The Many Lives of Irene Tsu
Original Airdates: June 7-10, 2024
TVC 649.3: Ed welcomes trailblazing actress, author, and designer Irene Tsu (Flower Drum Song, Paradise Hawaiian Style, Take Her She’s Mine, The Green Berets, Caprice, How to Stuff a Wild Bikini, Down and Out in Beverly Hills). Irene not only worked steadily in movies and television for more than four decades, but in many instances broke ground for other Asian-American by playing characters that were originally written for other ethnicities (her role opposite Doris Day and Ray Walston in Caprice being one such example). Irene’s memoir, A Walter Color Dream: The Many Lives of Irene Tsu, is available through Bear Manor Media, Amazon.com, and IreneTsu-Entertainment.com. Topics this segment include the important role that film critic Tom Stempel, one of Irene’s professors at City College of Los Angeles, played in encouraging her to write her memoir; what first sparked Irene’s interest in water color painting; and why many other actors turn to painting and sketch drawing in between their movie and TV projects.
Irene Tsu, Bronislaw Kaper, and Frank Sinatra
Original Airdates: June 7-10, 2024
TVC 649.4: Actress and author Irene Tsu talks to Ed about how composer Oscar-winning Bronislaw Kaper (Lili, The FBI) became a lifelong father figure when she first came to Hollywood; what she uses for inspiration when she creates a new water color painting; and why Frank Sinatra was always a much better host than he was a guest. Irene’s memoir, A Walter Color Dream: The Many Lives of Irene Tsu, is available now through Bear Manor Media, Amazon.com, and IreneTsu-Entertainment.com
The Spiritual Side of Irene Tsu
Original Airdates: June 14-17, 2024
TVC 650.4: Part 2 of a conversation that began last week with trailblazing actress, author, and designer Irene Tsu (Flower Drum Song, Paradise Hawaiian Style, Take Her She’s Mine, The Green Berets, Caprice, How to Stuff a Wild Bikini, Down and Out in Beverly Hills). Topics this segment include how Irene got her independent spirit from her mother; why faith has always been central to Irene’s life; and the story of the pilgrimage that Irene made to the Dheera in New Delhi circa 1968 to meet her spiritual guru. Irene’s memoir, A Walter Color Dream: The Many Lives of Irene Tsu, is available now through Bear Manor Media, Amazon.com, and IreneTsu-Entertainment.com
Irene Tsu, Raymond Burr, and James Garner
Original Airdates: June 14-17, 2024
TVC 650.5: Actress and author Irene Tsu shares a few memories of working with Raymond Burr on both Perry Mason and Ironside and with James Garner on “Irving the Explainer,” the famous episode of The Rockford Files that was also directed by James Colburn. Irene’s memoir, A Walter Color Dream: The Many Lives of Irene Tsu, is available now through Bear Manor Media, Amazon.com, and IreneTsu-Entertainment.com
