Holly and Barry Tashian exemplify the best in the music industry - people who truly love the live music experience, and whose love of music conveys to their audience wherever they perform. They went to high school together in New England before marrying and performing music together. Barry's band The Remains opened up for The Beatles in 1966 on their final U.S. tour. After The Remains split up, Barry recorded with Gram Parson and Emmylou Harris. Later, both Holly and Barry perform...

In this episode, we pay tribute to the late, great Lucille Kallen, a true pioneer in television comedy writing. Born in Los Angeles and raised in Toronto, Lucille’s first love was piano, but she soon showed her comedy chops writing live sketches at a “borscht belt” resort in New York’s Pocono Mountains. Based on the strength of her live sketches, she was recruited in 1949 to serve as co-head writer for Sid Caesar’s “Admiral Broadway Review” (later “Your Show Of Shows”), the very first n...

Mimi Pond and Wayne White are a creative couple extraordinaire. They first met at one of Wayne’s puppet shows in New York City in the early ‘80s. Both Mimi and Wayne went on to make their mark on American culture, starting on Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, where Mimi served as a writer and Wayne as a puppeteer and art director. Mimi went on to write the first full episode of “The Simpsons,” as well as writing on “Designing Women.” Wayne went on to work on the CBS series “Beakman...

Shel Talmy produced records that set the templates for hard rock and punk rock. After growing up in Chicago and learning the art of sound engineering in Los Angeles, he began his career as a producer in London in the early ‘60s. The list of the records he produced is staggering - singles by The Kinks (“You Really Got Me”, “All Day And All Of The Night,” “Sunny Afternoon”), by The Who (“My Generation”, “The Kids Are Alright”, “I Can’t Explain”), and even David Bowie’s debut single....

Paul Dooley is a legend of acting, improvising, and writing. He has played beloved father roles in such films as “Breaking Away,” “Sixteen Candles,” and “The Runaway Bride,” as well as Larry David’s father-in-law in “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” When Paul first moved to New York City from his home state of West Virginia, he contacted his college friend, the one and only Don Knotts, who helped Paul find acting work. From that connection, he later joined the New York City branch of ...

Michael Blieden, along with fellow former “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” writers Bashir Sallahudin and Diallo Riddle (and Bashir’s brother, Sultan), form the creative backbone of the HBO series “South Side.” In this interview, Blieden discusses the genesis and creative decision-making of “South Side,” and how it stems from the team’s bonding on “Late Night.” Blieden discusses how his play “Melvin Goes To Dinner” was turned into a movie by director (and later “Breaking Bad” and “Better C...