TV Personalities

Cyndy Garvey

Bill Thompson
Photo by Cal Montney, LA Times

Major League baseball fans will remember Steve Garvey, the charismatic All-Star first baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1970s and 1980s.

On the field, Garvey was a superstar.

In his personal life, however, not so much, according to his ex-wife Cyndy Garvey.

There’s was a messy and public divorce in the late 1970s.

And, according to Cyndy, she took much of the blame from loyal Dodgers fan who couldn’t believe allegations accusing Steve of cheating and abuse.

Steve and Cyndy Garvey with their daughter, 1975. Photo: LA Times

She put it all in her 1989 book The Secret Life of Cyndy Garvey.

And that’s when I met her. So here now, from 1989, Cyndy Garvey.

Cyndy Garvey celebrated her 74th birthday this month.

More than 30 years after his retirement from baseball, Steve Garvey has not yet won election to the baseball Hall of Fame.

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Rachel Robinson
Ivana Trump

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Martha Stewart

Bill Thompson
Photo by Gage Skidmore

Well many of us went to barbecues, reunions, or other big holiday events for the 4th of July.

And if you hosted such an event, you probably realized how much planning and effort goes into it.
Maybe you could have used a little professional advice…

There may literally be no one in America who is better known for her expertise in entertaining than Martha Stewart.

For more than 40 years, Stuart has been dispensing advice on cooking and decorating and entertaining guests. Best-selling books, a magazine, and a television show have helped push her to the forefront.

I’ve interviewed her several times, including this conversation we had in 1994 when she published a book called Martha Stewart’s Menus For Entertaining.

So here now, from 1994, Martha Stewart.

Martha Stewart will be 82 next month . She lives in New York.

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Ina Garten
Emeril Lagasse

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Buffalo Bob Smith

Bill Thompson

To those of us of a certain age, there is only one answer to this question:

Hey kids, what time is it?

That is how millions of youngsters greeted the opening of the howdy Doody show, which actually ran from 1947 until 1960.

A young radio broadcaster named Bob Smith, from Buffalo, New York, created the Howdy Doody character on the radio, then moved to television when young audiences demanded to actually see Howdy.

Buffalo Bob, Howdy, and a cast of other characters — including a young Bob Keeshan, later known as Captain Kangaroo — enthralled millions of youngsters and defined the early days of television.

Howdy Doody was actually one of the first shows broadcasting color.

Finally, in 1990, after years of hearing people tell him,”you should write a book,” Smith finally wrote one, calling it Howdy And Me.

And that’s when I had a chance to meet him and talk with him. So here now, from 1990, Buffalo Bob Smith.

Buffalo Bob Smith died in 1998. He was 80 years old.

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Bob Keeshan
Art Linkletter

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Tim Russert

Bill Thompson

Father’s Day is this Sunday, and I wanted to bring you a familiar old voice to help us remember our dads.

Tim Russert suffered a fatal heart attack in June 2008 at age 58.

In 2004, the longtime host and moderator of NBC’s Meet The Press, Tim Russert, wrote a book called Big Russ And Me.

It was a son’s tribute to his dad, a World War II veteran who worked two jobs to support the family, never complaining, and always commenting “What a country!”

So here now, from 2004, Tim Russert.

Big Russ died the following year at age 85

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Chris & Bob Elliott
Chris Lemmon

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Tamilee Webb

Bill Thompson

If you’ve ever seen the exercise video called “Buns of Steel, you” know exactly who Tamilee Webb is.

For over 30 years, Webb has been one of America’s leading and most popular fitness gurus.

Webb’s popularity as a television personality helped propel her to a series of best-selling books and videos.

I met her in 1995, when she was promoting her book Step Up Fitness Workout.

So here now, from 1995, Tamilee Webb.

Tamilee Webb is 64 now. And still going strong. She was inducted into the National Fitness Hall of Fame in 2008.

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Margaret Hoover

Bill Thompson
Photo: Charles Bogel

Today’s Republican party has a problem attracting young voters. But it’s not a new problem.

More than a decade ago, conservative commentator and author Margaret Hoover — great granddaughter of President Herbert Hoover — recognize the problem.

I met her in 2011 when we talked about her book American Individualism.

And as you listen in the next few minutes, you may recognize some familiar themes that permeate politics to this day, including the Republican identity crisis Margaret Hoover talks about.

So here now, from 2011, Margaret Hoover.

Margaret Hoover is 45 now. She is host of “Firing Line” on PBS.

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Dan Bongino
Newt Gingrich

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Christine Craft

Bill Thompson

In 1981. Christine Craft was working as a television news anchor for a station in Kansas City, Missouri. Six months into her two-year contract, she was demoted from the anchor desk, because of the findings of a focus group.

The TV station had hired a team of outside researchers to find out what Kansas City viewers thought of. Christine Craft. And what they found was starling.

The focus group said that Christine was too old, not very attractive, and didn’t properly defer to men.

Well, she left the station, then filed a federal discrimination lawsuit. I’ll let her tell you, in a few minutes, what happened next.

I met her in 1988, after she wrote a book whose title was based on that focus group research. It was called Too Old, Too Ugly, and Not Deferential to Men

So here now, from 1988, Christine Craft.

Christine Craft is 79 now, and lives in Northern California, where she practices law and is a part-time radio talk show host.

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Helen Thomas
Joan Lunden

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Joe Garagiola

Bill Thompson

Tomorrow is Major League baseball’s opening day, the first day of the 2023 season.

On the first day of a 162 game schedule, every team is in first place. Any team can win the world series. And a batter can hit /400, and a picture can have a no-hitter.

The world is full of possibilities .

On the Opening Day roster for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1946 was a rookie catcher named Joe Garageola.

That year Joe played in his first, and only, World Series. He was a major leaguer for nine seasons, playing for the Cardinals, the Pirates, the Cubs, and the Giants.

But after his retirement from the game, Joe Garagiola found another career in which he had much greater success.

Television.

He did sports broadcasting, but also game shows, and even substitute hosting on the Tonight Show.

I met him in 1988, when he was promoting his book It’s Anybody’s Ballgame, about his post baseball career.

No, to add some context to the interview you’re about to hear. We talked just a couple of weeks into the 1988 season, but already by that time the hapless Baltimore Orioles had a 13 game losing streak, a major league record. Sadly he Os Went on to lose their first 21 games in a row, which still stands as the major league record.

So here now, from 1988, Joe Garagiola.

Joe Garagiola.died in 2016. He was 90.

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Willie Mays
Hank Aaron

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Bob Dorian

Bill Thompson

Ever since there have been movies in America — that’s over a hundred years now — people have been putting together their lists of their favorite movies. Their favorite classic movies.

Some 30 years ago Bob Dorian, the longtime host on American Movie Classics (now known simply as AMC) assembled a list of the greatest “classic” movies.

Now these weren necessarily ‘t classic” in the sense that we typically think of classic movies, but they were movies that were timeless and important in their own way.

I had a chance to talk with Bob Dorian in 1990 when that book came out. So here now from 1990. Let’s talk some old movies with Bob Dorian

Bob Dorian died in 2019. He was 85.

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Ginger Rogers
Mickey Rooney

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Catherine Crier

Bill Thompson

Catherine Crier had a remarkable legal career. By age 30, she had become the youngest elected judge ever in the state of Texas.

But the number of years and Crier became a journalist and television personality, eventually hosting her own show on Court TV.

And along the way, she developed some strong opinions about the profession that she began her career in, the law.

Her 2002 book The Case Against Lawyers became a New York Times bestseller. And that’s when I first met her.

So here now, from 2002, Catherine Crier..

Catherine Crier is 68 now, and is a partner and a firm that develops TV, movie and documentary projects.

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Gloria Allred
Johnnie Cochran

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