Category Archives: Interviews

TV broadcaster Bill Moyers regarded the elite as the enemy

Posted on June 26, 2025 by admin

By Ray Bennett Veteran TV newsman Bill Moyers,  former New York Newsday publisher and press secretary to President Lyndon Johnson, has died aged 91. As a broadcaster, he often spun off bestselling books from his TV productions and in 1989 … Continue reading →

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The look on Anne Murray’s face was one of sheer terror

Posted on June 20, 2025 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – One of Canada’s most successful singers, Anne Murray, who turns 80 today, became a huge international entertainer but she told me two things had made her nervous – performing in Las Vegas and at the … Continue reading →

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Frederick Forsyth did more than write great thrillers

Posted on June 9, 2025 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – English writer Frederick Forsyth, who died today aged 86, not only wri0te  clever and exciting thrillers such as ‘Day of the Jackal’ (starring Edward Fox, above)  and ‘The Odessa file’, he also was prescient about … Continue reading →

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When US TV censored hip-swinging Tom Jones

Posted on June 7, 2025 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Fans of “The Voice” might not suspect that the venerable Sir Tom Jones, who turns  85  today, was censored on American television when he was younger. His show “This is Tom Jones” aired on the … Continue reading →

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Tony Curtis on Cary Grant, Kirk Douglas and more

Posted on June 3, 2025 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Nobody loved being a movie star more than Tony Curtis, who was born on this day 100 years ago and who died in 2010, and as he got older he liked nothing more than to … Continue reading →

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Life wasn’t always easy for Loretta Swit on ‘M*A*S*H’

Posted on May 30, 2025 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Loretta Swit, who has died aged 87, is remembered fondly for playing ‘Hot Lips’ Houlihan in ‘M*A*S*H’ on TV for eleven years but life on that show wasn’t always easy for her. It was a … Continue reading →

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Bernard Slade: From ‘Bewitched’ to Broadway

Posted on May 2, 2025 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Bernard Slade, who was born on this day in 1930, created TV shows such as “The Flying Nun” and “The Partridge Family” but he had his greatest success with the smash hit Broadway play “Same … Continue reading →

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The time I asked Robert Wagner about mortality

Posted on February 10, 2025 by admin

By Ray Bennett “What the hell kind of question is that?” It’s 1985 and I’m sitting with Robert Wagner, who turns 95 today, in his luxury trailer on the Warner Bros. lot where he was making the shortlived TV series … Continue reading →

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Stuart Margolin and James Garner: ‘a perfect friendship’

Posted on January 31, 2025 by admin

By Ray Bennett Stuart Margolin, born on this day in 1940, was one of the great screen sidekicks working regularly with James Garner. Traditionally, in film and on TV, there have been two kinds of heroes – loners and those … Continue reading →

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John Hurt on the importance to acting of imagination

Posted on January 22, 2025 by admin

By Ray Bennett At his elegant home in Chiswick in west London, John Hurt, who was born 85 years ago today, smoked cigarettes contentedly and over a long, relaxed conversation, spoke candidly to me about  many things including the art … Continue reading →

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