Latest News from The Interviews

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Remembering Maxine Stuart

 Wed, 06/12/2013 We're sad to hear of the passing of actress Maxine Stuart , who died of natural causes on June 6, 2013 at the age of 94. Stuart appeared in some of the earliest experiemental television broadcasts for NBC, and went on to performances on Philco Television Playhouse and in the memorable Twilight Zone episode, "Eye of the Beholder." She enjoyed a role as a series regular on Slattery's People , and received an Emmy nomination for her guest role as "Kevin Arnold's" piano teacher on The Wonder Years...
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Remembering Jean Stapleton

 Sat, 06/01/2013 We're sad to hear of the passing of actress Jean Stapleton , who died yesterday, Friday May 31, 2013, at the age of 90. Stapleton died of natural causes in her home in New York City. She's best know for portraying the lovable "Edith Bunker" on All in the Family , but also enjoyed success on the Broadway stage with "Damn Yankees" and "The Bells Are Ringing," and with several television movies. Below are some selections from her 2000 Archive interview: Her thoughts on how All in the Family dealt...

Remembering Jeanne Cooper

 Wed, 05/08/2013 The Archive is sad to learn of the passing of actress Jeanne Cooper , who died this morning at the age of 84. Cooper was best known for playing "Katherine Chancellor" on the hit soap opera The Young and the Restless . She also had guest roles on The Twilight Zone , M Squad , and Perry Mason , and appeared opposite her son, Corbin Bernsen, on L.A. Law . Below are some excerpts from her 2009 Archive interview: On the set of her character's house on The Young and the Restless : My set, "Katherine...

Remembering Jack Shea

 Tue, 04/30/2013 We're sad to hear of the passing of director Jack Shea , who died of complications from Alzheimer's disease on Sunday, April 28th, 2013 at the age of 84. Shea directed many of Bob Hope's television specials, as well as several series, including The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour , The Waltons , Sanford and Son , The Jeffersons , Good Times , The Ropers , Silver Spoons , and Designing Women . Shea also served as a three-time president of the Directors Guild of America and was active with The...

"If You Look for the Helpers, You'll Know That There's Hope"

 Tue, 04/16/2013 There are things that happen in this world that we sometimes just don't understand. The attacks on 9/11. The tragedy at Newtown. The recent bombings at the Boston Marathon. Lives are lost, questions go unanswered, and it's easy to lose faith in humanity when such heart-breaking acts of violence continue to occur. As we seek to make sense of what we're seeing on the news, many have referred to Mr. Rogers' sage advice to "look for the helpers" in times of tragedies. In his 1999 Archive interview...

Remembering Jonathan Winters

 Fri, 04/12/2013 We're sad to hear of the passing of comedian Jonathan Winters , who died last night at the age of 87 of natural causes in Montecito, California. Winters had a prolific career in television and film, and was known for many of the memorable characters he created, including "Maude Frickert", "Elwood P. Suggins", and "King Kwasi." He made several appearances on The Tonight Show over the years, had his own program, The Jonathan Winters Show , and won an Emmy for his role on Davis Rules . Below are...

Remembering Roger Ebert

 Thu, 04/04/2013 The Archive is sad to report the passing of film critic Roger Ebert , who died today at the age of 70. Ebert announced yesterday that his cancer had returned and he would be scaling back from reviewing films. He's best known for not only his newspaper (and later online) reviews, but also for TV shows Siskel & Ebert (alongside fellow critic Gene Siskel, who passed away in 1999), and Ebert & Roeper (with critic Richard Roeper). Ebert won a Pulitzer Prize for criticism in 1975, penned an...

Love Is On the Air

 Thu, 02/14/2013 (Reposted from 2/13/13 MediaPost article by Karen Herman with permission ) In time for Valentine’s Day, the Archive of American Television opens its vault to find out what our interviewees had to say about some of TV’s classic relationships: Writer Sam Denoff on “That Girl” -- Here were these two people who were in love, which made the show work. People remember more about Donald and Ann Marie than all the things that she got into, which is the secret of all the great shows. “All in the Family...

TV Academy Announces 22nd Hall of Fame Inductees

 Wed, 01/23/2013 The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' Hall of Fame Committee has selected actor/director/producer Ron Howard , sportscaster Al Michaels , executive Leslie Moonves , journalist Bob Schieffer , and producer Dick Wolf as the newest inductees into the Television Academy’s Hall of Fame . Inventor Philo T. Farnsworth will also be inducted posthumously. The group will be honored at the 22nd Annual Hall of Fame induction ceremony held at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on March 11, 2013. Additionally...

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Was A Trekkie

Mon, 01/21/2013 (Reposted from MediaPost article by Archive Director Karen Herman with permission.) As the nation celebrates Martin Luther King Day on Jan. 21, it's a good time to remember how television can play a critical role in challenging and changing public opinion. As the journalist Howard K. Smith said of the television news coverage of the Civil Rights movement in his Archive of American Television interview, “I think even people who were biased on civil rights saw these pictures every night at the...