1,461 episodes

TV CONFIDENTIAL: A radio talk show about television brings you lively conversations every week with the stars, writers, directors and other creative people behind the scenes of some of America's most popular shows. An engaging blend of talk and entertainment, TV Confidential often compares today’s programs with those of the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s and ’80s.

TV Confidential with Ed Robertson ed robertson

    • TV & Film
    • 4.8 • 40 Ratings

TV CONFIDENTIAL: A radio talk show about television brings you lively conversations every week with the stars, writers, directors and other creative people behind the scenes of some of America's most popular shows. An engaging blend of talk and entertainment, TV Confidential often compares today’s programs with those of the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s and ’80s.

    Ernie Kovacs, Zoomar, and Take a Good Look

    Ernie Kovacs, Zoomar, and Take a Good Look

    TVC 641.1: Part 2 of a conversation that began last week with Josh Mills, son of Edie Adams and the curator of the estates of Ernie Kovacs and Edie Adams, and Pat Thomas, author of Invitation to Openness: the Jazz & Soul Photography of Les McCann, Material Wealth: Mining the Personal Archive of Allen Ginsberg, and Did It! Jerry Rubin: An American Revolutionary. Josh and Pat are two of the co-authors, along with Ben Model, of Ernie in Kovacsland: Writings, Drawings, and Photographs from Television’s Original Genius, a marvelously conceived book that not only gives readers a true glimpse into the mind of Ernie Kovacs, but shows the many media outlets for Ernie’s creativity that went beyond television. Topics this segment include the back story of Zoomar, the satirical novel about advertising and television that Ernie published in 1957, but which is still timely today; Take a Good Look, the “anti-game show” that Ernie hosted (ABC, 1959-1961) that, in many respects, is also the essence of Ernie Kovacs; and the perforated, three-page foldout in Ernie in Kovacsland that pays homage to Ernie’s long association with MAD magazine.
    Want to advertise/sponsor our show?
    TV Confidential has partnered with AdvertiseCast to handle advertising/sponsorship requests for the podcast edition of our program. They’re great to work with and will help you advertise on our show. Please email sales@advertisecast.com or click the link below to get started:
    https://www.advertisecast.com/TVConfidentialAradiotalkshowabout
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    • 28 min
    Ernie Kovacs, Jack Lemmon, and Soupy Sales

    Ernie Kovacs, Jack Lemmon, and Soupy Sales

    TVC 641.2: Josh Mills and Pat Thomas talk to Ed about Ernie Kovacs’ many collaborations and longtime friendship with Jack Lemmon; how the format for Ernie’s successful morning show in Philadelphia inspired NBC to develop The Today Show; how Kovacs was the first to understand that television was an intimate form; and how Ernie’s influence can be seen in the antics of comedian Soupy Sales. Josh and Pat are two of the co-authors, along with Ben Model, of Ernie in Kovacsland, a marvelously conceived book that not only gives readers a true glimpse into the mind of Ernie Kovacs, but shows the many media outlets for Ernie’s creativity that went beyond television.
    Want to advertise/sponsor our show?
    TV Confidential has partnered with AdvertiseCast to handle advertising/sponsorship requests for the podcast edition of our program. They’re great to work with and will help you advertise on our show. Please email sales@advertisecast.com or click the link below to get started:
    https://www.advertisecast.com/TVConfidentialAradiotalkshowabout
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    • 25 min
    How Ernie Kovacs Helped Inspire the Counter Culture

    How Ernie Kovacs Helped Inspire the Counter Culture

    TVC 640.1: Ed welcomes Josh Mills, son of Edie Adams and the curator of the estates of Ernie Kovacs and Edie Adams, and author Pat Thomas (Invitation to Openness: the Jazz & Soul Photography of Les McCann, Material Wealth: Mining the Personal Archive of Allen Ginsberg, Did It! Jerry Rubin: An American Revolutionary). Josh and Pat are two of the co-authors, along with Ben Model, of Ernie in Kovacsland: Writings, Drawings, and Photographs from Television’s Original Genius, a marvelously conceived, non-linear book that gives readers a true glimpse into the mind of Ernie Kovacs. Topics this segment include how, in many ways, Ernie in Kovacsland is an outgrowth of Edie’s tireless preservation of all things Ernie Kovacs; how she recognized that Ernie was doing something special before anyone else did; and how Kovacs’ influence extends to such counter-cultural figures as Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Alice Cooper, and the original writers and performers of Saturday Night Live.
    Want to advertise/sponsor our show?
    TV Confidential has partnered with AdvertiseCast to handle advertising/sponsorship requests for the podcast edition of our program. They’re great to work with and will help you advertise on our show. Please email sales@advertisecast.com or click the link below to get started:
    https://www.advertisecast.com/TVConfidentialAradiotalkshowabout
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    • 24 min
    Ernie Kovacs and “The Silent Show”

    Ernie Kovacs and “The Silent Show”

    TVC 640.2: Josh Mills and Pat Thomas talk to Ed about The Silent Show, the iconic NBC special from January 1957 that is the only Ernie Kovacs television show to be broadcast in color. Other topics this segment include how Kovacs was a constant presence on television from 1950 until his death in January 1962 (even though he never had a “long-running” series, per se); his incredible knack for generating publicity; and how the Percy Dovetonsils poem “Thoughts While Falling Off the Empire State Building” is one example of how Kovacs came to influence the Yippies and the Beat generation. Josh and Pat are two of the co-authors, along with Ben Model, of Ernie in Kovacsland, a marvelously conceived book that not only gives readers a true glimpse into the mind of Ernie Kovacs, but shows the many media outlets for Ernie’s creativity that went beyond television.
    Want to advertise/sponsor our show?
    TV Confidential has partnered with AdvertiseCast to handle advertising/sponsorship requests for the podcast edition of our program. They’re great to work with and will help you advertise on our show. Please email sales@advertisecast.com or click the link below to get started:
    https://www.advertisecast.com/TVConfidentialAradiotalkshowabout
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    • 26 min
    Michael Learned of The Waltons and Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story

    Michael Learned of The Waltons and Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story

    TVC 640.3: Ed welcomes back Michael Learned, the four-time Emmy Award-winning actress known around the world as Olivia Walton on The Waltons and, more recently, Catherine Dahmer on the popular Netflix series Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. Michael shares a few memories of working with James Arness on Gunsmoke, Robert Reed on Nurse, and Paul Sorvino in It Couldn’t Happen to a Nicer Guy.
    Want to advertise/sponsor our show?
    TV Confidential has partnered with AdvertiseCast to handle advertising/sponsorship requests for the podcast edition of our program. They’re great to work with and will help you advertise on our show. Please email sales@advertisecast.com or click the link below to get started:
    https://www.advertisecast.com/TVConfidentialAradiotalkshowabout
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    • 25 min
    Charles Agron on working with Lance Henriksen and Ed Asner in Altered Reality

    Charles Agron on working with Lance Henriksen and Ed Asner in Altered Reality

    TVC 640.4: Ed welcomes Charles Agron, the writer, producer, and star of Altered Reality, a supernatural thriller that explores greed, family, and redemption, while also putting a modern take on the old adage “Be careful what you wish for.” Altered Reality not only pays homage to Rod Serling and The Twilight Zone (two of Charles’ influences as a storyteller), but marks one of the final screen appearances of Ed Asner. Altered Reality is now playing in select theaters across the country.
    Want to advertise/sponsor our show?
    TV Confidential has partnered with AdvertiseCast to handle advertising/sponsorship requests for the podcast edition of our program. They’re great to work with and will help you advertise on our show. Please email sales@advertisecast.com or click the link below to get started: https://www.advertisecast.com/TVConfidentialAradiotalkshowabout
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    • 24 min

Customer Reviews

4.8 out of 5
40 Ratings

40 Ratings

Medusa1954 ,

Smart TV Talk

This is TV and the TV business discussed with knowledge and insight. Ed Martin is a complete pro, giving us insider access combined with genuine enthusiasm. Wonderful guests!

Time traveler 420 ,

Great Show!

If you enjoy classic TV and stories from industry insiders, this is the show for you. I think it’s great to hear these legends being interviewed by such a knowledgeable and respectful host. The sound quality is great and there is no yelling or cussing, a classy show about classic TV!

19…………………………………………………………… ,

Love this!!

This podcast is great

Top Podcasts In TV & Film

Pop Apologists
Big IP
Watch What Crappens
Ben Mandelker & Ronnie Karam | Wondery
Pod Meets World
iHeartPodcasts
Blank Check with Griffin & David
Blank Check Productions
The Rewatchables
The Ringer
Give Them Lala
Lala Kent | Cumulus Podcast Network

You Might Also Like

Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast
Starburns Audio
20/20
ABC News
48 Hours
CBS News
That's Classic!
John Cato
Fly on the Wall with Dana Carvey and David Spade
Audacy
Juicy Scoop with Heather McDonald
Sony Music Entertainment & Heather McDonald