Vicki Abelson's Broadcast: The Road Taken

What a gas (the good kind) we had with Coco Gemma Dolenz. Great stories about how she got her name, her brother Micky, their folks, the music, the movies. the Restaurant, Circus Boy, peroxide, The Monkees, what she learned from Peter, Mike, and Davy; The Beatles, John and George, Nilsson, Harry and Zak, Billy Bob Thornton, Dolenz & Daughters, Dolenz Delights, Etsy… music, food, a cookbook, salads, the human spirit, Religious Science, standards, recording new music, Cole Porter, singing with Micky, with Micky and Davy, with The Monkees, and currently with The Mike and Micky Show, Good Times, It’s Not Easy Being Green, Papa Gene’s Blues, sweaty palms. … so much more... and, there was singing! And, so much fun! Coco Gemma Dolenz Live on Game Changers With Vicki Abelson Wed, 4/24/19, 7 pm PT/ 10 pm ET With Pete George Live on The Facebook Full show replay http://bit.ly/2L4dH1C All BROADcasts, as podcasts, also available on iTunes apple.co/2dj8ld3 Soundcloud http://bit.ly/2hktWoS Stitcher bit.ly/2h3R1fl

One of the greatest storytellers I've had the joy of spending time with, Peter Onorati is a gas! The good kind. As great an actor as he is, bringing truth, depth and unique flavor to every character he portrays, he brought that plus incredible warmth, humanity, and loads of the funny. And, funny people. I feel like I interviewed his whole family.... and Bobby DeNiro. Peter made it so easy… each question sparked a multitude of tales, one more astonishing and entertaining than the next… his grandfather’s secret, his mother’s master manipulation, from football to wrestling to wrestling naked with Kim Cattrall on Sex And The City, the actual Sopranos, fantastic Cop Rock stories, from Kathleen Wilhoite to Mike Post, Steven Bochco, who transitioned him to leading man, Civil Wars and Mariel Hemingway. Starting out at Ford Motor Company, getting an MBA and kicking ass at McCall’s Magazine, a sales and marketing maven, he brought those skills and business acumen to his new career - first improv, where he met his brid

Some things, some people are worth waiting for. Rob Bonfiglio is certainly one. From the opening moments of the show, Rob kills the title track of his recently dropped masterful power pop CD, Trouble Again. A Philly boy, Rob takes us through the junior high school band that wasn’t, the teacher who opened the door to jazz which became Rob’s passion, Berklee College of Music, Wanderlust his first signed band, who just happened to open for The Who. Stop! He speaks of the meeting and courtship of his soon to be bride, Carnie Wilson––their early days in Philly, mmove to LA, the rebirth of Wilson Phillips with Rob as guitarist and musical director, having babies, being grossly manipulated and misrepresented on Celebrity Wife Swap, to fulfilling a long held dream to join Brian Wilson’s Band, which he did this past year, playing guitar and singing high lead Beach Boy vocals on many of the songs he’d come to appreciate as melancholy genius from the iconic Pet Sounds. A life well-lived, most impressive is the man he i

Roslyn Kind is a revelation. This showbiz talk show was easy on the biz, and the show. Spirituality, unconditional love, self-love, inclusion, past life regression, visitations, meditation, familial love, uniting, healing, living life’s calling, going with the flow, and, saving the country were in heavy rotation. Of course we talked about the music––and that voice! Oh lord that voice! Ed Sullivan and her first album at 18… Broadway. Carnegie Hall, The Hollywood Bowl, sister Barbra Streisand, nephew Jason Gould, the three of them singing and touring together; brother-in-law Elliot Gould, her talented and tough mama, her brother, niece and other nephew, the grands… for Rozzie, family is paramount. People are paramount. As if to illustrate the point, she brought along her close friend, David Zimmerman, who filled in some blanks, and finished a few sentences. Their familiarity and comfort with each other was sweetly adorable. We talked about a past life, her transformative meditation practice (https://bit.ly

Glee’s Josh Sussman is impossible to miss with his unique look which oft likens him to a possible Art Garfunkel son or a very young, much hipper, Larry Fine, in hair only. A Gleek, I recognized him immediately at a social soirée, bumping into him a couple more times over the past few years. Our interactions were brief, friendly, and perhaps a tad awkward. I didn’t anticipate this… one of the most enjoyable, easy, refreshing, inspiring, thought-provoking and fun conversations I’ve had. I knew there had to be a lot to him to garner the success he’s achieved, working consistently since starting, racking up an impressive list of credits, for a young man. Josh appeared in a number of shows my kids were addicted to, from the Suite Life of Zach and Cody, Drake and Josh (different Josh), Wizards of Waverly Place, Warren the Ape, to award-winning, mega-hit, Glee, which we watched together all through its run. From his beginnings as a Yeshiva student in Teaneck, NJ, Josh, obsessed with The Muppets, decided that he wa

Some things, some people, are worth waiting for. Steve Ferrone, may have forgotten us once, but he more than made good. The drummer who held the pocket for 25 yrs with Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers, 8 yrs with the Average White Band, 6 with Clapton, many with Chaka, Duran Duran, countless other icons… tells almost all… well, a lot. Meeting Tom, the journey, from the Super Bowl to the Hollywood Bowl, how he heard he’d lost him. Meeting George Harrison, Michael Jackson, Clapton, he playing experience with each, getting saved by early influencer, Ringo… Phil Collins, playing with Prince… Jeff Golub, introducing pal Will Lee, Mr. Fab Faux, to a Beatle. Stevie Winwood, Bowie, Nile Rogers… from tap dancer at age 3 to self-taught sultan of the skins, opening for The Who at 12, Steve’s amassed 25 yrs of sobriety through the unlimited offerings, attends a meeting every day, at 7:30 am no less… that’s some kind of commitment from a rocker who works mostly at night. 4 kids, 9 grandkids, 4 wives, 2 significant others

We couldn't go Live, and I wasn't about to throw Rob Bonfiglio under the Facebook, but it's been 136 straight Wednesdays... so, Kelsey and I recorded a little show about disappointments, whilst smiling. I sure missed y'all tonight. Well, we didn't go Live, but after the video uploaded I hosted a Facebook Watch Party, previously unbeknownst to me... and what fun... got to interact in real time. Can't figure out if there's a way to grab a link from it to attach here... that's where all the "real time" in fake time comments are. A bummer, salvaged. Thanks so much for watching with Kelsey and me, youes fine peoples. Rob will be with us, Wed, April 24th, same bat time, same bat channel. I hope... Game Changers With Vicki Abelson Wed, 3/19 - Recorded not live cause the Facebook was broke With Kelsey Djupstrom All BROADcasts, as podcasts, also available on iTunes apple.co/2dj8ld3 Soundcloud http://bit.ly/2hktWoS Stitcher bit.ly/2h3R1fl tunein bit.ly/2gGeItj This week's BROADcast is brought to you by Rick Smo

We were having so much fun with our friend, Tracy Newman, we broke the internet. Or, Mercury is retrograde… or FB’s Live feed’s a whore. 

We jumped into the show with Tracy singing arguably my favorite of her tunes, Fire Up The Weed, *coughs* then got right into her Emmy win with co-writer, Jonathan Stark, and the stories around that ground-breaking coming out episode of Ellen, and the politics and personalities behind it, when BAM! We were thrown outta cyberspace. We revisited the conversation here, on our second attempt, but to hear that great Newman tune, it’s up top here https://goo.gl/cA3DZa . Tracy opens this edition with her Carpool song, another gem. More Ellen/Emmy insights followed…. did you know if you’re not a star you gotta pay for your lady? Worth the $300+ bucks, Man, is she a beauty. Ridiculously heady to hold. Tracy’s Peabody Award ain’t no slacker either, even if that one cost another couple of hundred. Who knew? We went back to childhood, her sister Laraine, and brother Dutch––twins. I

Who’s Gold We went Live on the road to the magnificent home of keyboardist/vocalist for The Who, Loren Gold - Roger Daltrey, Kenny Loggins, Kelly Clarkson, Chicago, The Doobie Brothers, musical director for Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, Hilary Duff, Taylor Hicks... ridiculously accomplished, talented, humble, Loren’s grateful for it all, with only nice things to say about everything and everybody. Growing up in Palo Alto with older siblings who turned him on to The Beatles, The Stones, and The Who, foreshadowing his inevitable future. From a High School band to LA clubs, working as a messenger by day, Loren paid his dues with diligence and focus. Once the great gigs started, he parlayed one into the next… from Hilary Duff, to Taylor Hicks to Roger Daltrey to The Who. That’s just crazy right there. So many sweet stories, one of Pete Townsend he’s never told before. He currently splits his time with The Who and playing with Rita Wilson. Great Tom Hanks tale. And man can he play. He takes us in and out with his t

This show was not what I anticipated. Rather than spend the evening with the American Comedy and Emmy Award winning comedian, Craig Shoemaker, discussing his stand up, TV, and film career, we spent the time diving deep about behaviors, addiction, recovery, healing through laughter––even when there’s nary a joke to be found––there’s none needed. The mere act of laughing, even forced, is a mood changer, not only for the person guffawing, but for all in their path, as well. We tried it on. Vanna White, Merv Griffin, Bill Maher, Cheech and Chong, Farrah Fawcett, Eric Roberts, Billy Crystal, Will Miller, Nancy Allen, Rachelle Carson… some exclusive stories, never before shared, divulged… some secrets told, theirs, and his. We discovered we both spent time in the Laughter Company, near-missing. Craig replacing Eddie Murphy and me, Rosie O’Donnell. Crazy. Our mutual sobriety and varying opinions, perhaps swayed through open hearts and minds. How we’re dealing with our kids’ drinking (Happy 21st, Samantha, who

Hoodlum to boxer, painter. writer, Marine, lover, to iconic, Academy Award-nominated actor, Burt Young, has lived a life bursting with color, much like one of his stunning works of art. From the soaps to Chinatown, Nicholson, to a fateful meeting with a young, then unknown, Sylvester Stallone, who wrote a part with him in mind, Burt was the only actor who didn’t audition and earned more than the writer, director, and star himself, in Rocky. Paulie a role which would come to define him. Where did Burt end and Paulie begin… it’s a fine line… one he would draw 6 times, culminating in Rocky Balboa, perhaps the sweetest of the lot since it’s first beginnings. Starting out stealing watches, dropping out of our mutual alma mater. Newtown High School, Burt joined the Marines at 15, with his father’s more than blessing, he helped him… to get young Burt off the streets and out of trouble. There were 18 pro fights, undefeated, an exhibition with Mohammed Ali, his hero, which Burt won, to falling for a broad who wanted

I love surprises. I’m not sure I’ve ever been more thrillingly unprepared for the fabulousness that was about to unfold. Fleaxatarian (he ‘splains), actorvist, Esai Morales, is a revelation. I knew I adored his work from Bad Boys, La Bamba, NYPD Blue, to Ozark, with so much fineness in between… but it’s the man––the human––the passionate, quite brilliant, committed, inspiring, humble, real, self-aware, loving, sensitive soul, who blew me away. For 2 hrs and 16 min, Esai was spellbindingly entertaining, informative, enlightening, and gottdamned exciting, I don’t need to mention easy on the eyes… isn’t it just a ridiculous given? For the first 30 minutes we’re mostly in a Facebook Live blur, and for another 3 minutes or so, the audio is compromised as we were firsting with our brand spanking new Blue Raspberry mic, and didn’t quite know how to set it. Sorry about that, chief. The remaining hour and 50 min are as smooth as Easi. He's so worth struggling through the first 30 for. We talked growing up in Brooklyn

The Wizard of Oz. Noy. There’s no man behind the curtain. He’s the real deal. A working musician since the age of 13, a session musician no less, he took his native Israel by a rock/pop/jazz storm, a recognized part of their hit talk show house band by his early 20s. He’s been killing it worldwide since. No drinks, no drugs, fastidious practice, make the man, and the musician. With 10 albums of his own, Oz has played with just about everybody. Including his heroes. Getting to play rhythm guitar on Walk This Way with Steve Tyler and Joe Perry, one highlight. I saw him kill Get Out Of My Life Woman with Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top two weeks ago, https://bit.ly/2CHkDu3 We talked his yellow brick road, and how he’s found his way home, doing what he loves, and loving it. Jazz may be one of his things, but he loves pop, rock and the blues and has mastered and is in demand cross-genre. Playing an Elton John tune with Sting another highlight, and with Cyndi Lauper for the Dalai Lama- does that story have a punchline

Before we went Live Fritz Coleman spent an hour hanging with me and my kids, watching their videos, offering accolades and suggestions, when requested, praising and encouraging, Twice nominated for Humanitarian of the year, the man’s a mensch, a giver. LA’s definitive weathercaster, with a 37 year tenure at it, Fritz spoke of “lucking” into the day job which has afforded him pursuit of his creative passions: stand up and his one-man shows, one of which garnered a half hour phone call from Marlon Brando hisself, another, an audience with Kirk Douglas, who was in the audience. He’s appeared 8 times on The Tonight Show, with Johnny, Joan, and Jay, won 4 Emmy Awards, served in the Navy, is 35 years sober, a dad, a grandfather, a wise and beloved soul, adored by all who know him, he’s funny, funny, funny and applies lessons learned and a daily discipline to continue thriving, and help others. His current show, Defying Gravity, a dissection of his life over 50 is playing to sold-out crowds. If an opportunity pres

I got an education from a Nuyorican––right there, I’d never heard the term before. Felix Angel Solis is a revelation––on the Fountain Theatre stage as Eddie, in the Pulitzer Prize-winning, The Cost of Living, where he blew my mind and moved me beyond compare (I immediately set out to track him down), to his thoughts on acting––actors as musicians, the script the sheet music, “actioning,” “referencing,” not giving what they’re looking for, offering something different. Seeking characters who care about something. All explained with fascinating analogies to life. His twice a day meditation practice, where thoughts are encouraged to run and play… adaptive energy, how we let go. New York theatre, the Labyrinth, The Cherry Lane, being directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman, twice. Getting tracked down not just by me, but Pacino, too. Crossing over to film and TV… series regular work on Law & Order, The Good Wife, The Following, NYC22 for Jane Rosenthal and Robert DeNiro; Subway Token Films, his joint production comp

What better way to ring in the New Year than with the Begley’s. We went Live from their magnificent, green home, where the banter was playfully brisk, hysterically funny, and full of love. Married 18 yrs, together 25, they met 28 yrs ago. The stories around all of that are priceless. As are the stories about them working together (NYBD Blue, Living With Ed, Begleyesque), and, how they tell them. Their take on he said/she said is hysterical. We talked about their environmental activism and how each of them came to it. Rachelle named after Rachel Carson, the mother of the movement, and for Ed, the smog. They’re still fighting it today. As improved as it is, this past summer was at it’s worst in 20 years. Ed gives practical tips on what we can do: use public transportation and bike whenever possible, if possible, weatherstrip our homes. LED lights. Recycle, eat vegan, grow your own, compost, and clear our kitchens and bathrooms of toxins - they even have their own line of all natural products which can be foun

The year in review––mine. Gratitide–– more me––I'm naming names. Tonight's scheduled guests, Jeffrey Sherman and Wendy Liebman regretfully postponed for medical reasons. Wishing Wendy Godspeed, whatever the hell that means... what I mean is a miraculous swift healing. Dj, my banner maker is out of town, so getting a fill-in guest without the proper signage seemed unfair. Take the week off? Why not. We're smack in the middle of holiday season. But... we've yet to miss a week in the now 125 weeks we've been doing this and I'm all about streaks and day counts... so... This was a reflection––noting progress, manifestations, and a bit of an infestation of poor choices leading to better ones. We talked about setting intentions... the three step manifestation process, and the one-step do better, be better thing. On 2 1/2 hrs of sleep, I had fried brain, no eggs, no bacon. The Facebook was having "issues." On again, off again, soft focus, is unintended and annoying as fuck. But, the beat went on, with some l

It took 2 1/2 yrs to nail down Norman Lear, a force of nature beyond compare at any age... at 96, in his Sony offices, where he still reads, develops, writes, produces daily, it's unfathomable. Norman’s worth waiting for. A four-time Emmy Winner, Academy Award Nominee, Peabody Award Recipient, American Humanist Award Winner, National Medalist of the Arts, Kennedy Center Honoree––Norman’s a goddamn national treasure.

The maverick who changed television, our thinking, and in so doing, our behavior, reflected back on his neglected childhood, his service bombing Berlin, facing his humanity, where his dream started and how it morphed into who he soon became. Why Norman’s championed women, always; missing Penny Marshall and what’s her name Fisher. Our friends Paul Hipp, and Phil Rosenthal, and why real Jews order Langers #19 without the cheese. He took us through the creation of Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, Fernwood 2 Night, Sanford and Son, sorry Redd Foxx, we all had a brain freeze; All in The Family, his fathe

Arriving at actor, author, collector, world-traveler, chef, and scholar, Thaao Penghlis’s home was a feast for the senses. Magnificent art and artifacts from the entrance to the john, where an enormous, gorgeous, Peter O’Toole as Lawrence oversees the proceedings. Next visit, I hope, a feast the belly––hIs lentil white bean soup recipe had Christinna and I salivating. Thaao lives his life to the full, doing and being his best at whatever he’s approaching at that moment. From his childhood in Australia, enmeshed in everything Greek, to struggling to eat in New York where he assisted his mentor in the art world, selling to an adoring Jackie Kennedy, Claudette Colbert, Sir John Gielgud, to finding his way to the stage and then film, despite being told he should never act; first forJohn Avildsen, fresh off his Rocky triumph, in Slow Dancing In The Big City, for Ken Russell in Altered States… some stories there! A volatile Russell, difficult William Hurt, and a banished Paddy Chayefsky. A rapist in The Bell Jar

A rare guest I didn’t know prior to sitting down here, what a revelation and a treat to meet Fred Melamed. Lovely from the start, I was unprepared for his brutal humility, fierce self-reflection, and unflinching honesty. A fascinatingly unique conversation focused on how life affected his work, and his work affected his life. The Coen Brothers award-winning A Serious Man star talked being adopted, his producer father and visits to the Car 54 set; his unmothering mother, Chanukah as resistance and how it applies today; falling into acting and earning his way into Yale Drama with David Alan Grier, “Fran” McDormand & John Turturro; Broadway at 25 in Amadeus and the severe stage fright he battled nightly; not enjoying theatre, backing into voice acting, where great success followed until that market dried up, leaving the husband and father of two autistic boys panicked, until a call from Joel Coen, perhaps thanks to “Fran,” changed his life. As little as he liked working on the stage, he loved (s) film acting