Lets play the Feud.

Everyone is talking about this horrible battle. Sadly this battle is not in Iraq or Afghanistan but on a morning talk show.

Last Wednesday I was ready to leave the house when my wife called me over to watch The View‘s "Hot Topics" segment. I saw a knock down, drag out, kitchen sink fight between Rosie O'Donnell and Elisabeth Hasselbeck. I will not to attempt to divine what is in Rosie or Elisabeth’s heart or mind and me speculating is not going to help matters. All I want to do is comment on what I saw during and after the show.

We start with Joy Behar talking about Al Gore on Larry King Live and she presents a George W. Bush Laundry list. Joy's point being that people should have been watching the Al Gore interview instead of Dancing With The Stars (I'm Sure that went well with the ABC brass). One can agree or disagree with Joy. Elisabeth does present a valid point that in our technical age we can watch one show and TiVo another, but honestly, how many people watched one show and TiVo'd the other. Let's get real we are talking about two different shows with two very diverse demographics.

It's sad that now everyone is talking about the cat fight instead of the subject of the cat fight. A cat fight seems to have more zing than talking about the wars or our president. Still we saw on TV two professional communicators who chose to hit below the belt. Rosie should not make statements about who the terrorist are, statements that are open to misinterpretation, then get on the defensive when others misinterpret her. In other words say what you mean. Elisabeth was hired because she has a specific point of view and should have expressed that view when asked if she believed that Rosie called our troops terrorists. Her silence was also open to misinterpretation. Finally, even if everyone did what Joy suggested and watched Al Gore instead of Dancing With The Stars nothing would change. Those who like Al Gore would still like Al and those who don't like Al Gore would still not like Al Gore. Just like now, after the cat fight, I am watching the political pundits on the cable news shows and seeing those in the Rosie camp support Rosie and those in the Elisabeth/anti Rosie camp support Elisabeth. Finally to those of you who studied argumentation or who were on the debate team in high school or college, don't expect to see intelligent discourse with professionals seeking positive conflict resolution. That is not in the best interest of show biz or politics.

To quote Rodney King, "Cant we all just get along?"

Stay Tuned

Tony Figueroa

Charles Nelson Reilly

Charles Nelson Reilly died at the age of 76. Mr. Reilly received a Tony Award for his role as Bud Frump in the original Broadway production of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. On TV he was he appeared Claymore Gregg on TV’s The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. I knew him first as Horatio J. HooDoo in Lidsville,



and later as a regular on the game show Match Game.


His final work was an autobiographical one-man show, Save It for the Stage: The Life of Reilly.



Reilly’s openly gay television persona was ahead of its time. A network executive told him “they don’t let queers on television.” Mr. Reilly later had the last laugh when he would page through TV Guide and count how many times he was on the air that week.

To quote Horatio J. HooDoo in Lidsville, "How’s that for a topper?"

Stay Tuned


Tony Figueroa

Tony Figueroa is "On The Lot"

Tony Figueroa
as the
"Tour Guide"
(Okay, "Himself")
Finally... all the
practical experience
has paid off!

On The Lot
Steven Spielberg &
Mark Burnett's new
reality show
Tuesday May 22nd 9PM
on FOX

Commercial Representation
Pinnacle Commercial Talent
(323) 939-5440

Theatrical Representation
DALE GARRICK
INTERNATIONAL
(31O) 657-2661

Amas de Casa Desesperadas

I've always enjoined watching foreign versions of American Shows or American versions of foreign shows. I'm starting to find them on YouTube. Amas de casa desesperadas is Argentinas version of Desperate Housewives. I hope to find more.



Except for Carlos Solis, all the character's names are different from the original American version. Some first names were simply translated to spanish, others were changed completely; all last names were changed.

Gabrielle Solis becomes Gabriela Solís
Lynette Scavo becomes Lía Salgari
Bree Van de Kamp becomes Vera Sherer
Susan Mayer becomes Susana Martini
Edie Britt becomes Carla Otegui
Julie Mayer becomes Julieta Martini
John Rowland becomes Juan
George Williams becomes Jorge Pereyra
Mike Delfino becomes Miguel Delfino
Mary Alice Young becomes Alicia Oviedo
Zach Young becomes René Oviedo
Paul Young becomes Pablo Oviedo
Tom Scavo becomes Tomás Salgari
Rex Van de Kamp becomes Ricardo Sherer
Martha Huber becomes Marta Hidalgo
Felicia Tilman becomes Felisa Gutierrez
Sophie Bremmer becomes Sofía Cicarelli
Noah becomes Julio
Karl Mayer becomes Esteban Martini
Annabel Foster becomes Anabel Fraga Season two will feature new characters, but the only ones already cast are Betty and Matthew Applewhite, who will be named Beatriz and Matías.

Tom Poston 1921 – 2007

In the 1950s, Tom Poston was a "Man in the Street" on the Steve Allen Show. Later Poston was a recurring guest star on The Bob Newhart Show. Later he played the role of neighbor Mr. Bickley on Mork & Mindy, handyman George Utley on Newhart and he played the character "Clown" on the NBC series Committed.

Good Night Mr. Poston

Good Night Mr. Excitement

Tommy Newsom joined "The Tonight Show" in 1962 and rose from band member to assistant music director. He retired along with Johnny Carson in 1992. Newsom will be remembered for his wit and deadpan humor. Carson gave Newsom the nickname "Mr. Excitement" to make light of his low-key personality and drab brown and blue suits - a sharp contrast to the flashy style of bandleader Doc Severinsen.

Stan Daniels

When I heard that Emmy-winning TV writer and producer Stan Daniels died at the age of 72, my mind immediately went to the pilot of Taxi.

The Pilot of TAXI, Titled: Like Father, Like Daughter opens in the Sunshine Cab Company’s garage. Enter Elaine Nardo (Marilu Henner), a part time receptionist at an art gallery. She first has an unpleasant encounter with the dispatcher Louie DePalma (Danny DeVito) when he finds out the she is just a driver. She then meets Alex Rieger (Judd Hirsch) who she informs that this is just a part time job. Alex responds with, "We're all part-time here. I'm part-time. I only work 60 hours a week. You see that guy over there? Now, he's an actor. The guy on the phone, he's a prizefighter. This lady over here, she's a beautician. The man behind her, he's a writer. Me, I'm a cab driver. I'm the only cab driver in this place." That quote alone tells the viewer everything that they need to know about the show and it did so within the first five minutes.

Good Night Mr. Daniels

Stay Tuned


Tony Figueroa

Never Judge a Show by it’s Pilot: Thank God You're Here.

When I first saw NBC’s promo for their new comedy Thank God You're Here I thought that this could either be very funny, or a train wreck. It later occurred to me that some executive at NBC probably thought that people would watch this show because it could either be very funny or a train wreck. After all people are tuning in to Dancing With The Stars to see if Heather Mills is going to kick off her artificial leg. Sounds like a Win-Win to me.

I have a great deal of respect for performers who would deliberately and professionally go into a nosedive then pull up at the last minute. I also know many actors/comedians (I will not give names) who would never risk looking like a fool on television or anywhere else for that matter. Thank God You’re Here reminds me a lot of the English and American versions of Whose Line Is It Anyway? Only here there are four costumed guest stars that have to demonstrate their improvisational skills along side a supporting cast as they walk into a sketch without a script. When the guest star walks through the set door they hear a cast member say, "Thank God You’re Here!" Maybe the costume will give them a clue as to what will happen... then again maybe not. Producer/Host David Alan Grier leads the guest star to the set’s door and the guest stars are later judged solely by Dave Foley. In the pilot the guest stars were Wayne Knight, Bryan Cranston, Joel McHale and Jennifer Coolidge. I want to be fair to all the performers because they come from different schools of comedy. Some sketches require the contestants, like Bryan Cranston and Joel McHale, to do funny things. Other sketches require the contestants, like Wayne Knight and Jennifer Coolidge, to say funny things (Actually Jennifer Coolidge comes from the school of comedy that comedians say funny things and improv actors say things funny). The show ends with all four actors in a sketch together. Of these four actors, Bryan Cranston, the winner that evening, was the only one who made me laugh out loud. That is not to say that the other actors were not funny, they just did not make me laugh out loud. This looks like a fun summer replacement show but I don’t see this as a weekly series and I would imagine that there are only a small amount of willing contestants. But then I never judge a show by it’s pilot.

Fortunately another episode followed the pilot.

The next episode featured Richard Kind, Edie McClurg, Mo'Nique and Kevin Nealon. Of the four Mo’Nique, the winner at the end of the show, was the only one who made me laugh out loud. The one thing that I noticed from both episodes is that the winners took control of the scene where the others became part of the scene. Ironically that is what you learn in improv class. It also looks like the supporting cast Chris Tallman, Maribeth Monroe, Brian Palermo and Nyima Funk delibretally stay away from the spot light except when they are instigating the guest star. I don’t think that the show will be around for the long haul so lets enjoy it for as long as they have willing and or funny contestants.

To quote the last words of British actor and director Sir Donald Wolfit, "Dying is easy, comedy is hard".

Stay Tuned


Tony Figueroa

March Madness

We continue to present our monthly "Friday Night Live" recordings of

This month it is "March Madness". Everything from drunken romps to stories of love. Our Featured Performer is Michael Lambert. Enjoy!...

Next Month's Featured Performer will be Marsha Clark (The Actress)...
Recorded Live on Friday, March 16, 2007 at The Coffee Fix in Studio City, California...

1:08 / 62.2 MB / Rated: PG-13 (Some Adult Language and Themes)...
Thanks for the Download!

Never Judge a Show by it’s Pilot: Raines

The first time I saw Jeff Goldblum it was on the short lived TV series Tenspeed and Brown Shoe. I was reminded of that program when I was watching two new shows on NBC’s Must See Thursday night lineup. The first show was Andy Richter's new series Andy Barker PI and later Jeff Goldblum’s new show Raines. This new show has elements of Monk, Medium and Tenspeed and Brown Shoe. Jeff Goldblum stars as the eccentric LAPD Detective Michael Raines who like Monk is obsessive and has not been the same since suffering a traumatic event. After recuperating from being shot in the line of duty Raines returns to work but now he has begun to see murder victim Sandy Boudreau (Alexa Davalos) as a vision. Like on Medium, Raines talks to the victim except this vision is a figment of his imagination not a ghost. The vision starts out as two-dimensional character and as Raines learns more about her she develops more layers. When Rains finds her killer she will disappear. The only person Raines confides in is his former partner, Charlie Lincoln (Malik Yoba). Like Jeff Goldblum’s character Lionel Whitney from Tenspeed and Brown Shoe, Raines speaks to the audience through a noir style voice over complete with sax music in the background. Raines also shares Lionel Whitney's love for detective novels. He even considered writing a novel himself but becoming a police officer got in the way. He found out that the images he had in his head weren’t like real life. I always find it amusing when fictional TV cop/detectives make it known that they are real unlike the fake cop/detectives on TV, in the movies or in pulp novels. This show makes the distinction between Raines' "real world" and the world of his pulp heroes Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett and Ross Macdonald but it does so with great reverence.

It is obvious that I liked the pilot a lot, but I never judge a show by it’s pilot.

The next episode, Meet Juan Doe, opens with a voice over of Detective Michael Raines recapping what we learned in the pilot. I like the noir style opening of the pilot better, but I understand that this was done to clarify the show’s premise to the audience. Hopefully the noir style opening will return. I also miss Raines’ partner Charlie who only appears early in the episode. I looked at the Raines - Bios page but Malik Yoba is not there. It looks like the role of confidant will now be Dr. Samantha Kohl (Madeleine Stowe). Raines was ordered to meet with Dr. Kohl after he was seen talking to himself by his fellow officers. I hope these changes were not the network’s attempt to fix things that I personally don’t see as broken because I really liked what I saw in the pilot. I guess I’ll have to keep watching. I wonder if this show will help the sale of Raymond Chandler novels.

To quote Detective Michael Raines, "All these stories start with a body".

Stay Tuned


Tony Figueroa