The Amazing Story of March of the Wooden Soldiers
TV Confidential with Ed Robertson
Release Date: 04/15/2025
The Death of Kate Manx
TV Confidential with Ed Robertson
TVC 689.1: Part 2 of with Dore Page, author of , a deep dive into the life and career of the maverick television writer and producer best known as the creator of that particularly focuses on the making of (1960), the New Wave-style erotic thriller starring Corey Allen, Warren Oates, and Stevens’ wife at the time, Kate Manx. April 2025 marked the 65th anniversary of the release of . In this segment, Ed, Dore, and guest co-host Chuck Harter discuss the mysterious nature of Manx’s death in November 1964, as well as the reasons why Private Property was branded as “indecent”...
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Leslie Stevens, Stoney Burke, and Quinn Martin Productions
TV Confidential with Ed Robertson
TVC 689.2: Dore Page, author of , talks to Ed and guest co-host Chuck Harter about (ABC, 1962-1963), the “art house” look at the lives of 20th-century rodeo riders starring Jack Lord, Bruce Dern, and Warren Oates and produced by Leslie Stevens that ABC canceled after one season—despite garnering a 38 share—partly because the show was considered too ethereal for sponsors to get behind. Other topics this segment include how Warren Oates’ character on Stoney Burke can be considered a forerunner to Angel Martin (the character that Stuart Margolin later played on The Rockford...
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Happy Birthday, Ruta Lee
TV Confidential with Ed Robertson
TVC 689.3: Ed welcomes back singer, actress, and philanthropist (High Rollers, Witness for the Prosecution, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, ). Ruta will celebrate her ninetieth birthday this coming Friday, May 30 with an evening of song and stories at the in North Hollywood. Proceeds for the evening will support , the charitable organization to which Ruta has dedicated much of her life over the past sixty years, and which to date has raised has raised more than $50 million for mental health related causes. (NOTE: Though Ruta’s performance on May 30 has sold out, you can still make a...
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Ruta Lee, The Rat Pack, and Witness for the Prosecution
TV Confidential with Ed Robertson
TVC 689.4: Entertainment legend talks to Ed about how she landed her role in Witness for the Prosecution after producer Arthur Hornblow Jr. spotted her in the audience at a Frank Sinatra concert; why it’s important to recognize those moments in life when a benefit happens, and to be grateful for that benefit; the story of Dean Martin’s playful nickname for Ruta; and the great compliment that playwright and composer Meredith Willson (The Music Man, The Unsinkable Molly Brown) paid Ruta when he first saw her play Molly Brown on stage at Casa Manana in Texas. Ruta Lee will celebrate her...
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Why Wink Martindale was a "never give up" guy
TV Confidential with Ed Robertson
TVC 688.1: TV Confidential remembers longtime radio host, author, recording artist, and game show legend (, , , Winking at Life, “”) with a special program-length tribute to the man who became synonymous with the words “emcee” and “host.” Wink Martindale passed away on Tuesday, Apr. 15, 2025 at the age of ninety-one. In this segment, , retired professor of broadcast journalism at Union University in Jackson, TN (the hometown of Wink Martindale), game show historian, and the host of , talks to Ed about how Martindale developed his skills as a “quality ad-libber” early in his...
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Wink Martindale and the Longevity of Tic Tac Dough
TV Confidential with Ed Robertson
TVC 688.2: , retired professor of broadcast journalism at Union University in Jackson, TN (the hometown of Wink Martindale), game show historian, and the host of , talks to Ed about how Wink never lost sights of his roots in Jackson, TN; how the success of the Martindale version of in the 1970s forever changed the public perception of that particular game show (because the original Tic Tac Dough had been tarnished by the quiz show scandal of the late 1950s); and how Martindale’s Tic Tac Dough really took off in syndication in 1979, becoming the No. 1. syndicated game show (after...
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The "performance energy" of Wink Martindale
TV Confidential with Ed Robertson
TVC 688.3: Longtime television announcer Randy West joins Ed as TV Confidential continues its special program-length tribute to game show legend Wink Martindale. Randy was Wink’s announcer on five game shows for the Family Channel, including Trivial Pursuit, Boggle, and Jumble. Among other topics in this segment, Randy mentions what he believes are the two reasons for Martindale’s great success: his roots in Middle America (which Wink never forgot), and his genuine love for people, which particularly showed during Wink’s interactions with the contestants on his various shows. Wink...
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Why Wink Martindale was a great orator
TV Confidential with Ed Robertson
TVC 688.4: Randy West, Wink Martindale’s announcer on five game shows for the Family Channel, talks to Ed about Wink’s career as a spoken-word recording artists (including “Deck of Cards,” “Heavenly Child,” and “I Stand for Everyone”). He also shares a funny story about Wink and Mary Steck, the cue card lady on Trivial Pursuit, that gives you a window into who Martindale was a person. Wink Martindale passed away on Tuesday, Apr. 15, 2025 at age ninety-nine.
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Wink Martindale, "Deck of Cards," and Tic Tac Dough
TV Confidential with Ed Robertson
TV Confidential continues its program-length tribute to by bringing you an encore presentation of Wink's appearance on our program in December 2018. Topics this segment include how Wink taught himself how to become an announcer when he was a kid by reading ads from Life magazine aloud; the back story of "Deck of Cards," the spoken word recording that Wink first released in 1959 and which has sold than three million copies ever since; the many ways in which providence has played a role in Wink's life; and how Wink learned more about the nuances of hosting a game show from Dan Enright,...
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Wink Martindale on meeting Elvis for the first time in 1954
TV Confidential with Ed Robertson
From December 2018: talks to Ed about why game shows remain a popular form of entertainment on television; the importance of matching the right host with the right game format; how Wink happened to be at radio station WHBQ in Memphis, TN on the night of July 8, 1954, when deejay Dewey Phillips played an record ("That's All Right, Mama") on the radio for the very first time; and how Wink also met Elvis for the first time that night when the King was summoned to the station, starting a friendship that continued until Presley's death in 1977. Wink Martindale passed away on Tuesday, Apr. 15,...
info_outlineTVC 685.1: Ed and guest co-host Chuck Harter welcome author, voice artist, radio host, and Laurel and Hardy historian Randy Skretvedt. Randy's latest book, March of the Wooden Soldiers: The Amazing Story of Laurel & Hardy's Babes in Toyland, is a detailed, behind-the-scenes look at the making of March of the Wooden Soldiers (1934), the adaptation of the Victor Herbert operetta Babes in Toyland (which, in fact, was the title of Wooden Soldiers when it was originally released) that not only has remained a holiday tradition on television since the early 1950s, but was reportedly Stan Laurel's favorite film of the ones with he did with Oliver Hardy. Topics this segment include how March of the Wooden Soldiers was originally intended as an Eastertime release in 1934, as well as the many delays that plagued the production of the movie. March of the Wooden Soldiers: The Amazing Story of Laurel & Hardy's Babes in Toyland is available from Bonaventure Press.