Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning producer Howard Gordon and Paul Newman biographer Marian Edelman Borden will be our featured guests on the next edition of TV CONFIDENTIAL, premiering Monday, Jan. 10 at 9pm ET, 6pm PT on Shokus Internet Radio, with additional airings Tuesday, Jan. 11 at 11:05pm ET, 8:05pm PT on Passionate World Radio, Friday, Jan. 14 at 7pm ET and PT on Share-a-Vision Radio, KSAV.org, and Saturday, Jan. 15 on our newest affiliate, KWDJ 1360-AM (Ridgecrest, CA), at 3pm PT.
Known for writing and producing such critically acclaimed network television shows as 24, The X Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, Howard Gordon recently fulfilled a lifelong dream with the publication of his first novel, Gideon's War, a page-turning political thriller similar to 24 in that it features non-stop action, reversals, cliffhangers and a protagonist who has only 24 hours to prevent a global disaster. We'll ask Howard how he came to write Gideon's War, the writers who inspired him early in his career, the latest news about 24 and much, much more when he joins us in our second hour.
Howard Gordon also has appearances on Tuesday, Jan. 11 in Los Angeles; Wednesday, Jan. 12 in Roslyn, NY; Tuesday, Jan. 18 in Charlotte, NC; and Wednesday, Jan. 19 in Wellington, FL. Visit his website, www.howardmgordon.com, for details and more information.
Also joining us this week will be author Marian Edelman Borden, whose latest book, Paul Newman: A Biography, provides readers with a straightforward, chronological look at not only Newman's long and distinguished motion picture career, but his early work in television, his passion for auto racing, his business acumen, his work with various charities, his political activism, and his 50-year marriage to actress and fellow Oscar winner Joanne Woodward. If you're a fan of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, we hope you'll join us when Marian joins us in our first hour.
We'll also take a look at how the world of television news is portrayed in movies such as Morning Glory and Broadcast News, and the extent to these films might inspire people to consider journalism as a career. Full program as always... we certainly hope you'll join us.
TV CONFIDENTIAL: A radio talk show about television
Tuesdays 11:05pm, 8:05pm PT
Passionate World Radio
Fridays 7pm ET and PT
Share-a-Vision Radio, KSAV.org
Saturdays 3pm PT
KWDJ 1360-AM (Ridgecrest, Calif.)
Three times a day, every day
on Shokus Internet Radio
www.tvconfidential.net
blog.tvconfidential.net
Also available as a podcast via iTunes and FeedBurner
Find us now on Facebook
I represent the first generation who, when we were born, the television was now a permanent fixture in our homes. When I was born people had breakfast with Barbara Walters, dinner with Walter Cronkite, and slept with Johnny Carson. Read the full "Pre-ramble"
Sunday, January 09, 2011
Friday, January 07, 2011
Your Mental Sorbet: Honey West Fight scenes
Here is another "Mental Sorbet" that we could use to momentarily forget about those things that leave a bad taste in our mouths.I thought we shoud start the new year with some Honey West Fight scenes.
R.I.P. Anne Francis.
Stay Tuned
Tony Figueroa
Tony Figueroa
Tuesday, January 04, 2011
TV Confidential Archives Dec. 27, 2010
Show No. 71 | First hour: Our annual Year in Review show, featuring a look at some of the major stories that dominated the world of television in 2010, from the NBC Late Night Debacle to Conan’s Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television Tour, to the series finales of Lost and Law and Order to the departure of Jeff Zucker, from the Bristol Palin/Dancing with the Stars controversy to watching television in a time-shift universe. Plus: David Krell discusses In All His Glory, the biography of CBS founding president William S. Paley. |
Monday, January 03, 2011
This week in Television History: January 2011 PART I
Listen to me on TV CONFIDENTIAL with Ed Robertson and Frankie Montiforte. Broadcast LIVE on Shokus Radio Mondays 9pm ET, 6pm PT with replays three times a day, seven days a week at 11am ET/8am PT, 9pm ET/6pm PT and 1am ET/10pm PT. PIV World Radio Tuesdays 11:05pm ET/8:05pm PT. KSAV – San Francisco Bay Area Fridays 7pm ET and PT
As always, the further we go back in Hollywood history, the more that fact and legend become intertwined. It's hard to say where the truth really lies.
January 3, 1950
Victoria Principal is born in Fukuoka, Japan. The eldest daughter of a United States Air Force, sergeant is best known for her role as Pamela Barnes Ewing on the CBS nighttime drama Dallas from 1978 to 1987.
In 1974, she was cast in the disaster film Earthquake. Although the role had been narrowed down to three actresses, Principal won the role when she showed up for the third audition having cut off her waist-length brown hair, dyed it black, and put it into an afro. The producer was stunned and impressed by Principal's risky transformation in order to look more closely like the Italian character Rosa. Principal won the part in that moment. She continued to act in lesser-known films such as I Will, I Will... for Now and Vigilante Force with Kris Kristofferson. She was given a three-picture deal with Brute Productions. However, Principal decided to stop acting and became an agent, which was her profession from 1975 to late 1977.
In 1977, Aaron Spelling offered her a role in the pilot of his television series Fantasy Island, which she accepted. Soon after, in 1978, she landed her most famous role, playing Pamela Barnes Ewing in the evening soap opera television series Dallas. In 1983, she earned a Golden Globe Nomination as Best Actress in a Television Series for her role on Dallas.
After nine years, Principal left Dallas in 1987. She went on to star in various made-for-television movies such as Mistress, Blind Witness, Naked Lie, Sparks: The Price of Passion, and Don't Touch My Daughter, a few of which she co-produced. In 1994, she appeared in an episode of the hit sitcom Home Improvement.
Principal returned to primetime soap operas in 2000, when she appeared in another Aaron Spelling production, the short-lived NBC television series Titans.
January 6, 1936
Porky Pig makes his world debut in a Warner Brothers cartoon, Gold Diggers of '49.
When Mel Blanc joined Warner Brothers the following year, he became the famous voice behind Porky as well as the Warner Brothers characters Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Sylvester, and Tweety.
January 8, 1966
Rock and roll TV variety show Shindig on ABC airs its last episode.
The show had debuted in September 1964, featuring acts including the Everly Brothers, the Rolling Stones, the Beach Boys, and others. NBC launched a similar show, Hullabaloo, in January 1965, which ran until August 1966.
To quote the Bicentennial Minute, "And that's the way it was".
Stay Tuned
Tony Figueroa
As always, the further we go back in Hollywood history, the more that fact and legend become intertwined. It's hard to say where the truth really lies.
January 3, 1950
Victoria Principal is born in Fukuoka, Japan. The eldest daughter of a United States Air Force, sergeant is best known for her role as Pamela Barnes Ewing on the CBS nighttime drama Dallas from 1978 to 1987.
In 1974, she was cast in the disaster film Earthquake. Although the role had been narrowed down to three actresses, Principal won the role when she showed up for the third audition having cut off her waist-length brown hair, dyed it black, and put it into an afro. The producer was stunned and impressed by Principal's risky transformation in order to look more closely like the Italian character Rosa. Principal won the part in that moment. She continued to act in lesser-known films such as I Will, I Will... for Now and Vigilante Force with Kris Kristofferson. She was given a three-picture deal with Brute Productions. However, Principal decided to stop acting and became an agent, which was her profession from 1975 to late 1977.
In 1977, Aaron Spelling offered her a role in the pilot of his television series Fantasy Island, which she accepted. Soon after, in 1978, she landed her most famous role, playing Pamela Barnes Ewing in the evening soap opera television series Dallas. In 1983, she earned a Golden Globe Nomination as Best Actress in a Television Series for her role on Dallas.
After nine years, Principal left Dallas in 1987. She went on to star in various made-for-television movies such as Mistress, Blind Witness, Naked Lie, Sparks: The Price of Passion, and Don't Touch My Daughter, a few of which she co-produced. In 1994, she appeared in an episode of the hit sitcom Home Improvement.
Principal returned to primetime soap operas in 2000, when she appeared in another Aaron Spelling production, the short-lived NBC television series Titans.
January 6, 1936
Porky Pig makes his world debut in a Warner Brothers cartoon, Gold Diggers of '49.
When Mel Blanc joined Warner Brothers the following year, he became the famous voice behind Porky as well as the Warner Brothers characters Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Sylvester, and Tweety.
January 8, 1966
Rock and roll TV variety show Shindig on ABC airs its last episode.
The show had debuted in September 1964, featuring acts including the Everly Brothers, the Rolling Stones, the Beach Boys, and others. NBC launched a similar show, Hullabaloo, in January 1965, which ran until August 1966.
To quote the Bicentennial Minute, "And that's the way it was".Stay Tuned
Tony Figueroa
Sunday, January 02, 2011
Tribute to Stephen J. Cannell: Next on TV CONFIDENTIAL
Join us for an encore presentation of our two-hour tribute to Emmy Award-winning writer/producer Stephen J. Cannell on the next edition of TV CONFIDENTIAL, Monday, Jan. 3 at 9pm ET, 6pm PT on Shokus Internet Radio, with replays Tuesday, Jan. 4 at 11:05pm ET, 8:05pm on PIV World Radio, Friday, Jan. 7 at 7pm ET and PT on Share-a-Vision Radio, KSAV.org, plus three times a day on ShokusRadio.com through Sunday, Jan. 9.
The creator or co-creator of nearly 40 television series, including The Greatest American Hero, Baa Baa Black Sheep, The A Team, Hunter, Wiseguy, 21 Jump Street and The Rockford Files, Stephen J. Cannell overcame the stigma of dyslexia to become not only one of the best producers in Am erican TV history, but one of the most prolific writers the industry has ever known. Joining us as we remember his life and career will be Emmy-winning writer/producer William Link (Columbo, Mannix, Ellery Queen, Murder, She Wrote), a colleague of Cannell’s at Universal throughout the 1970s; television journalist and historian Mark Dawidziak, who interviewed Cannell countless times throughout the 1980s and ’90s; and author Robert J. Thompson, whose books on television include Adventures on Prime Time: The Television Programs of Stephen J. Cannell.
We’ll also play an excerpt from our conversation with Stepfanie Kramer about working with Stephen J. Cannell on Hunter, plus clips from Ed Robertson’s interviews with Cannell and Roy Huggins about the origins of Thirty Years of The Rockford Files. If you’re a fan of Stephen J. Cannell and his vast body of work, we certainly hope you’ll join us.
TV CONFIDENTIAL: A radio talk show about television
Tuesdays 11:05pm, 8:05pm PT
PIV World Radio
Fridays 7pm ET and PT
Share-a-Vision Radio, KSAV.org
Three times a day, every day
on Shokus Internet Radio
www.tvconfidential.net
blog.tvconfidential.net
Also available as a podcast via iTunes and FeedBurner
Find us now on Facebook
Friday, December 31, 2010
Your New Years Eve Mental Sorbet: Barney Miller
Here is your New Years Eve "Mental Sorbet". Barney Miller: Season 2, Episode 15
On New Year's Eve Fish tries to stop a jumper, and Wojo delivers a baby.
Stay Tuned &
Happy New Year
Tony & Donna Figueroa
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
TV Confidential Archives Dec. 20, 2010
First hour: A look at Larry King's final broadcast on CNN; the 80 Greatest Moments in Television, according to the Hollywood Reporter; the Top Ten TV Episodes of 2010, according to Movieline; tributes to Blake Edwards and Alan Armer; and more holiday DVD recommendations. Also in this hour: Tony Figueroa remembers the premieres of How The Grinch Stole Christmas, the birth of director James Burrows, the death of Dean Martin and other events that happened This Week in TV History.
Second hour: Ed welcomes actor, author, producer and television historian Herbie J Pilato, founder of The Classic TV Preservation Society and author of The Bionic Book: The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman Reconstructed and other books on classic TV series, and a consultant on The Six Million Dollar Man Complete Series DVD Set recently released by Time-Life. Topics include the origins of the Bionic shows, their impact on television in the 1970s and their continued appeal today. Plus: Herbie's Top Ten TV Christmas Specials, Top Ten TV Animated Specials and Top Ten Christmas Songs.
Monday, December 27, 2010
This week in Television History: December 2010 PART IV
Listen to me on TV CONFIDENTIAL with Ed Robertson and Frankie Montiforte Broadcast LIVE every other Monday at 9pm ET, 6pm PT (immediately following STU'S SHOW) on Shokus Internet Radio. The program will then be repeated Tuesday thru Sunday at the same time (9pm ET, 6pm PT)on Shokus Radio for the next two weeks, and then will be posted on line at our archives page at TVConfidential.net. We are also on Share-a-Vision Radio (KSAV.org) Friday at 7pm PT and ET, either before or after the DUSTY RECORDS show, depending on where you live.
As always, the further we go back in Hollywood history, the more that fact and legend become intertwined. It's hard to say where the truth really lies.
December 30, 1940
TV director James Burrows born in Los Angeles.
Raised in New York City, Burrows graduated from Oberlin College and received a master’s degree in theater from Yale University. During the 1970s, he directed episodes of such popular sitcoms as The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bob Newhart Show and Laverne & Shirley. From 1978 to 1982, Burrows was the principal director of Taxi, a sitcom about New York City cab drivers featuring an ensemble cast that included Judd Hirsch, Danny DeVito, Tony Danza, Marilu Henner, Jeff Conaway, Andy Kaufman and Christopher Lloyd. Burrows and the former Taxi writers Glen Charles and Les Charles went on to develop a show called Cheers, which centers around a group of employees and regular patrons at a Boston-based watering hole. Cheers, which premiered on September 30, 1982, on NBC, starred Ted Danson as Sam Malone, a former professional baseball player and ladies man who runs the bar. The Cheers cast also included Woody Harrelson, John Ratzenberger, George Wendt, Rhea Perlman, Kirstie Alley and Kelsey Grammer (as snooty psychiatrist Frasier Crane). Though Cheers was almost cancelled due to poor first-season ratings, it eventually became a massive hit with audiences and was nominated for more than 100 Emmy Awards, winning 28. The final episode of Cheers, which aired on May 20, 1993, attracted over 80 million viewers, making it one of the top-rated finales in TV history.
Burrows went on to direct multiple episodes of the hit Cheers spinoff Frasier, which starred Kelsey Grammer and originally aired from 1993 to 2004. Burrows also lent his Midas touch to the long-running sitcom Friends by helming the pilot as well as more than a dozen other episodes. Friends, which originally aired from 1994 to 2004 and co-starred Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox Arquette, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Matthew Perry and Matt LeBlanc, was another huge ratings success. During the 1990s, Burrows also directed pilots for such shows as Wings, Caroline in the City, NewsRadio, 3rd Rock from the Sun and Dharma & Greg.
In 1998, Burrows became an executive producer of Will & Grace and reportedly directed every episode of the sitcom, which originally aired through May 18, 2006. The show starred Debra Messing as Grace, an interior designer, and Eric McCormack as Grace’s best friend Will, a gay attorney. Sean Hayes played Will and Grace’s flamboyant friend Jack, while Megan Mullaly co-starred as Grace’s wealthy, pill-popping assistant Karen. The wildly popular Will & Grace was the first network sitcom to feature homosexual main characters. More recently, Burrows has directed such shows as the short-lived Back to You (2007-2008) with Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton.
December 30th 1971
Pete Duel was killed by a gunshot which the police determined to be self inflicted, either by accident or suicide.
In the early hours of December 31, 1971, Duel apparently shot himself, after drinking heavily that evening. At the time, his girlfriend, Dianne Ray, was in the house but not in the same room, and did not witness what happened. In October 1970 he had been the driver in a car wreck in which another person was injured, and was facing legal problems; an astrologer had then told him that 1972 was going to be a difficult year for him. After his death, his role in Alias Smith and Jones was taken over by Roger Davis (previously, the series' narrator), but the sudden loss proved too great and fans were slow to accept the dissimilar-looking Davis. The series was cancelled in 1973.
A memorial service was held on January 2nd 1972 at the Self Realization Fellowship Shrine, a place suggested by his friend and manager, John Napier. His family and many of his friends were there, though Ben Murphy was too upsetto attend. Pete Duel was buried, after a private service, in his hometown of Penfield, New York.
Why and exactly how the fatal shooting occurred, no one can say. The press have speculated in dozens of articles. None of that speculation can ease the loss of the talented young man.
December 30, 1985
Rick Nelson is killed in a plane crash.
Nelson got his start by starring in his parents' TV series, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.
Nelson was born in 1940 to famous parents: His father, Ozzie Nelson, was a bandleader, and his mother, Harriet, was a singer and actress. When Ricky was four years old, his parents launched their radio series, playing themselves, with actors playing their young sons. Five years later, Ricky and his older brother, David, suggested that they, like their parents, play themselves on the series. In 1952, the series moved to TV.
Nelson attended Hollywood High School and showed little interest in music until his girlfriend raved to him about Elvis. He boasted that he was about to cut a record himself. His father let him cut a demo with his orchestra; Nelson claimed he chose to cover Fats Domino's "I'm Walkin'" because it relied heavily on the two guitar chords Nelson knew how to play.
When Nelson played the song on the TV series, he became an overnight sensation. His first album, released in November 1957, topped the Billboard charts, and Nelson became one of the best-selling male singers of the 1950s, with 53 Hot 100 hits, 17 in the Top 10. Nelson later changed his name from Ricky to Rick. He also appeared in several movies, including Rio Bravo with John Wayne and Dean Martin in 1959 and The Wackiest Ship in the Army in 1960.
After Ozzie and Harriet went off the air in 1966, Nelson's music career fizzled until he discovered the emerging style of country rock. On two albums, he covered country material and scored a few hits in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Although he would never be a superstar again, he continued touring aggressively, performing more than 200 nights a year. He put together a new band in 1985 and signed a new record deal, but on December 31, en route to a concert in Texas, he died in a plane crash at age 45. The last song he performed live was a cover of "Rave On" by Buddy Holly, who also died in a plane crash.
January 1, 1943
Don Novello writer, film director, producer, actor, singer, and comedian is born.
Novello is best known for his work on NBC's Saturday Night Live, from 1977 until 1980, and then 1985 until 1986, often as the character "Father Guido Sarducci". Novello has appeared as "Sarducci" on many television shows since then, including Married... with Children, Blossom, It's Garry Shandling's Show, Unhappily Ever After and Square Pegs.
January 2, 1990
Alan Hale Jr., the Skipper on Gilligan's Island, dies of cancer at age 68.
Hale was born in Los Angeles, California. His father was character actor Alan Hale, Sr. and his mother was Gretchen Hartman (1897–1979), a silent film actress. His father (whom his son greatly resembled), had an extremely successful career in movies both as a leading man in silent films and as a supporting actor in sound movies, appearing in many Errol Flynn films, acting in 235 movies altogether, and playing Little John in Robin Hood films three times over a 28-year span, beginning with the silent Douglas Fairbanks version. While his father was adapting to sound films, Hale, Jr. began his career while still a baby.
During the Second World War, Hale, Jr. enlisted in the United States Coast Guard.
After the death of his father in 1950, Alan stopped using "Junior".
Hale's first important roles were as a member of Gene Autry's recurring cast of players. During the late 1940s and early 1950s, he frequently appeared in Autry movies and The Gene Autry Show on TV. He also starred in television series, such as 1952–53's Biff Baker U.S.A.. He guest starred in the NBC western anthology Frontier. He later appeared in the classic syndicated western series Wanted Dead or Alive opposite Steve McQueen in episode No. 5 as Shawnee Bill, and played the titular lead in the television series Casey Jones (32 black and white episodes of 25 minutes from 1957 to 1958). In 1961, he appeared in Audie Murphy's short-lived NBC western detective series, Whispering Smith, as the witness to a murder. In 1962, Hale also appeared on The Andy Griffith Show as Jeff Pruitt, a rough, back-woods bachelor who comes to Mayberry to find a bride. In the episode, he refers to Barney Fife more than once as "little buddy," a nickname he would later use in his most famous and beloved role, that of the Skipper on Gilligan's Island, which ran from 1964 to 1967. He appeared in an episode of CBS's The New Phil Silvers Show in the 1963–1964 season.
Hale's work was not confined to comedies. In 1958, he guest starred on NBC's adventure series Northwest Passage, co-starring Buddy Ebsen. In 1962, he guest starred in an episode of ABC's crime drama Target: The Corruptors! with Stephen McNally. He starred with Bob Denver (Hale's Gilligan co-star) in The Good Guys (1968–70). He appeared in three episodes of ABC's Fantasy Island in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
During his career, he was noted for his supporting character roles in such movies as Up Periscope with James Garner, The Fifth Musketeer, The Lady Takes a Flyer, stock car racing film Thunder in Carolina, The Giant Spider Invasion, Hang 'Em High with Clint Eastwood, and The West Point Story with James Cagney as well as The Gunfighter with Gregory Peck.
The Skipper on Gilligan's Island (1964–1967) proved to be the most prominent role for Hale, as the show continued to be popular for later generations of viewers due to syndicated re-runs. The popularity of the show typecast its actors, making it difficult for them to successfully pursue diversified acting opportunities. They received no substantial residual payments for their roles, and the difficulty in finding roles often created financial hardship and resentment. However, Hale often said he did not mind being so closely identified with the Skipper. He co-owned a restaurant in the West Hollywood area (Alan Hale's Lobster Barrel) and would often greet customers in his "Skipper" hat.
During the weekends of 1974 to 1977, a new generation enjoyed the cartoon version of The New Adventures of Gilligan and by 1978, they brought back the original crew for a TV movie named Rescue From Gilligan's Island. Hale also portrayed the Skipper in two more TV reunion movies in 1979 and 1981, and participated in numerous reunions with the cast throughout the 1980s. His final appearances as the Skipper were on a 1988 episode of the sitcom ALF, and for several 1989 clips promoting Gilligan's Island reruns on TBS (TV network), both alongside his old friend Bob Denver. He also made a cameo appearance with Denver in the film Back to the Beach.
Hale was known for his great love of children. When he was dying of cancer, he learned there was a sick child in the same hospital who loved the Gilligan's Island show. He went to see the boy and said "The Skipper's here, son, everything is going to be all right." The child, having noticed all the weight Hale had lost due to cancer, inquired about it. Hale made up a story on the spot about how there was a new version of the show in the works, and he was going to play Gilligan.
A resident of Hollywood, California in the final years, Hale died of thyroid cancer at St. Vincent's Medical Center in Los Angeles January 2, 1990 (aged 68). He was cremated, and his ashes were scattered at sea.
To quote the Bicentennial Minute, "And that's the way it was".
Stay Tuned
Tony Figueroa
As always, the further we go back in Hollywood history, the more that fact and legend become intertwined. It's hard to say where the truth really lies.
December 30, 1940
TV director James Burrows born in Los Angeles.
Raised in New York City, Burrows graduated from Oberlin College and received a master’s degree in theater from Yale University. During the 1970s, he directed episodes of such popular sitcoms as The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bob Newhart Show and Laverne & Shirley. From 1978 to 1982, Burrows was the principal director of Taxi, a sitcom about New York City cab drivers featuring an ensemble cast that included Judd Hirsch, Danny DeVito, Tony Danza, Marilu Henner, Jeff Conaway, Andy Kaufman and Christopher Lloyd. Burrows and the former Taxi writers Glen Charles and Les Charles went on to develop a show called Cheers, which centers around a group of employees and regular patrons at a Boston-based watering hole. Cheers, which premiered on September 30, 1982, on NBC, starred Ted Danson as Sam Malone, a former professional baseball player and ladies man who runs the bar. The Cheers cast also included Woody Harrelson, John Ratzenberger, George Wendt, Rhea Perlman, Kirstie Alley and Kelsey Grammer (as snooty psychiatrist Frasier Crane). Though Cheers was almost cancelled due to poor first-season ratings, it eventually became a massive hit with audiences and was nominated for more than 100 Emmy Awards, winning 28. The final episode of Cheers, which aired on May 20, 1993, attracted over 80 million viewers, making it one of the top-rated finales in TV history.
Burrows went on to direct multiple episodes of the hit Cheers spinoff Frasier, which starred Kelsey Grammer and originally aired from 1993 to 2004. Burrows also lent his Midas touch to the long-running sitcom Friends by helming the pilot as well as more than a dozen other episodes. Friends, which originally aired from 1994 to 2004 and co-starred Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox Arquette, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Matthew Perry and Matt LeBlanc, was another huge ratings success. During the 1990s, Burrows also directed pilots for such shows as Wings, Caroline in the City, NewsRadio, 3rd Rock from the Sun and Dharma & Greg.
In 1998, Burrows became an executive producer of Will & Grace and reportedly directed every episode of the sitcom, which originally aired through May 18, 2006. The show starred Debra Messing as Grace, an interior designer, and Eric McCormack as Grace’s best friend Will, a gay attorney. Sean Hayes played Will and Grace’s flamboyant friend Jack, while Megan Mullaly co-starred as Grace’s wealthy, pill-popping assistant Karen. The wildly popular Will & Grace was the first network sitcom to feature homosexual main characters. More recently, Burrows has directed such shows as the short-lived Back to You (2007-2008) with Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton.
December 30th 1971
Pete Duel was killed by a gunshot which the police determined to be self inflicted, either by accident or suicide.
In the early hours of December 31, 1971, Duel apparently shot himself, after drinking heavily that evening. At the time, his girlfriend, Dianne Ray, was in the house but not in the same room, and did not witness what happened. In October 1970 he had been the driver in a car wreck in which another person was injured, and was facing legal problems; an astrologer had then told him that 1972 was going to be a difficult year for him. After his death, his role in Alias Smith and Jones was taken over by Roger Davis (previously, the series' narrator), but the sudden loss proved too great and fans were slow to accept the dissimilar-looking Davis. The series was cancelled in 1973.
A memorial service was held on January 2nd 1972 at the Self Realization Fellowship Shrine, a place suggested by his friend and manager, John Napier. His family and many of his friends were there, though Ben Murphy was too upsetto attend. Pete Duel was buried, after a private service, in his hometown of Penfield, New York.
Why and exactly how the fatal shooting occurred, no one can say. The press have speculated in dozens of articles. None of that speculation can ease the loss of the talented young man.
December 30, 1985
Rick Nelson is killed in a plane crash.
Nelson got his start by starring in his parents' TV series, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.
Nelson was born in 1940 to famous parents: His father, Ozzie Nelson, was a bandleader, and his mother, Harriet, was a singer and actress. When Ricky was four years old, his parents launched their radio series, playing themselves, with actors playing their young sons. Five years later, Ricky and his older brother, David, suggested that they, like their parents, play themselves on the series. In 1952, the series moved to TV.
Nelson attended Hollywood High School and showed little interest in music until his girlfriend raved to him about Elvis. He boasted that he was about to cut a record himself. His father let him cut a demo with his orchestra; Nelson claimed he chose to cover Fats Domino's "I'm Walkin'" because it relied heavily on the two guitar chords Nelson knew how to play.
When Nelson played the song on the TV series, he became an overnight sensation. His first album, released in November 1957, topped the Billboard charts, and Nelson became one of the best-selling male singers of the 1950s, with 53 Hot 100 hits, 17 in the Top 10. Nelson later changed his name from Ricky to Rick. He also appeared in several movies, including Rio Bravo with John Wayne and Dean Martin in 1959 and The Wackiest Ship in the Army in 1960.
After Ozzie and Harriet went off the air in 1966, Nelson's music career fizzled until he discovered the emerging style of country rock. On two albums, he covered country material and scored a few hits in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Although he would never be a superstar again, he continued touring aggressively, performing more than 200 nights a year. He put together a new band in 1985 and signed a new record deal, but on December 31, en route to a concert in Texas, he died in a plane crash at age 45. The last song he performed live was a cover of "Rave On" by Buddy Holly, who also died in a plane crash.
January 1, 1943
Don Novello writer, film director, producer, actor, singer, and comedian is born.
Novello is best known for his work on NBC's Saturday Night Live, from 1977 until 1980, and then 1985 until 1986, often as the character "Father Guido Sarducci". Novello has appeared as "Sarducci" on many television shows since then, including Married... with Children, Blossom, It's Garry Shandling's Show, Unhappily Ever After and Square Pegs.
January 2, 1990
Alan Hale Jr., the Skipper on Gilligan's Island, dies of cancer at age 68.
Hale was born in Los Angeles, California. His father was character actor Alan Hale, Sr. and his mother was Gretchen Hartman (1897–1979), a silent film actress. His father (whom his son greatly resembled), had an extremely successful career in movies both as a leading man in silent films and as a supporting actor in sound movies, appearing in many Errol Flynn films, acting in 235 movies altogether, and playing Little John in Robin Hood films three times over a 28-year span, beginning with the silent Douglas Fairbanks version. While his father was adapting to sound films, Hale, Jr. began his career while still a baby.
During the Second World War, Hale, Jr. enlisted in the United States Coast Guard.
After the death of his father in 1950, Alan stopped using "Junior".
Hale's first important roles were as a member of Gene Autry's recurring cast of players. During the late 1940s and early 1950s, he frequently appeared in Autry movies and The Gene Autry Show on TV. He also starred in television series, such as 1952–53's Biff Baker U.S.A.. He guest starred in the NBC western anthology Frontier. He later appeared in the classic syndicated western series Wanted Dead or Alive opposite Steve McQueen in episode No. 5 as Shawnee Bill, and played the titular lead in the television series Casey Jones (32 black and white episodes of 25 minutes from 1957 to 1958). In 1961, he appeared in Audie Murphy's short-lived NBC western detective series, Whispering Smith, as the witness to a murder. In 1962, Hale also appeared on The Andy Griffith Show as Jeff Pruitt, a rough, back-woods bachelor who comes to Mayberry to find a bride. In the episode, he refers to Barney Fife more than once as "little buddy," a nickname he would later use in his most famous and beloved role, that of the Skipper on Gilligan's Island, which ran from 1964 to 1967. He appeared in an episode of CBS's The New Phil Silvers Show in the 1963–1964 season.
Hale's work was not confined to comedies. In 1958, he guest starred on NBC's adventure series Northwest Passage, co-starring Buddy Ebsen. In 1962, he guest starred in an episode of ABC's crime drama Target: The Corruptors! with Stephen McNally. He starred with Bob Denver (Hale's Gilligan co-star) in The Good Guys (1968–70). He appeared in three episodes of ABC's Fantasy Island in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
During his career, he was noted for his supporting character roles in such movies as Up Periscope with James Garner, The Fifth Musketeer, The Lady Takes a Flyer, stock car racing film Thunder in Carolina, The Giant Spider Invasion, Hang 'Em High with Clint Eastwood, and The West Point Story with James Cagney as well as The Gunfighter with Gregory Peck.
The Skipper on Gilligan's Island (1964–1967) proved to be the most prominent role for Hale, as the show continued to be popular for later generations of viewers due to syndicated re-runs. The popularity of the show typecast its actors, making it difficult for them to successfully pursue diversified acting opportunities. They received no substantial residual payments for their roles, and the difficulty in finding roles often created financial hardship and resentment. However, Hale often said he did not mind being so closely identified with the Skipper. He co-owned a restaurant in the West Hollywood area (Alan Hale's Lobster Barrel) and would often greet customers in his "Skipper" hat.
During the weekends of 1974 to 1977, a new generation enjoyed the cartoon version of The New Adventures of Gilligan and by 1978, they brought back the original crew for a TV movie named Rescue From Gilligan's Island. Hale also portrayed the Skipper in two more TV reunion movies in 1979 and 1981, and participated in numerous reunions with the cast throughout the 1980s. His final appearances as the Skipper were on a 1988 episode of the sitcom ALF, and for several 1989 clips promoting Gilligan's Island reruns on TBS (TV network), both alongside his old friend Bob Denver. He also made a cameo appearance with Denver in the film Back to the Beach.
Hale was known for his great love of children. When he was dying of cancer, he learned there was a sick child in the same hospital who loved the Gilligan's Island show. He went to see the boy and said "The Skipper's here, son, everything is going to be all right." The child, having noticed all the weight Hale had lost due to cancer, inquired about it. Hale made up a story on the spot about how there was a new version of the show in the works, and he was going to play Gilligan.
A resident of Hollywood, California in the final years, Hale died of thyroid cancer at St. Vincent's Medical Center in Los Angeles January 2, 1990 (aged 68). He was cremated, and his ashes were scattered at sea.
To quote the Bicentennial Minute, "And that's the way it was".Stay Tuned
Tony Figueroa
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Your HOLIDAY SOR-BAY: It's a Wonderful Life *HD*
Here is a "HOLIDAY SOR-BAY" that we could use to artificially stimulate our Christmas spirit. Saturday Night Live: Season 12 - Episode 8
Think you know this classic? Think again.
Stay Tuned & Merry Christmas
Tony Figueroa
Friday, December 24, 2010
Happy Holidays from Your Friends at TV CONFIDENTIAL
Join us as we look back at 2010: The Year in Television on the next edition of TV CONFIDENTIAL, premiering Monday, Dec. 27 at 9pm ET, 6pm PT on Shokus Internet Radio, with encore presentations Tuesday, Dec. 28 at 11:05pm ET, 8:05pm on Passionate World Radio, Friday, Dec. 31 at 7pm ET and PT on Share-a-Vision Radio, KSAV.org, plus three times a day on ShokusRadio.com through Sunday, Jan. 2.
We’ll talk about some of the major stories that dominated the world of television over the past year, from the NBC Late Night Debacle to Conan’s Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television Tour, to the series finales of Lost and Law and Order to the departure of Jeff Zucker, from the rise of the so-called Alpha Boomer demographic to Bristol Palin, Dancing with the Stars and everything in between. Plus: a look at what’s on the cable TV horizon in 2011 and This Week in TV History.
In the meantime, Happy Holidays to you and your and all good wishes for the New Year and beyond.
TV CONFIDENTIAL: A radio talk show about television
Tuesdays 11:05pm, 8:05pm PT
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Share-a-Vision Radio, KSAV.org
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