Interviews with TV legends! Bewitched/Designing Women: Alice Ghostley The Big Valley: Peter Breck Father Knows Best / The Andy Griffith Show: Elinor Donahue Hazel: Lynn Borden Hazel: Ray Fulmer I Love Lucy: Keith Thibodeaux The Jeffersons / 227: Marla Gibbs Lassie: Jon Provost Leave it to Beaver: Barbara Billingsley Leave it to Beaver: Tony Dow The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis: Dwayne Hickman Mission: Impossible: Peter Lupus Close-Ups The Mothers-In-Law: Kaye Ballard My Three Sons: Stanley Livingston The Waltons: Jon Walmsley What's Happening!! / What's Happening Now!!: Ernest Thomas What's Happening!! / What's Happening Now!!: Haywood Nelson
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More About the Author
Eddie Lucas is a baby-boomer, writer, educator, and vintage TV historian. His first book, Close-Ups: Conversations with Our TV Favorites (Bear Manor Media, 2007) received a five-star rating from Sitcoms Online and was named "BEST TV BOOK OF 2008" by Classic Images Magazine.
Lucas, a member of the Florida's Writer Association, and a 1983 graduate of the University of Central Florida, has completed extensive courses in Radio and Television Broadcasting and Journalism, in addition to spending thousands of hours reading articles, interviews, and books on the history and background of television--researching its actors, writers, and producers, as well as episode titles, special guest stars, and original air dates.
In March, 1978, Lucas purchased one of the first VCR's on the market at a cost of $1,200 in order to record the series finale of The Carol Burnett Show. Thus began a 1,500 plus video collection at a time when blank tapes cost $25 each. Nevertheless, Lucas remained undeterred and amassed a collection of sitcoms, dramas, and specials that remain in his collection today.
His love of television and those who were part of its illustrious history prompted Lucas to write his first book in 2006. Lucas recently completed the second in a series called Living Room Legends: Chat's with TV's Famous Faces. Some of the celebrities featured in this edition are Jim Nabors, Donna Douglas, Phyllis Diller, and Pat Priest. The book will soon be available on Kindle and Nook through Serendipity Media Group. The author recently embarked on another edition, and is now in the process of interviewing more "Living Room Legends".
Lucas, a member of the Florida's Writer Association, and a 1983 graduate of the University of Central Florida, has completed extensive courses in Radio and Television Broadcasting and Journalism, in addition to spending thousands of hours reading articles, interviews, and books on the history and background of television--researching its actors, writers, and producers, as well as episode titles, special guest stars, and original air dates.
In March, 1978, Lucas purchased one of the first VCR's on the market at a cost of $1,200 in order to record the series finale of The Carol Burnett Show. Thus began a 1,500 plus video collection at a time when blank tapes cost $25 each. Nevertheless, Lucas remained undeterred and amassed a collection of sitcoms, dramas, and specials that remain in his collection today.
His love of television and those who were part of its illustrious history prompted Lucas to write his first book in 2006. Lucas recently completed the second in a series called Living Room Legends: Chat's with TV's Famous Faces. Some of the celebrities featured in this edition are Jim Nabors, Donna Douglas, Phyllis Diller, and Pat Priest. The book will soon be available on Kindle and Nook through Serendipity Media Group. The author recently embarked on another edition, and is now in the process of interviewing more "Living Room Legends".
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A light, breezy summer read,
By Kasey G (Toronto, ON) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Close-Ups (Paperback)
Close-Ups is the kind of book you can breeze through it a day or two. It is written in a laid-back style and basically the chapters are transcripts of conversations the author has had with various TV personalities (mostly character actors) from some of the classic TV shows of the '50s '60s and '70s. There are some interesting tidbits here and there but those looking for behind-the-scenes "dirt" will be disappointed.Being a big fan of Alice Ghostley, I was delighted to hear from her but wish there were more details, although she was rather ill when the interview was given and passed away not long after. It was also nice to hear from Stanley Livingston, Kaye Ballard, Peter Lupus, Lynn Borden and Ray Fulmer (who both had nothing but good things to say about "Hazel" star Shirley Booth). Some of the stars I was not that familiar with (Jon Provost, the fellow from the Waltons, and the western stars) but this was a fun read and I would recommend it to fans of Classic TV who hunger for more details about their favorite old stars/shows that aren't going to be found elsewhere.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A real treat for baby boomer TV fans,
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This review is from: Close-Ups (Paperback)
If you have fond memories of the classic TV shows of the 1950s to 1970s, you're going to love Eddie Lucas' interview collection. Lucas' book makes you feel as if you're sitting down for a cozy chat with stars like FATHER KNOWS BEST's Elinor Donahue, MY THREE SONS' Stanley Livingston, THE JEFFERSONS' Marla Gibbs, and more. Because Lucas knows the shows so well, he doesn't have to rely on generic or vague questions. The author's respect and affection for these shows and their stars is evident, and the actors respond to his sincere interest with thoughtful and lively answers to his questions. If the list of actors and TV shows covered piques your interest, by all means pick this up. You won't be disappointed.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nostalgic & Warm,
By
This review is from: Close-Ups (Paperback)
Eddie Lucas has assembled a collection of interviews with past television personalities that is both easy-to-read and fun. From Peter "The Big Valley" Breck's candid and humorous recollections to Elinor "Father Knows Best" Donahue's pleasant yet revealing insights, CLOSEUPS is a great way to learn some behind-the-scenes details about some of TV's best-loved shows and personalities. Eddie asks important technical questions related to work schedules, location shoots, filming techniques, but he also concentrates on his subjects' memories of those performers no longer with us, like Robert Young, Liz Montgomery, Shirley Booth, and Don Knotts.But Lucas also succeeds as an interviewer when his subjects share personal information about themselves. The interviews with Peter Lupus, who offers great, detailed autobiographical information, and Alice Ghostley, whose tender interview would become her final one, are favorites of mine. Particularly, I was happy to read the origin of her "Black Man! Black Man!" song from "Designing Women." This book also reveals the reasons behind the terminations of some series---I never knew the Shirley Booth pulled the plug on "Hazel"---I thought it ended because the final season ran without Whitney Blake and Don DeFore. You'll learn other facts like that, including cast changes, relationships among actors, and the subjects' favorite episodes from their own series. There's even the actors from "What's Happenin'" for those with an interest in shows later than the 1950s and 60s golden era. What a fun read!
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