PM Show with Robert Conrad on CRN

05/31 Pat Boone!

rconrad@crni.net — Thu, 31 May 2012 20:10:56 PDT

05/31 Pat Boone!

Charles Eugene"Pat" Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer, actor andwriter. He was a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950sand early 1960s. Among his hit songs were cover versions of black R&B artists' songs (when parts of the countrywere segregated).He sold over 45 million albums, had 38 Top 40 hits and appeared in more than 12Hollywood movies. Boone's talent as a singer and actor, combined with hisold-fashioned values, contributed to his popularity in the early rock and rollera.

According to Billboard,Boone was the second biggest charting artist of the late 1950s, behind only Elvis Presley but ahead of Ricky Nelson and The Platters, and was ranked at No. 9—behind The Rolling Stonesand Paul McCartney but ahead of artists such as Aretha Franklin and The Beach Boys—in its listing of the Top 100 Top40 Artists 1955–1995.^[1] Boone still holds the Billboardrecord for spending 220 consecutive weeks on the charts with one or more songseach week.

At the age oftwenty-three, he began hosting a half-hour ABC variety television series, The Pat BooneChevy Showroom, which aired for 115 episodes (1957–1960). Manymusical performers, including Edie Adams, Andy Williams, Pearl Bailey and Johnny Mathis made appearances on the show. Hiscover versions of rhythm and blueshits had a noticeable effect on the development of the broad popularity of rockand roll. During his tours in the 1950s, Elvis Presley was one of his opening acts.^[2]

As a prolificauthor, Boone had a No. 1 bestseller in the 1950s (Twixt Twelve and Twenty,Prentice-Hall). In the 1960s, he focused on gospel music and is a member of the Gospel Music Hall ofFame. He continues to perform, and speak as a motivational speaker,a television personality, and a conservativepolitical commentator.

Wikipedia

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05/24 Chad McQueen!

rconrad@crni.net — Thu, 31 May 2012 20:06:37 PDT

05/24 Chad McQueen!

Chadwick Steven"Chad" McQueen (born December 28, 1960) is an American actor,film producer, martial artist and race car driver. He was born in Los Angeles,California to American actor Steve McQueen and Filipino actress Neile Adams.

Personal life

McQueen wasmarried to Stacey Toten from 1987 to 1990. Together they had one son, actor Steven R. McQueen, who is currently playing therole of Jeremy Gilbert inthe tv series The Vampire Diaries.Chad is also the stepbrother of producer and screenwriter Josh Evans(through his father's marriage to Ali MacGraw).

Film

McQueen hasworked as a film actor for some time, appearing as Dutch in The Karate Kidand "The Karate Kid Part II",and many other roles including a role in the 1995 film New York Cop withMira Sorvino and in the action films "Red Line"and Death Ring. He has also worked as a producer, winning a Telly Award for hisdocumentary Filming at Speed. He has appeared on numerous television programsrelated to motorsports, including Hot Rod TV and Celebrity Rides.

Racing career

McQueen'sracing career began early as he piloted a Porsche 917 from his father's lap while shootingthe film Le Mans. Heteamed with Belgian racing legend Jacky Ickx and his daughter Vanina, piloting a trio of Porsche 959s restored by Porsche Motorsports forthe 2004 Goodwood event.

McQueen hascompeted in several types of racing from Motocross to the Baja 1000. At age 6, he won his class in theWorld Mini Grand Prix. In 2004, he qualified for the SCCARunoffs, winning multiple events. Racing for WesternesseRacing, he finished 4th.

In January2006, he was seriously injured (suffering a broken lower left leg, as well as apair of fractures to his vertebrae and multiple ribfractures) in an accident at the DaytonaInternational Speedway while practicing for the 24 Hours of DaytonaSports Car race. McQueen now says that his driving days are over. He returnedto Daytona during the 2007 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona race to thank the medicsand track workers who he says saved his life.^[1]

In November2007, he returned to the DaytonaInternational Speedway and got behind the wheel of the Brumos 1975Ecurie Escargot RSR, driving it in the exhibitions at the Rennsport ReunionIII.

In January2010, he started McQueen Racing LLC, a company which partners with leaders inthe motorcycle and custom car industries to create limited edition highperformance motorcycles and automobile transbrakes.

Wikipedia

SteveMcQueenCarShow.com

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05/17 Francine York!

rconrad@crni.net — Thu, 17 May 2012 14:06:12 PDT

FRANCINE YORK!

Francine York (August 26, 1938 – ) is an American movie actress. She was born Francine Yerich, the daughter of Frank and Sophie Yerich, in Aurora, Minnesota. At an early age she developed an interest in performance. She won a local beauty contest then placed first runner-up in the Miss Minnesota pageant. After attempting a career as an airline stewardess, then winning the Miss San Francisco beauty contest and working as a model, she became an actress.

Francine was born in a small mining town in northern Minnesota called Aurora to her parents Frank and Sophie Yerich. She won all the declamation contests she entered in high school and also starred in all the class plays. Her drama coach wrote in her yearbook, "To Francine, I know someday you will be a success in Hollywood because you have the talent." Well, Hollywood was still a long way away for 17-year-old Francine. But then, an opportunity came up in a beauty contest which was part of the Miss America Pageant. Francine entered locally, became "Miss Eveleth", and Runner-up in Miss Minnesota. Her first modeling jobs started locally after that.

Moving to Minneapolis, she got a job modeling sweaters for Jane Richards Sportswear and began traveling all over the U.S., ending up in San Francisco. Taking a modeling course at the "House of Charm" School and Agency, started her off on a fabulous modeling career for all the department store ads (Macy's, Magnins, ect.) . But a new opportunity arose...the Miss San Francisco Pageant, which she entered and was Runner-up, only to take over the title because the winner got ill. The Maid of California Beauty Contest followed, which she was also Runner-up. By this time, Hollywood beckoned. She then met Mary Meade French who brought Francine to Hollywood and was her first agent.

A series of commercials followed: Chrysler, Betty Crocker, Valley Federal Bank, Chevrolet, and many more. She soon stared in her first feature called "Secret File Hollywood" which was premiered in her home town of Aurora for all the town to see. To this day, she says this was the biggest thrill of her life seeing the whole town, the press, her parents, grandparents, and all her friends, plus the high school band turned out at the airport to greet her. This was just the beginning though, as soon she was discovered by Jerry Lewis and six films followed, starting with "It's Only Money"," The Nutty Professor", "Family Jewels". "The Patsy", "Disorderly Orderly", and her last with him in 1982 where she plays a noble woman with a French accent from the 15th century called "Cracking Up". She also went on to star with Marlon Brando and David Niven in "Bedtime Story" for Universal Studios.

During this period, she also appeared in many Max Factor Cosmetic ads showing here and in Europe. Her makeup artist was Hal King who was Lucille Ball's makeup man all during the "Lucy" series. Francine's vast interest in nutrition put her on the covers of such national magazines as Let's Live, Fitness Plus, and others. Her appearances on fashion pages of the STAR, and National Enquirer have been numerous, and Mr. Blackwell's A-1 Dress List. She is also a gourmet cook and has hosted dinners for sometimes as many as 80-100 with such stars as Clint Eastwood, Peter Ustinov, Glenn Ford, Rex Harrison, and her many more. Her recipes have also appeared in both Hollywood movie magazines and health magazines.

Some of Francine's other credits are "Curse of the Swamp Creature" (now a cult film), "Tickle Me" with Elvis Presley, "Cannon for Corboda" (shot in Spain with George Peppard), George Stevens' "The Greatest Story Ever Told," "Sergeant Was A Lady for Universal, etc. She starred with Bob Hope and Eva Marie Saint in "School for Bachelors". As Venus De Milo on "Bewitched"; as the agricultural student all the men fell in love with on "Green Acres" Soon Irwin Allen, famous disaster film producer, discovered her talents and soon starred her in "Lost in Space" as the infamous Queen Niolani, "Land of the Giants" as Dr. North, "The Flood" as Robert Culp's girlfriend, "Time Traveler", a pilot for ABC which she played a scientist, "Luxury Liner" opposite Robert Stack, "Batman Soon Came Up" opposite Roddy McDowell (as Lydia Limpit) his girl . That got her a story in Saturday Evening Post and later she was known as one of the Bat Girls. "The Streets of San Francisco", "Columbo", "Kojak", "Wild Wild West", "Police Story", "Mission Impossible", "Riptide", and "Perry Mason" all followed.

Some of her other television shows were "Ohara U.S. Treasury" opposite David Janssen and "Police Story". On "Days of Our Lives" she played the notorious blackmailer Lorraine Temple, and on "General Hospital" Thelma, and infamous madam from Florida. She also starred in "Mama's Family", "Brothers", "Mr. Belvedere". "Matlock" opposite Andy Griffith, and she recently Guest Starred in "Beverly Hills 90210" and "Lois & Clark" (the new Superman) and "Marilyn Is Alive" Starring as Marilyn Monroe.

Still a striking woman even in her 70s, Francine is a regular on the sitcom "Hot in Cleveland" (2010), in which she plays a British soap opera star opposite Wendie Malick, Valerie Bertinelli and Betty White.

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05/10 Robert Conrad Talks to You!

rconrad@crni.net — Thu, 10 May 2012 15:15:05 PDT

05/10 Robert Conrad Talks to You!

The show is all about you! Your letters, your emails and YOUR calls! It's a love-fest between you and Robert Conrad!

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05/03 Robert Conrad talks to you!

rconrad@crni.net — Fri, 04 May 2012 11:53:23 PDT

05/03 Robert Conrad talks to you!

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04/26 Robert Conrad

rconrad@crni.net — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 16:06:46 PDT

04/26 Robert Conrad

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04/19 Jane Badler

rconrad@crni.net — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 17:00:02 PDT

Badler spent her teen years in Great Neck, New York, moving to Manchester, New Hampshire, when she was in high school. Badler won the title Miss New Hampshire and competed at the 1973 Miss America Pageant. Subsequently, she enrolled at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, to study drama.

Badler's first television role was Melinda Cramer Janssen on the American daytime soap opera One Life to Live, which she played from 1977 to 1981 and again in 1983. During her run, she also appeared in a 1979 episode of the primetime series Fantasy Island. Badler also starred on the daytime soap opera The Doctors as Natalie Bell from 1981-82.

Badler then won her most prominent role, that of the villainous alien Diana in the 1983 NBC sci-fi miniseries V. She reprised the role in the 1984 sequel miniseries V: The Final Battle and again in V: The Series, which ran for one season from 1984 to 1985.

Following V, Badler co-starred with José Ferrer in the made-for-TV supernatural thriller Covenant. The following year she guest-starred as Meredith Braxton throughout the 1986-87 season of the CBS primetime soap opera Falcon Crest. Her other guest appearances during the 1980s included Riptide, Hotel, and Murder, She Wrote. In 1987, she played the role of Tania Winthrop in the short-lived action-adventure series The Highwayman. She then traveled to Australia to play agent Shannon Reed in the 1980s revival of Mission: Impossible, joining the series midway through its first season (replacing actress Terry Markwell, and her character of Casey Randall); then stayed with the series for its second season before it was cancelled in early 1990. After the series ended, Badler moved to Australia permanently and married businessman Stephen Hains. They have two sons, Sam and Harry. She later appeared on the Australian game show Cluedo from 1992 to 1993, and had a guest-starring role in Snowy River: The McGregor Saga in 1995.

In March 2010, Badler was cast as the villainous Diana Marshall in the Australian soap opera Neighbours. She had a four-month guest contract with the show.
A remake of V premiered in late 2009, and although this version did not include the character of Diana, the series' executive producer, Scott Peters, suggested that Badler and other stars from the original version may be offered guest roles as new characters. In August 2010, it was announced that Badler would be joining the series as a new character named Diana, the mother of the Visitors' evil leader Anna (Morena Baccarin). Badler appeared in nine of the second season's ten episodes, commencing in January 2011. In the second season finale, her character was apparently killed by Anna, and ABC decided to not renew the series for a third season (although the fan campaign "Project Alice" is reported to be campaigning to Warner Bros. to renew the show on a different network).
Music and theatre career

Already an able singer when she competed in the Miss New Hampshire and Miss America Pageants, Badler forged a career in cabaret and on the stage in the 2005 Magnormos production of archy & mehitabel, directed by Aaron Joyner and based on Don Marquis's books of poetry, The Great Gatsby, Sextet, The Singing Forest, Big Hair in America, and her one-woman show, Shakin' the Blues Away in which she also sang. Other productions in which she appeared for Magnormos included a concert of the musical Rebecca and OzMade Musicals.

Badler released her debut album (backed by the Melbourne-based band Sir) on June 1, 2008. Titled The Devil Has My Double, it is an autobiographical album which has been described as "a compulsive mix of fame, sex and solitude, set to a sweeping soundtrack of cold soul and passionate synthetics." As part of promotion for the album, she gave an extensive interview about her work to the Boxcutters podcast.
Badler released her second album, Tears Again, in 2011 and was also signed by 1house Management in 2011 in which she is listed on the website. Jane is currently writing her Third album with Matt Thomas (Matt Doll) and Byron Bouboulas (Byron St John) of bands The Blow Waves.

04/12 Frances Fisher

rconrad@crni.net — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 17:00:01 PDT

Frances Fisher (born 11 May 1952) is a British-American actress. She is known for her work on television, in theater and in films, including roles as Strawberry Alice, the madame in Unforgiven (1992), and Ruth DeWitt Bukater, the mother of Kate Winslet's Rose DeWitt Bukater in Titanic (1997).

Fisher was born in Milford on Sea, Hampshire, England, the daughter of Olga (née Moen), a homemaker, and William I. "Bill" Fisher, Sr., an oil refinery construction superintendent. Before she reached the age of fifteen, she had moved nine times because of her father's job. Upon completing high school in Orange, Texas, she worked as a secretary, until she moved to Virginia to perform at the Barter Theatre.

Fisher first made a name for herself playing Detective Deborah Saxon on the soap opera The Edge of Night from 1976 to 1981; she later was in the cast of Guiding Light as Suzette Saxon. She then spent the next 10 years working on stage in New York and in regional theatres all over the East Coast. Fisher was cast as Lucille Ball in the television film Lucy & Desi: Before the Laughter, which aired to strong ratings and good reviews in 1991.

Fisher has played numerous roles on American television, including parts in the series Strange Luck, Becker, and Titus. She also played a key role in the recent television drama The Lyon's Den and Glory Days. She was the producers' first choice to play Jill Taylor on the ABC sitcom Home Improvement, but was replaced by Patricia Richardson due to a lack of chemistry with Tim Allen. She also had a guest spot on The Young Riders in 1991. Fisher has guest starred as a bartender, Suzanna, at "The Lobo" in the first season of Roseanne. However, her most famous role has been that of society matron Ruth DeWitt Bukater, the mother of Rose DeWitt Bukater (played by Kate Winslet), in the 1997 blockbuster film Titanic.

In 1999, Fisher portrayed Audrey Hepburn's mother, Ella Hepburn, in the biographical film of the actress's life. She has appeared in two other Academy Awarded films, House of Sand and Fog and Unforgiven. Her numerous theatre credits make up the bulk of her resume: Most recently, she appeared in the last play written by Arthur Miller, Finishing the Picture at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, and The Cherry Orchard, at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles in 2006.

Fisher worked on four films in 2006, including Peter Berg's The Kingdom, and Paul Haggis' In the Valley of Elah, in addition to a pilot for NBC/USA entitled To Love and Die. In 2008, she appeared in a guest-starring role on the Sci-Fi Channel television series Eureka, portraying the character of Eva Thorne. In 2011, she appeared in Torchwood: Miracle Day.

She served on the national board of directors of the Screen Actors Guild.

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04/05 Ed Asner

rconrad@crni.net — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 17:00:04 PDT

Asner was born Eddie Asn. in Kansas City, Missouri, but was raised in nearby Kansas City, Kansas. His Russian-born parents, Lizzie (née Seliger), a housewife, and Morris David Asner, ran a second-hand shop. He was raised in an Orthodox Jewish family. Asner attended Wyandotte High School and the University of Chicago. He served with the U.S. Army Signal Corps and appeared in plays that toured Army camps in Europe.

Following his military service, Asner joined the Playwrights Theatre Company in Chicago, but left for New York before members of that company regrouped as the Compass Players in the mid-1950s. He later made guest appearances with the successor to Compass, The Second City, and is considered part of The Second City extended family. In New York, Asner played Jonathan Jeremiah Peachum in the acclaimed Broadway revival of Threepenny Opera, and began to make inroads as a television actor.

Before he landed his role with Mary Tyler Moore, Asner guest-starred in such television series as NBC's The Outlaws (1962), in the series finale of CBS's The Reporter, Mission: Impossible and The Invaders.

Asner is best known for his character Lou Grant, who was first introduced on The Mary Tyler Moore Show in 1970. In 1977, after the end of the Mary Tyler Moore show, Asner's character was given his own show, Lou Grant, which ran from 1977-1982. In contrast to the Mary Tyler Moore show, which was a thirty minute comedy, the Lou Grant show was an hour long award-winning drama about journalism. (For his role as Grant, Asner is the only actor to win the Emmy award for a sitcom and a drama for the same role.) Other TV series starring Asner in regular roles include Thunder Alley, The Bronx Zoo, and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. He also portrayed diamond smuggler August March in a 1975 episode of the original Hawaii Five-O and, recently, he reprised the role in the Hawaii Five-0 remake.

Asner was acclaimed for his role in the miniseries Roots, as Captain Davies, the man who kidnapped Kunta Kinte and sold him into slavery, despite his own moral conflicts. The role that earned Asner an Emmy Award, and for a similarly dark role as Axel Jordache in the mini-series Rich Man, Poor Man. In contrast, he played Pope John XXIII in Papa Giovanni: Ioannes XXIII, an Italian miniseries for RAI.

Asner has also had an extensive voice acting career. He provided the voices for J. Jonah Jameson on the 1990s animated television series Spider-Man, Hudson on Gargoyles, Jabba the Hutt on the radio version of Star Wars, Master Vrook from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and its sequel, Roland Daggett on Batman: The Animated Series, Cosgrove on Freakazoid!, Ed Wuncler on The Boondocks, and Granny Goodness in various DC Comics animated series. Asner has also provided voice-over narration for many documentaries and films of social activism.

More recently, Asner provided the voice of Carl Fredricksen in the Academy Award winning 2009 Pixar film Up. He received great critical praise for the role, with one critic going so far as to suggest "They should create a new category for this year's Academy Award for Best Vocal Acting in an Animated Film and name Asner as the first recipient."
He has appeared in a recurring segment, on Jay Leno's The Tonight Show, entitled "Does This Impress Ed Asner?"

He was cast in a Country Music Television comedy pilot, Regular Joe.
In 2001, Asner was the recipient of the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award.
Asner has won more Emmy Awards for performing than any other male actor (seven, including five for the role of Lou Grant). In 2003, he was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame.

In July 2010, Asner completed recording sessions for Shattered Hopes: The True Story of the Amityville Murders which is a forthcoming documentary on the 1974 DeFeo murders in Amityville, New York. Asner serves as the narrator for the film, which covers a forensic analysis of the murders, the trial in which 23-year old DeFeo son Ronald DeFeo Jr., was convicted of the killings, and the subsequent "haunting" story which is revealed to be a hoax. In January 2011, Asner took a supporting role on CMT's first original sitcom Working Class. He made an appearance in the independent comedy feature Not Another B Movie, and had a small but pivotal role as billionaire Warren Buffett in HBO's 2011 economy drama Too Big to Fail .

03/39 Robert Conrad

rconrad@crni.net — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 17:00:01 PDT

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03/22 Robert Conrad talks to you!

rconrad@crni.net — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 16:53:10 PDT

The show is all about you! Your letters, your emails and YOUR calls! It's a love-fest between you and Robert Conrad!

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03/15 Robert Conrad talks to you!

rconrad@crni.net — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 17:00:01 PDT

The show is all about you! Your letters, your emails and YOUR calls! It's a love-fest between you and Robert Conrad!

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03/01 Lee Meriwether

rconrad@crni.net — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 17:00:00 PST

Archivists will continually remind you that Lee was successively: Miss San Francisco, Miss California and Miss America. And though most know Lee as “Betty” in the highly successful CBS series, Barnaby Jones, where she co-starred opposite Buddy Ebsen for eight years, and was nominated for both the Golden Globe and the Emmy for her work on that show, Lee has had starring or recurring roles in no less than nine different series, ranging from the first women’s editor with Dave Garroway on the original Today Show on NBC to her three year run as Lily on The Munsters Today for Universal. Some of Lee’s successful series include: Time Tunnel, The New Andy Griffith Show, Mission: Impossible, The F.B.I., 12 O’Clock High, and Dr. Kildare.
Lee was born in Los Angeles and after her brother Don was born 3 years later, the family moved to Phoenix, Arizona. As she was about to enter the fifth grade, her father was transferred to San Francisco. Her memories of childhood are happy ones. She had the usual teenage frustrations but was encouraged to pursue acting while attending George Washington High School along with another young and talented student that fame would touch – Johnny Mathis. Johnny fondly remembers Lee as the girl he never saw without her hair in rollers.

Lee won the pageant titles while attending San Francisco City College as a Radio and TV/Theatre Arts major. She had been nominated by a fraternity there. “I never would have entered on my own.” Everyone, especially Lee, was shocked when she won. Ironically, she almost didn’t make it to Atlantic City. A short time before the competition, her father passed away, and she felt as though, “the whole world had dropped out from under me.” Thank Heavens for Mom who reminded her of the lost scholarships and her father’s personal excitement over the pageant and his eagerness for her participation. The rest is history. Lee’s mother remained a very important part of her life. As she says, “I looked to her for guidance and support and she always gave it unselfishly. Heavens, she practically raised my daughters while I was doing Barnaby Jones for eight years.”

Following her year’s reign as Miss America, Lee joined The Today Show. This experience afforded her the opportunity to use her pageant scholarships to study acting with the famed teacher Lee Strasburg, as well as dancing, singing, and fencing with some of the top coaches in New York. Lee’s beginnings in the entertainment industry include her first TV role – The Philco Television Playhouse" with Mary Astor, her first motion picture lead – The 4-D Man with Robert Lansing, and her first professional stage appearance – Hatful of Rain with William Smithers and Lou Antonio.

Her noteworthy film roles include “Catwoman” in the original Batman movie. She also portrayed Andy Griffith’s pregnant wife in Angel in My Pocket, as well as Rock Hudson’s southern wife in The Undefeated. Lee “swam” with Namu, The Killer Whale and has a great deal of fun in reminding film buffs that she played the “man” killed by Kim Novak in The Legend of Lylah Clare.

Live theatre, however, continues to be Lee’s first love. Attesting to that fact is her long association with Theatre West, a professional actors’ workshop in Hollywood. Of the countless appearances she made at T.W., three stand out in her memory: Spoon River Anthology with Betty Garrett, Aesop in Central Park with Richard Dreyfuss and Ladies of Hanover Towers with Carroll O’Connor. She appeared there in the 40th Reunion production of Spoon River in the role that Ms. Garrett originally portrayed.

An assortment of her recent national stage credits include: the female version of The Odd Couple (two productions), Last Summer at Blue Fish Cove for which she received the Drama Logue Award for Best Actress as well as the San Francisco Critics Award. The Business of Murder with Van Johnson, Sondheim’s Follies with seven former Miss Americas, a national tour with Anthony Zerbe and Roy Dotrice of Country Matters (Sex and Shakespeare!) and most recently productions of the musicals Hello Dolly, Mame, The King and I with George Chakiris, and I Do, I Do, Pirates of Penzance and the 20th Anniversary Tour of Nunsense with Kaye Ballard, Mimi Hines, Georgia Engel and Darlene Love. And four national tours of Neil Simon’s Plaza Suite with her husband, Marshall Borden.

Lee met Marshall in San Antonio where they both starred in a production of Angel Street ("Gaslight"). When, over the next few years, they found themselves appearing together in Lion in Winter and Alone Together, they decided that working side by side was simply not enough. So, in San Francisco on September 21 1986, while performing in one of Marshall’s plays The Artful Lodgers, they tied the knot. In Lodgers they both got to “chew some scenery.” Lee as a drunken floozie and Marshall as a 150-year-old flighty ghost sporting a large moustache, smoking a cigar and wearing an Erte gown! She must really love this man for, as she says, “There he was, looking better in a dress than I do and I still wanted to marry him!”

Lee also loves working with her daughters, Kyle Oldham and Lesley Aletter. Kyle appeared with her mother in The Gingerbread Lady and Last Summer at Bluefish Cove, and Lesley stunt doubled for her in the television travel show It’s a Wonderful World. Both daughters swung high over the center ring with their mom in several Circus of the Stars, and all have done commercials together. Obviously, Lee is happiest around family, whether it’s at work or play.
The future looks to be quite busy for the Borden household. Marshall, a playwright as well, sold his adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo to the National Theatre of Canada in Stratford, Ontario and played for 90 performances in their 2004 season! He is now busy writing the novel of his movie script of The Artful Lodgers, a television series proposal and a musical version of The Count. Lee has kept busy appearing in Love Letters with Beau Bridges, Long Day's Journey into Night; and Rockers by Sherwood Schwartz. She finished a second tour of Nunsense which began at Theatre West with Betty Garrett, Bridget Hanley, Barbara Mallory, Rhonda Stovey and Sandra Tucker. Along with her love of theatre, Lee has enjoyed one of the most difficult acting jobs of her career. Reading John Saul’s gothic thrillers, Second Child, Shadows, Guardian, Black Lightning, the serialized Blackstone Chronicles, The Presence, The Right Hand Of Evil, Nightshade, The Manhattan Hunt Club, Midnight Voices and Black Creek Crossing. The last nine were under Random House’s Audio Publishing. She has adapted the Spoon River Anthology ino a one-woman production where she plays 24 women. This show, entitled The Women of Spoon River: Their Voices from the Hill premiered at the Robinson Theater on the Indiana University Southeast campus in New Albany, Indiana followed by a run of several weeks at Theatre West.

Her favorite role? That of Grandma! Kyle gave birth to daughter Ryan in December 1993. Grandma Lee is always available and eager to take her shopping or to the movies, etc. If she can get her away from Auntie Lesley, that is.

Even when she’s on stage, in front of a camera, or family outings Lee can always be counted on to have several other activities going on simultaneously. She is active with a number of humanitarian endeavors and charities. She still serves as Honorary Chairman of ABILITY FIRST (formally the Crippled Children’s Society). She was an honorary member of Women in Show Business, a Philanthropic organization that funded reconstructive surgery for needy children and was twice named their “Angel of the Year.” She has also served as National Education Chairman of the American Cancer Society and as the Los Angeles Chairman for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. For many years now there has been a special place in her heart for the Blind Children's Center, and the Jeffrey Foundation and the pet organization, “Actors and Others for Animals.”

02/23 Freddy Cannon

rconrad@crni.net — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 17:14:00 PST

Freddy Picariello was born in Swampscott, Massachusetts, moving to the neighboring town of Lynn as a child. His father worked as a truck driver and also played trumpet and sang in local bands. Freddy grew up listening to the rhythm and blues music of Big Joe Turner, Buddy Johnson and others on the radio, and learned to play guitar. After attending Lynn Vocation High School, he made his recording debut in 1955, singing and playing rhythm guitar on a single, "Cha-Cha-Do" by the Spindrifts, which became a local hit. He also played lead guitar on a session for an R&B vocal group, The G-Clefs, whose record "Ka-Ding Dong" made No. 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1956. At a young age he joined the National Guard, took a job driving a truck, married, and became a father.

Inspired musically by Chuck Berry and Little Richard, he formed his own group, Freddy Karmon & the Hurricanes, which became increasingly popular in the Boston area, and began to develop a trademark strained singing style. He also became a regular on a local TV dance show, Boston Ballroom, and, in 1958, signed up to a management contract with Boston disc jockey Jack McDermott. With lyrics written by his mother, he prepared a new song which he called "Rock and Roll Baby", and produced a demo which McDermott took to the writing and production team of Bob Crewe and Frank Slay. They rearranged the song and rewrote the lyrics, and offered to produce a recording in return for two-thirds of the composing credits. The first recording of the song, now titled "Tallahassee Lassie", with a guitar solo by session musician Kenny Paulson, was rejected by several record companies, but was then heard by TV presenter Dick Clark who part-owned Swan Records in Philadelphia. Clark suggested that the song be re-edited and overdubbed to add excitement, by highlighting the pounding bass drum sound and adding hand claps and Freddy's cries of "whoo!", which later became one of his trademarks. The single was finally released by Swan Records, with the company president, Bernie Binnick, suggesting Freddy's new stage name of "Freddy Cannon". After being promoted and becoming successful in Boston and Philadelphia, the single gradually received national airplay. In 1959, it peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the first of his 22 songs to appear on the Billboard chart, and also reached No. 13 on the R&B singles chart. In the UK, where his early records were issued on the Top Rank label, it reached No. 17.

He stayed on the Swan label with producer Frank Slay for the next five years, and became known as Freddy "Boom Boom" Cannon, for the thumping power of his recordings. Dick Clark brought him national exposure through his numerous appearances on his television program, American Bandstand - a record of 110 appearances in total. In the words of writer Cub Koda:
"Freddy Cannon was a true believer, a rocker to the bone. Freddy Cannon made rock & roll records; great noisy rock & roll records, and all of them were infused with a gigantic drum beat that was an automatic invitation to shake it on down anyplace there was a spot to dance."
His second single "Okefenokee" (credited to Freddie Cannon, as were several of his other records) only made No. 43 on the charts, but the next record, "Way Down Yonder In New Orleans", a rocked-up version of a 1922 song, became a gold record and reached No. 3 in the pop charts in both the US and the UK, where it was the biggest of his hits. Cannon toured in Britain, and in March 1960 his album, The Explosive Freddy Cannon, became the first LP by a rock and roll singer to top the album charts in the UK. For the next two years, until early 1962, he continued to have lesser chart hits in the US, in some cases with versions of old standards including "Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy" and Edward "Kid" Ory's "Muskrat Ramble". His hits also included "Twistin' All Night Long", recorded with Danny and the Juniors and also featuring Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons on backing vocals. However, one of his biggest hits came in May 1962 with "Palisades Park", written by future TV Gong Show host Chuck Barris. Produced by Slay with overdubbed rollercoaster sound effects, it reached No. 3 on the Hot 100, No. 15 on the R&B chart, and No. 20 in the UK.

Cannon also appeared with Bobby Vee, Johnny Tillotson and others, in the movie Just for Fun, made in the UK in 1962. Although his popularity in the US faded, he remained a popular touring act in Britain and elsewhere in the world for some years. In 1963 he signed for Warner Bros. Records where he recorded his last two US top twenty hits, "Abigail Beecher" in 1964, and the following year "Action", from Dick Clark's TV show Where the Action Is, which he recorded with top Los Angeles session musicians including Leon Russell, James Burton, Glen Campbell, and David Gates. Also in 1965, Slay acquired Cannon's Swan recordings and sold them to Warner Bros. He appeared, along with The Beau Brummels, in Village of the Giants, a teen movie with early film appearances by Beau Bridges and Ron Howard, and played himself, and performed one of his songs, in the final episode of the teen soap opera, Never Too Young, on 24 June 1966. After leaving Warner Bros. Records in 1967, Cannon released singles on several labels, including Sire, Royal American, Metromedia, MCA, Andee, Claridge, Horn, and Amherst. In the 1970s he recorded and became a promotional man for Buddah Records, but returned to the lower reaches of the charts in 1981 with "Let's Put the Fun Back in Rock'n'Roll," recorded with The Belmonts for MiaSound Records and in 1982 appeared in the independent movie, The Junkman. Thereafter, he continued to work with Dick Clark at his Bandstand reunion concerts, and to tour all over the world. In 2002, he released an album of seasonal songs, Have A Boom Boom Christmas!!

A resident of Tarzana, California, Cannon continues to put on performances at assorted concert venues. He has complete control and ownership of his Swan and Warner Bros. masters.

02/16 Lynda Carter

rconrad@crni.net — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 17:11:33 PST

Lynda Jean Carter (born July 24, 1951) is an American actress and singer, best known for being Miss World USA and as the star of the 1970s television series The New Original Wonder Woman (1975–77) and The New Adventures of Wonder Woman (1977–79).

Carter was born Lynda Jean Carter in Phoenix, Arizona. Her father, Colby Carter, is an art dealer of English descent and her mother, Juana Córdova, is of Mexican descent with roots in Chihuahua, Mexico and previously worked in the telephone industry. Lynda speaks fluent Spanish. Carter grew up an avid reader of the Wonder Woman comic books. She went to Arcadia High School in Phoenix and Kachina Elementary School.

During high school, Carter performed in a band called Just Us, consisting of a marimba, a conga drum, an acoustic guitar, and a stand-up bass played by another girl. When she was 17, Lynda joined two of her cousins in another band called The Relatives. Actor Gary Burghoff was the drummer. The group opened at the Sahara Hotel and Casino lounge in Las Vegas, Nevada, for three months; and, because Lynda was under 21, she had to enter through the kitchen. She attended Arizona State University and was a member of Alpha Xi Delta. After being voted "Most Talented," she dropped out to pursue a career in music. In 1970, Carter sang with The Garfin Gathering with Lynda Carter. Their first performance was in a San Francisco hotel so new that it had no sidewalk entrance. Consequently, they played mostly to the janitors and hotel guests who parked their cars in the underground garage. She returned to Arizona in 1972.

In 1972, Carter entered a local beauty contest and gained national attention in the United States by winning Miss World USA, representing Arizona; in the international 1972 Miss World pageant, representing the U.S., she reached the semi-finals. After taking acting classes at several New York acting schools, she began making appearances on such TV shows as Starsky and Hutch, Cos, and Nakia and in "B-movies," including her only nude appearance, in Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw (1976).

Carter's acting career took off when she landed the starring role in The New Adventures of Wonder Woman as Wonder Woman and her alter ego Diana Prince. The savings her parents had set aside for her to pursue acting in Los Angeles was almost depleted, and she was close to returning to Arizona when her manager informed her that she had won the part. Her earnest performance endeared her to fans and critics, and the series lasted three seasons. Thirty years after first taking on the role, Carter continues to be closely identified with Wonder Woman.
In 1985, DC Comics named Carter as one of the honorees in the company's 50th anniversary publication Fifty Who Made DC Great for her work on the Wonder Woman series. In 2007, toy company DC Direct released a 13" full-figure statue of Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman, limited to 5,000 pieces; it was re-released in 2010. Also in 2010, DC Direct began selling a 5½-inch bust of Carter's rendition of Wonder Woman to celebrate the DC Comics' 75th anniversary.

During the late 1970s, she recorded an album, Portrait. Carter is credited as a co-writer on several songs, and she made numerous guest appearances on variety television programs at the time in a musical capacity. She also sang two of her songs in the 1979 Wonder Woman episode, "Amazon Hot Wax".

Carter's other credits include the title role in a biopic of Rita Hayworth, titled Rita Hayworth, Love Goddess (1983) and a variety of her own TV specials: Lynda Carter's Special (1980), Encore! (1980), Celebration (1981), Street Life (1982), and Body And Soul (1984). She starred in a few short-lived TV series, including Partners in Crime (1984) with Loni Anderson and Hawkeye (1994–95) with Lee Horsley. During this time, she also became a celebrity promotional model for Maybelline cosmetics commercials.

In 2001, Carter was cast in the independent comedy feature Super Troopers as Vermont Governor Jessman. The writers and stars of the film, the comedy troupe Broken Lizard, with Jay Chandrasekhar directing, had specifically sought Carter for the role. Inspired by the character detour from her usual roles, she agreed to play a washed-up former beauty queen in The Creature of the Sunny Side Up Trailer Park (2004), directed by Christopher Coppola. Carter made her first appearance in a major feature film in a number of years in the big-screen remake of The Dukes of Hazzard (2005), also directed by Chandrasekhar. She also appeared in the comedy Sky High (2005) as "Principal Powers", the head of a school for superheroes. The script allowed Carter to poke fun at her most famous character when she states: "I can't do anything more to help you. I'm not Wonder Woman, y'know." In 2006, she guest-starred in the made-for-cable vampire film Slayer. The following year, Lynda returned to the DC Comics' television world in the Smallville episode "Progeny" (2007) playing Chloe Sullivan's Kryptonite-empowered mother.

From September to November 2005, Carter played Mama Morton in the West End London production of Chicago. In 2006, her rendition of "When You're Good to Mama" was officially released on the Chicago: 10th Anniversary Edition CD box set. In May 2007, Carter began touring the U.S. with her one-woman musical cabaret show, An Evening with Lynda Carter. She has played engagements at such venues as Feinstein's At Loews Regency in New York, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. In June 2009, her second album, "At Last", was released and reached #10 on Billboard's Jazz Albums Chart.

In June 2011, Carter released her third album, "Crazy Little Things", which she describes as delightful mix of standards, country, and pop tunes.

02/09 Robert Conrad Talks To You!

rconrad@crni.net — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:00:03 PST

The show is all about you! Your letters, your emails and YOUR calls! It's a love-fest between you and Robert Conrad!

Don't forget to "Like" Robert's Facebook Page:The Real Robert Conrad

02/02 Burt Young

rconrad@crni.net — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:00:00 PST

Gerald Tommaso DeLouise (born April 30, 1940) better known as Burt Young, is an American actor, painter and author. He is best known for his Academy Award-nominated role as Sylvester Stallone's brother-in-law and friend Paulie in the Rocky film series.

Young made his name playing rough-edged working class Italian-American characters, the best-known example being his signature role as Sylvester Stallone's brother-in-law Paulie in Rocky (1976), for which he received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He is one of three actors (the other two being Stallone and Tony Burton) who have appeared in every Rocky film.

He has played similar roles in Chinatown, Convoy, Back to School, The Pope of Greenwich Village, Once Upon a Time in America, Last Exit to Brooklyn, Downtown: A Street Tale, and even a brutal and darker role in Amityville II: The Possession. Young has also appeared in many television programs, including The Rockford Files, Baretta, Law & Order, Walker, Texas Ranger, M*A*S*H, guest-starred in a Miami Vice episode, and made an appearance on The Sopranos ("Another Toothpick") as Bobby Baccalieri's father, who is dying of cancer and comes out of retirement to execute a hit on his godson.

Young is a painter whose art has been displayed in galleries throughout the world. He is also a published author whose works include two filmed screenplays and 400-page historically based novel called Endings.

He has also written two stage plays: SOS and A Letter to Alicia and the New York City Government From a Man With a Bullet in His Head.

01/26 Marsha Mason

rconrad@crni.net — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:09:36 PST

Marsha Mason’s distinguished and vibrant career in film, theater and television has
garnered her generations of fans, four Academy Award nominations, two Golden
Globe Awards, an Emmy and a Grammy nomination. A comedienne at heart with the
soul of a dramaturge, Ms. Mason is equally accomplished on the stage, in front of the
camera or in the director’s chair.

Always in demand, Ms. Mason just wrapped filming her popular reoccurring role on ABC’s hit comedy, The Middle where she plays Patricia Heaton’s zany mother; and this year she was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Gulf Coast Film Festival and co-starred in the Westport Country Playhouse’s production of W. Somerset Maugham’s The Circle under the direction of Nicholas Martin.

Ms. Mason’s extensive film career includes her iconic roles in 1973’s Cinderella Liberty where she was nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award and received the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama and 1977’s Goodbye Girl for which she
received her second Academy Award Nomination and her second Golden Globe Award. In
1979, she starred in the critically acclaimed films, Promises in the Dark and Chapter Two where
she was nominated for an Academy Award and two Golden Globe awards. Her role in the
film Only When I Laugh was recognized with a fourth Academy Award nomination. Other
feature film credits include The Cheap Detective, Stella, Max Dugan Returns, Heartbreak
Ridge, Nick of Time and Two Days in the Valley. She can also be seen in 2004’s Bride and Prejudice: A Bollywood Musical, directed by Gurinder Chadha. In 1987, Marsha directed the television film Little Miss Perfect and received the People’s Choice Award for Best Actress in both 1979 and 1981.

Marsha’s many theatre credits include Cyrano de Bergerac, You Can't Take It With You, A Doll’s
House, The Crucible and The Merchant of Venice at ACT in San Francisco. In New York, she
appeared in Norman Mailer's The Deer Park, Israel Horovitz's The Indian Wants the Bronx, Neil
Simon's The Good Doctor and Richard III. She directed Juno's Swans for The Second Stage. She
starred in 1996’s Night of the Iguana and the following year in Michael Cristofer's Amazing
Grace. In 1999, she was reunited with her Goodbye Girl co-star Richard Dreyfuss in Neil
Simon's The Prisoner of Second Avenue at the Royal Haymarket Theatre in London. The
subsequent recording was nominated for a Grammy in the best comedy category. In 2004,
she appeared in Charles Mee's Wintertime at the McCarter Theatre and the Second Stage in
New York. In 2005, she co-starred with Delta Burke, Christine Ebersole, Frances
Sternhagen, Rebecca Gayheart and Lily Rabe in Steel Magnolias on Broadway. In 2006,
Marsha starred in the Greek Tragedy "Hecuba" at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater. She
appeared in 2007’s “A Feminine Ending” at Playwrights Horizons at the Lincoln Center and
starred most recently in the Shakespeare Theater Company’s performance of “All's Well
That Ends Well” in Washington, D.C.

In addition to her film and theater credits, Ms. Mason has guest starred on NBC’s Lipstick
Jungle, Lifetime’s Army Wives, Showtime's Bereft, NBC's Life with Judy Garland, and Hallmark
Channel's The Long Shot. She was featured on six episodes of Frasier for which she was
nominated for an Outstanding Guest Actress Emmy.

While taking a sabbatical from show business to explore other interests, Ms. Mason
purchased a spread of land in the Chama River Valley of Northern New Mexico and
transformed acres of overgrazed, infertile earth into a vibrant oasis of healing herbs and
flowers. Utilizing timeless biodynamic, holistic and organic practices that restore, maintain
and enhance the ecological harmony of the earth, the vitality of her Resting in the River
Farm ™ rewarded Marsha's tireless efforts by yielding an abundance of organic medicinal
herbs and flowers. Ms. Mason formed a holistic products line, Resting in the River where the
herbs and flowers are transformed into beneficial homeopathic and beauty products.

During her time in New Mexico, Ms. Mason authored her bestselling memoir, Journey (Simon
& Schuster 2000) and for several years pursued her long-time passion for car racing by
driving a Mazda RX-7 in SCCA events. Coming full circle to where her entertainment career
began, Ms. Mason is selling her farm in New Mexico and moving back East to focus on

acting.

01/19 Larry Wilcox

rconrad@crni.net — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 16:48:13 PST

70s and early 80s TV star Larry Wilcox was born on August 8, 1947 in San Diego California, the product of a broken home. His father, a bartender left the house when Larry was but an infant and died soon after divorcing Larry's mother. His mother, a secretary, found the going rough trying to feed four children and moved the family to Wyoming to live with relatives. Raised on his grandfather's ranch in Rawlins, Larry was a quiet, introspective youngster but grew up fast and worked occasionally in the summer on sheep and cattle ranches. He trekked to Los Angeles, following high school and a year in college, and worked a series of menial jobs while learning the piano in order to pursue a music career. The love of acting, however, finally won out. In order to avoid the draft, he interrupted his acting studies by enlisting in the Marine Corps Reserve in 1967, and wound up serving over a year in Vietnam as an artilleryman. Discharged with the rank of Sergeant, he went back to college and focused briefly on a career in dentistry before resuming his acting training on the west coast.

The clean-cut young lad with corn-fed good looks soon went out for commercials and won a number of them including one for Old Spice, the after-shave lotion. In 1972, he found perfect casting as assistant ranch hand "Dale Mitchell" in the revamped "Lassie" (1954) series for two seasons, and also appeared in scattered guest parts on prime-time TV, including "M*A*S*H" (1972), "The Streets of San Francisco" (1972) and "Hawaii Five-O" (1968). In 1977, he hit the jackpot when he won the role of "Officer Jon Baker" in "CHiPs" (1977). An accomplished motorcycle rider, horseman, race car driver, and jet skier, Larry performed many of his own stunts. He and co-star Erik Estrada became major TV idols with Estrada taking a slight edge as the "bad boy" charmer.

Larry formed his own production company, "Wilcox Productions", which is still running today. He has continued acting and directing, primarily in action adventures. One of his producing projects early in the game involved the retelling of the murder of actress/Playboy playmate Dorothy Stratten in a mini-movie starring Jamie Lee Curtis. Nurturing his entrepreneurial talents, Wilcox moved into business outside the entertainment arena with a pharmaceutical company called "Team Elite" in the 1980s. He is also the president of "MediaCore", a software company specializing in CD-ROMs and Internet compression technology. On the humanitarian side, Larry has served with the National Health Foundation Luminary; served as Honorary National Chairman for Toys for Tots; and Honorary Member of the California Highway Patrol. He is also a member of the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association.

In 1999, Wilcox returned to his "Officer Jon Baker" role in the TV-movie reunion movie CHiPs '99 (1998) (TV) with former co-stars Estrada, Robert Pine and Paul Linke. Not seen much since, the father of five children currently lives on his ranch in the San Fernando Valley with his third wife and their two children.

01/12 Paris Benjamin

rconrad@crni.net — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 17:12:55 PST

Paris Benjamin is known for her great characterizations of strong women in her native France, so it didn't take long for the young actress make her mark with American filmmakers in a big way with two new films and more on the way.

"I've always been very driven and very much of a risk taker when it came to my career and being involved with great creative people as I have been here, is very much what any actor would want," said Benjamin, star of the film "The Flying Dutchman: The Legend," which she just completed.

Playing a character named Laura, who follows her former lover to a tropical island where she hopes to rekindle the romance, Benjamin is as driven as her character when it comes to her work. She didn't think twice when director Christian Lara told her she'd have to move to an island near Tahiti and live there for four weeks for 12-hour days and virtually no contact with the outside world.

"It was a great location with fabulous scenery, but you couldn't really enjoy it or take advantage of the gorgeous beaches very much because you have to work. But it was a great experience," she said.

"The director, Christian, was great. He was very knowledgeable and had a great vision for what he wanted to achieve and he transferred that to the actors and we all realized we wanted the same thing so he was fun to work with."
Starring opposite veteran actor Barry Primus of "Boston Legal," and "Arliss," Benjamin excelled in bringing the strength of her character to bear during their scenes. The chemistry between the two actors was a key element in the film's production, Benjamin said.

"Barry is a very talented actor and playing opposite him was really a great experience. We really complimented each other which made for some great scenes."
Her new film, "Folklore" sends Benjamin in an entirely new direction. She plays Annabelle, an android, in director/producer Justin Calen Chenn's science fiction comedy set for release in 2012.

"It was a fun shoot. I never played an android and working on a comedy is always fun." she said.
The fill tells the story of an android, a water nymph, a vampire, extra terrestrials and other assorted beings who are asked to talk about their lives by a government agency in a far-off future.

"I liked the idea of a science fiction comedy, but I also liked being a really strange character that has to explain herself even though she's really a robot. There's something really funny about that but also something very meaningful."

Born in Burgundy, France and of Moroccan descent, Benjamin began acting at age 5 when she began reading children's poetry and performing several characters in children's plays before an audience. By the time she was an adult she had studied in London, Paris and New York with legendary acting coach Jack Waltzer as well as at Stetson University's Drama School in Florida.
Despite having moved to the U.S., she would often be asked to return to France for roles there where her talents blossomed and became well known.

"I love working in France, but it's here where I wanted to work and it was as if somebody heard me because in these last few years, I've been working a lot in the U.S. and with some really great people," she said.

With credits in TV's "Grey's Anatomy," a slew of films including "Paranoia," "Wild Side" and many others including the 2007 film "Le Chambre Vide," Benjamin is just getting started.
Today, she's set to star in another American film this winter and is weighing her options on another independent film now in preproduction.

01/05 Dee Wallace

rconrad@crni.net — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 18:07:19 PST

Originally from Kansas City, Kansas, Dee Wallace has worked as an author, teacher, dancer and actress in film, television and the stage for over 30 years. With over 100 credits to her name, Ms. Wallace is a true tour de force in this industry, working with countless directors, producers and some of Hollywood's biggest names including Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson, Wes Craven, Joe Dante, Stephen King and Blake Edwards.

Dee's career began in New York where she studied with famous acting teacher Uta Hagen before moving to Los Angeles where she continued to hone her craft with her mentor Charles Conrad.

Her many feature film credits include such classics as The Hills Have Eyes, The Howling, Cujo, Secret Admirer, The Frighteners, 10, and most notably her starring role in one of America's most celebrated films, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, directed by Academy Award winning director and film icon Steven Spielberg. She was recently featured in the exciting new remake of Rob Zombie's Halloween.

Her countless television credits only add more cache to an already illustrious acting career, with starring roles in over twenty Movies of the Week and four hit television series including her most recent portrayal as the passive aggressive matriarch in a very dysfunctional family on the 2006/7 ABC comedy "Sons and Daughters". Other most recent television credits include, "Grey's Anatomy," "Cold Case," "Without a Trace," "Ghost Whisperer," and a recurring role on "My Name is Earl."

As a much sought after celebrity and renowned actress, Dee has appeared on every major news and talk show and has been featured on E! True Hollywood Stories, Oprah and The O'Reilly Factor.

Her speaking engagements include numerous national and international venues including the Love and Harmony Forum in Tokyo, Japan; the Dillion Lecture Series; Unity Temple; the Kansas Film Commission; Spiritworks; Energetic Healing seminars throughout England, and her own healing and teaching seminars throughout the United States.

On a weekly basis, Dee conducts numerous private healing sessions at her office in Woodland Hills, California.

As an author, Dee has written a book devoted to the art of self-healing. She conducts monthly workshops to introduce people to the healing techniques outlined in her book, Conscious Creation.In addition to her ongoing work with fellow actors as an acting teacher and mentor, Dee devotes all her extra time to her beautiful daughter Gabrielle.

12/29 Robert Conrad Talks to YOU!

rconrad@crni.net — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 16:59:16 PST

The show is all about you! Your letters, your emails and YOUR calls! It's a love-fest between you and Robert Conrad!

Don't forget to "Like" Robert's Facebook Page:The Real Robert Conrad

12/22 Tom Dreesen, Gary Sinise, Linda Blair

rconrad@crni.net — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 14:05:09 PST

Join Robert Conrad on his Special Best Of Christmas Edition with some of his favorite interviews over the past years, including Tom Dreesen, Gary Sinise and Linda Blair!

12/15 Gena Rowlands, John Cassavetes

rconrad@crni.net — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 17:14:26 PST

Gena Rowlands is an American actress, recognized for roles as tough, boozy, or traumatized women, and for her long professional collaboration with her husband, art-house filmmaker John Cassavetes. They were married just two months after they met, and stayed together until his death in 1989.

Her father was vice-president of a local bank, a state assemblyman and later a state senator. Rowlands dropped out of college after a big argument with her parents (the subject remains unclear) and moved to New York, where she supported herself by working part-time at a movie theater. She studied drama at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and wrote dialogue for comic books during dry spells between low-paying acting gigs. She was first understudy in the Broadway production of The Seven Year Itch, and took over the lead role late in the play's run. Her first Hollywood hit was opposite Kirk Douglas and Walter Matthau in Lonely are the Brave, in 1962.

Rowlands starred in Cassavetes' films such as Faces, A Woman Under The Influence, and Love Streams. She also worked alongside Cassavetes as an actor in Two Minute Warning, and Paul Mazursky's version of The Tempest, with Molly Ringwald.

Sans husband, Rowlands later played Mom to Joan Jett and Michael J. Fox in Light of Day, and mothered one of TV's first AIDS deaths in the drama An Early Frost. She was the accidental eavesdropper in Woody Allen's Another Woman, and was also featured in Night on Earth, The Neon Bible, and The Notebook.

12/08 Corbin Bernsen

rconrad@crni.net — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 02:25:08 PST

Rugged, hirsutely handsome Corbin Bernsen blazed to TV stardom in 1986 on L.A. Law as opportunistic divorce lawyer "Arnie Becker", whose blond and brash good looks, impish grin and aggressive courting style proved a wild sex magnet to not only the beautiful female clients desirous of his "services", but his own lovelorn secretary who frequently bailed him out of trouble. Bernsen invested the Becker character with a likable "bad boy" charm that made him a favorite among the tight ensemble for eight solid seasons. In the process, he earned multiple Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. He also proved the role was no flash-in-the-pan or dead-end stereotype, maintaining a steady career over the course of three decades now with no signs of let up. Moreover, his deep love for acting and intent devotion to his career recently impelled him to climb into the producer/director's chair.

Born in North Hollywood, California, on September 7, 1954, Corbin was raised around the glitz of the entertainment business. The eldest of three children born to 70s film/TV producer Harry Bernsen and veteran grande dame soap star Jeanne Cooper (the couple divorced in 1977), he graduated from Beverly Hills High School and attended UCLA with the intention of pursuing law. Instead, he went on to receive a BFA in Theatre Arts and MFA in Playwriting. He worked on the Equity-waiver L.A. stage circuit as both actor and set designer, making his film debut as a bit player in his father's picture Three the Hard Way. Appearing unobtrusively in a couple of other films, he set his sights on New York in the late 70s. During his salad days, he eeked out a living as a carpenter and roofer while sidelining as a model. His first big break came in 1983 with the role of "Ken Graham" on daytime's Ryan's Hope. During this time, he also met and married TV costumer designer Brenda Cooper, who later worked on The Nanny sitcom. They divorced four years later. This break led to an exclusive deal by NBC and eventually the TV role of a lifetime. The perks of his newly-found stardom on L.A. Law included a hosting stint on Saturday Night Live and the covers of numerous major magazines. Wasting no time, he parlayed his sudden small screen success into a major movie career, usually playing charmingly unsympathetic characters. He co-starred as Shelley Long's egotistical husband in the lightweight reincarnation comedy Hello Again; played an equally vain Hollywood star in the musical comedy Bert Rigby, You're a Fool; and starred as a disorganized ringleader of a band of crooks in the bank caper Disorganized Crime. He capped the 1980s decade opposite Charlie Sheen and Tom Berenger in the box office hit Major League, which took advantage of his natural athleticism, playing ballplayer-cum-owner "Roger Dorn". Two sequels followed.

Corbin's career has merrily rolled along ever since - active in lowbudgets as well as pricier film fare portraying both anti-heroes and villains. On the TV homefront, he has appeared in a slew of mini-movie vehicles, including Line of Fire: The Morris Dees Story as the famed civil rights attorney, and has ventured on in an assortment film genres - the mystery thriller Shattered, which re-teamed him with Tom Berenger; the romantic comedy Frozen Assets, again with Shelley Long; the war horror tale Grey Knight; the slapstick farce Radioland Murders; the melodramatic An American Affair, and the fantasy adventure Beings. Topping it off, Corbin's title role in the expert thriller The Dentist had audiences excogitating a similar paranoia of tooth doctors as Anthony Perkins had decades before with motel clerks. As spurned husband-turned-crazed ivory hunter "Dr. Alan Feinstone", Corbin reached cult horror status. The movie spawned a sequel in which he also served as associate producer.

Into the millennium, Corbin returned to his daytime roots with a recurring role on mother Jeanne Cooper's popular serial The Young and the Restless, and is currently seen as "John Durant" on General Hospital, a role he's played since 2004. A game and excitable player on reality shows, he added immeasurable fun to the "Celebrity Mole" series, and has enjoyed recurring roles on the more current and trendy The West Wing, JAG, Cuts and Psych.

Of late, Corbin has decided to tackle the business end of show biz. In 2004, he formed Public Media Works, a film/TV production company in order to exert more creative control over his projects. On top of the list is the loopy film comedy Carpool Guy, which he directed, produced and co-starred in. It features more than 10 of the currently reigning soap opera stars, including a wildly eccentric Anthony Geary in the title role, and, of course, his irrepressible real-life mom, Jeanne Cooper.

Obviously, his errant on-camera antics does not reflect a similar personal lifestyle for Corbin as he has been happily married (since 1988) to lovely British actress Amanda Pays. They have appeared together in the sci-fi film Spacejacked and the TV-movies Dead on the Money and The Santa Trap, among others. The couple have four children, including twin boys. Just a few years ago, they relocated to Los Angeles after living in England for some time. In between, he still shows off as a master carpenter at home and continues to dabble in writing. Perseverance and dedication has played a large part in the acting success of Corbin Bernsen. Gleaning a savvy, take-charge approach hasn't hurt either -- characteristics worthy of many of the sharpies he's played on screen.