Podcast appearances and mentions of Kathy Garver

Johnny Whitaker became one of the most recognizable child actors of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Best known for playing Jody Davis on the hit CBS sitcom Family Affair, Whitaker captured hearts alongside Brian Keith, Anissa Jones, Kathy Garver, and Sebastian Cabot. But his career started even earlier — originating the role of Scotty Baldwin on General Hospital and starring in Hallmark's The Littlest Angel. From The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming to Tom Sawyer, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, and multiple Disney classics like Snowball Express, The Biscuit Eater, and Napoleon and Samantha, Whitaker's childhood résumé is stacked with iconic performances. In this episode of the Too Opinionated Podcast, we dive into: • The impact of Family Affair on 1960s television • His connection to Brian Keith • Classic appearances on Bewitched, Green Acres, and Gunsmoke • His Disney film era • The legacy of one of Hollywood's most memorable redheaded child stars If you love classic TV, vintage Hollywood, and behind-the-scenes stories from television's golden era, this episode is for you. Subscribe for more deep dives into legendary actors, cult favorites, and pop culture icons.

My interview with Kathy Garver, co-author of "Romancing with the Stars"

Hello everyone.  Our guest this week is Kathy Garver, "Cissy" from "Family Affair" and much more as you can imagine.  We apologize for the sound quality Kathy did what she could to fix it but you can make it people...it's not too bad.  Enjoy Kathy's story and we will see everyone again next week.

On this episode of Too Opinionated, host Michael Wall sits down with actress, voice actor, and audiobook legend Kathy Garver. Best known as Cissy Davis on the classic TV series Family Affair, Kathy began her career in Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments. Her film and television work includes The Princess Diaries, Apollo 13, and numerous made-for-TV movies. Kathy is also a powerhouse in voice acting and audiobooks. She voiced Firestar on Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends and Pepper on Chuck Norris: Karate Kommandos. With over 80 audiobooks recorded, four Audie Awards, and a GRAMMY® nomination for Elvis, Rocky and Me: The Carol Connors Story, her impact on entertainment spans generations.

Episode Notes S7E1 -- Join us as we chat with the legendary Music legend, Oscar, Grammy, Emmy, and Golden Globe Nominee Carol Connors. She'll be in the house telling tales from The Teddy Bears to her newest Novel ELVIS, ROCKY AND ME: THE CAROL CONNORS STORY. Carol's first hit record “TO KNOW HIM IS TO LOVE HIM” from the genius of Rock n Roll, the infamous Phil Spector who wrote the song for Carol's voice. Connors was and will always be the voice of The Teddy Bears. Connors co-wrote the ROCKY theme song “GONNA FLY NOW” & what is one the of the greatest love songs of our time “With You I'm Born Again” as recorded by Billy Preston & Syreeta. Another music highlight in Conners career was the hit song “Little Cobra” which soared to #2 on the billboard charts and is the reason the Cobra Muscle car became a big seller. Connors wrote songs for Disney's Oscar Nominated animated feature Walt Disney's “The Rescuers” and wrote most of the lyrics and music for the film. Carol is a current Grammy Nominee for the audio book “Elvis, Rocky and Me: The Carol Connors Story.” HELPFUL LINKS: VETERANS: https://www.va.gov/.../mental-health/suicide-prevention/ ADDICTION: https://lp.recoverycentersofamerica.com/.../continuum-of.../ Due you know someone that has lost their lives due to addiction? Or even someone that has made a full recovery? Reach out to Johnny Whitaker so they can help to celebrate the lives lost/ lives recovered at overdoseawareness0831@gmail.com ___________________________________________ Follow our guest https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_Connors_(singer) https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0175486/ https://www.carolconnors.com/main.htm ______________________________ Toking with the Dead: https://www.stilltoking.com/ ————————————— Follow Still Toking With and their friends! https://smartpa.ge/5zv1 ————————————— Produced by Leo Pond and The Dorkening Podcast Network MORE ABOUT THE GUEST: Carol Connors (born Annette Kleinbard, November 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. She is perhaps best known as the lead vocalist on the Teddy Bears' single, "To Know Him Is To Love Him", which was written by her bandmate Phil Spector. Her best known contribution as songwriter is co-writing the song "Gonna Fly Now" for the 1976 movie Rocky, for which she shared an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song with lyricist Ayn Robbins and composer Bill Conti. The audiobook version of her auto-biography, co-written with Steve Bergsman, Elvis, Rocky and Me: The Carol Connors Story narrated by Kathy Garver received a Grammy nomination for the 68th Grammy Awards in the Best Audiobook Category. Connors produced the audiobook version with David Longoria.

Big Conversations, Little Bar goes into Thanksgiving week 2025 with an extraordinary episode recorded at Skip Paige's Little Bar. This week, Patrick Evans and Randy Florence welcome beloved actress Kathy Garver, known worldwide as “Cissy” from A Family Affair, along with her brother Lance Garver, whose own career spans acting, commercial real estate, and decades of global adventures. Kathy shares unforgettable memories from The Ten Commandments, Family Affair, and her successful voiceover and audiobook career—including her current Grammy nomination. Lance brings lively, often hilarious stories from his acting days, international travels, and work revitalizing California's motel and hotel landscape. Together, the Garvers offer a heartwarming and wildly entertaining blend of Hollywood history, family anecdotes, creative journeys, and desert-life connections—along with a preview of their upcoming projects. This episode is rich with nostalgia, laughter, and remarkable storytelling.Takeaways:How Kathy Garver rose from child actress to Grammy-nominated narratorWhat made A Family Affair a beloved, enduring TV classicThe surprising way Cecil B. DeMille expanded Kathy's role in The Ten CommandmentsLance's adventures in acting, real estate, and international travel—including brushes with Cold War dangerHow both siblings built lifelong connections to Palm Springs and the Coachella ValleyKathy's upcoming projects, including films in Australia, a new podcast, and her book Romancing with the StarsLance's forthcoming memoir The Adventures of Lance RomanceThe duo's humorous and heartfelt sibling dynamic that shines throughout the episode#BigConversationsLittleBarPodcast #PatrickEvans #RandyFlorence #SkipsLittleBar #MutualBroadcastingSystem #CoachellaValleyResidents #SkipPaige #McCallumTheatre #KathyGarver #LanceGarver #AFamilyAffair #PalmSprings #ChildStars #ClassicTV #HollywoodLegends #PalmDesert #PodcastInterview #DesertLife #CelebrityStories #EntertainmentPodcast

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.  

Spidey and his pals swing by the X-Mansion for some laughs only for the trip to end in Firestar brutally murdering an ex-lover on the latest episode of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends! Join us as we discuss...Why we wish we were making Superman movies, how close and distant the early 2000s are for now and plans for the future of the podcast!Thunderbird, back from the dead and this time with grizzly bear powers!The saga of various writing rooms overcoming Stan Lee's "notes"!Yes, Firestar kills a dude she once loved and uhhh...The X-Men TAS Podcast just opened a SECRET reddit group, join by clicking here! We are also on Twitch sometimes… click here to go to our page and follow and subscribe so you can join in on all the mysterious fun to be had! Also, make sure to subscribe to our podcast via Buzzsprout or iTunes and tell all your friends about it! Follow Willie Simpson on Bluesky and please join our Facebook Group! Last but not least, if you want to support the show, you can Buy Us a Coffee as well!

Peter Parker almost dies on the way to his home planet in the pursuit of love on the latest episode of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends! Join us as we discuss...The power of Miyakzaki movies and announcing a two week break before coming back with special Superman and Fantastic Four episodes!Finding out how much stock each of us put into the wonders of astrology!How Animal House and Revenge of the Nerds looms large over the writing of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends!The dangers of spreading of germs through french kissing all your friends!The X-Men TAS Podcast just opened a SECRET reddit group, join by clicking here! We are also on Twitch sometimes… click here to go to our page and follow and subscribe so you can join in on all the mysterious fun to be had! Also, make sure to subscribe to our podcast via Buzzsprout or iTunes and tell all your friends about it! Follow Willie Simpson on Bluesky and please join our Facebook Group! Last but not least, if you want to support the show, you can Buy Us a Coffee as well!

Todd Muench joins John Landecker in the studio to talk about the Antenna TV Nostalgia Stories Podcast. This time, Todd breaks down some of the July segments and some of the exciting interviews they have coming up in the month: Willie Tyler & Lester, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Kathy Garver, and Big Daddy Kane.

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

The web-head recruits a new member of the X-Men whose power is being awesome at video games on the latest episode of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends! Join us as we discuss...Our continued devotion to the anime series Inuyasha and dragging our feet with Andor!Come on Spider-Man, this is the third time you've met Video-Man, you know who this guy is!What does Pac-Man Fever and the Simon and Garfunkel concert in Central Park have in common?Colossus in human form doesn't leave much to the imagination!The X-Men TAS Podcast just opened a SECRET reddit group, join by clicking here! We are also on Twitch sometimes… click here to go to our page and follow and subscribe so you can join in on all the mysterious fun to be had! Also, make sure to subscribe to our podcast via Buzzsprout or iTunes and tell all your friends about it! Follow Willie Simpson on Bluesky and please join our Facebook Group! Last but not least, if you want to support the show, you can Buy Us a Coffee as well!

We dive into Thunderbolts, our entire history with the MCU and one of the funniest episodes of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends ever! Join us as we discuss...Our spoilery thoughts on Thunderbolts and how we think it will hold up over time!Grading every MCU movie based on what we thought at the time and what we think now!Dracula, Robot Frankenstein, Wolf-Thing - a recipe for success!Wondering how they all made it back to the ESU Dance from Transylvania in one night!The X-Men TAS Podcast just opened a SECRET reddit group, join by clicking here! We are also on Twitch sometimes… click here to go to our page and follow and subscribe so you can join in on all the mysterious fun to be had! Also, make sure to subscribe to our podcast via Buzzsprout or iTunes and tell all your friends about it! Follow Willie Simpson on Bluesky and please join our Facebook Group! Last but not least, if you want to support the show, you can Buy Us a Coffee as well!

We revisit our most beloved episode of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, being pleased as punch that Firestar is given the best origin of any of the three heroes! Join us as we discuss...Saluting Daredevil episode 8 and reflecting on the White Lotus finale!The mystery of Australian Wolverine continues!S-Tier voice acting in this episode - unparalleled!Trying to figure out for certain the mechanics of how and why the X-Men are off-loaded to college after graduating the Xavier school!The X-Men TAS Podcast just opened a SECRET reddit group, join by clicking here! We are also on Twitch sometimes… click here to go to our page and follow and subscribe so you can join in on all the mysterious fun to be had! Also, make sure to subscribe to our podcast via Buzzsprout or iTunes and tell all your friends about it! Follow Willie Simpson on Bluesky and please join our Facebook Group! Last but not least, if you want to support the show, you can Buy Us a Coffee as well!

The Marvel time portal is in full effect yet again as the latest Spider-Man episode has nearly identical scenes to Spider-Man: No Way Home! Join us as we discuss...Back to back disappointing Daredevil episodes and reacting to all the cast members listed for the new Avengers: Doomsday movie!Why the presentation of this Spider-Man origin was as close to a sacred text at the time of its release!It's hard to get a hired goon as capable as Barcroft these days!Pouring one out for Steve Ditko (and Jack Kirby) as we wrap things up!The X-Men TAS Podcast just opened a SECRET reddit group, join by clicking here! We are also on Twitch sometimes… click here to go to our page and follow and subscribe so you can join in on all the mysterious fun to be had! Also, make sure to subscribe to our podcast via Buzzsprout or iTunes and tell all your friends about it! Follow Willie Simpson on Bluesky and please join our Facebook Group! Last but not least, if you want to support the show, you can Buy Us a Coffee as well!

Iceman's gripping origin of little consequence is explored on the latest episode of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends! Join us as we discuss...Daredevil episode 3 - highs, lows, sweet creamy middles!Videoman is back and as terrible as ever!Hey, the OG X-Men are here and they look really good!Iceman will finally get his day in the cinematic world!The X-Men TAS Podcast just opened a SECRET reddit group, join by clicking here! We are also on Twitch sometimes… click here to go to our page and follow and subscribe so you can join in on all the mysterious fun to be had! Also, make sure to subscribe to our podcast via Buzzsprout or iTunes and tell all your friends about it! Follow Willie Simpson on Bluesky and please join our Facebook Group! Last but not least, if you want to support the show, you can Buy Us a Coffee as well!

Iceman is late on his rent and Firestar falls for the swarthy charms of Kraven the Hunter on the latest episode of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends! Join us as we discuss...Harley Quinn's reign of greatness, the looming specter of Daredevil and imagining what X-Men would be like if the cartoons were produced like the way anime is in Japan! (but not X-Men: Anime - it'll make sense!)Firestar fan service galore in this episode!Sure, bring Ms. Lion to the theater and also to the dangerous abandoned Naval base to fight the bad guy!Wondering if Kraven conquering NYC has any upside!The X-Men TAS Podcast just opened a SECRET reddit group, join by clicking here! We are also on Twitch sometimes… click here to go to our page and follow and subscribe so you can join in on all the mysterious fun to be had! Also, make sure to subscribe to our podcast via Buzzsprout or iTunes and tell all your friends about it! Follow Willie Simpson on Bluesky and please join our Facebook Group! Last but not least, if you want to support the show, you can Buy Us a Coffee as well!

On episode 727 of On Screen & Beyond we have Kathy Garver joining us once again! Kathy played Cissy on the classic TV show "Family Affair". She insight on the show, her career and some of her many current projects including three movie! Kathy is always a listener favorite!

Captain America is brainwashed by Kingpin to steal a gun that contains every beam the US Government could think of while Iceman unwittingly helps him commit high treason on the latest episode of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends! Join us as we discuss...Thoughts and reflections on the old Daredevil show and new one coming in March!Seeing how in many ways this episode rips off Goldfinger but also predicts the first Naked Gun movie!The Captain America assembly should have been a lot more fun than what we get and we blame Stan Lee!Wondering if Spider-Man would be able to survive a fall from any height!The X-Men TAS Podcast just opened a SECRET reddit group, join by clicking here! We are also on Twitch sometimes… click here to go to our page and follow and subscribe so you can join in on all the mysterious fun to be had! Also, make sure to subscribe to our podcast via Buzzsprout or iTunes and tell all your friends about it! Follow Willie Simpson on Twitter and Threads and please join our Facebook Group! Last but not least, if you want to support the show, you can Buy Us a Coffee as well!

My guest is an actress perhaps best known for playing Cissy on the TV sitcom “Family Affair”. We discuss her career, coping with acting, the problems faced by child stars, and much more.

Spider-Man goes to Hollywood and along the way hires a shirtless dude on the bus, who happens to be Bruce Banner, to be a janitor on the movie he is starring in! Join us as we discuss...Going backwards in time to the start of the podcast, Agatha and Penguin!Sam or Stan Blockbuster? Also Lance Macho and Honey Dove!Spider-Man starring in a major motion picture for $100.38.Firestar and Iceman just shooting their powers full force into the faces of people the whole episode!The X-Men TAS Podcast just opened a SECRET reddit group, join by clicking here! We are also on Twitch sometimes… click here to go to our page and follow and subscribe so you can join in on all the mysterious fun to be had! Also, make sure to subscribe to our podcast via Buzzsprout or iTunes and tell all your friends about it! Follow Willie Simpson on Twitter and Threads and please join our Facebook Group! Last but not least, if you want to support the show, you can Buy Us a Coffee as well!

TVC 664.6: Ed and guest co-host Chuck Harter welcome back Kathy Garver, the actress known around the world to three generations of television viewers as Cissy Davis on Family Affair. Kathy is on the board of directors for The Thalians, the non-profit organization that partners with UCLA's Operation Mend in providing support and care for those who struggle with PTSD and other mental illnesses (and, particularly, our service men and women and their caregivers). She is also on the board of the Motion Pictures Mothers Club, a unique nonprofit organization formed in 1939 that raises funds for items that directly benefit working and retired members of the entertainment industry. Topics this segment include how Kathy became involved with both of these organizations, plus she talks about her appearances on Mr. Novak (NBC, 1963-1965), including an episode that also featured Beau Bridges. For more information on the Motion Picture Mothers Club event coming up on Saturday, Dec. 14, call (818) 986-3735. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TVC 664.6: A special preview of a conversation that will air on next weekend's program with Kathy Garver, the actress known around the world to three generations of television viewers as Cissy Davis on Family Affair. Kathy is on the board of directors for The Thalians, the non-profit organization that partners with UCLA's Operation Mend in providing support and care for those who struggle with PTSD and other mental illnesses (and, particularly, our service men and women and their caregivers). Funny for Money, an evening of comedy that will support the efforts of Operation Mend, will take place Thursday, Oct. 24 at the historic El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood. For tickets and more information, call (818) 508-0281 or go to https://www.elportaltheatre.com/  To learn more about information about the Thalians, please visit http://www.thalians.org/ Kathy Garver is also on the board of the Motion Pictures Mothers Club, a unique nonprofit organization formed in 1939 that raises funds for items that directly benefit working and retired members of the entertainment industry. This year's Autumn Luncheon benefitting the Motion Picture Mothers Club takes place Saturday, Oct. 26 at the venerable Smoke House restaurant in Burbank, CA. For tickets and more information, call (818) 986-3735. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Spider-Friends tackle Magneto at Niagara Falls all while trying to sort out their romantic feelings for each other on the latest episode of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends! Join us as we discuss...Again, another episode featuring stuff we'd later see in the movies!Miss Lion risks it all to save her friends with some borderline heartbreaking heroics!Speaking of Miss Lion, are their mutant dogs in the Marvel Universe too?Arguing over who is a better potential couple, Peter and Anjelica or Bobby and Anjelica!The X-Men TAS Podcast just opened a SECRET reddit group, join by clicking here! We are also on Twitch sometimes… click here to go to our page and follow and subscribe so you can join in on all the mysterious fun to be had! Also, make sure to subscribe to our podcast via Buzzsprout or iTunes and tell all your friends about it! Follow Willie Simpson on Twitter and Threads and please join our Facebook Group! Last but not least, if you want to support the show, you can Buy Us a Coffee as well!

Actress Kathy Garver joins Frank Mackay on this episode of The Frank Mackay Show!

Firestar and Iceman use kid gloves to take on a creature made of bees (instead of melting or freezing him an instant) on the latest episode of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, so join us as we discuss...All our thoughts on the new Bruce Timm Batman Show, Batman: The Caped Crusader!All the horrifying moments our heroes face staring down this hideous monster of an enemy!Getting into Spider-Man's shoe situation, the benefits of freeze drying wet clothing and the practicality of Iceman's secret Ice-Pole (oh boy...)!Wondering if humanity would be better off living in a hive! The X-Men TAS Podcast just opened a SECRET reddit group, join by clicking here! We are also on Twitch sometimes… click here to go to our page and follow and subscribe so you can join in on all the mysterious fun to be had! Also, make sure to subscribe to our podcast via Buzzsprout or iTunes and tell all your friends about it! Follow Willie Simpson on Twitter and Threads and please join our Facebook Group! Last but not least, if you want to support the show, you can Buy Us a Coffee as well!

KATHY GARVER ACTOR…VOICE OVER TALENT …AUTHOR…HOST…PRODUCER…WORKSHOP LEADER MOST RECOGNIZED AS CISSY ON TV SITCOM'S ‘FAMILY AFFAIR' EXCLUSIVE ZOOM INTERVIEW!   Hello everyone and welcome to another edition of Interviewing the Legends I'm your host Ray Shasho. Most fondly remembered for her starring role as “Cissy” in the long-running CBS international television hit, Family Affair, Kathy Garver has also garnered critical acclaim in movies, stage, radio, voice-over animation, and audio book narration. Her professional acting career began when she was just seven years old appearing in TV westerns, sit coms, and dramatic programs such as Climax and Matinee Theater.  When she was eight years old, Hollywood legendary director Cecil B. DeMille recognized Kathy's distinct talents.  Originally hired for a small part in the epic motion picture, The Ten Commandments. Today, Kathy is an accomplished and versatile actress and a bestselling author. In 2020 she finished two pilots TvDinners for which she is host and Aunt Cissy a spinoff of Family Affair. In 2023 she starred in two comedy's ‘Old Man Jackson' and ‘Yellow Bird'. For all her accomplishments, including her new Cissy Collection which includes her signature candles, lotion and room spray, Kathy's sails will be billowing in some very favorable waters for quite some time. PLEASE WELCOME Actor, Voice Over Talent, Author, Host, Speaker, Producer, Workshop Leader most recognized as Cissy of the American sitcom Family Affair starring Brian Keith and Sebastian Cabot that aired on CBS from September 12, 1966, to March 4, 1971, and ran for 138 episodes in five seasons…KATHY GARVER TO INTERVIEWING THE LEGENDS   FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT KATHY GARVER VISIT https://www.kathygarver.com/ Official website https://www.facebook.com/kathygarverfanpage/ Facebook https://x.com/Kathy_Garver?mx=2 Twitter https://www.instagram.com/kgcissy/ Instagram   Author of: Romancing with the Stars) (release 2024 Bear Manor Media) TvDinners TV (Release Date 2024 by Bear Manor Media) Family Affair:  A Pictorial Scrapbook (Release 2021 by Tv Classics Media) Holiday Recipes for a Family Affair (Release date 2019 by Bear Manor Media) X Child Stars: Where Are They Now? (Release date 2016 by Rowman/Littlefield) Surviving Cissy - My Family Affair of Life in Hollywood (Release date 2015 by Rowman/Littlefield) The Family Affair Cookbook (2009 by Bear Manor Media)   Support us on PayPal!

Sunfire falls in love Firestar after he sees her doing something extremely obscene with a meteor that is about to crash into NYC on the latest episode of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends! Join us as we discuss...Being utterly confused as to where the Spider-Friends base is located!Sunfire falling love with both Angelica and Firestar, and then immediately ditching Angelica!Is Bobby in love with Angelica too? Peter? It's confusing...Iceman has trouble freezing a bunch of slow moving robots but has no problem freezing the entirety of the East River!The X-Men TAS Podcast just opened a SECRET reddit group, join by clicking here! We are also on Twitch sometimes… click here to go to our page and follow and subscribe so you can join in on all the mysterious fun to be had! Also, make sure to subscribe to our podcast via Buzzsprout or iTunes and tell all your friends about it! Follow Willie Simpson on Twitterand Threads and please join our Facebook Group! Last but not least, if you want to support the show, you can Buy Us a Coffee as well!

Spider-Man and the gang tangle with their most fearsome foe yet, an old unemployed  man who wants to paint NYC with rainbow polka-dots...also Dr. Doom...so join us as we discuss!Marvel's long history of being the cheapest company in the world!Some potentially scary body-horror moments for the kids watching at home!More casual racism, this time in the form of Genghis Khan!Despite everything, an extremely comic accurate portrayal of Dr. Doom!The X-Men TAS Podcast just opened a SECRET reddit group, join by clicking here! We are also on Twitch sometimes… click here to go to our page and follow and subscribe so you can join in on all the mysterious fun to be had! Also, make sure to subscribe to our podcast via Buzzsprout or iTunes and tell all your friends about it! Follow Willie Simpson on Twitterand Threads and please join our Facebook Group! Last but not least, if you want to support the show, you can Buy Us a Coffee as well!

X-Men 97: Season 2 isn't coming for a million years so we decided to kill the time waiting by watching three different animated classics and we start with the hilarious Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends! Join us as we discuss...More Marvel cameos than you can fill a multiverse with!How this episode basically has the same plot of both Batman Begins and the Amazing Spider-Man Andrew Garfield movie!Drunk Iceman!Stay away from Tony's Pizza!Superman TAS next week! X-Men Anime the week after!The X-Men TAS Podcast just opened a SECRET reddit group, join by clicking here! We are also on Twitch sometimes… click here to go to our page and follow and subscribe so you can join in on all the mysterious fun to be had! Also, make sure to subscribe to our podcast via Buzzsprout or iTunes and tell all your friends about it! Follow Willie Simpson on Twitterand Threads and please join our Facebook Group! Last but not least, if you want to support the show, you can Buy Us a Coffee as well!

In this episode of The Bill Cartwright Show, Bill sits down with former star of the TV series "Family Affair", author, and public speaker Kathy Garver.

Television Icon Kathy Garver swings by the Power of X-Men treehouse to discuss Firestar, Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends, and EMMA FROST!

Episode Notes S5E1 -- Join us we chat with the legendary Kathy Garver. She'll take us on her journey from "The Ten Commandments" to "Family Affair" and beyond Kathy Garver is an American actress most remembered for having portrayed the teenaged orphan, Catherine "Cissy" Davis, on the popular 1960s CBS sitcom, Family Affair. Before that, she was cast by Cecil B. DeMille in the film The Ten Commandments (1956), and after that, she provided the voice of Firestar in the animated television series Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (1981–83). Garver authored The Family Affair Cookbook (2009), Surviving Cissy: My Family Affair of Life in Hollywood (2015), and X Child Stars: Where are They Now? (2016). NEWS FLASH You can now purchase Toking with the Dead full novel here https://a.co/d/7uypgZo https://www.barnesandnoble.com/.../toking.../1143414656... You can see all your past favorite episodes now streaming on https://redcoraluniverse.com/ OR Show your support by purchasing FB stars. Send stars to the stars fb.com/stars Toking with the Dead: https://www.stilltoking.com/ https://www.facebook.com/TokingwiththeDead?tn=-]C-R https://www.instagram.com/stilltokingwith/?hl=en https://twitter.com/thetoking?lang=en https://pinecast.com/feed/still-toking-with Check out Toking with the Dead Episode 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awhL5FyW_j4 Check out Toking with the Dead Episode 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaUai58ua6o Buy awesome Merchandise! https://www.stilltoking.com/toking-with-the-dead-train https://teespring.com/stores/still-toking-with Sponsorship Opportunities https://www.stilltoking.com/become-a-sponsor or email us at bartlett52108@gmail.com thetokingdead@gmail.com ————————————— Follow our guest https://www.kathygarver.com/ https://www.instagram.com/kgcissy/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathy_Garver https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0308744/bio/ https://www.facebook.com/kathygarverfanpage ———————— Follow Still Toking With and their friends! https://smartpa.ge/5zv1 https://thedorkeningpodcastnetwork.com/ ————————————— Produced by Leo Pond and The Dorkening Podcast Network https://TheDorkening.com Facebook.com/TheDorkening Youtube.com/TheDorkening Twitter.com/TheDorkening Dead Dork Radio https://live365.com/station/Dead-Dork-Radio-a68071 MORE ABOUT OUR GUEST: Garver was born in Long Beach, California, the daughter of Rosemary (Schmoker) and Hayes Garver.She was raised Roman Catholic and attended a Catholic primary school. Garver recalled that her mother began getting her into acting from a young age: "I started singing and dancing at the Meglin Studios in Hollywood, at three years old, as was Shirley Temple, who was also discovered there. I think my mom had the vision of her little daughter as Shirley Temple."When she was nine, she was cast in I'll Cry Tomorrow, but her most famous movie role was one of the young slaves in The Ten Commandments. Garver was cast as an extra in The Ten Commandments, but during filming director Cecil B. DeMille noticed her and wrote her into the movie. During the 1950s Garver did voice work on radio dramas, including Whispering Streets and Heartbeat Theater. In 1969, Garver released a Christmas song called "Lem, the Orphan Reindeer" on the Aquarian label, distributed by Bell Records. The song was written by Tommy Boyce, Bobby Hart, and E. Justin, and arranged by Jimmie Haskell.[citation needed] In 1966, while studying at UCLA, she auditioned for, and won, the role of "Cissy" Davis, the eldest of the three siblings on Family Affair. Garver provided the voices of Firestar, Storm and other female guest characters on the Saturday morning cartoon Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends. In the 1990s Spider-Man cartoon series, she played the voice of Miss America. Garver was the voice of Alice Mitchell in the Dennis the Menace cartoon special Mayday for Mother and Pepper in Chuck Norris: Karate Kommandos. Her other voice roles included the television series Fonz and the Happy Days Gang; The Tom & Jerry Kids Show; Droopy, Master Detective; The New Yogi Bear Show; The Richie Rich/Scooby-Doo Show; The All-New Super Friends Hour and the cartoon special Marvin: Baby of the Year. In addition to her television work, Garver has lent her voice talents to numerous commercials, toys, and audiobooks.

CRAGG Live from December 23rd, 2023CRAGGmas 2023 Special (With Added Celeb Greetings)Join us this week for our CRAGGmas Christmas Special, featuring our hand picked favorite holiday songs from the world of pop culture, holiday standards, comedy/parody, and celebrity singing merriment.  Plus, past CRAGG Live celebrity guests call in to share their holiday/new year's wishes with you, our listeners! Hear celebrity greetings from past CRAGG Live guests including: Arch Hall Jr., Catherine Mary Stewart, Dave Thomas, Dee Wallace, Anne Serling (daughter of Rod Serling), Ann Moses, Brett Eidman, Calico Cooper, Caroline Boyce (Boyce & Hart), Diane Franklin, Don Dannemann (The Cyrkle), Fred Olen Ray, Gloria Loring, Jackie Joseph, Janus Blythe, Kathy Garver, Kelli Maroney, Kimmy Robertson, Lloyd Kaufman, Melanie Chartoff, Mitzi Kapture, Nancy Naglin, Raphael Engel, Ron Thompson, Scott Mensching (The Moon Rays), Sean Whalen, Ted A Bohus, Tom Holland and Wesley Eure!Listen to the show HERE.What is CRAGG Live Anyways?!  The flagship radio show of Cult Radio A-Go-Go!'s, CRAGG Live is a lively 2-3 hour talk radio show hosted by Terry and Tiffany DuFoe LIVE from an old abandoned Drive-In Movie theater with Wicked Kitty, Fritz, Imhotep and Hermey the studio cats and CRAGG The Gargoyle. We play retro pop culture, Drive-In movie, classic TV and old radio audio along with LIVE on the air celebrity interviews from the world of movies, TV, music, print, internet and a few odd balls thrown in for good measure. We air Saturdays at 5:00 pacific.We air on www.cultradioagogo.com which is a 24/7 free internet radio network of old time radio, music, movie trailers, old nostalgic commercials, snack bar audio, AND much more!  This show is copyright 2023 DuFoe Entertainment and the live interviews contained in this show may not be reproduced, transcribed or posted to a blog, social network or website without written permission from DuFoe Entertainment.NOTE* There is a brief leader before & after the show which was recorded "LIVE" off the air.

Episode 661 of On Screen & Beyond has actress Kathy Garver of the classic TV show "Family Affair" joining us, but not to talk about that show, rather her work on westerns and being honored with a Silver Spur Award for that work! Kathy is always a wonderful guest with great stories. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/on-screen-and-beyond/message

Family Affair star Kathy Garver recalls her cartoon voice and radio work, plus she shares memories of acting as a child in Hollywood. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week Burke speaks with Kathy Garver, a celebrated actress who has been in dozens of roles both behind and in front of the camera. Over the last 60 years, Kathy has performed in cartoons, movies, and shows.  Recently, Kathy kicked off her career as an author with her stories receiving rave reviews on Amazon. After her time on the screen, Kathy pursued a career in voice acting and teaching others how to voice act. She says one of the most important skills an actor needs to make it in Hollywood is the ability to work hard. Follow her work today by visiting her website: http://www.kathygarver.com/ The Big Time Talker is sponsored by Speakermatch.com.  

From her iconic role as Cissy in the beloved TV show Family Affair to her extensive career in Hollywood and voice-over work, Kathy Garver has left a lasting mark on the entertainment industry. In this interview, Kathy shares her memories of co-stars, discusses the lasting appeal of Family Affair, and talks about her latest projects. My guest, Kathy Garver, and I discuss: "Surviving Cissy: My Family Affair Of Life In Hollywood" - Kathy Garver's memoir about her life in Hollywood and her iconic role as Cissy in the popular TV show, Family Affair. Keeping the Memory of Family Affair Alive - Kathy Garver's dedication to preserving the legacy of Family Affair through appearances and her books, including "The Family Affair Cookbook" and "Family Affair Scrapbook". Family Affair Reboot - A discussion of the reboot of Family Affair, including Kathy's thoughts on why the original magic wasn't captured in the Tim Curry reboot. Aunt Cissy - Kathy's sequel pilot to Family Affair, where she once again plays the beloved character of Cissy as an aunt. JL Hudson Detroit Thanksgiving Parade - A look at Kathy Garver's co-hosting duties with Sebastian Cabot in this iconic parade. "Lem The Orphan Reindeer" - Kathy's classic spoken word album written by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart. Balancing College and an Acting Career - How Kathy Garver managed to maintain normalcy on campus while pursuing an acting career, thanks to great advice from her mom and therapist. Rachel in "The 10 Commandments" - A discussion of Kathy Garver's role as Rachel the slave girl in this iconic film, working with Cecil B. DeMille, and her lasting friendship with Charlton Heston. Auditioning for Cissy - Kathy's experience auditioning for the role of Cissy on Family Affair. The Lasting Appeal of Family Affair - Why Family Affair remains a beloved show to this day. Episode Highlights - A discussion of two memorable episodes of Family Affair: "Waltz to Remember" and "Member of the Family". Memories of Co-Stars - Kathy Garver shares her fond memories of working with Brian Keith, Sebastian Cabot, Anissa Jones, Johnny Whitaker, and Nancy Walker. Unique Filming Approach - How Family Affair was filmed to work around Brian Keith's movie star schedule. To Tell The Truth - Kathy's time on the new version of this popular game show, and the question of whether she is Dolly Parton's sister. Voice Over Career - Kathy Garver's extensive voice-over career, including narrating over 80 audiobooks and voicing Marvel's Firestar for "Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends". Latest Projects - A look at Kathy Garver's latest projects, including "Yellowbird" and "Old Man Jackson". and much more! You're going to love my conversation with Kathy Garver Kathy's website Facebook Fan Page Twitter Instagram Kathy's merchandise Listen to Lem the Orphan Reindeer SPONSORS: AIRDOCTOR: Head over to https://airdoctorpro.com and use promo code CLASSIC, and depending on the model, you'll receive UP TO 39% off or UP TO $300 off! FACTOR MEALS - Head over here and use code classic50 to get 50% off your first box. Follow Jeff Dwoskin (host): Jeff Dwoskin on Twitter The Jeff Dwoskin Show podcast on Twitter Podcast website Podcast on Instagram Join my mailing list Buy me a coffee (support the show) Subscribe to my Youtube channel (watch Crossing the Streams!) Yes, the show used to be called Live from Detroit: The Jeff Dwoskin Show

Actress and author Kathy Garver stops by to talk about her career in television and film, including her most notable starring role in the television series, Family Affair. 

Episode 624 of On Screen & Beyond - Kathy Garver joins us this week! Kathy is known for her role as "Cissy" on the classic TV show "Family Affair". She talks about that show, her latest movie "Yellow Bird" and we chat about her career, her dog relieving itself on a famous "Gunsmoke" star and more! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/on-screen-and-beyond/message

Legendary actress and one of the stars of the classic American sitcom Family Affair Kathy Garver joins Paul Lisnek Behind the Curtain to talk about her illustrious career. Listen in while Kathy reminisces on her time playing the beloved character of ‘Cissy Davis’. To learn more about what Kathy is up to and to sign […]

Welcome to A Comic Conversation! a new podcast brought to you by The Team at Distance NERDing! Have you ever thought, dang if only i had a way to listen to an interview at a comic con that i missed even tho i had no way of being there? well think no further!!! Jahmez 5000 and Yung Phil of the Distance NERDing podcast thought the same thing and started recording their interviews for you, The NERDs, to listen to at home!!! You may be revisiting an interview that you atttended and wanted to hear again, or maybe hearing it for the first time!! were here for you!!! This Week we bring on Kathy Garver! Star of the hit show Family Affair and The voice of Firestar from Spider-Man and his amazing friends! Sit back, Relax, and Enjoy a Comic Conversation!!!! Kathy Garver : IMDB Distance Nerding : Website The Nerdington post : Facebook Group Toy Fusion : Website Kyber Cave : Website Beehive Collectibles : Website Thirst Consignment : Instagram Project Wish Upon A Star : Prefered Charity PodDecks : Sponsor Dubby : Sponsor

I have the pleasure of speaking with Stanley Livingston recently. He is so cool !!! We spoke about his early days as a child extra, how Ozzie Nelson gave him lines (Remember Ozzie and Harriet?), and his years on My Three Sons. All my friends had crushes on him. On set, Stanley learned about the behind the scenes activities, and is owner of First Team Productions. Stanley is known to millions for his portrayal of “Chip Douglas” on My Three Sons during its 12 year run. The show continues to run on the ME TV network, and has been seen on SBC, CBS, Nick at Night, ION, TV Land, Hallmark, Family Channel among others. Amazing. Stanley has also appeared in How the West Was Won, Please Don't Eat the Daisies, X-15 and Rally Round the Boys. He has worked behind the scenes for years as a Producer, Director and Writer. He is the owner of First Team Productions and currently developing “The Quarrymen” – the story of the greatest band on earth – The Beatles! Some trivia is: At 18 he married a go-go dancer, Sandra Livingston. The six-year marriage ended in 1974. The marriage produced a daughter, Samantha Livingston. Played the brother of his real-life brother Barry Livingston on My Three Sons. His acting mentor was the late Fred MacMurray. As of April 2002, was directing children's shows for PBS. Profiled in 2016 book, "X Child Stars: Where Are They Now?", by Kathy Garver and Fred Ascher. The May 4, 1988, edition of Variety announced in the Film Production column that the movie "The Warrior" directed by Ray Cantrell began filming March 15, 1987, in New Orleans. Cast members included Stanley Livingston and Barry Livingston. No evidence the film was ever completed or released. He was also in a film called “Skippy”. The film has never been released and it is believed only two copies exist. With the passing of Tim Considine on March 3, 2022, Livingston is the last surviving of the original five cast members of My Three Sons. We will be doing an episode 2 - Stanley is fascinating. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/michelemarotta/support

By the time he was 18, Johnny Whitaker had racked up hundreds of acting credits, including two iconic series, Family Affair and Sigmund and the Sea Monsters. He'd appeared on Gunsmoke, Bewitched, Bonanza, in four Disney movies and the musical version of Tom Sawyer. Johnny and his TV sister, Anissa Jones even had a featured line of Buffy and Jody clothing, along with dolls, games, lunchboxes, books, journals and snow globes.But, Johnny lost his TV sister Anissa Jones to a drug overdose at the age of 18. Then, Johnny's own life took some harrowing turns which led him down the dark path of addiction and with help from his family, out the other side where he now teaches drug and alcohol recovery counseling and intervention. Johnny joins us with insights from his fascinating life.Plus Fritz and Weezy are recommending Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey on Netflix and The Lost Apothecary by Sarah PennerPath Points of Interest:Johnny WhitakerJohnny Whitaker Photo GalleryJohnny Whitaker on IMDBJohnny Whitaker on WikipediaPaso Por PasoTom Sawyer Golden AnniversaryWestern Legends Heritage and Music FestivalInternational Overdose Awareness DayCelebrate Lives Lost and Lives RecoveredKeep Sweet: Pray and Obey - NetflixThe Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

Today on John Wesley Norton's BOOMCAST we talk with classic television star Kathy Garver. Kathy is an actress, voice talent and author. Our conversation is far-ranging and fascinating discussing Hollywood, Classic Television, Audio Book reading, practical advice for actors and so much more! Check it out!

Harvey Brownstone conducts an in-depth interview with Kathy Garver, Star of “Family Affair”, Author of “Surviving Cissy: My Family Affair of Life in Hollywood”About Harvey's guest:Today's guest is a veteran actress whose film career began at the age of 8, when she appeared in “The Night of the Hunter” and “The Ten Commandments”.  She is most fondly remembered for her role as “Cissy” in the long-running classic TV show, “Family Affair”.    Her film appearances include “Sweet November”, “The Princess Diaries”, and “Mom, Murder and Me”.   She's guest starred in dozens of TV shows going all the way back to “Our Miss Brooks” and “Father Knows Best”, and including such memorable shows as “The Big Valley”, “Matlock”, and “Nash Bridges”.  On stage, she's starred in highly acclaimed productions of “My Fair Lady”, “Sunday in New York”, “The Glass Menagerie”, “Voice of the Turtle”, “A Midsummer's Night Dream” and “The Trojan Women”.  She's a popular voiceover artist, and created many iconic voices including “Pepper” in the Chuck Norris Karate Kommandos TV series, and “Firestar” in the “Spiderman and His Amazing Friends” TV show.  She's also one of the most sought-after audiobook narrators, and so far, she's recorded more than 80 audio books, and she's won 6 prestigious Audie awards.  If that weren't enough, she's written 5 best selling books:  “The Family Affair Cookbook”, “Surviving Cissy: My Family Affair of Life in Hollywood”,  “X-Child Stars: Where Are They Now”,  “Holiday Recipes for a Family Affair”, and “The Family Affair Scrapbook”.For more interviews and podcasts go to: https://www.harveybrownstoneinterviews.com/http://www.kathygarver.com/https://www.facebook.com/kathygarverfanpage/https://twitter.com/Kathy_Garverhttps://www.instagram.com/kgcissy/#KathyGarver  #harveybrownstoneinterviews

The Pop Culture Retro interview with Kathy Garver, who played Cissy on the 60s TV sitcom, Family Affair! Kathy talks about her start in show business, Family Affair, The Ten Commandments, and much more!

The Pop Culture Retro interview with Kathy Garver, who played Cissy on the 60s TV sitcom, Family Affair! Kathy talks about her start in show business, Family Affair, The Ten Commandments, and much more!

Patrick Woodall (Adam Ruins Everything, Plus One) returns to help us take on Chuck Norris: Karate Kommandos, the 1986 cartoon where Chuck leads a band of martial artists to fight the evil Claw, Super Ninja, Angelfish and their band of evil ninjas. Plus dolphins!Contact Us!Email: pilotprojectshow@gmail.comInstagram: @pilotprojectpodFacebook: https://fb.me/pilotprojectpodTwitter: @pilotprojectpodWatch: TubiAired: September 15, 1986Episode Run: 5 EpisodesDirected by: John Kimball (Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), Darkwing Duck (1991) and Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers (1988)), Charles A. Nichols (Charlotte's Web" (1973), "Pinocchio" (1940))Written By: Michael Maurer and Dorothy MiddletonProduced by: Larry Huber (Danger Rangers (2003), ChalkZone (2002) and Dexter's Laboratory (1996))Composed by: Udi HarpazOfficial Description: Chuck Norris is an operative for the United States government who has a team consisting of Pepper, a technological genius, Kimo, a Samurai warrior, Reed, his apprentice, Tabe, a Sumo warrior, and Too Much, the young ward. Together they foil the plans of The Claw and his right hand man, The Super Ninja.Cast:Sam Fontana ... Reed (voice)Kathy Garver ... Pepper (voice)Robert Ito ... Tabe (voice)Bill Martin ... Claw (voice)Chuck Norris ... Chuck Norris (voice)Alan Oppenheimer... President (voice)Keone Young ... Super Ninja (voice)Episode Description:  Angel Fish kidnaps Dr. Sanford, the architect behind the creation of Sea Lab, so that the Claw can infiltrate it and control the world's oceans. It is up to Chuck Norris and his team of Karate Kommandos to stop them.September 1986 The #1 song that week was “Take My Breath Away" By Berlin The #1 movie for the week was "Blue Velvet"  By David Lynch The film concerns a young college student who, returning home to visit his ill father, discovers a severed human ear in a field that leads to his uncovering a vast criminal conspiracy and entering a romantic relationship with a troubled lounge singer. The #1 tv show was The Cosby Show, followed by Family Ties and Cheers Space Shuttle Challenger blew up 73 seconds after take-off, killing all 7 crew members. Tens of thousands of school-age children were watching the flight live because teacher Christa McAuliffe was a member of the crew. The term “Going postal” originated from a  mass shooting committed by a US Postal Service employee, Patrick Sherrill, in an act of workplace rage. Fourteen people were killed in the rampage. The USSR's Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant reactor # 4 had a mishap, giving radiation poisoning to an estimated 500,000 to 6,000,000 people. The remaining three reactors continued to operate until 1991, 1996 and 2000 respectively. The USSR created and distributed a forged letter that “exposed” the US government “conspiracy” to overstate the seriousness of Chernobyl meltdown ‘The Wave' was first brought to worldwide attention during the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico The year we found out that last year's Dallas TV show entire season was just Bobby Ewing's (Patrick Duffy) dream (Who Shot JR) Fun Facts To coincide with the airing of the show, Kenner Products made a set of action figures based on the main characters of the show. Kenner also made many accessories, including weapons and vehicles, to go along with the figurines The show is parodied in the 2012 CGI series version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles via a fictional cartoon show named Chris Bradford's 2 Ruff Krew, starring and produced by Chris Bradford, himself a parody of Chuck Norris. This fictional series is first featured in the 4th-season episode "The Weird World of Wyrm". The Karate Komando comic book was penned by the creator of Spider-man and Dr Strange, steve ditko   ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Known for her role as 'Cissy Davis' on the popular CBS series "Family Affair," actress Kathy Garver's big break came when she was cast by Cecil B. DeMille, in the Charlton Heston led epic "The Ten Commandments." In addition, she has worked with the likes of Charles Laughton, Brian Keith, Julie Andrews and Anne Hathaway. In this episode of Interested Anthony, Kathy joins host Anthony Houhoulis to discuss her decades spanning career in the film and television industry.