Author Archives: admin

When I spoke to Wonder Woman, she had no clothes on …

Posted on November 9, 2025 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Lynda Carter, in her ‘Wonder Woman’ prime, stepped naked and wet from the shower as I said ‘hello’ to begin our interview about life after three seasons as TV’s top female superhero. Disappointingly for me, … Continue reading →

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Recalling Michael Conrad, Hill Street’s articulate sergeant

Posted on October 16, 2025 by admin

By Ray Bennett The only word for Michael Conrad, the American actor born on this day 100 years ago, who played veteran cop Sgt. Phil Esterhaus in the long-running U.S. crime series ‘Hill Street Blues’ in the early Eighties, was … Continue reading →

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That time on set with Mickey Rooney and Jackie Cooper

Posted on September 23, 2025 by admin

By Ray Bennett In March 1981 I was at the CBS Studio Center on Radford Avenue in Studio City watching two legendary former child stars working together again. Mickey Rooney and Jackie Cooper had co-starred with Freddie Bartholomew in the … Continue reading →

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How I helped keep Bill Murray subversive

Posted on September 21, 2025 by admin

By Ray Bennett I had a bone to pick with Bill Murray, who turns 75 today. It was 1990 and all the rebellious early comedians on “Saturday Night Live” appeared to have lost their way. From radical satire they’d moved … Continue reading →

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When Topol stood me up to go off to war

Posted on September 9, 2025 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ star Chaim Topol cancelled my interview with him in June 1967 but he had a very good reason. He left his starring role of Tevye in the hit West End production … Continue reading →

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Why Emma Samms took nude scenes on TV in stride

Posted on August 28, 2025 by admin

By Ray Bennett Emma Samms, who turns 65 today, was one of the hottest young actresses on American television in 1985 when she segued from playing Holly Sutton on the daytime soap opera ‘General Hospital’ to replacing Pamela Sue Martin … Continue reading →

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Jill St. John wanted to share recipes but not Robert Wagner

Posted on August 19, 2025 by admin

By Ray Bennett Jill St. John, who turns 85 today, has brightened big and small screens in countless TV shows and movies including her big splash as the first American James Bond girl, Tiffany Case, in ‘Diamonds Are Forever’ opposite … Continue reading →

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When Steve Martin became my biggest fan

Posted on August 14, 2025 by admin

By Ray Bennett Carl Reiner greeted me in his hotel room in Toronto and said, ‘Steve Martin is your No. 1 fan.’ Performers become fans of critics, of course, only when we write something they like. Their film ‘All of … Continue reading →

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Giggling over lunch with the great Cleo Laine

Posted on July 25, 2025 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – It was lunchtime at the Hotel Pontchartrain  in Detroit and things were getting a bit silly. Cleo Laine, who has died aged 97, was talking about Kurt Weill and the Berliner Ensemble when someone mentioned … Continue reading →

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Terror in London: From joy to agony in a single day

Posted on July 7, 2025 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – It’s no great surprise in London when your local Underground station is closed. It’s a creaky old system and there’s never enough money, so you shrug and start walking. But on Thursday morning, July 7 … Continue reading →

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