LEARN MORE about the life, career, and legacy of Quinn Martin in THE FBI DOSSIER, everything you wanted to know—and more—about the long-running ABC-TV series produced by Quinn Martin and starring Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. THE FBI DOSSIER is available through Black Pawn Press, Amazon.com, and wherever books are sold online.
THE NEW MAVERICK
Original Airdate: September 3, 1978
Synopsis. Bret Maverick rides into New Las Vegas to collect a $1,000 debt from brother Bart, who has owed him the money for nine years. Although Bret is told that his brother was shot to death, he quickly determines from the size of the coffin that Bart is still alive. Bret soon learns Bart is running from three men who lost money from him in a poker game the night before.
The New Maverick was the pilot for a possible updated Maverick series starring Charles Frank as Ben Maverick, but the movie itself clearly focuses on James Garner as Bret. So when The New Maverick drew a respectable audience share, ABC had a problem: It couldn’t design a new series around Garner because he was still busy filming The Rockford Files, while Frank hadn’t exactly established himself in the pivotal role of Ben. Though ABC eventually passed on The New Maverick, Warner Bros. kept the project in development for another year. In the summer of 1979, CBS ordered another two-hour pilot, again starring Frank. The new series, now called Young Maverick, debuted as a mid-season replacement on Nov. 28, 1979.
Charlotte Stewart and Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young
Original Airdates: Aug. 28-30, 2026
TVC 747.3: Ed welcomes back Charlotte Stewart, the actress known around the world as Miss Beadle on Little House on the Prairie and as Betty Briggs on Twin Peaks. Charlotte will join Alison Arngrim, Dean Butler, and many other members of the Little House cast at the huge Little House on the Prairie 50th anniversary cast reunion that will take place Sept. 11-12-13 at the historic Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee. The weekend will include a special Friday night cast appearance plus, if you sign up for a VIP package, you’ll have access to a special backstage tour of Studio A at the Grand Ole Opry (where Hee Haw and other TV series were filmed), plus other exclusive perks. For tickets and more information, go to LittleHouseonthePrairieCastReunions.com.
Topics this segment include Charlotte learned her craft as an actress while studying at the Pasadena Playhouse; how her memoir, Little House in the Hollywood Hills, was the first book written by an adult cast member of Little House; why she retired from acting a few years ago; plus a few memories of hanging out with musicians Neil Young and David Crosby, both in the 1960s and beyond.
Charlotte Stewart on why composition was important to David Lynch
Original Airdates: Aug. 21-23, 2026
TVC 747.4: Actress and author Charlotte Stewart (Little House on the Prairie, Twin Peaks, Little House in the Hollywood Hills) talks to Ed about why the composition of a film was always important to director David Lynch, and how her long association with Lynch began when he was a student filmmaker and continued with Eraserhead and Twin Peaks.
You can meet Charlotte Stewart, along with many other cast members of Little House on the Prairie, at the Little House on the Prairie 50th anniversary cast reunion that will take place Sept. 11-12-13 at the historic Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee. For tickets and more information, go to LittleHouseonthePrairieCastReunions.com.
The Chicago roots of Tom Dreesen
Original Airdates: Aug. 28-30, 2026
TVC 747.1: Tony, Donna, and Ed remember the life and career of Tom Dreesen, the pioneering comedian, actor, and motivational speaker who was also the opening act for Frank Sinatra for many years. Tom Dreesen passed away on June 17, 2026 at the age of eighty-six. Topics this segment include the night when Dreesen visited Story Salon in 2009 (shortly after the publication of his first book, Tim & Tom: An American Comedy in Black and White), and how he incorporated the stories of every performer who preceded him that night before taking the stage himself at the end of the show; how Dreesen’s formative years in Harvey, Illinois left an imprint on him; his partnership with Tim Reid as the first interracial stand-up comedy duo; and how Frank Sinatra once affectionately referred to Dreesen as “a saloon comic.”
Catherine O’Hara: She Could Do Anything
Original Airdates: Aug. 28-30, 2026
TVC 746.2: Tony, Donna, and Ed discuss the career of actress and comedienne Catherine O’Hara, from her early work at Second City Toronto to SCTV, Home Alone, Schitt’s Creek, The Studio, her appearances in the mockumentaries of Christopher Guest, and more. Catherine O’Hara passed away on Jan. 30, 2026 at age seventy-one.
Richard Lefkowitz, author of Welcome to Fabulous Angeles
Original Airdates: Aug. 21-23, 2026
TVC 746.1: Ed welcomes Richard Lefkowitz, author of Welcome to Fabulous Angeles: The Rock ’n’ Roll Adventures of a Wayward Westside Teen, a coming of age memoir about Richard’s years growing up as a teenager in 1970s Los Angeles along with his best friend—a character known in the book as “Moxie”—while also searching for validation and fulfillment. Throughout the pages of Fabulous Angeles, Richard and Moxie bluster and bluff their way into exclusive parties, once-in-a-lifetime concerts, and many tapings at CBS Television City, while also crossing paths with such celebrities as The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Muddy Waters, B.B. King, The Doobie Brothers, and Stevie Wonder. Welcome to Fabulous Angeles is available wherever books are sold online, as well as at FabulousAngeles.com. Topics this segment include why L.A. is a lot more like a small town than most people would realize; how Richard’s adolescence coincided with a number of seismic cultural changes that occurred in L.A.; and why FM radio was an integral part of the soundtrack of his life.
Richard Lefkowitz on the music of Van Halen and Jackson Browne
Original Airdates: Aug. 21-23, 2026
TVC 746.2: Richard Lefkowitz, author of Welcome to Fabulous Angeles, talks to Ed about why Van Halen, the 1978 debut album by Van Halen, is the quintessential L.A. album; why “The Fuse” and many other songs by Jackson Browne capture the vibe and imagery of L.A.; and why the murder of actor Sal Mineo in 1976 hit close to home for Richard in many ways. Welcome to Fabulous Angeles is available wherever books are sold online, as well as at FabulousAngeles.com.
Remembering Demond Wilson
Original Airdates: Aug. 21-23, 2026
TVC 746.2a: Tony, Donna, and Ed remember the career of actor Demond Wilson before, during, and after Sanford and Son, including why he was an underrated straight man to Redd Foxx; co-starring with Ron Glass on The New Odd Couple, and with Denise Nicholas and Helen Wilson on Baby, I’m Back; Wilson’s career as a television preacher in the 1980s, and his attempt to use his platform to bring prayer back into schools. Demond Wilson died on Jan. 30, 2026 at age seventy-nine.
The Variety Shows of Sid & Marty Krofft
Original Airdates: Aug. 21-23, 2026
TVC 746.3: Tony, Donna, and Ed commemorate the recent passing of iconic children’s television producer Sid Krofft by discussing some of the many Sid & Marty Krofft shows that catered to adult viewers, including D.C. Follies, Barbara Mandrell and The Mandrell Sisters, Donny & Marie, The Brady Bunch Variety Hour, and Pink Lady and Jeff. Sid Krofft passed away on Apr. 10, 2026 at age ninety-six.
Martha Reeves on her new album, Searching, and why purple is her favorite color
Original Airdates: Aug. 7-9, 2026
TVC 745.4: Ed welcomes Martha Reeves, the legendary Motown powerhouse who is also one of the most influential voices in American music. Searching, Martha’s first new album in twenty-two years, is a blend of jazz, gospel, blues, R & B, and lived experience that was recorded in New Orleans, alongside acclaimed trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis, and co-produced by Marsalis and Martha’s longtime manager, Chris Roe. Chris also appears with Martha during our call. Searching becomes available wherever you find music beginning Friday, Aug. 14.
Topics this segment include how the making of Searching was very much a collaborative experience; how Martha’s mother taught her never to sing a song unless she understood it and could feel it; meeting Stevie Wonder for the first time when he was eight years old, in Berry Gordy’s office at Motown; why the release of Searching is an answered prayer; and why purple is Martha’s go-to color.
Ted Turner’s imprint on television
Original Airdates: Aug. 7-9, 2026
TVC 743.3: Tony, Donna, and Ed discuss the life and career of Ted Turner, the legendary businessman, producer, media mogul, sports team owner, and philanthropist who founded CNN, TNT, Turner Classic Movies, superstation WTBS, and many other platforms. Ted Turner passed away on May 6, 2026 at age eighty-seven.
Ed Robertson
