Ken talks with actress Nancy Travis about her career, her process, her ups and downs, and lots of fun stories along the way. Nancy is very candid and you’re going to love her.
There's been talk Fox may revive "Last Man Standing," which I've been watching in syndication and is a likable show. (Yes, Tim Allen does present some of his libertarian political views, but does it in a tongue-in-cheek manner befitting his character.) Nancy has fine chemistry with him, too -- there's plenty of give-and-take between her and Tim.) We'll see what happens.
In a previous post, I said that Harry Anderson was a person that if I saw, I KNEW he'd be good. I feel the same about Nancy Travis. I even enjoyed just hearing her in "Duckman" (talk about a thankless part!). Thanks so much for having her on your show. I've been a fan of hers for longer than I knew, having seen "Three Men and a Baby" and "Internal Affairs".
FRIDAY QUESTION: Spike Milligan said that the first two seasons of "The Goon Show" radio program had "...the promise of electricity yet to come", which was to say that there was something there, but it hadn't quite jelled yet. It eventually did and ran for another seven years.. I felt that way about "The Seinfeld Chronicles", which, of course, came together wonderfully as "Seinfeld", or "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip", which had a lot of good stuff, but didn't quite take off.
What shows do or did have "...electricity yet to come" for you, whether it did or didn't succeed?
Thank you for providing this wonderful insight into Nancy Travis and her career from her perspective. Some of us already "love her" and this interview provides ample evidence of why.
I had the joy of interviewing Nancy on the set of "The Vanishing" years ago for a behind-the-scenes documentary I was producing. What a joy ... she was a great interview ... and such a bright, funny woman with nary a "diva" bone in her body! Lovely to hear Nancy with Ken, two friends and co-workers talking easily about maneuvering the shark infested show business waters!!.
John Ford was quoted by Robert Wise as saying that the reason that John Wayne was successful in his pictures, but not always in other directors was limiting the number of speeches that he had in a script, or as he put it, "That's the secret with actors. Don't let any of them talk!"
I feel roughly the same way about interviews. When a guest is booked, I want to hear THEM, not the interviewer. There are shows (iWTF with Marc Maron, i.e) that end up being ALMOST dialogue and not an interview. When you did have a long anecdote, it was pertinent to the discussion.
So, to paraphrase "The West Wing", thank you for "letting Travis be Travis".
That was a great interview, Ken. I love Nancy Travis and she was just wonderful in ALMOST PERFECT. I loved that show so much, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a show that had so many hilarious characters so perfectly cast. The reboot idea was terrific!
Karen You will not be disappointed. Ken and David Issacs have got to be the absolute best at creating hilarious characters; not only in ALMOST PERFECT but also in BIG WAVE DAVE’S, which has episodes available on YouTube also.
Nancy Travis is indeed a very good actress. I loved her particularly in Becker when she replaced Terry Farrell (who I also really liked). As the show progressed Nancy T was outstanding and turned out to be a very good pick.
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There's been talk Fox may revive "Last Man Standing," which I've been watching in syndication and is a likable show. (Yes, Tim Allen does present some of his libertarian political views, but does it in a tongue-in-cheek manner befitting his character.) Nancy has fine chemistry with him, too -- there's plenty of give-and-take between her and Tim.) We'll see what happens.
ReplyDeleteIn a previous post, I said that Harry Anderson was a person that if I saw, I KNEW he'd be good. I feel the same about Nancy Travis. I even enjoyed just hearing her in "Duckman" (talk about a thankless part!). Thanks so much for having her on your show. I've been a fan of hers for longer than I knew, having seen "Three Men and a Baby" and "Internal Affairs".
ReplyDeleteFRIDAY QUESTION: Spike Milligan said that the first two seasons of "The Goon Show" radio program had "...the promise of electricity yet to come", which was to say that there was something there, but it hadn't quite jelled yet. It eventually did and ran for another seven years.. I felt that way about "The Seinfeld Chronicles", which, of course, came together wonderfully as "Seinfeld", or "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip", which had a lot of good stuff, but didn't quite take off.
What shows do or did have "...electricity yet to come" for you, whether it did or didn't succeed?
A character in the latest Lee Goldberg novel worked on a show named "Hollywood And The Vine", a name probably derived from your podcast series.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Ken! MAJOR crush on Nancy Travis. So much so I'm writing this before listening to the interview.
ReplyDeleteThank you for providing this wonderful insight into Nancy Travis and her career from her perspective. Some of us already "love her" and this interview provides ample evidence of why.
ReplyDeleteI had the joy of interviewing Nancy on the set of "The Vanishing" years ago for a behind-the-scenes documentary I was producing. What a joy ... she was a great interview ... and such a bright, funny woman with nary a "diva" bone in her body! Lovely to hear Nancy with Ken, two friends and co-workers talking easily about maneuvering the shark infested show business waters!!.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ken, can't wait to listen to it. I have always liked Nancy Travis. She seems so "real" to me (whatever that means)
ReplyDeleteBy the way, thanks for being a good interviewer!
ReplyDeleteJohn Ford was quoted by Robert Wise as saying that the reason that John Wayne was successful in his pictures, but not always in other directors was limiting the number of speeches that he had in a script, or as he put it, "That's the secret with actors. Don't let any of them talk!"
I feel roughly the same way about interviews. When a guest is booked, I want to hear THEM, not the interviewer. There are shows (iWTF with Marc Maron, i.e) that end up being ALMOST dialogue and not an interview. When you did have a long anecdote, it was pertinent to the discussion.
So, to paraphrase "The West Wing", thank you for "letting Travis be Travis".
Great episode, I'm not familiar with her work, but she presented herself well.
ReplyDeleteThat was a great interview, Ken. I love Nancy Travis and she was just wonderful in ALMOST PERFECT. I loved that show so much, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a show that had so many hilarious characters so perfectly cast. The reboot idea was terrific!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting interview! I've never seen Almost Perfect, but would certainly like to.
ReplyDeleteI've posted many episodes of ALMOST PERFECT on YouTube. Check them out.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip....I will certainly check them out.
ReplyDeleteKaren
ReplyDeleteYou will not be disappointed. Ken and David Issacs have got to be the absolute best at creating hilarious characters; not only in ALMOST PERFECT but also in BIG WAVE DAVE’S, which has episodes available on YouTube also.
Thank you. Well done.
ReplyDeleteAnother very interesting interview.
Nancy Travis is indeed a very good actress. I loved her particularly in Becker when she replaced Terry Farrell (who I also really liked). As the show progressed Nancy T was outstanding and turned out to be a very good pick.
James
@Diane D - thanks for the additional endorsement. You have inspired me to dig deeper into the archives of YouTube.
ReplyDelete