Latest News from The Interviews

2012 TV Summit: Despite the Platforms, Audiences Matter

Fri, 03/23/2012 It's no secret that people now have multiple platforms on which to consume media. From phones and tablets, to Roku and gaming consoles, the once-dominant TV set/broadcast audience is now splintered more than ever. What still remains elusive is how to effectively program for and market these platforms ... while also winning audiences, turning a profit, remaining socially responsible, and building a brand. There are no easy answers to these questions, but as witnessed at the March 20, 2012 TV...

"Mad Men" Returns

 Fri, 03/23/2012 When we left off with Mad Men at the end of Season 4, Don Draper had just proposed to his new secretary, Megan; Joan was pregnant (seemingly with Roger's baby), and Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce had just lost Lucky Strike as their biggest client. It's been nearly 2 years since we last saw the gang, but this Sunday, they're back on AMC in the two-hour Season 5 premiere. We sat down with Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner in 2010 when he dished about creating the series, and what he hoped to...

She Made it After All: "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" Ended 35 Years Ago

 Mon, 03/19/2012 "It's a long way to Tipperary, It's a long way to go. It's a long way to Tipperary To the sweetest girl I know! Goodbye Piccadilly, Farewell Leicester Square! It's a long long way to Tipperary, But my heart's right there." The final episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show did something rather novel: it introduced a World War I battle song into the 1970's lexicon. "The Last Show" aired on CBS on March 19, 1977 and re-acclimated the world to "It's a Long Way to Tipperary," Jack Judge and Harry...

Would You Believe We Interviewed "Get Smart's" Barbara Feldon?

 Mon, 03/12/2012 She played Maxwell Smart's better half on the beloved spy spoof Get Smart in the 1960s. As "Agent 99", Barbara Feldon (who celebrates her birthday today, March 12th) helped her bumbling partner defeat the forces of KAOS: "an international organization of evil." Get Smart ran from 1965-1970, and Feldon went on to appear in several films and made-for-television movies, and write books of both poetry and prose. In their Archive Interviews, both Feldon and Get Smart Executive Producer Leonard Stern...

Congratulations to Newlywed Dick Van Dyke!

 Fri, 03/09/2012 Attention ladies: Dick Van Dyke is off the market! On Leap Day, February 29th, Van Dyke, 86, married his makeup artist, Arlene Silver, 40. Yes, it's a May-December romance, but before you're quick to judge, have a look at the happy couple as they belt out a rather famous TV theme song: What do you think? Could they give Archie and Edith a run for their money? For more on Van Dyke's Leap Day nuptials click here , and enjoy his full Archive interview here .

PETA Celebrates Grand Opening of the Bob Barker Building

 Thu, 03/08/2012 Today was the grand opening of PETA's Bob Barker building, the new West Coast headquarters for the organization. The Sunset Boulevard building will house the youth outreach, media, marketing, and campaign departments. Barker, who for decades recommended to viewers at the end of each Price is Right episode that they have their pets spayed and neutered, is a longtime supporter of animal rights. He donated $2.5 million dollars to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals for renovation of the...

Chuck Lorre: From Songwriter to Showrunner

Mon, 03/05/2012 You probably know that Chuck Lorre is the co-creator of Two and a Half Men , Mike and Molly , and The Big Bang Theory . You may not know that he also wrote the Debbie Harry song, "French Kissin' in the U.S.A." and co-wrote the theme song to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles . He is a man of many talents. Lorre got his start in television with DIC Animation and Marvel, working on shows like Heathcliff and the Catillac Cats and Muppet Babie s , and soon segued into sitcoms, writing for Charles in...

Rita Moreno To Receive Jackie Robinson Foundation's Lifetime Achievement Award

 Mon, 03/05/2012 Tonight Archive interviewee Rita Moreno will receive the Lifetime Achievement ROBIE Award from the Jackie Robinson Foundation. The ceremony will take place at New York's Waldorf Astoria hotel at 6:30pm, with Bill Cosby as host. The ROBIE Awards recognize "individuals who embody the humanitarian ideals of Jackie Robinson and raises funds for the Jackie Robinson Foundation." The Foundation provides college scholarships, grants, and mentoring to "academically-distinguished minority students with...

Danny DeVito Speaks For the Trees

 Fri, 03/02/2012 Dr. Seuss' The Lorax hits the big screen today, with Archive Interviewee Danny DeVito starring as the voice of the Lorax, a furry little fellow who fights for the forest. The film also stars the voice talents of Zac Efron, Taylor Swift, Ed Helms, and fellow Archive Interviewee Betty White as Grammy Norma. The Lorax is based on Dr. Seuss' children's book of the same title, first published in 1971. It tells the story of the Once-Ler, a greedy creature who chops down Truffula trees for a profit-...

2012 TV Hall of Fame Gala: A Night of Glamour and Giggles

 Fri, 03/02/2012 As the social media guru for the Archive of American Television, I was honored to attend last night's 21st Annual Television Hall of Fame Gala at the Beverly Hills Hotel on behalf of the Archive. As a television history scholar and a huge fan of pretty much all things TV, I was blown away by the sheer amount of talent present in the ballroom. Honorees from the beginning of television, to those running today's top programs were in attendance, bringing some of the best in the business together...