Author: Bill Thompson

Stephen Collins

Bill Thompson
Photo: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ

For 11 seasons on the TV series 7th Heaven, Stephen Collins played The Rev. Eric Camden, a Protestant minister who headed a family of seven.

But Collins had a long and impressive acting resume before that, including TV shows and movies. He was in the first Star Trek movie in 1979.

But when I met him in 1994, it was to talk about a novel he had written, a thriller called Eye Contact.

And given the legal troubles Collins faced a decade later the subject matter now sounds a little problematic. More on that later.

So here now, from 1994, Stephen Collins.

Stephen Collins is 74 now. His career ended in 2014, after he admitted to “inappropriate sexual conduct” with three underage girls.

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William Shatner
Goldie Hawn

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Jane Byrne

Bill Thompson
Photo: Alan Light

For 21 years, from the mid-1950s to the mid ’70s, mayor Richard j. Daly ran the city of Chicago. And I mean he ran the city.

One member of Daley’s cabinet was a woman named Jane Byrne, who was Chicago’s Commissioner of Consumer Sales.

Not long after Mayor Daley’s death in 1976 Byrne left her city job, and ran for mayor herself in 1979. And against the odds, Byrne won. She became not only Chicago’s first female mayor, but the first woman to be elected mayor of any major U.S. city.

But 4 years later, when she ran for reelection, the tide that had swept her into office swept her back out again.

In 1992, Jane Byrne wrote a political memoir, and that’s when I have the chance to meet her.

So here now, from 1992, Jane Byrne.

Jane Byrne died in 2014. She was 81.

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Geraldine Ferraro
Ann Richards

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Robert Fulghum

Bill Thompson
Photo: Petr Novák, Wikipedia

Back around 1988 or ’89, you could hardly go anywhere without seeing a little book written by a former Unitarian minister called All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.

Readers all over the world were struck by the simplicity and elegance and wisdom of that little book.

That man was Robert Fulghum, and his book stayed on the New York Times bestseller list for two years.

Here’s how he summed up the book when he and I first talked about it in 1988:

A year later, we met again, to talk about his sequel, a book called It Was On Fire When I Lay Down On It.

So here now, from 1989, Robert Fulghum.

Robert Fulghum will be 85 in June. He lives in Utah and the Greek island of Crete.

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Peter Funt
Maya Angelou

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Judith Martin

Bill Thompson

Where has everybody’s manners gone? Doesn’t anybody have good manners anymore ?

For over 40 years, syndicated columnist Judith Martin — better known as Miss Manners — has been helping people navigate the often confusing Waters of good manners .

In her polite but firm way, Martin answers readers questions about what constitutes good manners and good etiquette in today’s world.

In 1990, Martin wrote a book called Miss Manners Guide For The Turn of Tthe Millennium. And that was when I had one of many conversations that I’ve had with her over the years.

And as we get into this interview, keep in mind that this was in 1990, before the internet, before instant messages, before cell phones, voicemail, and whatever else has come along since.

So here now, from 1990, Judith Martin.

Judith Martin is 83 now. She lives in Washington, DC.

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Lucky Roosevelt

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Alexander Haig

Bill Thompson

Today is March 30th, and it was 41 years ago today that a young man tried to kill President Ronald Reagan.

And one of the most controversial things that happened that day happened to a man with a long and distinguished military and public service career, general. Alexander Haig.

Haig was a graduate of West point m. He served in Korea, served in Vietnam, earned the silver Star and the purple heart. And by 1973 was the youngest four-star general ever in the US army.

In 1973, Haig became President Richard Nixon’s, Chief of staff just as the Watergate scandal was turning up to full boil.

In fact, many say that Haig was instrumental in persuading Nixon to resign the presidency in 1974.

In 1980, after being elected president in a landslide, Ronald Reagan chose Haig as his secretary of State. And it was the following March 30th, the day. John Hinckley Jr. Tried to assassinate the president, that Haig made a comment that will haunt him.

In 1992, Haig wrote a book called inner circles. And that’s when I have the chance to meet him. So here now, from 1992, general Alexander Haig.

Alexander Haig died in 2010. He was 85.

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Jim & Sarah Brady
Jerry Parr

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Frank Warren

Bill Thompson
Frank Warren with Bill’s daughter Krystal

I’m not sure Frank Warren understood what he was unleashing in January, 2005, when he initiated his PostSecret project .

What started as something of a social experiment, encouraging people to send him their innermost secrets on a postcard, turned into something way beyond that.

It wasn’t long before Frank, a mild-mannered man from suburban Washington, DC started receiving thousands of postcards, from all over the world .

In 2005 he published the first book. A collection of those postcards, called simply PostSecret. That’s when I first met him.

By 2007, Warren was on his fourth best-selling book, and that’s when we did the interview you’re about to hear. His latest book was called A Lifetime of Secrets .

So here now, from 2007, Frank Warren.

Franmk Warren’s POstSecret.com still collects and curates postcards.

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Another conversation with Fran k Warren

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Shere Hite

Bill Thompson

Human sexuality has been widely studied, researched, and written about over the years, most notably, perhaps, by Alfred Kinsey and Masters and Johnson .

In the 1970s and ’80s, there was a trilogy of books about sexuality by another researcher that drew widespread praise and criticism. It was called The Hite Report, by researcher Shere Hite.

Much of the controversy centered on the fact that Hite was a feminist who drew upon political and philosophical viewpoints into her work.

In 1988 she completed her trilogy with a volume called Women And Love. And that’s when I first met her, during a whirlwind book tour that included some controversial stops, including TV’s Phil Donahue show.

So here now, from 1988, Shere Hite.

Shere Hite died in 2020. She was 77.

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Betty Friedan
Gloria Steinem

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Otis Williams

Bill Thompson

It was around this time in 1961 that a group of five young men formed a singing group called The Elgins. They were good, so good that Berry Gordy signed them to a contract at Motown. Trouble was, there was already a group called The Elgins, so Gordy asked them to find a new name.

That’s when they became The Temptations. Their leader and founder was baritone Otis Williams.

And over the next five decades, the temptations establish themselves as one of the most popular and most enduring soul music acts.

Otis Williams in upper right

In 1988, Williams wrote a book that was part memoir, part story of The Temptations. And that’s when I had the chance to meet him .

So here now, from 1988, Otis Williams.

Otis Williams is 80 now. He still performs occasionally with the Temptations.

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Martha Reeves
Gladys Knight

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Barry Levinson

Bill Thompson

Barry Levinson is an Oscar-winning film director and screenwriter. But it also turns out he’s a pretty good novelist.

The man famous for such films as Diner, Rain Man, and Good Morning, Vietnam wrote a novel in 2003 called Sixty-Six.

Like his Baltimore-based movies, Sixty-Six was the story of young men dealing with momentous changes in their lives and in the society around them.

When his book was published, Levinson went on an author tour, and that’s when I had the chance to meet him.

So here now, from 2003, Barry Levinson.

Barry Levinson will be 80 years old next month. His most recent project: he was co-executive producer of last year’s Hulu mini-series “Dopesick.”

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Robert Evans
David Brown

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Luba Brezhneva

Bill Thompson
Photo: C-SPAN

Some think this is the beginning of another Cold war. Or worse. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has changed the course of world events.

Not since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 have Americans paid such close attention to Russia .

I was thinking recently that this called to mind and interview I did in 1995, with a Russian woman named Luba Brezhneva.

If her last name sounds familiar, it should. Her uncle, Leonid Brezhnev, was Soviet premiere for 18 years after the ouster of his predecessor. Nikita Khrushchev.

Luba was just barely out of her teens when her uncle took over the USSR, and in many ways her story is simply that of a young woman finding her way in the world. Luba Brezhneva was in a unique position. And it wasn’t always a pleasant position.

In fact, it became downright dangerous when she fell in love with a German man.

Luba eventually left the USSR and came to the United States. In 1995 she wrote a book called The World I Left Behind. And that’s when I met her.

Now it is very important to remember that this interview was recorded almost 27 years ago, while the dust was still settling after the breakup of the Soviet Union. What you’ll hear us talking about should not necessarily be taken as an indication of what life in Russia may be like today.

So here now, from 1995, Luba Brezhneva.

Luba Brezhneva is 79 now. She lives in California and still writes.

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Vladimir Pozner
Yakov Smirnoff

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