CHILD OF TELEVISION

Your Mental Sorbet: Steve Allen Show - Meet Guido Panzini Italian Golf Pro

TDFig@aol.com (Tony Figueroa) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 08:46:47 PST

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

We had a great time talking to Pat Harrington yesterday about Guido Panzini, One Day at a Time and comedy in general. That conversation will air next month on TV CONFIDENTIAL: A radio talk show about television.

Steve Interviews Italian Golf Pro Guido Panzini-Pat Harrington Jr. Prior to this Paticular bit,the US Customs & immagration Dept actually checked for a port of entry on Mr.Panzini, then Allen & Harrington Finally had to come clean on the air and reveal Panzini's true idenity-a NY born & bred irish American Actor-Comedian.

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Tony Figueroa

Robert Hegyes

TDFig@aol.com (Tony Figueroa) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 23:57:56 PST

Robert Hegyes who was best known as Epstein on the 1970s classic Welcome Back Kotter, died this morning after an apparent heart attack in his Metuchen, N.J., home. He was 60 years old.Hegyes grew up in Metuchen, New Jersey and began acting in high school in the mid-1960s. Upon graduation from Glassboro State College (now Rowan University), with a B.A. in Speech/Theater & Secondary Education, Hegyes ventured to New York City to pursue a career in acting and soon became a member of a Greenwich Village children's theater group called, "Theater in a Trunk", performing educational theater at US President Theodore Roosevelt's birth place, on East 13 Street. Hegyes continued performing in the Village in educational children's theater, this time as a puppeteer with an arm and rod puppet company, playing "Mr. Toad," in, "The Wind & the Willows." Robert managed to work a third performing job in Washington Square Park and at the Provincetown Playhouse as a member of the political improvisational guerrilla troupe, "Jack LaRumpa's Flying Drum & Kazoo Band."

Within a year of graduating from college, Hegyes was cast to co-star in the highly acclaimed Off Broadway drama, Naomi Court, starring actor Brad Davis (Midnight Express). After completing the successful Manhattan Theater Club engagement, Robert was cast by Tony Award- winning actor Len Cariou (making his directing debut) to co-star in the Broadway drama, Don't Call Back, starring Arlene Francis and Dorian Harewood. While performing on Broadway, Hegyes auditioned for television producer James Komack and was cast to star in what was to become the award-winning ABC comedy, Welcome Back, Kotter. The show lasted four seasons, from 1975-'79. At the age of 25, Hegyes became one of the show's directors.

On Welcome Back, Kotter Hegyes played Juan Luis Pedro Philippo DeHuevos EpsteinA fiercely proud Puerto Rican Jew (his father was Puerto Rican; his mother's name was Bibbermann), and one of the toughest students at Buchanan High, despite his short stature. He normally walked with a tough-man strut, wore a red handkerchief hanging out of his right back pocket, and was voted "Most Likely to Take a Life" by his peers. In the season one episode, "One of Our Sweathogs Is Missing", Epstein was shown to be the sixth child in his family, although his mother had 10, while in the episode "I'm Having Their Baby" he mentions that his mother gave birth 8 times. The only names of his siblings mentioned in the show are two brothers, Pedro and Sanchez ("One of Our Sweathogs Is Missing") and a younger sister, Carmen ("A Love Story"). Epstein's toughness was downplayed later on, and became more of a wiseguy. He was also known to have a "buddy" relationship with Principal Lazarus as he often referred to him by his first name, Jack. On a few occasions, when Kotter would do his Groucho Marx impersonation, Epstein would jump in and impersonate Chico Marx or Harpo Marx. Epstein's diminutive height and large hair are common jokes associated with him.

Hegyes guest starred in more than thirty television shows, including Saturday Night Live, with Quentin Tarantino, NewsRadio, Diagnosis: Murder, with Dick Van Dyke, The Drew Carey Show (in an April Fools' Day episode where the character, "Oswald", was "recast" for a brief scene with Hegyes playing the role) and The Streets of San Francisco, with Michael Douglas. He also starred in the award-winning Volkswagen Passat commercial, "The Chase", for director Kinka Usher. Hegyes has starred in the following films: Honeymoon Hotel, with Jane Kaczmarek, Underground Aces, with Melanie Griffith, Bob Roberts, with Tim Robbins, The Purpose, with Mia Farrow, and Bar Hopping, with Weeds star Kevin Nealon.
Robert made his Los Angeles stage debut to rave notices as "Chico Marx" in the Westwood and National Touring Company engagements of, An Evening with Groucho. Upon returning from the tour, Robert was cast by Producer Barney Rosenswieg to star as a series regular portraying undercover detective "Manny Esposito" in the Emmy Award-winning drama, Cagney & Lacey, starring Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless.
Hegyes became "Artist-In-Residence" at his alma mater, Rowan University, teaching screenplay writing, acting for camera and public speaking, and was a guest lecturer in the Radio/Television/Film & Theater Departments. He was an adjunct instructor at Brooks College in Long Beach, California, where he taught essay writing and public speaking. Hegyes was a California Certified Secondary Education teacher, but had worked infrequently in recent years.

To quote Epstein, "When my mother was pregnant, she used to want hot peppers, you know? Every day, hot peppers, hot peppers, hot peppers. When we was born, the first thing we asked for was a glass of water!"

Good Night Mr. Hegyes

Stay Tuned

Tony Figueroa

TV CONFIDENTIAL Archives: Jan. 18, 2012

TDFig@aol.com (Tony Figueroa) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:00:07 PST

Show No. 122
Jan. 18, 2012

First hour: Ed welcomes Emmy and Golden Globe Award winner Howard Gordon, co-creator, executive producer and show runner of Homeland and the bestselling author of Gideon’s War and Hard Target. Howard is also executive producer of Awake, which premieres Feb. 6 on NBC. Howard will be appearing at the Diesel Bookstore in Santa Monica, CA on Wednesday, Jan. 25 at 7pm; Mysteries to Die For in Thousand Oaks, CA, on Saturday, Jan. 28 at 2pm; and Mysterious Galaxy in Redondo Beach, CA on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 2:30pm. Also in this hour: a look at entertainment headlines, including Ed's thoughts on the controversy surrounding the use of so-called "high lowbrow" humor in shows like 3 Broke Girls, plus reviews of Rob, Are You There, Chelsea? and House of Lies.

Second hour: Ed welcomes actress Jacqueline Scott, whose many film and TV appearances include such such classic shows as Gunsmoke, The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, The Streets of San Francisco, the iconic TV-movie Duel, and, of course, The Fugitive. Topics include Jacquie's work with Uta Hagen, Paul Muni, Louis Calhern, James Stewart, Walter Matthau, David Janssen and other stage and screen legends. Jacquie recently filmed a commercial, Sling Baby, that is one of five finalists in a contest sponsored by Doritos; the two spots that get the most votes will be shown during this year’s Super Bowl broadcast. To vote for Sling Baby, go to www.vote4slingbaby.com through Sunday, Jan. 29. Also in this hour: reviews of new DVD releases.

Julie Adams and Robert Davi: Next on TVC

TDFig@aol.com (Tony Figueroa) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 00:00:08 PST

Actress and author Julie Adams, singer / actor Robert Davi and Emmy Award-winning editor Mitchell Danton will join us on the next edition of TV CONFIDENTIAL, airing Jan. 25-31 at the following times and venues:

WROM Radio
Detroit, MI
Wednesday 1/25
8pm ET, 5pm PT
2am ET, 11pm PT
Sunday 1/29
8pm ET, 5pm PT
Click the Listen Live button at RealmsofMusic.com

Talktainment Radio
Columbus, OH
Thursday 1/26
9pm ET, 6pm PT
Click the Listen Live button at TalktainmentRadio.com

Share-a-Vision Radio
San Francisco Bay Area
Friday 1/27
7pm ET, 4pm PT
10pm ET, 7pm PT
Click the Listen Live button at KSAV.org

The Coyote KWTY-FM
Ridgecrest, Calif.
Sunday 1/29
9pm PT
Monday 1/30
Midnight ET
Click the Listen Live button at Coyote395.com

Passionate World Radio
Ann Arbor, MI
Tuesday 1/31
11:05pm ET, 8:05pm PT
Click the Listen Live button at InternetVoicesRadio.com

Many of us know Julie Adams for her starring role in one of the most famous horror movies of all time, The Creature from the Black Lagoon. Yet Creature is just one chapter in Julie’s life and career, which spans not only the Golden Age of Hollywood and Golden Age of Television, but also saw her work with such legends as Jimmy Stewart, Rock Hudson, Andy Griffith, John Wayne, Milton Berle, Barbara Stanwyck, Angela Lansbury, Elvis Presley and Raymond Burr.

Julie has published a new book, The Lucky Southern Star: Reflections from the Black Lagoon, that is filled with great stories and spectacular photographs that take you behind the scenes of not just Creature from the Black Lagoon, but many of the other stage, film and TV productions on which Julie has worked in the course of her career, including Bend of the River, Mississippi Gambler, Man from the Alamo, The Last Movie, Tickle Me, Perry Mason, The Andy Griffith Show, Rod Serling’s Night Gallery and Murder, She Wrote. Julie’s story is also a reminder of how, with hard work and preparation, it’s possible to achieve even the most faraway dream. We’ll meet Julie Adams when she joins us in the studio during our first hour.

Also joining us in our first hour will be Julie’s son Mitchell Danton. Mitch not only co-authored Julie’s book, he is an Emmy Award-winning film editor who has worked on such film and TV productions as Saving Grace, Christy, Beverly Hills 90210, Dawson’s Creek, In Plain Sight, Survivor and the ABC miniseries The Path to 9/11.

Julie Adams has several appearances coming up in the next few weeks, including the "Women in Horror" panel at the upcoming Horror Hound Weekend that will take place at the Crowne Plaza Columbus North in Columbus, Ohio on March 23, 24, and 25. She’s also scheduled to appear at the annual Monsterpalooza gathering at the Burbank Marriott Convention Center in Burbank, CA on April 13, 14 and 15. For more information on these on other appearances, go to www.JulieAdams.biz.

Also joining us this week will be Robert Davi, an actor known to many of us as Agent Malone in Profiler, Franz Sanchez in License to Kill, Jake Fratelli in The Goonies, and many, many other appearances in film and television, including Contract on Cherry Street with Frank Sinatra.

What you may not know about Robert is that, in addition to being an accomplished actor, he is a classically trained singer with a deep-seeded love and appreciation for many of the greatest musical artists of all time, including his friend and mentor, Frank Sinatra.

Robert’s first album, Davi Sings Sinatra: On the Road to Romance, pays tribute to not only Ole Blue Eyes, but also The Great American Songbook, which Robert considers to be “the Shakespeare of America.” We’ll ask Robert what he means by that, as well as talk about his friendship with Frank Sinatra, when he joins us in our second hour.

Robert Davi will be appearing at the Venetian Showroom in Las Vegas, the site of the historic Sands Hotel (where Sinatra held court throughout the 1960s), on February 23, 24 and 25. He’ll be performing songs from Davi Sings Sinatra, as well as sharing anecdotes about his film and television career. For more information, go to www.DaviSingsSinatra.com.

TV CONFIDENTIAL: A radio talk show about television
Wednesdays and Sundays 8pm ET, 5pm PT
WROM: Realms of Music
Thursdays 9pm, 6pm PT
Talktainment Radio
Fridays 7pm ET and PT
Share-a-Vision Radio, KSAV.org
Sundays 9pm PT, Mondays Midnight ET
The Coyote KWTY-FM (Ridgecrest, Calif.)
Tuesdays 11:05pm ET, 8:05pm PT
Passionate World Radio
Follow us online at
www.tvconfidential.net
blog.tvconfidential.net
Also available as a podcast via iTunes and FeedBurner
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This Week in Television History: January 2012 PART IV

TDFig@aol.com (Tony Figueroa) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 07:23:36 PST

Listen to me on me on TV CONFIDENTIAL:

Realms of Music
WROM
Wednesday 9/7
9pm ET, 6pm PT

Share-a-Vision Radio
KSAV.org
Friday 9/9
7pm ET, 4pm PT
10pm ET, 7pm PT

KWDJ 1360-AM
Ridgecrest, Calif.
Saturday 9/10
Following Dodgers baseball

InternetVoicesRadio.com
Tuesday 9/13
11:05pm ET, 8:05pm PT

As always, the further we go back in Hollywood history, the morethat fact and legend become intertwined. It's hard to say where the truthreally lies.

January23, 1977

Theminiseries Roots debuts on ABC.

The show traced four generations of an African-American family based on thefamily of author Alex Haley. Running for eight consecutive days, the miniseriesbecame the single most watched program in American history, drawing about 100million viewers.

January 28, 1957

Jack Lescoulie takes over theshort lived Tonight! America After Dark.

Rather than continuing with the same format after Allen and Kovacs'departure from Tonight, NBC changed the show's format to a news andfeatures show, similar to that of the network's popular morning program Today. The new show, renamed Tonight!America After Dark, was hosted first by Jack Lescoulie and then by Al"Jazzbo" Collins, with interviews conducted by Hy Gardner, and music provided by the Lou Stein Trio. This new version of theshow was not popular, resulting in a significant number of NBC affiliatesdropping the show.

January 29,1977

Freddie Prinze’s family removed him from life support,and he died at 1:00 pm at the age of 22.

Prinze suffered from depression, and on January 28,1977, shot himself with a small automatic pistol after talking on the telephonewith his estranged wife. His business manager, Marvin "Dusty" Snyder,tried to intervene, but Prinze shot himself in the head, and was rushed to the UCLA Medical Center to be placed on life supportfollowing emergency surgery.

The death, initially ruled a suicide, wasyears later re-ruled accidental. Prinze had a history of playing with guns,faking suicide attempts to frighten his friends for his amusement. He had lefta note stating that the decision to take his life was his alone, but because hepulled the trigger in the presence of a witness —it gave enough weight to theargument that he really was not planning to take his own life that night.

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

Stay Tuned

Tony Figueroa

Your Mental Sorbet: Colbert Super PAC Ad - Double Negative

TDFig@aol.com (Tony Figueroa) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:48:29 PST

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

Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow believes that we all deserve a clean campaign.

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

To see all the Super PAC ads click: Colbert Super PAC | Making a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow | ColbertSuperPac.com

Stay Tuned

Tony Figueroa

TV CONFIDENTIAL Archives: Jan. 11, 2012

TDFig@aol.com (Tony Figueroa) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:00:14 PST

Show No. 121
Jan. 11, 2012

First hour: Ed welcomes award-winning writer/producer Larry Brody, whose many credits in television include such shows as Police Story, Mike Hammer, Gibbsville, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Barnaby Jones, Cannon and The Streets of San Francisco. Larry also runs TVWriter.com, an excellent resource for both new and experienced writers of television, while his books about the TV industry include Television Writing From The Inside Out and Turning Points in Television.

Second hour: Actor, author and director Walter Koenig (Star Trek, Babylon 5) talks to Ed about some of his accomplishments as a writer, including how he became involved in the comic book industry. Walter's two four-part comic book series, Raver and Things to Come, will both be released as graphic novels in 2012. Walter will also be receiving a star on the venerable Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2012, making him the last of the seven cast members of the original Star Trek series to be so honored. Walter will also be appearing at OZ TREK 7 in Melbourne, Australia on Jan. 28-29, 2012, as well as at FED CON 21 in Dusseldorf, Germany on May 17-20, 2012, and the Annual Official Star Trek Convention at the Rio Suites Hotel in Las Vegas, Aug. 9-12, 2012. Also in this hour: Part 2 of our conversation with actor and author Peter Ford (Glenn Ford: A Life, A Little Prince). Topics include a look at Glenn's early years as a contract player at Columbia Pictures.

Howard Gordon and Jacqueline Scott: This Week on TVC

TDFig@aol.com (Tony Figueroa) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 00:00:17 PST

Howard Gordon and Jacqueline Scott: Next on TVC

Actress Jacqueline Scott and Golden Globe Award-winning writer/producer Howard Gordon will join us on the next edition of TV CONFIDENTIAL, airing Jan. 18-24 at the following times and venues:

WROM Radio
Detroit, MI
Wednesday 1/18
8pm ET, 5pm PT
Sunday 1/22
8pm ET, 5pm PT
Click the Listen Live button at RealmsofMusic.com

Share-a-Vision Radio
San Francisco Bay Area
Friday 1/20
7pm ET, 4pm PT
10pm ET, 7pm PT
Click the Listen Live button at KSAV.org

The Coyote KWTY-FM
Ridgecrest, Calif.
Sunday 1/22
9pm PT
Monday 1/23
Midnight ET
Click the Listen Live button at Coyote395.com

Passionate World Radio
Ann Arbor, MI
Tuesday 1/24
11:05pm ET, 8:05pm PT
Click the Listen Live button at InternetVoicesRadio.com

Co-creator, executive producer and show runner of Homeland, the psychological thriller starring Claire Danes and Damian Lewis that just won the Golden Globe Award for Best Dramatic Television of 2011, Howard Gordon is also the author of Hard Target, the sequel to his best-selling debut novel, Gideon’s War, that is every bit as fast-paced and riveting as an episode of 24. We’ll talk to Howard about Hard Target, Homeland, and the appeal of characters such as Jack Bauer and Gideon Davis, as well as get a sneak peek at his latest television series, Awake, which premieres Monday, Feb. 6 on NBC. All this and more when Howard Gordon joins us in our first hour.

For our listeners in Southern California, you can meet Howard Gordon at the Diesel Bookstore at the Brentwood Country Mart, 225 26^th Street in Santa Monica on Wednesday, Jan. 25 beginning at 7pm. He’ll also be appearing at Mysteries to Die For, 2940 Thousand Oaks Blvd. in Thousand Oaks, on Saturday, Jan. 28 beginning at 2pm, as well as at Mysterious Galaxy, 2810 Artesia Blvd. in Redondo Beach on Saturday, Feb. 4 beginning at 2:30pm. For more information on these and other appearances, go to HowardMGordon.com.

Joining us in our second hour will be Jacqueline Scott, an actress who has been a staple on television over the past five decades, including appearances in just about every major show from Gunsmoke to Cold Case, as well as the classic TV-movie Duel (directed by Steven Spielberg) and many of the great shows produced by Quinn Martin. We’ll talk to Jacquie about working with such film and TV legends as James Stewart, Walter Matthau, Cliff Robertson, Dennis Weaver and, of course, David Janssen, as well as appearing on Broadway with such stars as Paul Muni.

Of course, many of us think of Jacqueline Scott as Donna Kimble Taft, Richard Kimble’s sister on The Fugitive. But if all goes well, we may also see her in a Super Bowl commercial next month on NBC. The commercial is called Sling Baby, and it’s one of five finalists in a contest sponsored by Doritos; the two spots that get the most votes will be shown during this year’s Super Bowl broadcast. But for that to happen, we need to get out the vote. So if you’d like to see Jacqueline Scott as part of the Super Bowl telecast, go to www.vote4slingbaby.com, watch the commercial, and cast your vote. There are five different ways in which you can vote, including through Facebook and your smart phone, and you can vote as often as five times a day, every day through Sunday, Jan. 29. Not only that, but Doritos will be awarding $10,000 to several voters, so the more you vote, the better your chances of winning. For more information, check out www.vote4slingbaby.com.

TV CONFIDENTIAL: A radio talk show about television
Wednesdays and Sundays 8pm ET, 5pm PT
WROM: Realms of Music
Fridays 7pm ET and PT
Share-a-Vision Radio, KSAV.org
Sundays 9pm PT, Mondays Midnight ET
The Coyote KWTY-FM (Ridgecrest, Calif.)
Tuesdays 11:05pm ET, 8:05pm PT
Passionate World Radio
www.tvconfidential.net
blog.tvconfidential.net
Also available as a podcast via iTunes and FeedBurner
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Today in Television History: Betty White Turns 90

TDFig@aol.com (Tony Figueroa) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 00:00:11 PST

Listen to me on me on TV CONFIDENTIAL:

Born Betty Marion White in Oak Park, Illinois,on January 17, 1922, she is the daughter of Tess Curtis (née Cachikis), a homemaker, and Horace Lawrence White, a traveling salesman and electrical engineer. Her mother was of Greek, English, and Welsh descent, and her father was of Danish and English ancestry. White's family moved to Los Angeles, California during the Great Depression. She attended Horace Mann School in Beverly Hills,California, and Beverly Hills High School. Hoping to become a writer, she wrote and played the lead in a graduation play at Horace Mann School and discovered her interest in performing.

White began her television career in 1939, three months after high school graduation, when she and a classmate sang songs from The Merry Widow on an experimental Los Angeles channel. White found work modeling, and her first professional acting job was at the Bliss Hayden Little Theatre. White's career was disrupted immediately, as World War II broke out, causing her to join the American Women's Voluntary Services. In the 1940s, she worked in radio appearing on shows such as Blondie, The Great Gildersleeve and This Is Your FBI.She then got her own radio show, called The Betty White Show.

In 1949 she began appearing with Al Jarvis on his daily, live variety show Hollywood on Television on KLAC in Los Angeles. White began hosting the show in 1952 after Jarvis' departure. In 1950, Betty was nominated for her first Emmy Award as "Best Actress" on television, competing with such legendary stars as Judith Anderson, Helen Hayes, and Imogene Coca (the award went to Gertrude Berg). This was the very first award and category in the new Emmy history designated for women on television.

In 1952, the same year she began hosting Hollywood on Television, White co-founded Bandy Productions with writer George Tibbles and Don Fedderson, a producer. The trio worked to create new shows using existing characters from sketches shown on Hollywood on Television. White, Fedderson and Tibbles created the television comedy Life With Elizabeth,based on a Hollywood on Television sketch.

White portrayed the title character on the sitcom from 1952 to 1955, which effectively boosted her career.Life With Elizabeth was nationally syndicated by the mid-1950s, allowing White to become one of the few women in television with full creative control in front of and behind the camera at the time. Although several sources state White won an Emmy for the show this appears to be incorrect and maybe a matter of confusing the 1950 nomination with a win.

In 1954, she briefly hosted and produced her own daily talk show, The Betty White Show, on NBC(not to be confused with her 1970s sitcom of the same name). Following Life with Elizabeth, she appeared as Vicki Angel on the sitcom Date with the Angels from 1957 to 1958. The show later became another variety series before going off the air. White performed in commercials seen on live television in Los Angeles,including a spirited rendition of the "Dr. Ross Dog Food"advertisement at KTLA during the 1950s.

She made her feature film debut as Kansas Senator Elizabeth Ames Adams in the 1962 drama, Advise and Consent.It would be her only big-screen appearance for decades.

Betty White's greatest fame during the 1960's and early 1970's with the general public was likely from her long stint as hostess and commentator on the annual Tournament of Roses Parade broadcast on NBC, often co-hosting with Lorne Greene. White began a nineteen-year run as host on the program in 1956; NBC replaced her in 1975, feeling she was too identified with rival network CBS due to her new-found success on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. White admitted to People Magazine it was difficult "watching someone else do my parade", although she soon would start a ten-year run as hostess of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade for CBS.

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, White appeared on a number of late night talk shows and daytime game shows, including Password. White made many appearances on the hit game show Password as a celebrity guest from 1961 through 1975. She married the show's host, Allen Ludden, in 1963. She subsequently appeared on the show's three updated versions Password Plus, Super Password,and Million Dollar Password, having been on versions of the game with five different hosts (Allen Ludden, Bill Cullen, Tom Kennedy, Bert Convy, and Regis Philbin). White made frequent game show appearances on What's My Line?(starting in 1955), To Tell the Truth(in 1961 and in 1990), I've Got a Secret(in 1972–73), Match Game(1973–1982) and Pyramid(starting in 1982). Both Password and Pyramid were created by White's friend, Bob Stewart. In 1983, she became the first woman to win a Daytime Emmy Award in the category of Outstanding Game Show Host, for the NBC entry Just Men!. Due to the amount of work she has done on them, she has been deemed the "First Lady of Game Shows".

In 1973, White made a guest appearance in season four of The Mary Tyler Moore Show as The Happy Homemaker. As a result of her guest appearance, White landed her most significant role at that point as the sardonic, man-hungry Sue Ann Nivens, The Happy Homemaker, on The Mary Tyler Moore Show as a full time cast member. The running gag was that Sue Ann's hard-edged private personality was the complete opposite of how she presented herself on her show."We need somebody who can play sickeningly sweet, like Betty White,"Moore herself suggested at a production meeting, which resulted in casting White herself. White won two back-to-back Emmy Awards for her role in the hugely popular series.

Following that show's end in 1977, she was given her own sitcom on CBS, The Betty White Show, during the 1977–78 season, in which she co-starred with John Hillerman and former Mary Tyler Moore co-star Georgia Engel. It was canceled after one season.

White appeared several times on the Tonight Show With Johnny Carson appearing in many sketches, and began guest-starring in a number of television movies and television miniseries, including With This Ring, The Place to Be, Before and After, and The Gossip Columnist.

From 1983 through 1985, she had a recurring role playing Ellen Harper Jackson on the series Mama's Family, along with future Golden Girls co-star Rue McClanahan.White had originated this character in a series of sketches on The Carol Burnett Show in the 1970s. When Mama's Family was picked up in syndication after being canceled by NBC in 1985, White left the show (with the exception of one final appearance in the show's syndicated version in 1986).

In 1985, she scored her second signature role and the biggest hit of her career as the St. Olaf, Minnesota-native Rose Nylund on The Golden Girls. The series chronicled the lives of four widowed or divorced women in their"golden years" who shared a home in Miami.The Golden Girls, which also starred Beatrice Arthur, Estelle Getty, and Rue McClanahan, was immensely successful and ran from 1985 through 1992. White won one Emmy Award, for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series, for the first season of The Golden Girls and was nominated in that category every year of the show's run (the only cast member to receive that distinction — Getty was also nominated every year, but in the supporting actress category). When Beatrice Arthur left in 1992, White, McClanahan,and Getty reprized their roles Rose, Blanche, and Sophia in the spin-off The Golden Palace. The series was short-lived, lasting only one season. In addition, White reprized her Rose Nylund character in guest appearances on the NBC shows Empty Nest and Nurses, both of which were set in Miami.

White was originally offered the role of Blanche in The Golden Girls, and Rue McClanahan was offered the role of Rose (the two characters being similar to roles they had played in Mary Tyler Moore and Maude,respectively). Jay Sandrich, the director of the pilot, suggested that since they had played similar roles in the past, they should switch roles, Rue McClanahan later said in a documentary on the series. White was originally scared to play Rose, feeling that she would not be able to play the role—until the show's creator took her aside and told her not to play Rose as stupid but to play her as someone "terminally naive, a person who always believed the first explanation of something." Despite being the eldest of the four women,White is the only surviving regular cast member, following the deaths of Estelle Getty in July 2008, Bea Arthur in April 2009, and Rue McClanahan in June 2010.

After The Golden Girls ended, White guest-starred on a number of television programs including Ally McBeal, The Ellen Show, My Wife and Kids, That '70s Show, Everwood, Joey, and Malcolm in the Middle.She received Emmy Award nominations for her appearances on Suddenly Susan, Yes, Dear and The Practice. She won an Emmy in 1996 for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series, appearing as herself on an episode of The John Larroquette Show. In that episode, titled "Here We Go Again", a spoof on Sunset Boulevard,a diva-like White convinces Larroquette to help write her memoirs. In one bit, Golden Girls co-stars McClanahan and Getty appear as themselves. Larroquette is forced to dress in drag as Beatrice Arthur, when all four appear in public as the"original" cast members. White comically envisions her Rose as the central character with the other cast members as mere supporting players.

The actress has lent her voice to several animated shows, including The Simpsons, King of the Hill, The Wild Thornberrys,Family Guy and Father of the Pride. In 1999, she had a supporting role in the monster film Lake Placid,as a widow who later is revealed to have raised the giant crocodile (which accidentally ate her husband).

White's career has been in revival throughout the first decades of the 2000s, and her continuing cultural relevance is reflected in the numerous television and film projects she has been a part of. In December 2006, White joined the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful in the role of Ann Douglas, the long-lost mother of the show's matriarch Stephanie Forrester, who is played by Susan Flannery. In February 2007, White returned as Ann, who had an intent to move to Los Angeles to be near her daughters. The characters of Ann and Pamela Douglas (Alley Mills) disappeared after their March27, 2007, appearance and were not mentioned again until October 19, 2007, when Ann appeared briefly. White would go on to appear in three more episodes following that, one on December 10, 2007; August 28, 2008; and October 28,2008. She returned to the show on November 18, 2009 and in the November 19, 2009 episode her character revealed that she was dying of advanced pancreatic cancer. To date she has made 22 appearances as Ann Douglas. In the November 23,2009 episode Ann passes away due to complications from her illness, with both of her daughters at her side on the beach at Paradise Cove.

In the broadcast of the 2007 TV Land Awards, White starred in a parody of Ugly Betty, aptly titled Ugly Betty White, in which she played America Ferrera's title character, with Charo playing White's sister Hilda, and Erik Estrada playing her father Ignacio. Her performance earned her a part on Ugly Betty as herself, the victim of Wilhelmina Slater's temper as they vie for a cabin the episode "Bananas for Betty",which aired December 6, 2007.

White had a recurring role in ABC's Boston Legal from 2005 to 2008 as the calculating, blackmailing gossip-monger Catherine Piper, a role she originally portrayed as a guest star on The Practice in 2004.

White appeared as a roaster on the Comedy Central Roast of William Shatner in 2006. On May 19, 2008, White appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show,taking part in the host's Mary Tyler Moore Show reunion special alongside every surviving cast member of the series.

Beginning in 2007, White was featured in television commercials for Pet Meds, highlighting her interest in animal rights and welfare.

She was honored at the Sixth Annual TV Land Awards with the Pop Culture Award on June8, 2008. She accepted it along with co-stars Bea Arthur and Rue McClanahan.

White returned to Password in its latest incarnation, Million Dollar Password, on June 12, 2008, (episode #3), participating in the Million Dollar challenge at the end of the show. Her quick correct responses helped the contestant win $100,000. White returned to the show again on December 28, 2008 (episode #9), helping the contestants win $25,000 each.

White has made a number of appearances in skits on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, playing the part of an Exxon representative, a Girl Scout, an accountant with a briefcase full of cocaine, a nurse who just got her medical license from El Salvador, a newspaper delivery girl, a prison guard, and an Apple representative. She appeared as herself with a shoe box full of receipts, explaining that she was doing her taxes. She appeared as herself to promote Together: A Story of Shared Vision by her and Tom Sullivan. On July 18, 2008, she appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in a skit entitled "Can You Make Betty White Flinch".

White guest starred as the "Witch Lady" on an episode of My Name is Earl,and starred on Chelsea Handler' slate night show Chelsea Lately.Some of her other most recent television credits in the 2000s include Stealing Christmas,Annie's Point and The Retrievers.^[3] Her film credits in the late 1990s and early 2000s included Hard Rain, Dennis the Menace Strikes Again and Bringing Down the House, in which she co-starred with Steve Martin and Queen Latifah.

White appeared in the 2009 motion picture The Proposal with Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds. White provided the English-language voice of Yoshie in the anime film Ponyo,which was released in Japan in 2008 and in the United States and Canada on August 14, 2009. She co-starred with Kristen Bell in the 2010 film, You Again.

White appeared alongside Abe Vigoda in an advertisement for Snickers during the 2010 Super Bowl XLIV. The ad won the top spot on the USA Today Super Bowl Ad Meter. It was also featured on Television with the caption;"You're not you when you're hungry".

A grassroots campaign on Facebook called "Betty White to Host SNL (Please)" began in January 2010. The group was approaching 500,000 members when NBC confirmed on March 11, 2010 that White would in fact host Saturday Night Live on May 8. The appearance made her, at age 88, the oldest person to host the show, beating out Miskel Spillman,the winner of SNL's "Anybody Can Host" contest, who was 80when she hosted in 1977. The May 8 SNL episode garnered the show's highest ratings since November 1, 2008, when Ben Affleck hosted. In her opening monologue,White thanked Facebook and joked that she "didn’t know what Facebook was,and now that I do know what it is, I have to say, it sounds like a huge waste of time." The appearance earned her a 2010 Prime time Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series, her seventh Emmy win overall. Years earlier, White's character Rose Nylund on The Golden Girls in an episode from season 7 while laying in a hospital bed awaiting open heart surgery, says to her daughter; "There's something else I wanna tell you. Now lean in close, this is very important... LIVE FROM NEW YORK IT'S SATURDAY NIGHT!

In June 2010, White took on the role of Elka Ostrovsky the house caretaker on TV Land’s original sitcom Hot in Cleveland, now in its third season.

In July 2010, it was announced that she posed for her own calendar for the year 2011; the calendar also features photos from her career and her pictured with various animals. She also debuted her own clothing line on July 22, 2010, which features shirts with her face on them. All proceeds will also go to various animal charities she supports.

She guest-starred in the second-season premiere of NBC's Communityas an anthropology professor. In 2010 she also guest starred in The Middle& 30 Rock. She also had a role as Mrs. Claus in Prep& Landing: Operation: Secret Santa, the sequel to Disney's Prep & Landing.

Betty also starred in the Hallmark Hall of fame presentation of The Lost Valentine on January 30, 2011. This presentation garnered the highest rating for a Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation in the last four years and according to the Nielsen Media Research TV rating service won first place in the prime time slot for that date.

Betty White's latest book, If You Ask Me (And of Course You Won't), was published in 2011.

NBC announced in 2011 that White will be hosting a new show on the network, [Betty White's] Off Their Rockers.

In September 2011, she teamed up with English singer Luciana to produce a remix of her song I'm Still Hot. The song was released digitally on September 22, 2011 and the video later premiered on October 6, 2011. It was made for a campaign for a life settlement program, The Lifeline.

Happy Birthday Betty

Stay Tuned

Tony Figueroa

This Week in Television History: January 2011 PART IV

TDFig@aol.com (Tony Figueroa) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 06:58:06 PST

Listen to me on me on TV CONFIDENTIAL:

Realms of Music
WROM
Wednesday 9/7
9pm ET, 6pm PT

Share-a-Vision Radio

KSAV.org
Friday 9/9
7pm ET, 4pm PT
10pm ET, 7pm PT

KWDJ 1360-AM
Ridgecrest, Calif.
Saturday 9/10
Following Dodgers baseball

InternetVoicesRadio.com
Tuesday 9/13
11:05pm ET, 8:05pm PT

As always, the further we go back in Hollywood history, the morethat fact and legend become intertwined. It's hard to say where the truthreally lies.

January22, 1947

Thefirst television station west of the Mississippi River goes on the air.

The station was KTLA-TV in Hollywood. The stationbegan broadcasting at 8:30 p.m. from a converted garage. When the first EmmyAwards were handed out two years later, KTLA swept the awards for its originalprogramming.

January22, 1972

Emergencypremieres

Emergency,produced by Dragnet star and producer Jack Webb, premieres, featuringthe same semidocumentary style popularized by Webb's earlier police drama. Emergencywas based on the paramedic program that started in Los Angeles, California in1969. Senator Alan Cranston actually praised the show for informing the publicabout the value of funding such programs!
The show focused on the adventures of paramedics Roy DeSoto and Johnny Gage.The show, which ran from 1972 to 1977, foreshadowed later hits like E.R.,with its interwoven comic and serious subplots.

Julie London was married to fellow Emergency castmember Bobby Troup. In an earlier marriage, London was married to Jack Webb.Bobby Troup was a bandleader before becoming an actor.

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

Stay Tuned

Tony Figueroa

Your Mental Sorbet: How TODAY Began: Life in 1952

TDFig@aol.com (Tony Figueroa) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 20:18:30 PST

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

In honor of TODAY’s 60th anniversary, take a look at how the show started in 1952 with Dave Garroway, and see what the world was like in the early 1950s.

Stay Tuned

Tony Figueroa

TV CONFIDENTIAL Archives: Jan. 4, 2012

TDFig@aol.com (Tony Figueroa) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 07:26:17 PST

Show No. 120
Jan. 4, 2012

First hour: Tony Figueroa and Donna Allen join Ed for an expanded edition of This Week in TV History that remembers Dabney Coleman's 80th birthday, the 60th anniversary of the premiere of Dragnet, and the 40th anniversary of the death of Pete Duel.

Second hour: Ed welcomes Stephen Battaglio, business editor for TV Guide and the author of From Yesterday to Today: Six Decades of America’s Favorite Morning Show, a behind-the-scenes look at The Today Show that includes portraits of Dave Garroway, Barbara Walters, Bryant Gumbel, Tom Brokaw, Jane Pauley and Katie Couric and many of the other people who helped shape the history of the pioneering NBC program.

Bonus Segment: More This Week in TV History: Ed, Tony and Donna celebrate the 75th birthday of Mary Tyler Moore by discussing favorite episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show, the famous "Chuckles Bites the Dust" episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, the Lou Grant spin-off series, and the legacy of MTM Productions.

Walter Koenig’s Things to Come: Next on TVC

TDFig@aol.com (Tony Figueroa) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 00:00:06 PST

Authors Walter Koenig, Larry Brody and Peter Ford will join us on the next edition of TV CONFIDENTIAL, airing Jan. 11-17 at the following times and venues:

WROM Radio
Detroit, MI
Wednesday 1/11
8pm ET, 5pm PT
Sunday 1/15
8pm ET, 5pm PT
Click the Listen Live button at RealmsofMusic.com

Share-a-Vision Radio
San Francisco Bay Area
Friday 1/13
7pm ET, 4pm PT
10pm ET, 7pm PT
Click the Listen Live button at KSAV.org

The Coyote KWTY-FM
Ridgecrest, Calif.
Sunday 1/15
9pm PT
Monday 1/16
Midnight ET
Click the Listen Live button at Coyote395.com

Passionate World Radio
Ann Arbor, MI
Tuesday 1/17
11:05pm ET, 8:05pm PT
Click the Listen Live button at InternetVoicesRadio.com

Known worldwide to three generations of sci-fi fans for playing two iconic TV characters ― Alfred Bester on Babylon 5 and, of course, Pavel Chekhov on the original Star Trek television series and the first six Star Trek motion pictures ― Walter Koenig is also an accomplished writer, director and producer who continues to leave his mark in stage, film and publishing, including the four-part comic book series Raver and Things to Come, both of which will be released as graphic novels in 2012. We’ll ask Walter how he got involved in the comic book industry, as well as the short film he recently completed, and perhaps a question or two about Star Trek, when he joins us in our second hour.

Walter Koenig will be receiving a star on the venerable Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2012, making him the last of the seven cast members of the original Star Trek series to be so honored. beginning in January. Walter will also be appearing at OZ TREK 7 in Melbourne, Australia on Jan. 28-29, 2012, as well as at FED CON 21 in Dusseldorf, Germany on May 17-20, 2012, and the Annual Official Star Trek Convention at the Rio Suites Hotel in Las Vegas Aug. 9-12, 2012.

For more information on these and other upcoming appearances, go to WalterKoenigSite.com.

Also joining us this week will be award-winning writer/producer Larry Brody, whose many credits in television include such shows as Police Story, Mike Hammer, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Barnaby Jones, Cannon and The Streets of San Francisco. Larry also runs TVWriter.com, an excellent resource for both new and experienced writers of television, while his books about the TV industry include Television Writing From The Inside Out and Turning Points in Television.

In keeping with our Star Trek theme for this program, one of the mentors who helped Larry the most in his career was none other than Gene Roddenberry. We’ll talk about that, and more, when Larry Brody joins us in our first hour.

Plus: Part 2 of our conversation with actor and author Peter Ford. Peter’s book, Glenn Ford: A Life, provides a very nuanced look at both the private and professional lives of Glenn Ford, one of America’s greatest motion picture actors. We’ll talk about Glenn’s early years as a contract player with Columbia Pictures, his troubled marriage to fellow screen legend Eleanor Powell, some of his noted love affairs, and a whole lot more.

Peter Ford is also the subject of A Little Prince, a forthcoming documentary by Alexander Roman about Peter’s life as the only son of Glenn Ford and Eleanor Powell. For more information about the film, as well as to view the trailer, go to www.alitttleprince.net.

TV CONFIDENTIAL: A radio talk show about television
Wednesdays and Sundays 8pm ET, 5pm PT
WROM: Realms of Music
Fridays 7pm ET and PT
Share-a-Vision Radio, KSAV.org
Sundays 9pm PT, Mondays Midnight ET
The Coyote KWTY-FM (Ridgecrest, Calif.)
Tuesdays 11:05pm ET, 8:05pm PT
Passionate World Radio
www.tvconfidential.net
blog.tvconfidential.net
Also available as a podcast via iTunes and FeedBurner
Find us now on Facebook

This Week in Television History: January 2012 PART II

TDFig@aol.com (Tony Figueroa) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 07:25:06 PST

Listen to me on me on TV CONFIDENTIAL:

Realms of Music
WROM
Wednesday 9/7
9pm ET, 6pm PT

As always, the further we go back in Hollywood history, the morethat fact and legend become intertwined. It's hard to say where the truthreally lies.

January14, 1952

Todaypremieres on NBC.

It was thebrainchild of Pat Weaver, who was then vice-president of NBC. Weaver was president of the company from 1953 to1955, during which time Today's late-night companion The Tonight Show premiered. In pre-production, the show's proposed title was TheRise and Shine Revue. Today was the first show of its genre when it signed on withoriginal host Dave Garroway. The show blended national news headlines, in-depthinterviews with newsmakers, lifestyle features, other light news and gimmicks(including the presence of the chimpanzee J. Fred Muggsas the show's mascot during the early years), and local station news updates. Today'sfemale anchors were once called "Today girls." Other hosts over theyears have included John Chancellor, Hugh Downs, Florence Henderson, BarbaraWalters, Tom Brokaw, Bryant Gumbel, Jane Pauley, and Katie Couric. Current cast includes Matt Lauerand Ann Curry, with weatherman Al Roker,news anchor Natalie Morales.

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

Stay Tuned

Tony Figueroa

Your HOLIDAY SOR-BAY: Three Kings Day in Puerto Rico

TDFig@aol.com (Tony Figueroa) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 00:00:01 PST

Okay, in honor of
Three Kings Day (el dia de los Reys Magos)

I thought we should have one more
"HOLIDAY SOR-BAY".

Stay Tuned &
¡Feliz día de Reyes!

Tony Figueroa

TV CONFIDENTIAL Archives: Dec. 28, 2011

TDFig@aol.com (Tony Figueroa) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 22:44:15 PST

Show No. 119
Dec. 28, 2011

First hour: Paul Green joins Ed, Tony Figueroa and Donna Allen for a look at some of the major stories that helped shape the year in television, including the firing of Charlie Sheen from Two and a Half Men, the TV swan songs of Oprah Winfrey and Regis Philbin, the continuing struggles of the OWN channel, and the passings of James Arness, Harry Morgan and other TV icons.

Second hour: Phil Gries joins Ed for a special edition of The Sounds of Lost Television that pays tribute to bandleader Guy Lombardo, who came to define New Year’s Eve, first on radio, then on television, for nearly five decades.

TDFig@aol.com (Tony Figueroa) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 10:00:44 PST

Stephen Battaglio, business editor of TV Guide, will join us on the next edition of TV CONFIDENTIAL, airing Jan. 4-10 at the following times and venues:

WROM Radio
Wednesday 1/4
8pm ET, 5pm PT
Sunday 1/8
8pm ET, 5pm PT

Share-a-Vision Radio
KSAV.org
Friday 1/6
7pm ET, 4pm PT
10pm ET, 7pm PT

The Coyote KWTY-FM
Ridgecrest, Calif.
Sunday 1/8
9pm PT
Monday 1/9
Midnight ET

InternetVoicesRadio.com
Tuesday 1/10
11:05pm ET, 8:05pm PT

January 14, 2012 marks the 60^th anniversary of the premiere of The Today Show, the NBC morning show that not only ushered in a new era of broadcasting, but literally changed the way millions of Americans started their day by providing a window into the world of news, information and entertainment... all before 9:00am. In the course of its 60-year history, The Today Show reflected the changing attitudes of American society, set the pace for the evolution of TV news coverage and introduced viewers to some of the best communicators in broadcasting history.

We’ll look back at the history of The Today Show when Stephen Battaglio joins us in our second hour. Stephen’s new book, From Yesterday to Today: Six Decades of America’s Favorite Morning Show, not only shows why The Today Show remains as vibrant today as it was when it first premiered, but also provides intimate portraits of many of the people who came into prominence because of Today, including Dave Garroway, Hugh Downs, Jane Pauley, Bryant Gumbel, Katie Couric and Barbara Walters.

Tony Figueroa and Donna Allen will join us in our first hour for an expanded edition of This Week in TV History that will include a look at the 40^th anniversary of the death of Pete Duel, as well as the impact that had on the production of the popular Western series Alias Smith and Jones. It’ll be a full program as always… we certainly hope you’ll join us.

TV CONFIDENTIAL: A radio talk show about television
Wednesdays and Sundays 8pm ET, 5pm PT
WROM: Realms of Music
Fridays 7pm ET and PT
Share-a-Vision Radio, KSAV.org
Sundays 9pm PT, Mondays Midnight ET
The Coyote KWTY-FM (Ridgecrest, Calif.)
Tuesdays 11:05pm ET, 8:05pm PT
Passionate World Radio
www.tvconfidential.net
blog.tvconfidential.net
Also available as a podcast via iTunes and FeedBurner
Find us now on Facebook

This Week in Television History: January 2012 Part I

TDFig@aol.com (Tony Figueroa) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 00:00:04 PST

Listen to me on me on TV CONFIDENTIAL:

Realms of Music
WROM
Wednesday 9/7
9pm ET, 6pm 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, 1932

Dabney Wharton Coleman is born.

He is best known for his abrasive characters and his usually present mustache.

Back on September 16, 1963, Coleman appeared in the series premiere of an ABC medical drama about psychiatry, Breaking Point with Paul Richards and Eduard Franz. He also was seen on two other medical dramas of that period, Ben Casey and Dr. Kildare.

Coleman was so in demand as a TV guest star that he did multiple episodes of popular series: The Fugitive (four), That Girl (nine), The Outer Limits (three), Barnaby Jones (five), Twilve O'Clock High (two) and The F.B.I. (nine), by way of example. Having played a detective in a 1973 episode of Columbo, Coleman 18 years later returned to that series in a leading role as a murderer.

He appeared as Mayor Merle Jeeter in the original Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (1976) and its spinoff of the following year, Fernwood 2 Night.

Many remember the actor for his starring roles in two TV cult classics, Buffalo Bill and The Slap Maxwell Story. Each of these series asked audiences to embrace Coleman's own charisma and comic timing as compensation for his character's lack of character, whether he be a conceited television host or a self-obsessed sportswriter.

In 1991, Coleman played public interest attorney William John Cox in the Turner Network Television dramatization of the "Holocaust Denial Case, Never Forget.

More recent television characters have a well-timed, dry wit, which seem to come to Coleman naturally. He played a more sympathetic one than usual in The Guardian and guest-starred on a 2009 episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, more than 40 years since the actor's earliest work on TV.

In 1999, Coleman voice-acted in a number of episodes of the Disney Channel series Recess, playing a character named Principal Prickly.

January 3, 1952

Dragnet debuts, launching a long legacy of realistic police drama on TV.

Dragnet, which began as a popular radio program in 1949, boosted the popularity of the series format on TV.

Until Dragnet's TV debut, variety shows and comedy hours had dominated prime time programming. Most television drama appeared on hour-long anthology shows like Kraft Television Theater, featuring unrelated stories and different casts every week. In fact, Dragnet itself first appeared on TV as a drama on an anthology show called Chesterfield Sound-Off Time in December 1951.

The brainchild of actor-director Jack Webb--who starred as Sgt. Joe Friday--Dragnet was one of the first series to be filmed in Hollywood, not New York. Webb narrated the shows in a deadpan, documentary style, turning "just the facts, ma'am" into a national catchphrase. Barton Yarborough, a cast member in the radio series, played Friday's sidekick Sgt. Ben Romero on TV but died of a heart attack shortly after the first telecast. Over the years, Friday had three different sidekick characters, played by Barney Phillips, Herb Ellis, Ben Alexander, and Harry Morgan.

Episodes were based on real cases from the Los Angeles Police Department, and each half-hour segment concluded with the capture of the perpetrator, followed by a short update on what happened at the suspect's trial. The show inspired two hit records in 1953, one based on the show's familar "dum-de-dum-dum" theme music. The other was a novelty song called "St. George and the Dragonet," which spoofed the show's opening monologue.

During Dragnet's first year, the show ran every other Thursday, then ran weekly until it ended in the fall of 1959. The show was resurrected in 1967 under the name Dragnet '67 and ran for another two years, dropping its emphasis on high-intensity crime to focus on citizens in distress and community service. In 1987, Dragnet was revived again, as a spoof, in a feature film starring Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks. The TV show reappeared two years later as a syndicated series, airing in the 1989-90 season in New York and Los Angeles only, then nationally syndicated the following season.

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

Stay Tuned

Tony Figueroa

Your HOLIDAY SOR-BAY: 2011, Buh-Bye!

TDFig@aol.com (Tony Figueroa) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 00:00:06 PST

Here is your final "HOLIDAY SOR-BAY" for 2011.

Stay Tuned & Happy New Year
Tony & Donna Figueroa

TV CONFIDENTIAL Archives: Dec. 21, 2011

TDFig@aol.com (Tony Figueroa) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 07:07:40 PST

Show No. 118
Dec. 21, 2011

First hour: Herbie J Pilato, founder of The Classic TV Preservation Society, producer of The 100 Greatest TV Characters, and author of Bewitched Forever, The Bionic Book: The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman Reconstructed and other books on television, presents his Top 10 List of The Greatest Sitcoms of All Time. Also in this hour: Tony Figueroa and Donna Allen mark the birthday of Steven Spielberg by remembering some of his contributions to television, including Amazing Stories, the TV movie Duel, the "Eyes" segment of the Night Gallery pilot, and the premiere episode of Columbo.

Second hour: Ed, Tony and Donna discuss some of their favorite holiday TV specials and Christmas-themed episodes along with Greg Ehrbar (Mouse Tracks: The Story of Walt Disney Records) and Joanna Wilson (The Christmas TV Companion: A Guide to Cult Classics, Strange Specials and Outrageous Oddities, Tis the Season TV: The Encyclopedia of Christmas-Themed Episodes, Specials and Made for TV Movies).

2011: The Year in Review plus New Year’s Eve with Guy Lombardo: Next on TVC

TDFig@aol.com (Tony Figueroa) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 22:06:22 PST

Author, journalist and commentator Paul Green will join us on the next edition of TV CONFIDENTIAL, airing Dec. 28-Jan. 3 at the following times and venues:

WROM Radio
Wednesday 12/28
8pm ET, 5pm PT
Sunday 1/1
8pm ET, 5pm PT

Share-a-Vision Radio
KSAV.org
Friday 12/30
7pm ET, 4pm PT
10pm ET, 7pm PT

The Coyote KWTY-FM
Ridgecrest, Calif.
Sunday 1/1
9pm PT
Monday 1/2
Midnight ET

InternetVoicesRadio.com
Tuesday 1/3
11:05pm ET, 8:05pm PT

Paul Green, Tony Figueroa and Donna Allen will join us in our first hour as we look at some of the stories that helped shape the year in television, including the firing of Charlie Sheen from Two and a Half Men, the TV swan songs of Oprah Winfrey and Regis Philbin, the continuing struggles of the OWN channel, and the passings of James Arness, Harry Morgan and other TV icons.

Phil Gries will join us in our second hour for a special edition of The Sounds of Lost Television that will pay tribute to bandleader Guy Lombardo, who came to be synonymous with New Year’s Eve celebrations for nearly five decades, first on radio, then on television. We’ll play some of “some of the sweetest music this side of Heaven,” as well as hear highlights from some early television coverage of the famous midnight ball drop from New York’s Times Square.

TV CONFIDENTIAL: A radio talk show about television
Wednesdays and Sundays 8pm ET, 5pm PT
WROM: Realms of Music
Fridays 7pm ET and PT
Share-a-Vision Radio, KSAV.org
Sundays 9pm PT, Mondays Midnight ET
The Coyote KWTY-FM (Ridgecrest, Calif.)
Tuesdays 11:05pm ET, 8:05pm PT
Passionate World Radio
www.tvconfidential.net
blog.tvconfidential.net
Also available as a podcast via iTunes and FeedBurner
Find us now on Facebook

This Week in Television History: December 2011 Part IV

TDFig@aol.com (Tony Figueroa) — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 00:00:03 PST

Listen to me on me on TV CONFIDENTIAL:

Realms of Music
WROM
Wednesday 9/7
9pm ET, 6pm 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

December 29, 1936

Mary Tyler Moore is born in Brooklyn.

Moore's family moved to Los Angeles when she was nine. After graduating from high school, Moore married a CBS sales rep and later became interested in television. She appeared in TV commercials and small TV roles until 1961, when she landed the part of Dick Van Dyke's wife, Laura, on The Dick Van Dyke Show. In 1970, Moore landed her own show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, which became one of the most popular situation comedies of the 1970s. Running from 1970 to 1977, the show spawned numerous spin-offs, including Rhoda, Phyllis, and Lou Grant, all of which were produced by MTM Productions, Moore's company.

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.

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

Stay Tuned

Tony Figueroa

Your HOLIDAY SOR-BAY: It's a Wonderful Life HD

TDFig@aol.com (Tony Figueroa) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 00:00:02 PST

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

Your HOLIDAY SOR-BAY: Cartoon voice actors read Twas the Night Before Christmas

TDFig@aol.com (Tony Figueroa) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 09:07:26 PST

Here is a "HOLIDAY SOR-BAY" that we could use to artificially stimulate our Christmas spirit.

Cartoon voice actors read

Twas the Night Before Christmas

Stay Tuned

Tony Figueroa

Your HOLIDAY SOR-BAY: BEWITCHED Episode 213: "Sister's at Heart"

TDFig@aol.com (Tony Figueroa) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 00:00:22 PST

Here is a "HOLIDAY SOR-BAY" that we could use to artificially stimulate our Christmas spirit.

This Christmas episode originally aired on December 24, 1970. The episode won the Television Academy's Governor's Award and which was written by the 10 th grade English class at Thomas Jefferson High School in Los Angeles, has been restored with original Network "bumpers" and Oscar Mayer and Company sponsor.

Stay Tuned

Tony Figueroa

CHILD OF TELEVISION

Your Mental Sorbet: Steve Allen Show - Meet Guido Panzini Italian Golf Pro

Robert Hegyes

TV CONFIDENTIAL Archives: Jan. 18, 2012

Julie Adams and Robert Davi: Next on TVC

This Week in Television History: January 2012 PART IV

Your Mental Sorbet: Colbert Super PAC Ad - Double Negative

TV CONFIDENTIAL Archives: Jan. 11, 2012

Howard Gordon and Jacqueline Scott: This Week on TVC

Today in Television History: Betty White Turns 90

This Week in Television History: January 2011 PART IV

Your Mental Sorbet: How TODAY Began: Life in 1952

TV CONFIDENTIAL Archives: Jan. 4, 2012

Walter Koenig’s Things to Come: Next on TVC

This Week in Television History: January 2012 PART II

Your HOLIDAY SOR-BAY: Three Kings Day in Puerto Rico

TV CONFIDENTIAL Archives: Dec. 28, 2011

This Week in Television History: January 2012 Part I

Your HOLIDAY SOR-BAY: 2011, Buh-Bye!

TV CONFIDENTIAL Archives: Dec. 21, 2011

2011: The Year in Review plus New Year’s Eve with Guy Lombardo: Next on TVC

This Week in Television History: December 2011 Part IV

Your HOLIDAY SOR-BAY: It's a Wonderful Life *HD*

Your HOLIDAY SOR-BAY: Cartoon voice actors read Twas the Night Before Christmas

Cartoon voice actors read

Twas the Night Before Christmas

Your HOLIDAY SOR-BAY: BEWITCHED Episode 213: "Sister's at Heart"

Your HOLIDAY SOR-BAY: It's a Wonderful Life HD