Claire Shipman is breathing a bit easier these days, now that her husband—and boss Joe Biden—have once again returned from Iraq safe and sound.

Interviewed on Army Wife Talk Radio, the senior national correspondent for ABC News’ Good Morning America discusses what it’s like having a spouse in a war zone.

Claire: Salutes America's military.

“My husband changed jobs recently, and he’s now gone to work for Vice President Biden,” says Claire of Jay Carney, assistant to and director of communications for the veep, who formerly served as Time magazine’s Washington bureau chief.

“He’s now been to Iraq twice and Read the rest of this entry »

If Marla “The FlyLady” Cilley isn’t the world’s greatest home-organization guru, we dare you to find someone more deserving of the title. But good luck with that, because she’s not only co-author of the 2007 bestseller Body Clutter: Love Your Body, Love Yourself and author of 2002’s ever-popular Sink Reflections: FlyLady’s Babystep Guide to Overcoming Chaos, she holds the record for world’s largest Yahoo! user group. Last year, Marla’s online community (aka “FlyBabies”) surged past the 500,000-member mark, and currently attracts fans from all 50 U.S. states, as well as 78 nations. And each week on her top-rated FlyLady and Friends show, the Ashville, N.C., resident offers loyal listeners her trademark tough-love tips on organizing, economizing and streamlining daily domestic tasks, while keeping the kids happy, healthy and immersed in their studies. But enough promotional clutter. Time to get to the woman we here at the network often refer to as BlogTalkRadio’s very own Oprah…

Marla: Organization chops galore.

Give us a 15-second pitch for your show—why should listeners tune in?

Are you living in CHAOS—afflicted by Can’t Have Anyone Over Syndrome? Need help cleaning your home? Come join FlyLady and get your wings to fly!

Tell us something listeners would be surprised to learn about you?

I used to teach Read the rest of this entry »

Smear on that sun-block and slap on those shades and because tonight on The Daily Mix, the stars are comin’ out in spades.

And if you’re lucky enough to snag a seat for this cavalcade of A-listers, here’s a sampling of what you’ll learn:

"She was one of the most well-proportioned women I've ever seen," Tony tells us of one-time flame Marilyn (above).

—When—as Tony Curtis himself recounts—legendary costume designer Orry-Kelly told Marilyn Monroe, “You know, Tony Curtis has a better- looking a - - than yours,” how the iconic blonde bombshell responded.

—Why racing legend Janet Gutherie—the first woman to compete in the Indy 500— feels compelled to point out,“The fact that you don’t have broad shoulders and big muscles doesn’t matter.”

—Which Sopranos castmember tells us, “One day, I was standing there with Vinny Pastore and Michael Imperioli, and Read the rest of this entry »

Unbeknownst to most of the world, Ken Norton recently suffered cardiac arrest.

But don’t fret: The one-time heavyweight champ is still spry when it comes to sizing up his old nemesis, Muhammad Ali.

Norton: Recovering nicely from August trauma.

Interviewed exclusively on The Final Word with JayReelz & J.D., Norton tells hosts Jason Nazario and J.D. Valladares:

“Lately, I’ve been doing nothing. I had a heart attack…about a month ago.

“In fact, Read the rest of this entry »

Leslie in '57, looking a bit less Lee Strasberg—and more Jerry Lewis.

Though most under-40 moviegoers know Leslie Nielsen as that funnyman from the Naked Gun flicks, he began his career hoping to follow in the footsteps of such heavies as Marlon Brando, Monty Clift and Paul Newman.

But all that changed when co-star Debbie Reynolds encouraged him to tackle an unfamiliar genre.

Interviewed on Movie Addict Headquarters, Debbie recalls how Leslie initially balked at signing on for the 1957 musical rom-com Tammy and the Bachelor.

“Leslie was fresh from New York. He came from The Actors Studio and he thought doing Tammy—a simple little story with a goat and Walter Brennan and Debbie Reynolds—was really corny,” she tells host Betty Jo Tucker.

“He didn’t want Read the rest of this entry »

Upon hearing that a new novel titled Selfless tells the story of Jonathan Schwartz, a 12-year-old boy who, after accidentally telling his bar mitzvah class one of his grandma’s favorite jokes, is propelled into a world of grand theft, espionage, abandonment, suicide and sexual high jinx, you might wonder if this were a posthumous work by Saul Bellow.

And upon hearing that the joke in question goes, “What is a Jew doing looking in an ashtray? Examining his family tree!” you might venture that the more likely scribe is Philip Roth.

David: Daringly funny fiction pick.

But in both cases, you’d be wrong. For the author of this 415-page tale, which Jewish Book World has called “a side-splitting tour-de-force,” is David Michael Slater.

Selflesscan also boast being Blurb! Book of the Week winner, as selected by our resident criticsSally Shields and Dr. Kent.

Like his protagonist, David was Read the rest of this entry »

Seems there was a method to Dr. Spock’s logic—but it almost drove one of his fellow Star Trek-ers mad.

Interviewed on SciFiPulse, veteran screen beauty Celeste Yarnall, who played Yeoman Martha Landon on a 1967 episode of the classic sci-fi series, recalls working with William Shatner, who played Captain Kirk, and Leonard Nimoy, who played Spock.

Celeste: Victim of Vulcan's cold shoulder.

“Bill had such an amazing sense of humor, and I adored his wife, Liz. We were very good friends,” she tells host Ian Cullen.

“And I mentioned it to Liz. I said, ‘I just get his sense of humor. His sense of humor’s too fast for me. I go, ‘Oh, wait a minute, I got it!’

“It was just so much fun to work with Bill. On the other hand, Spock was Read the rest of this entry »

Demond Wilson may have played a junkman on Sanford and Son, but did the Peacock network have to treat him like one?

No, says the actor, who in a new book dishes about the injustices he says he and co-star Redd Foxx endured during their classic ’70s sitcom’s five year-run.

"Prior to Redd and I, there was only one black show on TV," Demond (above) tells us. "That was 'The Amos 'N Andy' show."

Interviewed on Your Mental Health, Demond previews Second Banana: The Bittersweet Memories of Sanford and Son, which just shipped from the printer on Friday.

“I have been silent for over 30 years. I have not spoken out against Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s a newsflash you don’t stumble across much these days: Old-school media isn’t going the way of hoop skirts, gas lamps and horse-drawn carriages anytime soon.

In fact, it’s poised to thrive in our ever-engulfing digital age.

“People will start feeling so overloaded by information that they’ll have to start making choices,” Jean (above) tells us.

So say media gurus from both sides of the equation who spoke today in Manhattan at “Don’t Write Them Off: Television, Newspapers, Magazines, Radio Reinvented,” an Algonquin 3.0 conference hosted by Kaplow Communications President Liz Kaplow.

On the panel at the event (which was streamed live on BlogTalkRadio and Ustream.tv) were Jean Chatzky, financial editor for NBC’s Today show and a columnist for New York’s Daily News; Lincoln Millstein, Hearst Newspapers’ senior vice president for digital media; Lesley Jane Seymour,editor-in-chief of More magazine, Sree Sreenivasan,new media professor at Columbia Journalism School and host of BlogTalkRadio’s SAJA; and BlogTalkRadio CEO Alan Levy.

Following are highlights from the panelists. Read the rest of this entry »

When you tune into The Spanky Brown Show, be prepared for anything, all of it outrageous. From his James Brown-inspired opening track to his twisted entertainment-news updates to his rambunctious confabs with fellow comedians, the funnyman is incapable of delivering a dull moment. What’s more, the Memphis resident, who’s regularly featured on BET’s Comic View, frequently hosts his BTR show from clubs across America where he’s performing. So don’t be surprised to hear a gaggle of listeners giggling in the background. Until then, please put your hands together for Mr. Spanky Brown...

Spanky: Kickin' it old-school style.

Give us a 15-second pitch for your show—why should listeners tune in?

I’m on a one-man mission to put the comedy back into comedy, and get rid of the celebrity. Some of the funniest people in this business are the ones most Americans have never heard of. These are the people I’m fortunate to know, and try to interview as often as possible.

Tell us two things listeners would be surprised to learn about you?

I’m a minister’s son. And I love Read the rest of this entry »