9/27 Larry Manetti Talks With Rich Little!

Rich acted in Ottawa's Little Theatre and became a successful disc jockey, frequently incorporating impersonations into his show. In 1963, he was asked to audition by Mel Tormé, who was producing a new variety show for Judy Garland. The audition won him the job and in 1964, Little made his American television debut on CBS's The Judy Garland Show, where he astounded Garland with his imitations of various male celebrities. His impression of James Mason in A Star Is Born thrilled Garland, and his popularity began to grow.

In 1966 and 1967, Little appeared in ABC-TV's Judy Carne sitcom Love on a Rooftop as the Willises' eccentric neighbor, Stan Parker. Little was a frequent guest on variety and talk shows. He cracked up Johnny Carson by capturing the Tonight Show host's voice and many on-stage mannerisms perfectly (he later played Carson in the HBO TV-movie The Late Shift). One of his best known impressions is of U.S. President Richard Nixon. (In 1991 he reprised the role of Nixon as ideal sperm donors in Gina's fantasies on the soap opera Santa Barbara.) During the 1970s, Little made many television appearances portraying Nixon. He was a regular guest on the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts in the 1970s and was also a semi-regular on the Emmy-winning ABC-TV variety series The Julie Andrews Hour in 1972-1973. This particular series proved to be a wonderful showcase for Little's talents as an impressionist. In fact, because of his uncanny yet brilliant imitation of Jack Benny, the comedian sent Little an 18-carat gold money clip containing this message: "With Bob Hope doing my walk and you doing my voice, I can be a star and do nothing." He was named "Comedy Star of the Year" by the American Guild of Variety Artists in 1974.
His best-known continuing TV series was The Kopycats, hour-long segments of The ABC Comedy Hour, first broadcast in 1972. Taped in England, these comedy-variety shows consisted entirely of celebrity impersonations, with the actors in full costume and makeup for every sketch. The cast included Rich Little, Frank Gorshin, Marilyn Michaels, George Kirby, British comedian Joe Baker, Fred Travalena, Charlie Callas, and Peter Goodwright.

The Rich Little Show (1976) and The New You Asked for It (1981) were attempts to present Little in his own person, away from his gallery of characterizations.

Little has starred in various HBO specials including the 1978 one-man show, Rich Little's Christmas Carol. He has also appeared in several movies and released nine albums. When David Niven proved too ill for his voice to be used in his appearances in Trail of the Pink Panther (1982) and Curse of the Pink Panther (1983), Little provided the overdub. (Ironically, Little provided the voice for the Pink Panther cartoon character in an experimental 1965 episode.) He rendered similar assistance for the 1991 TV special Christmas at the Movies by providing an uncredited dub for the aging actor/dancer Gene Kelly. As a native Canadian, he also lent his voice to the narration of two specials which were the forerunners for the animated series The Raccoons: The Christmas Raccoons and The Raccoons on Ice.[1]

Little was the host for the 2007 White House Correspondents' Association dinner. Although President George W. Bush was reported to have enjoyed Little's performance, it was panned by some reviewers for "his ancient jokes and impressions of dead people (Johnny Carson, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan)."[2][3][4]

Little voices as a guest star in Futurama such as Futurama: Bender's Game, playing his own celebrity head: "Rich Little here, as Howard Cosell." Many times he plays a sports commentator.

9/20 Larry Manetti talks with Tim Conway!

TIM CONWAY is best known for his role on The Carol Burnett Show, an 11-year stint that garnered him six Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe, major accolades from critics, and three generations of fans. Conway played the funny guy alongside Harvey Korman's straight man, often cracking up Korman midway through scenes. The spontaneous break in character became a hallmark to watch for in every episode.

Conway's often-improvised humor, razor-sharp timing and hilarious characters have made him one of the funniest and most authentic performers to grace the stage and studio in the last forty years. In 1989, Conway received his much deserved star on Hollywood's "Walk of Fame." In 2002, he and Korman were inducted into the Academy of Television Arts, & Sciences' Hall of Fame. In 2005, the duo joined the rest of the Carol Burnett cast in receiving TV Land's Legend Award.

All told, Conway's extensive television career has spanned nearly four decades. Born in Willoughby, Ohio, Conway had a fast rise in show business, from a staff job at a Cleveland TV station to a regular gig on the Steven Allen Show. He went on to play Ensign Charles Parker on McHale's Navy in the 1960's, and eventually landed The Carol Burnett Show, first starring as a guest in 1967 and then coming a permanent fixture in 1975. In 2001, Conway and Korman starred in the 25th anniversary reunion special, The Carol Burnett: Show Stoppers. The program drew 30 million viewers and became the fourth-highest-rated TV show of the season. A testament to the show's unique multigenerational appeal, the special attracted everyone from grandparents who saw the original episodes to teenagers now enjoying re-runs on TV Land.

Conway's other television credits include Rango, Ace Crawford Private Eye, Tim Conway's Funny America, three self-titled variety shows, and one sitcom. He's appeared on every major variety show from The Hollywood Palace, Garry Moose, Glen Campbell and Sonny and Cher to Sammy Davis, Kraft Music Hall, The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and Jay Leno, sitcoms such as Married with Children, Cosby, Mad About You, Touched by an Angel, and Coach, for which he won an Emmy in 1997. He guest starred on Yes Dear, and kids may recognize him as the voice of Barnacle Boy on SpongeBob SquarePants. In 2003, Conway and Korman were featured performers on CBS's 75th Anniversary Special. He received an Emmy for his appearance on 30 Rock in 2008.

Conway's film career includes They Went That Way and That Way and The Long Shot, both of which he wrote, along with The Shaggy D.A., Speed II, and Dear God. But it was his work in a long line of family films - The World's Greatest Athlete, The Apple Dumpling Gang, and The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again, Gus, The Billion Dollar Hobo, The Prize Fighter, and Private Eyes, that garnered him the most acclaim. Conway wrote the last three and was frequently paired with Don Knotts for a double dose of comedy highjinks.

On stage, Conway played Felix in 182 performances of The Odd Couple. He also wrote and starred in Just for Laughs: A Day with Gates and Mills, which toured for 20 weeks and 130 performances.

In the home-video market, Conway has found a welcome residence for his vertically-challenged character, Dorf, with both Dorf on Golf, and Dorf Goes Fishing reaching platinum sales status. Conway also joined forces with Korman to produce the video Tim and Harvey in the Great Outdoors. Conway is active member of several charities, including various drug abuse programs and the Spastic Children's Foundation. He is the co-founder of the Don MacBeth Memorial Jockey Fund to aid injured and disabled jockeys.

Tim is now back on the road appearing in theaters and casinos around the country with two very talented performers, Louise DuArt and Chuck McCann. Check Tim’s schedule to see if he is appearing near you. Drop in, you’ll enjoy the evening of laughs and family humor. Just like “The Old Days.”

9/13 Larry Manetti talks with Ron Masak and Joe Mantegna!

Trained in the Classics at CCC in Chicago, Ron Masak has proven himself equally at home on stage or screen with Shakespeare or Slapstick. Professionally he has played everything from Stanley in "Streetcar Named Desire" to Sakini in "Teahouse of the August Moon". From Will Stockdale in "No Time For Sergeants" to Marc Antony in "Julius Caesar". More proof of his versatility was seen in "Mr. Roberts", where in one production he played Ensign Pulver and in another production Mr. Roberts himself. He was resident leading man at Candlelight Theatre in Chicago for 3 1/2 years. He never missed a performance. His knack at doing impressions won him a trip around the world as a member of the All Army show. Again in over 700 shows he never missed a performance. He was the only Military Policeman ever to do the show. It was while doing theatre and commercials in Chicago that he was brought to the attention of producer Harry Ackerman and was brought to California to test for the lead in a pilot. While here, Ron met John Sturges and was cast in Ice Station Zebra (1968).

His filmography speaks for his versatility. Equally at home on the concert tour, he has emceed hundreds of shows for the top names in the variety field. He is also a popular talk and game show guest. An outstanding athlete, he has his own uniform and has worked out with the LA Dodgers for over 20 years. He is often introduced as "One of America's most familiar faces" but since his 8 year run as Sheriff Mort Metzger on "Murder, She Wrote" (1984), we can safely say "One of the World's most familiar faces".


Actor Joe Mantegna Calls on Community Support for Children with Autism. One in 110 children in America is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders. Joe Mantegna (“Criminal Minds”) will host ACT Today!’s (Autism Care and Treatment Today!) 5th Annual Charity Golf Classic presented by the Center for Autism and Related Disorders, Inc. The tournament will be held on Monday, September 12, 2011 at the North Ranch Country Club, in Westlake Village, California. Proceeds from the fundraiser will provide resources and treatment for children with autism whose families cannot afford the necessary tools their child needs to achieve their full potential. Mantegna, who has a daughter with autism, is calling on the community to show their support for autism care and treatment.
About Joe Mantegna: Joe Mantegna is a world-class entertainer with acting credits that include 100 films like Searching for Bobby Fischer, The Godfather Part 3, Celebrity, Forget Paris, Liberty Heights to name a few. Joe has proven his versatility as an actor and his passion for the art. He has achieved television success with an award winning TV movie like, The Rat Pack or The Last Don, as well as critically acclaimed series like, Joan of Arcadia, The Starter Wife and with his current starring role in Criminal Minds. Joe received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in April 2011. Mantegna hosts a national public service announcement for ACT Today! for Military Families, an initiative of ACT Today! that has distributed over $100,000 in grants to military families across the country since it's inception in July 2010.

About ACT TODAY!: ACT Today! (Autism Care and Treatment Today!) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to providing funding to families that cannot afford or access the treatments their children with autism need. For more information about ACT Today!, visit: www.act-today.org.

9/6 Larry Manetti talks with Ron Masak and Joe Mantegna!

Trained in the Classics at CCC in Chicago, Ron Masak has proven himself equally at home on stage or screen with Shakespeare or Slapstick. Professionally he has played everything from Stanley in "Streetcar Named Desire" to Sakini in "Teahouse of the August Moon". From Will Stockdale in "No Time For Sergeants" to Marc Antony in "Julius Caesar". More proof of his versatility was seen in "Mr. Roberts", where in one production he played Ensign Pulver and in another production Mr. Roberts himself. He was resident leading man at Candlelight Theatre in Chicago for 3 1/2 years. He never missed a performance. His knack at doing impressions won him a trip around the world as a member of the All Army show. Again in over 700 shows he never missed a performance. He was the only Military Policeman ever to do the show. It was while doing theatre and commercials in Chicago that he was brought to the attention of producer Harry Ackerman and was brought to California to test for the lead in a pilot. While here, Ron met John Sturges and was cast in Ice Station Zebra (1968).

His filmography speaks for his versatility. Equally at home on the concert tour, he has emceed hundreds of shows for the top names in the variety field. He is also a popular talk and game show guest. An outstanding athlete, he has his own uniform and has worked out with the LA Dodgers for over 20 years. He is often introduced as "One of America's most familiar faces" but since his 8 year run as Sheriff Mort Metzger on "Murder, She Wrote" (1984), we can safely say "One of the World's most familiar faces".


Actor Joe Mantegna Calls on Community Support for Children with Autism. One in 110 children in America is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders. Joe Mantegna (“Criminal Minds”) will host ACT Today!’s (Autism Care and Treatment Today!) 5th Annual Charity Golf Classic presented by the Center for Autism and Related Disorders, Inc. The tournament will be held on Monday, September 12, 2011 at the North Ranch Country Club, in Westlake Village, California. Proceeds from the fundraiser will provide resources and treatment for children with autism whose families cannot afford the necessary tools their child needs to achieve their full potential. Mantegna, who has a daughter with autism, is calling on the community to show their support for autism care and treatment.
About Joe Mantegna: Joe Mantegna is a world-class entertainer with acting credits that include 100 films like Searching for Bobby Fischer, The Godfather Part 3, Celebrity, Forget Paris, Liberty Heights to name a few. Joe has proven his versatility as an actor and his passion for the art. He has achieved television success with an award winning TV movie like, The Rat Pack or The Last Don, as well as critically acclaimed series like, Joan of Arcadia, The Starter Wife and with his current starring role in Criminal Minds. Joe received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in April 2011. Mantegna hosts a national public service announcement for ACT Today! for Military Families, an initiative of ACT Today! that has distributed over $100,000 in grants to military families across the country since it's inception in July 2010.

About ACT TODAY!: ACT Today! (Autism Care and Treatment Today!) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to providing funding to families that cannot afford or access the treatments their children with autism need. For more information about ACT Today!, visit: www.act-today.org.

8/30 Larry Manetti talks with Robert Loggia!

Loggia was a radio and TV anchor in Southern Command Network in the Panama Canal Zone. Loggia first came to prominence playing real-life American lawman Elfego Baca in a 1958 series of Walt Disney television shows. He starred as the proverbial cat-burglar-turned-good in a short-lived series called T.H.E. Cat. In 1972 he played Frank Carver on the CBS soap opera The Secret Storm.[5] His many television credits include appearances on Frasier, Overland Trail, Target: The Corruptors!, The Eleventh Hour, Breaking Point, Combat!, Custer, Columbo, Ellery Queen, Starsky and Hutch, Charlie's Angels, The Rockford Files (three times as three different characters), Magnum, P.I., Quincy ME, The Sopranos, Monk, Oliver Stone's miniseries Wild Palms and Little House on the Prairie.

His film roles include An Officer and a Gentleman, Mercy Mission: The Rescue of Flight 771, based on the Air New Zealand Flight 103 incident, Scarface, Prizzi's Honor, Over The Top, Independence Day, Necessary Roughness, Return to Me, Armed and Dangerous, and Big (for which he won a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor).

In 1985, Loggia was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of crusty private detective Sam Ransom in the thriller Jagged Edge. He was nominated for an Emmy in 1989 for his portrayal of FBI agent Nick Mancuso in the TV series Mancuso, FBI, a follow up to the previous year's miniseries Favorite Son. Loggia appeared as mobsters in multiple films including Sykes in Disney's Oliver & Company (1988), Salvatore 'The Shark' Macelli in John Landis' Innocent Blood and Mr. Eddy in David Lynch's Lost Highway (1997) and The Don's Analyst (1997).

In 1998, Loggia appeared in a television commercial lampooning obscure celebrity endorsements. In it, a young boy names Loggia as someone he would trust to recommend Minute Maid orange-tangerine blend; Robert Loggia instantly appears and endorses the drink, to which the boy exclaims, "Whoa, Robert Loggia!"[6] The commercial was later referenced in an episode of Malcolm in the Middle in which Loggia made a guest appearance as "Grandpa Victor" (for which he received his second Emmy nomination); Loggia drinks some orange juice, then spits it out and complains about the pulp. In a similar vein, Loggia has been parodied on an episode of the show Family Guy titled "Peter's Two Dads." Loggia also played a violent mobster named Feech La Manna on a few episodes of the series The Sopranos.

In addition to his role in Oliver & Company (1988), Loggia has had several other voice acting roles. A recurring role on the Adult Swim animated comedy Tom Goes to the Mayor, as crooked cop Ray Machowski in the video game Grand Theft Auto III, as Admiral Petrarch in FreeSpace 2, as the narrator of the Scarface: The World is Yours game adaptation, and in the anime movie A Dog of Flanders (1997).[7]

In August 2009, Loggia appeared in one of Apple's Get a Mac advertisements. The advertisement features Loggia as a personal trainer hired by PC to get him back on top of his game.

On October 26, 2009, TVGuide.com announced Loggia joined the cast of the TNT series Men of a Certain Age.[8] The role had him teaming up again with his Necessary Roughness co-star Scott Bakula.

In 2010, he was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in recognition of his humanitarian efforts.

8/23 Larry Manetti talks with Carol Burnett!

Carol Burnett started in show business as an occasional stage actress, sometimes nightclub singer, and more often a hatcheck girl. After a few years barely making ends meet, 22-year-old Burnett first appeared on television in 1955, playing the dummy's romantic interest in 13 episodes of The Paul Winchell and Jerry Mahoney Show, a kids' program that aired on Saturday mornings (Winchell was a ventriloquist, Mahoney was his dummy). At 23, she was cast as Buddy Hackett's girlfriend on Stanley, a NBC prime time sitcom set among workers at a hotel's newsstand, and written by Neil Simon and Woody Allen, among others. At 23½, she found herself unemployed when the program was cancelled, and for a time she worked as an usher at a Hollywood movie theater.

Burnett bounced back with a parody pop song, "I Made a Fool of Myself Over John Foster Dulles," confessing her love for the utterly unsexy, 68-year-old Secretary of State who is now best remembered as the namesake for Dulles Airport outside Washington DC. The song became a minor pop hit after Burnett sang it on Jack Paar's Tonight Show in 1957.

After that, she was a frequent panelist on the game show Pantomime Quiz. In 1959, she joined the ensemble cast of The Garry Moore Show, a popular comedy-variety hour, while concurrently starring on Broadway in the musical-comedy Once Upon a Mattress, based on the children's story The Princess and the Pea. In a memorable Twilight Zone, she played a klutzy but contented single woman offered a life of glamour by her guardian angel. She had a recurring role as a tough female Marine in Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C., becoming good friends with its star Jim Nabors, who was later her traditional first guest every season on her variety show. Burnett appeared in several episodes of her friend Lucille Ball's The Lucy Show, and she was a regular on the mid-1960s variety show The Entertainers with Art Buchwald and Bob Newhart. After that show ended, Ball offered to produce a sitcom for her, but Burnett declined, fearing she might feel stifled playing the same character week after week.

Instead, Burnett and her husband, producer Joe Hamilton, crafted a variety hour around her talents. The Carol Burnett Show premiered in 1967, ran for eleven years and won 22 Emmys. Recurring sketches included the tight-skirted secretary Mrs. Wiggins, the Southern-fried bitch Eunice of Mama's Family (later spun off to its own sitcom), and the bad actress star of the soap opera parody As the Stomach Turns. There were also spoofs of classic movies, most memorably Burnett as Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind, wearing a dress made from the drapes -- complete with curtain rod (the dress was maniacally designed by Bob Mackie). For no particular reason, she would occasionally belt out a Tarzan yell, and at some point in every show Burnett would take questions from the audience, usually coming up with an answer that was either heartwarming or hilarious.

Burnett had perfect chemistry with her supporting cast, Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence, and Lyle Waggoner, and through the show's first seven seasons there were no cast changes. When Waggoner left he was replaced with Tim Conway for the eighth and subsequent seasons. The show was always funny but never mean or risqué, and in an era with only three channels, audiences of all ages tuned in to see what wacky skits Burnett would perform each week. On video, The Carol Burnett Show has been repackaged as Carol Burnett & Friends, and unlike some alleged comedy classics, no-one who rents the videos could possibly be disappointed.

She worked occasionally in feature films, including Noises Off with Michael Caine, Robert Altman's A Wedding, and The Four Seasons with Alan Alda. Her best TV films include the Vietnam survivors' drama Friendly Fire,Eunice (the pilot for Mama's Family), and three separate TV adaptations of her Broadway hit Once Upon a Mattress in 1964, 1972, and 2005.

In 1986 she starred in Fresno, a six-hour mini-series spoofing Dallas and Dynasty, with Burnett as Fresno's hard-drinking raisin matriarch Charlotte Kensington. With Charles Grodin, Teri Garr, Dabney Coleman, and Gregory Harrison, it was funny to the finish, but has never been released on video in America.

In 1990 she starred in Carol & Company with Jeremy Piven and Peter Krause, an anthology series with a half-hour comedy skit each week, but it was quickly cancelled. In 1991 she revived her Carol Burnett Show in name and format but with a new supporting cast. . Later in the 1990s, she played Helen Hunt's mother on Mad About You.

Her second husband, Joe Hamilton, had been a jazz musician, but after marrying Burnett he produced most of her starring projects. Their daughter, Carrie Hamilton became an actress, starring in the TV movie Hostage with Burnett and in touring productions of Rent, before dying of lung cancer in 2002. Another daughter, Erin Hamilton, has had several hits on the dance charts, including covers of "Dream Weaver" and Cheap Trick's "The Flame."

By virtually all accounts, the good-natured wise-cracking Burnett seen on her variety show was the real Carol Burnett. Her beloved grandmother, Mae Eudora Jones White, died in 1967 at the age of 82, but Burnett never stopped tugging her ear at the end of every episode. In the show's third season, Burnett received a résumé from a 10-year-old fan who wanted a career in comedy -- Jim Carrey, who received a long, personal letter of encouragement from Burnett. When she received her star on Hollywood Boulevard, Burnett had it placed in front of the theater where she had been an usher. And in 1989, when Burnett's friend Lucille Ball died suddenly on Burnett's birthday, Burnett received a bouquet from Ball several hours after hearing the sad news -- Ball had ordered the flowers in advance for Burnett's birthday.

Hamilton, her husband, wrote the theme song for The Carol Burnett Show, which she sang at the end of every episode. "I'm so glad we had this time together, just to have a laugh or sing a song, seems we just get started and before you know it, comes the time we have to say, 'So long.'" And then Burnett would wave and shout, "Good night, everybody."

8/16 Larry Manetti talks with Monica Mancini

Monica Mancini is a Concord Record recording artist and 2005 Double-Grammy award nominee, who has carved out an impressive career as a singer and concert performer, appearing with major symphony orchestras worldwide.

Mancini is the one of the twin daughters (sister Felice) [1] of famed film composer Henry Mancini and his wife Ginny.[2] Her brother is singer/actor Chris Mancini.[3] She began her singing career as a member of the Henry Mancini chorus, which later led to a successful career in the studios at Los Angeles.

She has appeared on countless film scores, and has recorded with artists such as Placido Domingo, Horace Silver, Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson.

Mancini's current double Grammy nominated release 'Ultimate Mancini' includes guest artists: Stevie Wonder, Kenny Rankin and Plas Johnson, amongst others, whose contributions are in praise and memory of her late father.

To date, her albums include 'Ultimate Mancini', 'Cinema Paradiso', 'Monica Mancini' and 'Dreams of Johnny Mercer'. Her voice was heard on the soundtrack of the 2002 film Ghost Ship when she sang 'Senza Fine'.

Mancini sang with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl on July 10–11, 2009. Included in her performance were 'It Had Better Be Tonight' from the film The Pink Panther and 'Two for the Road'.