Friday, June 29, 2012

Your Mental Sorbet: Sorkinisms - A Supercut

Here is another "Mental Sorbet" that we could use to momentarily forget about those things that leave a bad taste in our mouths.

This video is a tribute to the work of Aaron Sorkin: the recycled dialogue, recurring phrases, and familiar plot lines. This is not intended as a critique but rather a playful excursion through Sorkin's wonderful world of words.



Stay Tuned


Tony Figueroa

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Don Grady

Don Grady died today just 19 days after his 68th birthday. Grady was born Don Louis Agrati in San Francisco, California, the son of Mary Grady. (née Castellino), a talent agent, and Lou A. Agrati, a sausage maker. His sister was also an actress, billed as Lani O'Grady.

His acting credits included several Western series, including John Payne's The Restless Gun, Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater, Wagon Train and The Rifleman as well as the NBC medical drama, The Eleventh Hour. Originally the frustrated middle brother on My Three Sons, he became the confident elder brother with the departure of Mike (Tim Considine, who had earlier appeared with Grady in The New Adventures of Spin and Marty), and the adoption of Ernie (Barry Livingston), who became the new "third son."

During production of My Three Sons, Grady both appeared with his own band The Greefs on the series, and was the drummer for The Yellow Balloon, whose self-titled song became a minor hit during 1967. For a while during the run of the series, he attended Los Angeles City College.


After My Three Sons ended in 1972, Grady pursued a musical career. His works included music for the Blake Edwards comedy film Switch, the theme song for The Phil Donahue Show and for EFX, a Las Vegas multimedia stage show which starred Michael Crawford, David Cassidy, Tommy Tune and Rick Springfield.


In the fall of 2008, Grady released Boomer: JazRokPop, a collection of songs written for and about the baby boomer generation. Boomer was his first original album as an artist since Homegrown was released by Elektra Records in 1973

Good Night Mr. Grady

Stay Tuned

Tony Figueroa

Judy Tenuta (and Her Accordion!): Next on TVC

Actress/comedienne Judy Tenuta, actor/comedian Hank Garrett, pop culture historian Wesley Hyatt and talk show host Stu Shostak will join us on the next edition of TV CONFIDENTIAL, airing June 27-July 3 at the following times and venues:

WROM Radio
Detroit, MI
Wedn
esday 6/27
8pm ET, 5pm PT
Sunday 7/1
8pm ET, 5pm PT
Click on the Listen Live button at WROMRadio.net

Talktainment Radio
Columbus, OH
Thursday 6/28
9pm ET, 6pm PT
Click on the Listen Live button at TalktainmentRadio.com

Share-a-Vision Radio
San Francisco Bay Area
Friday 6/29
7pm ET, 4pm PT
10pm ET, 7pm PT
Click on the Listen Live button at KSAV.org

The Coyote KWTY-FM
Ridgecrest, Calif.
Sunday 7/1
9pm PT
Monday 7/2
Midnight ET
Click on the Listen Live button at Coyote395.com

The Radio Slot Network
San Francisco, Calif.
Monday 7/2
8pm ET, 5pm PT
Click on the Talk Slot button at RadioSlot.com

Passionate World Radio
Ann Arbor, MI
Tuesday 7/3
11:05pm ET, 8:05pm PT
Click on the Listen Live button at InternetVoicesRadio.com

The Aphrodite of the Accordion, Judy Tenuta is currently featured in the independent film Going Down in La-La Land, which is now available on demand, and Gibsonburg, which opens in theaters across the country on Wednesday, July 4.

Judy has also just published a fun new book, Full Frontal Tenudity, that not only includes recipes for food, friends and fun that reflects Judy’s unique take on life, but also a “Hollywood to English Dictionary” that offers a hilarious take on what people really mean when they talk on the red carpet. We’ll talk about that, and more, when The Love Goddess joins us in our first hour.


Our second hour this week will feature a replay of our conversation with Tony Figueroa, Donna Allen and actor/comedian
Hank Garrett (Car 54, Where Are You?, The Producers, Serpico, Three Days of the Condor, The Boys Next Door, Paris).

With both
Season One and Season Two of Car 54 now available on DVD, we’ll ask Hank about his experience working with Fred Gwynne, Al Lewis, Joe E. Ross, Nat Hiken, Robert Redford, Sammy Davis Jr., James Earl Jones and other show business legends. (If you order Car 54 directly through Hank, he will autograph the DVD for you, and all proceeds will benefit disabled veterans.)






Also this week: pop culture historian Wesley Hyatt (The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television, Television’s Top 100) and talk show host Stu Shostak (Stu’s Show) will help us pay tribute to Richard Dawson and the legacy of the iconic game shows Match Game and Family Feud.

TV CONFIDENTIAL: A radio talk show about television
Wed and Sun 8pm ET, 5pm PT on WROM Radio
Thu 9pm, 6pm PT on Talktainment Radio
Fri 7pm ET and PT on Share-a-Vision Radio, KSAV.org
Sun 9pm PT, Mon Midnight ET on
The Coyote KWTY-FM (Ridgecrest, Calif.)
Mon 8pm ET, 5pm PT on The Radio Slot Network
Tue 11:05pm ET, 8:05pm PT on Passionate World Radio
Tape us now, listen to us later, using DAR.fm/tvconfidential
Also available as a podcast via
iTunes, FeedBurner
and now on your mobile phone via Stitcher SmartRadio
Follow us online at
www.tvconfidential.net
blog.tvconfidential.net

Find us on
Facebook

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

TV CONFIDENTIAL Archives: June 20, 2012

Broadcast Date

Guest and Topic

Show No. 142
June 20, 2012

First hour: Rich Podolsky, author of Don Kirshner: The Man with the Golden Ear, joins Ed for a conversation about the history of Aldon Music, the song publishing company co-founded by Don Kirshner and Al Nevins that not only was responsible for some of the biggest hits in music history (including “On Broadway,” “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” “The Locomotion,” “Up on a Roof,” “One Fine Day,” “Go Away Little Girl,” “You Lost That Lovin Feeling,” “Splish Splash” and “Dream Lover”), but developed some of the greatest and most prolific songwriters and performers the music industry has ever known, including Bobby Darin, Neil Diamond, Connie Francis, Tony Orlando, Gerry Goffin, Neil Sedaka, Howard Greenfield, Barry Mann, Jack Keller and Carole King. Other topics include Kirshner's contributions to television, including The Monkees, The Archies and Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert. Rich Podolksy will be appearing at Book Soup, 8818 Sunset Blvd. in West Hollywood on Sunday, July 22 beginning at 4pm.

Second hour: Ed welcomes award-winning television writer and producer David Misch (Mork and Mindy, Police Squad!, Saturday Night Live, Late Night with David Letterman, Duckman). David's new book, FUNNY: The Book: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Comedy, explores the art of comedy from the worlds of movies, television and stand-up, including the impact of such iconic comedians as Buster Keaton, Groucho Marx, Richard Pryor, Steve Martin, Robin Williams and Woody Allen, while also answering the eternal question “Why are fart jokes funny?” David Misch will be appearing at Book Soup, 8818 Sunset Blvd. in West Hollywood on Thursday, July 26 beginning at 7pm.

Monday, June 25, 2012

This Week in Television History: June 2012 PART IV


Listen to me on TV CONFIDENTIAL:

CLICK HERE for a list of Stations

As always, the further we go back in Hollywood history, the more that fact and legend become.

July 1, 1952

Daniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, the Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning Canadian-American comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist is born.


He was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, an originator of The Blues Brothers (with John Belushi) and Ghostbusters and has had a long career as a film actor and screenwriter.



To quote the Bicentennial Minute, "And that's the way it was".

Stay Tuned


Tony Figueroa