Peter Carlson could have taken all the research he did on Soviet Premier Nikita Khruschev’s two-week barnstorming tour of the United States in 1959 and converted it into a Cold War-era fable such as Dr. Strangelove or The Mouse That Roared. He could have done that, but truth is stranger than fiction and the... Continue Reading →
Long live the Queen! Lisa Lampanelli demands your attention! PODCAST INTERVIEW
Will success spoil standup comedy queen Lisa Lampanelli? That’s what Howard Stern asked her in January 2009. He thinks that now that the standup comedian has hit the big time with her first HBO special, “Long Live the Queen,” on HBO, that it might be too much exposure for her extremely vulgar, awfully funny... Continue Reading →
Alexander McCall Smith and The No. 1 Ladies! PODCAST INTERVIEW
Today's Guest: Alexander McCall Smith, novelist, The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency Alexander McCall Smith is having a pretty good career. And it’s about to get even better. McCall Smith is the author of the popular series of novels relating the Botswana-based adventures of Precious Ramotswe and The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. There... Continue Reading →
Humorist Rob Kutner prepares for Apocalypse How! PODCAST INTERVIEW
Today's Guest: Rob Kutner, humorist, author, Apocalypse How, comedy writer, "Conan," "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" Lots of people talk about the impending End of Days, but how many actually tell you how to prepare for what may come after the end? Oh, really? That many? Hmmm. Okay, how many make you laugh... Continue Reading →
Getting to know NBC ‘President’ Bob Balaban! PODCAST INTERVIEW
Today's Guest: Bob Balaban, actor Close Encounters of the Third Kind, "Seinfeld," director, Bernard and Doris No matter what role he’s in, Bob Balaban always makes an impression, from Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind to playing the President of NBC on “Seinfeld.” And the same is now true of his work as... Continue Reading →
90 Kicking Larry David to the Curb, it’s actress Cheryl Hines! PODCAST INTERVIEW
Today's Guest: Cheryl Hines, actress, "Curb Your Enthusiasm" Cheryl Hines has one of the most challenging acting jobs on television: she plays Larry David’s long-suffering TV wife on the HBO comedy “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” now in its sixth season. For years, many people have assumed she was David’s real wife, and further complicating the... Continue Reading →
88 Cranky Old Dude: A Mr. Media Essay Classic
Originally published July 28, 1997 I hate getting old. Oh, it's not the crow's feet at the edge of the eyes or the bags under them. It's not the sagging of some parts, the inner tube effect of others or even the occasional forgetting of details, dates or names. What I hate about aging is... Continue Reading →
60 Curb Your Enthusiasm star Jeff Garlin’s Cheesy wild ride! PODCAST INTERVIEW
Today's Guest: Jeff Garlin, comedian, actor, "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "The Goldbergs" Today is a great day to be Jeff Garlin. And for him, tomorrow will probably be an even better day. The sixth season of the hugely popular and hysterically funny HBO series “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” starring Larry David and co-starring Garlin, is now... Continue Reading →
53 Tell Me You Love Me, Hawaii Five-0 actress Michelle Borth! PODCAST INTERVIEW
The ironic thing about Michelle Borth’s role as Jamie, a woman whose fiancé won’t commit to monogamy in the new HBO series "Tell Me You Love Me," is that she is the kind of sexy, intoxicating woman that could probably drive the best-intentioned married man to cheat on his wife. BOB ANDELMAN/Mr. MEDIA: I was... Continue Reading →
26 Newbomb Turk and the arc of incomparable comic Robert Wuhl! PODCAST INTERVIEW
Today's Guest: Robert Wuhl, comedian, actor, The Hollywood Knights, Cobb, Batman, Blaze, "Arli$$," "Assume the Position" Robert Wuhl cracks me up. Always has, always will. His HBO series, “Arli$$," about an over-ambitious Hollywood sports agent, was must-see TV in my house for years, and I’ve seen his first movie, Hollywood Knights, hundreds of times.... Continue Reading →