It’s a day of romance, relationships, maybe even marriage, but most especially it’s a day of love. All kinds of love.
In fact, All Kinds of Love was the title of actor writer Carl Reiner’s 1993 novel. It featured a delightful cast of characters dealing with a variety of romantic situations, with a good deal of comedy thrown in, as we would expect no less from the man who created TV’s iconic Dick Van Dyke show.
Nichelle Nichols was cast in the role of Communications Officer Uhura on the original TV series “Star Trek” in 1966. But a routine casting decision it was not, as Nichols overnight became an icon and role model. But it took a chance meeting with a powerful and charismatic man to convince her of her own stature.
Photo by Alan Light
Nichols was a show business veteran by the time Gene Roddenberry selected her for “Star Trek.” So just one year into her journey where “no man had gone before,” Nichols was anxious to try something else new.
Then she met a fan who changed her mind and changed her life.
Today is Martin Luther King Jr Day in the U.S., so today, the story of how Dr. King changed Nichelle Nichols’s life and career, and even the very direction that “Star Trek” took. It’s a story Nichols told in her 1994 memoir Beyond Uhura. That’s when I met her.
She was considered one of America’s brightest young stars almost from the moment she entered show business in the mid 1950s.
And over the next few decades, Shirley MacLaine fulfilled that promise in a big way. She has won, or been nominated for, dozens of awards, including an Oscar, and Emmy, and several Golden globes.
She was also associated with the famous rat pack, which included Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis, Jr.
And then in the mid-1980s, Shirley MacLaine acquired a whole new kind of fame, when she became a well-known authority on the metaphysical, and past lives and reincarnation
For some her pronouncements became father for ridicule, but many people accepted her beliefs and embraced them.
Her 1987 book. It’s All In The Playing was a candid active self-reflection and a deeper exploration of her metaphysical beliefs.
As she shepherded me carefully through my sometimes awkward questions, MacLaine helped us all better understand
Everyone has memories of the Christmas season Some of those memories are warm and loving, others are troubled or sad
But all have stories to tell. And in 1990, TV and film actress Deborah Raffin published a collection of Christmas memories from a variety of celebrities and noted personalities.
Her book Sharing Christmas reveals that good, bad, or sad, everyone has powerful Christmas memories.
So here now, from 1990, Deborah Raffin.
Deborah Raffin died in 2012 from cancer period she was 59Deborah raffin died in 2012 from cancer. She was 59.
Alex karras was a star on the field for the Detroit Lions in the 1960s.
And then he tackled a new career challenge: acting. One of his most iconic roles was in 1974’s “Blazing Saddles.” He was, of course, Mongo.
And when I spoke with him about it, he almost sounded surprised at his own success as a writer.
Later Alex karras starred in the ABC sitcom “Webster,” and along the way he also joined the Monday Night Football broadcast crew. And that’s kind of where he got the idea for his 1991 novel called Tuesday Night Football.
WARNING: You’re about to listen to true stories of abuse, some of it sexual in nature. Some of the descriptions are graphic, and may be disturbing.
For many years actress Suzanne Somers kept us laughing. A talented comedic actress, she also knew how to leverage her blonde good looks for a laugh.
But until she wrote a memoir in the late 1980s, few people knew the truth about the abusive childhood she had endured. An alcoholic father made her life miserable, and she said in that memoir that laughter is what got her through.
A few years later, she followed up with another book, helping others confront and deal with their own painful childhood memories. That book was called Wednesdays Children.
I had interviewed Suzanne once before, but only by telephone. This was our first face to face meeting. So here now, from 1993, Suzanne Somers.
Suzanne Somers was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000, but recovered. However the cancer returned earlier this year and Suzanne died last month one day before her 77th birthday.
Do you remember the very first time you saw the movie “Airplane”?
Even if you have never seen it, however, everyone knows its most famous lines.
At the time the movie was released in 1980, Leslie Nielsen had already been an established dramatic actor for decades.
But “Airplane” literally changed the entire course of his career, propelling him into comedy. The television series “Police Squad” was followed by the movie “Naked Gun”| and its sequels.
And by 1993, Nielsen had a book called Leslie Nielsen’s The Naked Truth. And that’s when I first met him.
Buddy Ebsen, best known for his iconic role as Jed Clampett in”The Beverly Hillbillies,” had a remarkable career in Hollywood.
Ebsen’s career spanned more than seven decades, and his experiences offer a unique perspective on the entertainment industry.
As he told in his 1994 autobiography The Other Side of Oz, Ebsen worked with some of Hollywood’s iconic figures like Shirley Temple and Louis B. Mayer. And even other figures like Al Capone.
And you may know that Buddy was the original Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz, but in this 1994 interview he reveals a few things you may not have known.
And he tells about the three questions everyone always had for him.
Sometimes if you’re an actor, it’s helpful to not have a specific look about you. Early In his career, a casting director told Hume Cronyn that he didn’t look like anything, but that may have helped him achieve the longevity many actors only dream of
The Canadian-born Cronyn had a decades-long career in the theater, movies, television and radio. Not to mention a 52-year marriage to actress Jessica Tandy
In 1991, the then-80-year-old Cronyn wrote his autobiography a book he called A Terrible Liar.
So here now from 1991. Hume Cronyn.
After 52 years of marriage, Jessica Tandy died in 1994. Two years later Hume Cronyn married Susan Cooper, his old friend who had persuaded him to write his autobiography. He died in 2003 just a month before his 92nd birthday.
She was born into a prominent show business family in 1943, so it was perhaps her destiny to become a successful, award-winning and acclaimed actress.
Lynn Redgrave made her theatrical debut when she was still a teenager, and by the early 1960s had appeared in several movies.
It was her title role in the 1966 film Georgy Girl that catapulted her to startdom.
But a side effect of that newfound attention was what we would now call body shaming. Critics felt license to comment mercilessly on Red Graves weight and figure.
She struggled with bulimia. Finally, in the 1980s, she joined Weight Watchers, ultimately starring in TV commercials for them.
In 1991 she told her story in a book called this is living. And that’s whem I met her .
So here now, from 1991, Lynn Redgrave.
Lynn Redgrave died in 2010 after a long fight against breast cancer. She was 67.
