Latest News from The Interviews

Don Knotts' Only Dramatic Role-- on '50s Soap Opera "Search for Tomorrow"

 Thu, 05/13/2010 Don Knotts will forever be know as the comic sidekick "Barney Fife" on The Andy Griffith Show , as Mr. Furley on Three's Company , and as the star of a series of funny family friendly '60s films including The Incredible Mr. Limpet and The Ghost and Mr. Chicken . His first TV series role, however, may not be that familiar. From 1953-54 he played Wilbur Peterson on the soap opera Search for Tomorrow (which ran from 1951-84). His mostly-mute character has a rare few lines in an episode that is...

Betty White Triumphs on "SNL"

 Mon, 05/10/2010 The reviews and ratings are golden for Betty White 's turn as guest host on Saturday Night Live . With Betty's latest TV success, the Archive looks back on her Emmy-winning role as Sue Ann Nivens- the Happy Homemaker, on The Mary Tyler Moore Show . Before her continued (and possibly greatest) fame as Rose Nylund on The Golden Girls , Betty White had a decades-long career that began in the early 1950s, with a high water mark as a semi-regular on The Mary Tyler Moore Show . When the producers of...

"Battlestar Galactica" Ended Its Run 30 Years Ago Today

 Tue, 05/04/2010 Technically, the original Battlestar Galactica ended its run 31 years ago, when ABC pulled the plug on the show in 1979. But when the fans protested, a ten-episode version entitled Galactica 1980 , resulted, with just Lorne Greene remaining from the original cast. However, for what would be the last series episode, Dirk Benedict (later "Face" on The A-Team ) reprised his role as "Lt. Starbuck." This episode, airing on May 4, 1980, called "The Return of Starbuck" was the brainchild of series...

Soap Star Helen Wagner, Matriarch of "As the World Turns," Dies at Age 91- Archive Interview Online

 Mon, 05/03/2010 Helen Wagner , listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for her long-running performance as Nancy Hughes on As the World Turns since the show debuted in 1956, has died. She sadly misses the the series' final episode by just a few months-- its planned for a September 17th airdate. Her TV series career began with roles on several early-to-mid '50s shows, including soap The Guiding Light , sitcom The World of Mr. Sweeney , and soap Valiant Lady . Once she landed in Oakdale though, it became...

Suzanne Pleshette Doubled her Double on "One Step Beyond"

 Wed, 04/28/2010 Alcoa Presents will forever be known for its syndicated title, One Step Beyond . The series dramatized real-life case histories of various occult subjects, with Rod Serling-esque intros by distinguished-looking host, series director John Newland. Alcoa Presents ran just a few seasons, resulting in 96 episodes, many of which are currently posted on the Internet Archive. This early filmed TV series is notable for featuring many up-and-coming stars. Among the young performers making appearances on...

Falcon Crest Debuts on DVD Today

 Tue, 04/20/2010 Falcon Crest joins Dallas , Dynasty , and Knots Landing on DVD today-- the last of the long-running '80s prime time soaps to make the jump to home video. The series ran from 1981-1990, and starred Oscar-winning screen star Jane Wyman as villainess "Angela Channing," in her last major role, for which she won the Golden Globe. Wyman was no stranger to TV though, and, in fact, was a two-time Emmy nominee for her work on the classic anthology series Fireside Theatre (aka The Jane Wyman Show ) in...

Mel Brooks & Carl Reiner for Tax Day

 Thu, 04/15/2010 Today is tax day, luckily there's classic TV to cheer us up. On a February 1965 episode of The Hollywood Palace , Carl Reiner interviews "tax expert" Mel Brooks' "Philip J. Heinker," who discusses his methods for filing, which includes claiming Romania ("I send them cottage cheese and Life magazine"). Look for newly Mrs. Mel Brooks- Anne Bancroft- cracking up in the studio audience. "I don't sing, I don't dance, but if you've been watching my show, you know I'm one heck of a runner." -...

Valerie Harper Wraps Up "Looped"

 Thu, 04/08/2010 What's the opposite of Rhoda Morgenstern? Answer: Tallulah Bankhead. Valerie Harper is playing Tallulah Bankhead in "Looped" on Broadway, and, as noted by The Hollywood Reporter 's Frank Scheck "effectively bury[s] her own persona," garnering "big laughs with her razor-sharp delivery of the endlessly profane dialogue." Although she appeared on the Broadway stage as a dancer at the beginning of her career, it wasn't until of late that Harper's had major roles on Broadway, as she attests in her...

Leonard Nimoy in the 1950s & early '60s

 Mon, 04/05/2010 Leonard Nimoy was living hand-to-mouth in the 1950s and early 60s, as a struggling actor in TV and movies, before his stardom on Star Trek and Mission: Impossible . He landed the leading role in the feature film Kid Monk Baroni (1952) (photo, left), but spent most of his early career in TV in small roles, in such series as Dragnet (photo, center) and The Twilight Zone (photo, right). "The work that I was useful for when I was hired-- which was rare in those days-- were always offbeat nasty guys...

"Dynasty" Star John Forsythe Has Died-- Archive Interview Online

 Fri, 04/02/2010 John Forsythe, best known as oil tycoon Blake Carrington on the '80s prime time soap Dynasty , has died at the age of 92. Forsythe's TV career dates back to the 1940s, and baby boomers will remember his first regular series role as the single dad on the series Bachelor Father (1957-62). Forsythe's other major TV claim-to-fame is providing the voice to the unseen "Charlie" in the '70s hit Charlie's Angels . John Forsythe was interviewed by the Archive of American Television on July 24, 2000; his...