TV CONFIDENTIAL Archives: Show No. 221 with guest Alan Zweibel

Show No. 221 with guest Alan Zweibel
 
Original Airdate: Week of Feb. 12-18, 2014
 
First hour: Phil Gries remembers Baseball Hall of Famer and longtime New York Mets television announcer Ralph Kiner by playing highlights of our three-part tribute to Kiner, which originally aired in April and May 2013. Also in this hour: Tony Figueroa and Donna Allen say Happy Birthday to John Travolta, while Greg Ehrbar remembers The Amazing Chan and The Chan Clan.  

Second hour: Ed, Tony and Donna welcome Alan Zweibel, one of the original writers of Saturday Night Live, the co-creator of It’s Garry Shandling’s Show, and the author of such books as Bunny Bunny, the story of his 14-year friendship with Gilda Radner. Alan recently collaborated with Billy Crystal on the Broadway production of 700 Sundays, a taped performance of which will premiere on HBO on Saturday, April 19, while a new stage production of Bunny Bunny is currently playing at the Falcon Theatre through Sunday, March 2.

Your Mental Sorbet: Get Smart Pepsodent Toothpaste Commerical - 1967

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

Don Adams as Maxwell Smart, Agent 86 and Dave Ketchum as the ever suffering Agent 13 try to pronounce "Zirconium Silicate."

Stay Tuned

Tony Figueroa

Actor Michael Dante and author Bob Leszczak will join us on the next edition of TV CONFIDENTIAL

Actor Michael Dante and author Bob Leszczak will join us on the next edition of TV CONFIDENTIAL, airing Feb. 19-25 at the following times and venues:

WROM Radio
Detroit, MI
Wednesday 2/19
8pm ET, 5pm PT
2am ET, 11pm PT
Sunday 2/23
8pm ET, 5pm PT
2am ET, 11pm PT
Click on the Listen Live button at WROMRadio.net

WYYR: Yesteryear Radio
Vero Beach, FL
Wednesday 2/23
9pm ET, 6pm PT
Click the On Air button at WYYR.com

Share-a-Vision Radio
San Francisco Bay Area
Friday 2/21
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

Indiana Talks
Marion, IN
Weekends, various times
Click on the player at IndianaTalks.com
or use the TuneIn app on your smartphone and type in Indiana Talks

KSCO-AM 1080
San Jose, Santa Cruz and Salinas, CA
KOMY-AM 1340
Watsonville, CA
Sunday 2/21
11am ET, 8am PT
Also streaming at KSCO.com

Boost Radio Network
Paramus, NJ
Sunday 2/21
8pm ET, 5pm PT
Click on the On the Air button at BoostRadio.com

KHMB-AM 1710
Half Moon Bay, CA
Sunday 2/23
9pm PT
Monday 2/24
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 2/24
10pm ET, 7pm PT
with replays Tuesday thru Friday at 10pm ET, 7pm PT
Click on the Talk Slot button at RadioSlot.com

PWRNetwork
Ann Arbor, MI
Tuesday 2/25
9:30pm ET, 6:30pm PT
with replays at various times throughout the week
Click on the Live Radio button at PWRTalk.com

Many of you know Michael Dante for playing Maab on Star Trek, Sitting Bull on Custer, and the title role in the critically acclaimed Winterhawk, as well as his appearances in such other classic films and TV series asWestbound, The Naked Kiss, Harlow, Somebody Up There Likes Me, Perry Mason, Maverick, Cheyenne, Sugarfoot and Get Smart. Michael not only learned his craft as an actor during the last days of the Golden Age of Hollywood and the early days of television, but had the great fortune of meeting many of his idols from the worlds of music, film and sports, including Tommy Dorsey, Edward G. Robinson, James Cagney, Joe DiMaggio, Luke Appling, Nat King Cole and Lana Turner. In many respects the story of Michael’s life embodies the great American spirit. We’ll talk about that, and more, when he joins us in our second hour.

Michael Dante’s new book, Michael Dante: From Hollywood to Michael Dante Way, is now available for purchase. If you’d like a personally autographed copy, you can contact Michael directly at MichaelDanteWay.com.

Also joining us this week will be author Bob Leszczak. Bob’s books on music and television include Who Did It First?, a comprehensive look at cover songs and their original artists (with individual volumes for music in the rock, pop, and R&Bgenres), and Single Season Sitcoms, a complete guide to notable comedy series from the thirty years of television that, for one reason or another, only lasted one season.

With the Olympics ending next week, both the broadcast and cable networks will be rolling out new series again. We’ll see if any of these new shows last beyond their first season when Bob Leszczak joins us in our first hour.


TV CONFIDENTIAL: A radio talk show about television
Wed and Sun 8pm ET, 5pm PT on WROM Radio
Wed 9pm ET, 6pm PT on WYYR: Yesteryear Radio
Fri 7pm ET and PT on Share-a-Vision Radio, KSAV.org
Sat 7pm ET, 4pm PT on IndianaTalks.com
Sun 11am ET, 8am PT KSCO-AM 1080 (San Jose, Santa Cruz and Salinas, CA)
Sun 11am ET, 8am PT KOMY-AM 1340 (Watsonville, CA)
Sun 8pm ET, 5pm PT Boost Radio Network
Sun 9pm PT, Mon Mid ET on KHMB-AM 1710 (Half Moon Bay, CA)
Mon 10pm ET, 7pm PT on The Radio Slot Network
Tue 9:30pm ET, 6:30pm PT on PWRNetwork
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 www.stitcher.com/TVConfidential
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This Week in Television History: February 2014 PART III

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 intertwined. It's hard to say where the truth really lies.

February 18, 1954

John Joseph Travolta is born. 

Actor, dancer, and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease. Travolta's acting career declined through the 1980s. 

His career enjoyed a resurgence in the 1990s with his role in Pulp Fiction, and he has since continued starring in more recent films such as Face/Off, Ladder 49, and Wild Hogs. Travolta was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for Saturday Night Fever and Pulp Fiction. 

He won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his performance in Get Shorty.

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

Stay Tuned

Tony Figueroa