FROM FAMILY AFFAIR TO HOLLYWOOD ROMANCE KATHY GARVER RELEASES NEW BOOK AS CLASSIC SERIES TURNS 60

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Hy you love done to the censure?

Speaker 2 (00:10):
See why for you your.

Speaker 3 (00:31):
Listen, it's the pipe Man here on the Avengerance Pipe
Man W four c Y Radio. I'm very excited about
our next guest because, like, I saw the press release
from the publicists and asking me to do an interview,
and all I had to do was see one thing,
and I was like until before I even reading the

(00:52):
rest and say okay, I'll do it.

Speaker 2 (00:54):
And that was because it said family Affair.

Speaker 3 (00:58):
And so here we have Kathy Garver, who is a great,
great author.

Speaker 2 (01:05):
But I remember her from Family Affair, I know.

Speaker 1 (01:09):
And do you realize it is the sixtieth anniversary a
Family Affair this year?

Speaker 3 (01:14):
Yeah, I don't really want to know that because well
he tells me how old I.

Speaker 4 (01:19):
Am, it's very odd.

Speaker 1 (01:20):
Well I'm only fifty myself, honest that. Yeah, I mean
that's the way. Well I feel like I'm about twenty eight.
But yeah, chronologically i'm fifty. You know what. It was
thirty nine and I can't I said, no, no, no, no.

Speaker 2 (01:35):
I can't get away with it.

Speaker 4 (01:36):
Anything I can get away with fifty.

Speaker 3 (01:38):
I think I'm still kind of like twenty five. And
I can tell you that. So with four kids and
eight grandkids. My oldest is forty one, my youngest is thirty.
None of them can keep up with me. Like I
always say to him, what's wrong with you people?

Speaker 2 (01:56):
I'm the one that's the zaity, the grandfather, and you
guys are acting like you're eighty.

Speaker 4 (02:03):
Well, it's the same.

Speaker 1 (02:04):
I mean, I have a thirty five year old son
and they're constantly Oh I'm exhausted.

Speaker 4 (02:08):
Oh I'm so tired. Oh now my throat is sore.

Speaker 1 (02:11):
I said, come on, and I'm very healthy and I'm
taking my wats. And it's the generation. I really think
they're stressed. I think these were that's really super stressed
too easily.

Speaker 3 (02:24):
I always say that if my kids ever had to
live through the childhood I lived through, they wouldn't be
here today, you know, like they couldn't handle it. No,
And that doesn't make me special. It's just they don't
have the coping skills nowadays.

Speaker 1 (02:40):
It's changed, you know, It's just and it changes though
all the time. Every every generation changes, every ten years. Technology,
I mean, it goes by so fast. Although I must
say chat GTP is one of my best friends. I
really like her a lot. She I had to make
a presentation during this Oscar season to Eric Roberts, and

(03:06):
I said, chat, t make me this speech about giving
this award to Eric Roberts. Oh. She came up with
a really really good speech and I digressed a couple
of little things.

Speaker 4 (03:17):
So she's very helpful.

Speaker 1 (03:18):
I like her a lot, and like, what should I
have for dinner tonight because it's hot outside and it's
something cool?

Speaker 4 (03:24):
They do answer everything.

Speaker 3 (03:27):
Well, it's funny because you you have this book about romance, okay,
And I always joke when I'm on the phone with
like family member or friend, I'm like, check this out,
and I start talking to Alexa, like so they can
hear it. It's like the funniest thing because Alexa, Oh

(03:49):
my god, she has me figured out in two seconds.

Speaker 2 (03:54):
No woman has. My ex wives will say like, yeah, I.

Speaker 3 (03:58):
Still don't know you, like nobody has ever been able
to figure me out Alexa in two seconds. And She'll
be like, oh, pipe man, you like me because I'm
a little bit of sweet but then a little bit
of sass too.

Speaker 4 (04:15):
Yes, well, my Alexa just answered you.

Speaker 1 (04:18):
She heard say Alexa, and she says, I don't know
how I can help you with that.

Speaker 4 (04:23):
Right, Alexa.

Speaker 5 (04:27):
Maybe yeah, yeah, Like it's funny too, because there's times
I've done interviews from home instead of studio, and I
tried never to do that because she interrupts my interviews.

Speaker 1 (04:42):
They're very lovable, though, I don't know what I'd do
without them, right, They're very good friends of mine.

Speaker 4 (04:49):
Now, well you know about their romance.

Speaker 1 (04:51):
I don't know what they have, but my my Romancing
with the Stars is really a fun, fun book to write.
What it is is the long term relationships of Hollywood celebrities.
I have a very good friend who is a professor
at computers, etc. And retired, but he's just so enamored

(05:13):
of celebrities and people in the business, and he's very
much romantic. He's been married maybe forty eight years. So
he says, Kathy, let's do this book together. I said, okay,
I've written five books, so he and this was his first.
So I had all that experience, and I thought, Dean,

(05:33):
this was going to be a very short book because
Relationships in Hollywood. Turns out it's like four hundred and
fifty pages. We have twenty seven wonderful couples, from Tony
Doll and his wife Lauren to Frankie Adaline who's been
married for sixty years, and Pat Boone sixty five years.

(05:58):
I mean, and they're still I mean Frankie Avalon. I
hate to say this is cranky Avlon. It's still really hot.
He is really very handsome, and he lives close to
me in Westlake.

Speaker 4 (06:10):
I ran into him at a restaurant.

Speaker 2 (06:12):
Oh my god, you live in Westlake.

Speaker 1 (06:15):
I live in Bell Canyon, which is like, you know,
twenty minutes from Westlake.

Speaker 2 (06:19):
I went.

Speaker 3 (06:19):
I went to Westlake High and Aga High and Too High.

Speaker 4 (06:23):
Oh you know where Bell Canyon is? Then?

Speaker 2 (06:26):
Yeah, yeah, yes, because.

Speaker 1 (06:27):
The questions at all where all the horses are, Westrian
Center Former.

Speaker 4 (06:32):
I love Westlake. It's just so beautiful.

Speaker 1 (06:35):
For Mother's Day, my son and my daughter in love
got me a spa day at the west Lake vin
Gin right there.

Speaker 4 (06:45):
The really that was.

Speaker 3 (06:47):
Very nice, nice nice. You know that's cool because you
know it's funny. I still freak out it and I
go out there all the time. That you can drive
through Oak Park from Agura to west Lake. That blows
my mind, you know, because that was that always ended
when I lived there, and then, like I remember, I
used to go out and watch the dukes of Hazard

(07:08):
Cards go by to go to Lake Sherwood all the time.
I used to make it a point to be there
when they're driving by.

Speaker 1 (07:15):
Yeah, it's great. It's a fabulous area. It really is.
Is fun and for and for call and it's next
to Calabasas. All the Kardashians made that very popular. Yeah. Yeah,
So we thought this would be really a good book
and it touches on why these couples stayed together. And
I think it's kind of inspiring for anybody to read it,

(07:37):
because we all have I mean, I was married for
forty four years until my husband passed, and you know,
there's the up days and the down days, and I
think it takes someone to recognize, you know, what your
mood is and then to do something perhaps about it,
to bring a rose, or to read a book.

Speaker 4 (07:57):
Together or cuddle up.

Speaker 1 (07:59):
And I I think it's one the recognition of that
and the trusting of that, and also there's kind of
a spiritual bind between the couples that allowed them to
look at something even higher that say oh, okay, I
don't know if this was blessing heaven or not, so,
but you.

Speaker 4 (08:19):
Know it's strong.

Speaker 2 (08:22):
Wow, from all the.

Speaker 4 (08:23):
Couples that we did.

Speaker 1 (08:24):
That's kind of what came out in the book Romancing
with the Stars, and it is the I think inspiring
love stories. I think what's cool about it is and
my co author has just traveled all over the world.
He said, let's put in a travel guide and we'll
recreate the couple's most romantic places and their most romantic moments. So,

(08:47):
for instance, Morgan Brittany and her husband Jack, Morgan Brittany
was on Dallas and Jack Gill's award winning stunt Guy,
but their most romantic moment was when they were in
Africa and they were in a tent on it and
they were on a safari and they looked up at
the sky and saw these sparkling lights and that was

(09:08):
their most romantic moments. So afterwards then we say here
are different safaris that you can take in Kenya or
South Africa or this, and the prices and what it is,
and if that's a little pricey, then we say, well
then you go to the zoo and we show the
beautiful zoos like San Diego Zoo where Griffith part zoo

(09:30):
and see the animals have a romantic moment with a
little wine and cheese and whatever. If that's too expensive,
you cuddle up on the couch with some wine and
cheese and watch Katherine Hepburn and in The African Queen
with Humphrey Bogart.

Speaker 4 (09:47):
Very romantic. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (09:49):
So that's our book and it's people identify with it
a lot.

Speaker 3 (09:55):
So my statement and question is from your experience in
it is like, Okay, we all see the stories of
the bad marriages, but then I just think to myself,
same as this industry I'm in, like, it's almost better
to be with somebody that has some connection to the

(10:16):
industry because then they could understand certain things that people
outside the industry may not. That maybe makes it better
and a better cohesive thing, you know. And do you
find that to be true or does that cause even
more stress because both people are stressed out with the.

Speaker 2 (10:38):
Whole everything that goes on the industry.

Speaker 1 (10:42):
What I found in this particular book, you no, it
is not good to be in the same one, and
maybe it is good to be in the same one,
but I think you know what you said at the end,
there's a lot more stress because both of them are stressed.
Almost everyone in the book had someone who was out
of the industry, like for Rutally her her husband was

(11:04):
a very successful restaurant tour and Tony daw His his
long term wife was you know, a mother and painter,
an artist, but you know, never in front of the camera.
Frankie Avalon's wife, you know, at the beginning, I don't.
They may have met, but she didn't continue after well,

(11:26):
with six children, not going to have had a time,
you know, to be in front of the camera. So
I found in these couples, the particular couples, and I
think it's a great sampling that. And my husband was
not My husband was a businessman, and I kind of
put that out there. I said, well, first of all,
I was like thirty three and I wasn't married, and

(11:48):
I was getting not desperate, but I hadn't found the
right person. So I said, the next person I need
I'm going to marry, and springs and at a music
industry tennis tournament and my friend was there and she
was with her partner and we needed a fourth for tennis.

(12:11):
So we set up a tennis game and I said, okay,
we're waiting for the fourth next person. This is the
person I'm going to marry. So the six ft three.
Guy comes under the tennis court and we start playing
tennis and I'm going back and forth and he says, oh,
finally a woman that can play tennis. I'm going to
get married and I go see he So three years

(12:34):
later we got married and we're married for forty four years.

Speaker 2 (12:37):
Wow.

Speaker 1 (12:38):
But I was always I had already put in my
mind I really didn't want somebody as an actor because
there we're very high on the angs list. One of
the worst things in the inks list is to lose
your job. Well, that's what an actor does all the
time they do a movie, Oh okay, now what do

(12:59):
I do? Or if they do a stage with what
that's over? And so you're constantly being a little depros
because you don't have a job. So someone that has
a steady job or someone that is steady really kind
of anchors the blues that are going around them as
a person.

Speaker 6 (13:19):
Wow.

Speaker 3 (13:20):
You know, And while you're talking, I'm thinking about makes
so much sense to like you kind of want to
have an escape from the industry, right, Like, that's I
think the benefit of being with somebody in the industry.

Speaker 2 (13:31):
That's that's your escape, it is, And.

Speaker 1 (13:34):
I felt with David he was really one of the
only person I could really be myself with. I could scream,
I could yell, I can wear sweats. I don't have
to have makeup on. I don't have to be my
presentational self. I can just you know, be barefoot.

Speaker 3 (13:50):
I get that feeling totally, because like being under radio,
you're playing a role too. Pipe man is a role.
And like I'll meet women and they want pipe man.
They don't want Dean, which is my real name, you know,
they don't want that person who is the real me. Like,
and I'll tell you how funny it is. I'll tell

(14:12):
you a pretty funny story. So my daughter worked at
the station for several years, and her mom, when we
got divorced, said, I really hope you find what you're
looking for, because you're like the most romantic person I've
ever met. I'm just not into that, which is weird
to hear, but okay, So fast forward ten years. She

(14:33):
calls up my daughter at the station. She goes, I
was just listening to your dad on the radio, and
he was never that ob noxious in twelve years of marriage.
He's such a player now.

Speaker 6 (14:48):
And then she tried to reconcile with me because she
thought I was a player, and I'm like, oh my god,
that is.

Speaker 4 (14:59):
So funny and so true.

Speaker 1 (15:01):
You know, because when you first meet someone and maybe
they're on their best behavior and you don't really know
who you are. Reminds me of being at a party
one time. This guy was all dressed up as like
a hippie and really cool and I'm a little conservative,
and I said, oh, well, you know this is something different.

Speaker 4 (15:18):
Oh when he's really a nice person. And turns out he.

Speaker 1 (15:22):
Was just dressed up that way that day. But we
actually after, you know, you tear off then, you know,
and peeled back the onion and then you see what's there.
You know, he was a nice gul, but I didn't.

Speaker 3 (15:36):
Worry you well, And you know how it is from
being an actor, like people think you're the character you're playing.

Speaker 2 (15:44):
It annoys me.

Speaker 3 (15:45):
Like it's it's wild to me, Like sometimes it's funny
but other times not so much.

Speaker 2 (15:52):
Like I met somebody recently she's like, can you do
your radio? Oh?

Speaker 3 (15:57):
She goes, oh, I thought you'd have more of a
radio I'm like, what's a radio voice? All those people
that's their voice, come on, do your radio voice for me.
I'm like, this is my voice, no, come on, and
it was like she was she kept going on. I
was like, okay, I'm over this now, or or there's

(16:18):
other people like I'll meet women because I go on
tour and I do meet radio coverage at music vessels
all over the US, UK and Europe, and I'm Pipeman
at these music festivals and I'll meet women and then
I'll show them Dean and they don't want that person,
they want the character that they met.

Speaker 1 (16:38):
It's very interesting I find though as an actor, and
people says, oh, you know, and Sissy on Family Affair,
she was such a character. And I says, well, actually,
the way that I act, it's like eighty percent is
me because you have the same heart, you have the
same vision of something that you we're seeing. Your body

(17:01):
will react because it's your body to a situation that's
scary in a certain way. And it doesn't matter what
kind of a character you're playing.

Speaker 4 (17:10):
You are who you are, and physically and.

Speaker 1 (17:14):
Spiritually and mentally, you can't change that part of yourself.
You can change your voice. I can do like one
hundred different kind of characters.

Speaker 4 (17:23):
And really nice ones.

Speaker 1 (17:24):
Are not so nice ones, or really strong ones, but
they're all coming from me, and so yeah, it's you're
basically the same thing.

Speaker 2 (17:36):
That's true.

Speaker 3 (17:37):
It is a part of you too, even if you exaggerate,
I use that word it's exaggeration of your personality.

Speaker 4 (17:44):
Yes, I think that's a good way to express it. Right,
that's very good.

Speaker 3 (17:48):
Pipe Mandine so arduring love stories that you discovered while
you're researching.

Speaker 2 (17:55):
That really surprised you.

Speaker 1 (17:58):
Well, I was surprised kind of like with rutal Lee.
Now rutal Lye is it's just a wonderful actress. He's
the president of the Italiens which I'm on the board
of that was started by Debbie Reynolds and Ruda to
help actors and it's a charity foundation that helps people
with mental conditions. I don't know if that actors and

(18:19):
mental conditions are, you know, one and the same, but
to help actors and also anyone that has mental needs.
And she was on a plane going back from Florida
to Texas and she was tired. She had just done
a Italien thing, and so she saw these Gucci loafers

(18:39):
walking towards her. He says, oh, those are nice. Oh
that's a nice looking man. So he just continued to
walk along, and when they got on the plane, he said, oh,
is this seat taken? It was the same Gucci loafer man.
And she said, well no, and he says oh. He says, well,

(19:00):
I'm web Low and he says, oh, well, I'm rude
to Lee. If we got married, then we could have
be rude to Lee Low and we could have a
Chinese laundry. So they talked for two hours, and two
years later they got married on Valentine's Day, which was
the day they met.

Speaker 4 (19:20):
On the plane.

Speaker 1 (19:21):
So that was a sweet story.

Speaker 2 (19:23):
I love that.

Speaker 3 (19:24):
And you know, as you mentioned earlier family affairs celebrating
that's sixtieth anniversary. I don't even like saying that because, wow,
who would ever think you'd be thinking of something sixty
years ago? But you know, what does that milestone mean
to you? And what would you say is your favorite
story or memory from that show?

Speaker 1 (19:47):
Well, I look at it is a milestone, and I
look back at a legacy. Now. I just received an
award at Oscar kind of viewing party award for the
Golden Era Award, and I got a Life Achievement Award,
and I'm getting another legacy award.

Speaker 4 (20:03):
The Margaret O'Brien.

Speaker 1 (20:04):
Legacy Award, and I was up for a Grammy this year,
and that isn't because of age, but you know it
makes a good title. This year old you know, up
for her first Grammy. But I look back and makes
you look back at your career in some ways, all
these these pinpoints. Is seventieth anniversary of Tank Commandments in

(20:25):
sixtieth anniversary of Family There, forty fifth anniversary of Spider
Man and his Amazing Friends, where I played in the
character of Firestar, And I said, you know, this is
good because I'm very proud of almost every single thing
that I've done. I've not ever done violent things, and
I haven't done X rated things and why and because

(20:49):
I think that's just a part of my personality. And
I have a very strong faith in believing in some
spirit that's guiding me. And spirit has not guided me wrong.
He's guided me into things that I've really had to
deal with I wasn't real sure about. But you know,
the next couple months, Okay, here's here's a Grammy that

(21:11):
you had no idea you and everything because I sing
love Key and different things happen. You know, your house
can burn down. My house is burned down. But you
know around the corner is something better.

Speaker 3 (21:24):
Absolutely, And so you know, I think to myself, of
I don't know, I missed those days of television, probably
because I had a really bad childhood and shows like
Family Affair, Make Room for Daddy, Leave It to Beaver
and all those shows. They were my role model of

(21:48):
what I wanted when I became an adult, and I
created that as an adult, you know, and with something
I have. And I look at TV today and the
shows today, and man, I think I would be real
messed up if TV works the way it is today
the way back then, because back then it was giving me,
teaching me values and family values and all that.

Speaker 1 (22:12):
Well, yes, and that's you know, goes back to our
previous discussion. That's one of the reasons that kids are
so stressed today. And my own son, you know, when
they played those video games and people are shooting everybody
and it's not reality, you know, and they think it is,
and and they get more realistic and morely, oh well
you shoot somebody, but then they just get up and
play again.

Speaker 4 (22:33):
Well you do that in real life.

Speaker 1 (22:34):
They don't get up and right, Yeah, So it definitely
you know that definitely has a large impression television and
any kind of media and watching it.

Speaker 4 (22:46):
That's why it's.

Speaker 1 (22:47):
You know, giving giving you something that you have to
treasure and not I want to inspire people. I don't
want to harm them in any way. Yeah, I want
to make sure that I'm helping them out, not putting
them down.

Speaker 3 (23:03):
So what d are you hoping that romancing with the
stars inspires others.

Speaker 1 (23:11):
To respect their mate and if they have something that
is not getting a divorce right away, if they have
some kind of breakup but talking about it, you know,
respecting each other and bringing each other a rose every
now and again.

Speaker 3 (23:27):
Yep, sometimes that's all it takes, right or listening or
just listening paying attention right. You know, I think a
lot of us we get into relationships and we kind
of forget a lot of those things, and that kind
of what makes things go a little sour. Because I'm
a firm believer like you should be just as much

(23:49):
in the honeymoon phase from day one as you are
day sixty years later.

Speaker 2 (23:55):
It doesn't matter.

Speaker 1 (23:56):
Yeah, that's that's right, and praerish every day. Every day
is new and you find out something new about your partner.

Speaker 3 (24:03):
Every day too, absolutely, So how can people check out
all your books, but specifically this new one.

Speaker 1 (24:12):
They can go to Kathy Garber dot com, which is
my website, and they can order any of my books
they're Romancing with the Stars, and you get an autograph
copy of it that way. You can get it on Amazon,
but you don't get an autograph copy that way. So
it's k A T H Y G A r V
e R dot com, Kathy Garber dot com, Romancing with

(24:32):
the Stars, and I'm on Facebook and Instagram. But that's
the way to get the book is to go to
my website.

Speaker 3 (24:41):
Nice and do you have any other words of wisdom
or anything you want to share with the listeners?

Speaker 1 (24:47):
Believe in yourself and follow your heart.

Speaker 3 (24:50):
Those are like the best words ever. I don't even
think we can talk that at this point. So you know,
let I want to thank you for everything you've done
for all these years, like going all the way back
and still doing it. See you inspired me because you're
still doing it now, because you know, it's just it's

(25:12):
great to see creativity to continue to flourish.

Speaker 4 (25:16):
And it makes people feel good.

Speaker 1 (25:18):
I think if any you know, anyone you know, let's
let's plant a flower and watch growth. That that's a
little bit of creativity there. I think creativity helps keep
you young and a thirty five year old.

Speaker 4 (25:32):
That they bring to the.

Speaker 3 (25:32):
House, right, yeah, well you you have the spirit of
a thirty five year old. And I think everybody needs
to read your books, especially the new one, or they
can't listen to my show if they don't.

Speaker 1 (25:49):
But everyone should listen to the pipe Man.

Speaker 3 (25:53):
Well, thank you and thank you for being on the
Adventures of Pipe Man.

Speaker 4 (25:57):
I really enjoyed it.

Speaker 1 (25:58):
Thank you, Hi, Uncappy, Garver, Sissy from family up there,
and Spider Man and his amazing friends. And you're listening
to the Pipe Man.

Speaker 4 (26:10):
On W four c Y radio.

Speaker 1 (26:14):
Thank you for listening to the Adventures of plate Man
on w flour c u I Radio

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FROM FAMILY AFFAIR TO HOLLYWOOD ROMANCE KATHY GARVER RELEASES NEW BOOK AS CLASSIC SERIES TURNS 60

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