July 10, 2025 • 41 mins
Morgan White Fills in on NightSide:
Between the 1950s and the 1970s, there were four television series that defined what it meant to be a “man of action” on TV. The Untouchables, Run for Your Life, The Magician and Harry O. Ed Robertson of TV Confidential joined Morgan to chat about these four shows and the men who starred in them.
Between the 1950s and the 1970s, there were four television series that defined what it meant to be a “man of action” on TV. The Untouchables, Run for Your Life, The Magician and Harry O. Ed Robertson of TV Confidential joined Morgan to chat about these four shows and the men who starred in them.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
It's Night Side with Dan Ray. I'm tell you Boston's new.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Radio one more hour. Well, actually, let's be specific, roughly
about fifty minutes left with my guest Ed Robertson, and
he and I have, I know, dis connected. That's the
word I will say with confidence. He and I have
connected over the many times I've had him on the
radio with me. And maybe it's because some of the
(00:28):
TV shows that he has written about that he has
demonstrated appreciation for. I felt the same way, and one
of my favorite shows was Maverick and I've watched several
episodes of it this week. They're back to the first
and second season of Maverick because I necessarily didn't like
(00:51):
Jack Kelly as Bart Maverick unless it was an episode
with Brett and Bart together.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
There like Shady Deal at.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
A best episode of the whole string of shows, the
best episode.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
I would agree, very interesting. You are not alone in
favoring Jim Garner over Jack Kelly. And here's a peculiar fact.
The episodes with Jack Kelly only always rated slightly higher
(01:34):
than the shows that featured Jim Garner only. But the
reason why had a lot to do with Jim Garner
the first. As you know, ratings are determined per quarter hour, correct,
and the ratings for the first fifteen minutes the first
(01:55):
five minutes. But Jack Kelly episode always spiked within the
first five minutes because and then they would drop when
they realized that Jim Garner wasn't in the episode. But
that overall spike added to Jack Kelly's overall average. That's
why the episodes he did by himself during the three
(02:17):
years he and Jim did the shows together always rated
slightly higher than jim Z. Back then, as you know, Morgan,
there were no such things as social media. There were
no such things as websites where people could know in
advance whether Jim Garner was going to start in that
week's show or Jack Kelly. You had to tune in
(02:40):
and find out on your own, or.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
When you picked up your TV Guy. TV Guys started
Saturday and went through to Friday.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
That is correct.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
That was correct. You could check out the Monday before
and see the synopsis of the episode and see the lineup.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
Before I forget, because you talked about that many times.
You and I have connected because of our many radio
conversations on the radio.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Yes, I.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
Would be amiss if I did not say that Morgan
White will be my special guest coming up in a
couple of weeks of my show TV Confidential and what's.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
The day that I agree together?
Speaker 3 (03:28):
It is the weekend of July twenty fifth, and it
airs various times throughout that week, and to find out specifically,
go to Television Confidential dot com. It is a show,
it isn't. The interview with Morgan is so big it
will take two it will take two episodes to air
(03:51):
it on.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
And you guys are calling me.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
That's correct, good, that is correct?
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Right, it is correct. I could call you home now,
but you could call.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
My home number. But we will take care of that.
I will tell you that you share the same billing
as Kathleen Bradley.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Oh wow, okay, thank you.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
Have you had her on your show?
Speaker 4 (04:12):
No?
Speaker 2 (04:12):
I have not.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
Okay, you and I should talk off Mike because she
she's promoting the thirtieth anniversary of Friday, Okay, which is
one of the things, and she would relish the opportunity
to talk to you.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
I definitely would like to have her on.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
Okay, we'll work on that making that happen.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
I've got three minutes from my next break. Just enough time,
just enough time to tell you what did I watch
this morning?
Speaker 3 (04:40):
You watched Maverick?
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (04:43):
And no, Okay, I.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Did not watch Maverick, But I did watch James Garner.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
Oh, was one of his movies running?
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (04:52):
It was? Was it The Pink Jungle?
Speaker 2 (04:56):
No, God, I've watched you know what. I've watched that
movie on a flight to California from Boston, and you know,
the Pink Jungle and the lipstick that went in as
a bullet and the gun. Sorry to be a spoiler
of a movie fifty years ago, but The Pink Jungle
to me was an average movie when I watched it
(05:17):
at twelve years old. No, I watched his probably best
remembered film appearance.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
Great Escape.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Great Escape.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
That's a that is a movie. That is that. That
is one of the good film choices that Jim made. Jim,
And if Jim were around today, he would be the
first to tell you that he did not when he
when he was making movies almost exclusively, he did not
always make his decisions based on the quality of the script.
(05:49):
More often than not, it was based on how much
they would pay him.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Cash cash, McCall, Yeah, outlist, bad, James Garner choices if
you want, but I the Great Escape. I've seen that
movie a dozen times or more and I was riveted again.
Speaker 4 (06:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
And Lawrence Montaigne, who has a small part in that movie,
but he was part of that really very very impressive cast.
A lot of familiar faces, not just Marquee players, but
a lot a lot, including your friend David McCallum.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
Yes, And Lawrence Montaigne told me every actor, if every
actor should have an experience like The Great Escape as
part of their career.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
We'll tell you what. Let me get the breakout the
way when we come back. Maybe you know the backstory
since you brought up David McCallum, We know you, and
I know that his wife, then Jill Ireland, would come
to set periodically. Yes, and she caught the eye or
(07:02):
he the name I'm about to mention. Let me say
this tactfully. They caught each other's eye, Charles Bronson and
Jill Ireland. And we'll talk about that when I come back.
You want to call in six, one, seven, two, five, four,
ten thirty or eight eight, eight, nine to nineteen thirty.
(07:23):
I'm sorry about the comfortability of ed and my conversations,
but we are similar.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
It's good radio, and you know what, I.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Know that's one reason why we're not getting a ton
of phone calls because people are people are having fun
just listening to us.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
I'll be back after these messages here on nights side
time eleven fifteen. I'm assuming it's still sixty four degrees.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
It's NIC's Eye with Dan Ray on wb Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Damn, we'll be back on Monday. I promise you don't
fib to my audience. I am speaking with a man
I'm gonna say, is a good friend, solid, good friend.
Ed Robertson. He has written Good Grief and number of
books on legendary television. The book out now. Men of
Action has four TV shows that are focused under the
(08:22):
Ed Robertson Spotlight, The Untouchables, Run for Your Life, Harryo,
and The Magician. Right now, we were talking about James
Garner because Ed has done two books focusing on James
Garner TV series, one Maverick, The Legend of the West
and the other The Rockford Files.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
And forty five Years of the forty five.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Years of the Rockford Files. And I watched that TV
not TV excuse me the movie that probably is one
of his James Garner's best movies, partially because of his
acting and partially because of the world's most superior cast.
(09:06):
I mean, just say, Richard Attenborough. Where else do you
go from there? James Coburn, David McCallum, Charles Bronson, which
gets mcquen, some guy named Steve McQueen who was the
top build. Steve McQueen was stop building and Garner was
second built. And did that bother Jay? I know, you
(09:28):
got a chance on a number of occasions to interview
James Garner. Did that bother him being second?
Speaker 3 (09:35):
No, it didn't bother him being second. He had some
choice words about McQueen, although he was given. I mean
there were both there are both peers in that they
were both stars of the stratospiric level, and so there
were some good natured ribbing that that they would do
(10:00):
with each other. But you know, behind the scenes, but
off Mike, they they got along well. And if I
remember correctly, about ten fifteen years later, Garner cast McQueen's
wife Nell in an episode of Rockford Files. Okay, so
(10:23):
they stayed in touch and their and and if they
didn't play golf, you know. He leaf worked with McQueen's
wife at least on one occasion.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
And James Garner was a lot more hands on. Now. Granted,
he had the acumen built up by the time Rockford
came on, which is in the seventies compared to Maverick
in the fifties overlapping into the sixties. But he was
a lot more hands on about his show.
Speaker 3 (10:54):
Yes, he learned from his experience with Maverick. When uh,
when when what he did Maverick? He was a contract
player for Warner Brothers. And uh, I've been lucky enough
to talk to a number of actors who were who
(11:16):
got their start in the studio system. And I believe
you've had a number You've had a chance to talk
to you for yourself, Morgan, And more often than not,
if you asked what was it like to be a
part of that system, more often than not, most actors
(11:37):
would say it was good insofar as you got paid
to go to work. I mean, you got paid to learn,
you know. I mean, on the one hand, they would
throw you into whatever movie was in production, whether it
was the right part for you or not. They would
they would cast you and whatever was in the work
(11:58):
because you were available for you were under contract for
seven years, and they needed bodies, They needed bodies to
fill parts and so but it was it was the
opportunity to learn different things, singing, dancing, you know, all
sorts of things while getting paid to learn your craft. Now,
(12:21):
some actors they found that a positive. Some actors, like
James Garner, who had an independent streak, didn't like the
idea of any one person, one studio telling them what
to do. And so it was not for everybody. But
and with in Jim's case, when the when when the
(12:47):
Writers Guild went on strike in the spring of nineteen
sixty and shut down production of all the movies and
all the TV shows that were in production at Warner
b Others at the time, they the Jim Jim got
(13:08):
into a legal tussle over with with the studio. He
felt that they charged He felt that he felt that
the studio was not being completely straightforward when they said
it was an act of God that uh, you know,
(13:29):
stop you know that that the studio cited for you know,
we're not going to pay you because we're on strike.
And and Garner said, wait a minute, you still you
know you, you've got this, You've got the sneaky thing
where you're still paying writer producers to work because you're
using pseudonyms like w armanos to to to to operate.
(13:51):
So if you can do that and still get things
in production, you can pay me.
Speaker 4 (13:56):
Well.
Speaker 3 (13:56):
One thing led to another, and Garner and Ded up
taking the studio to court, and he won and he won,
and as a result of that experience, he not only
became a free agent and was able to test his
true market value, which he did throughout the sixties as
a star for major motion pictures, including The Great Escape.
(14:18):
But when he went back into television in the seventies,
he learned to you know, there's advantage of owning the
property that you're producing versus being a hired hand. And
so as a result, he any show that he did
for television, Garner Garner made sure he had a piece
(14:42):
of of if not you know, if not producing, but
then then by hiring the behind the scenes production crew
so that he had some say over the finances of
the show and some level of control.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
It's funny you mentioned that era I have interviewed Robert Conrad,
who was then working on Hawaiian I interviewed Peter Brown
who was working on law Man, and I interviewed very
(15:18):
recently passed within the past couple of months, Will Hutchins,
who was Sugarfoot.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
Sugarfoot, Yeah, and they all, all of whom did an
episode of Maverick at some point, maybe not maybe not
Robert Brown, but maybe not Peter Brown, but Peter.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
Brown and John Russell did a cameo that's the one
with with.
Speaker 3 (15:46):
It was a jet. Kelly was in the show, but
so was Robert Colbert. Robert Colbert did not play Brent Maverick,
the infamous Brent Maverick, but he was.
Speaker 1 (15:59):
He was.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
He was a contract player with Warner Brothers at the time.
And as we said, you know, okay, okay, Bob. This
week you're gonna do in a Hawaiian I. Okay, Bob.
Next week you're gonna do a Maverick. Okay, Bob. Next
week you're going to do a seventy seven sunset strip
and and Bob, like most contract players at the times,
that okay whatever, you know what.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
You eventually you can even do a time tunnel, which
hasn't even been written yet.
Speaker 3 (16:26):
That's right, that's right, that's right.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
But the key is all three of those actors talked
about the system of Warner Brothers and two of the
three tippy Toad without throwing sticks and stones. But Will
Hutchins dealt the top card off the deck and understood
(16:52):
that he was in a bad situation. But you're working,
and that's the key for almost every actor and actress.
You're working. You're giving a paycheck every week, so that
causes you to be silent where the treatment isn't the best.
Speaker 3 (17:15):
Yeah, you have you have to weigh Uh, you have
to be pragmatic about it sometimes, you know, especially if
you have if you if you have a family of
your own and you're the primary breadwinner, you have to
you know that mean do you do you make waves
or do you gut it out?
Speaker 2 (17:34):
You know?
Speaker 3 (17:34):
Right now, going back to people who learn to take
control as a result of their experience and of the
studio assistant. Fast forward about ten years. Robert Conrad I
don't think he had I don't think he ran the
production company of Wild Wild West. But he had a
(17:56):
direct say, you work very closely with the stun people.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
Oh he did. We we talked about that. Yeah, they
had four main stuntmen, of which Red West was one
of them who wound up excuse me, being Elvis Presley's bodyguard.
Speaker 4 (18:16):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
Yes, and they the stuntman all worked in unison together,
so they were choreographed all the throws and kicks and
flips and punches, and.
Speaker 3 (18:35):
Uh, Conrad had enough sway h during the during the
four years that Wild Wild West was in production.
Speaker 4 (18:47):
That.
Speaker 3 (18:49):
If it was less expensive too. Sometimes sometimes a three
minute fight choreograph fight did a lot more to move
the plot than three pages of dialogue. Correct, so and
so in the in the case of you know, whittling
the script down the shooting form, it was not uncommon
(19:11):
for Robert Conrad to say, let's throw these pages out
and we'll just put together a fight. And he keeps
sitting un across.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
Do you know what he was most proud of. They
had like an intermuro football team with other studios, other programs,
and his football team was the best. I don't know
if it was touch or flag, because I know they
would not have been allowed to do tackle. Yeah, but
(19:39):
he was very proud of their football team because I
guess for the four years of that series they won
every year.
Speaker 3 (19:47):
And I was and I have been told I never
had a chance to talk to Robert Connery. But I
have been told that one of the acting credits for
which he was most proud was Centennial. Yes, he did
mention that which is a which is a show that ran.
It was a long it was it was the longest
running if I believe it was the longest running network
(20:11):
mini series back when they did mini series in the eighties,
twenty sixth episodes that ran over the course of several months.
And he was it was based on Mitchener. Im I
think it was Mitchener. I'm going off memory here, folks.
Uh uh So it was a very literate uh script
(20:31):
to begin with, and contrad was it John Jings. No,
I'll well, we'll google, we'll take it.
Speaker 2 (20:42):
Let's take a break and you tiki tiki it as
I say, and we'll be back in three or four minutes. Everybody,
you can stay mesmerized of all the names we are dropping,
or you can join us and maybe throwing a few yourself.
Six one, five, four, ten, thirty, eight, eight, eight, nine, thirty,
eleven thirty is the time temperature sixty four degrees.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
Night Side with Dan Ray on WBZ, Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (21:14):
I am Morgan filling in for Dan. Dan. We'll be
back on Monday. He's gotten a seven day vacation and
Bradley j filled in three days this week. I filled
in two days last week. I'm doing tonight and tomorrow
and Dan. Then we'll be back on Monday. Ed Robertson
(21:34):
is my guest. And I know we're talking a lot
of inside television with the names that are coming up
in our conversation. All recognizable names. You know, the name
of Robert Conrad, who was on at least three successful
TV series Hawaiian and I the Wild Wild West and
(21:56):
by Ba blackshep a couple of TV movies in there.
Centennial was one. And by the way, who was the
writer of Centennial?
Speaker 3 (22:04):
It was James Mentioner.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
There you go. And who else that I mentioned? Peter Brown,
who I had on at least two or three times
over the years. And he was at one time one
of the fastest draws in Hollywood because all the movie
actors had their own little competition, and the fastest of
(22:30):
all was Simmy Davis Junior.
Speaker 3 (22:32):
Yes, yes, Hank Garrett told me that a few months
back when he did my show, and uh uh, and
and it's what it's one of many things you don't
think of. But again, uh uh. Sammy was a very
good actor, and he did. He did a number of Westerns, Yes,
he did. He did. He did even m He did
(22:57):
two Riflemen, even Sergeants three, which is a rap pack
yep movie. He had a semi serious role in that movie,
as I recall, so I.
Speaker 2 (23:09):
Think he got killed by three or four arrows fired
into him.
Speaker 3 (23:13):
He did. And you don't think of that, you know,
you think of the rap pack. You think of something
kind of you know, blithe and you know, easy on
the eyes and easy on the brain. But no, that
was a serious part the Sammy did. So he was
a very very good actor, and he was very adept
at the quick draws you just as you just mentioned.
Speaker 2 (23:34):
And to go off our subject. Depending on where you
see it, Robin in the Seven Hoods, you may see it,
you know, because almost every station has it in their
film library. In Boston, Channel fifty six was the last
station I know that had it. They edited out his
(23:59):
famous called Bang Bang where he does shooting with a
six gun and a machine gun and dances and it's
about a three or four minute scene. They cut that.
Now did they cut that to save time. Did they
(24:20):
cut that for racial circumstances? Did they cut that because
just a whim. I don't know, but I have seen it.
I've seen the scene when that movie played on CBS
Thursday Night Movies, they showed it in its entirety.
Speaker 3 (24:43):
You're speaking of something that's It is a topic that
comes up every now and then on my show TV
Confidential Morgan context. And this is something that the debt
is happening a lot with some of the digital channels
like Antenna with with with regard to airing some of
(25:06):
the Norman Lear shows, right, and decisions that are made
And forgive me for saying this by people who are
hired mostly because they're young and are willing to work
for not a lot of money compared to someone with experience.
(25:27):
I don't want to paint with a broad swap, but
those are a lot of times. Those are what those
are that, those are what come, those are why those
decisions are made. People who are overseeing some of the content.
They're looking at it in with twenty twenty five eyes
versus the eyes of the nineteen seventies, that without any
(25:49):
understanding of the context earlier or earlier the context of
these things are made. And so as a result, you're
you know, you're you're you're seeing entire scenes cut out
or digitized so that you know it's bleeped out with
a disclaimer almost I dare say it almost an ai
(26:13):
disclaimer as to why this scene was cut.
Speaker 2 (26:17):
And I will say, if you watch a Norman Lear
show on the Family or the Jeffersons, I've heard quote
unquote the N word. Now I've got to say it
that way because I don't want my radio station to
(26:38):
chastise me. But there have been networks like TV one,
just to pick a network that chose primarily black sitcoms,
they edit out that word. Or if you are watching
(27:02):
me TV they usually show a show start to finish
inclusive of credits. They don't judiciously snip and take out
a scene. It all depends on on the people that
run the station, that run the network, that run the
(27:24):
cable company.
Speaker 3 (27:25):
Yeah, I agree that that that that is a fair assessment.
In the case of those that run an entire entire
show inclusive of credits, what they'll do is at at
eleven fifty nine thirty, they will reduce the screen down
(27:46):
to the left to the right hand corner. Yes, and
they will, they they will, they will, I will, they will,
and they will speed up the credits so that that's
what normally takes thirty forty seconds to air airs in
five seconds and they're able to push whatever. You know, Look,
(28:06):
I understand why decisions are made, you know, because you know.
Speaker 2 (28:10):
I understand as well. But yeah, you know. And that's
why I've had the CEO of me TV on every
year that network has existed. Once a year, I have
him on in September, Neil Saban, and I've given him
credit for not cutting credits, letting the theme music and
(28:34):
the credits play straight through, and he says he's going
to keep doing it until his sales staff finally gets
their wish and makes him snip away. Tell you what,
I've got two people on hold. I'm going to take one,
take a break, and then take the other.
Speaker 3 (28:54):
And we also need to talk about David mccollumson.
Speaker 2 (28:56):
Oh oh, we definitely do. Let's go to line one
and to Donna and Framingham Donal, good evening, thanks for calling, Hie.
Speaker 5 (29:06):
I'm thinking about how in the seventies I watched Colombo
is Anybody And this is a suggestion for you, Morgan,
do you know anybody that has written a book or
knows about Peter Falk. I would love to hear some
stories about Peter Falk.
Speaker 3 (29:23):
I can answer that question. There are three very good
books written about Colombo, two by the same author, one
by a name name, one by a man named Mark
dewisiac da w I d z Iak called The Colombo File.
(29:44):
The other two written by a man named David Kanig
k O. E. N Igs and water Knig. Only this
is David Kanig. David Kdik wrote a book two books,
one called Shooting Colombo, the other called Unshot Colombo. Between
those three books you will take a deep dive into
the making of both the original Colombo from the seventies
(30:08):
and the ABC Colombo of the nineties, which is not
as good as the original Colombo, though there are some
good shows.
Speaker 5 (30:18):
Actually, I wanted to take it one step further. In
addition to what you just said, I'd like to know
if anybody has written a biography or some information about
Peter Falk himself.
Speaker 3 (30:31):
There is a lot of I do not know of
a straight Peter Peter Falk biography, per se. There is
a lot of biographical information about Falk in both those books.
The Colombo File P. H I. L. E. By Mark
Dewiziak includes very detailed interviews with Peter Falk himself. So
(30:57):
you hear Falk talk about Colombo in his own words.
That is as close as you're going to get, in
my opinion, to what you're asking.
Speaker 2 (31:07):
Right.
Speaker 5 (31:07):
Yeah, I thought maybe somebody was interested in him by now.
Speaker 2 (31:11):
Oh yeah, I think these books, these books have been
out there for years. And I will say this. You
may not know it, but Peter Falk was a perfectionist.
He would have you do a scene.
Speaker 3 (31:27):
Over and over and over again.
Speaker 2 (31:30):
And that could be expensive. Back the proof is in
the pudding. What we saw on screen was the finished
product of his desire for perfection.
Speaker 3 (31:44):
And he had the same cachet as Bob Conrad had
on Wild Wild West, as James Garner had on Rockford Files,
where because he had that cachet he could do that well.
Speaker 5 (31:58):
He also was great friends with Peter.
Speaker 2 (32:01):
Well there, yeah, John Cassavetti's Ben Gazzara, Ben Gazzara, Jeneral
and Nicholas Calissantro.
Speaker 3 (32:14):
Nicholas Calissanto, Yes.
Speaker 2 (32:17):
They were and yeah, well Jenna was married to.
Speaker 3 (32:23):
No, Yes, she was very Yes, she was very Cassavegia.
Speaker 2 (32:28):
So obviously, Donald, we do know a little bit about Colombo,
and I hope we've helped you.
Speaker 5 (32:33):
Yeah. I hope somebody writes a biography of Peter Fox someday.
I guess somebody will.
Speaker 3 (32:38):
Somebody will, somebody will.
Speaker 2 (32:41):
All right, Donald, gotta let you go because I'm waiting
for a break.
Speaker 5 (32:44):
Okay, bye, bye bye.
Speaker 2 (32:47):
Dennis and Lowell. After the break, you will be next.
No more calls. I barely have enough time to do
all the things I need to do in the next
literally thirteen minutes time and temperature here on night side
even six sixty four degrees.
Speaker 1 (33:02):
You're on night Side with Dan Ray on w b
Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
For the Dan Ray fans out there. He will be
back on Monday. And he's been m I a in
action for seven night sides. But the man earned his
vacation time. Trust me, he works hard. Doing five nights
a week, four hours per night is not easy. I
(33:29):
just had to do two nights, two nights last week,
tonight and tomorrow for this week, and trust me, that's enough.
Dennis and Lowell, welcome. What's your question?
Speaker 4 (33:42):
Hello, Good evening, gentlemen, good evening.
Speaker 3 (33:46):
Hi Dennis you Hi.
Speaker 4 (33:49):
There one more thing. No, I'm not going to talk
about Colombo. I'm going to talk about Centennial a little bit.
You know. You mentioned Robert Conrad, but I also want
to mentioned actually two guys who lived in Lowell were
in that series also, and they were They were Robert Tessier,
(34:09):
who was mostly a stunt man, but he played in
Indian in the movie Rude Water. And Michael and Sarah. Oh. Yes,
when he first came over from Syria and his uh,
his name was Lame Bieber in the movie. And they
fought each other in the movie and killed each other.
(34:29):
So I just had to mention that some centennial.
Speaker 2 (34:33):
Michael was married to Barbara Eaton.
Speaker 4 (34:36):
Yes, I dream of Genie, Yes, Yes.
Speaker 3 (34:38):
And I believe Michael and Sarah did a Perry Mason,
and I believe he did an FBI uh and pretty
much pretty much any major He definitely did a Rockford File,
he played.
Speaker 2 (34:53):
Pretty much did Wild Wild West too.
Speaker 3 (34:55):
And he did a Wild Wild West pretty pretty much
any major ship. Oh, from the fifties, sixties and seventies. Michael,
you know, more often than not, Michael m. Sorrow was
hired as a guest actor.
Speaker 2 (35:08):
And he was in the movie Voice to the Bottom
of the Sea. Well, I think that's where he met
Barbara Eatens.
Speaker 3 (35:15):
Yes, and he had he had a very rich, resonant
voice that I'm sure he made some extra money doing
voiceover work.
Speaker 4 (35:24):
Yeah, and he also did some Star Trek things. He
was also you know one of these.
Speaker 3 (35:29):
He was he was what do you call it, he.
Speaker 4 (35:32):
Was a king on Yes, absolutely, yes, and that's in
the original Star Trek.
Speaker 3 (35:39):
Yes, the original Star Trek.
Speaker 4 (35:41):
Yeah. Okay, I just had to mention that, you know, media,
I always have to talk about Lowell.
Speaker 2 (35:47):
Okay, Okay, Dennis, take.
Speaker 4 (35:49):
Care, Thank thank you, Dennis.
Speaker 2 (35:51):
Thank you for the call, Dennis. And now to finish
up some of the things we were talking about the
Warner Brothers studio, Will Hutchins told me this story. He
was at a party, a Warner Brothers party, and don't
forget Warner Brothers had literally twenty shows on at the
(36:12):
same time, excuse me, and he Will Hutchins said he
went up to William t Or, the producer you see
his name last and all of the Warner Brothers show critics,
and William t Or didn't even know him. Yeah, he
(36:33):
you know, introduced myself. I want to say thank you
and I appreciate the opportunity that the studio has given me.
And William t Or didn't even recognize one of his stars.
He was a star of Sugarfoot. He was Sugarfoot. Well.
Speaker 3 (36:52):
That that spoke to one of Joan Garner's complaints about
the higher ups and Warner brothers, which he which which
he spends more than a few pages on in his
book The Garner Files, where he just thought he thought
it was a little impersonal and again going back to
(37:14):
you learn from your experience. When he was in a
position too uh run his own production companies, both for
movies and in television. He was active enough that he
knew the names of everybody who worked, who worked, who
(37:37):
worked for him. But he was also he would he would,
He was not a micromanager. If you if you if
you were hired to do the lights or for transportation,
he would let you do your job right and he
stayed out of the way. Now, if there were problems,
(37:58):
he would get involved, but those were few and far
between because everyone knew that Jim Jim paid, Jim paid well,
and he gave you the opportunity to do your job,
and so more often than not, when if you if
you were hired to do this or that on a
Garner production, you were re hired whenever possible.
Speaker 2 (38:23):
So you could have gone from Rockford Files to Nichols
to Brett.
Speaker 3 (38:29):
Maverick, and in some cases that was the case.
Speaker 2 (38:33):
Yes you were gaffer for an example.
Speaker 3 (38:35):
Yeah, you know, or dare I say the Pink Jungle?
Speaker 2 (38:39):
You know?
Speaker 3 (38:39):
But no, if.
Speaker 2 (38:44):
Bring up that movie again, okay.
Speaker 3 (38:47):
Because it's the first one of the public. The point
is he he liked loyalty and and he was he
was very if if it isn't just look, if he
knew you were good, why would you hire somebody else?
You know? At that point you know so, and then
Jim was a very One of the reasons why Jim
(39:11):
remained so beloved more than ten years after his passing
is because he had a lot of qualities. Charlie Rose
once called him the every man, and I think there's
a lot to be said for that. There are a
lot of qualities that he embodied. Even for all his success.
(39:31):
He was very much a straight shooting What you see
is what you got person, right.
Speaker 2 (39:36):
Why did he choose Cherokee as the name for his production.
Speaker 3 (39:39):
Company because that was he was.
Speaker 4 (39:46):
One.
Speaker 3 (39:47):
I'd have to look, I'm going on memory. He was
like one tenth or one eighth Cherokee Indian.
Speaker 2 (39:53):
Okay, and that's my answer. Yeah, Ed, I thank you
to hours. Just flew by, flew by, and you and
I both know we could have done another two hours.
Speaker 3 (40:06):
Hey, we may do another two hours again.
Speaker 4 (40:10):
Now what days the twenty fifth, it's the weekend.
Speaker 3 (40:15):
It is the weekend of August twenty fifth, twenty sixth,
twenty seventh. Morgan will be my special guest on TV Confidential.
Go to televisionconfidential dot com. The landing page will tell
you all about it and where to catch the show.
And if you can't catch the show that weekend, it
will become available for listening on demand beginning Monday, July
(40:40):
twenty eighth.
Speaker 2 (40:40):
Ed Roberts, I thank you a thousand times. We will
do this again with me on DZ on that Morgan,
thank you, Ed, good night to you, thank you Rob
and the studio, thank you Nancy and Gray next to me,
and thank you for the night side listeners. I'll be
back tomorrow night. It's basically about it. By Boston
It's Night Side with Dan Ray. I'm tell you Boston's new.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Radio one more hour. Well, actually, let's be specific, roughly
about fifty minutes left with my guest Ed Robertson, and
he and I have, I know, dis connected. That's the
word I will say with confidence. He and I have
connected over the many times I've had him on the
radio with me. And maybe it's because some of the
(00:28):
TV shows that he has written about that he has
demonstrated appreciation for. I felt the same way, and one
of my favorite shows was Maverick and I've watched several
episodes of it this week. They're back to the first
and second season of Maverick because I necessarily didn't like
(00:51):
Jack Kelly as Bart Maverick unless it was an episode
with Brett and Bart together.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
There like Shady Deal at.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
A best episode of the whole string of shows, the
best episode.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
I would agree, very interesting. You are not alone in
favoring Jim Garner over Jack Kelly. And here's a peculiar fact.
The episodes with Jack Kelly only always rated slightly higher
(01:34):
than the shows that featured Jim Garner only. But the
reason why had a lot to do with Jim Garner
the first. As you know, ratings are determined per quarter hour, correct,
and the ratings for the first fifteen minutes the first
(01:55):
five minutes. But Jack Kelly episode always spiked within the
first five minutes because and then they would drop when
they realized that Jim Garner wasn't in the episode. But
that overall spike added to Jack Kelly's overall average. That's
why the episodes he did by himself during the three
(02:17):
years he and Jim did the shows together always rated
slightly higher than jim Z. Back then, as you know, Morgan,
there were no such things as social media. There were
no such things as websites where people could know in
advance whether Jim Garner was going to start in that
week's show or Jack Kelly. You had to tune in
(02:40):
and find out on your own, or.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
When you picked up your TV Guy. TV Guys started
Saturday and went through to Friday.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
That is correct.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
That was correct. You could check out the Monday before
and see the synopsis of the episode and see the lineup.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
Before I forget, because you talked about that many times.
You and I have connected because of our many radio
conversations on the radio.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Yes, I.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
Would be amiss if I did not say that Morgan
White will be my special guest coming up in a
couple of weeks of my show TV Confidential and what's.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
The day that I agree together?
Speaker 3 (03:28):
It is the weekend of July twenty fifth, and it
airs various times throughout that week, and to find out specifically,
go to Television Confidential dot com. It is a show,
it isn't. The interview with Morgan is so big it
will take two it will take two episodes to air
(03:51):
it on.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
And you guys are calling me.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
That's correct, good, that is correct?
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Right, it is correct. I could call you home now,
but you could call.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
My home number. But we will take care of that.
I will tell you that you share the same billing
as Kathleen Bradley.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Oh wow, okay, thank you.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
Have you had her on your show?
Speaker 4 (04:12):
No?
Speaker 2 (04:12):
I have not.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
Okay, you and I should talk off Mike because she
she's promoting the thirtieth anniversary of Friday, Okay, which is
one of the things, and she would relish the opportunity
to talk to you.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
I definitely would like to have her on.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
Okay, we'll work on that making that happen.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
I've got three minutes from my next break. Just enough time,
just enough time to tell you what did I watch
this morning?
Speaker 3 (04:40):
You watched Maverick?
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (04:43):
And no, Okay, I.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Did not watch Maverick, But I did watch James Garner.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
Oh, was one of his movies running?
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (04:52):
It was? Was it The Pink Jungle?
Speaker 2 (04:56):
No, God, I've watched you know what. I've watched that
movie on a flight to California from Boston, and you know,
the Pink Jungle and the lipstick that went in as
a bullet and the gun. Sorry to be a spoiler
of a movie fifty years ago, but The Pink Jungle
to me was an average movie when I watched it
(05:17):
at twelve years old. No, I watched his probably best
remembered film appearance.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
Great Escape.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Great Escape.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
That's a that is a movie. That is that. That
is one of the good film choices that Jim made. Jim,
And if Jim were around today, he would be the
first to tell you that he did not when he
when he was making movies almost exclusively, he did not
always make his decisions based on the quality of the script.
(05:49):
More often than not, it was based on how much
they would pay him.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Cash cash, McCall, Yeah, outlist, bad, James Garner choices if
you want, but I the Great Escape. I've seen that
movie a dozen times or more and I was riveted again.
Speaker 4 (06:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
And Lawrence Montaigne, who has a small part in that movie,
but he was part of that really very very impressive cast.
A lot of familiar faces, not just Marquee players, but
a lot a lot, including your friend David McCallum.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
Yes, And Lawrence Montaigne told me every actor, if every
actor should have an experience like The Great Escape as
part of their career.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
We'll tell you what. Let me get the breakout the
way when we come back. Maybe you know the backstory
since you brought up David McCallum, We know you, and
I know that his wife, then Jill Ireland, would come
to set periodically. Yes, and she caught the eye or
(07:02):
he the name I'm about to mention. Let me say
this tactfully. They caught each other's eye, Charles Bronson and
Jill Ireland. And we'll talk about that when I come back.
You want to call in six, one, seven, two, five, four,
ten thirty or eight eight, eight, nine to nineteen thirty.
(07:23):
I'm sorry about the comfortability of ed and my conversations,
but we are similar.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
It's good radio, and you know what, I.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Know that's one reason why we're not getting a ton
of phone calls because people are people are having fun
just listening to us.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
I'll be back after these messages here on nights side
time eleven fifteen. I'm assuming it's still sixty four degrees.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
It's NIC's Eye with Dan Ray on wb Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Damn, we'll be back on Monday. I promise you don't
fib to my audience. I am speaking with a man
I'm gonna say, is a good friend, solid, good friend.
Ed Robertson. He has written Good Grief and number of
books on legendary television. The book out now. Men of
Action has four TV shows that are focused under the
(08:22):
Ed Robertson Spotlight, The Untouchables, Run for Your Life, Harryo,
and The Magician. Right now, we were talking about James
Garner because Ed has done two books focusing on James
Garner TV series, one Maverick, The Legend of the West
and the other The Rockford Files.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
And forty five Years of the forty five.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Years of the Rockford Files. And I watched that TV
not TV excuse me the movie that probably is one
of his James Garner's best movies, partially because of his
acting and partially because of the world's most superior cast.
(09:06):
I mean, just say, Richard Attenborough. Where else do you
go from there? James Coburn, David McCallum, Charles Bronson, which
gets mcquen, some guy named Steve McQueen who was the
top build. Steve McQueen was stop building and Garner was
second built. And did that bother Jay? I know, you
(09:28):
got a chance on a number of occasions to interview
James Garner. Did that bother him being second?
Speaker 3 (09:35):
No, it didn't bother him being second. He had some
choice words about McQueen, although he was given. I mean
there were both there are both peers in that they
were both stars of the stratospiric level, and so there
were some good natured ribbing that that they would do
(10:00):
with each other. But you know, behind the scenes, but
off Mike, they they got along well. And if I
remember correctly, about ten fifteen years later, Garner cast McQueen's
wife Nell in an episode of Rockford Files. Okay, so
(10:23):
they stayed in touch and their and and if they
didn't play golf, you know. He leaf worked with McQueen's
wife at least on one occasion.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
And James Garner was a lot more hands on. Now. Granted,
he had the acumen built up by the time Rockford
came on, which is in the seventies compared to Maverick
in the fifties overlapping into the sixties. But he was
a lot more hands on about his show.
Speaker 3 (10:54):
Yes, he learned from his experience with Maverick. When uh,
when when what he did Maverick? He was a contract
player for Warner Brothers. And uh, I've been lucky enough
to talk to a number of actors who were who
(11:16):
got their start in the studio system. And I believe
you've had a number You've had a chance to talk
to you for yourself, Morgan, And more often than not,
if you asked what was it like to be a
part of that system, more often than not, most actors
(11:37):
would say it was good insofar as you got paid
to go to work. I mean, you got paid to learn,
you know. I mean, on the one hand, they would
throw you into whatever movie was in production, whether it
was the right part for you or not. They would
they would cast you and whatever was in the work
(11:58):
because you were available for you were under contract for
seven years, and they needed bodies, They needed bodies to
fill parts and so but it was it was the
opportunity to learn different things, singing, dancing, you know, all
sorts of things while getting paid to learn your craft. Now,
(12:21):
some actors they found that a positive. Some actors, like
James Garner, who had an independent streak, didn't like the
idea of any one person, one studio telling them what
to do. And so it was not for everybody. But
and with in Jim's case, when the when when the
(12:47):
Writers Guild went on strike in the spring of nineteen
sixty and shut down production of all the movies and
all the TV shows that were in production at Warner
b Others at the time, they the Jim Jim got
(13:08):
into a legal tussle over with with the studio. He
felt that they charged He felt that he felt that
the studio was not being completely straightforward when they said
it was an act of God that uh, you know,
(13:29):
stop you know that that the studio cited for you know,
we're not going to pay you because we're on strike.
And and Garner said, wait a minute, you still you
know you, you've got this, You've got the sneaky thing
where you're still paying writer producers to work because you're
using pseudonyms like w armanos to to to to operate.
(13:51):
So if you can do that and still get things
in production, you can pay me.
Speaker 4 (13:56):
Well.
Speaker 3 (13:56):
One thing led to another, and Garner and Ded up
taking the studio to court, and he won and he won,
and as a result of that experience, he not only
became a free agent and was able to test his
true market value, which he did throughout the sixties as
a star for major motion pictures, including The Great Escape.
(14:18):
But when he went back into television in the seventies,
he learned to you know, there's advantage of owning the
property that you're producing versus being a hired hand. And
so as a result, he any show that he did
for television, Garner Garner made sure he had a piece
(14:42):
of of if not you know, if not producing, but
then then by hiring the behind the scenes production crew
so that he had some say over the finances of
the show and some level of control.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
It's funny you mentioned that era I have interviewed Robert Conrad,
who was then working on Hawaiian I interviewed Peter Brown
who was working on law Man, and I interviewed very
(15:18):
recently passed within the past couple of months, Will Hutchins,
who was Sugarfoot.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
Sugarfoot, Yeah, and they all, all of whom did an
episode of Maverick at some point, maybe not maybe not
Robert Brown, but maybe not Peter Brown, but Peter.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
Brown and John Russell did a cameo that's the one
with with.
Speaker 3 (15:46):
It was a jet. Kelly was in the show, but
so was Robert Colbert. Robert Colbert did not play Brent Maverick,
the infamous Brent Maverick, but he was.
Speaker 1 (15:59):
He was.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
He was a contract player with Warner Brothers at the time.
And as we said, you know, okay, okay, Bob. This
week you're gonna do in a Hawaiian I. Okay, Bob.
Next week you're gonna do a Maverick. Okay, Bob. Next
week you're going to do a seventy seven sunset strip
and and Bob, like most contract players at the times,
that okay whatever, you know what.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
You eventually you can even do a time tunnel, which
hasn't even been written yet.
Speaker 3 (16:26):
That's right, that's right, that's right.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
But the key is all three of those actors talked
about the system of Warner Brothers and two of the
three tippy Toad without throwing sticks and stones. But Will
Hutchins dealt the top card off the deck and understood
(16:52):
that he was in a bad situation. But you're working,
and that's the key for almost every actor and actress.
You're working. You're giving a paycheck every week, so that
causes you to be silent where the treatment isn't the best.
Speaker 3 (17:15):
Yeah, you have you have to weigh Uh, you have
to be pragmatic about it sometimes, you know, especially if
you have if you if you have a family of
your own and you're the primary breadwinner, you have to
you know that mean do you do you make waves
or do you gut it out?
Speaker 2 (17:34):
You know?
Speaker 3 (17:34):
Right now, going back to people who learn to take
control as a result of their experience and of the
studio assistant. Fast forward about ten years. Robert Conrad I
don't think he had I don't think he ran the
production company of Wild Wild West. But he had a
(17:56):
direct say, you work very closely with the stun people.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
Oh he did. We we talked about that. Yeah, they
had four main stuntmen, of which Red West was one
of them who wound up excuse me, being Elvis Presley's bodyguard.
Speaker 4 (18:16):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
Yes, and they the stuntman all worked in unison together,
so they were choreographed all the throws and kicks and
flips and punches, and.
Speaker 3 (18:35):
Uh, Conrad had enough sway h during the during the
four years that Wild Wild West was in production.
Speaker 4 (18:47):
That.
Speaker 3 (18:49):
If it was less expensive too. Sometimes sometimes a three
minute fight choreograph fight did a lot more to move
the plot than three pages of dialogue. Correct, so and
so in the in the case of you know, whittling
the script down the shooting form, it was not uncommon
(19:11):
for Robert Conrad to say, let's throw these pages out
and we'll just put together a fight. And he keeps
sitting un across.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
Do you know what he was most proud of. They
had like an intermuro football team with other studios, other programs,
and his football team was the best. I don't know
if it was touch or flag, because I know they
would not have been allowed to do tackle. Yeah, but
(19:39):
he was very proud of their football team because I
guess for the four years of that series they won
every year.
Speaker 3 (19:47):
And I was and I have been told I never
had a chance to talk to Robert Connery. But I
have been told that one of the acting credits for
which he was most proud was Centennial. Yes, he did
mention that which is a which is a show that ran.
It was a long it was it was the longest
running if I believe it was the longest running network
(20:11):
mini series back when they did mini series in the eighties,
twenty sixth episodes that ran over the course of several months.
And he was it was based on Mitchener. Im I
think it was Mitchener. I'm going off memory here, folks.
Uh uh So it was a very literate uh script
(20:31):
to begin with, and contrad was it John Jings. No,
I'll well, we'll google, we'll take it.
Speaker 2 (20:42):
Let's take a break and you tiki tiki it as
I say, and we'll be back in three or four minutes. Everybody,
you can stay mesmerized of all the names we are dropping,
or you can join us and maybe throwing a few yourself.
Six one, five, four, ten, thirty, eight, eight, eight, nine, thirty,
eleven thirty is the time temperature sixty four degrees.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
Night Side with Dan Ray on WBZ, Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (21:14):
I am Morgan filling in for Dan. Dan. We'll be
back on Monday. He's gotten a seven day vacation and
Bradley j filled in three days this week. I filled
in two days last week. I'm doing tonight and tomorrow
and Dan. Then we'll be back on Monday. Ed Robertson
(21:34):
is my guest. And I know we're talking a lot
of inside television with the names that are coming up
in our conversation. All recognizable names. You know, the name
of Robert Conrad, who was on at least three successful
TV series Hawaiian and I the Wild Wild West and
(21:56):
by Ba blackshep a couple of TV movies in there.
Centennial was one. And by the way, who was the
writer of Centennial?
Speaker 3 (22:04):
It was James Mentioner.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
There you go. And who else that I mentioned? Peter Brown,
who I had on at least two or three times
over the years. And he was at one time one
of the fastest draws in Hollywood because all the movie
actors had their own little competition, and the fastest of
(22:30):
all was Simmy Davis Junior.
Speaker 3 (22:32):
Yes, yes, Hank Garrett told me that a few months
back when he did my show, and uh uh, and
and it's what it's one of many things you don't
think of. But again, uh uh. Sammy was a very
good actor, and he did. He did a number of Westerns, Yes,
he did. He did. He did even m He did
(22:57):
two Riflemen, even Sergeants three, which is a rap pack
yep movie. He had a semi serious role in that movie,
as I recall, so I.
Speaker 2 (23:09):
Think he got killed by three or four arrows fired
into him.
Speaker 3 (23:13):
He did. And you don't think of that, you know,
you think of the rap pack. You think of something
kind of you know, blithe and you know, easy on
the eyes and easy on the brain. But no, that
was a serious part the Sammy did. So he was
a very very good actor, and he was very adept
at the quick draws you just as you just mentioned.
Speaker 2 (23:34):
And to go off our subject. Depending on where you
see it, Robin in the Seven Hoods, you may see it,
you know, because almost every station has it in their
film library. In Boston, Channel fifty six was the last
station I know that had it. They edited out his
(23:59):
famous called Bang Bang where he does shooting with a
six gun and a machine gun and dances and it's
about a three or four minute scene. They cut that.
Now did they cut that to save time. Did they
(24:20):
cut that for racial circumstances? Did they cut that because
just a whim. I don't know, but I have seen it.
I've seen the scene when that movie played on CBS
Thursday Night Movies, they showed it in its entirety.
Speaker 3 (24:43):
You're speaking of something that's It is a topic that
comes up every now and then on my show TV
Confidential Morgan context. And this is something that the debt
is happening a lot with some of the digital channels
like Antenna with with with regard to airing some of
(25:06):
the Norman Lear shows, right, and decisions that are made
And forgive me for saying this by people who are
hired mostly because they're young and are willing to work
for not a lot of money compared to someone with experience.
(25:27):
I don't want to paint with a broad swap, but
those are a lot of times. Those are what those
are that, those are what come, those are why those
decisions are made. People who are overseeing some of the content.
They're looking at it in with twenty twenty five eyes
versus the eyes of the nineteen seventies, that without any
(25:49):
understanding of the context earlier or earlier the context of
these things are made. And so as a result, you're
you know, you're you're you're seeing entire scenes cut out
or digitized so that you know it's bleeped out with
a disclaimer almost I dare say it almost an ai
(26:13):
disclaimer as to why this scene was cut.
Speaker 2 (26:17):
And I will say, if you watch a Norman Lear
show on the Family or the Jeffersons, I've heard quote
unquote the N word. Now I've got to say it
that way because I don't want my radio station to
(26:38):
chastise me. But there have been networks like TV one,
just to pick a network that chose primarily black sitcoms,
they edit out that word. Or if you are watching
(27:02):
me TV they usually show a show start to finish
inclusive of credits. They don't judiciously snip and take out
a scene. It all depends on on the people that
run the station, that run the network, that run the
(27:24):
cable company.
Speaker 3 (27:25):
Yeah, I agree that that that that is a fair assessment.
In the case of those that run an entire entire
show inclusive of credits, what they'll do is at at
eleven fifty nine thirty, they will reduce the screen down
(27:46):
to the left to the right hand corner. Yes, and
they will, they they will, they will, I will, they will,
and they will speed up the credits so that that's
what normally takes thirty forty seconds to air airs in
five seconds and they're able to push whatever. You know, Look,
(28:06):
I understand why decisions are made, you know, because you know.
Speaker 2 (28:10):
I understand as well. But yeah, you know. And that's
why I've had the CEO of me TV on every
year that network has existed. Once a year, I have
him on in September, Neil Saban, and I've given him
credit for not cutting credits, letting the theme music and
(28:34):
the credits play straight through, and he says he's going
to keep doing it until his sales staff finally gets
their wish and makes him snip away. Tell you what,
I've got two people on hold. I'm going to take one,
take a break, and then take the other.
Speaker 3 (28:54):
And we also need to talk about David mccollumson.
Speaker 2 (28:56):
Oh oh, we definitely do. Let's go to line one
and to Donna and Framingham Donal, good evening, thanks for calling, Hie.
Speaker 5 (29:06):
I'm thinking about how in the seventies I watched Colombo
is Anybody And this is a suggestion for you, Morgan,
do you know anybody that has written a book or
knows about Peter Falk. I would love to hear some
stories about Peter Falk.
Speaker 3 (29:23):
I can answer that question. There are three very good
books written about Colombo, two by the same author, one
by a name name, one by a man named Mark
dewisiac da w I d z Iak called The Colombo File.
(29:44):
The other two written by a man named David Kanig
k O. E. N Igs and water Knig. Only this
is David Kanig. David Kdik wrote a book two books,
one called Shooting Colombo, the other called Unshot Colombo. Between
those three books you will take a deep dive into
the making of both the original Colombo from the seventies
(30:08):
and the ABC Colombo of the nineties, which is not
as good as the original Colombo, though there are some
good shows.
Speaker 5 (30:18):
Actually, I wanted to take it one step further. In
addition to what you just said, I'd like to know
if anybody has written a biography or some information about
Peter Falk himself.
Speaker 3 (30:31):
There is a lot of I do not know of
a straight Peter Peter Falk biography, per se. There is
a lot of biographical information about Falk in both those books.
The Colombo File P. H I. L. E. By Mark
Dewiziak includes very detailed interviews with Peter Falk himself. So
(30:57):
you hear Falk talk about Colombo in his own words.
That is as close as you're going to get, in
my opinion, to what you're asking.
Speaker 2 (31:07):
Right.
Speaker 5 (31:07):
Yeah, I thought maybe somebody was interested in him by now.
Speaker 2 (31:11):
Oh yeah, I think these books, these books have been
out there for years. And I will say this. You
may not know it, but Peter Falk was a perfectionist.
He would have you do a scene.
Speaker 3 (31:27):
Over and over and over again.
Speaker 2 (31:30):
And that could be expensive. Back the proof is in
the pudding. What we saw on screen was the finished
product of his desire for perfection.
Speaker 3 (31:44):
And he had the same cachet as Bob Conrad had
on Wild Wild West, as James Garner had on Rockford Files,
where because he had that cachet he could do that well.
Speaker 5 (31:58):
He also was great friends with Peter.
Speaker 2 (32:01):
Well there, yeah, John Cassavetti's Ben Gazzara, Ben Gazzara, Jeneral
and Nicholas Calissantro.
Speaker 3 (32:14):
Nicholas Calissanto, Yes.
Speaker 2 (32:17):
They were and yeah, well Jenna was married to.
Speaker 3 (32:23):
No, Yes, she was very Yes, she was very Cassavegia.
Speaker 2 (32:28):
So obviously, Donald, we do know a little bit about Colombo,
and I hope we've helped you.
Speaker 5 (32:33):
Yeah. I hope somebody writes a biography of Peter Fox someday.
I guess somebody will.
Speaker 3 (32:38):
Somebody will, somebody will.
Speaker 2 (32:41):
All right, Donald, gotta let you go because I'm waiting
for a break.
Speaker 5 (32:44):
Okay, bye, bye bye.
Speaker 2 (32:47):
Dennis and Lowell. After the break, you will be next.
No more calls. I barely have enough time to do
all the things I need to do in the next
literally thirteen minutes time and temperature here on night side
even six sixty four degrees.
Speaker 1 (33:02):
You're on night Side with Dan Ray on w b
Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
For the Dan Ray fans out there. He will be
back on Monday. And he's been m I a in
action for seven night sides. But the man earned his
vacation time. Trust me, he works hard. Doing five nights
a week, four hours per night is not easy. I
(33:29):
just had to do two nights, two nights last week,
tonight and tomorrow for this week, and trust me, that's enough.
Dennis and Lowell, welcome. What's your question?
Speaker 4 (33:42):
Hello, Good evening, gentlemen, good evening.
Speaker 3 (33:46):
Hi Dennis you Hi.
Speaker 4 (33:49):
There one more thing. No, I'm not going to talk
about Colombo. I'm going to talk about Centennial a little bit.
You know. You mentioned Robert Conrad, but I also want
to mentioned actually two guys who lived in Lowell were
in that series also, and they were They were Robert Tessier,
(34:09):
who was mostly a stunt man, but he played in
Indian in the movie Rude Water. And Michael and Sarah. Oh. Yes,
when he first came over from Syria and his uh,
his name was Lame Bieber in the movie. And they
fought each other in the movie and killed each other.
(34:29):
So I just had to mention that some centennial.
Speaker 2 (34:33):
Michael was married to Barbara Eaton.
Speaker 4 (34:36):
Yes, I dream of Genie, Yes, Yes.
Speaker 3 (34:38):
And I believe Michael and Sarah did a Perry Mason,
and I believe he did an FBI uh and pretty
much pretty much any major He definitely did a Rockford File,
he played.
Speaker 2 (34:53):
Pretty much did Wild Wild West too.
Speaker 3 (34:55):
And he did a Wild Wild West pretty pretty much
any major ship. Oh, from the fifties, sixties and seventies. Michael,
you know, more often than not, Michael m. Sorrow was
hired as a guest actor.
Speaker 2 (35:08):
And he was in the movie Voice to the Bottom
of the Sea. Well, I think that's where he met
Barbara Eatens.
Speaker 3 (35:15):
Yes, and he had he had a very rich, resonant
voice that I'm sure he made some extra money doing
voiceover work.
Speaker 4 (35:24):
Yeah, and he also did some Star Trek things. He
was also you know one of these.
Speaker 3 (35:29):
He was he was what do you call it, he.
Speaker 4 (35:32):
Was a king on Yes, absolutely, yes, and that's in
the original Star Trek.
Speaker 3 (35:39):
Yes, the original Star Trek.
Speaker 4 (35:41):
Yeah. Okay, I just had to mention that, you know, media,
I always have to talk about Lowell.
Speaker 2 (35:47):
Okay, Okay, Dennis, take.
Speaker 4 (35:49):
Care, Thank thank you, Dennis.
Speaker 2 (35:51):
Thank you for the call, Dennis. And now to finish
up some of the things we were talking about the
Warner Brothers studio, Will Hutchins told me this story. He
was at a party, a Warner Brothers party, and don't
forget Warner Brothers had literally twenty shows on at the
(36:12):
same time, excuse me, and he Will Hutchins said he
went up to William t Or, the producer you see
his name last and all of the Warner Brothers show critics,
and William t Or didn't even know him. Yeah, he
(36:33):
you know, introduced myself. I want to say thank you
and I appreciate the opportunity that the studio has given me.
And William t Or didn't even recognize one of his stars.
He was a star of Sugarfoot. He was Sugarfoot. Well.
Speaker 3 (36:52):
That that spoke to one of Joan Garner's complaints about
the higher ups and Warner brothers, which he which which
he spends more than a few pages on in his
book The Garner Files, where he just thought he thought
it was a little impersonal and again going back to
(37:14):
you learn from your experience. When he was in a
position too uh run his own production companies, both for
movies and in television. He was active enough that he
knew the names of everybody who worked, who worked, who
(37:37):
worked for him. But he was also he would he would,
He was not a micromanager. If you if you if
you were hired to do the lights or for transportation,
he would let you do your job right and he
stayed out of the way. Now, if there were problems,
(37:58):
he would get involved, but those were few and far
between because everyone knew that Jim Jim paid, Jim paid well,
and he gave you the opportunity to do your job,
and so more often than not, when if you if
you were hired to do this or that on a
Garner production, you were re hired whenever possible.
Speaker 2 (38:23):
So you could have gone from Rockford Files to Nichols
to Brett.
Speaker 3 (38:29):
Maverick, and in some cases that was the case.
Speaker 2 (38:33):
Yes you were gaffer for an example.
Speaker 3 (38:35):
Yeah, you know, or dare I say the Pink Jungle?
Speaker 2 (38:39):
You know?
Speaker 3 (38:39):
But no, if.
Speaker 2 (38:44):
Bring up that movie again, okay.
Speaker 3 (38:47):
Because it's the first one of the public. The point
is he he liked loyalty and and he was he
was very if if it isn't just look, if he
knew you were good, why would you hire somebody else?
You know? At that point you know so, and then
Jim was a very One of the reasons why Jim
(39:11):
remained so beloved more than ten years after his passing
is because he had a lot of qualities. Charlie Rose
once called him the every man, and I think there's
a lot to be said for that. There are a
lot of qualities that he embodied. Even for all his success.
(39:31):
He was very much a straight shooting What you see
is what you got person, right.
Speaker 2 (39:36):
Why did he choose Cherokee as the name for his production.
Speaker 3 (39:39):
Company because that was he was.
Speaker 4 (39:46):
One.
Speaker 3 (39:47):
I'd have to look, I'm going on memory. He was
like one tenth or one eighth Cherokee Indian.
Speaker 2 (39:53):
Okay, and that's my answer. Yeah, Ed, I thank you
to hours. Just flew by, flew by, and you and
I both know we could have done another two hours.
Speaker 3 (40:06):
Hey, we may do another two hours again.
Speaker 4 (40:10):
Now what days the twenty fifth, it's the weekend.
Speaker 3 (40:15):
It is the weekend of August twenty fifth, twenty sixth,
twenty seventh. Morgan will be my special guest on TV Confidential.
Go to televisionconfidential dot com. The landing page will tell
you all about it and where to catch the show.
And if you can't catch the show that weekend, it
will become available for listening on demand beginning Monday, July
(40:40):
twenty eighth.
Speaker 2 (40:40):
Ed Roberts, I thank you a thousand times. We will
do this again with me on DZ on that Morgan,
thank you, Ed, good night to you, thank you Rob
and the studio, thank you Nancy and Gray next to me,
and thank you for the night side listeners. I'll be
back tomorrow night. It's basically about it. By Boston
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.