Vicki Abelson's Broadcast: The Road Taken

Unmasked! Post-apocalyptic pandemic blues in Eb may have started and ended the show (with Tristan Cappel), but it was joy, joy, joy, with bass boy, Leland Sklar, my first face-to-face guest since a year ago February. What a great segue back to a semblance of normalcy. It felt so right, so dyn-o-mite. Sorry. We jumped into the book, Everybody Loves Me, an idea without a plan a mere 15 months ago, now seen pretty much 'round the world, in spite of the shutdowns. My copy now adorns my coffee table, almost in its entirety. It's a massive collection of Lee's signature, people flipping him off––celebrities, musicians, sports heroes, and regular folk like me. Lee showed and told a passel of fab stories surrounding some of the pics, from The Highwaymen (Willie, Merle - another great story on him, and Kris), to Steven Tyler, Sean Penn, Art Garfunkel, Jay Leno, Allee Willis ❤️, his parents, a nun, three winos, Kevin Bacon, on and on, oh yeah, Stephen Bishop... to one pic which didn't make the cut, but there's another

I like the comedy with my Rock 'n Roll. Hall of Fame'r Ricky Byrd, delivers brilliantly on both counts. Great stories of his heroes in both worlds. Watching them as a kid on Ed Sullivan, to sharing jokes and cokes at The Pines Hotel coffee shop with Freddie Roman, Dick Capri, and Mal Z Lawrence, to sharing a stage with Stevie Wonder, Joe Walsh, Billie Joe Armstrong, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr, all at the same time. Full circle. I met Ricky Byrd back in the daze… when we were both in a daze… I was booking the Rock’ N Roll Café on Bleecker Street. Ricky was already a rockstar, center stage lead guitarist with Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, playing those iconic riffs in the great MTV Music Video Days. Ricky has recorded, toured, and/or has performed with Roger Daltrey, Ian Hunter, Southside Johnny, Mavis Staples, Brian Wilson, Alice Cooper, Paul Shaffer, Smokey Robinson, and so many others, but we got stories about the above mentioned. As we did about Don Rickles, Frank Gorshen, Ron Wood, Keith Richards

Candy Clark, part deux, looking fab as always, adding some much appreciated Hollywood glamour for the pandemic weary.  We got Candy's take on Sunday's Academy Awards, and her three trips down the red carpet, her first an unknown in the nosebleeds with binoculars, then with her beau, Jeff Bridges (see what I did there), when he was nominated for The Last Picture Show, and then he with her when she was nominated for American Graffiti. We got the naked skinny on Bowie, as The Man Who Fell to Earth, Candy and he over and under the covers, and his later sweet surprise, Jeff Beck shaking and fanning to meet her, and their subsequent friendship, he likes her, he really likes her. We talked George Lucas, and Candy's tenacity to land that role, her Oscar campaign, and getting the uncut Bowie classic restored and out there. The woman determined gumption. We got some David Lynch, Jake Gyllenhaal, Marjoe Gortner, Angelina Jolie, and George Clooney. All great reminders of what once was and will be again.  A burger outd

Regardless of the innumerable technical challenges, this was one of my favorite shows in 4 yrs. Comedian, @RitchShydner is affable, warm, hysterically funny, evolved, intelligent & downright entertaining as fuck. #GameChangersWithVickiAbelson Replay:
https://bit.ly/3tIukSi Grateful! Regardless of the innumerable technical challenges with the new Zoom interface, presenting to Only Me on the Facebook, thrice, despite being posted Public, the absence of notifications, the ridiculous beginning when we did finally just go for it anyway, this was one of my favorite shows in 4 yrs. Comedian, Ritch Shydner is affable, warm, hysterically funny, evolved, intelligent, and downright entertaining as (I'll take Seinfeld's advice and not go blue) all get out (ugh). Ritch exceeded all expectations, and, knowing him, mine were high. BAM! He took the stresses of the day and washed them the fuck away. Ooops. We talked love and marriage, third time's the charm, addiction alcoholism, sugar blues, using the funny to cope, s

Forgetaboutit! I thought I was going to be sitting down with one of the most prolific drummers to ever pick up sticks... yeah, there's that, there's also wisdom out the wazoo. I'm talking mind, body. spirit, health. Kenny Aronoff shared strategies for living, working, solutions, tools, suggestions. Wow. This here is packed with passionate guidance. We did get to his career. The players, the stories! Wow, x 2. The kicker, he's easy, entertaining, and fun! I want Kenny to be my life coach. Under his tutelage and example, I can imagine what would be doable. Guessing I'd lose the weight, get buff, publish a few books, finish my screenplay, sell it, get on a legit platform, and make some coin. Oh, Kenny... this guy's on fire, 18 hours a day, seven days a week. I want his focus. We got Kenny's 8 Steps to Healthy Living, his 3 Cs, his 3 As to stay relevant... and then we got to the music. Where he started, why and how, John Cougar, John Fogerty, McCartney, Ringo, Jagger, The Stones, Sting, Joe Walsh, Elton John, BB

comedian, Mike Rowe on the show. We have two degrees all over the place and yet our lives had barely intersected. I wanted to know everything about this funny, successful man who's worked steadily and passionately doing what he loves throughout his life to the present. Mike's got two shows currently running on Netflix, The Trailer Park Boys, where he was nominated for two Gemini Awards, and Paradise PD, which is in its 3rd season. Futurama's available on Hulu. How many writers/producers have all that going on at once when there isn't a pandemic. We talked early discovery of the funny, the comedians who influenced him... gigging at NASA and almost choosing that, doing sometimes a dozen standup sets in a night up and down New York's Upper West Side back in the heyday, hysterical young Larry David stuff, he did a great Dangerfield, with a surprise ending, a heart-warming Henny Youngman story, shifting gears to sitcom writing, a funny early George Clooney incident, a crappy Kenny G tale, happy days on Coach,

Thaao Penghlis On Game Changers With Vicki Abelson by Vicki Abelson

It's been a long time coming, and it'll be a long time not gone. Sitting down (and standing up) with long-time friend, guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer, arranger, vocalist, and NY Blues Hall Of Famer, Jeff Pevar, was worth waiting for. Amazing stories spanning the whole of his illustrious career. Paul McCartney Beatles inspired, with a sweet story that goes full circle, from Michael Ruff who launched him with Rickie Lee Jones, Ray Charles, James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Joe Cocker, Crosby & Nash, to CSN to CPR, Bette Midler, Laura Nyro, Carly Simon. Loggins & Messina, another sweet full-circle story, to soul brothers and creative partners, Steve Postell and Danny Kortchmar. Jeff played a couple written with David Crosby and caught us up to current events, his first solo album, From the Core to the Anthem, his five-song EP with his wife and love, Inger Nova Jorgensen.  We talked zen and the art of rock ’n roll maintenance. Jeff’s a spectacular example of seizing opportunity and running with

A special day

Sitting down with actor, writer, director, historian, Marine, sweetheart, great friend, Jim Beaver, is always a treat, today perhaps even more so... reunited with a treasured, entertaining friend, what better way to spend a pandemic evening? We started there, how Jim, Sara, and Maddie have been managing this past year... more COVID careful than crazy, but certainly still, Sympatico. We got into life... and work... from education and early career goals, complete with some hysterical self-realizations, enlisting in the Marines out of spite, some more self -realization hysteria there, early jobs, more fun.... for us, writing, early literary and then TV success, and then, opportunity meeting preparedness and his acting break, his long-held dream, with Norman Jewison and Bruce Willis. Lots of work and then the career game-changer, Deadwood, to the life-changer, Supernatural.Highlights from Dexter, Breaking Bad, and Better Call Saul, his decades-long quest to tell the definitive story of Superman, George R

What better way to celebrate vaccine efficacy than with old friend, hysterical, thoughtful whip-smart, actor/comedian, Eddie Pepitone. I spent the afternoon watching his latest comedy special, For the Masses, available on Amazon Prime, which the New York Times called the funniest stand-up special of 2020––no argument here. When was the last time I continuously laughed out loudly during this damn pandemic? Eddie and I went there––from current non-shopping practices, a life-threatening excursion to procure organic grapes, ripe for the freezing, his bubble of two, virtual standup sans live audience for a year, a couple of TV shoots with lots of testing... the creepy agoraphobia threatening to cripple many of us if we don't get back in the world soon, and his vaccine envy. "LA is up to mimes. Ventriloquists are next, and then comics." Eddie took us on his journey from a pretty serious childhood to the discovery of his funny. Not your set-up punchline comic, Eddie made his way through the underground clubs, honi

Beth Grant Live On Game Changers With Vicki Abelson by Vicki Abelson

Peter Onorati, how I adore thee... let me count the ways... amazing actor, great storyteller, sweetest of humans... loved every moment in his good company. It was a challenging race to show time post last-minute tech issues - all over the place - but once we went Live there was no way not to sit back and enjoy this wonderful conversation from Peter’s wild fabulous family from Naples to New Jersey. Not only the stories but Peter enacting them out for us. His grandfather (and DeNiro) my favorites. Early days in the real deal football and wrestling, to an MBA and a serious corporate gig, never imagining himself an actor, to how he landed there, met his bride, thrived, first on Kate & Allie in New York, Goodfellas, where he charmed Scorses to win the part, DeNiro, Liotta, making his way to LA, where commercials led to Cop Rock, an iconic gem, way before its time, starring in Civil Wars, Murder One, guest spots, guest spots, everywhere, perhaps most famously in Sex & The City, getting black-listed, working wit

So fun. So easy. Loved it. Love him. Fantastical post-impeachment trial much-needed joy with Emmy Winner, Tom Bergeron. How I adore this man. The long-time host of Dancing With The Stars told us what happened. I haven't watched since, you? The first man to grace Women Who Write in its inaugural year, where he read aloud from his just stopping, I'm Hosting as Fast I Can, for the first time, we had another cherry- breaking––Tom read from Drive Time, his new book in progress. As with everything Tom, it's funny and wonderful. We talked about some favorite people and favorite moments, Carl Reiner, Dick Van Dyke, Cloris Leachman, Florence Henderson, Howard Stern, Peter Marshall... career highlights from DJing at 17 to daytime TV, Hollywood Squares, winning Emmys, Candy Jar with Helen Hunt on Netflix, a dark turn in the short, The Messenger, and what he hopes for his future. Sitting down with Tom is visiting with an old cherished friend - the funny one! Was I ready for some of that in the middle of all this.

I’ve been a candy fan all my life, I’ve been a Candy Clark fan almost as long. Her Academy Award Nominated performance as Debbie Dunham in American Graffiti is unforgettable. We started with a few tech issues. It was worth the little time and frustration for the great stories and fun which followed. We talked vaccines, pandemic protocols, adjusted living, shopping, eating, to making new friends in th midst of it. Candy's got her neighbors, I've got the COVID crazies. We touched on the lunacy but focused on hope. Candy walked us through her humble beginnings in Texas, where her life’s ambition was to be a secretary/ receptionist. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Modeling brought her to NY for a visit. Before touching down she decided to stay. With $40 in her pocket, she made it work. Her acting career began with director John Houston, opposite Stacy Keach and Jeff Bridges, who became her live-in boyfriend. All while she was insisting, “I just want to be an extra!” Words no one else has said,

Sensational storytelling from actor, activist, veteran, sober, surfer, husband, father, grandpa, success story on celluloid and in life, Gregory Harrison. And, the whole gorgeousness thing. We talked his Catalina upbringing, playing baseball and the guitar. A medic during the Vietnam War, stationed in Germany, he set a precedent as the first non-religious conscientious objector. A medic, he set the stage for Trapper John MD, which launched him to stardom. We touched on Logan's Run, Sisters, Henry Jaglom's The M Word, where we met, his Broadway debut in Steel Pier, his just before the pandemic stage turn starring in The Lion in Winter, his current first soap spin in General Hospital, and why it took him so long. Returning to work on 9-1-1, after 8 months of stay-at-home like a good COVID crazy, new hope, and good sleep with the new president. As fabulous as all of that was to hear, it's Gregory's telling of meeting his wife of 40 years on Battle of The Network Stars, the sexy start, to his cocaine-fueled

Keaton Simons On Game Changers With Vicki Abelson by Vicki Abelson

This was one of the greatest shows I've had the privilege to present, in a heavily stacked pack of fabulous. I can't believe how much fun I had with Eliza and Eric Roberts. Even though we opened talking about the pandemic, and the idiot's response to today's Impeachment, the terrorism at his hand, and the threat of next week's violence, once we moved past the weighty issues of the day, we eased into a nothing short of glorious conversation. This couple so love, revere, and enjoy each other, and the load of work they do, even in the midst of this craziness. Eric has 56 projects currently filming, in pre or post-production, procured by miraculous Eliza, who also oft co-stars, handles tech, teaches actors, and steers Keaton Simons' her uber-talented sons' career. I'm exhausted thinking about it all, they live it daily, on top of being stellar humanists who stand-up for worthy cause upon worthy cause and help launch young, up and coming talent. They're a one-of-a-kind, spectacular couple. We got the story behin

We went back in for more. Had such a spectacular time with iconic dynamo, Waddy Wachtel, Zoom couldn't handle the energy and booted us off... we came back and had Waddy two times, and it wasn't enough. As promised, here he's back for Part 3... stories, stories, more stories, with this artist whose music's scored our lives. From a career which has spanned decades, tonight we focused on Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, Warren Zevon, Stevie Nicks, Keith Richards, and the X-Pensive Winos, check out this killer video of their Eileen, https://bit.ly/3gVYE6s – I've watched it about dozen times since Waddy shot me the link an hour ago. It just doesn’t get any more rockin' - well, except maybe when you get current. Passion project for all of them, The Immediate Family, with Lee Sklar, Danny Kortchmar, Russ Kunkel, and Steve Postell, crazy-ass rock 'n roll that just doesn't better. Their latest video, New York Minute, is perfection, on every level –– https://bit.ly/3ml8dwY – the fact that there's 50 years of playing his

Epic show with my old pal, iconic child actor, Mason Reese. We spanned Mason’s emergence into his Cleo Award-Winning showbiz career, from age 4 to co-hosting the Mike Douglas Show at 7, passing on Johnny, teaching himself the drums, meeting his idol, Buddy Rich, seeing Sinatra, cultivating Eddie Murphy, Nathan Lane, and Robert Townsend, with his actress mother, loads of talk show appearances, a self-titled sitcom pilot, a student thesis film for Brett Ratner… to the rock years, from playing and hanging at Heartbreak, The China Club, The Rock ’N Roll Cafe, for me, Spo-Dee-O-Dees, to owning his own club and restaurant, and shooting his dream show. Stories, stories, stories, of the people and friends he met along the way. Many, like me, have been around for decades. There’s (in no particular order) Bruce Willis, David Bowie, Phoebe Snow, Dan Wells, Michael Learned, Julian Lennon, Harry Chapin, Eva Gabor, Michael J. Fox, Gordon Lightfoot, Anthony Michael Hall, Stallone,Billy Idol, Cher, and Camilletti…so much in