Living Room Legends: Chats with TV's Famous Faces Book Available; Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of July 11, 2011)

Friday, July 08, 2011

Living Room Legends: Chats with TV's Famous Faces Book Available; Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of July 11, 2011)

Living Room Legends: Chats with TV's Famous Faces is a collection of exclusive conversations with some of classic television's most beloved personalities, offering in-depth answers to questions of interest not previously asked, and preserving for posterity the historical significance of their time on some of the most beloved shows in television history.

Living Room Legends is a Pop Culture treasure trove filled with behind-the-scenes details, entertaining anecdotes, then and now photos, and TV trivia galore!

Take a stroll down memory lane with:

Jim Nabors (The Andy Griffith Show/Gomer Pyle, USMC)

Donna Douglas (The Beverly Hillbillies)

Pat Carroll (Cinderella/The Danny Thomas Show)

Rose Marie (The Dick Van Dyke Show)

Shelley Morrison (The Flying Nun/Will & Grace)

Ronnie Schell (Gomer Pyle, USMC)

Tom Lester (Green Acres)

Lucie Arnaz (Here's Lucy)

Janet Waldo (The Jetsons)

Pat Priest (The Munsters)

Phyllis Diller (The Pruitts of Southampton - aka The Phyllis Diller Show)

Chapter Highlights:

Memories of a Mayberry Marine: Jim Nabors
Jim Nabors breaks with tradition and participates in a rare and enlightening interview that recalls his time on two of the most popular sitcoms of the 1960'’s, The Andy Griffith Show and Gomer Pyle USMC. Nabors recounts his working relationships with co-stars Andy Griffith, Don Knotts, Frances Bavier, and Ron Howard, his quick ascension to fame after becoming a series regular, and his friendships with comedy legends Lucille Ball and Carol Burnett.
Nabors also shares several comedic tales that transpired after being recognized in public, concluding this memorable visit with another favorite “Living Room Legend.”

Settin’ a Spell with Elly May: Donna Douglas
One of only two original surviving cast members of The Beverly Hillbillies, Donna Douglas grants a very rare interview and gives fans an entertaining look inside one of the biggest sitcom hits in television history.
Douglas recalls a catastrophe that took place the day of her audition, and how it nearly cost her the part of a lifetime. Other recollections include lessons she learned from co-stars Buddy Ebsen and Irene Ryan, and comical adventures that took place when visiting foreign countries to promote the series.
Of course, no chat with “Elly May” would be complete without a few “critter” stories—including an especially funny tale involving a hippopotamus in the “cee-ment” pond.

Make Room for Patty: Pat Carroll
Television, film, and Broadway star Pat Carroll can gratify readers with a story like no other! Entertaining anecdotes from her legendary career include an unexpected Emmy win in the late 1950’s, comical reminiscences from her time as the nasty step-sister on Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, her appearances on television classics such as The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Laverne & Shirley, and how she became known to a younger legion of fans as the voice of the menacing Ursula in Walt Disney's The Little Mermaid.

A Legend among Legends: Rose Marie
Rose Marie shares stories about an unprecedented career in show business that began as a ballad and blues singer at the age of three.
Recalling special friendships with fellow singers Ethel Merman and Rosemary Clooney, Miss Marie also recounts how she intended to leave The Dick Van Dyke Show after losing her husband of twenty years. She speaks of her fourteen year run on Hollywood Squares, how she discovered Tim Conway, and her candid thoughts on the final Dick Van Dyke Show Reunion that aired in 2004.

Sister Rosario: Shelley Morrison
Shelley Morrison discusses her time on The Flying Nun, the adventures she shared with Sally Field while filming the pilot on location in Puerto Rico, a personal tragedy that marred the excitement of landing a co-starring role on a major ABC sitcom, and the special effects that were created to make Sister Bertrille “fly.”
Morrison also relates how she nailed the audition that won her the coveted role of Rosario Salazar, Karen Walker’s sardonic maid on NBC's Will & Grace, and her current success as a voice-over artist.

The Face Is Slightly Familiar: Ronnie Schell
Most famous for his role as Gomer Pyle's good buddy, Duke Slater, Ronnie Schell expounds on a phenomenal career that began at the Purple Onion in San Francisco, alongside comic Phyllis Diller in the 1950’s, eventually leading to over 50 appearances on The Merv Griffin Show, and guest spots on favorites such as Charlie's Angels, Happy Days, Alice, The Golden Girls, and more.
Schell also shares his thoughts about working with Andy Griffith, Jim Nabors, Ted Bessell, and Marlo Thomas, and why he left as a series regular during the fourth season of Gomer Pyle.

Howdy from Hooterville: Tom Lester
In this fond return to Green Acres, Tom Lester shares what led to his unusual journey from the fields of the Mississippi Delta to the bright lights of Hollywood.
Along with his first impressions of Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor, Lester recalls his friendship with producer Paul Henning, and reveals some little-known facts about a spin-off series written especially for him, that was in the works when Green Acres was abruptly canceled in the spring of 1971.

Loving This Lucie: Lucie Arnaz
Lucie Arnaz, daughter of entertainment legends Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, discusses her initial reluctance to appear on network television, how she arrived at the decision to accept a co-starring role on Here's Lucy, and the invaluable experience gained from working on a day-to-day basis with her legendary mother.
Arnaz also shares fond memories of Vivian Vance and Gale Gordon, her favorite episodes of Here's Lucy, and what it was like to experience and alter the unflattering stories that permeated the airwaves after the death of her parents.

A Date with Judy Jetson: Janet Waldo
Janet Waldo, best remembered by fans today as the voice of Judy Jetson, gives us an in-depth look at her early days in radio and television, including some behind-the-scenes stories from her classic appearance on I Love Lucy, her time as teenage “Emmy Lou” on Ozzie & Harriet, and how this cartoon icon began her legendary career in television animation at Hanna Barbera.
Waldo also recalls what it was like working with other cartoon legends Mel Blanch, Daws Butler, Penny Singleton, and Jean Vanderpyl, and how much the industry had changed when the original cast was asked to reprise their roles when new episodes of The Jetsons began being produced in 1985.

A Stroll Down Mockingbird Lane: Pat Priest
Pat Priest talks about her many appearances on such TV classics as Dr. Kildare, Perry Mason, Mission: Impossible, and The Lucy Show. She also describes her initial reception from the cast of The Munsters after taking over the role of the previous Marilyn, and relates an unpleasant encounter on the first day of filming with a temperamental Yvonne DeCarlo.
Priest also discusses Fred Gwynne’s hatred of the role for which he is most remembered, Herman Munster, and dispels legendary rumors by explaining the real reason why The Munsters was cancelled at the end of its second season.

The Face That Launched a Thousand Jokes: Phyllis Diller
The iconic Phyllis Diller shares how her stand-up career began without the hideous hairstyles and wacky outfits the public has grown to love. We also find out how Diller’s ten year career as a classical pianist began because of an initial misunderstanding, and the embarrassing incident that happened the night she unexpectedly met her idol, Bob Hope.
Diller candidly reflects on why her two attempts at a weekly television series weren’t successful, and who she credits with giving her that first “big break.”

TV fans of all ages will savor the rich oral history of these small screen classics conveyed by those who were there!

Curl up on the couch and take a nostalgic trip down television lane with Living Room Legends: Chats with TV’s Famous Faces.

About The Author:
Eddie Lucas is a baby-boomer, writer, educator, and vintage TV historian. Lucas, a 1983 graduate of the University of Central Florida, has completed extensive courses in Radio and Television Broadcasting and Journalism, and has spent thousands of hours reading every article, interview, and book available on the history and background of television—its writers, producers, the iconic studios who produced them, such as Desilu and Screen Gems, even down to most minute details, such as episode titles, special guest stars, and original air dates.
Lucas says: “As a classic TV fan and historian, I wanted to find out more about some of our favorite TV shows and the stars that generations of us have grown up watching. I wanted to ask the types of questions that sometimes run around in the back of your mind when you’re watching a particular show or celebrity—the kind that die-hard, as well as casual fans would ask if given the opportunity. It was also important for me to hear what they had to say in their own words, in order to keep what they had to say intact, and not filtered through a press agent or whittled down to fit into a newspaper or magazine article, because many times in those situations, the essence of what they have to say is lost. So I chose an oral history/commentary as a way to preserve the historical significance of their time on some of the most beloved shows on TV.”
Lucas lives in Central Florida.

Living Room Legends: Chats with TV's Famous Faces can be purchased at amazon.com, ginameyers.com, and barnesandnoble.com .

We hope to have a review of this book up on the blog in the upcoming weeks. As you may remember, we reviewed Mr. Lucas's first book, Close-ups: Conversations with Our TV Favorites, back in May 2008. Check that one out for conversations with Alice Ghostley, Elinor Donahue, Marla Gibbs, Barbara Billingsley, Tony Dow, Dwayne Hickman, Kaye Ballard, Stanley Livingston, Ernest Thomas, Haywood Nelson, and many others.

It's Friday, so it is time for "Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows" for the coming week. This is where we list what sitcom stars are appearing on talk shows for the coming week, the stars are both current and past sitcom stars (but we won't cover movie stars like Tom Hanks or John Travolta, since they won't be talking about their past sitcoms likely), so this is for all sitcom fans of all eras!
For the week of July 11-15, 2011, we have many current sitcom stars and past sitcom stars on TV talk shows! So get your DVR's (or whatever you use) ready! Ready? Here is all what you need to know for the coming week!

Monday, July 11, 2011

Elijah Wood (Wilfred) - Watch Elijah on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS. Wilfred airs on Thursdays at 10pm on FX.
Denis Leary (The Job) - Denis drops by Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart at 11pm.
George Lopez (George Lopez) - Catch George on a repeat of Conan at 11pm on TBS.
Larry David (Curb Your Enthusiasm) - Larry stops by The Joy Behar Show at 10pm ET on HLN.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Roseanne Barr (Roseanne) - Roseanne stops by The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
Shia LaBeouf (Even Stevens) - Catch Shia on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 12am on ABC.
Tracy Morgan (30 Rock/The Tracy Morgan Show) - Watch Tracy on a repeat of Conan at 11pm on TBS.
Norm Macdonald (The Norm Show) - Norm appears on a repeat of Lopez Tonight at 12am on TBS.
Denis Leary (The Job) - Denis continues to make the rounds on The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Cedric the Entertainer (The Steve Harvey Show) - Cedric drops by The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Regina King (227) - Regina chats on The Mo'nique Show at 11pm on BET.
Marion Ross (Happy Days) - Marion is a guest on The Joy Behar Show at 10pm ET on HLN.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Jason Bateman (Arrested Development/The Hogan Family/It's Your Move)) - Watch Jason on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 12am on ABC.
Angela Kinsey (The Office) - Catch Angela on Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
Jennifer Aniston (Friends) - Jennifer is a guest on a repeat of Chelsea Lately on E! at 11pm.
Margaret Cho (All-American Girl) - Margaret chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT and later on The Joy Behar Show at 10pm on HLN.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Louis C.K. (Louie) - Louis appears on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 12am on ABC.
Josh Radnor (How I Met Your Mother) - Tune in to see Josh on a repeat of Last Call with Carson Daly at 1:37am on NBC.
Bob Saget (How I Met Your Mother/Surviving Suburbia/Full House) - Bob stops by Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:37am on NBC.
Tina Fey (30 Rock) - Watch Tina on a repeat of Conan at 11pm on TBS.
Roseanne Barr (Roseanne) - Roseanne pays a visit to The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.

Friday, July 15, 2011

Bryan Cranston (Malcolm in the Middle) - Catch Bryan on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno at 11:35pm on NBC.
Kevin Nealon (Weeds) - Watch Kevin on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 12am on ABC.
Tim Daly (Wings) - Tim is a guest on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
Lisa Kudrow (Friends) - Lisa drops by LIVE! with Regis & Kelly, so check your listings.
Roseanne Barr (Roseanne) - Roseanne wraps up her appearances this week on The Joy Behar Show at 10pm ET on HLN.