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PODCAST

TV Confidential with Ed Robertson

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 & film

All Episodes

21:25

The Life and Times of Alan Napier

TV Confidential with Ed Robertson ·

2026/01/29

TVC 722.1: From January 2016: James Bigwood joins Ed for a look at the life and career of Alan Napier (1903-1988), the British actor best known to three generations of TV viewers as Alfred the butler on Batman. Jim is co-author of Not Just Batman's Butler: The Autobiography of Alan Napier, a combination memoir, biography and filmography that is largely based on a manuscript that Napier wrote himself in 1969. Jim first learned about this manuscript in 1975, when he interviewed Napier for

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19:52

Why Batman is just one chapter in the life of Alan...

TV Confidential with Ed Robertson ·

2026/01/29

TVC 722.2: James Bigwood, co-author of Not Just Batman's Butler: The Autobiography of Alan Napier, talks to Ed about what an eloquent writer Alan Napier was; the variety of characters that Napier played in his stage and film career; and how Napier was often cast as older men (even when he was young) because of his height. Not Just Batman's Butler is available through McFarlandPub.com. You can also order it by calling (800) 253-2187. Audio clips of Alan Napier heard in this segment

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14:48

Alan Napier, John Houseman, and Orson Welles

TV Confidential with Ed Robertson ·

2026/01/29

TVC 722.3: James Bigwood, co-author of Not Just Batman's Butler: The Autobiography of Alan Napier, talks to Ed about how Alan Napier overcame a stammer when he was a child; why he likely enjoyed wearing the Batsuit on Batman when asked to do so; and Napier's various collaborations with John Houseman and Orson Welles for radio, film, and television. Not Just Batman's Butler is available through McFarlandPub.com. You can also order it by calling (800) 253-2187. Audio clips of Alan Napier

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22:23

The Night When Johnny Carson Upstaged Don Rickles

TV Confidential with Ed Robertson ·

2026/01/28

TVC 722.4: Part 2 of a conversation that began last week with Mark Malkoff, host of the award-winning Carson Podcast and the author of Love Johnny Carson: One Obsessive Fan's Journey to Find The Genius Behind the Legend, a deep dive into Johnny Carson's thirty-year reign as host of The Tonight Show. Topics this segment include why the act of Carson inviting young comedians to join him on the couch after performing their set had a much greater impact in Los Angeles than when the show was

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18:27

100 Years of The King Family

TV Confidential with Ed Robertson ·

2026/01/27

TVC 722.5: Ed welcomes Cam Clarke, one of the youngest members of The King Family, and one of the busiest voice actors in the entertainment industry today. Cam's new book, Now They're All Here: The King Family, Over 100 Years of Entertainment From America's First Family of Song is an oral history that not only traces The King Family's imprint on entertainment over the past century (spanning the worlds of vaudeville, radio, record albums, musical films from the 1940s, and live venues all over

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17:06

The Many Voices of Cam Clarke

TV Confidential with Ed Robertson ·

2026/01/27

TVC 722.6: Voice actor Cam Clarke, author of Now They're All Here: The King Family, Over 100 Years of Entertainment From America's First Family of Song, talks to Ed about his accidental path to becoming a voice actor; how he was mentored as a voice artist by Michael Bell; and why a voice actor should "never audition with something you can't sustain." Now They're All Here is available through Rare Bird Books as well as Amazon.com.

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20:38

45 Years of Magnum, p.i.

TV Confidential with Ed Robertson ·

2026/01/22

TVC 720.3: From December 2015: Tony, Donna, and Ed commemorate the premiere of Magnum, p.i. (CBS, 1980-1988) and the birthday of TV talk show legend Phil Donahue as part of This Week in TV History.

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12:00

How 5 Minutes with Red Skelton Changed Johnny...

TV Confidential with Ed Robertson ·

2026/01/20

TVC 721.2: Ed welcomes Mark Malkoff, host of the award-winning Carson Podcast and the author of Love Johnny Carson: One Obsessive Fan's Journey to Find The Genius Behind the Legend, a deep dive into Johnny Carson's thirty-year reign as host of The Tonight Show that includes interviews with more than four hundred Tonight Show personnel, including staff members, production people, writers, friends, and such Tonight Show guests as Carol Burnett, Mel Brooks, Bob Saget, Larry King, Michael J. Fox,

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15:52

The "Surprise Guest" Segment of The Johnny Carson...

TV Confidential with Ed Robertson ·

2026/01/20

TVC 720.3: Mark Malkoff, host of the award-winning Carson Podcast and the author of Love Johnny Carson, talks to Ed about why Johnny Carson often had a "surprise guest" during the early years of hosting The Tonight Show; how Carson's writers often approached writing the monologue differently whenever a guest host hosted the show in Johnny's absence; Carson's secret philanthropy; and his legendary generosity toward up-and-coming comedians. Love Johnny Carson: One Obsessive Fan's Journey to Find

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20:39

Lindsay Wagner on the Golden Anniversary of The...

TV Confidential with Ed Robertson ·

2026/01/20

TVC 721.4: Ed welcomes back Lindsay Wagner, the Emmy Award-winning actress known around the world as Jaime Sommers, The Bionic Woman. Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026 marked the fiftieth anniversary of the premiere of The Bionic Woman (ABC/NBC, 1976-1978). Topics this segment include how Lindsay accepted the part of Jaime after some prodding from both her mother and her younger sister; how the development of Jaime's character was a true collaboration between Lindsay and series producer Kenneth Johnson;

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07:42

Lindsay Wagner, John Houseman, and Robert Wise

TV Confidential with Ed Robertson ·

2026/01/19

TVC 721.5: Lindsay Wagner talks to Ed about working with Academy Award-winning actor John Houseman on both The Paper Chase and The Bionic Woman, working with Academy Award-winning director Robert Wise on Two People, and how she got her first television set with an assist from James Garner. Lindsay is making available special, limited-edition Bionic Woman memorabilia to celebrate the show's fiftieth anniversary, including newly released signed photos of Lindsay as Jaime; a select number of

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10:16

How Masterpiece Theatre was a forerunner of TV...

TV Confidential with Ed Robertson ·

2026/01/15

TVC 720.1: From January 2011: Tony, Donna, and Ed remember of the premiere of Masterpiece Theater (PBS, 1971-…) and the first NBC broadcast of Kukla, Fran and Ollie as part of This Week in TV History.

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22:33

Doug Thompson, John Candy, and James Doohan

TV Confidential with Ed Robertson ·

2026/01/13

TVC 720.4: Ed welcomes Doug Thompson, award-winning writer, producer, and director of more than 1,000 hours of radio programming for broadcast across the U.S. and Canada, as well as more than thirty TV documentaries for Canadian television. Among his credits, Doug created and produced three radio shows for John Candy, including Radio Kandy, a weekly two-hour show that was not only carried by more than 350 radio stations across the U.S. for two years at the height of Candy's movie career, but which

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17:40

Doug Thompson, Ringo Starr, and Jim Henson

TV Confidential with Ed Robertson ·

2026/01/13

TVC 720.5: Award-winning radio producer Doug Thompson talks to Ed about working with Ringo Starr on the nationally syndicated radio series Ringo's Yellow Submarine; with Jim Henson on both The Dark Crystal and The Fantastic Miss Piggy Special; and with The Monkees on a radio documentary that Doug produced for broadcast in Canada in 1967.

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09:15

How Batman Ushered in the Second Season

TV Confidential with Ed Robertson ·

2026/01/12

Monday, Jan. 12, 2026 marks the sixtieth anniversary of the premiere of Batman (ABC, 1966-1968). With that in mind, we thought we'd bring you an encore presentation of a conversation that Tony, Donna, and I had in January 2016 about the legacy of the Batman television series, including how the premiere of Batman as a midseason replacement ushered in the era of the "second season," a staple of network TV that continues to this day.

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08:59

Lindsay Wagner on the 50th anniversary of The Bionic...

TV Confidential with Ed Robertson ·

2026/01/08

We took a few days off for the holidays, but we'll be back with a new edition of TV Confidential later this week. In the meantime, we thought we'd bring you this special preview of our upcoming conversation with Lindsay Wagner, the Emmy Award-winning actress known around the world as Jaime Sommers, The Bionic Woman. Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the premiere of The Bionic Woman (ABC/NBC, 1976-1978). In this clip, Lindsay tells us how she accepted the part of Jaime after

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08:49

Why Elvis was always a gentleman to everyone he met

TV Confidential with Ed Robertson ·

2026/01/07

We took a few days off for the holidays, but we'll be back with a new edition of TV Confidential later this week. In the meantime, please enjoy this Blast from the Past clip from January 2013 featuring renowned Elvis historian Cory Cooper. Cory's knowledge of The King is based on his deep ties to many of the people who were closest to Elvis, including members of the "Memphis Mafia." Topics this segment include some of Cory's favorite Elvis movies; what Elvis looked for when he listened to other

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12:45

How All in the Family Shook Up Television

TV Confidential with Ed Robertson ·

2026/01/05

By now, most of you are probably aware of the tragic deaths of Rob and Michele Reiner on Dec. 14, 2025. We are in the process of putting together a formal tribute program in memory of Rob Reiner that will air in a few weeks on TV Confidential. In the meantime, please enjoy this clip from January 2011 in which Tony, Donna, and Ed discuss the many ways in which All in the Family changed television when it premiered on Jan. 12, 1971.

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10:39

Harry Shearer on the origins of Spinal Tap

TV Confidential with Ed Robertson ·

2025/12/31

We're taking a few days off for the holidays, but we'll be back with brand new editions of TV Confidential in the new year. In the meantime, please enjoy this Blast from the Past clip from November 2021 in which Ed and guest co-host Chuck Harter ask comedian and voice artist extraordinaire Harry Shearer about the back story of This is Spinal Tap, including the pivotal role that Norman Lear played in helping the movie get made.

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08:25

The Playful Side of Pete Duel

TV Confidential with Ed Robertson ·

2025/12/30

We're taking a few days off for the holidays, but we'll be back with brand new editions of TV Confidential in the new year. In the meantime, please enjoy this Blast from the Past clip from December 2015 in which author Paul Green helps Ed revisit the life and career of Pete Duel, the star of Alias Smith and Jones who took his life on Dec. 30, 1971, at the height of his television celebrity. The second edition of Paul's book Pete Duel: A Biography includes new information from not only Duel's family

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