Harvey Brownstone Interviews... – Details, episodes & analysis

Harvey Brownstone conducts an in-depth Interview with Legendary Actor, William H. Macy

About Harvey's guest:

Today’s special guest, William H. Macy, is a renowned and highly acclaimed, beloved actor, writer, director and producer whose stellar and prolific body of work includes some of the most iconic movies and TV shows ever made. 

His most popular movies include “Mr. Holland’s Opus”, “Fargo”, “Ghosts of Mississippi”, “Boogie Nights”, “Air Force One”, “Pleasantville”, “Happy, Texas”, “Magnolia”, “Jurassic Park 3”, “The Cooler”, “Seabiscuit”, and so many more.   On TV, you’ve seen him in dozens of shows including “ER”, “Sports Night”, “Versailles” and “Law & Order”, in which he appeared in the pilot episode. 

And of course, who can ever forget him as the hopelessly exasperating “Frank Gallagher” on the mega-hit TV series “Shameless”, for which he received a whole slew of awards in addition to being nominated for 6 Emmy Awards and 2 Golden Globe Awards. 

And he’s starred in some of my favourite TV movies and miniseries including “The Awakening Land”, “The Cradle Will Fall”, “The Water Engine”, “A Slight Case of Murder”, “The Wool Cap”, “Reversible Errors”, “The Dropout” and many more. The list of accolades that our guest has received is jaw dropping.  

He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his unforgettable portrayal of “Jerry Lundergard” in “Fargo”. He’s been nominated for 5 Golden Globe Awards and 15 Emmy Awards, and he’s won 2 Emmys – both were for his work as a writer and lead actor in the highly acclaimed TV movie “Door to Door”.  He’s received 12 Screen Actors Guild Award nominations and won 4 – one for his performance in “Door to Door”, and 3 for “Shameless”. 

He’s received 11 Satellite Award Nominations and won 5, for his work in “A Slight Case of Murder”, “Happy Texas”, “Door to Door”, and “Shameless”. He’s won dozens of prestigious film festival awards including the Maverick Tribute Award, the John Cassavetes Award, the Stanley Kramer Social Artist Award, and he’s been inducted into the Online Film and Television Association Hall of Fame, in addition to receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 

For more interviews and podcasts go to: https://www.harveybrownstoneinterviews.com/

To learn more about William H. Macy, go to:

https://www.instagram.com/williamhmacy/

https://x.com/williamhmacy

@harveybrownstone,#harveybrownstone,@harveybrownstoneinterviews,#harveybrownstoneinterviews,#williamhmacy,@williamhmacy,#AirForceOne,#MrHollandsOpus,#Fargo,#GhostsofMississippi,#BoogieNights,#Pleasantville,#JurassicPark3,#TheCooler,#Seabiscuit,#ER,#Law&Order,#FrankGallagher,#Shameless,#TheCradleWillFall,#TheWaterEngine,#DoortoDoor,#HappyTexas,#DavidMamet,#BurtReynolds,#TheCon,#cerebralpalsy,#JackieGleason,#PhilipSeymourHofman,#FelicityHuffman

Harvey Brownstone conducts an in-depth Interview with Acclaimed Actor, John Shea, “Lex Luthor” – “New Adventures of Superman”

About Harvey's guest:

Today’s guest, John Shea, is a highly acclaimed and beloved actor, writer, producer and director who’s been entertaining audiences on stage, in movies and on television in a stellar career spanning 5 decades. 

Of course, we all remember him as “Hank Zaret” on “W-I-O-U”, “Lex Luthor” in “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman”, “Harold Waldorf” in “Gossip Girl”, “Thomas Eckart” on “Agent X”, and “Adam Kane” on “Mutant X”, for which he was nominated for a Gemini Award for Best Actor.  

But well beyond those roles, our guest has demonstrated remarkable versatility and has delivered a whole slew of memorable performances in every medium. On Broadway, he appeared in “Romeo and Juliet”, “End of the World” and “Yentl”, for which he received a Theatre World Award. And he received a Drama Desk Award for his performance in "American Days", and an Obie Award for his performance in "The Dining Room". 

In London’s West End, he starred in “The Normal Heart” and “Long Day’s Journey Into Night”, and at Carnegie Hall, he appeared in “The Soldier’s Tale”.   

On the big screen, he’s appeared in many movies including “Hussy”, “Missing”, “Windy City”, for which he was named Best Actor at the Montreal International Film Festival, “Honeymoon”, “Once We Were Dreamers”, “Honey I Blew Up the Kid”, “The Insurgents”, “An Invisible Sign”, “The Trouble with the Truth”, and “Southie” (1998) and “Grey Lady”, both of which he co-starred in, co-wrote and directed.  

And on television, in addition to the shows I already mentioned, you’ve seen him in “Alfred Hitchcock Presents”, “The Hitchhiker”, for which he received a Cable Ace Award nomination, “Sex and the City”, “Law & Order”, “The Good Wife”, “Madam Secretary”, “Blue Bloods” and many more. And he’s co-starred in numerous great TV movies and miniseries including “Family Reunion”, “Kennedy”, “Hitler's S.S.: Portrait in Evil”, “A Case of Deadly Force”, “The Impossible Spy”, “Notorious”, “Ladykiller” and of course, the multi-award winning miniseries “Baby M” (1988), for which he won a well-deserved Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor. 

And if all of that weren’t enough, our guest is also a founding member of the Nantucket Film Festival, and he’s the Artistic Director Emeritus of the Nantucket Theatre Workshop.

For more interviews and podcasts go to: https://www.harveybrownstoneinterviews.com/

To learn more about John Shea, go to:

https://www.instagram.com/theofficialjohnshea/

@harveybrownstone,#harveybrownstone,@harveybrownstoneinterviews,#harveybrownstoneinterviews,#JohnShea,@JohnShea,#theofficialjohnshea,@theofficialjohnshea,@LexLuthor,#Superman,#GossipGirl,#AgentX,#MutantX,#RomeoandJuliet,#EndoftheWorld,#Yentl,#SexandtheCity,#MerylStreep,#LeeStrasberg,#IndianaJones,#BetteDavis,#RobertFKennedy,#HitlersSS,#EliCohen,#AlanAlda,#MickJagger,#Law&Order,#TheGoodWife,#MadamSecretary,#BlueBloods

Harvey Brownstone conducts an in-depth Interview with Peter K. Ackerman, Author, Son of Classic TV Producer Harry Ackerman and Actress Elinor Donahue

About Harvey's guest:

Today’s guest, Peter K. Ackerman, is descended from Hollywood royalty. He grew up in the 1960s, as close as anyone can, to the world of classic television, at the height of his parents’ careers. 

His father was the legendary television producer Harry Ackerman, who brought us many classic TV shows including “I Love Lucy”, “Hazel”, “Dennis the Menace”, “The Donna Reed Show”, “Leave it to Beaver”, “Bewitched”, “The Flying Nun, “Gidget”, and many more shows.  

And his mother is the popular and beloved Emmy-nominated actress Elinor Donahue, who starred in many classic TV shows. She played “Betty Anderson”, the eldest child on “Father Knows Best”, she was “Ellie Walker” the pharmacist on “The Andy Griffith Show”, she played Felix Unger’s girlfriend “Miriam Welby” in “The Odd Couple”, she was “Kate Honeycutt” in “Days of our Lives”, she played “Gladys Peterson” in “Get a Life”, and every fan of “Star Trek: The Original Series” knows her as “Nancy Hedford” from the season 2 episode entitled “Metamorphosis”. She also guest starred in many other popular TV shows including “Newhart”, “Happy Days”, “Friends” and “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman”. And who can ever forget her as “Bridget”, the nice saleslady in the department store who helps Julia Roberts in “Pretty Woman”?  

Our guest has had a fascinating career, first following in his parents’ footsteps, as an actor, then in production for TV commercials, music videos featuring iconic stars like Madonna, Aerosmith, Janet Jackson and Peter Frampton, and then in television production, working on classic shows like “Full House” and “Friends”, before leaving show business and finding his true calling in the church, and becoming an Episcopal priest in 2007.  

He’s here to discuss his brand new book – which I absolutely loved - entitled, “Mom, Dad, Me and Classic TV: Growing Up with Classic Television’s Harry Ackerman and Elinor Donahue”.  

For more interviews and podcasts go to: https://www.harveybrownstoneinterviews.com/

#PeterKAckerman  #harveybrownstoneinterviews

Harvey Brownstone conducts an in-depth interview with the son of the Legendary Audrey Hepburn, Sean Hepburn Ferrer 

About Harvey's guest: 

Today’s guest, Sean Hepburn Ferrer, is the son of one of the most talented, respected, revered and beloved cinematic legends and humanitarians:  Audrey Hepburn.    

In classic films like “Roman Holiday”, “Sabrina”, “War and Peace”, “Funny Face”, “Love in the Afternoon”, “The Nun’s Story”, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”, “The Children’s Hour”, “My Fair Lady”, “Wait Until Dark” and many more, Audrey Hepburn dazzled, inspired and enchanted us.  And she captivated our hearts with her iconic beauty, vulnerability, sincerity and incomparable empathy, which underscored and motivated everything she did.    

She received 5 Academy Award nominations and won the Oscar for Best Actress for “Roman Holiday”.  And after her passing, the Academy bestowed the Jean Herscholt Humanitarian Award upon her, posthumously, which our guest accepted on her behalf.   

Audrey Hepburn was one of the first people to be an EGOT winner.  She won an Oscar, a Grammy, an Emmy, and 2 Tony Awards.  She also won dozens of other awards including 3 BAFTA Awards and 3 Golden Globe Awards, including the Cecil B. DeMille Award.  And the American Film Institute named her the third greatest female screen legend of all time.   She was the first celebrity to have her own fragrance, called “L’interdit”, created by Givenchy in 1967.   But beyond all of that – beyond her iconic beauty, glamour, fashion sense, elegance and warmth, there was Audrey Hepburn the monumentally generous humanitarian.  She was the truly the walking definition of “the milk of human kindness”.  She never forgot that, immediately after the war, an organization which later became UNICEF, brought food, medicine and clothing to her community in Holland, where she lived as a child during the Nazi occupation.   

And so, in the last 6 years of her life, as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF, she made numerous trips to the world’s most impoverished and war-torn countries, especially in Africa, advocating passionately and tirelessly on behalf of the children being devasted by disease, famine and genocide.  President George Bush Sr. presented her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in recognition of her contribution to humanity.  And if you go to the UNICEF Headquarters in New York, you will see a beautiful statue called “The Spirit of Audrey”.   

Our guest, who is the son of Audrey Hepburn and the iconic actor, director, producer and writer, Mel Ferrer, has had a successful career in the film industry for many years.  Shortly after his beloved mother passed away in 1993, he and his brother Luca created he Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund, a charity that continues the humanitarian work and honours the legacy of his dear mother.  He’s been touring the world with his exhibition, entitled "Intimate Audrey", raising funds for his non-profit organization.   In 2003, he released a wonderfully poignant book entitled, “Audrey Hepburn:  An Elegant Spirit: A Son Remembers”, and all of his royalties went to the Audrey Hepburn Children’s Fund.  And in 2020, he and his wife Karin, published “Little Audrey's Daydream”, a children's book about his mother’s childhood in Nazi-occupied Europe. Proceeds from the book benefit the European Organisation for Rare Diseases. 

For more interviews and podcasts go to: https://www.harveybrownstoneinterviews.com/ 

To see more about Sean Hepburn Ferrer, go to:

https://twitter.com/ferrerhepburn

https://www.instagram.com/seanhepburnferrer/

Harvey Brownstone conducts an in-depth interview with Jeremy Kagan, Acclaimed Director, Screenwriter, Producer, Author & Educator

About Harvey's guest:

Today’s guest, Jeremy Kagan, is a highly acclaimed director, screenwriter, producer, author and educator, whose feature film credits include “Scott Joplin”, “Heroes”, “The Big Fix”, “The Chosen”, which won 3 Jury Prizes at prestigious international film festivals, “The Sting 2”, “The Journey of Natty Gann”, which was the first American film to win a Gold Prize at the Moscow Film Festival, “Golda’s Balcony”, and the exceptionally powerful and compelling movie entitled “SHOT”, which is a must-see film about gun violence in America.  

Some of my favourite of his TV movies are “Katherine”, “Courage”, “Descending Angel”, “Conspiracy: The Trial of the Chicago 8”, which won an ACE Award for Best Dramatic Special, “Roswell: The UFO Cover-Up”, which got a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best TV movie, “Color of Justice”, “Bobbie's Girl”, and “Crown Heights”, which earned him the Directors Guild of America Robert B. Aldrich Achievement Award, and a nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children’s Programs, AND for which he won an NAACP Image Award AND the Humanitas Award for "affirming the dignity of every person".  

He also produced and directed the internationally acclaimed 10 part TV series entitled, “The ACLU Freedom Files”, which won a Special Recognition Award at the Washington Independent Film Festival.   In addition, he’s directed dozens of TV shows including “Columbo”, “Picket Fences”, “Chicago Hope”, for which he won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing, “Ally McBeal”, “Family Law”, “The West Wing”, for which the Online Film and Television Association nominated him for Best Direction of a Drama Series,  AND he directed the pilot for “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman”.  This man’s contributions to the film industry have been monumental.  

He created the Change Making Media Lab, which fosters positive social and environmental change by producing award-winning films dealing with pressing social issues.  He served as the Artistic Director of Robert Redford's Sundance Lab.  And he’s been on the National Board of the Directors Guild, where he is Chairperson of its Special Projects, providing members with educational, cultural and technological information.  Our guest is also an accomplished author.  His books entitled, “Directors Close Up”, Volumes 1, 2 and 3 contain fascinating interviews with renowned film directors.  He also wrote a mesmerizing and inspirational book about his near-death experience, called “My Death: A Personal Guidebook”.  

And he’s written an interactive eTextbook called “Keys to Directing”. He’s a Professor at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, and he’s taught master classes on filmmaking throughout the world.  He’s a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, The Television Academy, The Writers Guild, and The Directors Guild.  

For more interviews and podcasts go to: https://www.harveybrownstoneinterviews.com/

To see more about Jeremy Kagan, go to:

https://www.facebook.com/jeremypkagan/

https://www.instagram.com/jeremypkagan/

https://twitter.com/ainsof

#JeremyKagan  #harveybrownstoneinterviews

Harvey Brownstone conducts an in-depth interview with David Fantle & Tom Johnson, Authors, “C’mon, Get Happy: The Making of Summer Stock”

About Harvey's guest:

Today’s guests,  David Fantle & Tom Johnson, are co-authors who last appeared on our show to discuss their landmark book entitled, “Hollywood Heyday: 75 Candid Interviews with Golden Age Legends”.   The interviews contained in that book were conducted when our guests were mere teenagers living in Minnesota, visiting Hollywood in the hopes of meeting movie stars.  And boy, did they ever!  

Since then, our guests have gone on to have distinguished careers.   David Fantle has been interviewing, writing, and speaking about Hollywood’s Golden Age stars for 45 years, and he’s an adjunct professor of film at Marquette University.  Tom Johnson is a former senior editor at Netflix, and he’s written movie reviews and features for many publications including E! Online, Movie-phone, and People magazine. His writing has been recognized with a Minnesota Newspaper Association achievement award and a National Hearst Foundation award.  

They’re here today to discuss their brand new book entitled, “C’mon, Get Happy: The Making of Summer Stock”.   This well-researched and illuminating book chronicles how Judy Garland’s last MGM movie, and her 3rd and final film with co-star Gene Kelly, was conceived, cast and filmed, despite the troubled atmosphere of drama and heartache, and the sometimes overwhelming obstacles and challenges surrounding the production.  

The book is jam-packed with little-known and newly uncovered details about the people in front of and behind the cameras, and it examines the enduring legacy of the movie, including some fascinating insights provided by Judy Garland’s daughter Lorna Luft, Gene Kelly’s daughter Kerry Kelly Novick, and other celebrities including Savion Glover, Ben Vereen, Tommy Tune and Michael Finestine.   

For more interviews and podcasts go to: https://www.harveybrownstoneinterviews.com/

To see more about David Fantle and Tom Johnson, go to:

https://www.upress.state.ms.us/Books/C/C-mon-Get-Happy

#DavidFantle  #TomJohnson #harveybrownstoneinterviews

Harvey Brownstone conducts an in-depth interview with MAJOR., Music Sensation & Actor

About Harvey's guest:

Today’s guest, MAJOR., is a  phenomenally talented singer, songwriter, actor and humanitarian whose magical voice took the world by storm with his debut multi-platinum hit song entitled “Why I Love You”, which Stevie Wonder called “the wedding song of the year” and went to #5 on the Adult R & B Billboard Chart.  

He’s released 4 stunning albums, containing some of my favourite songs including “Keep On”, “Better With You In It”, “Honest”, “I’ll Keep My Faith”, “A Mother’s Love”, a brilliant reimagining of “Whole World in His Hands”, and his latest single, “Baby Will You Love Me”, from his newly released EP entitled, “The Hope of My Soul”.  His music has had almost a BILLION digital streams, and his live concerts in the most prestigious venues in America are consistently sold out.    

Our guest is also an accomplished actor, who’s appeared on TV in “Masters of Sex”, Legend”, “Star”, “Dear Santa, I Need a Date”, and the highly acclaimed miniseries, “Genius: The Aretha Franklin Story”, in which he portrayed the legendary Curtis Mayfield.   

And if all of that weren’t enough, our guest created a groundbreaking charitable organization, the MAJOR DOT HOPE Foundation, which has the crucially important mandate of instilling, inspiring and amplifying HOPE through entertainment, civic engagement, community development, youth engagement, confidence coaching, philanthropy and much more.   And he’s released 2 spoken word albums that form the philosophical basis for the Foundation.   His music and his message are inspirational, and relatable, and filled with positivity and hope.  

This man, who’s often referred to as “the Hope Dealer”, is well on his way to becoming a legend.  He’s been nominated for a Grammy, 2 Soul Train Awards, and 8 NAACP Image Awards – and believe me, there’s much more to come in this remarkable man’s future.

For more interviews and podcasts go to: https://www.harveybrownstoneinterviews.com/

To see more about MAJOR., go to:

http://nowthatsmajor.com/

http://instagram.com/nowthatsmajor

http://twitter.com/nowthatsmajor

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUogGsOyTyN0PcxpiYZBGAA

https://open.spotify.com/artist/2YjrvPxeToeP8MyPH2Viky

https://music.apple.com/us/artist/major/1116275275

#MAJOR   #harveybrownstoneinterviews

Harvey Brownstone conducts an in-depth interview with Rena Lipiner Katz, Author, “A Life Inherited:  Unraveling the Trauma of a Second Generation Holocaust Survivor”

About Harvey's guest:

Today’s guest, Rena Lipiner Katz, has written a compelling and insightful book about a subject that’s near and dear to my heart.  It’s a memoir entitled, “A Life Inherited:  Unraveling the Trauma of a Second Generation Holocaust Survivor”.  

Born in New York and raised by parents whose lives were irrevocably shaped by the trauma they endured during World War 2, she grew up in the shadow of the atrocities of the Holocaust.  It’s well known that the terror that Holocaust survivors experienced, delivered to MY generation, an overabundance of fear and anxiety, and a predisposition to feel stress.  

Our guest grew up believing that the price of her parents’ survival, and indeed, of her own birth, was a life of sorrow, anxiety and guilt.  In her book, she explores how her parents’ childhood trauma as Holocaust victims, fundamentally shaped her emotional and physiological development.  She chronicles her journey and  her determination to forge a life separate from the legacy of the Holocaust, which she refers to as her “scorched birthright”.  But in order to do that, she had to first understand how her vicarious absorption of her parents’ horrific experiences during the war, impacted her world view, her relationships, and the myriad of choices she made as a child, wife and mother.  

She shares with us, in a very personal way, what it means to be a 2nd generation Holocaust survivor, and how she unravelled and ultimately healed the trauma of her inherited past, and eventually triumphed over tragedy and despair, and found a life filled with meaning, peace of mind and love.

For more interviews and podcasts go to: https://www.harveybrownstoneinterviews.com/

To see more about Rena Lipiner Katz, go to:

https://wilburanddolce.com

https://www.amazon.ca/Life-Inherited-Unraveling-Second-Generation-Holocaust/ 

https://twitter.com/rena4nyc

#RenaLipinerKatz   #harveybrownstoneinterviews

Harvey Brownstone continues his conversation with Louise Sorel, on her Triumphant Return to "Days of Our Lives"

About Harvey's guest:

Today’s guest, Louise Sorel, is making her 2nd appearance on our show.   

Last Spring, while she was busy filming her highly anticipated return as “Vivian Allamain” on the popular daytime drama series, “Days of Our Lives”, she took time out from her filming schedule to grant me an interview.  That interview immediately went viral and was covered by over 25 media outlets.  And now, the episodes that this beloved actress was filming back in the Spring, are now being aired on TV.   I’ve been inundated by thousands of fans, requesting that we invite her back to our show to continue our conversation, and she has graciously agreed.

For more interviews and podcasts go to: https://www.harveybrownstoneinterviews.com/

To see more about Louise Sorel, go to:

https://fr-ca.facebook.com/Louise-Sorel-377801885588638/

https://twitter.com/louisesorel

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0814798/

#louisesorel   #DaysofOurLives  #harveybrownstoneinterviews

Harvey Brownstone conducts an in-depth interview with Scott Page, Renowned Musician with Supertramp, Toto and Pink Floyd

About Harvey's guest:

Today’s guest, Scott Page, is a renowned musician who’s toured and recorded with the legendary bands Supertramp, Toto and Pink Floyd.  

He’s also worked with a wide variety of music artists including David Cassidy, Gorky Park, David Lee Roth, and Hang Dynasty.    But what makes him even more fascinating, are his innovative business ventures in the world of technology, post-production, interactive multi-media, software development, distribution services, and cyberspace management enhancement for content creators.   

For over 30 years he’s been at the leading edge of technology entrepreneurship in the entertainment industry.  In 1987 he founded an audio and video post-production company called Walt Tucker Productions, that produced projects for The Rolling Stones, Bon Jovi, Janet Jackson, Garth Brooks, and many other music stars.  Then, in 1993, he co-founded a company called 7th Level, which created educational entertainment software called “Tuneland” featuring Howie Mandel, and its flagship product, the interactive musical CD/ROM, “Monty Python’s Complete Waste of Time”.  

In 2004, he co-founded the New Media Broadcasting Company, which developed interactive distribution services for content creators and consumers, and created a communications platform connecting diverse audiences, artists and content owners through a collaborative online network.  In 2011, he created a company called Direct To Care, which provided an online social business and presence management network for healthcare professionals.  

And in 2014, he launched GetYourOPI, an online presence management company, focusing on improving cyberspace presence for individuals and entities through analysis of their existing results on internet search engines.  He served as CEO of Ignited Network, a start up music accelerator based in Los Angeles.  And currently, he’s the CEO of THINK-EXP, a  company which is revolutionizing the entertainment industry with technological innovations creating one-of-a-kind, live immersive concert experiences.  

Our guest is also a philanthropist, and he’s used his music to raise millions of dollars for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

For more interviews and podcasts go to: https://www.harveybrownstoneinterviews.com/

To see more about Scott Page, go to:

https://www.instagram.com/iamscottpage/

#ScottPage   #harveybrownstoneinterviews