Actors

Patty Duke

Bill Thompson

Well before her 20th birthday, Patty Duke had already won an Oscar and was star of her own TV series.

Patty Duke won the Oscar for best supporting actress in The 1962 movie The Miracle Worker, which was the captain from the Broadway play in which she also starred.

On the heels of that success came her TV series, the Patty Duke Show, in which she played the dual roles of typical American teemager Patty and her identical cousin from England, Cathy.

Later Patty Duke moved on to more sophisticated, adult roles, including a part in the movie Valley of the Dolls.

But all along the way, she suffered from severe, undiagnosed bipolar disorder, Exacerbated by various forms of abuse.

In the early 1980s Duke finally got the help she needed, And a few years later, she wrote a memoir entitled Call Me Anna. That’s when I met her.

Now it’s important to keep in mind that this interview is 33 years old, and many advances have been made not only in the treatment of the disorder, but how we refer to it.

So here now, from 1988, Patty Duke.

Patty Duke died in 2016. She was 69.

Cheech Marin

Bill Thompson

if you were in high school or college in the 1970’s, as I was, you undoubtedly are familiar with the comedy of Cheech and Chong.

Cheech Marin went on to act in dozens and dozens of TV shows and movies, as well as doing voices for several animated films.

But what you may not know is that Marilyn is also an astute art collector.

That’s how I met him, in 2002, when he published a book of his collection of Chicano art.

So here now, from 2002, Cheech Marin:

Cheech Marin is 74 now. He lives in Malibu.

Mia Farrow

Bill Thompson

Mia Farrow may have been born to be a star.

Photo: John Mathew Smith

Her parents were both major Hollywood figures, and she grew up amongst big stars. By the time she was a teenager Mia Farrow was a star on the ABC TV primetime soap opera Peyton Place.

Then came movie roles, as well as a brief marriage to Frank Sinatra. In 1968, Farrow starred in “Rosemary’s Baby,” the movie which propelled her to major stardom. And another brief marriage, to Andre Previn.

Then, in 1980, she began a relationship with Woody Allen. It ended in 1992 with a very messy, complicated, and very public court battle over custody of their children. Allegations of sexual abuse were thrown about.

In 1997, Mia Farrow wrote a memoir, and that’s when I met her.

So here now, from 1997, Mia Farrow:

Mia Faarrow turned 76 last month.

Adam West

Bill Thompson

In January 1966 a new TV series premiered, unlike any we had seen before. Even though it only ran on the ABC network for three seasons, it changed television history. And it made the show’s star a folk hero. That show, of course, was Batman.

Adam West played millionaire philanthropist Bruce Wayne, aka Batman, who, along with his sidekick Dick Grayson, aka Robin, fought evil criminals in Gotham City.

Every week, the Dynamic Duo faced off with another super villain — Riddler, Joker, Penguin, Catwoman.

But the show also typecast Adam West, and it took him many years to extricate himself.

I met him in 1994, when he wrote A Memoir of his Batman years.

sSo here now, from 1994, Adam West.

Adam West died in 2017, at age 88.

Margaret Cho

Bill Thompson
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Margaret Cho rose to prominence in the mid 1990s, with her TV sitcom All-American Girl. Since then, she’s established herself as not only a talented actress but as a standup comic, fashion designer, and social activist.

I’ve met her and interviewed her twice, about her first two books. This interview was the second one we did, and as you’ll hear, her views seem as current today as they did the day we talked, 16 years ago.

So here now, from 2006, Margaret Cho:

Margaret Cho is 52 now, She lives near Atlanta.

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Leonard Nimoy

Bill Thompson
Photo: Gage Skidmore

Many people may think Leonard Nimoy’s career started with Star Trek. But he was a serious actor for a number of years before that. He even appearing in other science fiction shows.

But of course it was Star Trek that propelled him not just to fame but to Iconic status. His portrayal of a half-human, half-Vulcan Spock practically launch a cottage industry.

In 1975, Nimoy wrote a book called I Am Not Spock. Fast forward 20 years to 1995 when I interviewed him for another book he written, called I Am Spock.

And as you’ll hear, there’s a reason for his change of heart.

So here now from 1995 Leonard Nimoy

Leonard Nimoy died in 2015. He was 83.

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Carroll O’Connor

Bill Thompson

It was on January 12th. 1971 — 50 years ago — that situation comedy changed in a big way, with the premiere of a controversial show called All in the Family.

At the center of the show was an irascible middle-aged blue collar worker named Archie Bunker. What made Archie so controversial, then and now, was how utterly unapologetic he was for his politically incorrect views.

The show was also controversial because CBS had just very publicly dumped its so-called “rural” comedies — The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, and Petticoat Junction — in favor of more modern and edgy shows like MAS*H and All In The Family.

Cast in the role of Archie Bunker was veteran actor Carroll O’Connor, who went on not only to win 4 Emmys as Archie but later starred in the series In The Heat of Tthe Night.

In 1998 O’Connor wrote A a memoir, and that’s when I got to meet and interview him.

TRIGGER WARNING: This interview that you’re about to hear includes talks about O’Connor’s adult son’s drug abuse and suicide.

So here now from 1998, Carroll O’Connor

And you can find easy links to (name’s) book(s) on Amazon ar HeardEverything.com.

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Don Knotts

Bill Thompson

Don Knotts is perhaps best know as Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife from The Andy Griffith Show. But you also remember him as Ralph Furley from Three’s Company. Maybe you remember him from The Apple Dumpling Gang movies, or The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, or The Shakiest Gun in the West. Or The Incredible Mr. Limpet.

Don Knotts had a decades-long entertainment career, which actually began soon after World War II, but which really took off when he reconnected with his old friend Andy Griffith.

I met Don Knotts in November 1999, when he wrote a book called Barney Fife And Other Characters I Have Known.

So here now, from 1999, Don Knotts.

Don Knotts died in 2006. He was 81.

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Kitty Carlisle Hart

Bill Thompson

Regular listeners of Now I’ve Heard Everything know that I don’t often get starstruck. But this was one of those times.

If you grew up in the ’60s, as I did, you may best remember Kitty Carlisle as a panelist on the game show “To Tell the Truth.” But her acting career went back many decades before that.

In fact, Kitty Carlisle was a featured performer in the 1935 Marx Brothers classic “A Night at the Opera.”

In 1988, Kitty Carlisle Hart Road an autobiography. That’s what I met her.

So here now, from 1988, Kitty Carlisle Hart:

Kitty Carlisle Hart died in 2007 at age 96.

Molly Shannon

Bill Thompson

While Molly Shannon may be best known for her six seasons on Saturday Night and her many many television and movie appearances, it turns out she is also a children’s book author.

In 2011, Shannon published a book called Tilly the trickster. It’s about a young girl who loves to play practical jokes on people, ranging from her brother, to her parents, to her school mates.

So, is there a little bit of Molly Shannon in Tilly the trickster, I wondered?

And be sure and listen to the end of the interview, for the true story of how Molly Shannon first met Will Ferrell.

So here now, from 2011, Molly Shannon.

Molly Shannon is 56 now, and is still seen frequently on television and in movies.