Latest News from The Interviews

Would you believe... Bill Dana is 87!

 Wed, 10/05/2011 The Archive wishes a very happy birthday to comedy legend Bill Dana, born October 5, 1924 as William Szathmary in Quincy, MA. Bill Dana is best-known for his alter-ego, José Jiménez : a character he played from 1959 until 1969 which garnered him international attention. What few may recall is that Bill first gained prominence as a writer and producer for Steve Allen, Garry Moore, Milton Berle, Martha Raye and other comedy greats. After graduating Emerson College in Boston in 1950 on the GI Bill...

Prohibition? The Civil War? The Brooklyn Bridge? Filmmaker Ken Burns on How He Chooses his Projects

 Mon, 10/03/2011 Prohibition , a new three-part, five-and-a-half-hour documentary series by Ken Burns ( The Civil War , Jazz, Baseball, Huey Long, National Parks: America's Best Idea; Brooklyn Bridge, and many more) and Lynn Novick, airs October 2, 3 and 4, 2011, 8:00-10:00 p.m. ET on PBS . Set in the era of bathtub gin, bootleggers and speakeasies, the series tells the true story of the rise, rule and fall of the 18 th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It was called the Noble Experiment, but it was in fact...

If at First You Don’t Succeed ... Recast: "The Dick Van Dyke Show" Celebrates 50 Years

 Mon, 10/03/2011 Back in the summer of 1958, Carl Reiner , already an established writer and supporting actor on Sid Caesar ’s Your Show of Shows , sought to create a sitcom in which he would star. He followed the adage of “write what you know” and created thirteen scripts of Head of the Family , a largely autobiographical series centered around Rob Petrie, head writer of “The Alan Sturdy Show.” Rob was married to Laura, they had a six-year-old son, Ritchie, and Buddy and Sally were Rob’s cohorts in the writers...

"The password is...FIFTY!" -- It's "Password's" Golden Anniversary

 Sun, 10/02/2011 On October 2, 1961, the popular game show Password , hosted by Allen Ludden, premiered in daytime (a nighttime version was launched in January of 1962). Two teams (consisting of a celebrity and a contestant) competed. The "password" was given to one player on each team. The player who was given the password gave a one-word clue and the teammate would try to guess the password. If the partner failed to come up with the password within five-seconds, the turn passed to the opposing team. The game...

"You've never heard of a talking horse?" 50 Years of Mister Ed

Sat, 10/01/2011 October 1st marks the 50th anniversary of the sitcom Mister Ed , which began its five-year network run on CBS on October 1, 1961. (The show initially ran in limited first-run syndication from January to July of 1961.) The premise, was simple, Mister Ed was a talking horse who only spoke openly to his eccentric owner, Wilbur Post (played by Alan Young ). Archive of American Television interviewees share some little-known facts about the classic series: George Burns helped launch the series. "...

Dr. Kildare Celebrates Its 50th Anniversary!

 Wed, 09/28/2011 Fifty years ago today, on September 28, 1961, long before McDreamy and McSteamy, the strikingly handsome Dr. Kildare first graced our television sets. Swoon. One of television's first medical dramas, alongside ABC's Ben Casey , Dr. Kildare followed a young intern, Dr. James Kildare (played by Richard Chamberlain ) as he learned the tricks of his trade. The program highlighted teachable moments from Kildare's mentor, Dr. Leonard Gillespie, portrayed by veteran actor Raymond Massey. Executive...

Ladies and gentleman, it's the MUPPET SHOW!

 Tue, 09/27/2011 "It's time to play the music, it's time to light the lights, it's time to meet the Muppets on The Muppet Show tonight!" Thirty-five years ago this month, The Muppet Show premiered. Its creator, Jim Henson, had a vision to create a program with his Sesame Street puppets that would appeal to both young and old alike. The show featured the popular Sesame character Kermit the Frog as the manager of "The Muppet Theater". New muppets were introduced: Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo, The Swedish Chef,...

Ay Caramba! "The Simpsons" start Season 23 and Bart's still 10

 Fri, 09/23/2011 Though Bart remains 10 years old, The Simpsons begins its 23rd season Sunday, September 25th on FOX. Not just the longest-running animated program in American television history, The Simpsons is also the longest-running American sitcom, and beat out Gunsmoke to become the longest-running primetime, scripted series. The brainchild of Matt Groening, The Simpsons originally appeared as a series of animated shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show in 1987. Executive Producer James L. Brooks liked the...

Backstage and red carpet interviews from the Emmys are now online!

 Thu, 09/22/2011 The Archive was on the red carpet at the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards and backstage during the show. A full playlist of the red carpet interviews is online , and some excerpts below. Thanks to Pop Culture Passionistas for shooting and editing these interviews! Martin Scorsese (Winner, Outstanding Direction for a Drama Series) discusses why he wanted to shoot Boardwalk Empire like a film: Melissa McCarthy (Winner, Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series) discusses the appeal of her show, Mike and...

Good Work, Angels! Charlie's Angels Turns 35 and the Series Remake Premieres Tonight!

 Thu, 09/22/2011 Thirty-five years ago today, on September 22, 1976, Executive Producers Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg introduced the world to Charlie's Angels -- detectives Sabrina, Kelly, and Jill, played by Kate Jackson, Jaclyn Smith and Farrah Fawcett. As the title sequence explained, the women attended the police academy, received menial job assignments, and were rescued from boredom by the mysterious Charlie, who hired them as private detectives for his agency. The ladies solved crimes with the help...