Vicki Abelson's Broadcast: The Road Taken

On this rainy, snowy, soulstice eve, we gots what’ll warm you, @Syd Straw, singing Casually, with @Louise Palanker on back-up, moving in to talk, Jack Straw who sang 7 1/2 Cents to Doris Day in Pajama Game, to Mr. Bill Thomas, a teacher who changed Syd’s life, right here in my hood, at my kid’s High School., a mother with a spine-tingling voice, to CBGBs where we must have banged into each other at least a gazillion times, to a happenstance at The Bitter End to meet Anton Fier, and join The Golden Palominos at the time with Jack Bruce and MIchael Stipe, WHAT… standing in line at The Comic Strip with Gilbert Gottfried and Jerry Seinfeld and singing back-up for Pat Benatar… there’s plenty of life lessons and soul attached. And, she sings us out with Paper Mache from Pink Velour https://sydstrawmusic.bandcamp.com/album/pink-velour-2009 Syd Straw on The Road Taken, Celebrity Maps to Success Wed, 3/21/18, 7 pm PT/ 10 pm ET With Louise Palanker Live on the Facebook Replay link here: http://bit.ly/2pvp2dR Al

If there’s a kinder, sweeter, more adorable, generous, fabulous human than Nancy Allen, I haven’t met them yet. Crazy fun talking about everything from her challenging upbringing in the Bronx, to the High School of Performing Arts, dance, a bad/lucky break, commercials, Carrie, Brian DePalma, John Travolta, Betty Buckley, Sissy Spacek, PJ Soles, Piper Laurie, 1941, Steven Spielberg, John Belushi, Tim Matheson, a scary fire, Dressed to Kill, Michael Caine, Keith Gordon, Emma Stone, to WeSpark, Nancy’s life’s passion, where she uses her skills, talents and celebrity to enhance the lives of cancer patients and their friends and families with extraordinary free programs. What a woman! The time flew. Couldn’t love her more. Nancy Allen on The Road Taken, Celebrity Maps to Success Wed, 3/14/18, 7 pm PT/ 10 pm ET With Louise Palanker Live on the Facebook Replay link http://bit.ly/2phU0Fk All BROADcasts, as podcasts, also available on iTunes apple.co/2dj8ld3 Stitcher bit.ly/2h3R1fl tunein bit.ly/2gGeItj This

Grammy and Tony and Emmy, oh my! Allee Willis, from the hatcheck at Catch A Rising Star to being inducted into The Songwriters Hall of Fame, Allee tells all, and no one tells it better. Live from Allee's Queendom of Kitsch, she talked Laura Nyro, Bonnie Raitt, Bette Midler, Barbra Streisand, Cher, Carrie Fisher, Patti LaBelle, Lily Tomlin, Clive Davis, Verdine & Maurice White, Barry Manilow, Motown, Detroit, Andy Kaufman, Elayne Boosler (the nicest)... so many stories from there and here, she covered a ton of 'em. Beyond fun. Crazy, fabulous, fun! Allee Willis on The Road Taken, Celebrity Maps to Success Wed, 3/7/18, 7 pm PT/ 10 pm ET With Louise Palanker Live on the Facebook Full replay here http://bit.ly/2IdUy7Z All BROADcasts, as podcasts, also available on iTunes apple.co/2dj8ld3  Stitcher bit.ly/2h3R1fl tunein bit.ly/2gGeItj This week's BROADcast is brought to you by Rick Smolke of Quik Impressions, the best printers, printing, the best people people-ing.  quikimpressions.com And, Nicole Venable

From Glendale, CA when it was a sundown town… I had no idea what that was, Gary Stockdale tells all. No African Americans, Chicanos, or Jews, oh my! Is that really possible? Guess so. With no plan B, Gary’s life and living has been all music, all the time. From $20 a night at The Comedy Store to singing at The Oscars with Mary J Blige this Sunday night, Gary, twice Emmy nominated, has spent years on the tube with Penn & Teller, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Cop Rock, where his scene’s been immortalized and made hip again thanks to Beavis and Butthead, to being naked in a hot tub with Ron Jeremy (no, please no) while Tracy Lords got prudish. Mentored by Henry Mancini (Michael Nouri, we talked about you and Hank, too), he sang about Teenage Daughters, and closed with his just dropped, You Don’t Know, from his current charting, Keep Letting Go. Did I mention he sings on the Justin Timberlake/Chris Stapleton video for their current hit, Say Something? Yup, that, too. Gary Stockdale, on The Road Taken, Celebrity Map

David Wild is living my life. If you love music - Dylan, Ringo, Paul, George, Mick, Keith, Tyler, Diamond, Bono, Petty, Sinatra - & the funny - Chapelle, Idle - stories, stories, more stories - the best! I swears. Riveting, goosebump-inducing, incomprehensible, jaw-dropping, up thisclose and very personal with all my heroes–– David has lived the life of my dreams (almost everyone's?!?). His story about how Linda McCartney changed his life, alone, is worth all. Let alone Paul and David's sons. And Neil Diamond and his mother... please! Almost Famous is a snore fest compared to this music journalist's life. David kicked my ass. In the good way. Wanna be happy.?!? Walk this way. David Wild on The Road Taken, Celebrity Maps to Success Wed, 2/21/18, 7 pm PT/ 10 pm ET With Louise Palanker Live on the Facebook Replay here http://bit.ly/2CcTqli All BROADcasts, as podcasts, also available on iTunes apple.co/2dj8ld3 Stitcher bit.ly/2h3R1fl tunein bit.ly/2gGeItj This week's BROADcast is brought to you by Rick Smo

HIStory making screenwriter and filmmaker, Chris Bergoch, was an entertaining, inspiring, informative, funny, Valentine. His host was a starving, manic, maniac, but he overcame. Ignore me and focus on this wunderkind, who starting making movies at age 9, with his mother behind the camera. There was never a Plan B. From NYU’s Film School to Greg The Bunny on Fox, starring Eugene Levy, Seth Green, and Sarah Silverman, to Indies: Starlet, Snowbird, Tangerine (guerrilla shooting on iPhone 5s), winning loads of awards along the way, leading to his current multi-award-winning feature (55 and counting), The Florida Project, earning Willem Dafoe, an Oscar nomination––Chris is laser-focused on telling the stories which intrigue and thrill him. Universal truths prevail through the mouths of babes who inhabit welfare hotels, trans hookers searching for their pimp, taxi drivers looking to score something they won’t find at home––all seeking what they don’t have. And, love. This is a man who writes what he sees, and throu

We're lucky he's funny... and adorable, and smart, and knows a lot about a lot of things... And yes, he's won an Emmy, Peabody, WGA and James Beard Award, has the most successful translated show of all time (Everybody Loves Raymond is receiving the Guinness Award tomorrow) ~ Netflix's Somebody Feed Phil's, Phil Rosenthal shares his favorite places, kid (only kidding), cheap eats, life advice (Ed Weinberger: "Do the show you want to do, because in the end they're going to cancel you anyway."), childhood favorite TV shows, why arts in the schools are essential, how the young actor became a writer, how Phil and his friends created their own platform––a little show which ran (is still running?!?) for decades, how James L Brooks fulfilled Phil's long-held dream, how a kid who ate shoe leather steak and canned vegetables had his life changed by a dish of pasta with garlic, and, why he's so passionate about travel, food and sharing. "I want you to have what I'm having. I want you to travel and share this experience,

One of the most heartfelt, grateful, stupendous stories of a life well-lived... actor Michael Nouri, from untrained amateur to starring on Broadway with Julie Harris and being schooled by a pro in his early 20s, turning down Sam Peckinpaw to do this little film called Flashdance, which changed the world... break dancing and fashion for two... starring on Broadway again with Julie Andrews and then, Liza Minelli, handpicked by Blake Edwards, with a song crafted just for him by Henry (call me Hank) Mancini... a load of superlative work on stages and screens, starting with Goodbye Columbus, co-starring with Ali McGraw and Richard Benjamin... being hand-picked by Billy Crystal to be the only one to ever play DiMaggio (in 61*), straddling TV, Movies & Broadway, way before it was cool... his life's not so secret, secrets, shared... gratitude, peace, heart, and, how he does it. Plus, pearls of wisdom. Loved every second of this. One for the books. He needs to write one. Michael Nouri on The Road Taken, Celebrity

Lydia, oh Lydia! Too Close For Comfort’s Lydia Cornell, gorgeous, inside and out, took us through her life, from Texas to Scarsdale to Colorado to Hollywood. A little girl with passion and vision who found a way to live her dream. We talked drugs and booze to sobriety, and recovery; obsession with appearance to striving to focus on what’s truly important. From business to music, to television, trying to please, sexual abuse of power, verbal abuse to be beautiful, the power of other’s opinions, creating our own path, writing our own projects; women directors, Lydia herself an award-winning one, Greta Gerwig, Mark Harmon, Elton John, Henry Dilz, Caribou Ranch, Jane Fonda, Gregory Harrison, Peter Tolan, Norman Lear, Ted Knight, Phil Rosenthal… mutual friend, Hubert O'Hearn, who introduced us… the conversation bubbled and flowed as the champagne once did. Lydia Cornell on The Road Taken, Celebrity Maps to Success 
Wed, 1/24/18, 7 pm PT/ 10 pm ET Live on the Facebook Full show replay here http://bit.ly/2Dxtg9S


Amazing conversation with the always entertaining Jim Beaver, who talked current events, growing up in Texas unfocused, doing a load of theatre, and then the life changer... there were two... and a lot of stories. Jim speaks of his heroes, and why they are, and, the one who fell from grace for lack of grace. What it took to get "there," what he thinks it takes... precious takeaways applicable to pretty much everything ... read, study, never be the reason something goes south, never hold up the action (post-show he added, preparedness. Be ready.) We talked Deadwood, Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, Justified, Supernatural, Tom Hanks, John Wayne, Norman Jewison. What's next... a new play at Theatre West, a comedic western, The Night Forlorn, Or, Waitin' On Godsford. Coming in March. Spending time with Jim is always time well spent. There were shout-outs to Birthday Boy Rick Smolke, Ricky Byrd's new CD Clean Getaway, intended to help kids stay sober, with The Coolest Song of the week on Little Steven's Undergrou

“A great visit with two friends. Vicki Abelson took us on a perfect ride through Doug Herzog​'s career. From the backstreets of Jersey to Emerson & through the glory days of MTV, Comedy Central and more at CNN, ET, Fox, USA & as our fearless leader for all the MTV Networks....Doug’s unending instinct to bring together the best producers and staff with undiscovered breakthrough talent, and brave original ideas co-created the culture and changed TV forever.” ~ Rob Barnett​, Audible, CBS Radio, MTV Thank you, Rob. Thrilling words, which mean the world coming from you. And, you saved me having to write a recap. LOVE! “Such a great, fun, interesting interview with Doug Herzog! It was really fun to watch even though my name didn't come up once! New writers (and old ones for that matter) make sure you stick around for the pitch advice from Doug. it's great stuff, and he would know. Thanks Vicki!” ~ J.R. Havlan, 8x Emmy Winner, The Daily Show Doug Herzog, The Road Taken, Celebrity Maps to Success 1/10/18 Live on

Steve Postell is man of music. So, we started with some. His. Other than a couple of weeks driving for a car service at 19, before starting his 2-year stint playing on Broadway (Evita with Patti LuPone & Mandy Patinkin) Steve has earned his living doing what he loves. Sparked by Dylan. Bob. Who, unbeknownst to him, shaped the life of his 16 yr old co-art-class student. Stories... does Steve have stories... he's played with seemingly everyone. Within minutes of meeting Steve, fresh out of Pure Prairie League, I booked him at The Rock 'N Roll Café, and continued to for the past 30 + years through his rise as a singer, songwriter, session playing, composer, producer. He's got three major CDs about to drop, Daniel Kortchmar's solo debut of his hits for everyone else, sung by hisself, featuring David Crosby, Michael McDonald, Leland Sklar, Jackson Browne, James Taylor Russell Kunkel & Waddy Wachtel. Dan Navarro's upcoming CD, and Steve's own effort aided by David Crosby & John Oates for two. He's got a Netflix doc

I can’t even process how fantastical and forthcoming Eric Roberts is, how open and honest Eliza is, how much love, reverence, affection, and respect they share... how they live and work in unison within that love and respect. We got stories! Holy shit! The truths behind The Pope of Greenwich Village, “juicy,” Eric’s word ~ trudat. Bob Fosse, Mickey Rourke, The Killers, sister Julia, daughter Emma, Dr. Drew, Dr. Who... just tune in... I promise, worthy. Eric speaks to why it works, how it works, Eliza makes it work. Portrait of a brilliant artist, and the talent and savvy of his partner... marijuana addiction, family estrangements, reunions, and one which wasn’t. Just tune in dammit! Enlightening entertainment. Fabulous fun. The Road Taken, Celebrity Maps to Success. Facebook LIve Video Replay here: http://bit.ly/2CfOoSg And, on YouTube http://bit.ly/2Cj3JS0 Photo and video by Louise Palanker All BROADcasts, as podcasts, also available on iTunes apple.co/2dj8ld3 Stitcher bit.ly/2h3R1fl tunein bit.ly/2g

We went Live with Keaton Simons and WOW! Sang his ass off... opened the show with When I Go, over 5 million views on YouTube, over 1.5 mil listens on Spotify... Killed it! Gave us the backstory of growing up with his dad, Jimmy, who created Moonlighting and Malcolm in the Middle. His mother, Eliza, who married Eric Roberts, and holy shit, did life get CRAZY. Keaton tells all... George Clooney was his babysitter... Say what?!? David Duchovny, before anything, playing with Chris Cornell, Santana, Cold Play... Bryan Cranston using Keaton's song for a Malcolm in the Middle... He sang again... my favorite, my life, Other Side... more stories... growing up with his younger sister in a house without a parent when Keaton was 16 and Morgan 13... what a life..: and yet, Keaton is educated, grounded, spiritual, focused, talented, successful, evolved... and forgiving. With wisdom to share. What a show! Closed with his tune about inspiration... and boy does he have that going on. Keaton Simons on Vicki Abelson's The Road

Wow, did we get into it with writer/producer(7th Heaven, V.I.P., Action, The Simpsons), performer, Ron Zimmerman... Cher, Jodie Foster, Ryan O'Neal, Bill Maher, Larry David, Gilbert Gottfried, The Simpsons, Mueller, Moore, Doug Jones, Al Franken, Woody Allen, the great Alan Zweibel, his presidential bid, the 10 Commandments, Joe, Biden, Obama, what it takes to make it in this town, first, you gotta be here and you gotta do the work. A lot of work. And of course, we laughed. With Louise Palanker Ron Zimmerman on The Road Taken, Celebrity Maps to Success 12/13/17, 7 pm PT/ 10 pm ET Live on the Facebook Replay here http://bit.ly/2nZNkyi All BROADcasts, as podcasts, also available on iTunes apple.co/2dj8ld3 Stitcher bit.ly/2h3R1fl tunein bit.ly/2gGeItj This week's BROADcast is brought to you by Rick Smolke of Quik Impressions, the best printers, printing, the best people people-ing. quikimpressions.com And, Nicole Venables of The Ruby Begonia Hair Studio, for tresses like the stars she coifs, or regular

It's beginning to feel a lot like X-Mas. Is there anything more fun than interviewing Ed Asner in his house, surrounded by his look-a-like dog, cat, bird, daughter, granddaughter, Scott, whilst he eats pizza, drinks Ice, takes a pee break, and coughs his ass off, while singing Old Man River, schools us on history, tenacity, repeatedly curses me out, orders Louise around, and charms the pants off of us. Not quite, Matt Lauer. And, I got to sit on Santa’s lap. Sweetest grouch ever... he wore the Santa hat for the whole show. Sweet! I’ll be reading his Grouchy Historian once I finish swooning from the greatest inscription, ever. I cherish this person. I'm in awe of his talents and humanity. This night was a gift beyond measure. Vicki Abelson’s The Road Taken, Celebrity Maps to Success Live on The Facebook Nov 29, 2017. 7 pm PT/10 pm ET Live on The Facebook Replay here: http://bit.ly/2zQV0Zm With Louise Palanker All BROADcasts, as podcasts, also available on iTunes apple.co/2dj8ld3 Stitcher bit.ly/2h3R1f

My grateful Thanksgiving offering… promise it’ll make your day, even more than the stuffing. Just as I don't have a favorite kid, Samantha, I don't have a favorite show, this. Not. But, it sure is up there. Gregory Harrison, Trapper John MD, Sisters, The Middle, Logan's Run, The Harrad Experiment (you're welcome, Michael), to name very few, after going full Franken, offered up absolutely stellar conversation, filled with jaw-dropping, amazing stories. And, what a storyteller. Opened the show with my Parisan romance, swoon, jumped into Gregory growing up on Catalina Island, Edgar Harrison, Aimee Semple McPherson, Al Franken, the Vietnam War, being a medic, being a non-religious concientious objector, Louie CK, Battle of the Network Stars, marriage that lasts, and why it works, cocaine, Betty Ford, recovery, Trapper John, Jason Robards, political activism, Richard Chamberlain, Centennial, believing he can do anything, what’s right and what’s wrong, what’s good and what’s bad, what’s true and what’s false.

We went Live with American Idol finalist, Anthony Fedorov, maybe the nicest, most evolved human I’ve had the pleasure to get to know. Anthony sees only the good, the best, in everything, and everyone. Not a negative word, not a one. Precious take-away––every suggestion is an opportunity for growth, constructive criticism (think Simon) helps construct a better person, a better artist. Humble, self-aware, comfortable in his skin, and, self-confident, in a mature, realistic, measured, true sense. We talked reality competition show, American Idol, A-Z. Start to finish. Before, the during, and, the aftermath. And, man, does he have great, dishy stories, I’m talkin’ great. Paula, Simon. LL Cool J, JLo, his hero Mark Anthony (funny story!), Ellen, Leno, Patrick Landon, Constantine, Carrie, getting restyled, Craig Ames (my stylist), you’d be so great on one of these shows. We talked Russia, being pronounced dead, a tracheotomy when he was a toddler, which was supposed to silence him forever, a mom who gave her all an

Tai Babilonia On Vicki Abelson's The Road Taken by Vicki Abelson

Steve Dorff On Vicki Abelson's The Road Taken by Vicki Abelson