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"
Show No. 201 with guest Sheree J. Wilson and Frank V. Furino Original Airdate: Week of Sept. 18-24, 2013 First hour: Ed welcomes television writer and producer Frank V. Furino (Dallas, Flamingo Road, The Colbys, General Hospital,Dynasty, Dick Clark’s New Years Rockin' Eve). Frank is also the author of Marilyn, Madness and Me,
an original play that not only depicts the final days in the life of
Marilyn Monroe, but will change the way you look at the iconic film
actress. For our listeners in Southern California, Marilyn, Madness and Me
begins a five-week run on Thursday, Sept. 19 at The Marilyn Monroe
Forum Theatre at The El Portal Theatre, 5269 Lankershim Blvd. in North
Hollywood. For tickets and more information, call (866) 811-4111 or
visit http://www.elportaltheatre.com/events.html.
Second hour: Ed welcomes actress and producer Sheree J. Wilson (Dallas, Walker: Texas Ranger). Sheree recently produced, as well as stars in, Easy Rider: The Ride Back,
a sequel (and prequel) to the groundbreaking cult classic that explores
the lineage of Wyatt “Captain America” Williams while also remaining
true to the core values and basic themes of the original 1969 film.
Actresses JoAnne Worley and Charlene Tilton will join
us on the next edition of TV CONFIDENTIAL, airing Sept. 25-Oct. 1 at
the following times and venues:
Passionate World Radio
Ann Arbor, MI
Tuesday 9/24
9:30pm ET, 6:30pm PT
with replays at various times throughout the week at PWRTalkonDemand.com
Click on the Listen Now button at PWRTalk.com WROM Radio Detroit, MI
Wednesday 9/25
8pm ET, 5pm PT
2am ET, 11pm PT
Sunday 9/29
8pm ET, 5pm PT
2am ET, 11pm PT
Click on the Listen Live button at WROMRadio.net
Indiana Talks
Marion, IN
Wednesday 9/25
11pm ET, 8pm PT
with replays at various times throughout the week
Click on the player at IndianaTalks.com
or use the TuneIn app on your smartphone and type in Indiana Talks
Talktainment Radio
Columbus, OH
Thursday 9/26
2am ET, 11pm PT
Friday 9/27
3am ET, Midnight PT
Noon ET, 9am PT
Click on the Listen Live button at TalktainmentRadio.com
Share-a-Vision Radio
San Francisco Bay Area
Friday 9/27
7pm ET, 4pm PT
10pm ET, 7pm PT
Click on the Listen Live button at KSAV.org
or use the TuneIn app on your smartphone and type in KSAV
KHMB Radio 1710 AM
Half Moon Bay, CA
Sunday 9/29
9pm PT
Monday 9/30
Midnight ET
Click on the Listen Live button at KHMBRadio.com
or use the Live365 app on your smartphone and type in KHMB
The Radio Slot Network
San Francisco, CA
Monday 9/30
9pm ET, 6pm PT
with replays at various times throughout the week
Click on the Talk Slot button at RadioSlot.com
A force of nature in every sense of the word, JoAnne Worley is known around the world as one of the stars of the groundbreaking TV series Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In, as well as her appearances on such popular shows as Match Game, Hollywood Squares and just about every version of Pyramid.
What you may not know is that JoAnne is also one of the most
accomplished musical stars and stage actresses the industry has ever
known, having starred in such productions as Mame, Gypsy, Hello, Dolly!, The Drowsy Chaperone, The Pirates of Penzance, The Odd Couple and Wicked.
An onetime member of the acclaimed improv group Second City, JoAnne
will talk about her career in comedy when she joins us in our first
hour.
JoAnne Worley is also the president of Actors and Others for Animals,
one of the longest-standing animal welfare organizations in Los
Angeles. She’ll be joining Susan Sullivan, Ed Begley Jr., Tippi Hedren,
Chuck McCann, Nancy Sinatra, Fred Willard and other celebrities on
Saturday, Sept. 28 for a celebrity “Best of Show” pet competition
that will benefit Actors and Others for Animals. The event takes place
at the Universal Hilton Hotel and Towers, 555 Universal Hollywood Drive,
Universal City, CA 91608 beginning at 11am. For tickets and more
information, call (818) 755-5080 or go to www.actorsandothers.com.
If you can’t make it in person, you can still participate in the Sept.
28 event, no matter where you live, by uploading an image of your pet
(for a $10 donation). For more information, go to http://www.actorsandothers.com/pet_parade.html.
And speaking of forces of nature, joining us in our second hour will be actress and producer Charlene Tilton. Known throughout the world as Lucy Ewing on Dallas (both the original series on CBS and the new Dallas on TNT), Charlene is also the president of Actors for Autism,
a nonprofit organization comprised of individuals in the entertainment
industry who are dedicated to the advancement, education and training of
children and adults with autism. Charlene herself has been teaching
classes to autistic students for the past three years. We’ll ask her how
she became involved with Actors for Autism, as well as discuss her
background in comedy (she also has performed with Second City), her work
with the likes of Henry Winkler and Bob Hope, and, of course, her years
on Dallas.
Actors for Autism will be honoring actor Joe Mantegna as its Humanitarian of the Year on Wednesday, Oct. 2 at Rockwell Table and Stage,
1714 N. Vermont in Los Angeles, beginning at 8pm. The event is open to
the public, and will include performances by AFA students, celebrity
guests, a silent auction and more. For tickets and more information,
call Rockwell Table and Stage at (323) 669-1550 or go to http://rockwell-la.inticketing.com/events/ or www.actorsforautism.org.
Also this week: A look at entertainment headlines and a brand new DVD
event. It’ll be a full program as always… we certainly hope you’ll join
us.
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.
September 24, 1963
Petticoat Junction first
aired.
Set just outside the rural
town of Hooterville, the show followed the goings-on at
The Shady Rest Hotel, of which Kate Bradley (Benaderet) was the proprietor. Her
lazy Uncle Joe Carson
(Edgar Buchanan), who was the great uncle to
Kate's three daughters, helped her in the day-to-day running of the business
while she served as a mediator in the various minor crises that befell her
daughters Betty Jo (redhead), Bobbie Jo (brunette), and Billie Jo (blonde). The actresses portraying Billie Jo and Bobbie Jo
changed over the years, whereas Betty Jo was portrayed by Linda Kaye, the daughter of Paul Henning, for the
entire run.
One of Gumbel's more memorable moments during his time at NBC Sports occurred in 1982, when he was on-site for the "Epic in Miami" NFL playoff game between the San Diego Chargers and Miami Dolphins. At the end of the game, Gumbel told the viewing audience "If you didn't like this football game then you don't like football!"
Today
Gumbel began his affiliation with Today as the program's chief
sports reporter contributing twice-weekly features to the program,
including a regular series entitled "Sportsman of the Week," featuring
up-and-coming athletes. In June 1981, NBC announced that Tom Brokaw would depart Today to anchor the NBC Nightly News with Roger Mudd
beginning in the spring of 1982. The search for Brokaw's replacement
was on, and the initial candidates were all NBC News correspondents,
including John Palmer, Chris Wallace, Bob Kur, Bob Jamieson, and Jessica Savitch.
The candidates auditioned for Brokaw's job throughout the summer of
1981 when Brokaw was on vacation. Gumbel became a candidate for the job
just by chance when he served as a last-minute substitute for Today co-anchor Jane Pauley
in August 1981. Gumbel so impressed executive producer Steve Friedman
and other NBC executives that he quickly became a top contender for the Today anchor position.
While Friedman and other NBC executives favored Gumbel as Brokaw's
replacement, another contingent within the NBC News division felt
strongly that Brokaw should be replaced by a fellow news correspondent,
not a sports reporter. Chris Wallace was the favored candidate of
then-NBC News president Bill Small. NBC News decided to split the
difference, selecting Gumbel as the program's anchor and Wallace as the
Washington-based anchor. Jane Pauley would remain co-anchor in New York.
Brokaw signed off of Today on December 18, 1981, and Gumbel replaced Brokaw on January 4, 1982.
The Gumbel-Pauley-Wallace arrangement, known internally as the "Mod
Squad," lasted only nine months. It was an arrangement that proved
intriguing on paper but unwieldy on television. Gumbel served as the
show's traffic cop, opening and closing the program and conducting New
York-based interviews, but Pauley and Wallace handled newsreading
duties, and Wallace conducted all Washington-based hard news interviews.
With ABC's Good Morning America in first place and expanding its lead, NBC News made Gumbel the principal anchor of Today
beginning September 27, 1982, with Jane Pauley as his co-anchor.
Wallace became chief White House correspondent covering President
Reagan, and John Palmer, previously a White House correspondent, became Today's New York-based news anchor.
Gumbel and Pauley had a challenging first two years together as Today anchors as they sought to find a rhythm as a team. Good Morning America solidified its lead over Today in the ratings during the summer of 1983, and Pauley's departure for maternity leave sent Today
into a ratings tailspin. But when Pauley returned in February 1984, she
and Gumbel began to work well together as a team. NBC took Today
on the road in the fall of '84, sending Gumbel to the Soviet Union for
an unprecedented series of live broadcasts from Moscow. Gumbel won
plaudits for his performance in Moscow, erasing any doubts about his
hard-news capabilities. That Moscow trip began a whirlwind period of
travel for Today. Remote broadcasts from Vietnam, Vatican City,
Europe, South America, and much of the United States followed between
1984 and 1989. Today began to regain its old ratings dominance against Good Morning America throughout 1985, and by early 1986, the NBC program was once again atop the ratings.
In 1989, Gumbel, who was already known for his strong management style as Today anchor, wrote a memo to Today
executive producer Marty Ryan, on Ryan's request, critiquing the
program and identifying its shortcomings. Many of Gumbel's criticisms
were directed at fellow Today staffers. This memo was leaked to the press. In the memo, Gumbel commented that Willard Scott,
"holds the show hostage to his assortment of whims, wishes, birthdays
and bad taste...This guy is killing us and no one's even trying to rein
him in". He commented that Gene Shalit's movie reviews "are often late and his interviews aren't very good."
There was enough negative backlash in regard to Gumbel's comments toward Scott, that Gumbel was shown making up with Scott on Today.
Following Jane Pauley's departure from Today in December 1989, Gumbel was joined by Deborah Norville in a short-lived partnership that lasted just over a year. Today
dropped to second place in the ratings during this period as a result
of intensely negative publicity surrounding Norville's replacement of
Pauley, and Gumbel's feud with Scott. Norville was replaced by Katie Couric in April 1991, and the Gumbel-Couric team helped refocus Today
as the morning news program on public affairs during the 1992
presidential campaign. The program returned to first place in the
ratings in December 1995.
Gumbel's work on Today earned him several Emmys and a large group of fans. He is the second longest serving co-host of Today, serving two months less than Couric. Gumbel stepped down from the show on January 3, 1997 after 15 years.
The Early Show
After leaving the Today Show and Dateline NBC in 1997, Gumbel moved to CBS, where he hosted various shows before becoming co-host of the network's morning show The Early Show on November 1, 1999. Gumbel left The Early Show
(and CBS that same year) in May 2002.
He returned to his morning
television roots when, in the spring and summer of 2010, he served as
special guest moderator of ABC's "The View" for multiple days.
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel
Gumbel has concentrated most of his energy recently on his duties as host of HBO's acclaimed investigative series Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel (a show that he has hosted since 1995).
HBO's web page claims that Real Sports has been described as "flat out TV's best sports program" by the Los Angeles Times.Also according to HBO, Real Sports has earned 15 sports Emmys, and a 2006 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award for broadcast journalism, the first time in the award's history that it was given to a sports program.
The award was for a story called "The Sport of Sheikhs", an
investigation into the exploitation of children as camel jockeys in the United Arab Emirates.
To quote the Bicentennial Minute, "And that's the way it was".
