The RETROZEST Podcast

On Episode 108 of the RETROZEST podcast, Curtis celebrates the life and career of the late, great NICHELLE NICHOLS, who passed away on July 30, 2022 at the age of 89. Her role as Lt. Nyota Uhura, the communications officer on Star Trek, is legendary in that it was one of the first strong black female character roles on American television. Her star-power from this role led to her becoming a recruiter of many minorities and women t...

On Episode 107 of the RETROZEST podcast, Curtis celebrates the 40th Anniversary of John Carpenter's THE THING. Assisting in this endeavor is a very special guest; the actor who portrayed the radio operator "Windows" in the film, THOMAS G. WAITES! Tom shares stories about the making of THE THING, as well as the rest of his career. Dan is the founder of TGW Acting Studio in NYC.

Additionally, Mr. Retrovere shares this ...

On Episode 106 of the RETROZEST podcast, Curtis celebrates the 40th Anniversary of Disney's TRON. Assisting in this endeavor is a very special guest; the actor who portrayed the program "Ram" (as well as his user Roy Kleinberg) in the film, DAN SHOR! Dan shares stories about the making of TRON, as well as the rest of his career. He also touches on his involvement in TRON: THE NEXT DAY (a bonus feature on the TRON: Lega...

On Episode 105 of the RETROZEST podcast, Curtis continues a celebration of TOP GUN: MAVERICK, the sequel to 1986's TOP GUN. Assisting in this endeavor is a very special guest, the actor who portrayed LTJG Ron "Slider" Kerner in the first film, RICK ROSSOVICH!

Rick began his career on TV shows like Eight is Enough and B.J. and the Bear. Besides Top Gun, he has appeared in such films as The Lords of Discipline, Streets ...

On Episode 104 of the RETROZEST podcast, Curtis provides his personal review of TOP GUN: MAVERICK, the sequel to 1986's TOP GUN. It stars Tom Cruise, Jennifer Connelly, Miles Teller, Val Kilmer, Jon Hamm and Charles Parnell.

The first film celebrated a 35th Anniversary last year, and RetroZest commemorated this on Episode #59 with an interview with Barry Tubb ("Wolfman"). JEAN LOUISA KELLY, who plays Iceman's wife ...

On Episode 103 of the RETROZEST podcast, Curtis speaks with '80s TikTok Sensation JORDAN RUMSEY! Although Jordan is 19 years old, she is a huge fan of the 1980s, and has become a viral sensation via her TikTok profile (over 199K followers); she also has a large following on her Instagram account! Jordan talks about her love for music from Samantha Fox, Belinda Carlisle, Joan Jett and Pat Benatar; as well as her fandom of Matth...

On Episode 102 of the RETROZEST podcast, Curtis celebrates the 40th anniversary of STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN! This is the Star Trek film which saved the franchise in 1982, and is considered to be the best film of the franchise by many a Trekkie (including Curtis)! Assisting Curtis in this endeavor are two very special guests...

First of all, there's LAURA BANKS, the actress who portrayed Khan's Navigator on the sto...

On Episode 101 of the RETROZEST podcast, Curtis celebrates the 45th anniversary of SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT! This film is a 1977 American road action comedy starring Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jackie Gleason, Jerry Reed, Pat McCormick, Paul Williams and Mike Henry.

Assisting Curtis in this endeavor are two very special guests:

First of all, there's SUSIE McIVER EWING, who portrayed "Hot Pants Hilliard" in the film! S...

On Episode 100 of the RETROZEST podcast, Curtis celebrates the 45th anniversary of STAR WARS, the first film (now known as Episode IV: A New Hope) as well as the franchise in general. Assisting Curtis in this endeavor is very special guest Garrick Hagon, the actor who portrayed Luke Skywalker's best friend (and the ill-fated X-Wing pilot Red 3) Biggs Darklighter in the 1977 film.

Additionally, Mr. Retrovere shares this week&...

On Episode 099 of the RETROZEST podcast, Curtis celebrates the History of the Role Playing Game with a conversation with RPG guru Mickey Weddington! Mickey has been a long-time friend of Curtis, and was the go-to Dungeon Master for a great game of Dungeons & Dragons in Mableton, GA back in the day! In recent years, he took all he learned about gaming and created his own table-top RPG, LEGION: THE GAME via his company Terminus ...

On Episode 098 of the RETROZEST podcast, Curtis celebrates 45 years of the Rocky Film Franchise with a conversation with Rocky expert MIKE KUNDA! Mike is a Stallone/Rocky Impersonator who published a memoir (Cue the Rocky Music) in 2010, and whose story was further told in the 2019 documentary The Pretender. He is also the creator and host of The Yo Philly Rocky Film Tour, as well as a co-host of The Rocky Files, a podcast about t...

On Episode 097 of the RETROZEST podcast, Curtis celebrates classic '80s arcade games with a conversation with SCOTT LEFTWICH! Scott is the owner of Wieners & Losers, a fully functional classic arcade in Winston Salem, NC. Additionally, he hosts an '80s-Themed AIRBNB at the same location (which became tremendously successful after some local press at the end of 2021)! He is also the leader of the very talented pop rock ...

On Episode 096 of the RETROZEST podcast, Curtis celebrates KISS-fandom by interviewing Ron Williams, author of the brand new book I Stole Your Love: The 100% True Story of a 100% True KISS Fan! Ron shares some great stories from his childhood regarding KISS albums, collectibles, concerts, etc.! Order Ron's book on Amazon and connect with him on Twitter and Facebook!

Additionally in the episode, our announcer Mr. Retrovere sh...

On Episode 095 of the RETROZEST podcast, Curtis participates in a celebration of 40th Anniversary of the classic rock album DIVER DOWN by his favorite American rock band of all time, the mighty Van Halen!

Joining Curtis to assist is Craig Parker Adams, southern California rock guitarist and former proprietor of the legendary Winslow Ct. Studio in Hollywood! Craig shares some great stories about his Van Halen fandom, expert analysis...

On Episode 094 of the RETROZEST podcast, Curtis interviews ANTHONY D. GRATE, founder of retro-daze.org. Anthony has co-written the brand new book Tommy and the Order of the Cosmic Champions with writer, sculptor and teacher Anthony J. Rapino. This book, to be released in the Fall of 2022, is set in the year 1988, features many cleverly placed '80s pop culture references and has a wonderful, inspirational message! Also, in true...

On Episode 093 of the RETROZEST podcast, Curtis interviews DOUG JOHNSON, keyboardist of the rock band Loverboy! The band's best-selling album GET LUCKY just celebrated a 40th anniversary back in October of 2021, and Doug shares many great stories about the making of the album (as well as some great info about the band itself)! Doug also composes music for documentaries and films, including 2017's RiverBlue.

Additionally, ou...

On Episode 092 of the RETROZEST podcast, Curtis celebrates the 25th Anniversary of the Bop-It toy/game with a wonderful interview with its creator, Dan Klitsner! Dan is also the founder and creative director of toy inventing and licensing firm, KID Group LLC. Dan discusses not only the 25th Anniversary of the Bop It, but also his part in the production of newer versions of classic games like Tetris, Simon, Slinky and Rubik's Cu...

On Episode 091 of the RETROZEST podcast, Curtis' special guest is Kris Hoff, co-tour guide on Schlemiel, Schlimazel MKE: The Laverne & Shirley Milwaukee Tour! For 17 years, Kris and her friend Donna Wilke have been part of this wonderful nostalgic experience. Kris shares details of how, on this tour, tourists will appreciate seeing Milwaukee’s City Hall which was featured in the opening shot of the popular TV Sitcom, which ...

On Episode 090 of the RETROZEST podcast, Curtis celebrates the upcoming release of the Star (Studded) Trek Fan Film YORKTOWN: A TIME TO HEAL! Production on this now legendary 8mm film featuring heavy-hitters George Takei and James Shigeta began in 1985 and abruptly stopped (unfinished) in 1987, 35 years ago as of the posting of this podcast episode in 2022. It centers around the activities of a sister ship of the USS Enterprise, t...