Happy New Year friends! 2024 is already looking to be a stellar year for my little podcast - which has been growing in popularity week by week!! Thanks to all my subscribers and everyone out there who has taken the time to listen to every episode so far! You have no idea how happy it makes me feel knowing that all my efforts in producing these episodes are appreciated by you.
When I started doing this podcast last year I thought it might only last for a few episodes. But now that we're coming up on the 50th episode (dropping on Monday, January 15th) I wanted to introduce you to some of the fabulous people who will be guest-starring on upcoming episodes of Hollywood Obsessed in 2024! Hold on to your hats its going to be a star-studded year of more fun interviews!
DINAH MANOFF - If you know anything about me you know that I LOVE the movie musical “Grease”! So you can imagine how thrilled I was interviewing actress, director, and writer Dinah Manoff who is best known for playing the role of “Pink Lady" Marty Marachino in the movie musical “Grease” co-starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John! After her success on the big screen -- she went to Broadway and won both a Theater World and Tony Award as Best Featured Actress for her performance in the Broadway production of Neil Simon's “I Ought To Be In Pictures”. A role she reprised in the motion picture of the same title in 1982, starring Walter Matthau and Ann-Margret. She also appeared in several other memorable films like “Ordinary People”, “Bloodhounds of Broadway”, “Child's Play”, “Staying Together”, “Backfire”, “Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael”, and the independent film “Bart Got a Room”.
On television -- she’s best known for her portrayal as Richard Mulligan's daughter "Carol Weston," on the beloved TV sitcom “Empty Nest” – which ran from 1988 until 1995. She went on to star in the highly acclaimed ABC Family series “State of Grace”, for which she received a Jewish Image Award. During our amazing two-part interview Dinah tells me all about her first novel “The Real True Hollywood Story of Jackie Gold”, which has recently been released as an audio book and is currently available for purchase online or at your local friendly neighborhood bookstore. I loved chatting with her! I just know you’re going to adore listening to these two entertaining episodes!
GEORGE CHAKIRIS - I can’t tell you how honored I was speaking with Academy Award-winning actor – George Chakiris who is best known for playing the role of Bernardo — the leader of the Sharks gang -- in the 1961 film version of “West Side Story”! He made his film debut at the age of 15 in the chorus of the MGM film “Song of Love” (1947) Later — he started his acting/dancing career -- appearing in musicals such as “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes”— where he is one of the dancers escorting Marilyn Monroe in the musical number "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend" – as well as films like “White Christmas”, “There's No Business Like Show Business”, “Brigadoon”, and “Meet Me in Las Vegas” alongside legendary icons like Cyd Charisse, Mitzi Gaynor, Debbie Reynolds, Gene Kelly, and Rosemary Clooney.
In 1958 he traveled to New York hoping for a Broadway "break." Hearing that Jerome Robbins was casting the London company of "West Side Story", he auditioned and was awarded the co-starring role of ‘Riff’. He played the part for almost two years before he got the role of ‘Bernardo’ in the Robert Wise film version of “West Side Story” -- a performance that earned him a Golden Globe and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Since then, he starred in a succession of films and guest starring roles in several TV series such as “Hawaii Five-O”, “Wonder Woman”, “CHiPs”, “Scarecrow and Mrs. King”, “Murder, She Wrote”, and the 80’s nighttime soap opera “Dallas”. Although he has largely retired from acting, he had a small role in the heartwarming 2021 drama “Not To Forget”, which co-starred fellow Oscar winners Cloris Leachman and Olympia Dukakis. That same year he published his brilliant memoir, My West Side Story – which I loved reading - and he tells me all about it during our special two-part interview coming this March!
JOHN BADHAM - My 10-year-old self was jumping up and down with excitement when I got to opportunity to interview the man who directed one of my favorite films of all time the iconic 1977 disco film "Saturday Night Fever”! His choices after that film were wildly diverse, ranging from the action thriller “Blue Thunder” (1983) to the comedy-drama “Whose Life Is It Anyway?” (1981) to the comedy thriller “Stakeout” (1987) and its sequel “Another Stakeout” (1993). Then came “WarGames” (1983), starring Matthew Broderick which was one of THE first films to deal with the subculture of amateur hacking. Another sizable hit was “Short Circuit” (1986), a comedy about a robot who comes to life. In addition to his numerous film credits, John has also continued to direct and produce for TV, including the A&E television series “The Beast”, TV movies like HBO's “The Jack Bull” (1999), and episodes of series including “Crossing Jordan”, “Supernatural” and “Criminal Minds”. His books I’ll Be In My Trailer, the Creative Wars Between Directors and Actors, and "John Badham on Directing" are used as textbooks in film schools worldwide which we discuss during our fantastic upcoming two-part interview.
RUTANYA ALDA - This distinguished actress has been working in film, television, and theater for over 40 years and I was lucky enough to have a fabulous chat with her about her marvelous career. She began her illustrious career with two early films by Brian De Palma, “Greetings” and “Hi, Mom!”, in which she starred with Robert De Niro. Following these, she appeared in such highly acclaimed films as “Panic In Needle Park”, “Scarecrow”, “The Long Goodbye”, Sam Peckinpah’s “Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid”, George Romero’s “The Dark Half”, “Last Exit To Brooklyn”, “Racing With The Moon”, the Christmas perennial “Prancer”, and the Oscar-winning film “The Deer Hunter”, where she re-teamed with Robert De Niro. At present, she has the distinction of being a cult icon in two different films: “Amityville II: The Possession”, in which she stars opposite Burt Young, and “Mommie Dearest”, about which she published her first book, the critical and reader-acclaimed “The Mommie Dearest Diary”! Needless to say, this is going to be the mother of all interviews. So don't miss it!
BURT WARD - Never in a million years did I think I'd be chatting with actor Burt Ward best known for playing the role of Robin The Boy Wonder / Dick Grayson on the classic 1960’s TV series “BATMAN" on ABC and its subsequent feature film. From a very young age, Burt had all the makings of a true boy wonder. Growing up he was an all-around athlete and top achiever in math and science, he became the world's fastest reader and was the world’s youngest professional ice skater, at two years old, in his father’s traveling ice show “Rhapsody On Ice”. He was selected as Robin, opposite Adam West as Batman, when he was 19. The role required him to do much of his stunts for cost-effectiveness and due to his face being too visible in his costume. Despite the popularity of the show, it ran for only three seasons due to its high production costs. After the cancellation of "Batman", he went on to act in more than 40 made-for-television films including "Virgin High". He also made several guest starring appearances on popular TV shows like "Living Single", "Clueless", and "Supergirl" as well as animated series such as "The Simpsons", "Sponge Bob Square Pants" and "Futurama". Ward also published his memoir “Boy Wonder: My Life in Tights”. The book depicted his years as Robin. He is also the founder of Gentle Giants Rescue and Adoptions, Inc. - a charity that rescues large breed dogs. Wait till you hear the fun-tastic two-part conversation that we had! HOLY HOLLYWOOD HISTORY!
STEFANIE POWERS - Best known for her role as Jennifer Hart on the mystery television series "Hart to Hart" (1979–1984), for which she received nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards and five Golden Globe Awards, Stefanie began pursuing her career while still a teenager, landing early roles in films that included "Experiment in Terror" (1962) and the John Wayne classic "McClintock!" (1963). In 1965, she played opposite Tallulah Bankhead in "Die! Die! My Darling" and then was cast in the lead role of "The Girl From U.N.C.L.E." (NBC, 1966-67) which nearly made her a household name, despite being canceled after only one season. Soon after, she flourished during the heyday of made-for-television movies, appearing in "Five Desperate Women" (ABC, 1971) and "A Death in Canaan" (CBS, 1978). It was, however, in her role as Jennifer Hart opposite Robert Wagner on the adventure series "Hart to Hart" that she would be most associated with for the remainder of her career. Following the sudden death of her companion, William Holden, in 1981 Powers became founding President of the William Holden Wildlife Foundation and a director of the Mount Kenya Game Ranch and Wildlife Conservancy in Nanyuki, Kenya. She still devotes a great deal of time to the cause and is an international guest speaker on wildlife preservation. In 2010, she released her memoir, Stefanie Powers: One from the Hart - which is a fascinating inside look at her incredible life and legendary career. Wait til you hear our spectacular two-part interview coming this spring! It's one of my favorite interviews so far!
KENNETH JOHNSON is a successful writer-producer-director who created many Emmy Award Winning shows including “The Bionic Woman”, “The Incredible Hulk”, “V: The Original Mini-Series”, and “Alien Nation". He also directed multiple episodes of the award-winning drama "JAG", as well as the feature films "Steel" and "Short Circuit 2". Beyond his film and TV work, he is the author of several novels including -- An Affair of State, Holmes Coming, The Darwin Variant, V The Original Miniseries, V The Second Generation, and The Man of Legends – an Amazon bestseller! This interview is a Sci-Fi fan's dream come true. Don't miss it!
PAUL HOPKINS- I adored chatting with this charming Canadian actor who is best known for his portrayal of Michael "Mouse" Tolliver on Armistead Maupin’s Emmy-nominated mini-series “More Tales of the City” and its follow-up “Further Tales of the City.” He was also the lead role of Karl on the series “Vampire High” and has made guest-star appearances on hit shows like “Suits”, “Diggstown”, “Are You Afraid of the Dark?”, the TV movie "Nuremberg" with Alec Baldwin and most recently he portrayed Officer Bouchard on the Bravo Television crime drama series "19-2 ". I can't wait for you to listen to our fabulous conversation.
ANDREW STEVENS - Son of actress Stella Stevens, Andrew is best known for his Golden Globe-nominated performance in the film “The Boys in Company C” and numerous television movies and mini-series like Jackie Collins “Hollywood Wives" and the hit primetime soap "Dallas”. He also starred in movies like Brian DePalma’s horror film “The Fury” (1978) starring Kirk Douglas and Amy Irving, the TV miniseries “The Bastard” and “The Rebels” based on the John Jakes novels, two Charles Bronson films, “Death Hunt” and "10 to Midnight", and he was Morgan Fairchild’s stalker in the 80’s thriller "The Seduction". Being that I'm a huge fan of his it was such a pleasure speaking to him about his spectacular career! So put it on your "must listen to" list this year.
NICHOLAS MEYER - An award-winning author, screenwriter, and director of the Sci-Fi classic films “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan”, “Star Trek IV: The Undiscovered Country” and “Time After Time”. Nick followed his success on the big screen by directing ABC’s “The Day After", for the small screen. The nuclear-themed movie - starring Jason Robards and John Lithgow - remains the single most-watched television film ever made and was nominated for fourteen Emmys. Its controversial telecast drew over one hundred million viewers. His screenplays include “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home” - the one about the whales - “Sommersby” starring Richard Gere and Jody Foster, (1993), he contributed to the classic Michael Douglas / Glenn Close thriller "Fatal Attraction" (1987) and Dreamworks’ animated feature film "Prince of Egypt" (1998). Yep, the "Trekker" inside me was geeking out throughout our entire interview! I had a great time! And so will you when you listen to it.
ANNA WONG is the niece of legendary movie star Anna Mae Wong who is considered the first Chinese American Hollywood movie star to gain national and international recognition. Anna grew up mere miles from Hollywood where her Aunt left an indelible mark on movie history. While she never had any desire to pursue a career in front of the camera, she has always been drawn to the cultural impact and inclusiveness that her namesake -- strove to achieve. Anna’s mission is to increase awareness of Asian American issues and further the effort for equality. Needless to say, I loved talking to her about her fearless aunt's career and how much she contributed to Hollywood history! This one's fun.
KEITH THIBODEAUX - Best known for playing Little Ricky on the television sitcoms “I Love Lucy” and “The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour". Keith also made 13 appearances on “The Andy Griffith Show", between 1962 and 1966, usually as Opie’s friend "Johnny Paul Jason". BTW...he is the last living regular appearing cast member from “I Love Lucy”! So I was in awe throughout our entire conversation. You're going to love it.
SCOTT VALENTINE - Best known for playing the role of Nick Moore, Mallory Keaton’s delightfully oddball boyfriend. He went on to become one of the series’ breakout stars — appearing in 45 episodes of the classic 1980s TV sitcom “Family Ties”. He also made guest appearances on several hit TV shows and made-for-TV movies, including the Jackie Collins miniseries “Lady Boss” starring Kim Delaney, “Out of Annie’s Past” with Catherine Mary Stewart, “Murder, She Wrote" with the legendary -- Angela Landsbury, and "CSI: NY" with Emmy Award winner Gary Sinise. He also starred in several theatrical releases including his feature film debut “My Demon Lover,” the 1991 thriller -- “Killer Instinct” and the Roger Corman camp horror film -- “To Sleep With a Vampire”. So if you grew up in the 1980's (like me) our chat down memory lane will take you back to those carefree days.
MICHAEL GRAY - Best known for starring on the Saturday morning TV series “Shazam!" and being one of the most popular teen idols of the 1970s. In 1972, he won a series regular role on the NBC show “The Little People" -- starring Brian Keith. Unfortunately, it was canceled after the second season. Then came his big break in 1974, when he was cast in the lead role of Billy Batson on the Saturday morning series “Shazam!" The series ran for 3 years and made him a popular TV star for the younger generation. Throughout the 1970’s Michael guest starred on several hit TV shows including “Room 222”, “The Flying Nun” and “The Brady Bunch”. He also appeared in the feature films “Myra Breckenridge” with Mae West & Raquel Welsh, the Russ Meyers’ film “Beyond the Valley of The Dolls” and he played Burt Reynold’s younger brother in the Aaron Spelling TV “Movie of the Week” “Run Simon Run. Believe it or not, this was one of the most enjoyable interviews I've done so far. I'm certain you'll enjoy this one too.
DAVID LEISURE - Best known for playing Charley Dietz in the classic TV sitcom “Empty Nest" -- and the fictional Joe Isuzu in a series of memorable TV commercials during the 1980s and ’90s! He made several guest star appearances on some of your favorite TV shows including “Sabrina the Teenage Witch”, “Diagnosis: Murder”, “Caroline in the City”, “Renegade”, “The Equalizer” and “Nurses”. He also appeared on several daytime soaps including “The Young And The Restless” and "Days of Our Lives". His memorable feature films include “The Brady Bunch Movie”, “You Can’t Hurry Love”, “10 Things I Hate About You’ and “Elvis Has Left The Building” to name a few. I've got to admit I haven't laughed as much during an interview as much as I did with David. Wait til you hear it. He's hilarious!
PAUL PAPE - Known for playing the role of “Double J” in the iconic 1970s disco blockbuster film “Saturday Night Fever" (one of my all-time favorite movies). After the success of Fever, he appeared in over 20 films. He also made guest appearances on several hit TV series including “Angie” with his Fever co-star Donna Pescow, “Family" with Kristie McNichol, and "Hart to Hart" with Stefanie Powers -- to name a few. In addition to his on-camera and stage credits, Paul has been performing as a voice-over artist since the 1980s; a field that has brought him considerable success. With over 8000 credits to date, he's been heard in virtually every media - including commercials, narrations, promos, trailers, television series, films, video games, and national political campaigns. Needless to say my obsession with the film Saturday Night Fever only grew after hearing all his eye-opening behind-the-scenes stories. So don't miss this one!
JEFF EAST - I've been a fan of Jeff's since I saw his memorable portrayal of the teenage Clark Kent in Richard Donner’s 1978 blockbuster "Superman: The Movie"! But that wasn't his first film. He made his film debut at 14 years old -- playing the character of Huckleberry Finn in the movie musical 'Tom Sawyer' - starring Jodie Foster and Johnny Whittaker. With the success of “Tom Sawyer”, he returned to the big screen the following year -- in the sequel "Huckleberry Finn" co-starring Paul Winfield, Harvey Korman, and Gary Merrill. Jeff later went on to make around 40 films for the big screen and TV including “Stranger in Our House” (1978) with Linda Blair, “Klondike Fever” (1980) with Rod Steiger, “Up the Creek” (1984) with Tim Matheson, “Dream West” (1986) with Richard Chamberlain, the cult classic horror film "Pumpkinhead" (1988) and the Wes Craven thriller "Deadly Blessing" (1981). He also starred in the 1983 television film “The Day After" with Jason Robards and John Lithgow. And made several TV guest appearances on shows such as “M*A*S*H”, “Otherworld”, and "Shades of L.A." as well as the HBO comedy series "1st And Ten". So make sure you don't miss my fascinating conversation with him!
MICHELLE DANNER- Known as being one of Hollywood’s top acting coaches Michelle specializes in the Meisner, Strasberg, Adler, Hagen, Chekhov, and Stanislavsky acting techniques. She is also the founding and artistic director of the Edgemar Center for the Arts. Some of the film stars she has worked with include Abigail Breslin, Andy Garcia, Donald Sutherland, Luke Wilson, Ryan Phillippe, Emily VanCamp, and Kyle MacLachlan to name a few. She has also acted in and directed over thirty plays in Los Angeles and New York. I certainly learned a lot about the art of acting during our conversation. And so will you.
And that's only the beginning! So make sure you subscribe to Hollywood Obsessed TODAY so that you don’t miss any of the fantastic interviews I've done with some of the fabulous people I've met while living and working here in the heart of Hollywood!
I just know you’re going to love every single one coming up, this year, on HOLLYWOOD OBSESSED!
