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#21 - "Transformers" Writer Ron Friedman

Ron Friedman is one of Hollywood's most prolific and celebrated television writers of all time. Join this raucous “live” conversation over lunch in the busy outdoor patio at Caffé Roma in Beverly Hills as Ron talks about working with show business  legends like longtime friend Stan Lee, the creator of X-Men,Spider Man, and Iron Man. With more than 700 TV and movie scripts to his name on shows like Get Smart, Bewitched, The Odd Couple, and Charlie’s Angels, Ron shares his secrets to entering the rarified atmosphere of professional film and television writing…as well as some practical tips for surviving on a rigorously competitive career path.   If you want the real “inside story” of life as a successful Hollywood writer, this is it. 

Tab Hunter

Actor Tab Hunter may be Hollywood’s purest definition of “genuine screen legend”…but he’s much more than just an actor. In this exclusive conversation, Tab openly shares details of a childhood that set him off on a true journey of self-discovery, worldwide celebrity, and spiritual awareness. Tab reveals details of his early career as an actor alongside Natalie Wood andJames Dean as the last of the studio system’s “contract players” and as Warner Bros. Studios’ top grossing star throughout the 1950s and 60s. Tab Hunter is not just “another actor” with an amazing list of credits. He’s a dynamic creative force and an inspiring example for us all.  If you have any dreams of a Hollywood career...you'll want to listen to these words of wisdom!

#47 - Actress Charlotte Rae

Actress Charlotte Rae joins Bob & Suzanne for an intimate conversation about her long career on stage, screen, and television, during which she gives some very sage advice for any actor dreaming of show business success. In this interview, you’ll hear Charlotte talk about studying acting at Northwestern University alongside future stars like Cloris Leachman, Patricia Neal, and Paul Lynde, and how she broke into the “golden age” of early television on shows like Armstrong Circle Theatre and The Phil Silvers Show. She shares her delight at becoming a series regular on the classic comedy Car 54, Where Are Car 54, Where Are You? which led to a long and impressive career in which she appeared on practically every major TV series over the next fifty years. Of course, Charlotte Rae is best known for playing “Edna Garrett” in nearly 200 episodes of Diff’rent Strokes and its spinoff series The Facts of Life, for which she earned an Emmy nomination. Twice nominated for Broadway’s Tony Award as Best Actress in Pickwick and in Morning, Noon and Night, this is a multi-faceted star of historic renown. During the interview, Charlotte generously gives some excellent advice for anyone hoping to follow in her footsteps and proudly describes writing her new very revealing autobiography The Facts of My Life, now available on Amazon.com and in bookstores everywhere. If you want to know the truth about how a lasting show business career is built, this is a conversation you’ll want to hear...and The Facts of My Life is required reading.

#46 - David Ansen: Movie Critic

Film critic David Ansen has had one of the most unique and influential careers in modern entertainment history. He joins his high school classmate Bob and Suzanne in a revealing and engaging conversation that starts with a childhood growing up in Beverly Hills as the son of a Hollywood industry insider. You’ll hear about David’s early fascination with movies and how even as a pre-teen he began documenting that interest as the ultimate “list maker.” Going from undergrad writing studies at Harvard, to life on a commune, and then to writing about movies for Boston’s The Real Paper, David then found himself recommended as film reviewer at Newsweek by no less a luminary that legendary film critic Pauline Kael. During his 31-year career at Newsweek, David Ansen became one of the most powerful voices in modern film criticism. His lifelong love of movies was matched by an insightful worldview and a writing style that made many of his reviews more entertaining than the movies he reviewed. When David Ansen wrote favorably about a movie, people bought tickets. A negative review would often have the opposite effect, although in this conversation David humorously reveals the one film he describes as “an unkillable movie.” With unique industry knowledge and deep analytical perspective, David talks about today’s rise of quality TV shows as compared to the trend toward major studio “franchise” movies which fail to capture his attention. After a career as Senior Editor at Newsweek and writing numerous television documentaries about Hollywood legends Greta Garbo, Groucho Marx, and Elizabeth Taylor--winning the Ace Award for All About Bette Davis—David moved on to work with The New York Film Festival, the Sundance Film Festival, and recently served as Artistic Director of The Los Angeles Film Festival. His newest assignment as Lead Programmer for the 2016 Palm Springs International Film Festival guarantees his ongoing influence in the world of serious filmmaking. If you like movies, you don’t want to miss this revealing conversation with David Ansen.

#45 - Actor William R. Moses

William R. Moses is one of the most prolific TV and film actors of his generation. His hundreds of credits on shows ranging from Castle, CSI: Miami, and Mad Men to NCIS, The Mentalist, and Mind Games—have established him as one of Hollywood’s true leading men. You’ll hear Bill describe his unique family origins—his mother was actress Marion McCargo, his stepfather was the hugely popular U.S. Congressman Alphonso Bell, Jr.—and how he was “discovered” at a Hollywood party by an agent who soon had him in front of the cameras in a Sprite commercial. Bill shares stories about ducking out of college classes to attend auditions and sneaking into acting classes where he began to get some idea of what this “acting thing” is really all about. By the time he was a senior, he was cast opposite Demi Moore in Choices, a roll that eventually brought him to the attention of a casting director who thought he was perfect for the role of “Cole Gioberti” in a television pilot that eventually became the mega-hit CBS-TV series Falcon Crest. As he describes his experience working alongside such talents as Robert Foxworth, Susan Sullivan, and Jane Wyman, you’ll hear some candid “insider” stories about life on the Falcon Crest set, as well as the reasons Bill left the show in the middle of its 9-year run. The conversation then turns to how he transitioned into a major leading role in the classic romantic comedy Mystic Pizza with Julia Roberts, and then going on to co-star with Raymond Burr in more than a dozen Perry Mason movies. When you hear his fond recollections of working with Burr, you’ll find out how he was “born in the wrong year” For anyone interested in what it takes to become a working actor, and how to sustain a successful Hollywood career, this is an interview that is truly a lesson in “getting past the hard parts and loving the craft.”