Ken’s guest is John Pike, the longtime president of Paramount Television in the ‘80’s & ‘90s. Most people don’t know this but John played an instrumental role in the creation of FRASIER. That and CHEERS take up most of part-one of this fascinating two-part interview.
9 comments :
I'll miss the Oscar podcast, but I understand. If you're not enjoying the process, then it's just not worth the effort.
Thanks. Looking forward to Part 2.
Fascinating interview! I learned a lot, too.
Vintage Show Biz stories sometimes contradict each other. On the DVD commentary for 'Summer School,' Carl Reiner and Mark Harmon say that someone from Cheers asked them to see footage of Kirstie Alley playing comedy in that movie when they were considering casting Kirstie on Cheers.
Mr. Pike says Kirstie Alley had no previous comedy role.
At 11:38, John Pike says that Kirstie Alley's last role of consequence before Cheers was as a "bald-headed woman on Star Trek," but he's confusing Alley with the late Persis Khambatta from the first Trek feature film in 1979. Alley had hair, plenty of it, as well as pointy ears, in her role in the second Trek movie in 1982.
Kosmo 13: Depending on how funny you believe Summer School to be (Roger Ebert found it "listless, leisurely and unspirited"), both statements could be true.
Loved the interview.
Madolyn Smith-Osborne.
Husband Mark played in the NHL. Was on the same line with Eddie Olczyk when they were teammates.
@Kosmo13 and @gottacook: Mr. Pike gets several small details mixed up in this interview. Getting his perspective on that period is very worthwhile, but I wouldn't take his comments as a reference source.
I was pleasantly surprised at how plain spoken and relatable he was, perhaps, that is the secret of Paramount's success.
Whoa, that was over way too soon. Thank goodness there's a part two.
As for the Oscar review, if, on some day far distant, I can make myself give a crap about the Oscars again, I'll probably be the first to ask you to bring it back. But as things are now...? In the words of Lowell Ganz & Babaloo Mandel in "Mr. Saturday Night": "If it's over... let it be over."
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