Latest News from The Interviews

Stephen Sondheim's "Evening Primrose" comes to DVD

 Tue, 11/02/2010 New from The Archive of American Television Presents DVD Series: EVENING PRIMROSE – Digitally Restored & Re-Mastered Starring Anthony Perkins and Charmian Carr Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim • Teleplay by James Goldman Directed by Paul Bogart This long-lost treasure is now available on DVD (through the Archive of American Television Presents series) for the first time ever – impeccably restored and re-mastered from a pristine kinescope print. Created especially for television, Evening...

"The Pacific" Is Released on DVD and Blu-ray

 Mon, 11/01/2010 WWII miniseries The Pacific comes out on DVD and Blu-ray tomorrow. The Pacific received the most nominations (24) and wins (8) for any program at this year's Emmy Awards. Its eight wins included: Outstanding Miniseries; Outstanding Art Direction for a Miniseries or Movie; Outstanding Casting for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special; Outstanding Makeup for a Series, Miniseries, Movie or a Special (Non-Prosthetic); Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Miniseries, Movie or a Special;...

James Wall, Longtime CBS Stage Manager, Has Died

 Fri, 10/29/2010 James Wall served as a stage manager for CBS for nearly 50 years and appeared on camera as teacher "Mr. Baxter" on Captain Kangaroo . It was Wall's idea that Captain Kangaroo should feature an African-American regular, and after serving as the show's stage manager for six years, he was given the on-screen role starting in 1968. Wall was semi-retired for the last two decades, but frequently came back to CBS as a fill-in stage manager— a job he continued to do until 2009. James Wall's Archive...

"Jive-speaking" TV mom Barbara Billingsley dies at 94

 Sun, 10/17/2010 The Archive regrets to report that actress Barbara Billingsley passed away on Saturday, October 16th at the age of 94. Best known for her TV mom role as June Cleaver, Billingsley also did a famous cameo as a jive-speaking woman in "Airplane." Selections from her Archive of American Television interview: The full interview is available here. Interview description: In her 6-part Archive interview , actress Barbara Billingsley speaks about her early film career at MGM and her TV roles in Schlitz...

"Moonlighting" Faded to Black & White 25 Years Ago Today

 Fri, 10/15/2010 Airing on October 15, 1985, one of Moonlighting 's most well-remembered episodes is the film noirish "The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice." It was shot and aired (mostly) in black and white, featured a rare early series kiss between the leads, gave Cybill Shepherd a stage to belt out some sultry numbers, and was introduced by legendary director Orson Welles. The episode told the story of David and Maddie's individual "dreamt" solutions to a '40s murder case, and was filmed in two styles: a...

CSI creator Anthony E. Zuiker's interview is now online

 Thu, 10/14/2010 Anthony E. Zuiker's second digi-novel, Dark Prophecy A Level 26 Thriller Featuring Steve Dark debuted in bookstores today. The Archive has just posted his full interview , where he discusses his television work as well as his very successful foray into new media and publishing. Here's a clip about the genesis of the digi-novel series : You can find the book at Amazon . Interview Description: Show Creator and writer Anthony E. Zuiker was interviewed for two hours in Los Angeles, CA. He discussed...

Chicago Broadcasting Legend Ward Quaal Has Died

 Fri, 10/08/2010 Ward Quaal was a broadcasting pioneer who transitioned from radio to television at the advent of the medium and became president of WGN, Chicago. He died on September 24, at the age of 91. Interview Description: Ward Quaal was interviewed for three hours in Chicago, IL. Quaal described his lifelong association with Chicago television station WGN, where he began as an announcer and worked his way up to station manager and later president of the WGN Continental Broadcasting Company. Quaal...

Show Creator Stephen J. Cannell has died— Archive interview Online

 Fri, 10/01/2010 Stephen J. Cannell spanned many decades as a writer-producer, where he helmed such series as The Rockford Files , The Greatest American Hero , 21 Jump Street , Wiseguy , and The Commish . He won the Emmy Award in 1978 for The Rockford Files (Outstanding Drama Series). Interview description: Stephen J. Cannell was interviewed for three-and-a-half hours in Pasadena, CA. Cannell talked about the challenges of battling dyslexia and using his innate storytelling ability to break into the television...

"The Andy Griffith Show" 50th Anniversary

 Fri, 10/01/2010 After a pilot episode aired on The Danny Thomas Show ("Danny Meets Andy Griffith," airdate: 2/15/60), The Andy Griffith Show landed on CBS' following fall schedule, debuting on October 3, 1960. It led to a group of successful "rural-themed" sitcoms ( The Beverly Hillbillies , Green Acres ) that populated the CBS schedule through the '60s. Nominated for several Emmy Awards, it brought five consecutive Emmys to ensemble player Don Knotts (as "Barney Fife"), but surprisingly Andy Griffith never...