Latest News from The Interviews

"The Norman Lear Collection" Released on DVD

 Tue, 06/09/2009 Comprising the first seasons of seven of Norman Lear's classic TV series, plus such extras as the newly-discovered All in the Family pilot "Justice for All," Sony releases " The Norman Lear Collection ." Among the "season ones" included in the set: All in the Family ; Good Times ; The Jeffersons ; Maude ; Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (first 25 episodes only); One Day at a Time ; and Sanford & Son . There are over six hours of bonus materials, including featurettes on all the shows. "I was a...

Andy Richter's First Day on the "Tonight Show"

 Mon, 06/01/2009 Yes, tonight is Conan O'Brien's Tonight Show debut, but lest we forget Andy Richter will be joining him as the show's announcer/comedy-bit contributor. Although NBC has eschewed the word sidekick in their press announcement, Richter's previous Late Night tenure was certainly reminiscent of Ed McMahon's Tonight Show role of faithful sidekick. On his start with The Tonight Show , the Archive offers advice to Andy from our interview with Ed in 2002. On his role as the sidekick of "The Tonight Show...

Stephen J. Cannell Television Series Book Released or "If you have a problem - If no one else can help... maybe you can hire Stephen J. Cannell"

 Wed, 05/13/2009 From McFarland, a new book chronicling Stephen J. Cannell's productions is being released today, written by Jon Abbott (author of a 2006 book on Irwin Allen's productions). Stephen Cannell was responsible for many television hits strating in the 1970s, and won the Emmy Award for The Rockford Files . Cannell was interviewed by the Archive on June 23, 2004. Here is a link to Cannell's nine-part Archive interview. Interview description: Cannell talked about the challenges of battling dyslexia and...

Rock 'n' Roll Was In and "Your Hit Parade" Was Out, 50 Years Ago

 Wed, 04/29/2009 Fifty years ago today, Variety ran its last review of Your Hit Parade a veritable obituary that appeared with the title, " Hit Parade Dies As Rock 'n' Roll Takes Its Toll of Longrunner." In the 1930s and 40s, "Your Hit Parade" was one of radio's mainstays-- a Saturday night fixture that had listeners wondering what popular song would be the new #1 hit, counted down from a list of seven current singles. The tabulation by the ad agencies that represented American Tobacco were vague at best, but...

7th Annual TV Land Awards Airs Tonight

 Sun, 04/26/2009 TV Fans Rejoice! Hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, the Seventh Annual TV Land Awards rolls out the red carpet tonight to honor the best of TV, movies and music. Lots of great TV tributes including the casts of M*A*S*H, Home Improvement, Two-and-a-Half Men, Magnum P.I., Knots Landing, and Married with Children and special honorees Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Sid and Marty Krofft and the always-hilarious Don Rickles, and Earth, Wind & Fire. Also, check out lots of extras and behind-the-scenes clips (...

Actress Beatrice Arthur Dies at 86 - Interview Online

 Sun, 04/26/2009 Bea Arthur, the Emmy-winning star of Maude and The Golden Girl s, who also garnered a Tony Award for the musical Mame , died Saturday at 86. In January, one of her last public appearances, she was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame. She was interviewed by the Archive in 2001. Click here for her New York Times obituary (with a reference to our interview). The entire 2-1/2 hour interview can be viewed here . When asked in her interview how she'd like to be remembered, she responded...

"Rhoda: Season One" Makes Its DVD Debut (at last!)

 Tue, 04/21/2009 Rhoda , which lasted from 1974-78, featured the further adventures of Mary Richards' friend and neighbor from The Mary Tyler Moore Show , as she relocated from Minneapolis back to her native New York City. The first season of Rhoda was ranked #6 of all shows that television season in the Nielsen ratings. The Archive interviewed Rhoda herself Valerie Harper, just this February, below are some excerpts from her interview with Jim McKairnes: Q: Describe Rhoda Morgenstern. A: Rhoda was like most of...