knows them, but it's neat that you had so many people who decided to make entertainment a career. So clearly, you had a pretty good influence on a lot of, a lot of kids.   Ron Cocking ** 43:20 Yes, I over the years, Gloria and I felt like we had 1000s of children of our own, that they that we had raised together. It's really a good feeling. And I still get phone calls. We got a phone call once a few years back from from one of our students who had been trying to crack the nut in New York, and she called us like 530 in the morning, because, of course, it was Yeah, but she had just signed her first national tour contract and was going to go out with the show cabaret. So fortunately, we were able to drive up to Santa not let's see, it's just below San San Jose. The show came through San Jose, and we got to see her up there. But those kinds of things are what made us keep teaching, year after year, all these success stories. Of course, we have former students that are now lawyers. Those are actors. Well, we   Michael Hingson ** 44:17 won't hold it and we understand, yeah and they are actors, by all means. How many teachers did you have in the studio when you had the big building?   Ron Cocking ** 44:26 Gosh, at one time, we had 10 or 12 teachers, teaching vocal teachers, two or three ballet teachers, jazz teachers, and you both taught as well. And we both continued teaching all through that time. We never just became managers, although that's that was part of it, and mixing business with art is a challenge, and it takes kind of a different mindset, and then what an unstoppable mindset you have to have in order to mix business with performing, because it's too. Different sides of your brain and a lot of patience and a lot of patience. And guess who taught me patience? Uh huh, Gloria Macmillan.   Michael Hingson ** 45:09 I would Conklin's daughter, yes, and I'll bet that's where she learned patience. No, I'm just teasing, but yeah, I hear you, yeah. Well, I know Karen and I were married for 40 years, until she passed in November of 2022 and there's so many similarities in what you're talking about, because we we could do everything together. We had challenges. Probably the biggest challenge that we ever had was we were living in Vista California, and I was working in Carlsbad, and the president of our company decided that we should open an office, because I was being very successful at selling to the government, we should open an office in the DC area. And so we both got excited about that. But then one day he came in and he had this epiphany. He said, No, not Virginia. I want you to open an office in New York. And Karen absolutely hated that she was ready to go to Virginia and all that.   Speaker 1 ** 46:15 But the problem for me was it was either move to New York or take a sales territory that didn't sell very much anymore. The owner wasn't really willing to discuss it, so we had some challenges over that, but the marriage was strong enough that it that it worked out, and we moved to New Jersey, and Karen made a lot of friends back there, but, you know, we always did most everything together. And then when the pandemic occurred, being locked down, it just proved all the more we just did everything together. We were together. We talked a lot, which is, I think one of the keys to any good marriages, and you talk and communicate.   Ron Cocking ** 46:56 Yes, in fact, when after we closed the studio in 2018 it took us a few more months to sell our home, and then when we moved down here, it was only about, I don't know, I don't know if it was a full year or not, but the pandemic hit and but it really didn't bother us, because we had, we had been working the teaching scene for so many years that we basically Were done. We basically walked out of the studio. We did. Neither of us have the desire to, well, let's continue in at some level, no, we cherished our time together. We have a little porch out in front of our home here, and it gets the ocean breeze, and we would sit for hours and chat. And oddly enough, not oddly, one of our favorite things to do, we have a website that we went to that had, I think, every radio show of armas Brooks ever made. And we would sit listen to those and just laugh. And, in fact, Gloria, there are some. She said, You know what? I don't even remember that episode at all. So yeah, that that was an interesting part. But yeah, Gloria and I, like your wife and you really enjoyed time together. We never talked about needing separate vacations or anything if we wanted to do something. We did it   Speaker 1 ** 48:16 together, yeah, and we did too. And you know, for us it was, it was out of desire, but also was easier for us, because she was in a wheelchair her whole life. I was I'm blind. I've been blind my whole life. And as I tell people, the marriage worked out well. She read, I pushed, and in reality, that really is the way it worked, yeah, yeah. Until she started using a power chair. Then I didn't push. I kept my toes out of the way. But still, it was, it was really did meld and mesh together very well and did everything   Ron Cocking ** 48:49 together. That's fantastic. I'm proud of you, Michael, and it really   Michael Hingson ** 48:53 it's the only way to go. So I miss her, but like, I keep telling people she's somewhere monitoring me, and if I misbehave, I'm going to hear about it. So I got to be a good kid,   Ron Cocking ** 49:04 and I'll hear I'll get some notes tonight from the spirit of Gloria McMillan too. I prayed to her before I went on. I said, please let the words flow and please not let me say anything that's inappropriate. And I think she's guided me through okay so far.   Michael Hingson ** 49:20 Well, if, if you do something you're not supposed to, she's gonna probably hit you upside the head. You know, did you two ever actually get to perform together?   Ron Cocking ** 49:30 Oh, I'm glad you asked that, because, well, it had been years since I knew that she was a darn good tap dancer. In fact, I had a tap dancing ensemble of of my more advanced kids, and if they wanted to dedicate the extra time that it took, we rehearsed them and let them perform at free of charge once they made it to that group, they they did not pay to come in and rehearse with me, because I would spend a lot of time standing there creating so. So we were doing a performance, and we wanted to spotlight, I forget the exact reason why we wanted to spotlight some of Gloria's career. Talk about radio a little bit. And I said, Gloria, would you do a little soft shoe routine? And because we had invited a mutual friend of ours, Walden Hughes, from the reps organization, and he was going to be the guest of honor, so I talked her into it. At first she wasn't going to go for it, but we had so much fun rehearsing it together. And it wasn't a long routine, it was relatively short, beautiful music, little soft shoe, and it was so much fun to say that we actually tap danced together. But the other times that we actually got to work together was at the old time radio conventions, mostly with reps, and that's really when I got to sit on stage. I was kind of typecast as an announcer, and I got to do some commercials. I got to sing once with Lucy arnazza. Oh, life, a life boy soap commercial. But when Gloria, Well, Gloria did the lead parts, and oh my gosh, that's when I realized what a superb actress she was. And if I don't know if you've heard of Greg Oppenheimer, his father, Jess Oppenheimer created the I Love Lucy shows, and so Gloria loved Jess Oppenheimer. And so Greg Oppenheimer, Jess Son, did a lot of directing, and oh my gosh, I would see he came in very well prepared and knew how the lines should be delivered. And if Gloria was not right on it, he would say, No, wait a minute, Gloria, I want you to emphasize the word decided, and that's going to get the laugh. And when he gave her a reading like that man, the next time she went through that dialog, just what he had asked for. And I thought, Oh my gosh. And her timing, after watching so many armist Brooks TV and listening to radio shows. GLORIA learned her comedic timing from one of the princesses of comedy timing is Eve Arden, right? They were so well for obvious reasons. They were so very similar. And if you have time to story for another story, do you know have you heard of Bob Hastings? He was the lieutenant on McHale's navy. McHale's Navy, right? Yeah. Well, he also did a lot of old time radio. So we went up to Seattle,   Michael Hingson ** 52:32 our two grandkids, Troy Amber, he played, not Archie. Was it Henry Aldridge? He was on,   Ron Cocking ** 52:40 I think you're right. I'm not too up on the cast of the old time radio show. Yeah, I think you're right. But anyway, he was there, and there was an actress that had to bow out. I don't know who that was, but our grandsons and Gloria and I, we walked in, and as usual, we say hi to everybody. We're given a big packet of six or eight scripts each, and we go to our room and say, Oh my gosh. Get out the pencils, and we start marking our scripts. So we get a phone call from Walden, and he said, hey, Ron Bob. Bob Hastings wants to see Gloria in his room. He wants to read through he's not sure if he wants to do the Bickersons script, because he you know, the gal bowed out and right, you know, so Gloria went down   Michael Hingson ** 53:23 couple of doors, coming   Ron Cocking ** 53:26 Yes, and she so she came back out of half an hour, 40 minutes later, and she said, well, that little stinker, he was auditioning me. He went in and she went in and he said, Well, you know, I don't know if I want to do this. It doesn't seem that funny to me. Let's read a few lines. Well, long story short, they read the whole thing through, and they were both, they were both rolling around the floor. I'll bet they laughing and so and then jump to the following afternoon, they did it live, and I was able to watch. I had some pre time, and I watched, and they were just fantastic together. I left after the show, I went to the green room, had a little snack, and I was coming back to our room, walking down the hall, and here comes Bob Hastings, and he says, oh, Ron. He said, Your wife was just fantastic. So much better than the other girl would have been. So when I told GLORIA That story that made her her day, her week. She felt so good about that. So that's my Bob Hastings story. Bob Hastings and Gloria Macmillan were great as the Bickersons.   Speaker 1 ** 54:29 Yeah, that was a very clever show. It started on the Danny Thomas show, and then they they ended up going off and having their own show, Francis Langford and Donna Michi, but they were very clever.   Ron Cocking ** 54:42 Now, did you realize when now that you mentioned Danny Thomas? Did you realize that Gloria's mom, Hazel McMillan, was the first female agent, talent agent in Hollywood? No, and that's how you know when the. They moved from from Portland, Oregon, a little city outside of Portland. They moved because Gloria's mom thought she had talent enough to do radio, and it wasn't a year after they got here to LA that she did her first national show for Lux radio at the age of five. That was in 1937 with with Edward G Robinson. I've got a recording of that show. What's what show was it? It was a Christmas show. And I don't remember the name of the of it, but it was a Christmas show. It was Walden that sent us. Sent   Michael Hingson ** 55:33 it to us. I'll find it. I've got it, I'm sure.   Ron Cocking ** 55:35 And so, yeah, so, so Gloria was a member of what they called the 500 club. There was a group of, I don't know, nine or 10 kids that by the time the photograph that I have of this club, it looks like Gloria is around 12 to 14 years old, and they had all done 500 or more radio shows. Wow, that's a lot of radio show. There's a lot of radio So Gloria did, I mean, I got a short my point was, her mom was an agent, and when Gloria was working so consistently at armas Brooks, she said, Well, I'm kind of out of a job. I don't need to take you. GLORIA could drive then. And so she came back from the grocery store, Ralph's market near Wilshire and Doheny, and she came back said, Well, I know what I'm going to do. I ran into this cute little boy at the grocery store. I'm going to represent him for television. And she that's, she started the Hazel McMillan agency, and she ran that agency until she just couldn't anymore. I think she ran it until early 1980s but she, my god, she represented people like Angela Cartwright on the Danny Thomas show and Kathy Garver on, all in the family a family affair. Family Affair. Yeah. Jane north. Jane North went in for Dennis the Menace. He didn't get the role. He came back said, Hazel, I don't think they liked me, and they didn't. They didn't call me back or anything. Hazel got on that phone, said, Look, I know this kid can do what you're asking for. I want you to see him again. He went back and they read him again. He got the part, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 57:21 and he was perfect for it.   Ron Cocking ** 57:22 He was perfect for that part was, I'm sorry.   Michael Hingson ** 57:27 It's sad that he passed earlier this year.   Ron Cocking ** 57:29 Yeah, he passed and he had, he had a tough life, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 57:36 well, you know, tell me you, you have what you you have some favorite words of wisdom. Tell me about those.   Ron Cocking ** 57:45 Oh, this goes back to the reason why I came across this when I was looking for something significant to say on the opening of one of our big concert programs. We used to do all of our shows at the California theater of Performing Arts in San Bernardino, it's a really, a real gem of a theater. It's where Will Rogers gave his last performance. And so I came across this, and it's, I don't know if this is biblical, you might, you might know, but it's, if you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime. And that's what I felt like Gloria and I were trying to do. We wanted to teach these kids as as professionally. We treated our students as they were, as if they were little professionals. We we expected quality, we expected them to work hard, but again, Gloria taught me patience, unending patience. But we knew that we wanted them to feel confident when the time came, that they would go out and audition. We didn't want them to be embarrassed. We want we wanted them to be able to come back to us and say, Boy, I felt so good at that audition. I knew all the steps I was and I and I read so well it was. And thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And so that aspect of it, we felt that we were feeding them for a lifetime, but we also were creating all of these arts patrons, all these lovers of the arts, 1000s of kids now love to go to musicals and movies and plays because they've kind of been there and done that at our studio. And so anyway, that's and whether, whether or not it was their confidence in show business or whether it was their confidence we've had so many calls from and visits from parents and former students saying, Boy, I just was awarded a job. And they said my my communication skills were excellent, and I owe that to Gloria. I was on the beach the other day, and I looked over and there was this young man and his wife. I assumed it was his wife. It was they were setting. Up their beach chairs, and I looked and I say, Excuse me, is your name Brandon? And he said, No, but he said, Is your name Ron? And I said, Yes. He said, No, my name is Eric. And I said, Eric puentes. And so we reminisced for a while. He took tap from me. He took acting from Gloria, and he said, you know, he was sad to hear of Gloria's passing. And he said, You know, I owe so much to Gloria. I learned so much about speaking in front of groups. And he is now a minister. He has his own church in Redlands, California, and he's a minister. And of all the billion people on the beach, he sits next to me. So that's one of those things when it's supposed to   Michael Hingson ** 1:00:41 happen. It happens. It does. Yeah, well, and as we talked about earlier, you and Gloria did lots of stuff with reps, and I'm going to miss it this time, but I've done a few, and I'm going to do some more. What I really enjoy about people who come from the radio era, and who have paid attention to the radio era is that the acting and the way they project is so much different and so much better than people who have no experience with radio. And I know Walden and I have talked about the fact that we are looking to get a grant at some point so that we can train actors or people who want to be involved in these shows, to be real actors, and who will actually go back and listen to the shows, listen to what people did, and really try to bring that forward into the recreations, because so many people who haven't really had the experience, or who haven't really listened to radio programs sound so forced, as opposed to natural.   Ron Cocking ** 1:01:46 I agree, and I know exactly what you're saying. In fact, Walden on a couple of at least two or three occasions, he allowed us to take some of Gloria's acting students all the way to Seattle, and we did some in for the spurred vac organization Los Angeles, we did a beautiful rendition of a script that we adapted of the Velveteen Rabbit. And of all people, Janet Waldo agreed to do the fairy at the end, and she was exquisite. And it's only like, I don't know, four or five lines, and, oh my gosh, it just wrapped it up with a satin bow. And, but, but in some of our kids, yeah, they, they, they were very impressed by the radio, uh, recreations that they were exposed to at that convention.   Speaker 1 ** 1:02:37 Yeah, yeah. Well, and it's, it is so wonderful to hear some of these actors who do it so well, and to really see how they they are able to pull some of these things together and make the shows a lot better. And I hope that we'll see more of that. I hope that we can actually work to teach more people how to really deal with acting from a standpoint of radio,   Ron Cocking ** 1:03:04 that's a great idea. And I know Walden is really sensitive to that. He Yeah, he would really be a proponent of that.   Michael Hingson ** 1:03:10 Oh, he and I have talked about it. We're working on it. We're hoping we can get some things. Well, I want to thank you for being here. We've been doing this an hour already.  

Thrust onto the public stage at 15 years old after the Taliban's brutal attack on her life, Malala Yousafzai became an international icon for resilience and bravery. Described as a reflection on a life of a woman finally taking charge of her destiny, her memoir Finding My Way has just been published. She joins Anita Rani in the Woman's Hour studio.There's a call to compensate women caught up in the scandal of faulty breast implants manufactured by a French company. The PIP scandal happened in 2012 when it emerged that the implants were filled with industrial silicone instead of medical grade silicone. The implants are far more likely to rupture than others. MPs on the Women's and Equalities Committee have been hearing calls for compensation during their inquiry into the health impacts of breast implants and other cosmetic procedures. Jan Spivey from PIP Action Campaign and Professor Carl Heneghan from The Centre for Evidence Based Medicine join us to discuss this.What if all your dreams come true and you still find yourself a bit grumpy? That's the brilliantly blunt question at the heart of Laura Smyth's stand-up tour, Born Aggy. Laura's journey into comedy wasn't exactly textbook. She left behind a career in teaching, was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer that same year and - just two weeks after finishing treatment - was on stage in Live at the Apollo. She joins Nuala McGovern in the studio.Choreographer and artist Amina Khayyam tells Anita about her new dance-theatre work, Bibi Rukiya's Reckless Daughter, which opens soon in London after a national tour. It explores how patriarchy is enforced not only by men, but across generations of women, within family structures.Singer, actor and performer, Petula Clark's career has spanned over eight decades. She sang to wartime troops in the 40s, was a 1950s child star, became a European musical icon before conquering America with her No 1 hit Downtown. She starred in Hollywood movies alongside Fred Astaire and performed on stage in musicals including The Sound of Music, Sunset Boulevard and most recently Mary Poppins. Her autobiography - Is That You, Petula? is out now and she joins Nuala to look back at her long career.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Simon Richardson

"At the Flying 'W'" - Bing Crosby; "How Lucky You Are" - Bing Crosby; "Top Hat" - Fred Astaire & Bing Crosby; "Cheek to Cheek" - Peggy Lee & Fred Astaire; "Caught in the Rain" - Peggy Lee & Fred Astaire; "A Fine Romance" - Peggy Lee, Fred Astaire, & Bing Crosby; "They Can't Take That Away From Me" - Bing Crosby & Peggy Lee; "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" - Peggy Lee; "Dearly Beloved" - Peggy Lee & Bing Crosby; "White Christmas" - Peggy Lee & Bing Crosby; "Catalog Day" - Bing Crosby, Peggy Lee, & Fred Astaire; "Kamehameha Day" - Bing Crosby, Peggy Lee, & Fred Astaire; "Buy a Philco Day" - Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, & Peggy Lee;Original air date: April 7, 1948

️ Tornem-hi! A Les Golfes de Gelida encetem la cinquena temporada i ho fem de la millor manera: anant a casa de la Jara Mago per compartir música i confidències. La Jara, d'entrada, pot semblar tímida… però quan sona la música li canvia la cara ✨. La viu, la sent, la transmet. Amb ella vam passar una tarda divertida, plena de cançons que l'han marcat. Al capítol 152 coneixeràs millor la seva música, les seves influències i tot el que hi ha darrere del seu EP debut Ei mama, ja no estic sempre trista. Han Sonat: Jara Mago, Julieta Venegas, Juan Luis Guerra, Albert Pla & Joan Miquel Oliver, Fred Astaire, Daft Punk, Paco Ibáñez i LTR1V

Songs include: All the Things You Are by Artie Shaw, The Last Time I Saw Paris by Kate Smith, Pick Yourself Up by Fred Astaire, Smoke Gets In Your Eyes by Jo Staffored and Look For the Silver Lining by Chet Baker. 

Song 1: “Is That Love” (John V. Modaff)Poem 1: “Little Histories” by Scott Wiggerman whose new book of poems comes out in Spring of 2026 with Casa Urraca Press. Scott lives in Albuquerque and is a painter and a poet among other things. https://scottwiggerman.myportfolio.com/Fiction: from the novel The Surrogate by Lynn C. Miller. Coming out March 31, 2026 from the University of Wisconsin Press. To pre-order go to: https://uwpress.wisc.edu/Books/T/The-Surrogate  Lynn's website:  www.lynncmiller.comFeed the Cat Break: a clip from “A Fine Romance,” Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire version.Poem 2: “Persephone” by Sarah Kotchian. From her collection Light of Wings. University of New Mexico Press, 2024. https://www.unmpress.com/9780826365972/light-of-wings/Song 2: “Victory” (Sasha Colette and The Magnolias) Episode artwork by Lynda MillerTheme & Incidental Music by John V. Modaff, BMIRecorded in Albuquerque NM and Morehead KYProduced at The Creek StudioNEXT UP on Episode 53:  Homeless Thank You to our listeners all over the world. Please tell your friends about the podcast. Lynn & John

L'histoire fourmille d'hommes et de femmes célèbres pour avoir accompli de grandes choses. Et pourtant, si nous regardons leur vie de près, nous constatons qu'ils ont subi des échecs cuisants avant de connaître la réussite. Leur véritable force n'était pas tant leur talent que leur ténacité. Considérez les exemples suivants : – Michael Jordan, la légende du basket-ball américain, a été écarté de l'équipe universitaire de basket-ball. – À l'issue de la première audition de Fred Astaire, le jury jugea ainsi sa performance : « Ne sait pas jouer la comédie. Un peu chauve. Sait un peu danser. » – L'auteur à succès Max Lucado a vu son premier livre refusé par 14 éditeurs. – Walt Disney a été renvoyé d'un journal pour manque d'imagination. Ces personnages ont tous connu le succès, chacun dans un domaine différent, mais ils avaient une chose en commun : la persévérance. Le refus d'abandonner est une des manifestations de la confiance en soi, et la bonne nouvelle est que cette confiance peut devenir vôtre en Christ. Continuez à faire ce que vous pensez être juste et l'horizon finira tôt ou tard par s'éclaircir. Je suis reconnaissant, Père, parce que l'échec peut être formateur. Donne-moi aujourd'hui la confiance et la persévérance nécessaires pour persévérer en dépit des échecs. Grâce à ta présence à mes côtés, je remporterai toujours la victoire du moment que je ne baisse pas les bras, et je te remercie pour cela. — Êtes-vous prêt à aller plus loin ?

And here's part 2 of our Shake & Bake double bill.  It's getting hot in here, so here's 1974's THE TOWERING INFERNO.  Is it as good as Earthquake?  Did it deserve the Oscar nominations?  Does Fred Astaire dance?  Join us and find out.END CREDITS- Presented by Robert Johnson and Christopher Webb- Produced/edited by Christopher Webb- "Still Any Good?" logo designed by Graham Wood & Robert Johnson- Crap poster mock-up by Christopher Webb- Theme music ("The Slide Of Time") by The Sonic Jewels, used with kind permission(c) 2025 Tiger Feet ProductionsFind us:Twitter @stillanygoodpodInstagram @stillanygoodpodBluesky @stillanygood.bsky.socialEmail stillanygood@gmail.comSupport the show

Agradece a este podcast tantas horas de entretenimiento y disfruta de episodios exclusivos como éste. ¡Apóyale en iVoox! Francis Albert Sinatra (Hoboken, Nueva Jersey, 12 de diciembre de 1915-Los Ángeles, California, 14 de mayo de 1998), conocido popularmente como Frank Sinatra, fue un cantante y actor estadounidense. Dejó, a través de sus discos y actuaciones en directo, un legado canónico en lo que respecta a la interpretación vocal masculina de la música. Sus grabaciones alcanzaron las listas musicales 209 veces. Es uno de los 33 artistas que ostenta tres estrellas en el Paseo de la Fama de Hollywood. Sinatra construyó su estilo sobre la base de una comprensión natural de la música popular, tal como la habían entendido Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Benny Goodman y Louis Armstrong, explotando la idea de que esta, debería ser una extensión de la conversación. Técnicamente, se caracterizó por su cuidada precisión en el fraseo y su dominio del control de la respiración; el rango de su voz estaba próximo al de bajo-barítono.[ A Sinatra se le reconoce el haber sido el primer cantante que hace un uso consciente de los medios de amplificación del sonido con el objeto de situar su voz por encima del sonido de la orquesta (dominadora de la música popular estadounidense de principios del siglo XX) y para aproximarla a la intimidad del oído del oyente. A lo largo de su carrera profesional, Sinatra grabó más de 1300 canciones y participó en más de cincuenta películas. Recibió multitud de premios y homenajes, entre los que se cuentan diez premios Grammy, otorgados por la Academia de Artes y Ciencias de la Grabación la Medalla de la Libertad del gobierno estadounidense. El crítico de música estadounidense Robert Christgau se refirió a Sinatra como "el mejor cantante del siglo XX". Descubre mas de SINATRA... https://www.sinatra.com/😎Escucha este episodio completo y accede a todo el contenido exclusivo de ONDA 88 FM con Aaron Henriques. Descubre antes que nadie los nuevos episodios, y participa en la comunidad exclusiva de oyentes en https://go.ivoox.com/sq/2313218

We're riding the Fred Astaire train this episode with Sierra! She and Jon listen to the best of the Gershwins, while watching dancing legends grace our screens with wonderful choreography featuring dancing on roller skates. And this isn't Top Hat because the feathers stay on the dress in this one.Sierra's Instagram: @sierrareinMarquee Five: @marqueefivePodcast Socials -Email: butasongpod@gmail.comFacebook: @butasongpodInstagram: @butasongpodThreads: @butasongpodNext episode: That's Entertainment!

We're joined by Ira's biographer, Michael Owen, for a 'swonderful overview of his fascinating career. Performances by Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, Kelli O'Hara, Fred Astaire and many more.

In this episode I go on a style journey with the inimitable and side-splittingly funny, iconic British Jeweller, Theo Fennell. I have been lucky enough to have known Theo for decades ...our first shops were close on the Fulham Road in Chelsea. Theo has always been the most brilliant raconteur, often making himself the butt of the joke and I must admit as I listened to his two books, narrated by him, I found myself howling with laughter...a great summer listen (links below).Born in Egypt, to an Army family, Theo's early years were spent moving around the globe before being sent to boarding school in England...in truth he went to Eton College where the uniform was and still is to this day, tails and a stiff collared shirt.  He went on to art school in York, and he tells me with some hilarity about his choice of clothing for his first day there. Initially he pursued portraiture, but, unable to get a likeness, he luckily discovering a passion and talent for jewellery and silversmithing.Theo Fennell is one of Britain's most iconic and original jewellers, renowned for his bold, imaginative designs and a distinctive creative voice blending fine craftsmanship with storytelling, wit, and a quirky flair. For over four decades, Theo has redefined the traditional boundaries of jewellery, creating extraordinary, bespoke pieces worn and collected by patrons from royalty to rock and roll, stars of stage, screen and fashion to tastemakers around the world ... and also his friend Norman.From his first studio in the Fulham Road in the 1980s to his current gallery and workshop in the Chelsea Barracks development, Theo has built a reputation as one of the few jewellers who still designs and makes each piece by hand in-house in London. His atelier brings together master goldsmiths, engravers, enamellists, and stone-setters, producing work that fuses rare artistry with theatricality and timeless appeal. A passionate advocate for the applied arts, Theo has mentored emerging talent, collaborated with artists, and championed the importance of craftsmanship in a fast-paced, mass-produced world. His pieces often tell intimate, sentimental or humorous stories, making them cherished heirlooms as well as expressions of individuality.Being the story teller that he is Theo entertains us with stories of his earlier, let's say, more than slightly inebriated years when he managed to loose a priceless emerald during a celebratory night out, having sold said emerald but not delivered it.... lesson learned...We chat about his passion for unusual stones, craftsmanship and telling stories through pieces. Knowing that he has a who's who of rock and royalty as a client base I couldn't help but ask what his most unusual commission was...the story of the Yellow Rose of Texas is brilliantly told!We talk about his style inspirations (from Fred Astaire to the dandyism of Patrick Litchfield in the 60s) and the influence of accompanying his father on days shopping... from Henry Poole on Saville Row for "Gents natty summer suiting" ...and on for shirts...and shoes. Theo clearly loves clothes, shoes and socks...he has an eclectic, chic style, and an eye for detail befitting of the brilliant designer he is.I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I enjoyed this conversation with the raucously funny Theo...and if you don't know his jewellery (unlikely) but do check it out...it is truly exquisite. Thank you Theo for entertaining us so fabulously!---A message from our season sponsor: Join the millions of people hitting their weight loss goals with Simple. To start your personalized plan complete the quiz at simple.life/amanda and use code AMANDA for 70% off.

In this episode, we're joined by two leading lights of musical theatre who are stepping into one of the most beloved shows in the canon. Phillip Attmore and Lucy St. Louis star as Jerry Travers and Dale Tremont in Top Hat at Chichester Festival Theatre this summer, taking on roles made famous by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. We also discuss how the Harlem Renaissance influenced the original film, what it was like when press night had to be restarted, the importance of representation on stage, and why musical comedy performances don't always get the recognition they deserve. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join Julia, Miranda, & Vladimir Duthiers in *Part 2* of their discussion of all things, film, TV, & of course, Zendaya. In this part, the trio goes deeper to discuss underrated performances, the importance of on-screen representation, and personal, emotional connections to their heroes. Listen closely to find out who and what this trio views as the most overlooked performances of today. Julia & Miranda also question Vlad on how and what he decides to mention on air at CBS Mornings. It's fun, smart, and if you ask them, pretty life-changing. Enjoy!Ep. Recorded on Jun. 18, 2025.Follow us on Instagram! @the.p.in.rasp@juliapeterkins @miranda.macgillivray @vladduthierscbsSend us a textSupport the show

It's time for another Tuxedo Ball with plenty of beauties, so has this year's most eligible bachelor finally found his future wife among them?October 1933, the top 50 debutantes of this social season mix with the most eligible bachelors at the ultra exclusive Tuxedo Park's Autumn Ball. Will “Jakey” John Jacob Astor VI, “Alfy” Alfred Vanderbilt, Jr., Atwater “Atty” Kent, Jr., Pierre Barbey, Jr., or David Rockefeller find their future brides among these beauties? Amongst the best buds, prized debutantes include Virginia “Ginnie” Kent, Eileen Gillespie, Ellen “Tucky” French, Beatrice “Bea” Wagstaff, and Margaret “Peggy” Dorrance.Other people and subjects include:Doris Duke, James H.R. Cromwell aka “Jimmy,” Eva Stotesbury, “Jakey” John Jacob Astor VI, William “Sam” Van Alen, Elizabeth “Betty” Kent, “Alfy” Alfred Vanderbilt, Jr., Atwater “Atty” Kent, Jr., Virginia “Ginnie” Kent, Eileen Gillespie, Ellen “Tucky” French, Dorothy “Dolly” de Milhau, Pierre Barbey, Jr., David Rockefeller, Beatrice “Bea” Wagstaff, and Margaret “Peggy” Dorrance, Leta Morris, Antonio “Toni” Frissell, Alice Andre, Alida Liviningston, Mary Schuyler Schieffelin, Emily Winslow, Joan Blair, Cornelia Blakely, Gilbert Keech, Atwater Kent, Mabel Lucas Kent, Jonathan Kent, John Rockefeller, Jr., Caroline Astor, Caroline “Carrie” Astor Wilson, British King George V, British Queen Mary, Cholly Knickerbocker, George Washington, Standard Oil heirs, Campbell Soup heiress, Brinton family, Pennsylvania Society for Sons of the American Revolution, Vogue feature, bow at Court of St. James, colonial, Gilded Age, new money, radio pioneer, industrialist, Wall Street, debutante goals, dance card, stag line, wallflowers, cutting in, debutantes, buds, bounders, bachelors, heirs, heiresses, society hostess, Junior League, junior assemblies, charity, horsey set, yachting, finishing school, sculpture, social standing, weddings, engagements, Tuxedo Club, Tuxedo Park, NY, Long Island, Newport, New York City, Philadelphia, Montecito, CA, Paris, Africa big game trip, trends, manners, Ward McAllister, Pierre Lorillard, William Waldorf Astor, Bruce Price, Emily Price Post, Edwin Post, Prince Edward – Prince of Wales – King Edward VII, James Potter, Griswold “Grizzy” Lorillard, tuxedo coat, men's fashion, military mess jacket, Marlene Dietrich, Fred Astaire, Sean Connery, James Bond – Dr. No, Rat Pack, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Etiquette: In Society, In Business, In Politics and At Home According to Emily Post, Vanity Fair, Collier's, McCall's, Cotillion, Easter eggs, seeds and plotlines, George R.R. Martin, gardener, architect, writer's block, teasers, hints, dating wasteland, dating apocalypse, New York Times – “The Trouble With Wanting Men.” MGTOW (men going their own way), incels, porn, women's financial demands, Manolo Blahniks, A.I. sex robots & chatbots, virtual partners, human – A.I. wedding in Japan, sex robots, AI chatbots, liberal women dating boycott of Republic and conservative men, 100 years of dating, courtship, fatigue, changing rules, Jeff Bezos, Lauren Sanchez, Amazon, Venice wedding, public spectacle, HBO's The Gilded Age, Apple TV's The Buccaneers, weddings, scandals, engagements,…--Extra Notes / Call to Action:Million Podcasts – As The Money Burns listed #14 of Top 20 Economic History Podcastshttps://www.millionpodcasts.com/economic-history-podcasts/Share, like, subscribe--Archival Music provided by Past Perfect Vintage Music, www.pastperfect.com.Opening Music: My Heart Belongs to Daddy by Billy Cotton, Album The Great British Dance BandsSection 1 Music: Top Hat, White Tie and Tails by Carroll Gibbons & Boy Friends, Album Sophistication – Songs of the ThirtiesSection 2 Music: I Only Have Eyes for You by Freddy Gardner, Album EleganceSection 3 Music: From the Top of Your Head by Carroll Gibbons & The Savoy Orpheans, Album The Great British Dance BandsEnd Music: My Heart Belongs to Daddy by Billy Cotton, Album The Great British Dance Bands--https://asthemoneyburns.com/X / TW / IG – @asthemoneyburnsX / Twitter – https://x.com/asthemoneyburnsInstagram – https://www.instagram.com/asthemoneyburns/Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/asthemoneyburns/

Was für ein Tag! Graal-Müritz feiert 100 Jahre Eisenbahn-Anbindung – und Maike? Mischt sich gut gelaunt ins Getümmel! Eigentlich ist die Podcasterin diesmal ohne Kompagnon unterwegs. Kaum jedoch verlässt die RB12 Rövershagen Richtung Ostseeheilbad, erklingt die vertraute „Stimme der Bahn“ … ganz in live! „Ingo, was machst Du denn hier?“ Die Wiedersehensfreude ist groß! Und die Fahrgäste? Federhüte, Fracks, Fransenkleider: so stilvoll wie in den 20ern, als die Ostsee zum Laufsteg wurde. Am Bahnhof angekommen, kündigt sich die nächste Zeitreise an: „Ich glaub, da vorne tanzt Fred Astaire!“, denkt Maike noch … und schwingt Minuten später selbst das Swingbein, mitten auf dem Bahnsteig! Hört, wie die MV-Abenteurerin ein majestätisches Déja-vu erlebt, Kästner am Strand begegnet und wen sie in den Ostseefluten trifft.Links zu den Partnern:www.graal-mueritz.dewww.graal-mueritz.de/heimatmuseum-graal-mueritzwww.swing-connection-rostock.de

Pour les cinéphiles du monde entier, Ginger Rodgers reste l'étincelante partenaire du grand Fred Astaire. Mais cette actrice au grand caractère a su mener sa propre carrière.Mention légales : Vos données de connexion, dont votre adresse IP, sont traités par Radio Classique, responsable de traitement, sur la base de son intérêt légitime, par l'intermédiaire de son sous-traitant Ausha, à des fins de réalisation de statistiques agréées et de lutte contre la fraude. Ces données sont supprimées en temps réel pour la finalité statistique et sous cinq mois à compter de la collecte à des fins de lutte contre la fraude. Pour plus d'informations sur les traitements réalisés par Radio Classique et exercer vos droits, consultez notre Politique de confidentialité.Hébergé par Ausha. Visitez ausha.co/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

Same Time, Same Station 2025-07-13 Bing Crosby Part 7. “Soldiers With Wings” 07/01/1942 ep001 Bing Crosby, Joan Blondell. “Mail Call” 11/04/1942 (011 ) Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Fibber Mcgee and Molly. “Yesterday USA” 04/14/2024 Sunday Night Bing Crosby part 7 with Perry Huntoon, John, Larry and Walden. If you would like to request shows, please call (714) 449-1958 E-mail: Larry Gassman: LarryGassman1@gmail.com John Gassman: John1Gassman@gmail.com

Same Time, Same Station 2025-07-13 Bing Crosby Part 7. “Soldiers With Wings” 07/01/1942 ep001 Bing Crosby, Joan Blondell. “Mail Call” 11/04/1942 (011 ) Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Fibber Mcgee and Molly. “Yesterday USA” 04/14/2024 Sunday Night Bing Crosby part 7 with Perry Huntoon, John, Larry and Walden. If you would like to request shows, please call (714) 449-1958 E-mail: Larry Gassman: LarryGassman1@gmail.com John Gassman: John1Gassman@gmail.com

American musician and rock star Peter Wolf is best known for being the lead vocalist of The J. Geils Band. Wolf has lived quite an adventurous and exciting life starting at an early age. As a rock star, Wolf had the privilege of crossing paths and rubbing elbows with legendary figures in the world of entertainment and culture. Notably, some of the icons he met include Andy Warhol, Muddy Waters, Van Morrison, Fred Astaire, Aretha Franklin and so many more! To share his incredible stories with the world, Peter Wolf authored a book called, Waiting for the Moon: Artists, Poets, Drifters, Grifters, and Goddesses. He joined Bradley Jay to share some of those stories!Now you can leave feedback as you listen to WBZ NewsRadio on the FREE iHeart Radio app! Just click on the microphone icon in the app, and be sure to set WBZ NewsRadio as your #1 preset!

Continued conversation with American musician and rock star Peter Wolf, best known for being the lead vocalist of The J. Geils Band. Wolf has lived quite an adventurous and exciting life starting at an early age. As a rock star, Wolf had the privilege of crossing paths and rubbing elbows with legendary figures in the world of entertainment and culture. Notably, some of the icons he met include Andy Warhol, Muddy Waters, Van Morrison, Fred Astaire, Aretha Franklin and so many more! To share his incredible stories with the world, Peter Wolf authored a book called, Waiting for the Moon: Artists, Poets, Drifters, Grifters, and Goddesses. Now you can leave feedback as you listen to WBZ NewsRadio on the FREE iHeart Radio app! Just click on the microphone icon in the app, and be sure to set WBZ NewsRadio as your #1 preset!

"SECOND ACT: REDISCOVERING OVERLOOKED MUSICALS" (094) - 6/30/25 In this episode of the podcast, Steve and Nan dive into some of their favorite classic Hollywood musicals that they feel do not get their due. They share fond memories and behind-the-scenes tidbits about timeless films like Summer Stock, State Fair, and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. With infectious enthusiasm, they discuss the charm of Gene Kelly's choreography, Judy Garland's unforgettable voice, and the sweeping scores that still resonate decades later. Whether you're a seasoned fan or a newcomer to the genre, this episode is a heartfelt tribute to the magic of classic movie musicals. SHOW NOTES:  Sources: 75 Years of the Oscar: The Official History of the Academy Awards (2004), by Robert Osborne; My Path and My Detours: An Autobiography (1985), by Jane Russell; The Hollywood Musical: Every Hollywood Musical from 1927 to the Present Day (1981), by Clive Hirschhorn; The Films of 20th Century Fox (1979), by Tony Thomas & Aubrey Solomon; “Judy Garland and Gene Kelly team up – off and on screen – for “Summer Stock,”  May 6, 2019, by Kay Reynolds, HighDefWatch.com; Wikipedia.com; TCM.com;  IBDB.com; IMDBPro.com; Movies Mentioned:  The Gay Divorcee (1934), starring Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Alice Brady, Edward Everett  Horton & Betty Grable; State Fair (1945), starring Jeanne Crain, Dana Andrews, Dick Haynes, Vivian Blaine, Fay Bainter, & Charles Winninger; The Singing Nun (1966), starring Debbie Reynolds, Greer Garson, Ricardo Montalban, Agnes Moorehead, & Juanita Moore; Gentlemen Prefer Bondes (1953), starring Jane Russell, Marilyn Monroe, Charles Coburn, Elliott Reid, Tommy Noonan, & Norma Varden; Summer Stock (1950), starring Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Phil Silvers, Marjorie Main, Gloria De Haven, & Eddie Bracken; Orchestra Wives (1942), starring Ann Rutherford, George Montgomery, Cesar Romero, Glenn Miller & his Band, Lynn Bari, Carole Landis, Mary Beth Hughes, Virginia Gilmore & The Nicholas Brothers; --------------------------------- http://www.airwavemedia.com Please contact sales@advertisecast.com if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 49 - Astaire and Rogers' THE BARKLEYS OF BROADWAY w/guest Holley Snaith This podcast is a proud member of the FIRE AND WATER PODCAST NETWORK: Visit the Fire & Water WEBSITE: http://fireandwaterpodcast.com Follow FADE OUT on Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/fadeoutpod.bsky.social Follow Fire & Water on BLUE SKY – https://bsky.app/profile/fwpodcasts.bsky.social Like our Fire & Water FACEBOOK page – https://www.facebook.com/FWPodcastNetwork Support The Fire & Water Podcast Network on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/fwpodcasts Use our HASHTAG online: #FWPodcasts E-MAIL: fwpodcasts@gmail.com Thanks for listening!

Episode 49 - Astaire and Rogers' THE BARKLEYS OF BROADWAY w/guest Holley Snaith This podcast is a proud member of the FIRE AND WATER PODCAST NETWORK: Visit the Fire & Water WEBSITE: http://fireandwaterpodcast.com Follow FADE OUT on Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/fadeoutpod.bsky.social Follow Fire & Water on BLUE SKY – https://bsky.app/profile/fwpodcasts.bsky.social Like our Fire & Water FACEBOOK page – https://www.facebook.com/FWPodcastNetwork Support The Fire & Water Podcast Network on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/fwpodcasts Use our HASHTAG online: #FWPodcasts E-MAIL: fwpodcasts@gmail.com Thanks for listening!

You may know Kathy Garver from Family Affair but her career before and since “Cissy” is expansive! She is still extraordinarily prolific with a calendar full of film dates, audio book recordings, and event appearances!Kathy began' singing and dancing at age three and had already racked up 12 screen credits when she was cast as an extra in The Ten Commandments. From high atop his director crane, Cecile B. DeMille spotted her carrying a lamb and jumped down to write her a larger role as “Rachel the Slave Girl,” a part that brought her face to face with Charlton Heston as he parted The Red Sea!  At age 20, she was whisked from her UCLA sorority house to a sitcom set when she landed the role of big-sister “Cissy Davis” in one of CBS's first color shows, Family Affair!Kathy tells us how her mother employed Streaks N' Tips to match her dark locks to those of her TV siblings. The resulting greenish hue did not detract Ed Hartmann  from casting the perfect sibling for Buffy and Jody.Kathy shares her thoughts on why her younger co-stars struggled to adjust into their adult lives. She credits her smooth transition to her supportive family and spending her high school years in San Bernardino, away from the judgement of Hollywood.In IMDB Roulette, Kathy talks about sharing credits with Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby, Kurt Russell, Chuck Connors, Patty Duke, Julie Andrews and Andy Griffith.Kathy has amassed an impressive body of voice work, which includes playing Firestar in Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends. She has also mastered the craft of audio-book narration with her most recent work being, Elvis, Rocky & Me: The Carol Connors Story, coming in July.We hear about Kathy's, many books, her slew of upcoming projects and appearances, her unrelenting optimism and her belief in the 'divine threads' of people and events which are creating the fabric of her life.In recommendations--Weezy: HBO Max Documentary, Pee Wee As HimselfFritz:  Netflix Series, American Manhunt - Osama Bin Laden Path Points of Interest:Kathy GarverKathy Garver - WikiKathy Garver - IMDBKathy Garver - InstagramKathy Garver on FacebookKathy Garver Facebook Fan PageKathy Garver's Photos and BooksKathy's Jun/July 2025 NewsletterWhittier Comic Con on June 22Elvis, Rocky & Me: The Carol Connors Story AudiobookGusPee Wee As HimselfAmerican Manhunt - Osama Bin Laden

This week on Throwing Tantrums, we put Spillers in the hot seat as he shares the hilarious night out where worlds collided under club lights.-The shocking moment when we spotted his exact double on a club platform-Why Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire inspired Spillers' dance journey-Spillers' struggle between pursuing passion and battling self-doubt-How parallel play might be Spillers' secret to relationship success-Spillers' first kiss confessions involving braces, house parties, and friends getting dragged outReady for laughs, surprising confessions, and a deep dive into Spillers discovering his path? Hit play now and subscribe for new episodes every week!

CONTENT WARNING: Discussion of racism, sexual assault, false imprisonment. We've got a new name, a new season, and a new series! First up, we talk about our name change with a tagline you may be familiar with. Then, we kick off a new series with a trip through ALL the decades - if the year ends in 5, we're watching a movie from it! We kick things off with a frothy, zippy, real humdinger of a musical with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers doing their thing. Remarkably, this movie is incredibly wholesome and unproblematic, its most offensive thing being a wacky Italian accent that angered Mussolini - in short, a net benefit. We kick off our Decades Grab Bag with 1935's Top Hat on Have a Good Movie! You can email us with feedback at macintoshandmaud@gmail.com, or you can connect with us on BlueSky! If you like the podcast, please subscribe, rate and review the show on your favorite podcatcher, and tell your friends. Intro and outro music taken from the Second Movement of Ludwig von Beethoven's 9th Symphony. Licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Hong Kong (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 HK) license. To hear the full performance or get more information, visit the song page at the Internet Archive. Excerpt taken from the main title to the film Top Hat, written and composed by Irving Berlin. Copyright 1935 RKO Pictures, Inc. Excerpts taken from the main title to the film Mildred Pierce, written and composed by Max Steiner. Copyright 1945, 2005 Turner Entertainment Co., Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Grandpa Bill's Harmony Music House-"Workouts for Geriatrics, AKA, Silver Streakers"! "The BH Sales Kennel Kelp Holistic Healing Hour," hosted by Grandpa Bill.The Silver Streakers' Symphony of Health: Music's Magic for All Ages!Grandpa Bill: Welcome ALL-Silver Streakers and Kids from 1 to 92! BH Sales Kennel Kelp Holistic Healing Hour! Today, we're not just moving our bodies, we're moving our souls with the incredible power of music! And we're going to make it stick in your mind with a super cool Memory Palace!"Grandpa Bill says: "Alright, close your eyes (not if you're driving, folks!), and let's imagine our Memory Palace. We're going to call it the 'Harmonious Health Hall'. Picture it: a grand, beautiful hall, maybe with stained-glass windows shimmering with musical notes, and the air just hums with good vibes. This is where we'll store the secrets to music's health benefits.Grandpa Bill: Now, we're going to use a special trick called PAO – Person, Action, Object. It's like a mini-story for each benefit, making it super sticky. Here are three key benefits we'll place in our Harmonious Health Hall:Memory Palace Location: Imagine this right at the entrance of our Harmonious Health Hall.PAO:Grandpa Bill's Story: "As you step into our Harmonious Health Hall, there's Elvis Presley, cool as a cucumber, crooning a gentle lullaby. He's standing next to a Giant Soothing Lavender Lamp, just glowing with peace. That's right, folks, music, especially choir singing and dancing, helps reduce stress and anxiety! It's like Elvis himself is telling your worries to 'Return to Sender'!"Memory Palace Location: In the center of the Harmonious Health Hall, perhaps on a grand dance floor.PAO:Grandpa Bill's Story: "Now, look straight ahead into the heart of our hall. Who do you see? It's Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, absolutely twirling with pure joy under a magnificent, Giant Sparkling Disco Ball! They're having a blast, laughing, totally connected. This reminds us that music, especially dancing and singing in a choir, boosts your mood and strengthens social connections! Get up and move with your fellow Silver Streakers!"Memory Palace Location: At the far end of the Harmonious Health Hall, near a stage or grand piano.PAO:Grandpa Bill's Story: "Walk with me now to the other end of the hall, near the stage. And who's up there? None other than Albert Einstein, with a big smile, conducting an invisible orchestra with incredible focus! Next to him is a Glowing Brain-Shaped Jigsaw Puzzle, with all the pieces perfectly fitting together. That's music, folks! Engaging with music, whether it's learning an instrument, singing, or dancing, actually enhances your cognitive function and sharpens your memory! Keep those brain cells boogieing!"Grandpa Bill: "There you have it, my magnificent Memory Palace mavens! Elvis soothing your stress, Fred and Ginger twirling with joy and connection, and Einstein conducting your brilliant brain! Remember these images, and remember the amazing health benefits of getting musical! Whether it's humming in the shower, joining a choir, or busting a move in your living room – make music a part of your daily 'Workout for Geriatrics'#WorkoutsForGeriatrics,#SilverStreaker's,#GrandpaBill,#BHSalesKennelKelpHolisticHealingHour,#MusicAndHealth,#MusicPsychology,#ChoirBenefits,#DancingForHealth,#MemoryPalace,#PAOMnemonic,#CognitiveHealth,#StressRelief,#MoodBoost,#WellnessJourney,#HealthyAging,#MusicIsMedicine,GB-Setting Up MY Memory Palace Location: The "Harmonious Health Hall"The PAO System for Music's Health Benefits1. Reduces Stress & Anxiety2. Boosts Mood & Social Connection3. Enhances Cognitive Function & Memory

Join us and dive headfirst into the chaotic, brain-melting acid trip that is Lucy (2014), Luc Besson's cinematic fever dream starring Scarlett Johansson and Morgan Freeman. Right from the start, we knew we were in for it: bad science, a “sketch services” level plot, and the kind of dialogue that feels like it was written by a dolphin with a grudge. We got the whole gang together to dissect this mess with our usual irreverent flair, roasting everything from the film's lazy international logic to its “USB stick of universal knowledge” ending. Honestly, it was like watching 2001: A Space Odyssey if Kubrick had been blackout drunk and obsessed with PowerPoint transitions.   As always, the chaos around the table was half the fun. We went full throttle into the ridiculousness of ScarJo turning into a floating Fred Astaire balloon, controlling time and matter with 20% of her brain (because science), and ultimately becoming “Wi-Fi with titties.” The callbacks and inside jokes were flying faster than Lucy's totally-not-real powers. Between wild tangents about dolphins, King of the Hill, and awkward animal mating montages, it was the most we've ever laughed at a movie that made us question our life choices.   The frustration was real though. Dan, our resident physicist, compared the experience to “watching your grandparents get assaulted.” Elise gave us the all-time review of Lucy as “an acid trip with a science fair poster taped to it.” And Manny… well, Manny owned up to nominating this movie after loving it once while, let's say, chemically enhanced. Rewatching it sober? Not so much. We collectively agreed: Lucy was a one-time ride, and even that was one too many.   But hey, if you love our affectionate chaos and want to hear us go fully unhinged on a movie that somehow made $469 million worldwide, this episode is an absolute banger. It's the perfect blend of exasperated movie talk, relentless roasting, and pure group therapy. Come for the dolphin trivia, stay for the unfiltered pain. You won't regret listening… just don't watch the movie.

durée : 00:19:33 - " Top Hat ", le film avec Fred Astaire - Top Hat ou Le Danseur du dessus (Top Hat) est un film musical américain réalisé par Mark Sandrich, sorti en 1935

This week our usual and only host, Marissa, graciously invites Chelsea and Madison on to have a thoughtful and intellectual discussion about the 1952 American musical romantic comedy (?) Singin' in the Rain. Marissa guides our guests through the plot, history, and fun facts of this comedic romp, exploring the pitfalls and follies that accompanied the transition from silent films to talkies. Is it a rom com? Ehhhh. Is it a fabulous musical rich with quippy dialogue, catchy tunes, and mindboggling skilled footwork? Absolutely. Tangents include the Muppets, Fred Astaire, Tom Holland and Madison does at one point call Gene Kelly a power bottom.Thank you again, to Marissa, for allowing Madison and Chelsea to be on the podcast. It wouldn't exist without Marissa and anyone who claims otherwise will face legal action (I'm not kidding, Marissa said "I will sue" in a Lina Lamont voice when I brought up that she isn't actual the lead of the podcast and I can't afford the legal bills).Lastly, apologies for the delay in posting this episode-- Madison had four concerts to attend in a week and our cat producer, Uno, couldn't figure out the softwareConnect With UsFollow us on Instagram @loveatfirstscreening or send an email to loveatfirstscreening@gmail.comProduction Hosts: Chelsea Ciccone and Madison HillCat Producers: Phoebe, Uno, Kiwi, and CiscoMusic: Good StephArtwork: Chelsea CicconeSocial Media: Marissa CicconeAbout the ShowAn examination of classic tropes and iconic characters pits connoisseur against cynic—one romantic comedy at a time. The cinematic world of love and laughter had rom-com enthusiast Madison head over heels from the time Harry met Sally. For genre skeptic Chelsea, however, it's been a grueling enemies-to-lovers plot. In Love at First Screening, Madison introduces Chelsea to all the fan-favorite love stories she's never wanted to watch. One friend's passion might be the other's displeasure, but doesn't love conquer all? Tune in every Wednesday to find out.

Esta semana se han cumplido 30 años de la muerte de Ginger Rogers, unaactriz que inevitablemente todos relacionamos con Fred Astairecon el querodó una decena de películas. Sin embargo la actriz participó en más de 70de films a lo largo de su carrera la mayoría de ellos no musicales. En esteepisodio la recordamos repasando su carrera. El otro aniversario delprograma son los 90 añosque se han cumplido del estreno de “La novia deFrankestein”, uno de los grandes clásicos del cine de terror de la Universal

Esta semana se han cumplido 30 años de la muerte de Ginger Rogers, unaactriz que inevitablemente todos relacionamos con Fred Astairecon el querodó una decena de películas. Sin embargo la actriz participó en más de 70de films a lo largo de su carrera la mayoría de ellos no musicales. En esteepisodio la recordamos repasando su carrera. El otro aniversario delprograma son los 90 añosque se han cumplido del estreno de “La novia deFrankestein”, uno de los grandes clásicos del cine de terror de la Universal

When he was five years old, Max Pollak had a moment. Sitting in front of a black-and-white television in suburban Vienna, he saw Fred Astaire tap dancing for the first time. “I was so spellbound by his elegance and his effortless swinging persona that I immediately decided I have to learn how to do that,” he remembers. He didn't understand the cultural context or the language, but he knew that whatever was happening on that screen — the rhythm, the movement, the magic — was something he had to pursue. That moment sparked a lifelong journey that would take him from Austria to Harlem to Havana and back again. Here, Max Pollak tells the remarkable story of how he taught himself to dance in a place where no formal tap training existed. Early on, improvisation wasn't just part of his style — it was the only way forward. That instinctive relationship with rhythm would become the foundation of his unique voice as an artist. At 14, Pollak met his first mentor: Carnell Lyons, a master tap dancer from Kansas City who had relocated to Europe during the civil rights era. Lyons had grown up alongside Charlie Parker and had performed with jazz legends. He passed on not only the technical language of tap, but a deep awareness of the art form's Black American roots. That relationship shaped the way Max approached dance — not just as choreography, but as culture. After moving to New York, Max began studying drums and enrolled in Bobby Sanabria's Afro-Cuban ensemble at The New School. It was there that he was asked the question that would redefine his artistic path: Do you want to tap dance to Cuban music — or do you want to tap dance Cuban music? Inspired by that challenge, Pollak dove into Afro-Cuban music, learning the language of clave and fusing it with tap, body percussion, and voice. The result was RumbaTap — a groundbreaking synthesis of traditions that bridges continents and cultures. When members of the legendary Los Muñequitos de Matanzas saw Max perform, they asked him to teach them. That moment affirmed the authenticity of his approach and led to collaborations in Cuba that brought him closer to the source of the music he had been drawn to for so long. Today, Max Pollak is widely recognized as one of the most innovative tap dancers in the world. His contributions to the language of tap, particularly in blending it with Afro-Cuban music and body percussion, have earned him international recognition — including the rare honor of having his image featured on a United States postage stamp. He's also a vocalist, drummer, composer, and storyteller. This week, he celebrates the 25th anniversary of RumbaTap with a special performance at 92NY, featuring members of Los Muñequitos. This episode came together unexpectedly, sparked by a tip from bassist and composer Alexis Cuadrado, who sent me the press release for the 92NY concert. I reached out to Max for a short interview — and the conversation turned out to be so rich and wide-ranging that I decided to share it in full. We talk about lineage, improvisation, spirituality, and what happens when you follow the rhythm only you can hear. www.third-story.com www.leosidran.substack.com www.wbgo.org/podcast/the-third-story

This week we’re MONKEEING AROUND with Sandy Gimpel live at Stellar Fest! Monkees fans may know her as the “friend of the Producer” on the Monkees pilot episode, but she’s had an amazing career that spans from a dancer with Fred Astaire and Elvis, to Bill Mumy’s stunt double, a stunt coordinator, and even second […] The post Monkeeing Around with Sandy Gimpel – Episode 69 appeared first on The ESO Network.

This week we're MONKEEING AROUND with Sandy Gimpel live at Stellar Fest! Monkees fans may know her as the "friend of the Producer" on the Monkees pilot episode, but she's had an amazing career that spans from a dancer with Fred Astaire and Elvis, to Bill Mumy's stunt double, a stunt coordinator, and even second unit director! If you'd like more stories from Sandy, check out her book, Stuntlady: Falling for the Stars. Monkeeing Around is a part of the ESO Podcast Network, Executive Producer Mike Faber. #monkees #sandygimpel #FredAstaire #elvis #lostinspace #startrek #billmumy #stuntwoman #StuntladyFallingForTheStars

We're doing a throwback for Easter this month with the enormously successful Easter Parade. Judy Garland and Fred Astaire delight in this classic musical that's packed with heart, talent, and some truly outrageous hats.

Ever wondered what it's like to tumble through Hollywood as a pioneering stuntwoman? We have the honor of chatting with the indomitable Sandy Gimpel. From her early days of dancing alongside legends like Fred Astaire and Elvis Presley to her unexpected leap into the world of stunts, Sandy's journey is nothing short of extraordinary.  Discover how a chance opportunity on Lost in Space led Sandy into the high-flying world of stunts, where she doubled for icons like Debbie Reynolds. She shares thrilling tales from the sets of Star Trek and beyond, and gives us a sneak peek into her book, Falling for the Stars, and her upcoming culinary adventure, Falling for Food.  Join us as Sandy reveals her secrets to longevity and vibrancy, and inspires us all to keep moving. Tune in for a story of resilience, passion, and the art of falling with style!Sandy's BioSandra Gimpel, is a Stunt Coordinator and first stunt women to become a 2ND Unit DGA Director. One of the founding members of “The Stuntwomen's Assoc” and past Vice President. She is President of Felion Productions Inc., and works on many features and television productions. Not only did she play the Talosian in Star Treks, “The Cage” but was also the Salt Vampire, M-113 on, Star Treks, “Man Trap”.She was honored to receive the “Women in Film” Crystal Award for outstanding achievement in Stunt Coordinating. She also received the Life Time Achievement Award from Diamonds in the Raw; and received the SAG Award for outstanding stunt ensemble for “Spiderman 2”.Her credits include Sacha Baron Cohen's award for the BBC, several Jimmy Kimmel Live shows on ABC, Goonies, The TrumanShow, Off Their Rockers with Betty White, Raising Hope with Cloris Leachman. Television credits include TV series Mrs. Columbo (doubling Kate Mulgrew and Stunt Directing, State of Grace, Luis, These Old Broads doubling Debbie Reynolds and Stunt Coordinating, Harts of the West with Beau Bridges.Between stunts and acting parts she has been on several major motion pictures. Sandy served as Associate Producer on the show “Scamps” for Universal Studios and Executive Producer Sherwood Schwartz. For several years Sandy preformed on live shows including the Westinghouse show at POP, charity events, and worked with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.Just a note Sandy is a 4TH Degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do from world famous Billy Blanks.WebsiteIMBD

A Golden Age Hollywood star in every sense, at just 16 Ruta Lee was  cast in the all-time great movie musical, 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers', subsequently becoming the designated smoldering beauty, spicy sexpot and fiery vixen in  iconic TV Westerns, mysteries and dramas of  the '50s and '60s. She is celebrating her 90th birthday in classic Ruta fashion: with a one-woman show, fabulously titled 'Consider Your Ass Kissed! This week she brings her legendary inside showbiz lore and boundless energy to the Media Path studio!Ruta's story begins with her Lithuanian background and parents who escaped the oppression of the Communist regime to Montreal, Quebec, where Ruta was born, singing and dancing. Her mother reached out to a Lithuanian priest in Los Angeles and thus began the plan to head for Hollywood.Ruta's Hollywood High training prepared her to land roles on The George Burns & Gracie Allen Show, The Roy Rogers Show and then iconic films including Funny Face with Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn and Sergeants Three with The Rat Pack! Ruta recounts her heroic efforts to extract her Grandmother from a Siberian internment camp. She took her request straight to Khrushchev! She tells us about her work with The Thalians, an organization founded by Hollywood actors to help children receive mental health care. Also, what is Audrey Hepburn's keep-slim advice? And what job yielded Ruta the most lucrative income? And with public speaking being our number one fear, Rick Mitchell joins us to talk about his new book, one of the most crucial reference guides of all time, 'How to Write a Funny Speech for a Wedding, Bar Mitzvah, Graduation & Every Other Event You Didn't Want to Go to in the First Place'!In recommendations-- Weezy: "Reality Winner Noir" - Reality (2023) on Max and Winner (2024) on HuluFritz: 'Nickel Boys' now streaming on PrimePath Points of Interest:Ruta Lee Consider Your Ass Kissed by Ruta LeeRuta Lee in“CONSIDER YOUR ASS KISSED”At The Purple Room in Palm Springs, Saturday & Sunday, March 29th and 30that The El Portal Theatre, Friday, May 30th, 2025Ruta Lee on WikipediaRuta Lee on FacebookThe ThaliansRick MitchellHow to Write a Funny Speech Buy LinksNickel Boys (2024)Reality (2023) on MaxWinner (2024) on HuluMedia Path Podcast

Celebrating 19 years of this podcast with some of the host's favorite records, along with some memories of the show's origin.  Songs include: Right Or Wrong by Bob Wills, Cherokee by Sarah Vaughn, Devil Got My Woman by Skip James, In a Mist by Frankie Traumbaur, The Half Of It Dearie Blues by Fred Astaire and Once In a While by Louis Armstrong. 

Weekly meditation led by Rabbi Angela BuchdahlMarch 4, 2025

Twenty-four thousand men were crowded into Knockaloe Interment Camp in 1914 because they had been found guilty of being in the wrong place, at the wrong time, with the wrong last name.Tightly confined behind barbed wire, those men grew increasingly weak, feeble, stiff and awkward until a man named Joseph was shoved through their gate on September 12, 1915.He gave his fellow prisoners strength, stamina, flexibility and grace.They never forgot him.When the war was over and those men were released, Joseph boarded a ship for America. While onboard that ship, he fell in love with a woman named Clara who was also headed to America. When they arrived in New York, Joseph and Clara opened a studio on 8th street that would send ripples across the world.The rest of this story is about how those ripples became a wave.George Balanchine sent his ballet dancers to Joseph on 8th street to gain strength, stamina, flexibility and grace.Martha Graham sent her modern dancers to Joseph on 8th street to gain strength, stamina, flexibility and grace.The best dancers on Broadway went to Joseph on 8th Street to gain strength, stamina, flexibility and grace.George Balanchine became known as “The Father of Modern Ballet.”Martha Graham is shown in Apple's famous “Think Different” video as one of the 17 people that Steve Jobs felt had changed the world.Broadway, Ballet, and Modern Dance were lifted to new heights.When those ripples from 8th Street reached California, the “Golden Age of Hollywood” began.Gene Kelley danced with a light post and sang in the rain to the thundering applause of America.Slim, elegant, and incredibly strong, Fred Astaire did impossible things effortlessly.Ginger Rodgers did exactly what Fred did, but backwards and in high heels.A young man was known for his slogan, “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.” He brought strength, stamina, flexibility and grace to the world of boxing.Like Martha Graham, this young boxer was chosen to appear in Apple's famous “Think Different” video as one of the 17 “crazy ones” who changed the world.He had been the heavyweight champion of the world for 5 years when a 10-year-old boy named Michael elevated dancing to an even higher place with the help of his 4 older brothers. Those 8th Street ripples of strength, stamina, flexibility and grace had splashed back from the California coast and were now rippling through Motown.Charles Atlas and Joseph Pilates were born one year apart and lived an almost identical lifespan.Charles Atlas gave men bulging biceps that other people could admire.Joseph Pilates told us how to gain the strength, stamina, flexibility, and grace to do whatever we want to do.What do you want to do?– Roy H. WilliamsPS – Joseph loved Clara until the day he died.Are your employees happy to follow you, or do they avoid you like a skunk at a garden party? Phillip Wilson says the more accessible you are as a leader, the more your business will thrive. But when leaders create a gap between themselves and their employees, they lose top talent and nudge workers toward unionization. Listen in as the famous Phillip Wilson explains to roving reporter Rotbart why “Approachable Leadership” is the only elevator that can lift employee morale, productivity, and retention. The button has been pressed and this elevator is about to up-up-up! But we're holding the door open for you, hoping that you'll join us at MondayMorningRadio.com

Hollywood stars: they don't make ‘em like they used to. While there are still many fine actors and actresses working in film and television today, very few have the megawatt star power that used to bring audiences to the theaters from the mid- to late 20th Century. And as we move further and further away from the Golden and Silver ages of Tinseltown, the Great Pop Culture Debate podcast wants to determine: who WAS the Best Classic Hollywood Movie Star? We consider 16 film actors and actresses who made their big breaks prior to 1969, including: Cary Grant, Paul Newman, Judy Garland, Ingrid Bergman, Humphrey Bogart, Fred Astaire, Joan Crawford, Katharine Hepburn, Jimmy Stewart, Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Bette Davis, Gene Kelly, Gregory Peck, and Barbara Stanwyck. Join host Eric Rezsnyak and GPCD panelists Derek Mekita, Jonny Minogue, and Karissa Kloss as they discuss 16 of the biggest Hollywood legends who made their big breaks prior to 1969. Play along at home by finding the listener bracket here. Make a copy for yourself, fill it out, and see if your picks match up with ours! For more exclusive content, including the warm-up in which we discuss even more iconic Hollywood legends that didn't make the bracket, become a Patreon supporter of the podcast today. Looking for more reasons to become a Patreon supporter? Check out our Top 10 Patreon Perks. Want to play along at home? Download the Listener Bracket and see if your picks match up with ours! Sign up for our weekly newsletter! Subscribe to find out what's new in pop culture each week right in your inbox! Vote in more pop culture polls! Check out our Open Polls. Your votes determine our future debates! Then, vote in our Future Topic Polls to have a say in what episodes we tackle next. Episode Credits Host: Eric Rezsnyak Panelists: Derek Mekita, Jonny Minogue, Karissa Kloss Producer: Bob Erlenback Editor: Bob Erlenback Theme Music: “Dance to My Tune” by Marc Torch #classicfilm #classicmovies #hollywood #moviestar #goldenage #oscars #elizabethtaylor #katharinehepburn #paulnewman #carygrant #audreyhepburn #marilynmonroe #humphreybogart #ingridbergman #judygarland #jimmystewart #bettedavis #joancrawford Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Send Kevin a Text MessageIn this episode of Don't Kill the Messenger, host Kevin Goetz sits down with acclaimed producer David Permut, the visionary behind films like Face/Off, Hacksaw Ridge (Academy Award nominee for Best Picture), Dragnet, and most recently, Rustin. His films have garnered multiple Academy Award nominations, and he is known for his exceptional ability to discover new talent and bring challenging stories to the screen. From selling star maps as a teenager to executive producing with Barack and Michelle Obama, Permut shares candid stories about his remarkable journey in Hollywood.Early Beginnings and Star Maps (02:15)Permut discusses his start as the publisher of Beverly Hills Map Company, selling maps to celebrity homes while meeting stars like Fred Astaire, Elvis Presley, and Katherine Hepburn.Learning from Bill Sargent (09:17)The producer shares how meeting promoter Bill Sargent led to his first major projects, including Give 'em Hell, Harry! starring James Whitmore.Richard Pryor Live in Concert (16:30)Permut reveals the story behind producing Richard Pryor's groundbreaking concert film, which grossed $32.5 million.Face/Off: From Shelf to Screen (24:33)Details the fascinating journey of acquiring Face/Off from Warner Brothers, investing his own money for the option, and bringing John Woo on board to direct what would become a major hit.The Making of Hacksaw Ridge (30:04)Permut talks about the 17-year journey to bring Desmond Doss's story to screen, culminating in six Oscar nominations and working with Mel Gibson.Rustin and Working with the Obamas (36:05)Permut discusses collaborating with Barack and Michelle Obama's Higher Ground Productions on Rustin and the importance of telling meaningful stories.Current Projects and Future Vision (41:27)The producer shares his excitement about discovering new talent and his upcoming projects, including Twinless with James Sweeney and Being Heumann, the story of disability rights activist Judy Heumann.Throughout this engaging conversation, David Permut embodies his own philosophy: "Die with your memories, not your dreams." From selling star maps to producing Oscar-nominated films, his journey demonstrates the power of passion and persistence in Hollywood. Whether creating blockbusters or meaningful dramas, Permut's enthusiasm for discovering new talent and telling important stories remains as strong as ever.If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review or connect on social media. We look forward to bringing you more revelations from behind the scenes next time on Don't Kill the Messenger!Host: Kevin GoetzGuest: David PermutProducer: Kari CampanoWriters: Kevin Goetz, Darlene Hayman, and Kari CampanoAudio Engineer: Gary Forbes (DG Entertainment) For more information about David Permut:Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_PermutIMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0674303/Variety: https://variety.com/exec/david-permut/ For more information about Kevin Goetz:Website: www.KevinGoetz360.comAudienceology Book: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Audience-ology/Kevin-Goetz/9781982186678Facebook, Twitter, Instagram: @KevinGoetz360Linked In @Kevin Goetz

Colin suggests we form a secret society to tell a Ghost Story (1981), an adaptation of Peter Straub's novel about a 50 year old secret that binds together a group of elderly men in a snowy small town in New England, played by some of Hollywood's legendary stars, including Fred Astaire and John Houseman. Listen as we pay tribute to makeup artist Dick Smith, talk about sexy ghosts, and tell each other ghost stories on this week's exciting episode! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

EPISODE 72 - “CHATTING CLASSIC CINEMA WITH JOURNALIST MAUREEN LENKER” - 1/27/2024 In this week's episode, Steve and Nan welcome award-winning journalist MAUREEN LENKER. Maureen, who is currently a Senior Writer for Entertainment Weekly, has a deep passion and knowledge of classic cinema and has made 1930s Hollywood the setting for her new novel, “His Girl Hollywood.” Join us as Maureen discusses her career, her passion for cinema, her most inspirational classic films, and all the tea about her new novel. SHOW NOTES:  Sources: It Happened One Fight (2023), by Maureen Lee Lenker; His Girl Hollywood (2025), by Maureen Lee Lenker; TCM.com; IMDBPro.com; IBDB.com; Wikipedia.com; Movies Mentioned:  Swing Time (1936) - starring Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers; Gone with the Wind (1939), starring Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, Olivia de Havilland, Leslie Howard, & Hattie McDaniel; His Girl Friday (1940), starring Rosalind Russell, Cary Grant, Ralph Bellamy, Gene Lockhart, Helen Mack, & John Qualen; The Philadelphia Story (1940), starring Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, James Stewart, Ruth Hussey, Virginia Weidler, Mary Nash, John Howard, & Roland Young; Casablanca (1942), starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet, & Dooley Wilson; The Heiress (1949), starring Olivia de Havilland, Montgomery Clift, Ralph Richardson, & Miriam Hopkins; Outrage (1950). Starring Mala Powers, Tod Andrews, Robert Clarke, Lillian Hamilton, & Rita Lupino; Singing in the Rain (1952), starting Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Donald O'Connor, Jean Hagan, Rita Moreno, Cyd Charisse, & Millard Mitchell; West Side Story (1952), starring Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Rita Moreno, George Chakiras, & Russ Tamblyn; The Quiet Man (1952), starring John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Mildred Natwick, Barry Fitzgerald, & Patrick McLaglen; White Christmas (1954), starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Vera Ellen, Dean Jagger, Mary Wickes, & Anne Whitfield; It's Always Fair Weather (1955), starring Gene Kelly, Cyd Charisse, Dan Dailey, Michalre Kidd, & Delores Gray; Mary Poppins (1964), starring Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, David Tomlinson, & Glynis Johns; The Sound of Music (1965), starring Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Eleanor Parker, Chairman Carr, Richard Haydn, & Peggy Wood; Then Princess Bride (1987), starring Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Billy Crystal, Mandy Patinkin, & Wallace Shawn; --------------------------------- http://www.airwavemedia.com Please contact sales@advertisecast.com if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

GGACP celebrates the 99th (!) birthday of living legend Dick Van Dyke (b. Dec 13) by revisiting this unforgettable conversation, originally recorded in 2016. In this episode, Dick looks back on his illustrious 70-year career, recalls his friendships with Stan Laurel and Buster Keaton and shares his memories (both good and bad) of making the classic family films “Mary Poppins” and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.” Also, Dick idolizes Ray Bolger, co-stars with Mickey Rooney, gets a surprise visit from Cary Grant and earns a compliment from Fred Astaire. PLUS: Ed Wynn! “My Mother the Car”! The genius of Carl Reiner! Gilbert and Dick duet! And Dick reveals his secrets to longevity! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices