Quick link to free  iTunes episode #27

Dennis Brown, one of Hollywood’s most seasoned and prolific television movie producers, tells a uniquely personal story that saw him go from “small town boy” to the pinnacle of Hollywood success.

In a wide-ranging informal conversation with Bob and Suzanne, Dennis recalls career highlights that include getting hired by Grant Tinker (who would later build MTM Productions with his wife Mary Tyler Moore), surviving United Artist Studios’ implosion following the debacle of Michael Cimino’s Heaven’s Gate, and ultimately becoming an award winning producer on his own.

During the course of his amazing career, Dennis Brown has supervised multiple Academy Award and Emmy Award-winning…Read More>

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Episode #26 – “Brady Bunch” Producer Lloyd Schwartz: Hollywood Career Tips & How to Deal with Actors

Quick link to iTunes episode #26

Lloyd Schwartz, one of TV’s most prolific writer-producers shares the story of his long and successful career in Hollywood and beyond.

Starting as a youth camp counselor and a standup comic (with member of The Black Panthers as his working partner) Lloyd tells stories about selling his first network script on the Paramount Studios lot while still in college.

His innate confidence and writing ability saw him rise quickly through the ranks to become…Read More>

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Episode #25 – Jimmy Hawkins (part 2): Producing Movies & TV

Quick link to iTunes episode #25

Turning away from an incredible career as an actor with more than 500 professional credits, Jimmy Hawkins set out to “remake” himself and soon became one of Hollywood’s most entrepreneurial and commercially successful independent film and television producers.

In one of the more inspirational celebrity interviews, you’ll hear how Jimmy navigated the shark-infested waters of Hollywood power-brokers and deal-makers to help finance and produce Evel Knievel with George Hamilton, and the thrill of the movie’s star-studded premier at Grauman’s Chinese Theater that turned a small independent film into…Read More>

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Episode #24 – Garner Simmons: from Sam Peckinpah to “Falcon Crest”

Quick link to free  iTunes Episdoe #24

Garer Simmons—television and feature film screenwriter—joins Bob McCullough and Suzanne Herrera McCullough for a faced-paced conversation focused upon the twists and turns of his Hollywood writing career.

With “writing in the blood”, Garner tells his unique story of breaking into show business while working on his PhD by writing the definitive biography of legendary movie director Sam Peckinpah.

Using his critically-acclaimed book Peckinpah: A Portrait in Montage as his calling card, Garner began climbing the rungs of the Hollywood career ladder by following his personal mantra…Read More>

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Episode #23 – Director Jerry London: From I Love Lucy to Shogun

Quick link to iTunes Episode #23

Bob and Suzanne interview one of Hollywood’s most esteemed  directors, Jerry London. With hundreds of primetime television series, movies, and mega-miniseries to his credit, Jerry tells how he broke into show business as an apprentice film editor on I Love Lucy, and what it was like “paying dues” working on The Untouchables and The Danny Thomas Show. 

Jerry has great stories about working closely with Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, including his “day at the races” with Hollywood stars…Read More>

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Episode #22 – Wolfman Jack: Writing & Performing With A Legend

Quick link to free  iTunes Episode #22

Opening with an audio-clip tease of the early days of “outlaw radio”, this episode delivers real memories of the early days of Rock n’ Roll!

Bob  jumps into the heart of the episode with his questionable vocal impression of one of the world’s true broadcasting originals, the inimitable Wolfman Jack.

Suzanne and Bob deliver some amazing sound clips from The Wolfman himself and from his professional inspiration, early Rock ‘n Roll’s most powerful and popular disc jockey (before he got busted for his involvement in assorted “payola” schemes), the incredibly fast-talking “Moondog”…Read More>

 

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Episode #21 – TV Writing: Comedy, Drama, & Animation with “The Man Who Killed Transformers’ Optimus Prime“

Quick link to fee iTunes podcast episode #21

In one of the most rollicking celebrity interviews, join a “live” conversation over lunch in Beverly Hills with Ron Friedman, one of the most prolific and celebrated television writers of all time.  It’s an unpredictable and laugh-filled session as Ron talks about working with show business  legends like longtime friend Stan Lee, the creator of X-Men, Spider Man, and Iron Man.

If you want the real “inside story” from the visionary behind Transformers: The Movie, and “the man who killed Optimus Prime” listen now…

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Episode #20 – Ross Borden: A Passion for Acting

Quick link to free iTunes Episode #20

Here’s a free-wheeling “live on location” interview as Ross Borden discusses his Detroit origins that led to an onstage vaudeville childhood of singing, dancing, and making false eyelashes for nightclub strippers…and how he became (of all things) a professional dentist.

How Ross stepped away from a prosperous 20-year dental career to follow his true creative passions right into the major Hollywood studios as a “go to” guest actor is truly the stuff of Hollywood Dreams.

With credits on shows like Kung Fu,Simon & Simon, Falcon Crest,Hawaii 5-0, and T.J. Hooker, Ross knows what he’s talking about as he shares candid personal memories of David Carradine, Robert Wagner, Jacqueline Bisset, and the Hollywood “casting couch”…Read More>

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Episode #19 – Acting Has Been “A Wonderful Life” for Jimmy Hawkins  (Part 1)

Quick link to iTunes Episode #19

This episode opens with Bob and Suzanne’s recent (exhausting) trip to Disneyland where they survived on Starbucks, touches upon memories of Mickey Rooney, and then moves into the first of many in-depth candid celebrity interviews to come…as you join them for a free-wheeling chat with their good friend, actor-producer Jimmy Hawkins.

Nobody else in Hollywood comes close to Jimmy’s history of nearly 200 acting roles working alongside stars like Shelly Fabares, Elvis Presley , Rick Nelson, Fred McMurray, Brandon DeWilde, Sally Field, Spencer Tracy, and Katharine Hepburn.

It’s an informal conversation over lunch (you’ll hear lots of eating and drinking!) as Jimmy recalls intimate details of a long career that began when…Read More>

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Episode #18 – “Zorro” – Behind the Scenes

Quick link to free iTunes Episode #18

After Suzanne reacts to the impact of having recently seen Blackfish, the documentary detailing the dangerous cruelty of the SeaWorld theme parks, this episode details how this updating of the classic “Zorro” was realized through international co-production financing and the “well-oiled machine” created by producers Goodman-Rosen.

He also describes the talent search undertaken to find the right actor for the  dual lead roles of “Don Diego” and “Zorro”, and takes pride in recalling that Canadian Duncan Regehr–the first of nearly 100 actors to audition for the part–was his only choice.  “I put Duncan’s name in my pocket that first day…and after seeing every actor in town, pulled it out two weeks later,” he recalls.

Suzanne describes the rigors of shooting in mid-summer Madrid, Spain and reminds Bob that it wasn’t just the heat that affected his directing on the set, it was his innate fear of…Read More>

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Episode #17 – “Star Trek: TNG”-Behind the Scenes (Part 2)

Quick link to iTunes Episode #17

Bob completes the tale of his “interesting” year as a writer-producer on Star Trek: The Next Generation, an assignment that even he admits may not have been the “perfect fit” for him.

Bob confesses his frustration with the “downward spiral of politics” among the show’s executives and producers (as Gene Roddenberry’s leadership of the series became increasingly mercurial and sporadic), and reveals his personal point of view about writing for one of television’s cultural holy grails.

With his writing focus on ST:TNG‘s characters and storylines, Bob’s life on the show was colored by his ironic–and somewhat irreverent–take on all things technical…Read More>

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Episode #15 – The Disaster of “Ohara” and Tales of Bruce Lee

Quick link to free iTunes Episode #15

The episode begins with Suzanne creating some mystery and revealing secrets as she talks about her new bathing suit, today’s generation of pampered Hollywood pets…and the  conversation turns to Bob’s experiences as Supervising Producer on Ohara, a Warner Bros. TV series that starred Pat Morita of The Karate Kid fame. 

Bob candidly reveals the difficulties in writing and producing a cop show for the former“Mr. Miyagi”, and details a production plagued by a vague, constantly-changing franchise…a challenge made all the more difficult by a phalanx of bickering producers, studio chiefs, and network executives ranging from Brian Grazer to…Read More>

Episode #14 – Hollywood Meets the NFL and a TV Pilot Goes “Busted”

Quick link to free iTunes Episode #14

This episode opens with Suzanne’s discussion of all things “reality TV” as she describes the new Ryan Seacrest reality show Montecito shot right in her Santa Barbara neighborhood, while Bob shares his appreciation for classic rock music albums on vinyl.

Bob then reveals how he got the “inside track” and sold a television pilot at NBC Productions starring the unlikely trio of NFL Chicago Bears Hall of Fame linebacker Dick Butkus, Harriet Nelson–classic television queen of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet fame–and young Johnny Galecki, the star of CBS-TV series The Big Bang Theory.

The conversation moves into the secrets of…Read More>

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Episode #13 – Hollywood “Stunt” Casting and Bob’s Biggest Failure

Quick link to free iTunes Episode #13

Suzanne begins this podcast with the announcement of a new “Music” category here on the website, and—while reminding us she’s sooo much younger than Bob—lays claim to being a lifelong Beatles fan.

The episode moves on to what Bob himself describes as his “greatest career failure” while under contract to Aaron Spelling Productions and writing and producing Dark Mansions for ABC-TV.

It’s a tale of classic Hollywood casting politics as Bob sets the record straight as to exactly why former movie queen…Read More>

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Episode #12 – Suzanne the actress: How she did it!

Quick link to free iTunes Episode #12

Opening this episode with an off-the-wall giggling fit, Bob and Suzanne quickly recover their “professional bearing” and Suzanne recalls how she broke into the Screen Actors Guild with her first speaking role on Fantasy Island (while alienating all the other “Lava-Lava Girls” on the set).

With an early introduction into The School of Hard Knocks and the world of studio and network auditions, Suzanne’s artistic expectations bump into the harsh reality of repeated casting calls…Read More>

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Episode #10 – Oscars, Aaron Spelling, Jackie Collins, and “Hollywood Wives”

Quick link to free iTunes Episode #10

When Aaron Spelling handed Jackie Collins’ Hollywood Wives to Bob, it was the beginning of an incredible year that had him hob-nobbing with major showbiz icons like Rod Steiger, Candace Bergin, Robert Stack, Suzanne Somers, Angie Dickenson, Joanna Cassidy, Stephanie Powers, and the man who would later become “Hannibal Lecter”… Read More>

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Episode #9 – “Falcon Crest”…the conclusion

Quick link to iTunes Episode #9

Recalling the halcyon days on location in Napa Valley while shooting the first several seasons of Falcon Crest, Bob rhapsodizes about their lunch with Robert Mondavi Suzanne reveals her private moments shared with Jane Wyman (as she describes her married life with then-President Ronald Reagan), what it was like to deal with the U.S. Secret Service and Hugh Hefner on the same production, and what life was actually  like on the location of a hit TV series. Read More>

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Episode  #8 – “Falcon Crest”…the beginning

Quick link to free iTunes Episode #8

From his initial meeting with Emmy winning Walton’s creator Earl Hamner…to being privately “auditioned” by Academy Award-winning superstar Jane Wyman…to daily life on the set with series stars Susan Sullivan, David Selby, Robert Foxworth, William R. Moses, Lorenzo Lamas, and Mel Ferrer, Bob’s life on Falcon Crest proved to be the stuff of showbiz dreams.  Bob shares some unforgettable moments on the set with high-power guest stars, including Academy Award winner Cliff Robertson and Lana Turner…and reveals the charming trick Shannon Tweed used…Read More>

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Episode #7 – Backstage with “Bionic Woman” and…Van Halen!

Quick link to free iTunes Episode #7                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

 

 

Bob recalls how Kenneth Johnson gave him a big break on Bionic Woman, resulting in one of the series’ most watched episodes, “In This Corner, Jaime Sommers”.  Bob then tries to answer a direct question from Suzanne about his time spent with  Farrah Fawcett  before moving on to his unconventional strategy for selling the next script he did for the show “Jaime and The King”, which led him and Suzanne to a raucous backstage night with David Lee Roth and Van Halen. As he recalls the professionalism of Lindsey Wagner…Read More>

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Episode #6 – “Six Million Dollar Man”…with Lee Majors & Farrah Fawcett

Quick link to free iTunes Episode #6

Bob describes his “below the line” move from Paramount TV and we learn how he found himself inside the gates at Universal City Television in its heyday. Bob had an inside track to fulfilling his ambition of becoming a writer…and he took full advantage of it to sell his first story on the show and overcome the “system” that invariably tried to screw young wannabe writers.  While Suzanne details the bio of Lee Majors—cracking wise about Lee and Bob growing 70s-era mustaches–Bob describes life on the inside of The Six Million Dollar Man, recalling the professionalism and good cheer of the show’s iconic star…Read More>

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 Episode #5 – Breaking in on “Mission: Impossible”…

 

Quick link to free iTuned Episode #5

Bob & Suzanne discuss Bob’s first real movie studio gig and how he talked his way past the guards at Paramount Studios to get an “impossible” interview. Suzanne rightfully accuses him of unmitigated chutzpah, and we learn what life was like on one of the most iconic and challenging shows on network television, the original “Mission: Impossible”. Bob talks about the cast changes on that show, shares his memories of  “Mission” stars PeterGraves, Martin Landau, and Mike Connors, star of…           Read More>

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Episode #4 – Producing International Hits and Living Overseas…

Quick link to free iTunes Episode #4

Bob & Suzanne outline the high points of Bob’s writing and producing career from his years with Aaron Spelling to his gig with Jerry Bruckheimer as he reveals the secret to longevity in the TV game while recalling the actors and writers he worked with.

From turning a failed pilot into an 88-episode hit (and finding the world’s most expensive hot dogs), to selling an action-packed ABC-TV network pilot based on a 3-year-old’s show idea, to scouting the South Pacific looking for perfect surf……Read More>

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Episode #3 – Surviving in Show Business

Quick link to free iTunes Episode #3

Suzanne plays the “Latina Power” card, gives her review of today’s Hollywood Reporter Magazine, does a bit of name-dropping about their Santa Barbara neighbors, touches upon the years of the Hollywood Blacklist, and Bob opines about how The Academy Awards seem to overlook the obvious. Suzanne then takes Bob into the heart of his writing-producing-directing career… Read More>

 

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Episode #2 – Bob & Suzanne break into “the biz”…at the bottom!

Quick link to free iTunes Episode #2

Bob admits that literally begging his way into grad school proved to be a brilliant career move which ultimately led to snagging his first showbiz job as an NBC “page” in beautiful downtown Burbank. From ushering old ladies into “Let’s Make A Deal” to gigs on “The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson” and “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In”, Bob and Suzanne talk about first encounters with stars like Goldie Hawn, Sammie Davis Jr., Dean Martin, and—the most glamorous true “star” of all—Kirk Douglas.    Read More>

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Episode #1 – Raised by gangsters and loving the quiz shows…

Quick link to free iTunes Episode #1

This debut episode starts with Bob’s FBI-agent birthright and takes us through a childhood spent in  Sunset Strip nightclubs… where he hung out with Nat “King” Cole and sang duets with Sophie Tucker and Johnny Ray.

Raised with gun-toting West Coast Jewish  mobsters as family role models,  Bob reveals the details of youthful encounters with naked movie stars like Carol Baker and Rock Hudson… Read More>