Blog Post Baby, Have You Ever Wondered, Who Created WKRP? (It's Hugh Wilson!) He created WKRP in Cincinnati , Frank's Place , and The Famous Teddy Z . He also co-wrote and directed the film "Police Academy." He's Hugh Wilson , and his two-hour Archive interview is now online! Wilson started out in advertising before transitioning to TV. He got his start in the business at...
Blog Post Valentine’s Schmalentines: Television’s Volatile Relationships In honor of Valentine’s Day, I figured I’d write about some of television’s famous relationships. But let’s face it, happily ever after is not all that interesting, especially when it’s in a series that is running 100+ episodes. To make it compelling you need some acrimony, some yelling, some break...
Blog Post Live From New York, It's G.E. Smith! I grew up worshiping Saturday Night Live . I loved me some Church Lady, some Wayne and Garth, some Hans & Franz. My sister and I used to dance around doing "Sprockets" while we cleared the dinner table. And nothing was better than watching that killer guitarist with the floppy blond hair rock...
Blog Post Our Day with “Laverne” & “Shirley” - All Our Dreams Come True All our dreams came true one summer day when we got a call from the Archive of American Television asking us if we wanted to interview not just “Laverne” OR “Shirley” but “Laverne” AND “Shirley.” Together. In the same room. How could we say no? We fell in love with “Laverne DeFazio” and “Shirley...
Blog Post Spin-offs: The Good, The Bad, and "The Tortellis" One thing remains constant in the ever-changing landscape of American Television: where there’s a successful series, there is always the possibility of a spin-off. The temptation to remove a supporting character and give him/her a series of their own is always strong. But it can be a dangerous...
Blog Post "Hill Street Blues" Turns 35 (And You Still Know The Theme Song By Heart) It was a gritty cop show. It had one of the catchiest title songs of all time. And today it turns 35. MTM's police drama Hill Street Blues debuted on January 15, 1981, and we've been humming its unforegettable theme ever since. The Hill Street Blues score was the work of composer Mike Post . Watch...
Blog Post The Archive’s Funny Ladies In the course of working for the Archive, I encounter our interviewees talking about just about every genre imaginable, from drama, to animation, to service shows (that would be your Julia Childs and your Bill Nyes ). But my ears perk and I sit up a little straighter when someone starts talking...
Blog Post Remembering George Barris We're sad to learn that custom car designer George Barris passed away this morning at the age of 89. Barris started out customizing his own cars as a teenager and participating in the street-racing youth culture of the late 1940s in Los Angeles. He began working in low budget Hollywood films that...
Blog Post Remembering David Canary We're sad to learn that actor David Canary passed away from natural causes on November 16, 2015 at the age of 77. Canary was best known for playing the dual role of twins "Adam Chandler" and "Stuart Chandler" on the daytime soap opera All My Children . Before All My Children , Canary appeared as a...
