JAMIE FARR RECALLS THE CHAOTIC DAY THE CLEOPATRA COSTUME DEFEATED HIM
I was sitting on a plastic chair in the middle of a crowded ballroom at a nostalgia convention in New Jersey. The room was packed with people wearing…
THE ARISTOCRATIC VOICE OF AUTHORITY… BUT HIS GREATEST FEAR WAS HIS OWN TRUTH
The world knew him by the resonance of his voice. It was a baritone that carried the weight of old-world education, a sound that felt like mahogany and…
THE GOODBYE THAT WAS NEVER WRITTEN IN THE SCRIPT.
Loretta Swit sat across from David Ogden Stiers in a quiet corner of a crowded room. It was many years after the dust had finally settled on the…
ALAN ALDA REVEALS THE MOMENT THE MASH CAST COMPLETELY LOST CONTROL
I was sitting in the studio the other day, recording an episode for my podcast, and the guest asked me something that caught me off guard. Usually, people…
THE DAY THE 4077TH STOPPED ACTING AND STARTED GRIEVING.
It was a quiet dinner in Los Angeles, decades after the dust of the Fox Ranch had settled. The silver hair around the table was a reminder that…
THE FIRST THREE NOTES PLAYED AND THE WORLD WENT SILENT.
The room was small, tucked away from the bright lights and the champagne clinks of the anniversary gala. Gary sat in a high-backed velvet chair, his eyes following…
HOW A HOOP SKIRT AND A FULL MOON SAVED THE SET
You know, it is funny how a specific smell or a certain type of lighting can just trip a wire in your brain and send you sliding back…
TELEVISION’S MOST ARROGANT ARISTOCRAT… BUT HIS PRIVATE LIFE WAS A REFUGE
Most people remember the voice first. It was a rich, resonant baritone that seemed to carry the weight of a thousand years of Ivy League tradition. On television,…
THE SCRIPT SAID GOODBYE. BUT THE ACTORS WERE ACTUALLY BLEEDING.
The sun was beginning to dip behind the Santa Monica Mountains, casting long, amber shadows across the patio where they sat. It was one of those rare afternoons…
TWO FRIENDS HEARD A SOUND THAT STOPPED THE ENTIRE WORLD
The hills of Malibu are quiet in the late afternoon. Loretta sat on the weathered wooden bench, her eyes squinting against the golden California sun. Beside her, Gary…