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Show No. 184 with guests Larry Brody and Michael St. John
Original Airdate: Week of May 8-14, 2013
First hour: Ed welcomes award-winning television writer/producer Larry Brody. Larry has created, produced or written thousands of hours of network and syndicated television, including such shows as Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Mike Hammer, Walker: Texas Ranger, Cannon, and Ironside,  while his books include Television Writing From The Inside Out, a comprehensive look at how writing for TV really works, which Larry recently updated as an e-Book. Larry also runs TVWriter.com, an excellent resource for not only new writers, but also experienced writers of television. TVWriter.com is currently running two contests, the 22^nd People’s Pilot competition, and the Spec Scriptacular. Winners, finalists, or semi-finalists of both contests have gone on to become staff writers on such shows as Chicago Fire, Person of Interest, The Walking Dead and Grey’s Anatomy. The deadline for entering both contests is Saturday, June 1. Second hour: Ed, Tony and Donna welcome Michael St. John, the first African-American hired as a director for NBC television, where he worked on such shows as Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In and The Andy Williams Show. Michael helped create opportunities for many other African-Americans in the film and television industry. His book, Hollywood Through the Back Door, is filled with great stories about his work with such legends as Pearl Bailey, Dorothy Dandridge, Mary Pickford, Bette Davis, Dan Dailey, Lou Gossett, Brock Peters, Harry Belafonte, and Otto Preminger. Michael has also written a play, I Feel Sin Comin’ On, that is being developed for production later this year, with singer/actress Melba Moore in one of the key roles.

Show No. 183 with guests Shelley Morrison, Walter Dominguez and David Michaels
Original Airdate: Week of May 1-7, 2013
First hour: Ed welcomes Emmy Award-winning director and producer David Michaels, senior executive director of the Daytime Emmy Awards broadcast. David joined Alex Trebek and Susan Lucci on May 9 to announce plans for a new exhibit at the Smithsonian Institute Museum of American History that will honor all genres of daytime television. For more information on the Museum, go to http://americanhistory.si.edu. The 40th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards will be televised June 16 on HLN. Also in this hour: Phil Gries with Part 2 of the Sounds of Lost Television special tribute to New York Mets announcer Ralph Kiner, featuring highlights from Kiner’s interviews with baseball Hall of Famers Willie Mays and Duke Snider. Second hour: Ed welcomes actress Shelley Morrison (The Flying Nun, General Hospital, Will & Grace), along with her husband, documentary filmmaker Walter Dominguez. Shelly is the executive producer, and Walter is the writer, director and producer, of Weaving the Past: Journey of Discovery, a moving story about Walter’s attempt to trace the roots of his grandfather Emilio Hernandez. The film originally began as a family project, but soon evolved into a much bigger story that discusses not only Mexican-American history, but issues of social justice that are still relevant today. Shelley and Walter will host a benefit gala screening of Weaving the Past on May 18 that will benefit the soon-to-be-opened Museum of Social Justice, located on historic Olvera Street in Los Angeles. To learn more about this event, as well as more information on the film itself, go to WeavingthePast.com.

Show No. 182 with guests Jon Burlingame and Jane Boursaw
Original Airdate: Week of Apr. 24-30, 2013
First hour: Ed welcomes film and TV music historian Jon Burlingame. Jon’s latest book, The Music of James Bond, tells you everything you wanted to know about the music of every James Bond film from Dr. No and Quantum of Solace, including a running commentary on the various scores of each Bond soundtrack, plus extensive interviews with virtually every composer and recording artist who contributed to the pantheon of Bond music, including John Barry, Monty Norman, Marvin Hamlisch, Paul Williams, Herb Alpert, and Hal David. (The interview with Jon begins 20 minutes into the program and continues into the second hour.) Also in this hour: A replay of our October 2010 interview with actor Frank Bank, Lumpy Rutherford on Leave It to Beaver. Second hour: Jane Boursaw helps Ed and Tony Figueroa pay tribute to Roger Ebert. A syndicated columnist and entertainment writer for such publications as TV Worth Watching and Reel Life with Jane, Jane Boursaw is also one of many film critics who was influenced by Ebert. Plus: This Week in TV History remembers the first experimental television broadcasts from the Empire State Building.

Show No. 181 with guests Phil Cooke and Jennifer Armstrong
Original Airdate: Week of Apr. 17-23, 2013
First hour: Greg Ehrbar (Mouse Tracks: The Story of Walt Disney Records) and Jennifer Armstrong (Why? Because We Still Like You: An Oral History of The Mickey Mouse Club) help Ed pay tribute to the life and career of singer/actress Annette Funicello. Also in this hour: A replay of Phil Gries’ 2008 interview with Jonathan Winters that also features highlights from some of Jonathan’s earliest work on television, including And Here’s the Show with Ransom Sherman and a guest-host appearance on The Tonight Show with Jack Paar. Second hour: Producer, author and media consultant Phil Cooke joins Ed and Tony Figueroa for a conversation about The Bible, the epic ten-hour miniseries recently produced for The History Channel that is part of a growing effort on the part of film and TV studios to reach out to evangelical audiences. Phil’s latest book, Unique: Telling Your Story in the Age of Brands and Social Media, not only discusses ways in which pastors and leaders can present their own unique vision in a way that rises above the clutter, but offers ideas that are viable for anyone working in broadcast communications today.

Show No. 180 with guest Karen Kondazian
Original Airdate: Week of Apr. 10-16, 2013
First hour: Phil Gries joins Ed for the first in a three-part tribute to longtime New York Mets television announcer Ralph Kiner that features highlights from the early years of Kiner’s postgame show, Kiner’s Korner, including interviews with All-Star outfielder Jimmy Piersall and comedians Buddy Hackett and Phil Foster. Then Ed welcomes actress and author Karen Kondazian (James Dean, Shannon, Shootout at the OK Corral). Karen’s latest book, The Whip, is a historical novel based on the life of Charlotte “Charley” Parkhurst, an extraordinary woman who lived most of her life as a man in the Old West. (The interview with Karen begins halfway through the first hour, and continues into the second hour.) Karen will be discussing The Whip at the Mechanics Institute Library, 57 Post Street in San Francisco, on Thursday, April 18, beginning at 6pm. She’ll also be at the Lighthouse San Francisco, 214 Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco, on Friday, April 19, beginning at 2pm. Also in the second hour: Tony Figueroa and Donna Allen remember Hollywood Screen Test, a talent show from the Golden Age of Television that was later revised and revamped in the 1970s as Don Adams’ Screen Test. Plus: highlights from Sam Yates' radio interview from 1985 with film critic Roger Ebert.

Show No. 179 with guest Geri Jewell
Original Airdate: Week of Mar. 27-Apr. 2, 2013
First hour: Tony Figueroa and Donna Allen remember the 40^th anniversary of the night that civil rights activist Sacheen Littlefeather refused to accept the Best Actor Oscar on behalf of Marlon Brando, the 50^th anniversary of the premiere of General Hospital, and the fifth anniversary of the death of Academy Award-winning actor Charlton Heston. Also in this hour: Ed discusses the reported move of production of The Tonight Show to New York in 2014 in the event that NBC names Jimmy Fallon as host to succeed Jay Leno. Second hour: Ed welcomes actress, comedienne, author and motivational speaker Geri Jewell. Geri made television history on Dec. 24, 1980 when she first appeared as Cousin Geri on The Facts of Life, the first character with a disability to appear on a regular basis on a prime time network series, while also continuing to break ground as a stand-up comedienne in such noted venues as The Comedy Store and The Improv. Geri’s book, I’m Walking as Straight as I Can: Transcending Disability in Hollywood and Beyond, is a very candid and poignant look at some of the obstacles that Geri has had to overcome throughout her life and career — some of which had to do with living with cerebral palsy, some of which had to accepting her sexuality, but a lot of which had to do with the nature of people and the entertainment industry itself.

Show No. 178 with guests Raymond J. Barry and Josh Mills
Original Airdate: Week of Mar. 20-26, 2013
First hour: Tony Figueroa and Donna Allen join Ed in welcoming Josh Mills, the curator of the estates of Ernie Kovacs and Edie Adams, and the owner of Ediad Productions, the company originally founded by Edie Adams to manage the licensing of the work of Kovacs and to ensure that Ernie is given his due as a comedian and innovator. Josh is also one of the executive producers of the excellent Ernie Kovacs box set DVD collection recently released by Shout! Factory. Topics include favorite Kovacs moments; the relationship between Ernie and Edie, on and off camera; the lengths that Edie took to preserve Ernie’s legacy, including purchasing back the videotapes of Ernie’s shows from ABC; and how Edie herself was a pioneer in archiving TV history. Second hour: Actor, playwright and artist Raymond J. Barry (Justified, Born on the Fourth of July, Dead Man Walking, The Ref, Year of the Assassin, Mother’s Son and Other Plays) talks to Ed about playing Arlo on Justified, as well as how his work as a writer helps him focus in his craft as an actor, painter and sculptor.

Show No. 177 with guest Gloria Loring
Original Airdate: Week of Mar. 13-19, 2013
First hour: Tony Figueroa and Donna Allen remember March 14, 1948, the birthday of Billy Crystal, and March 19, 1953, the first time that the Academy Awards were broadcast on television, as part of an expanded edition of This Week in TV History. Also in this hour: Greg Ehrbar with a look at DVD releases of animated superhero series produced by Filmation, including The New Adventures of Batman and The New Adventures of Superman. Second hour: Ed, Tony and Donna welcome singer, actress and author Gloria Loring (Days of Our Lives, “Friends and Lovers”). Gloria’s latest book, Coincidence is God’s Way of Remaining Anonymous: Reflections on Daytime Dramas and Divine Intervention, is an engaging look at the spiritual dimensions of coincidence: where it comes from, how we attract it, and how we can use it for our benefit and the benefit of those around us.

Show No. 176 with guests Chris Robinson and Kathleen Sharp
Original Airdate: Week of Mar. 6-12, 2013
First hour: Ed welcomes actor/director Chris Robinson (General Hospital, The Bold and the Beautiful, Twelve O’Clock High). Chris will be returning to General Hospital later this month as part of the show’s 50^th anniversary season, plus he will be appearing in The Forsaken, a soon-to-be-released independent film that provides a contemporary take on the Western genre. Also in this hour: TV Confidential remembers the passing of actress Bonnie Franklin by replaying part of our February 2012 conversation with actor/comedian Pat Harrington, Franklin’s longtime co-star on One Day at a Time. Second hour: Ed welcomes award-winning journalist and author Kathleen Sharp, whose books include Mr. and Mrs. Hollywood: Edie and Lew Wasserman and Their Entertainment Empire, a comprehensive dual biography of Hollywood’s original power couple that also provides a fascinating look into the inner workings of twentieth-century show business.  2013 marks the 100^th anniversary of the birth of Lew Wasserman. To mark the occasion, AudioGo.com has re-released Mr. and Mrs. Hollywood both as an eBook, and soon as an audiobook.

Show No. 175 with guests Christopher Lewis, Linda Lewis, and James Rosin
Original Airdate: Week of Feb. 27-Mar. 5, 2013
First hour: Ed welcomes Christopher and Linda Lewis. Christopher’s mom, Academy and Emmy Award-winning actress Loretta Young, was one of the first major motion picture stars to not only embrace television, but leave her mark on it, which she did as the star and producer of The Loretta Young Show, the long-running NBC drama that remains one of the best anthology series to come out of the Golden Age of Television. 2013 marks the 100^th anniversary of the birth of Loretta Young, as well as the 60^th anniversary of the premiere of The Loretta Young Show. Among the events that will celebrate the occasion will be a six-week film festival at the AFI Silver Theater and Cultural Center in Silver Springs, Maryland (March 8 thru April 18) that will include a wide-ranging retrospective of some of Loretta Young’s best films, including The Bishop’s Wife, The Stranger, Man Castle and The Farmer’s Daughter; the exhibit Loretta Young: Hollywood Legend: 100 Years of Glamour and Grace, on display at the Hollywood Museum in Hollywood, CA through the end of April 2013; and the release of approximately 100 episodes of The Loretta Young Show as part of an excellent DVD box set that is now available through Shout! Factory. Second hour: Ed welcomes James Rosin, author of Naked City: The Television Series, a behind-the-scenes look at the critically acclaimed anthology series created by Bert Leonard that was also the first network prime time drama to be filmed entirely on location in the streets of New York. Jim’s book not only features interviews with many of the actors, writers, and directors who worked on Naked City, but discusses what made the show unique, from its distinct visual look to the many thought-provoking stories that often touched on the human condition.

Show No. 174 with guests Marvin J. Wolf and Darlene Quinn
Original Airdate: Week of Feb. 20-26, 2013
First hour: Ed welcomes author, journalist and screenwriter Marvin J. Wolf. Marv’s books include Fallen Angels: Chronicles of L.A. Crime and Mystery, a behind-the-scenes look at 39 famous crimes that not only took place in Los Angeles, but reveal an altogether different side of the City of Angels than what you may have seen on television or in the movies. Among the cases discussed in the book: Caryl Chessman, the Red Light Bandit; the precedent-setting rape trial of movie mogul Alexander Pantages; the mysterious death of actor Nick Adams; the tragic murder of actor Sal Mineo; and the gruesome death of Elizabeth Short, the woman known as The Black Dahlia. Marv co-wrote Fallen Angels along with noted criminal defense attorney Katherine Mader; the book was recently re-released both in paperback and as an e-Book. The e-Book edition of Fallen Angels includes links to the various crime scenes detailed in each story, so that readers can travel directly to the locations themselves, virtually via Google Maps and Google Earth. Second hour: An encore presentation of our November 2010 conversation with novelist Darlene Quinn, author of Twisted Webs, Webs of Power, Webs of Fate and the forthcoming Unpredictable Webs, and the co-author, along with the late Buddy Ebsen, of Sizzling Cold Case: The Legend of Lori London, an original novel featuring Barnaby Jones. Plus: Tony Figueroa and Donna Allen remember the pilot for The Andy Griffith Show, which originally aired This Week in TV History as an episode of Make Room for Daddy.

Show No. 173 with guests Linda Lawson, Michael Starr and Jan Creamer
Original Airdate: Week of Feb. 13-19, 2013
First hour: Michael Starr, television columnist for the New York Post and the author of such film and TV biographies as Hiding in Plain Sight: The Secret Life of Raymond Burr, discusses House of Cards, the second season of Dallas, and NBC’s plans to update Ironside as a vehicle for Blair Underwood. Also in this hour: Ed welcomes animal rights advocate Jan Creamer, co-founder of Animal Defenders International (ADI), an organization dedicated to protecting abused and neglected animals around the world. Plus: Greg Ehrbar on the release of The Joey Bishop Show on DVD. Second hour: Ed welcomes singer/actress Linda Lawson. Linda’s husband, the late John Foreman, co-produced Sometimes a Great Notion along with Paul Newman, while Newman also directed the motion picture. Linda shares some memories of working with Newman, Henry Fonda, Lee Remick, Richard Jaeckel and Oscar-winning costumer Edith Head. Also in this hour: An encore presentation of Phil Gries’ look back at “Meet Mr. Lincoln,” a short film about the life of Abraham Lincoln that originally aired on the NBC documentary series Project XX.