Advanced TV Herstory

We continue to celebrate the female voices that have provided a foundation for cultural advancement and modern discourse by featuring a rare TV talk show appearance by two-time Academy Award winner Vivien Leigh. 

The year was 1958. The show was “Small World,” hosted by American broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow. Appearing alongside Ms. Leigh are motion picture executive Samuel Goldwyn and British writer and entertainment critic Kenneth Tynan. 

Ms. Leigh, best known for her work as Scarlett O’Hara in “Gone with the Wind” and Blanche DuBois in “A Streetcar Named Desire,” died in 1967 at the age of 53, but her legacy remains profound. And, while some of the opinions in this broadcast would be considered outdated now, you’ll hear that Ms. Leigh was not afraid to mix it up with some of the most strident male voices of her day.

As always, thank you for listening. For the video version of this episode, visit @advancedtvherstory on YouTube. 

RESOURCES

Small World, Part 1 https://youtu.be/4c6kR9ORqUc?si=sXmP3bg5Cqzs63Zu

Small World, Part 2 https://youtu.be/P5roaRH9rY0?si=gfMmZhJTtrqdY85l

Small World, Part 3 https://youtu.be/tG0x68lPzso?si=TMitHcgm45BVl3Pf

Taylor Mayes - https://www.youtube.com/@Taylormayes

CYNTHIA BEMIS ABRAMS AND ATVH

ATVH Newsletter – tvherstory.com

Website - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/ 

Podcast Archive - tvherstory.com

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/advancedtvherstory/

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@advancedtvherstory

X (Twitter) - https://twitter.com/tvherstory

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Media.Cynthia

Bluesky Social - https://bsky.app/profile/cynthiabemisabrams.bsky.social

PRODUCTION

Video - Nivia Lopez - https://nivialopez.com/

Audio - Marilou Marosz - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariloumarosz/

Music - https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jahzzar/

Host Cynthia Bemis Abrams welcomes Yvonne Perry to Advanced TV Herstory. Yvonne is an award-winning actor, drama teacher, director, and intimacy coordinator. In addition to her work in film and primetime television, she originated the role of Rosanna Cabot on "As the World Turns." Yvonne’s experience in daytime TV, with its groundbreaking storylines and thoughtful intimacy handling, has informed her approach to work today. 

Cynthia and Yvonne reflect on the wins in the 2023 SAG-AFTRA contract, including new standards and protocols for the use of intimacy coordinators. Yvonne discusses her experience working in this emerging field and the value of providing a respectful and collaborative environment for actors, directors, and crew members. 

Yvonne also shares fun and informative stories from along her career path, including an important lesson she learned as Rosanna Cabot, her first kiss in front of the camera, the relationship between fight choreography and intimacy direction, what major league ballplayers think about daytime TV, and much more.   

It’s a lively and interesting discussion from an insider’s point of view. Thank you for listening! 

[February 6, 2024 - This episode has been edited to include Alicia Rodis' contribution to the field of intimacy direction and coordinating.]

YVONNE PERRY

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/YvonnePerryHulbert

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/yvonneperryh/

Website - https://www.yvonneperry.com/

RESOURCES and MENTIONS

Intimacy Directors & Coordinators - https://www.idcprofessionals.com/

Jessica Steinrock, PhD, Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/intimacy_coordinator_

Jessica Steinrock, PhD, TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@intimacycoordinator?/

Alicia Rodis - https://www.idcprofessionals.com/bios/aliciarodis

CONNECT WITH CYNTHIA and ADVANCED TV HERSTORY

ATVH Newsletter – tvherstory.com

Website - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/ 

Podcast Archive - tvherstory.com

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/advancedtvherstory/

X (Twitter) - https://twitter.com/tvherstory

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Media.Cynthia

Bluesky Social - @cynthiabemisabrams.bsky.social

In this special episode, Cynthia Bemis Abrams is joined by guest co-host Ashley Pacini for the Parade of Accomplished Women 2023. Instead of a somber “in memoriam,” we’re bringing you a celebration of the talented, influential women who helped shape the television industry. In this second part of our tribute, we highlight the women of daytime, the often-overlooked creatives working behind the scenes, and—new this year—the women of reality shows.

It is especially difficult to preserve the legacy of lesser-known women in an ever-expanding industry, but their influence is no less important. That’s why we consider this a call to action. We lost these women over the past year, but we must not lose the memory of them or their contributions to television history.

Thank you for joining us as we honor the enduring spirit of women in television.

THE REEL WOMEN

Ashley Pacini on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleypacini/

Website - https://thereelwomen.com/

Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@thereelwomen

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thereelwomen/?hl=en

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/thereelwomen/

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@thereelwomen

AUDIO CLIPS and REFERENCES Clips have been edited for length.

Remembering Jacklyn Zeman (General Hospital) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLfhlDtk-x0

Ellen Holly on Being at the March on Washington in 1963 (Foundation Interviews) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Aige_YvQGU

Ellen Holly on her New York Times article “How Black Do You Have to Be?” (Foundation Interviews) -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkEmOWaiWF4

How Black Do You Have to Be (NY Times, 1968) - https://www.nytimes.com/1968/09/15/archives/how-black-do-you-have-to-be-how-black-do-you-have-to-be.html

The Colors of Black (NY Times, 1968) - https://www.nytimes.com/1968/10/06/archives/the-colors-of-black.html

CONNECT WITH CYNTHIA and ADVANCED TV HERSTORY

ATVH Newsletter – tvherstory.com

Website - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/ 

Podcast Archive - tvherstory.com

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/advancedtvherstory/

X (Twitter) - https://twitter.com/tvherstory

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Media.Cynthia

Bluesky Social - @cynthiabemisabrams.bsky.social

OUT in 2024 - "In Memoriam"

IN - Parade of Accomplished Women 

This is the first of our two-part celebration of some of the talented, influential females we lost in 2023.  

Guest co-host Ashley Pacini of The Reel Women joins host Cynthia Bemis Abrams for this discussion. The Reel Women interviews and profiles women in the industry to increase visibility and opportunity for the next generation of women who want to work in television, film, and media. 

Cynthia and Ashley pay respects to the creatives who played pivotal roles in front of, and behind, the cameras. In addition to well-known names, they honor women who hustled for years as largely unheralded day players, others who stepped up to provide representation of the unseen, and several who risked their careers to speak truth to power.

While we can’t feature all the remarkable women who died in 2023, we believe it’s important to highlight the contributions and careers that might otherwise go unnoticed so that they are not lost to history. 

Thank you for listening and be sure to tune in to the second half of Parade of Accomplished Women 2023.

THE REEL WOMEN

Ashley Pacini on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleypacini/

Website - https://thereelwomen.com/

Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@thereelwomen

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thereelwomen/?hl=en

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/thereelwomen/

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@thereelwomen

AUDIO CLIPS and REFERENCES

Sinead O’Connor - https://youtu.be/8LcmJErI8IQ

Inga Swenson - https://youtu.be/-4hjBu23hws

Cindy Williams - https://youtu.be/d-PlT-sHRTE

Behind the Velvet Rope Podcast - https://www.youtube.com/@behindthevelvetrope

CONNECT WITH CYNTHIA and ADVANCED TV HERSTORY

ATVH Newsletter – tvherstory.com

Website - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/ 

Podcast Archive - tvherstory.com

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/advancedtvherstory/

X (Twitter) - https://twitter.com/tvherstory

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Media.Cynthia

Bluesky Social - @cynthiabemisabrams.bsky.social

Welcome to the next episode in our special series on TV Talk Shows.

Big talk show moments, especially the controversial ones, provide snapshots that we can use to examine our politics and culture at a singular point in time. Some of the moments we discuss in this series may be unfamiliar to you or they may seem obscure or forgotten, but that’s the point. We’re here to preserve TV Herstory.

Today, when alternative facts are part of our daily life, it’s especially instructive to look back more than 40 years at a grudge match over Truth and Reputation that played out on The Dick Cavett Show in 1980 and beyond. The combatants were two opinionated, strong-willed women: playwright/author Lillian Hellman and novelist/critic Mary McCarthy.

Thank you for listening to Advanced TV Herstory. I encourage you to learn more about these women starting with the resources below.

RESOURCES FOR LILLIAN HELLMAN

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lillian_Hellman

Plays: The Little Foxes; The Children's Hour; Watch on the Rhein; Days to Come

Books and Memoirs: An Unfinished Woman: A Memoir; Pentimento; Scoundrel Time

About Lillian Hellman:

C-SPAN's American History TV episode on Lillian Hellman

Rollyson, Carl (1989) Lillian Hellman: Her Legend and Her Legacy

Kessler-Harris, Alice (2012) The Challenging Life and Times of Lillian Hellman

Gallagher, Dorothy (2014) Lillian Hellman: An Imperious Life   

RESOURCES FOR MARY McCARTHY

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_McCarthy_(author)

Books & Memoirs: Memories of a Catholic Girlhood; The Stones of Florence; The Group; Cannibals and Missionaries

About Mary McCarthy:

Kiernan, Frances (2002) Seeing Mary Plain: A Life of Mary McCarthy

Brightman, Carol (1992) Writing Dangerously: Mary McCarthy and Her World

Gelderman, Carol (1988) Mary McCarthy: A Life 

INLINE RESOURCES

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OfKEjABGGY

Theatre Talk: Hellman v. McCarthy - CUNY TV

Guests: Dick Cavett, Roberta Maxwell, Marcia Rodd

Hosts: Michael Riedel, Susan Haskins 

CONNECT WITH CYNTHIA and ADVANCED TV HERSTORY

ATVH Newsletter – tvherstory.com

Website - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/ 

Podcast Archive - tvherstory.com

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/advancedtvherstory/

X (Twitter) - https://twitter.com/tvherstoryB

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Media.Cynthia

Bluesky Social - @cynthiabemisabrams.bsky.social

We know her as Meemaw, Mary Jo Shively, Emmie Sims, and the voice of Bo Peep. But Annie Potts is hooked on helping others—she’s very hands on—and she’s here to tell us about that part of her life. In doing so, she inspires us with her commitment and challenges us to “turn the car around.”

Annie’s charitable organization, The Heart Channels, provides direct support quickly and creatively to people at critical crossroads in their life. Its mission reflects what Annie witnessed growing up—that wherever there was a need, people opened their hearts and quietly stepped in to help however they could.  

The Heart Channels also mirrors Annie’s belief that we are one human family, no matter where on the planet we are. By opening our eyes to the needs of others, we can respond lovingly and immediately—neighbor to neighbor and heart to heart.

I hope you’ll join us for this very special discussion. And please consider helping out. All donations to The Heart Channels—100%—are tax deductible and go directly to people in need.

FOLLOW AND DONATE TO THE HEART CHANNELS

The Heart Channels - https://www.theheartchannels.org/

On Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/theheartchannels

On Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/theheartchannels/

CONNECT WITH ANNIE POTTS

Cameo (all proceeds go to The Heart Channels) - https://www.cameo.com/anniepotts

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thisisanniepotts/?hl=en

CONNECT WITH CYNTHIA and ADVANCED TV HERSTORY

ATVH Newsletter – tvherstory.com

Website - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/

Podcast Archive - tvherstory.com

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/advancedtvherstory/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/tvherstory

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Media.Cynthia

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@advancedtvherstory/featured

PRODUCTION

Podcast Editing - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariloumarosz/

Music by Jahzzar - https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jahzzar/

Join host Cynthia Bemis Abrams as she launches a new limited series, TV Talk Shows, part of the Advanced TV Herstory podcast. 

In this first episode, Cynthia delves into a study that reveals women are more prominently featured in unscripted television shows than in scripted ones—another example of the industry’s inclination to front women in projects that are less expensive to produce. She also touches on the recent strikes by SAG-AFTRA and the WGA, emphasizing the importance of storytelling and representation in scripted television.

Cynthia then outlines the focus of the TV Talk Shows series, which will explore the historical context, memorable moments, and surprising controversies surrounding unscripted hosts and guests. The episode concludes by acknowledging the pioneering achievements of Della Reese as the first black woman to fill in for Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show and Betty White's stance against the broadcast network executives who were reluctant to feature performers of color on her 1950s talk and variety show. 

RESOURCES 

Foundation Interviews - Della Reese on Guest Hosting “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson” - https://youtu.be/M8hfse64sFU?si=8cIu3DrRN2AIdiBL

The Television Academy Foundation – Della Reese - https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/della-reese 

“He Stays”: Betty White refused to remove Black dancer from her show in 1954 - https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2022/01/01/betty-white-black-dancer-arthur-duncan/9067252002/

 Retro Televisions – The Betty White Show (11-29-54) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7k23zM-eLoI

CBS Los Angeles KCAL - https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/women-more-represented-on-reality-tv-than-scripted-shows-sdsu-report-finds/

CONNECT WITH CYNTHIA and ADVANCED TV HERSTORY

ATVH Newsletter - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/

Website - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/ 

Podcast Archive - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/advanced-tv-herstory

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/advancedtvherstory/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/tvherstory

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Media.Cynthia

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@advancedtvherstory/featured

PRODUCTION

Podcast Editing - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariloumarosz/

Music by Jahzzar - https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jahzzar/

Advanced TV Herstory’s commitment to connecting the dots of TV & feminism and American politics & culture continues with an examination of the pioneering women writers during the early days of TV.

My guest, Annie Berke, PhD, is the author of Their Own Best Creations: Women Writers in Postwar Television, part of the Feminist Media Histories book series by the University of California Press. 

With a focus on 1949-1963, Dr. Berke’s foundational work appeals to scholars and students as well as others with an interest in gender roles, women in the workplace, and the cultural influence of women in media. 

 Along with a review of under-studied and influential women writers profiled in the book, our discussion leads to some interesting places, including the emergence of second-wave feminism and how postwar and current-day writers share many of the same struggles.

I know you’ll enjoy this fun and fast-paced episode. Thank you for listening!

CONNECT WITH ANNIE BERKE

Website - https://www.annieberke.com/

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/annie-berke-ph-d-a102509/

Instagram, X (Twitter), and Bluesky - @sayanniething

RESOURCES

Pioneer Peg Lynch - https://around.uoregon.edu/content/library-exhibit-celebrates-legacy-tv-pioneer-peg-lynch

The Broadcast 41 by Carol A. Stabile - https://broadcast41.uoregon.edu/

CONNECT WITH CYNTHIA and ADVANCED TV HERSTORY

ATVH Newsletter - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/

Website - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/ 

Podcast Archive - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/advanced-tv-herstory

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/advancedtvherstory/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/tvherstory

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Media.Cynthia

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@advancedtvherstory/featured

PRODUCTION

Podcast Editing - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariloumarosz/

Music by Jahzzar - https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jahzzar/

Cynthia Bemis Abrams welcomes Victoria Riskin, a second-generation filmmaker with a rich Hollywood legacy. Victoria's parents—Robert Riskin, a prolific, Oscar-winning screenwriter, and Fay Wray, best known for her role in the original King Kong—were instrumental in shaping the classic years of the motion picture industry.

And Victoria has crafted an impressive career all her own. She is a producer, writer, digital magazine publisher, PhD in psychology, and past president of the Writers Guild of America (WGA). She shares her experiences as WGA president and explains how power has shifted over time to the imbalance that has writers and actors on strike now in 2023.

We also learn how Victoria’s father tried leveraging his success with the studios to improve conditions for writers in the 1930s, but ultimately joined the Screen Writers Guild (SWG) as an early, active member. And, on the lighter side, you won’t want to miss Victoria’s stories from her trip to China with Norman Lear, Mary Tyler Moore, Larry Gelbart, and Carl Reiner.

Victoria knows Hollywood from deep inside. No doubt you’ll enjoy the interesting history and fun stories she shares with us. 

RESOURCES

Victoria Riskin's website - https://www.victoriariskin.com/ 

Fay Wray and Robert Riskin: A Hollywood Memoir - https://www.victoriariskin.com/index.php/about

Projections of America - http://projectionsofamerica.com/

The Last Best Year - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Best_Year

Bluedot Living -  https://bluedotliving.com/

CONNECT WITH CYNTHIA and ADVANCED TV HERSTORY

ATVH Newsletter - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/

Website - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/ 

Podcast Archive - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/advanced-tv-herstory

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/advancedtvherstory/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/tvherstory

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Media.Cynthia

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@advancedtvherstory/featured

PRODUCTION

Podcast Editing - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariloumarosz/

Music by Jahzzar - https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jahzzar/

Labor Day 2023 will mark the major event of a combined strike of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Screen Actors Guild—American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). Both unions are currently led by women: Fran Drescher, Meredith Stiehm, and Lisa Takeuchi Cullen.

Even prior to the two union merger in 2012, SAG and AFTRA had elected nine strong and inspiring women to lead their labor causes like health and pension benefits, residuals, and managing during COVID. The WGA, first led by a woman in 2001, represents writers on a myriad of issues like credit, contracts, and benefits.

Today, these unions are on strike, with primary issues of artificial intelligence to create content and fabricate performers, and how payment formulas for writers and performers will be commensurate with successful streaming. Since the WGA declared its strike and actors followed, Advanced TV Herstory has stood resolutely with all the talented creators. This episode tells of the dedication to workers’ rights and social progress within a distinct and complex business model.

AUDIO CLIPS & RESOURCES

Fran Drescher - https://youtu.be/J4SAPOX7R5M

Gabrielle Carteris -  https://www.sagaftra.org/videos/president-gabrielle-carteris-discusses-sag-aftra%E2%80%99s-covid-19-efforts

RCA Selectavision commercial - https://youtu.be/dFtyMNTD2f4

ABC7 in Los Angeles - https://abc7.com/wga-writers-guild-strike-rally/13303288/ 

https://www.sagaftra.org/

https://www.wga.org/

CONNECT WITH CYNTHIA BEMIS ABRAMS and ADVANCED TV HERSTORY

ATVH Newsletter - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/

Website - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/ 

Podcast Archive - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/advanced-tv-herstory

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/advancedtvherstory/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/tvherstory

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Media.Cynthia

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@advancedtvherstory/featured

PRODUCTION

Podcast Editing - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariloumarosz/

Music by Jahzzar - https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jahzzar/

A lot has happened politically and culturally since this podcast launched eight years ago. In this anniversary episode, I celebrate a number of wins while also reflecting on the importance of learning from history to avoid repeating past mistakes.

For example, Lee Grant, an Oscar and Emmy-winning actress, overcame being blacklisted during the anti-Communist era. Her resilience and courage in speaking out against injustice serve as a lesson for today.

I also highlight the work of The Geena Davis Institute on Gender and Media, which has expanded its focus to champion inclusion of the six major identities of gender, race/ethnicity, LGBTQIA+, disability, age 50+, and body type in media and entertainment.

In addition to looking back on some of Advanced TV Herstory’s episodes from the past year, I celebrate ATVH’s inclusion in IMDb and the anticipation of reaching a new audience.

Because ATVH is not beholden to sponsors, I can proudly say that I provide an unfiltered view of both historical and current obstacles to full representation and valuation. Many of these obstacles are at the center of the ongoing strike by the Writers Guild and the use of artificial intelligence.

With a commitment to recognizing the importance of representation and critical thinking in the face of rapidly changing media landscapes, I thank you for your support of this podcast over the last eight years and I look forward to uncovering and sharing more untold stories of women in the year to come.

This is why I podcast.  

MENTIONS AND REFERENCES

I Said Yes to Everything by Lee Grant - https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/18693908

Intimate Portrait - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0896232/

CONNECT WITH CYNTHIA BEMIS ABRAMS and ATVH

ATVH Newsletter - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/

Website - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/ 

Podcast Archive - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/advanced-tv-herstory

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/advancedtvherstory/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/tvherstory

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Media.Cynthia

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@advancedtvherstory/featured

PRODUCTION

Podcast Editing - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariloumarosz/

Music by Jahzzar - https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jahzzar/

In the second of our two-part episode, host Cynthia Bemis Abrams continues talking with Elva Green about her book, "The Jeffersons: A Fresh Look Back," which offers insights, interviews, behind-the-scenes stories, and rare photos from the iconic TV series. 

Ms. Green reflects on one of the best episodes from the seventh season of the show, which featured a tour-de-force performance by Isabel Sanford (Louise Jefferson). We listen to classic interview clips: Marla Gibbs (Florence) assesses Ms. Sanford’s contribution to the series and Ms. Sanford recounts her professional friendship with Zara Cully (Mother Jefferson). We also look back at Ms. Sanford’s 1981 Emmy acceptance speech

As with other programs under the guidance of Norman Lear, “The Jeffersons” appealed to a wide audience and often tackled serious, ground-breaking subject matter. Please join us as we discuss its legacy.

SHOP AND CONNECT WITH ELVA GREEN

The Jeffersons: A Fresh Look Back

Eddie Green: The Rise of an Early 1900s Black American Entertainment Pioneer  

https://bearmanor-digital.myshopify.com/search?q=elva+diane+green

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/elva.green.712/

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/elva.green.712/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/elvagreen123/

AUDIO CLIPS

Isabel Sanford Emmy Acceptance Speech - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUfFd1vNS4I

Isabel Sanford on Zara Cully (and other castmates) - https://youtu.be/5wqimrfTBn0

Marla Gibbs on Isabel Sanford - https://youtu.be/6sdguNXxtBc

OTHER MENTIONS

John McWhorter, PhD - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McWhorter

The Jeffersons: And the Doorknobs Shined Like Diamonds (S7 E13) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0614811/

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061735/

CONNECT WITH CYNTHIA BEMIS ABRAMS and ADVANCED TV HERSTORY

Website - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/

Podcast Archive - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/advanced-tv-herstory

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/advancedtvherstory/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/tvherstory

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Media.Cynthia

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@advancedtvherstory/featured

PRODUCTION

Podcast Editing by Marilou Marosz - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariloumarosz/

Music by Jahzzar - https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jahzzar/

In this first of a two-part episode of Advanced TV Herstory, host Cynthia Bemis Abrams welcomes Elva Green to discuss her book, "The Jeffersons: A Fresh Look Back." Ms. Green shares her personal journey as a writer and the impetus for the book, which offers insights, interviews, behind-the-scenes stories, and rare photos from the iconic TV series.

Ms. Green interviewed cast and crew members, including the legendary Norman Lear and the incomparable Marla Gibbs, who—after forming a bond with the author—agreed to write the foreword for the book. Ms. Green also speaks fondly of Berlinda Tolbert, Ernest Harden Jr., and others whose willingness to share stories and contacts enhanced her research and writing.

Ms. Green’s unconventional path to becoming an author began with her desire to inspire her grandson by writing about her father, Eddie Green, an early 1900s black American entertainment pioneer who achieved fame despite the challenges faced by African Americans in the first half of the last century.

Listeners are encouraged to shop both of Ms. Green’s books. They offer one-of-a-kind information for those interested in entertainment, black history, and well-crafted narratives. And be sure to tune into our next episode to learn more from Elva Green and her unexpected role in preserving the legacy of "The Jeffersons."

BOOKS BY ELVA GREEN

The Jeffersons: A Fresh Look Back

Eddie Green: The Rise of an Early 1900s Black American Entertainment Pioneer 

https://bearmanor-digital.myshopify.com/search?q=elva+diane+green

AUDIO CLIPS

The Jeffersons: The Best of Florence - https://youtu.be/pmxflexREKc

Mother Jefferson Has a New Boyfriend - https://youtu.be/222kxW5mlbs

Lionel and Jenny Kiss & Make Up - https://youtu.be/OuOLbOp2PHE

CONNECT WITH CYNTHIA BEMIS ABRAMS and ADVANCED TV HERSTORY

Website - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/

Podcast Archive - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/advanced-tv-herstory

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/advancedtvherstory/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/tvherstory

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Media.Cynthia

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@advancedtvherstory/featured

PRODUCTION

Podcast Editing by Marilou Marosz - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariloumarosz/

Music by Jahzzar - https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jahzzar/

Has “Cheers” aged well? Was Norm the norm in 1982? Was the toxic behavior in the show’s Boston-based bar a device to expose the destructive nature of misogyny or was it just a casual reflection of a patriarchal system?

Carla Tortelli and Diane Chambers, the barmaids in the first season of the show, served as sparring partners for their coworkers, customers, and each other. Carla was at home at "Cheers." Diane was a fish out of water. Carla and Diane could not have been more different. But Rhea Perlman and Shelley Long, the actors who portrayed Carla and Diane, both were incredible actors with excellent comedic timing. 

Cynthia Bemis Abrams takes a closer at their work and celebrates their contributions as two of the strong, female characters that emerged on television in the 1980s. She discusses the interplay among the regular characters at the bar, the foundational toxic environment, and the influence of female writers and showrunners on comedies of the era.

MENTIONS & REFERENCES 

ATVH Newsletter - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/

Shelley Long interview - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNagwFVh9xs

CONNECT WITH CYNTHIA BEMIS ABRAMS and ADVANCED TV HERSTORY

Website - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/ 

Podcast Archive - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/advanced-tv-herstory

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/advancedtvherstory/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/tvherstory

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Media.Cynthia

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@advancedtvherstory/featured

PRODUCTION

Podcast Editing - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariloumarosz/

Music by Jahzzar - https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jahzzar/

 I am very excited to share the second of a two-part conversation with author and TV/film historian, Lee Gambin. His double-volume work, "Tonight, On a Very Special Episode: When TV Sitcoms Sometimes Got Serious," provides a launch pad for our thoughtful and fast-paced discussion of the issues and activists behind TV’s “very special episodes,” which date back 50 years or more.

 These TV events—featuring familiar, beloved characters—mixed serious topics with comedy so effectively that, in many cases, activists were born, movements were started, legislation was passed, and minds were changed.

Legendary showrunners like Norman Lear and Linda Bloodworth-Thomason used the sitcom format to normalize awareness and discussion of race relations, women’s issues, representation, discrimination, divorce, alcoholism and drug addiction, sexual assault, HIV/AIDS, and LGBTQ rights.

Fronting these issues shaped our culture in ways that should not be lost to history. Join us for a discussion of the iconic episodes and the legends who made them happen, as well as how they continue to impact us today.

CONNECT WITH LEE GAMBIN

Tonight, On A Very Special Episode: When TV Sitcoms Sometimes Got Serious Volume 1: 1957-1985 - https://bearmanor-digital.myshopify.com/products/tonight-on-a-very-special-episode-when-tv-sitcoms-sometimes-got-serious-volume-1-1957-1985-paperback?_pos=1&_sid=72a8817db&_ss=r

Tonight, On A Very Special Episode: When TV Sitcoms Sometimes Got Serious Volume 2: 1986-1998 - https://bearmanor-digital.myshopify.com/products/tonight-on-a-very-special-episode-when-tv-sitcoms-sometimes-got-serious-volume-2-1986-1998-paperback?_pos=3&_sid=72a8817db&_ss=r

Cinemaniacs - https://cinemaniacs.com.au/

SOUND CLIPS

Diff’rent Strokes: The Bicycle Man (S5.E16-17) -https://youtu.be/XX-yeqTaltE

Designing Women: Killing All the Right People (S2.E4) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cozd3HN6xS8

All in The Family: Edith’s 50th Birthday (S8.E4-5) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eGFuSpSn1U

BOOKS / ARTICLES

Norman Lear Memoir - Even This I Get to Experience - https://www.normanlear.com/the-book

PERTINENT EPISODES OF ADVANCED TV HERSTORY

 Designing Women 1, Body-shaming 0 - https://advancedtvherstory.libsyn.com/designing-women-1-bodyshaming-0

Sports Night: More Relevant Than Ever - https://advancedtvherstory.libsyn.com/sports-night-more-relevant-than-ever

Eating Disorder Movies: TV For and About Women - https://advancedtvherstory.libsyn.com/eating-disorder-movies-tv-for-and-about-women

ATVH NEWSLETTER

Sign up at https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/

CONNECT WITH CYNTHIA BEMIS ABRAMS and ADVANCED TV HERSTORY

Website:  https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/

Podcasts:  https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/advanced-tv-herstory

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/advancedtvherstory/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/tvherstory

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Media.Cynthia

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/@advancedtvherstory/featured

PRODUCTION

Music:  Jahzzar - https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jahzzar/

I am very excited to share the first of a two-part conversation with author and TV/film historian, Lee Gambin. His double-volume work, "Tonight, On a Very Special Episode: When TV Sitcoms Sometimes Got Serious," provides a launch pad for our thoughtful and fast-paced discussion of the issues and activists behind TV’s “very special episodes,” which date back 50 years or more.

These TV events—featuring familiar, beloved characters—mixed serious topics with comedy so effectively that, in many cases, activists were born, movements were started, legislation was passed, and minds were changed.

Legendary showrunners like Norman Lear and Linda Bloodworth-Thomason used the sitcom format to normalize awareness and discussion of race relations, women’s issues, representation, discrimination, divorce, alcoholism and drug addiction, sexual assault, HIV/AIDS, and LGBTQ rights.

Fronting these issues shaped our culture in ways that should not be lost to history. Join us for a discussion of the iconic episodes and the legends who made them happen, as well as how they continue to impact us today.

CONNECT WITH LEE GAMBIN

 Tonight, On A Very Special Episode: When TV Sitcoms Sometimes Got Serious Volume 1: 1957-1985 - https://bearmanor-digital.myshopify.com/products/tonight-on-a-very-special-episode-when-tv-sitcoms-sometimes-got-serious-volume-1-1957-1985-paperback?_pos=1&_sid=72a8817db&_ss=r

Tonight, On A Very Special Episode: When TV Sitcoms Sometimes Got Serious Volume 2: 1986-1998 - https://bearmanor-digital.myshopify.com/products/tonight-on-a-very-special-episode-when-tv-sitcoms-sometimes-got-serious-volume-2-1986-1998-paperback?_pos=3&_sid=72a8817db&_ss=r

Cinemaniacs - https://cinemaniacs.com.au/

SOUND CLIPS

Diff’rent Strokes: The Bicycle Man (S5.E16-17) - https://youtu.be/XX-yeqTaltE

Designing Women: Killing All the Right People (S2.E4) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cozd3HN6xS8

All in The Family: Edith’s 50th Birthday (S8.E4-5) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eGFuSpSn1U

BOOKS / ARTICLES

Norman Lear Memoir - Even This I Get to Experience - https://www.normanlear.com/the-book

PERTINENT EPISODES OF ADVANCED TV HERSTORY

Designing Women 1, Body-shaming 0 -  https://advancedtvherstory.libsyn.com/designing-women-1-bodyshaming-0

Sports Night: More Relevant Than Ever - https://advancedtvherstory.libsyn.com/sports-night-more-relevant-than-ever

Eating Disorder Movies: TV For and About Women - https://advancedtvherstory.libsyn.com/eating-disorder-movies-tv-for-and-about-women

ATVH NEWSLETTER

Sign up at https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/

CONNECT WITH CYNTHIA BEMIS ABRAMS and ADVANCED TV HERSTORY

Website:  https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/

Podcasts:  https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/advanced-tv-herstory

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/advancedtvherstory/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/tvherstory

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Media.Cynthia

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/@advancedtvherstory/featured

PRODUCTION

Music:  Jahzzar - https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jahzzar/

In 1989, Oprah Winfrey produced and starred in the two-part TV miniseries, The Women of Brewster Place, which was based on Gloria Naylor’s award-winning debut novel. The book, and the movie, explore a variety of personal issues and social themes faced by seven African American women who live in an urban housing project.

When, just for fun, we asked the new artificial intelligence software, ChatGPT, to connect Oprah’s cultural influence with themes from the book/movie, the AI chatbot got it… sort of right. Sort of. It dispassionately summarized many of the challenges faced by the women in the story. And it mentioned Oprah’s commitment to highlighting personal and social issues. But ChatGPT failed to find the essential storyline.

And it’s no wonder. The online content about The Women of Brewster Place neglects the underlying racism that’s at work when urban planners and policymakers target the destruction of specific neighborhoods in the name of progress. As long as history is “written by the victors,” the online trough that feeds artificial intelligence will prevent AI, and the people who rely on it, from making the most crucial connections of all.

MENTIONS AND REFERENCES  We encourage you to visit your local bookseller or library.

Book by Gloria Naylor -  The Women of Brewster Place -https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/women-of-brewster-place-gloria-naylor/1102236580 -https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/women-of-brewster-place-gloria-naylor/1102236580

Movie on YouTube - The Women of Brewster Place - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-XFelzSXfc

People Magazine Article - Oprah Goes Hollywood - https://people.com/archive/oprah-goes-hollywood-vol-29-no-23/

Book by Carol Stabile, PhD - The Broadcast 41 - https://thereadingwarehouse.com/book.php?ISBN=9781912685424

Podcast Series (first of four) - Calculated Efforts to Preserve Power: TV Women Blacklisted - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/calculated-efforts-to-preserve-power-tv-women-blacklisted/id1014759821?i=1000445356348

Vulture Article - 30 Years Ago, The Women of Brewster Place Cracked Open the Door for Queer TV - https://www.vulture.com/2019/05/the-women-of-brewster-place-theresa-lorraine.html

Vice Article -  I’ve Made More Than 1,700 Wikipedia Entries on Women Scientists and I’m Not Yet Done - https://www.vice.com/en/article/z34k9e/wikipedia-pages-women-scientists-jessica-wade-stem

CONNECT WITH CYNTHIA BEMIS ABRAMS and ADVANCED TV HERSTORY

Website - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/ 

Podcast Archive - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/advanced-tv-herstory

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/advancedtvherstory/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/tvherstory

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Media.Cynthia

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@advancedtvherstory/featured

On this episode of Advanced TV Herstory, we connect the dots between TV and feminism with American culture and politics by remembering the 1979 television miniseries, Backstairs at the White House.

The series is based on the New York Times bestseller by Lillian Rogers Parks, a seamstress in the White House from 1939-1961. Parks based the book on her own experiences and on those of her mother, Maggie Rogers, who, as a maid in the White House from 1909-1939, was encouraged by Eleanor Roosevelt to keep a diary of her time serving the various first families.   

MENTIONS AND REFERENCES  (We encourage you to visit your local bookseller or library.)

Jackie Kennedy - Interview with Sander Vanocur, NBC - March 1961 - https://youtu.be/j3ZvIzL1JbI

My Thirty Years Backstairs at the White House - by Lillian Rogers Parks in collaboration with Frances Spatz Leighton - https://www.amazon.com/Thirty-Years-Backstairs-White-House/dp/092389196X/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=my+30+years+backstairs+at+the+white+house&qid=1676494328&sr=8-1

Michelle Obama - Speech at 2016 Democratic National Convention - https://youtu.be/4ZNWYqDU948

White House Historical Association - https://www.whitehousehistory.org

CONNECT WITH CYNTHIA BEMIS ABRAMS

Website - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/ 

Podcast Archive - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/advanced-tv-herstory

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/advancedtvherstory/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/tvherstory

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Media.Cynthia

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@advancedtvherstory/featured

As we wrap up our two-part In Memoriam for 2022 by honoring women with famous names and faces, we also pay tribute to those who were less visible yet made significant contributions to TV, movies, news, and science.

This celebration is the perfect time to reflect on the importance of acting as a champion for other women. Their success does not detract from our own—instead, it strengthens us all.

The wonderful women featured in this episode will continue to entertain and teach and inform us for decades thanks to syndication. They are why I podcast.

MENTIONS AND REFERENCES   (We encourage you to visit your local bookseller or library.)

Women Who Reported Watergate (July 2, 2017 podcast)  https://advancedtvherstory.libsyn.com/women-who-reported-watergate

Audition: A Memoir by Barbara Walters https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2847470-audition

Kirstie Alley - List of Works https://www.biblio.com/kirstie-alley/author/15520

Nichelle Nichols on Martin Luther King, Jr. https://youtu.be/zrzygziT11I

Beyond Uhura by Nichelle Nichols https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/672094.Beyond_Uhura

Sacheen Littlefeather was a Native American icon. Her sisters say she was an ethnic fraud  https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/Sacheen-Littlefeather-oscar-Native-pretendian-17520648.php

Louise Fletcher Wins Best Actress: 48th Oscars (1976) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGl5U7nNlkY

Dizzy & Jimmy by Liz Sheridan  https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/dizzy--jimmy-my-life-with-james-dean--a-love-story_liz-sheridan/348349/

Reeling Back by Michael Walsh https://reelingback.com/articles/creative_women_needed

CONNECT WITH CYNTHIA BEMIS ABRAMS

Website - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/ 

Podcast Archive - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/advanced-tv-herstory

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/advancedtvherstory/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/tvherstory

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Media.Cynthia

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@advancedtvherstory/featured

Our In Memoriam episodes have become an annual tradition. As the universe of known, talented women in TV gets larger every year, so too does the number of women that we honor. In this first of two episodes, we highlight some of the women of music and theatre who made significant contributions to our culture and society. We lost some very big names in 2022, but as you’ve come to expect with these episodes, we also celebrate the talent and achievements of those who were not quite thought of as a “big name.”

REFERENCES AND MENTIONS

In Memoriam: Angela Lansbury / MSW

https://advancedtvherstory.libsyn.com/in-memoriam-angela-lansbury-msw

Pat Carroll: Gertrude Stein was never a bore

https://www.csmonitor.com/1981/0108/010861.html

Debbie Allen Shapes a Different World

https://advancedtvherstory.libsyn.com/debbie-allen-shapes-a-different-world

Olivia Newton-John - the Making of “Physical”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXitXrVsndg

Olivia Newton-John on Murphy Brown

https://youtu.be/YrwqwZ02gM0

Erica Gimpel on Twitter: @ericagimpel

www.freemusicarchive.org

CONNECT WITH CYNTHIA BEMIS ABRAMS

Website - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/ 

Podcast Archive - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/advanced-tv-herstory

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/advancedtvherstory/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/tvherstory

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Media.Cynthia

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@advancedtvherstory/featured

Mallory Lewis joins host Cynthia Bemis Abrams for a fun chat about her book, Shari Lewis and Lambchop: The Team That Changed Children's Television. Mallory's book, published by University of Kentucky Press in fall 2022, is a collection of stories from Shari's childhood and career as a businesswoman and multifaceted entertainer. While Shari Lewis died from cancer in 1998, Lambchop continues to charm audiences with the help of her sister, Mallory.

FULL VIDEO INTERVIEW

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7eYcoRGL70&t=263s

GET THE BOOK

Shari Lewis and Lambchop: The Team that Changed Children’s Television by Nat Segaloff and Mallory Lewis

UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY PRESS

https://www.kentuckypress.com/9780813196268/shari-lewis-and-lamb-chop/

Watch for the documentary, Shari and Lambchop, to be released in 2023.

CONNECT WITH MALLORY

TikTok: @yourfavlambchop

Website:  https://mallorylewisandlambchop.com/home

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/mallorylewisandlambchop

CONNECT WITH CYNTHIA

Website - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/ 

Podcast Archive - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/advanced-tv-herstory

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/advancedtvherstory/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/tvherstory

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Media.Cynthia

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@advancedtvherstory/featured

We celebrate the creative life and career of Angela Lansbury with Bridget Kies, Assistant Professor of Film Studies and Production at Oakland University in Michigan.

From MGM contract player to Tony-winning Broadway star to her role as Jessica Fletcher on Murder, She Wrote, Lansbury’s long and impressive career has touched generations of film, TV, and theatre goers.

Professor Kies' work has been published in numerous academic journals and edited collections. She is co-host of the Cabot Cove Gazette podcast and in 2023 will publish a book about Angela Lansbury and Murder, She Wrote.

Cabot Cove Gazette - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cabot-cove-gazette-a-murder-she-wrote-podcast/id1592905783

Clip from S. 4, E. 20 Showdown in Saskatchewan.

Celebrating the podcast's 7th complete year, Cynthia revisits highlights of the past year, muses on the state of TV and streaming today, and preaches the wisdom of owning physical copies of your favorites.

CONNECT WITH ATVH AND CYNTHIA

ATVH Newsletter - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/

Website - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/ 

Podcast Archive - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/advanced-tv-herstory

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/advancedtvherstory/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/tvherstory

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Media.Cynthia

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@advancedtvherstory/featured

Liza Minnelli is celebrating 50 years since Cabaret, her big break film.TV revealed of Liza's talents as well as her love of performing which was not always detected on film.  Cynthia spotlights Liza sharing the stage with Mikhail Baryshnikov, The Muppets, Goldie Hawn, Robert Plant, Guns & Roses, Shirley MacLaine and Diahann Carroll in a host of formats that showcased her dramatic, dancing and singing. 

Resources include:

Lorna Luft's Me and My Shadows

https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/1061873.Me_and_My_Shadows

The Judy Garland Show Christmas Special https://youtu.be/oOmjvgaT9-A

The Muppet Show (Nov. 1979) Copacabana clip  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCGSZmTsX7o

The Dangerous Christmas of Red Riding Hood, or Oh Wolf, Peter Wolf https://youtu.be/DixzC8Fur5g

UK Daily Mail interview about the early days of HIV/AIDS https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2004484/Liz-Taylor-taught-live-life-Liza-Minnelli-pays-moving-tribute-friend.html

CONNECT WITH ATVH AND CYNTHIA

ATVH Newsletter - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/

Website - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/ 

Podcast Archive - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/advanced-tv-herstory

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/advancedtvherstory/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/tvherstory

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Media.Cynthia

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@advancedtvherstory/featured

Cold War espionage with an 80s feminist touch - The Americans (FX, 2013-2018) gave us a new form of anti-hero in Elizabeth Jennings, played by Keri Russell. Cynthia and guest author Linda Mizejewski discuss the award-winning series' women, its commitment to accuracy and the bold approach of depicting spies as real people. Linda Mizejewski's book The Americans, published by Wayne State Press https://www.wsupress.wayne.edu/books/detail/americans Slate's podcast series on The Americans https://slate.com/tag/the-americans

Advanced TV Herstory episode on Viewers for Quality TV https://advancedtvherstory.libsyn.com/tending-the-fandom

CONNECT WITH ATVH AND CYNTHIA

ATVH Newsletter - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/

Website - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/ 

Podcast Archive - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/advanced-tv-herstory

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/advancedtvherstory/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/tvherstory

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Media.Cynthia

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@advancedtvherstory/featured

Cynthia recounts the lives and careers of talented TV women who died in 2021. While some died unexpectedly of disease, the long list features names of women who worked well into their golden years. Join this celebration of their impact on TV and come away with renewed energy to cheer on the amazing women in your own circle, while they're still around. The list includes Betty White, Cloris Leachman, Jessica Walter, Cicely Tyson, Markie Post, and Mary Wilson of The Supremes.

CONNECT WITH ATVH AND CYNTHIA

ATVH Newsletter - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/

Website - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/ 

Podcast Archive - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/advanced-tv-herstory

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/advancedtvherstory/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/tvherstory

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Media.Cynthia

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@advancedtvherstory/featured

This is the second of 2 episodes featuring a deep discussion with poet, author, and professor Shayla Lawson about 1983's Showtime worldwide stream of Diana Ross' concert in a summer deluge.

Lawson delivers a candid description of the herstoric concert's impact and what Diana Ross and her authenticity mean to women of color in Lawson's 2020 book, This is Major: Notes on Diana Ross, Dark Girls, and Being Dope .

This is the first of 2 episodes featuring a deep discussion with poet, author, and professor Shayla Lawson about 1983's Showtime worldwide stream of Diana Ross' concert in a summer deluge.

Lawson delivers a candid description of the herstoric concert's impact and what Diana Ross and her authenticity mean to women of color in her 2020 book, This Is Major: Notes on Diana Ross, Dark Girls, and Being Dope.

Cynthia delves into deep Hollywood history to help listeners understand and love Carrie Fisher's genius in the made-for-TV movie These Old Broads.

All in their late 60s, Debbie Reynolds, Shirley MacLaine, Joan Collins and Elizabeth Taylor look like they had a ball in this send-up of aging and the scandals of Hollywood's golden years.

RESOURCES

These Old Broads - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0207156/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Unsinkable: A Memoir by Debbie Reynolds (2013) - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16075986-unsinkable?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=dSbiGfRu7P&rank=2

LA Times, Scandal's History for "These Old Broads (Feb. 12, 2001) - https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-feb-12-ca-24245-story.html

CONNECT WITH ATVH AND CYNTHIA

ATVH Newsletter - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/

Website - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/ 

Podcast Archive - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/advanced-tv-herstory

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/advancedtvherstory/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/tvherstory

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Media.Cynthia

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@advancedtvherstory/featured

Cynthia pays tribute to the TV women in front of and behind the camera who passed away in 2020, including such big names as film & TV legend 104-year-old Olivia de Havilland, actor/singer Ja'Net DuBois of Good Times, daytime's Marj Dusay, Glee's Naya Rivera and the woman who brought us The Magic School Bus, Joanna Cole.

Cynthia lists well-known older women successfully leveraging social media and weighs in on #JanetJacksonAppreciationDay and the entertainment industry's treatment of Britney Spears.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_deaths_in_American_television

CONNECT WITH ATVH AND CYNTHIA

ATVH Newsletter - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/

Website - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/ 

Podcast Archive - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/advanced-tv-herstory

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/advancedtvherstory/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/tvherstory

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Media.Cynthia

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@advancedtvherstory/featured

Cynthia chats role models and memorable characters found in the 4-Female sitcom construct, with Summer Martin of The Unconventional Woman Podcast. Guest Wendy Burns-Ardolino contributes insights into what qualities and traits viewers look for in their role models and how 4 women characters offer fluidity to leading conversations.

Excerpts from Mara Brock-Akil, showrunner of Girlfriends and the Irish cast of Derry Girls with showrunner Lisa McGee (YouTube)

https://youtu.be/5y7jcmkotw4 (M Brock Akil)

Derry Girls https://youtu.be/bbjpEnH_Zb0

Wendy Burns-Ardolino's book TV Female Foursome and Their Fans  https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/tv-female-foursomes-and-their-fans/

In the 3rd of 4 episodes about role models and memorable characters, Cynthia and Summer delve deep into some of the most crafted, defined, distinct women characters to ever grace the dramatic small screen. They follow it up with a list of similarly refined, authentic real women – whose growth and stature have unfolded over the decades.

Dr. Camille Saroyan (Bones)

Chris Cagney and MaryBeth Lacey (Cagney & Lacey)

AnnaLiese Keating (How to Get Away With Murder)

Olivia Pope (Scandal)

Robin Roberts (Good Morning America)

Joy Reid (The Reid Out)

Gayle King

Oprah

Shonda Rhimes

Martha Stewart

__

Clip: Season 2 opener of Martha and Snoop’s Dinner Party

Music: Jahzzar's Take Me Higher (www.freemusicarchive.org)

Summer Martin of The Unconventional Woman podcast

www.tuwpodcast.com

Editing and sound design by Catherine Yang

Deep chat with Summer Martin of The Unconventional Woman Podcast about role models & memorable characters and what they meant for us, our aunties, mothers and friendships.

We discuss the powerful impressions of Freddie Brooks of A Different World, The Flying Nun's Sister Bertille and Homeland's Carrie Mathison. Temple University student Maryam Muhammad adds her perspective on Cree Summer's Freddie Brooks.

- - - - -

Maryam Muhammad, student at Temple University and blogger at Medium, a place where writers, influencers and podcasters get the word out. Find her work at www.maryamazeeza.com –

Instagram: @NeptunesNegress and Twitter: @OilyEyelids.

Summer Martin, co-host and podcaster

Twitter @summerygory, Instagram: unconventional _woman

podcast https://www.tuwpodcast.com/

Claire Danes on Carrie Mathison - Showtime's Homeland YouTube Channel - S. 8 trailer

Freddie Brooks on A Different World S.6, E.1

Jennifer Keishin Armstrong, author of Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted.

Advanced TV Herstory Episodes

Women of MTM (1970-77) Pt 1

Women of MTM Pt 2 (Words, Casting, Fashion)

Women Writers of MTM Pt 3 (Treva Silverman)

Deep chat with Summer Martin of The Unconventional Woman Podcast about role models & memorable characters and what they meant for us, our aunties, mothers and friendships.

We discuss the impact of Freddie Brooks of A Different World, Mary Richards of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Cosby Show's Clair Huxtable and others on us and generations older and younger. Temple University student Maryam Muhammad adds her perspective on Cree Summer's Freddie Brooks.

- - - - -

Maryam Muhammad, student at Temple University and blogger at Medium, a place where writers, influencers and podcasters get the word out. Find her work at www.maryamazeeza.com –

Instagram: @NeptunesNegress and Twitter: @OilyEyelids.

Summer Martin, co-host and podcaster

Twitter @summerygory, Instagram: unconventional _woman

podcast https://www.tuwpodcast.com/

Chris Spags' YouTube Channel - Tami Taylor

The Cosby Show YouTube Channel - Night of the Wretched clip

- - - - -

Past relevant episodes of this podcast:

Jennifer Keishin Armstrong  author of Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted:

Women of MTM (1970-77)

Women of MTM: Words, casting & fashion

Women Writers of MTM

Dr. Robin Means Coleman on Debbie Allen’s transformation of A Different World

Cagney & Lacey

6 Lost Episodes of Cagney & Lacey

Concept to Pilot: Cagney & Lacey

When she starred in All-American Girl in 1994-5, Margaret Cho became a TV Herstory groundbreaker. All-American Girl was the first network sitcom to feature an all Asian-American cast. Cho discusses lessons from the series in depth with Ashley Pacini of The Reel Women and Cynthia.

This interview caps a summer series collaboration of Advanced TV Herstory and The Reel Women, a community that celebrates the successes of women in filmed entertainment.

Other topics:

How a white person can become better ally.

The PoC talent pipeline.

A stand-up comedian's schedule in lockdown.

The Margaret Cho (her podcast on Earios & a few of her guests).

Her 2002 book I'm the One I Want

Resources:

Margaret's website

The Reel Women

Jahzzar's Take Me Higher at Free Music Archive

Introductory shout out to Chicago's Arcus Behavioral Health & Wellness

Sometimes we don't recognize or celebrate persistence while it's going on. This interview with Pepper Reed, part of the collaboration with The Reel Women, a community of women with careers in TV and film, is a testament to persistence.

In this episode led by Ashley Pacini, Pepper explains how writing and script supervising influence directing and why she chose the formal training that has prepared her to wear so many hats.

Ashley & Pepper discuss the positions for which living in Los Angeles or New York are essential, the power of networking and the importance of setting professional goals.

3rd episode collaborating with The Reel Women profiling talented women in TV. Lawyer, teacher and playwright Chanel Glover of Los Angeles shares her projects building quirky stories about  queer people of color (often women) and young people.

Glover tells her own story of exploring other careers and how writing has shaped her life. She weaves her background in advocacy into her writing and tells Cynthia and Ashley about real life experiences that are entertaining and insightful that should be brought to audiences.

Ashley Pacini of The Reel Women joins Cynthia for this episode. The Reel Women celebrates the successes of women in filmed entertainment. 

https://www.chanelglover.com/

Second in a series of profiles of careers that are rising despite the prevalence of -isms in the TV industry. Chicago-based Sanicole Young is a director, writer and cinematographer working on TV series and short films.

Sanicole,  Cynthia and Ashley Pacini, of the industry networking group Reel Women, discuss Sanicole's path of experience and education at Columbia College in Chicago and her decision to remain in the Midwest, instead of moving to LA or NY.

Sanicole talks in-depth as well about her short film, Training Wheels and the power the 1997 film Eve's Bayou has had on her creative work.

Find Sanicole on Instagram and Twitter by her first name, Sanicole.

Every year Cynthia provides an annual report of the podcast experience. Links below for previous eps.

She shares observations about the timeliness and relevance of the Broadcast 41 series and a conversation with Univ. of North Carolina professor and author Dr. Charlene Regester.

Cynthia offers up an item from the podcast bucket list (which may become an episode of its own soon) which has to do with a talented showrunner who was driven from the industry 30 years ago.

There's a book update and forecast about how collaboration with other like-missioned people and organizations will drive the coming year.

4th Anniversary Episode

3rd Anniversary Episode

2nd Anniversary Episode

1st Anniversary Episode

First in a series of profiles of careers that are rising despite the prevalence of -isms in the TV industry. Danielle Earle is a producer and teaches high school in Orange, NJ.

Danielle, Cynthia and Ashley Pacini, of the industry networking group Reel Women, discuss her path of experience and education and the steady stream of work at her production company, PLEntertainment.

Danielle talks in-depth as well about her series Brooklyn is in Love, Shonda Rhimes and the opportunities of job-shadowing and interning she secures for her students and her go-to networking favorites:

NYC Women Filmmakers group (Facebook)

As streaming service Sundance Now unveils the Australian psychological thriller The Secrets She Keeps, co-star Jessica de Gouw talks with Cynthia about the series, her past roles in historical and fantasy dramas and the increasingly diverse world of international TV.

The Secret She Keeps trailer

Jessica's recent prominent roles in series produced in the US, UK and Australia include that of Elizabeth Hawkes in (2016) Underground , Wilhelmina "Mina" Murray in Dracula from 2013-14in 2019's The Hunting and Lucy Lindsay-Hogg in The Crown (2019) 

Sundance Now is AMC Networks’ premiere streaming service for engrossing true crime, heart-stopping dramas and fiercely intelligent thrillers from around the world.

The Secrets She Keeps is based on a novel of the same name by Michael Robotham. Early in the episode, Jessica mentioned she has just finished viewing (& highly recommends) HBO's I May Destroy You.

"A story is a story is a story." So says veteran TV writer Nina Bargiel who's been spinning live-action and animated yarns for years.

Nina is an LA-based TV writer and producer who currently writes on Mao Mao, Heroes of Pure Heart (Cartoon Network) and has other projects percolating. Nina describes her writing philosophy and goals, which focus on crafting stories in which kids see themselves, as well as are entertained. She and her brother co-wrote the coming-of-age bra episode for Lizzie McGuire, a 2001 Disney Channel classic. Earlier this month, Hilary Duff led the the cast for a Zoom table read/fundraiser of this episode.

Writing, storytelling and 3-dimensional characters are some of the many topics author/TV producer April Smith and Cynthia discuss.  April shares behind-the-scenes insight into writing & researching Mrs. America. We also go back 40 years to discuss #MeToo and a timeless Lou Grant episode.

Trailer: Mrs. America (Hulu/FX)

Resources: Lou Grant episode Harassment on YouTube

Douglass Daniel's Lou Grant: The Making of TV's Top Newspaper Drama

April Smith's website Aprilsmith.net

Dr. Elana Levine and Cynthia wrap up an extensive chat about daytime dramas by talking about the cancellation of many beloved shows. We discuss advertising, the loss of broadcast TV's prevalence in daytime and what replaced the serial genre.

Dr. Levine is author of Her Stories (published by Duke University Press) and teaches at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Daytime changed TV herstory with long arcs about adoptions, reproductive rights and rape. Dr. Elana Levine shares examples of how key stories aligned with social changes from the 60s until today.

We also discuss the limited roles available for actors of color and how they often were positioned as secondary stories to to the white "super couple."

Enjoy audio context clips from As the World Turns, All My Children, The Young and the Restless and Ryan's Hope.

Dr. Elana Levine is a Professor of Media, Cinema and Digital Studies in the Department of English at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Levine's recently published Her Stories (Duke Univ. Press) forms the backbone of this 4-part series on soap operas.

Dr. Elana Levine of the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee and author of Duke University Press' Her Stories shares insights into TV technology and artistic elements that upped daytime storytelling's game. We discuss how 1:1 conversations evolved to story arcs of General Hospital's "Summer on the Run," Nola's old Hollywood fantasies in The Guiding Light and other increasingly expensive and outrageous stories.

Dr. Elana Levine's recently published Her Stories (Duke Univ. Press) forms the backbone of this 4-part series on soap operas. This episode includes a look at the formative pioneers of serial storytelling - Irna Phillips, Agnes Nixon and William Bell. Other topics covered who owned any given show and how that impacted business decisions and how technology changed storytelling.

Future episodes from this Levine interview discuss Super Couples of the 90s, fantasy and traumatic storylines, reproductive and feminist issues and the accelerated demise of many shows.

For more on Agnes Nixon, listen in on a 2017 podcast episode between Cynthia and Elana.  Fans of All My Children and As the World Turns, check out a 2-part interview with two-time Emmy Award Winner Cady McClain (Dixie Cooney) from March 2020.

Dr. Elana Levine is a Professor of Media, Cinema and Digital Studies in the Department of English at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Some of the freshest works on TV today are the result of screen adaptations of best selling novels. Abbe Wright of Penguin Random House, who is also podcast host of The Adaptables and Read it Forward, discusses this current trend of adaptations from the publishing and storytelling perspectives.

Since the early days of TV, adaptations of stage and literature have delivered incomparable works to primetime viewers. We discuss the 1977 miniseries Roots, based on the book of the same name. Current works like Little Fires Everywhere, Normal People, and Big Little  Lies (all written and backed by women) are achieving great success with a new approach to storytelling.  

Part 2 of a chat with Emmy-winning actor Cady McClain, known for her years as Dixie Cooney on ABC's All My Children, which explores Cady's decision to pursue directing and arts advocacy. Cady talks about artists' muses and how resilience can be found in the creative process.

Recent film Seeing is Believing: Women Direct can be seen at Seed and Spark.

In her role as All My Children's Dixie, Cady McClain earned a place in TV Herstory for her award-winning acting. More than just half of a 90s "supercouple," Dixie was every woman.

In this first of a 2 part interview, Cady shares with us her early years in acting and her time on ABC's All My Children. Part 2 explores her roles behind the scenes as a filmmaker and advocate for women in storytelling.

Recent film: Seeing is Believing: Women Direct

L.A. Law (1986-94) lived a glamorous, full life. The series pilot, written by Steven Bochco (Hill Street Blues) and Terry Louise Fisher (writer/producer of Cagney & Lacey), when viewed today is a time capsule of office life that reveals sexism, racism, and generational approaches to power.

Full of quality TV promise, L.A. Law launched with a bang. Why isn't it now celebrated for its transformational prowess? We cover that, too, and applaud Alfre Woodard's epic performance, which occurred early in her career.

End of year lists that honor the memories of celebrities and prominent figures are a tradition that this podcast has passed up in recent years. A deeper look at the list of prominent TV women lost in 2019 calls out not just the well-known women - usually actors - but also those who built careers behind the scenes.

Join Cynthia in celebrating Katherine Helmond, Georgia Engel, Peggy Lipton, Valerie Harper, Doris Day, Carol Channing, Diahann Carroll, Gloria Vanderbilt, Beth Chapman, Beverley Owen, Toni Morrison, Cokie Roberts and more.

Cynthia also reveals 4 women whose work she finds inspiring, as each raises her voice: Jane Fonda, Ava DuVernay, Kathleen Turner and TCM's Sunday Night host Jacqueline Stewart.

TV is once again attempting to bring legendary "girl detective" Nancy Drew to life. We dust off our very first episode for a look at past attempts to put the hugely popular Nancy Drew mysteries on the small screen. The book series' backstory is a fascinating look at ego & the evolution of publishing. Excerpts are included from Melanie Rehak's 2005 "Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her."

We explore why the Sunday night series that paired actress Pamela Sue Martin's Nancy Drew with The Hardy Boys failed in 1977-1979 and how the books have impacted TV herstory. Here are links for further reading:

Refreshing the writing and timeline of a 2016 episode, Advanced TV Herstory examines the most basic elements of an event that changed the lives of American women.

It captivated millions of viewers and was talked about by millions more. Before #MeToo, Weinstein, Kavanaugh and Cosby, Anita Hill's testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1991 brought the topic of sexual harassment and Clarence Thomas's fitness to be a judge into the conversation.

Episode provides historical context to Robert Bork's earlier nomination to the Supreme Court,  and the roles of then-Senators Biden and Specter.

Additional info from two books

(1995) Jordan, Emma Coleman., and Anita Hill. Race, Gender and Power in America: the Legend of the Hill-Thomas Hearings. Oxford University Press

(1997) Anita Hill. Speaking Truth to Power. Anchor Books

Advanced TV Herstory's theme music can be found at Free Music Archive,

Music Take Me Higher by Jahzzar

Other music in episode is Uniq - Art of Silence: "Uniq - Art of Silence" is under a Royalty Free music license. Music promoted by BreakingCopyright: https://youtu.be/er--pnwFDgU

The topic of Hollywood Blacklisting has recently added a chapter - the impact it had on the budding TV industry, and more specifically, women.

Researched and backed by FBI files of author/scholar Dr. Carol Stabile (University of Oregon), this 4 episode series mentions names of talented women whose careers were maliciously ruined with the publication of Red Channels. Trumped up accusations, which later the FBI admitted were unfounded, were accepted as proof enough to break contracts, withdraw offers and freeze out women who otherwise would have changed the look, sound and depth of TV's first decade.

Episode 3, featured a frank conversation with author and scholar, Dr. Charlene Regester (of the Univ. of NC Chapel Hill) about how racism further changed the course of early TV.

Lillian Hellman on Dick Cavett 1973

Lillian Hellman's letter, read by Liza Minnelli (rare video of the 1974 telecast of the 1972 Off Broadway stage production in which actors portrayed blacklisted people from the entertainment world during the House Un-American Activities Committee proceedings).

This 4 episode series examines anti-communism/McCarthy-ism blacklisting 's impact on the careers of women who likely would have changed the look, depth and sound of TV.

Cynthia and author/scholar, Dr. Charlene Regester of Univ. of North Carolina have a frank conversation about how racism, stereotyped roles and Jim Crow laws delayed TV's depiction of African American life by more than a decade. This adds to the story of a previous podcast episode about TV's Single Women and how even in the 1980s, a TV series cast a black woman as a household domestic.

Charlene Regester (2010) African American Actresses: The Struggle for Visibility 1900-1960 Regester on North Caroline PBS discussing her book Carol Stabile (2018) The Broadcast 41: Women and the Anti-Communist Blacklist James Gavin (2010) Stormy Weather, The Life of Lena Horne Advanced TV Herstory TV's Single Woman Caregivers & Gimme a Break YouTube The Beulah Show (feat. Ethel Waters)

Audio archives of The Beulah Show

The topic of Hollywood Blacklisting has recently added a chapter - the impact it had on the budding TV industry, and more specifically, women.

Researched and backed by FBI files of author/scholar Dr. Carol Stabile (University of Oregon), this 4 episode series mentions names of talented women whose careers were maliciously ruined with the publication of Red Channels. You’ll also hear from another author and scholar, Dr. Charlene Regester. In episode 3, listen in on our frank conversation about how racism, Jim Crow laws and segregation further changed the course of early TV.

Carol Stabile Broadcast41.com Charlene Regester (2010) African American Actresses: The Struggle for Visibility, 1900–1960 Madeline Lee Gilford on YouTube Ruth Gordon on Hugh Downs 1981

The topic of Hollywood Blacklisting has recently added a chapter - the impact it had on the budding TV industry, and more specifically, women. Researched and backed by FBI files of author/scholar Dr. Carol Stabile (University of Oregon), this 4 episode series mentions names of talented women whose careers were maliciously ruined with the publication of Red Channels.

Stabile delivers quotes, right from FBI files she's requested for more than a decade, that assert that many of the charges and allegations that smeared these progressive women were unfounded or made up.

You’ll also hear from another author and scholar, Dr. Charlene Regester. In episode 3, listen in on our frank conversation about how racism, Jim Crowe laws and segregation further changed the course of early TV.

Carol Stabile Broadcast41.com Lillian Hellman on Dick Cavett 1973

Lillian Hellman's letter, read by Liza Minnelli (rare video of the 1974 telecast of the 1972 Off Broadway stage production in which actors portrayed blacklisted people from the entertainment world during the House Un-American Activities Committee proceedings).

Ellen Schrecker (1999) Many Are The Crimes Charlene Regester (2010) African-American Actresses: The Struggle for Visibility 1900-1960 

Regester on North Carolina PBS

Celebration of 4 years of independent podcasting about TV women - those behind the camera as well as in front of it. Cynthia's thanks her team of Jen Edds, Catherine Yang and Elsie Escobar and recaps highlights and changes made to the show's format and outreach.

She also does some deep thinking about social change, social media, feminism and the power of representation as the entertainment industry wrestles with hashtag movements #MeToo and #Times Up. Near the end, Cynthia reveals a big goal.

Audio clip was from June 2019 ESPN's "First Take" show hosted by Molly Qerim with Lavar Ball as a guest.

Advanced TV Herstory's theme music can be found at Free Music Archive,

Music Take Me Higher by Jahzzar

Listeners of episodes 1 & 2 receive a full background of how cable evolved to have the financing and capacity to produce original content. This episode walks through a few series and channel milestones with scholar, author & podcaster Amanda Lotz, covers the financial incentives now in place that govern series production and syndication and finally, a short list of cable series and channels that are part of TV Herstory.

Find more at www.tvherstory.com

Learn more about Amanda Lotz, her books, articles and her podcast "Media Business Matters" at amandalotz.com.

Learn more about art historian, professor, author Emily L. Newman and her books at emilynewman.com.

Cynthia Bemis Abrams welcomes art historian, professor and author Emily L. Newman to this focused discussion on cable's growth and capacity. Newman has written about the niche program content aimed at women, including the made-for-TV movie genre on eating disorders.  The pair share insights into the milestone movies and headlines of the 80s, 90s and recent years that contained bulimia and anorexia as plot lines, and how they lined up with the real life influences of Cathy Rigby, Tracey Gold, Meredith Baxter and Karen Carpenter. 

We need to be smarter consumers of media! This 400 level session on the evolution of cable (tech + the business structure) features insights from author, scholar, podcaster Dr. Amanda Lotz.

Find more at www.tvherstory.com

Learn more about Amanda Lotz, her books, articles and her podcast "Media Business Matters" at amandalotz.com

Learn more about art historian, professor, author Emily L. Newman and her books at emilynewman.com

We need to be smarter consumers of media! This 400 level session on the evolution of cable (tech + the business structure) features insights from author, scholar, podcaster Dr. Amanda Lotz.

Find more at TVHerstory.com

Learn more about Amanda Lotz, her books, articles and her podcast "Media Business Matters" 

Learn more about art historian, professor, author Emily L. Newman and her books 

What role does Judy & her series play in TV Herstory? Episode explores women storytelling, persistence, and sexism that serve as modern lessons about the power in and of TV, including one musical number from her December 1963 show, considered historic TV, about which few know.

Cynthia and Chicago-based, Emmy-nominated performer and Garland Scholar Angela Ingersoll exchange feminist insight.

www.angelaingersoll.com

Angela Ingersoll and Joey Luft, Mothers Day 2017 Show (YouTube)  https://youtu.be/dZZzqGnDPdc

Coyne Steven Sanders (1990) The Judy Garland Show: Rainbow's End  https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/coyne-steven-sanders-2/rainbows-end-the-judy-garland-show/

Judy's series served as a bridge of American talent, featuring stars of stage and screen at every point in their careers: Barbra Streisand, Ethel Merman, Mickey Rooney, Lena Horne, Lorna Luft, Liza Minelli, Diahann Carroll, June Allyson. These performances give us some moments in art and history allow a viewer to see her as a singer, comic and loving mother.

Cynthia and Chicago-based, Emmy-nominated performer and Garland Scholar Angela Ingersoll exchange feminist insight..

www.angelaingersoll.com

Lorna Luft (1999) Me and My Shadows  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1061873.Me_and_My_Shadows

Coyne Steven Sanders (1990) The Judy Garland Show: Rainbow's End  https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/coyne-steven-sanders-2/rainbows-end-the-judy-garland-show/

Cynthia and Chicago-based, Emmy-nominated performer and Garland Scholar Angela Ingersoll exchange feminist insight into this important television series. Its production value and budget broke records and ushered in a whole new look and feel for TV entertainment. Lack of leadership and network support begs questions that leave Cynthia and Angela perplexed, angry and a bit sad.

www.angelaingersoll.com

Coyne Steven Sanders (1990) The Judy Garland Show: Rainbow's End  https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/coyne-steven-sanders-2/rainbows-end-the-judy-garland-show/

Advanced TV Herstory 2017 episode Twilight TV Career of Joan Crawford  http://advancedtvherstory.libsyn.com/twilight-tv-career-of-joan-crawford

As we come upon the 50th anniversary of Judy’s passing, one look at the books, plays, and documentaries about her life reveals a certain pattern: primarily written and produced by men. Her life was surrounded by men.

Cynthia and Chicago-based, Emmy-nominated performer and Garland Scholar Angela Ingersoll exchange feminist insight, discuss the importance of Judy's musical selections found in the series and marvel at the singer's triumphs and tragedies.

www.angelaingersoll.com

Coyne Steven Sanders (1990) The Judy Garland Show: Rainbow's End  https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/coyne-steven-sanders-2/rainbows-end-the-judy-garland-show/

Judy Garland's career in the 50s was made up of concerts, films and having kids. We explore why she resisted TV until her concert performances resurrected her career and confidence, resulting in a historic contract with CBS. Cynthia and Chicago-based, Emmy-nominated performer and Garland Scholar Angela Ingersoll exchange feminist insight.

www.angelaingersoll.com 1955 Ford Star Jubilee TV show  https://youtu.be/m0AzC0cUrjU

Coyne Steven Sanders (1990) The Judy Garland Show: Rainbow's End  https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/coyne-steven-sanders-2/rainbows-end-the-judy-garland-show/ Category: Careers & Legacies

No-spoil review of a rare holiday classic in which two women feature prominently in the plot! Based on Elmo Shroppshire's song of the same name from the mid-90s, the made-for-TV movie's plot and quirkiness may just earn it cult status.

After 40+ years of effort, the number of highly visible women covering TV sports is minuscule. Podcast/radio regular Jim Jax participates in herstoric look at legends & workhorses who made a difference. We discuss their achievements & career paths.

The series Charmed, originally airing from 1998 to 2006 on the WB, can now be seen as a TV classic. Charmed tells the story of the three (sometimes four) Halliwell sisters who discover that they're powerful witches with the duty to fight all matter of evil.

With the 2018 reboot of Charmed premiering just earlier this week and declaring itself a "fierce, funny, and feminist reboot of the original," it's a prime opportunity to ask the question: is the original Charmed actually feminist? How does it compare to the reboot?

In this episode, we discuss Charmed's roots, its central themes, and the unwavering activism of two of its main actresses, Alyssa Milano and Rose McGowan, in the #MeToo movement. On top of that, we include a very brief history of feminism with reference to an amazing article by Constance Grady written for Vox.com.

Enjoy & thanks for listening!

Links

History of waves of feminism https://www.vox.com/2018/3/20/16955588/feminism-waves-explained-first-second-third-fourth

Charmed actresses reaction to reboot https://news.avclub.com/none-of-the-original-charmed-actresses-are-into-the-reb-1828306336

Brad Kern's Firing https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/02/arts/television/brad-kern-cbs-fired.html

Tarana Burke & MeToo https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/20/us/me-too-movement-tarana-burke.html

Alyssa Milano & MeToo https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2017/dec/01/alyssa-milano-mee-too-sexual-harassment-abuse

Rose McGowan Memoir https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2018/01/29/11-big-revelations-from-rose-mcgowans-memoir-brave-including-her-childhood-in-a-cult/?utm_term=.77ef5bd17c0e

Actor Briana Venskus of Agents of SHIELD, Grace and Frankie, Walking Dead and Outcast shares oodles of wisdom about fan engagement, progress of LGBTQ storylines & casting and the strength of streaming platforms in attracting transformative writers. Venskus is part of Clexacon, an international LGBTQ women's media experience with major events in Nov. 2018 and April 2019.

@thevenskus on Twitter 

@Houseof Venskus on IG

Clexacon 

Headlines in late summer 2018 caught me at my core - prompting me to realize why we cherish some of the finest writing & acting onTV - from Murphy Brown and Designing Women. We DO need to pay closer attention to the power and influence of media. Linda Bloodworth-Thomason's guest column in The Hollywood Reporter sheds light on her creative exile, suffered at the hands of CBS' Les Moonves.

Resources:

The Hollywood Reporter Linda Bloodworth-Thomason guest column(Sept 12, 2018)

2016 Podcast episode: Designing Women 1, Bodyshamers 0

2017 Podcast episode: Designing Women's Earnest NYE

Whether you've ever watched Aaron Sorkin's 1998-2000 classic series Sports Night or not, this episode explains its 2018 relevance and calls for a reboot. We recently reviewed a sexual harassment plot from That Girl (1967) & found a similar scenario in Sports Night... which leads us to pondering the journalism's commitment to changing workplace harassment.

Resources

Advanced TV Herstory Episode 3: Sports Night (1998-2000)

Advanced TV Herstory Episode 84: That Girl and Sexual Harassment

January 2018 Sports Business Daily

December 2017 Julie DiCaro

June 2018 The Hollywood Reporter

June 2018 New York Magazine

July 2018 Corporate Dispatch

May 2018 Forbes

October 2017 ABC News

In taking a look at Jeanine Furino's book All the Single Girls, the lead character single woman caregiver has evolved over 60 years. This episode looks at its historical context of 50s and 60s society as well as 1981's Gimme A Break!, which re-introduced us to a mammy character. Dr. Jennifer Fuller of Miami University of Ohio shares her thoughts.

Jeanine Furino's All the Single Girls

Jennifer Fuller, Ph.D, Miami of Ohio 

From Dancing with the Stars to her latest documentary, Nevertheless, Producer, director in both TV & film Sarah Moshman tells stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Join us as we discuss funding, Netflix, representation, worldwide impact, privilege & unity. Learn more about Moshman & her work. 

Women writers & directors bring a distinct lens to their jobs, so too have Dorothy Swanson and Liz Prugh led fan movements in ways that have benefited many. Hear more about how Swanson's "Viewers for Quality Television" grassroots efforts organized fans in the 80s & 90s to encourage and save excellent programming. Liz Prugh and her website, www.PureFandom.com is having similar impact, using a totally different set of tools.

LINK https://www.purefandom.com/

Resources: Dorothy Swanson's (2000) book  2018 documentary United We Fan, learn more on Facebook 

America's TV landscape was changing rapidly in the 70s. Popular characters in Norman Lear's portfolio of shows who went on to star in spinoffs. From The Jeffersons to Sanford & Son, black performers created memorable characters, bringing decades of stage and film experience to the small screen.

At Indianapolis' Pop Con, June 2018, podcasters Martha Southgate and Jen Edds lend voices in this salute to unsung talent.

Martha from Southgate Media Group 

Jen from The Brassy Broadcasting Co.

Three years since publishing our first episode, we're lighting candles & making a wish. This anniversary edition briefly reviews show changes made this year, with a focus on content about leadership, persistence and achievement.

We also share more about the work that goes in, behind-the-scenes, to producing content you'll hear nowhere else. Thank you for listening & making this podcast the best it can be!

365 x 3 thanks to:

Jen Edds and David Brown, audio wizards,

Catherine Yang, video director

Elsie Escobar, podcast consultant

those who've been interviewed, consulted or collaborated with us,

and most importantly, listeners across 5 continents!

Like our theme music? It's Take Me Higher by Jahzzar. Find it at Free Music Archive

Copyright: Attribution-ShareAlike: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Season 1 (1966-67) of TV Classic That Girl delivered an all too familiar story line. Guest star Carroll O'Connor played an opera singer with intentions on getting Ann Marie's attention in exchange for an interview. What ensues is a good look at how sexual harassment was written as a conflict by mid-century male writers.

Resource: Time Magazine's A Brief History of Sexual Harassment in America Before Anita Hill April 2016 by Sascha Cohen 

http://time.com/4286575/sexual-harassment-before-anita-hill/

Marlo Thomas' Growing Up Laughing (2010)

Stephen Cole's That Girl: The Unofficial Companion (1999)

This is beyond Green Acres! It's time we talk about complex women characters; those called "unlikable" who strive to do good or carry out justice, but take alternative approaches.

Guest Dr. Molly Brost (University of So. Indiana) discusses anti-heroines, top characters, traits & Marvel's Jessica Jones. Also, how streaming and cable have expanded the range of women characters to include action-heroines, anti-heroines and the unlikables.

Author Jeanine Furino shares insight into her term, "Feminerd" and TV's single women characters who best fit the description. We talk about Feminerds that blossom professionally and find love and happiness, like Liz Lemon and Leslie Knope.

Furino goes out on a limb about Liz Lemon's impact on workplace fashion.

Order Furino's book All the Single Girls 

MTV's Daria gave representation and voice to women and girls who are smart, discerning and impatient. It aired 1997-2002, but the series impact is felt today in the action and leadership of feminist movements creating change across all aspects of American culture. Even if you've never seen a Daria episode, this episode will drive you to start streaming it from MTV.

Guest perspective & memories from Justine Gendron of The Cutaways Podcast and Chris Revill of Let's Chat with Chris Revill. 

Interview with Bill Jankowski, who worked with Anna "Patty" Duke to document her experiences and observations working with greats from film, stage and TV. Duke shared her talents with audiences, earning an Oscar & pre-TONY for her performances in The Miracle Worker, and of course made all sorts of TV Herstory with her iconic series, The Patty Duke Show.

We discuss her thoughts on famous people she worked with as well as mending regrettable moments and fractured relationships that occurred during manic bipolar phases, prior to her diagnosis. Bill gives backstory to the book's Gloria Vanderbilt foreward and how he brought her final thoughts to print following her untimely death at 69 in 2016.

In the Presence of Greatness (2018) by Anna "Patty" Duke and William Jankowski

Interview with Bill Jankowski, who worked with Anna "Patty" Duke to document her experiences and observations working with greats from film, stage and TV. Duke shared her talents with audiences, earning an Oscar & pre-TONY for her performances in The Miracle Worker, and of course made all sorts of TV Herstory with her iconic series, The Patty Duke Show.

We discuss her thoughts on famous people she worked with as well as mending regrettable moments and fractured relationships that occurred during manic bipolar phases, prior to her diagnosis. Bill gives backstory to the book's Gloria Vanderbilt foreward and how he brought her final thoughts to print following her untimely death at 69 in 2016.

In the Presence of Greatness (2018) by Anna "Patty" Duke and William Jankowski.

Storyteller extraordinaire, showrunner & human being Shonda Rhimes dropped a lot of leadership & life in her 2015 book Year of Yes.

Shonda lessons like knowing your audience, managing change and work-life balance get talked through. There are also a few calls to action to help Shonda & women in all industries continue breaking glass ceilings.

Also mentioned:

Beckhard-Harris Change Model 

Martha and Snoop's Potluck Dinner Party (VH1) 

NY Times best selling author Jennifer Keishin Armstrong dishes the details on her June 2018 book, Sex and the City and Us. Just as she did in her previous books on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Seinfeld, Armstrong delivers the full story of SATC's inspiration, creation, evolution, and epilogue.

Interview discusses fashion and Patricia Field, writing and Amy B. Harris and how they contribute to the HBO series' (1998-2004) legacy. We delve into the series' economic force and worldwide impact, changing the way women relate to one another, boundaries and taboos and introducing regular, realistic gay characters.

https://jenniferkarmstrong.com/

Depending on your hours spent on TV, you may remember characters who came across as searching for or wishy-washy about life goals. We follow up with Jeanine Furino, author of (link below) All the Single Girls and conclude this very realistic role is more prevalent today.

https://www.amazon.com/Retro-Lover-Presents-Single-Girls/dp/0999642901

What's with reboots & refashioning movies and TV series of the 70s, 80s & 90s? Will audiences expect reboots to surpass the originals?

One Day at a Time ran for 204 episodes through the late 70s and early 80s. Producer Norman Lear used the novelty of a working single mother of 2 teen to address coming-of-age social topics. Netflix & Lear have "refashioned" the premise with modern twists.

Leading this new One Day at a Time series is 86 year old Rita Moreno, an award-winning American treasure and our most prominent Latina actress.

Books mentioned

Rita Moreno's Memoir

Norman Lear's Even This I Get to Experience

Mackenzie Phillips High On Arrival 

Mackenzie Phillips Hopeful Healing: Essays on Managing Recovery

Valerie Bertinelli's four books

Interview with Jeanine Furino, author of All the Single Girls, a look at 60 years of television's depiction of unmarried women in women-centric series.

5 years of resources, research

Themes

All the Single Girls is available on Amazon, hardbound and e-book and Barnes & Noble online.

Interview with Karen Romanko, author of Television's Female Spies and Crimefighters is a fun walk through 50 years of series and characters.

Romanko shares background, life-long interest in TV & processes for how she wrote the book.

Series we touch on: The Mod Squad and Peggy Lipton as Julie Barnes, Honey West starring Anne Francis, Police Woman, Cagney & Lacey, Charlie's Angels, Rizzoli and Isles. The list goes on!

Associate Producer Monica Rivera shares her deep interest in The Honeymooners & it's nothing short of amazing. Hear about how it so richly influenced this Gen Xer’s urban upbringing and how Audrey Meadows' "Alice" to Jackie Gleason’s "Ralph Kramden" - was another unsung talented feminist from TV’s first generation.

Rivera also produces "You Wanna Do What?" a podcast that challenges listeners to step up and realize their dreams.

American TV storytelling sometimes struggles with a good New Years plot.

Or it did until Linda Bloodworth-Thomason fired up her typewriter in 1989 to deliver the January 1, 1990 episode of Designing Women entitled “The First Day of the Last Decade of the Entire 20th Century.”

It is pure art, as performed by the four original actresses: Dixie Carter, Delta Burke, Jean Smart and Annie Potts. It’s written by creator and showrunner Linda Bloodworth Thomason, directed by co-creator husband Harry Thomason.

Yup, this was the one that included Charlene's dream with Dolly Parton. And then there’s the hair…

Still pondering what to get that hard-to-buy-for TV fan in your life? This podcast has your back, walking you through 5+ great gift ideas used in producing past episodes. All are classics or discuss classics! Designing Women, Diana Ross, Sports Night, a book about the making of The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Kim Field's just-released autobiography, Blessed Life.

The Facts of Life & Living Single fans, enjoy a candid walk down memory lane in this interview with 40 year TV veteran Kim Fields. From parenting to finding voice, confidence and strength in this demanding world, our conversation covers it all, yet still leaves more to be discovered in her just-released autobiography, Blessed Life.

A few decisions transformed "A Different World" from a struggling, rudderless sitcom to the classic it became. Much of that was due to Debbie Allen stepping in as creative force and aligning the set, characters and plots to align more closely with an authentic Historically Black College & University (HBCU) experience.

Listen to the University of Michigan's nationally recognized Dr. Robin Means Coleman recount her research, which is found in essay form within Beretta Smith-Shomade's book Watching While Black: Centering the Television of Black Audiences.

Southgate Media Group podcast marathon, Elgin, IL

Feb. 26, 1996 CBS Monday night line-up, 4 women-centric sitcoms

Elizabeth Taylor's "Black Pearls" perfume line launch

The Nanny, Fran Dresher, 3rd season - directed by Dorothy Lyman

Can't Hurry Love, one season, starring Mariska Hargitay and Nancy McKeon

Murphy Brown, 8th season episode co-written by Diane English and Sarah Dunn

High Society, one short season starring Mary McDonnell and Jean Smart.

Cross promotion genius

Special live taping at Chicago's iO Theater, PodSlam is a fundraiser for pediatric cancer (Connor's Cure) & the V Foundation

Women wrestling on TV, frequent plot during the 70s & 80s; good vs. evil, Americans vs. Russians

Physical conflict, agency, defense, aggressiveness - all real aspects of life that we SHOULD be able to see women on TV express.

Resurgence: Netflix series GLOW (2017)

Vintage: Laverne & Shirley, season 3 episode 2; The Bionic Woman, season 2 episode 3; Dynasty, season 3 episode 23