CooperTalk

Actor Matthew Laurance is best known for starring as Ben Coleman in the Fox sitcom Duet and for his recurring role as Mel Silver on Beverly Hills, 90210. Other roles include playing Sal Amato is Eddie and the Cruisers and Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives, and Ron Dellasandro in St. Elmo's Fire. He was also a regular on Saturday Night Live for one season. He currently is an on-air sports radio personality for ESPN in Lexington, KY. 

Ed Marinaro was a three-time All American at Cornell University and in 1971 was the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy and went on to play in the NFL for the Vikings and Jets. After he retired, he pursued acting. He landed a role in Laverne & Shirley and then went on to play Officer Joe Coffey for 6 seasons on Hill Street Blues. Other credits include Sisters, Dynasty, Falcon Crest, Amy Fisher: My Story, Dream On, Third Watch, Blue Mountain State, The Many Saints of Newark and numerous others.

Al Stewart came to stardom as part of the legendary British folk revival in the sixties and seventies and developed the combination of folk-rock songs with delicately woven tales of the great characters and events from history. He has 19 studio albums between “Bedsitter Images” in 1967 and “Sparks of Ancient Light” in 2008, plus the live album "Uncorked" with Dave Nachmanoff in 2009. He is perhaps best known for his hits ‘Year of the Cat” from the Platinum album of the same name and the Platinum follow up album “Time Passages.” But his career spans four decades as a key figure in British music. He played at the first ever Glastonbury Festival in 1970, worked with Yoko Ono pre-Lennon and shared a London apartment with a young Paul Simon.

Vonda Shepard talks with Steve Cooper. Vonda is best known for her work on Ally McBeal. She was the “Greek Chorus” for Ally’s emotions and thoughts. There were often cover tunes from the 50’s, 60’s and earlier back, but David E. Kelley (the show's creator) would always interweave her original songs throughout the five years of Ally McBeal. She sold over twelve million albums, has won two Golden Globes, two Emmy Awards, two Screen Actor’s Guild awards and recorded nine solo albums. She also holds the Billboard prize for selling the most TV soundtracks in history.  

John Cafferty talks with Steve Cooper. John is best known for his work with John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band who began their career in 1972 and achieved mainstream success in the 1980s with the Eddie & The Cruisers - Motion Picture Soundtrack.  The hit single On the Dark Side held the Number-One position on the Billboard Rock charts and the MTV video charts for five consecutive weeks.  The album sold over 3 million copies and was certified triple Platinum by the RIAA. The title track from the group's 1985 follow-up album Tough All Over became their second Number-One single on the Billboard Rock charts and the song C-I-T-Y reached the Billboard Top 20.  John's solo track Hearts on Fire was featured in the Sylvester Stallone film Rocky IV and he received his second double Platinum soundtrack award.  Over the years John has placed 35 songs in major motion pictures. 

Kenny Wayne Shepherd is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter.  He has released several studio albums and experienced significant commercial success as a blues artist.   From 1995 on, he took seven singles into the Top 10, and holds the record for the longest-running album on the Billboard Blues Charts with Trouble Is... In 1996, he began a longtime collaboration with vocalist Noah Hunt, who provided the vocals for Shepherd's signature song, Blue on Black. He has been nominated for five Grammy Awards and has received two Billboard Music Awards, two Blues Music Awards and two Orville H. Gibson Awards.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Scott Schwartz. Scott is best known for his role as Flick in A Christmas Story and A Christmas Story Christmas and for co-starring with Jackie Gleason and Richard Pryor in The Toy. He's also in appeared in TV shows and movies such as Kidco, A Time to Live, Raiders of the Living Dead, 21 Jump Street and The Comeback Kids.

Rita Rudner is a house-filling favorite in Las Vegas since she opened as one of the hottest tickets in town in June 2000. Over the course of a multi-year run she sold almost two million tickets, grossed over a hundred million dollars and become the longest-running solo female comedy show in the history of Las Vegas. She was named Las Vegas’s Comedian of The Year nine years in a row and in 2006 received The Nevada Ballet’s Woman of the Year Award. In October 2017 she was given the Casino Entertainment Legend Award. Her first solo HBO special, Rita Rudner’s One Night Stand, was nominated for several awards, as was her eponymous English BBC television show that later appeared in the USA on A&E. Her two one-hour specials for HBO, Born to Be Mild and Married Without Children, were ratings standouts and she performed all over the country, filling Carnegie Hall in New York three times. In 2008 Rita Rudner: Live From Las Vegas was PBS’s first ever stand-up comedy special. She has written five books; her bestselling non-fiction titles, Naked Beneath My Clothes, Rita Rudner’s Guide to Men and I Still Have It…I Just Can’t Remember Where I Put It, plus the novels Tickled Pink and Turning the Tables. and recently completed her autobiography, My Life in Dog Years.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Deirdre Lovejoy. Deirdre is best known for her roles as Rhonda Pearlman on HBO's iconic series The Wire and Cynthia Panabaker on The Blacklist. Some of her other TV and film credits include Law & Order: SVU, Big Dogs, Raising Dion, Trollville, The Good Fight, NCIS: New Orleans, I Am Elizabeth Smart, Bull, Elementary, Shameless, American Gothic, Thirsty, Orange Is the New Black, Girls, American Horror Story, Bad Teacher, Bones, The Stepfather and Criminal Minds. She has also appeared in four Broadway productions including Nora Ephron's Lucky Guy starring Tom Hanks. 

Steve Cooper talks with author/model/television personality/actress Karen Duffy. Duff burst onto the scene as a VJ for MTV. She went on to have roles in films including Dumb and Dumber and Blank Check, working as a correspondent for the Michael Moore television shows TV Nation and The Awful Truth, and being a Revlon Charlie Girl as well as the face for Almay Cosmetics. In 1995 she was diagnosed with sarcoidosis and since then has written three popular books and recently was one of the producers on the movie The Greatest Beer Run Ever. 

Steve Cooper talks with Joe Lynn Turner. Joe is best known for being lead singer of Rainbow from 1980-1984 and for his solo career. With Rainbow his vocals powered the seminal Difficult to Cure in 1981, going gold in the UK, France, and Japan in addition to cracking the Top 50 of the Billboard Top 200 and Top 3 on the UK Top Albums Chart. A year later, he ignited their Straight Between the Eyes, which spawned the Hot 100 hit “Stone Cold.” During 1988, a Polygram VP wanted him to extend his writing and singing skills to collaborate with legendary shred virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen for his project Rising Force. Their album, Odyssey, scaled the Top 40 of the Top 200. Not long after, he reteamed with Blackmore for Deep Purple’s Slaves and Masters [1990], reaching gold status in Switzerland and Japan. In addition, he has co-written for and appeared on classics such as Mick Jones’s Mick Jones, Riot’s The Privilege of Power and Lita Ford’s Dangerous Curves, to name a few. Not to mention, he lent his background vocals to Michael Bolton’s double-platinum The Hunger, Cher’s platinum Cher, Billy Joel’s Storm Front [1989], and many more.

Steve Cooper talks with musician Klaus Flouride. Klaus is best known as the bassist and backing vocalist of punk rock legends Dead Kennedys. DK was one of the defining punk bands during their initial run. From 1978-1986 they recorded four albums and then broke up. In 2001 they reformed without original lead singer Jello Biafra and have continued to tour across the USA and Europe.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Rose Abdoo. Rose can currently be seen as Josefina on the HBO series Hacks and Selma on Hulu's Reboot. She is best known for her roles as Gypsy on The Gilmore Girls and as Senorita Rodriguez in That's So Raven. She has co-starred or been recurring on various series like Bless This Mess, Johnny Bago, Malcolm in the Middle, Bunheads, The Comeback, Shameless, Parenthood, The Grinder, Veep and Scandal and has guests starred on countless shows such as Ghosts, United States of Al, Better Things,  Mike & Molly, Major Crimes, The Odd Couple, Castle, Grey's Anatomy, Baby Daddy, Dr. Ken, Psych, The Mentalist, The Millers, Curb Your Enthusiasm and many, many more. She has also been seen on the big screen in movies including Legally Blondes, My Best Friend's Wedding, U.S. Marshals, The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Good Night, and Good Luck.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Peter Jacobson. Peter is best known for his roles as Dr. Chris Taub on the Fox medical drama series House, proxy Alan Snyder is the USA science fiction drama Colony, Agent Wolfe on The Americans, Lee Drexler on Ray Donovan and Rabbi Jacob Kessner on Fear of the Walking Dead. Some other shows he has appeared on include WeCrashed, NCIS: Los Angeles, Bull, Law & Order: SVU, Madam Secretary, The Good Wife, Criminal Minds and many more. 

Steve Cooper talks with musician Marian Gold. Marian is best known as a founder member and lead singer of the band Alphaville. Alphaville achieved chart success with the singles Forever Young, Big in Japan, Sounds Like a Melody, The Jet Set and Dance with Me. They have released seven studio albums and have a symphonic one called Eternally Yours being released in the near future.

Steve Cooper talks with musician Five for Fighting (John Ondrasik). John is best known for his first single Superman (It's Not Easy). He is a platinum selling and Grammy nominated songwriter and has released six studio LPs, including the platinum certified America Town and The Battle for Everything and the top-10 charting Two Lights, along with an EP and live albums. He has penned major hits, including the chart-topping 100 Years, The Riddle, Chances, World and Easy Tonight which have earned tens of millions of streams and place him as a top-10 Hot Adult Contemporary artist for the 2000s. His music has also been featured in more than 350 films, television shows, and commercials, including the Oscar-winning The Blind Side, Hawaii Five-O, the Sopranos and the CBS drama Code Black. 

Steve Cooper talks with QB/writer/actor Mike Boryla. Steve interviewed Mike when he was only 12 years old (for a school project) and Mike was a Pro Bowl QB for the Philadelphia Eagles. Mike also was with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and was first team All-Pac-8 his senior year at Stanford. After he retired, he became a lawyer and in 2014 he made his acting debut in a one-man autobiographic theatrical performance in The Disappearing Quarterback. He also has published a Sci-Fi thriller titled Mark of the Beast.  

Steve Cooper talks with actor Patrick Fabian. Patrick is best known for his role as Howard Hamlin on Better Call Saul. His recurring roles include shows such as Black Monday, Carol's Second Act, Special, Code Black, Valentine, Big Love, Veronica Mars, Providence, Joan of Arcadia, 24, The Newsroom and Saved by the Bell: The College Years. He has also guest starred in countless series like Lucifer, Barry,The Conners, Elementary, Ugly Betty, NCIS, Will & Grace, Friends, Scandal, The Mentalist, CSI: Crime Investigation Scene, Bones, Criminal Minds, Castle, Burn Notice, Longmire and many more. On the big screen he can be seen in DriverX, Extracurricular Activities, Eat Brains Love, 30 Nights, Cloud 9, Bad Ass and the Last Exorcism.

Steve Cooper talks with musician Simon Kirke. Simon is best known for being the drummer for the band Bad Company. Bad Company enjoyed great success throughout the 1970s. Their first three albums, Bad Company, Straight Shooter and Run with the Pack, reached the top five in the album charts in both the UK and the US. Many of their singles and songs, such as Bad Company, Can't Get Enough, Good Lovin' Gone Bad, Feel Like Makin' Love, Shooting Star, Ready for Love and Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy, remain staples of classic rock radio. They have sold 20 million RIAA-certified albums in the US and 40 million worldwide. Simon was also in Free has guested on a long list of recordings by other artists over the years, including albums by Wilson Pickett, Faces, Gov’t Mule, Jim Capaldi and Ron Wood, among countless others and he is often found drumming live on tour with acts like Chuck Berry, Ray Charles, Bo Diddley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards and Ringo Starr & His All-Star Band.

Steve Cooper talks with drummer Steve Smith. Steve is best known for being the drummer for Journey across three tenures. With Journey, he toured around the world and recorded numerous successful albums including the immensely popular Escape (Columbia 1981) and Frontiers (Columbia 1983), both of which garnered the band many Top 40 hits and worldwide sales of over 80 million albums. In 1985 Smith left Journey to pursue his original passion, jazz, and to continue his developing career as a session player. Over the past 30+ years, Smith has played on many hits with such diverse artists as Bryan Adams, Mariah Carey, Zucchero, Claudio Baglioni, Andrea Bocelli, Y&T, Dweezil Zappa, Ray Price, Corrado Rustici and Savage Garden. He has also recorded numerous albums with his band Vital Information and in the past Modern Drummer magazine readers have voted him the No. 1 All-Around Drummer five years in a row. In 2001, the publication named Smith one of the Top 25 Drummers of All Time, and in 2002 he was voted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll HOF as a member of Journey in 2017.

Steve Cooper talks with actor/writer Dave Thomas. Dave is probably best known for being part of the duo the McKenzie Brothers from the sketch show SCTV that launched John Candy, Martin Short, Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy and Rick Moranis.  The duo became a pop culture phenomenon in both the United States and Canada. They starred in the movie Strange Brew and the characters were later revived for an animated series, Bob & Doug. Some people know Dave from the TV show Arrested Development or the movie Rat Race. Some people know him from the nineties ABC sitcom Grace Under Fire.  Most people don't know he was also one of the writer / producers for Fox's TV show Bones or ABC's The Blacklist.  Or that he acted alongside Henry Fonda, Jonathan Winters, John Cleese, Richard Pryor, Zach Galifiankis, Whoopi Goldberg, Mary Louise Parker and Ashton Kutcher.  Or that he directed John Travolta, Jean Stapleton and Max Von Sydow in theatrical motion pictures. Or that he was friends with Bob Hope, Harold Ramis and Johnny Carson and wrote Spies Like Us with Dan Aykroyd and did voices on The Simpsons and Family Guy. 

Steve Cooper talks with director/writer/actor/comic Mike Binder. Mike created and starred in the HBO series The Mind of the Married Man. He has directed, written and co-starred in various movies such as The Sex Monster, The Upside of Anger, Reign Over Me and Man About Town. He has written or directed (or both) on such projects as Blankman, Crossing the Bridge, Indian Summer, Black or White, Billions, Ray Donovan and Nashville. As a stand-up comic he has appeared on many shows including Late Night with David Letterman, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Pat Sajak Show, One Night Stand and Late Night with Conan O'Brien. He also recently hosted the Showtime docu-series The Comedy Store.

Steve Cooper talks with singer Keren Woodward. Keren is one part of the duo Bananarama. Bananarama recently celebrated their 40th anniversary and their achievements speak for themselves. Two Band Aid appearances, an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most successful female band worldwide with the most charting singles, many of which were international hits, four hitting the US Billboard Top 10 including a No.1 with Venus. To date the duo have had 30 Top hits and they have released 12 albums and sold 30 million records. 

Steve Cooper talks with comedian/actor Tommy Chong. Tommy is best known for his invaluable contribution to American counter-culture as part of the iconic comedy duo Cheech & Chong. During their reign, the twosome recorded six gold comedy albums, including the 1973 Grammy winner Los Cochinos, and starred in eight films, most of which Chong co-wrote and directed. The first, Up In Smoke, was the highest grossing comedy of 1978, topping $100 million at the box office. Others were Cheech and Chong’s Next Movie (1980), Nice Dreams (1981), Things Are Tough All Over (1982), Cheech and Chong: Still Smoking (1983), and The Corsican Brothers (1984). Born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, he began his entertainment career as a musician in a Canadian-based rhythm and blues band. Eventually, he landed a gig with the Vancouvers and co-wrote the band’s 1960’s hit, Does Your Mama Know About Me. From here, he eventually turned towards the life as an actor. The first step was forming City Works, an improvisational group where he consequently met his future comedic partner, Richard “Cheech” Marin. Throughout the 1970’s Cheech & Chong earned a massive following until eventually, the duo had run its lengthy and prosperous course and they both embarked on solo careers. Tommy has appeared in several films including 1990’s Far Out, Man! and National Lampoon’s Senior Trip. He has also starred, most notably, as “Leo” on Fox’s That 70’s Show, and has guest starred on ABC’s Dharma & Greg and The George Lopez Show.

Steve Cooper talks with musician Martin Fry. Martin is best known for being lead singer of the band ABC. ABC’s debut The Lexicon of Love went to No 1 and sold over a million records. To date, ABC have released nine studio albums and their hits include Tears Are Not Enough, Poison Arrow, The Look of Love and All of My Heart, That Was Then but This Is Now, (How to Be A) Millionaire and When Smokey Sings.

Steve Cooper talks with drummer Kenney Jones. Kenney is a member of the Rock & Roll HOF with his bands Faces and Small Faces. He replaced Keith Moon and played with The Who from 1978-1983, 1985, 1988 and in 2014.  His other bands he has been in are The Law and The Jones Gang and he has performed in various record sessions with people such as Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood, Joan Armatrading, Roger Daltrey, Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis.

Steve Cooper talks with musician Colin Hay. Colin is best known as being the lead vocalist and songwriter for the band Men at Work. That band would reach the heights of stardom—they took home a GRAMMY Award for Best New Artist and sold more than 30 million records worldwide on the strength of #1 singles like Who Can It Be Now? and Down Under but by 1985, they’d called it quits and gone their separate ways. Colin released his solo debut the following year and, over the course of the next three-and-a-half decades, went on to record twelve more critically acclaimed studio albums that would help establish him as one of his generation’s most hardworking and reliable craftsmen.

Steve Cooper talks with actor/comedian Diane Neal. Diane is best known for her role as ADA Casey Novak on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and has had recurring roles in NCIS, NCIS: New Orleans, Suits, The Following and Power. She also is a seasoned stand-up comic and hosts the podcast Hear. Say. Diane Neal. 

Steve Cooper talks with musician Suzi Quatro. Suzi has sold over 55 million records worldwide and is also known from her role as Leather Tuscadero, who she portrayed from 1997-1979, on the huge ABC hit Happy Days. In 1973 her hit Can Can went to number one on the British charts and went on to sell two and a half million copies. Between 1973-1980 she featured on the British charts for no less than 101 weeks. She is a member of the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame, has written an autobiography and has recently released her second book of poetry. After the pandemic ended, she played a sold-out show at the legendary Royal Albert Hall and still performs at festivals across Europe.

Steve Cooper talks with musician Howard Jones. Howard burst on the scene with his 1983 hit New Song. His first two albums, Humans Lib and Dream into Action, brought Howard a host of hits including Things Can Only Get Better, What is Love?, Pearl In The Shell, Like to Get To know You Well, Hide And Seek (performed at Live Aid), Look Mama and No One Is To Blame, which reached No.1 in the US. Howard has sold over 8 million albums across the globe. To this day he still tours the world to sold out crowds and his new album Dialogue will be coming out soon and is the third in a series of four electronic albums.

Steve Cooper talks with guitarist Joe Satriani. Joe is best known for his all-instrumental hit album Surfing with the Alien. For over three decades, the guitar virtuoso has traveled the world, playing to sold-out crowds as both a headliner and as founder of the all-star “G3” guitar extravaganza. His studio and live recordings have sold more than 10 million copies worldwide to date and of his many solo albums, two have gone platinum and four others went gold, with 15 Grammy nominations between them. His side project, Chickenfoot, featuring former Van Halen frontman Sammy Hagar, former bassist Michael Anthony and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ drummer Chad Smith saw their debut album certified gold and their second studio album debuted at #9.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Danielle Nicolet. Danielle is best known for her roles as Cecile Horton in the CW hit The Flash, Caryn in 3rd Rock from the Sun, Jenna in Born Again Version and as Maggie in the The Rock/Kein Hart movie Central Intelligence. Some of her other Tv and film appearances include Family Matters, Loaded Weapon 1, Heartland, The Starter Wife, Elementary, Supergirl, The Game, Acrimony and Deidre & Laney Rob a Train. She also wrote the short film Black Karen that will be screened at Sundance.

Steve Cooper talks with musician/actor/poet/writer John Doe. John is best known for being a co-founder of the legendary LA punk band X, of which he is still an active member. His musical performances and compositions span rock, punk, country and folk music genres. As an actor, he has dozens of television appearances and several movies to his credit, including the role of Jeff Parker in the television series Roswell. In addition to X, Doe performs with the country-folk-punk band the Knitters and has released 14 records as a solo artist. He also wrote with co-author Tom DeSavia two books that compiled stories about the LA punk rock scene from 1977 to 1983.

Steve Cooper talks with singer/songwriter Matt Simons. Matt has worked continuously for a decade now, achieving huge success – particularly in continental Europe – with music that comes straight from the soul. A West Coast talent who found success outside his homeland, his music has reached huge audiences, with both studio albums to date – Pieces and Catch & Release – moving across the continent, starting with the Netherlands until the whole of Europe knew his name. Last year’s After the Landslide was a particular landmark, and 2019 ended with a huge 40 date tour. But then the pandemic intervened. Relocating to California he found himself with the space – and the time – to reflect, and to look inwards. It’s sparked a shift in his music, too – singles such as Cold and Better Tomorrow have connected due to their introspection, and the brave frankness of his message. He recently released his new album, Identity Crisis, and has been on tour opening for 2CELLOS in both the USA and Europe.

Steve Cooper talks with musician Andy McCluskey. Andy is best known as the lead singer and bass guitarist of the electronic band OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark), which he founded alongside keyboard player Paul Humphreys in 1978.  They are one of the earliest, most commercially successful, and enduring synth pop groups and are best known for the hits Enola Gay, Electricity and If You Leave which was top 5 in the US and was featured in the movie Pretty in Pink. They have recorded eleven studio albums and are currently on a worldwide tour.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Chad Coleman. Chad is best known for portraying Dennis "Cutty" Wise on the HBO crime drama series The Wire, the voice of Coach in the video game Left 4 Dead 2, Tyreese Williams on The Walking Dead, Mingo on the History Channel's re-imaging of Roots and Z on the comedy series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. He later starred in the science fiction series The Expanse and plays a recurring role as the alien Klyden on the Fox series The Orville.

Steve Cooper talks with actor/writer/producer Jim Piddock. As an actor, Jim starred in several Broadway shows in the 1980s, including Present Laughter, Design for Living, and the original production of Noises Off. Since then, he has appeared in numerous movies, such as Independence Day, Lethal Weapon 2, The Prestige, Best in Show, The Five-Year Engagement, A Mighty Wind, Kill Your Friends, and Woody Allen's You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger. He's also been seen in dozens of TV shows, like Modern Family, Mom, Two and a Half Men, Lost, Monk, Friends, ER, Mad About You, The Drew Carey Show, and Castle. He was also in the award-winning HBO series From the Earth to the Moon and starred in the CBS miniseries The Women of Windsor. In 2007 and 2012, he secured his reputation as one of the UK's most notable comedic exports when he starred on stage in Hollywood with Russell Brand, Billy Connolly, Tim Curry, Eric Idle, Eddie Izzard, Jane Leeves, Emily Mortimer, Tracey Ullman, and Sophie Winkleman in What About Dick? As a writer/producer, Jim's films include Tooth Fairy, The Man, and A Different Loyalty. With Christopher Guest, he co-wrote and starred in the HBO series Family Tree and Mascots for Netflix.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Tom Arnold. Tom is best known for his roles in the movies True Lies and Nine Months and for playing Arnie Thomas on Roseanne, Jackie Thomas on The Jackie Thomas Show, and Tom Amross on The Tom Show. He has had countless movie and TV credits and was also the host The Best Damn Sports Show Period from 2001-2009.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Delaney Williams. Delaney is best known for his characters Sgt. Jay Landsman in the iconic series The Wire and Defense Attorney John Buchanan in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. He has also had recurring roles The Punisher, Ray Donovan and Blue Bloods and guest starred on such shows as Veep, Cold Case, Bull, Elementary and MacGyver. He can currently be seen in HBO's We Own This City.  

Steve Cooper talks with actor/director Anson WIlliams. Anson is best known for his role as Warren "Potsie" Weber on the iconic television series Happy Days, a role for which he was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries or Television Film. After Happy Days, Williams began a much more prolific career as a television director, starting with short programs for adolescent-age children, including afterschool specials No Greater Gift and The Drug Knot, and TV-movie Lone Star Kid. He has gone on to direct many episodes for a variety of television series, including The Pretender, Beverly Hill 90210, Melrose Place, seaQuest 2032, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, Xena: Warrior Princess, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, Charmed, 7th Heaven and Sabrina the Teenage Witch. 

Steve Cooper talks with director/writer/actor Steven Brill. Steven is best known for writing The Mighty Ducks, D2: The Mighty Ducks and D3: The Mighty Ducks as well as writing and directing the Adam Sandler movie Little Nicky. He has also scripted movies such as Heavyweights, Ready to Rumble and Walk of Shame and directed numerous films including Without a Paddle, Mr. Deeds, Drillbit Taylor, The Do-Over, Sandy Wexler, Adam Sandler: 100% Fresh and Hubie Halloween.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Kevin Chapman. Kevin is best known for playing Detective Lionel Fusco on the hit CBS series Person of Interest. He has also been a regular or had a recurring role in such shows as Brotherhood, City on a Hill, Kevin Can Go F*ck Himself, Sneaky Pete, Rescue Me and 24. His guest star roles include series such as Criminal Minds, Sons of Anarchy, Lost, Cold Case, Blue Bloods, The Punisher, The Equalizer, Billions and NCIS.  He recently appeared in the Oscar winning film CODA and numerous film credits such as Mystic River, 21 Grams, Slender Man, Black Dynamite, Sunshine Cleaning, Ladder 49 and 21 Grams.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Bill Smitrovich. Bill's first prominent role was in the 1980s series Crime Story as Detective Danny Krychek. He went on to star in the hit drama series Life Goes On. He later became the lead guest-star in the pilot film of the 1980s crime-drama hit series Miami Vice, and also appeared in the final episode of NYPD Blue. He has also been seen in The Henry Lee Project and Millennium. He is perhaps best known for his roles on the A&E series A Nero Wolfe Mystery as Inspector Cramer, and on the ABC hit series The Practice as Assistant District Attorney Kenneth Walsh. Smitrovich then went on to star in Without a Trace, where he portrayed the recurring character of Chief Alex Olcyk. He has also portrayed a number of characters in military roles. These include roles on Independence Day, Air Force One, Thirteen Days, Fail Safe, and Eagle Eye. In addition, he has made many guest appearances on various TV shows, most notably Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, 24, NUMB3RS, NYPD Blue, Touched by an Angel, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Criminal Minds, and Castle.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Jim True-Frost. Jim is most known for his portrayal of Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski on all five seasons of the acclaimed HBO series The Wire and as James Woodrow in Treme. He has been an ensemble member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago since 1989 and his numerous TV and movie credits include Singles, American Rust, Homicide: Life on the Street, The Hudsucker Proxy, Boardwalk Empire, Blue Bloods, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, The Good Wife, Elementary, Hostages, American Odyssey, Manifest, The Blacklist and Yellowstone.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Steven Weber. Steven is best known for his role as Brian Hackett in the long-running NBC sitcom Wings. He has played a stream of comedic and dramatic recurring roles on such TV programs as Without a Trace, Brothers & Sisters, Dallas, Murder in the First, Helix, iZombie, House of Lies, NCIS: New Orleans, Ballers, Get Shorty, 13 Reasons Why, Indebted and Chicago Med. Guest star credits include series like The D.A., Will & Grace, Monk, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Desperate Housewives, Hot in Cleveland, Parenthood, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Sleepy Hollow and This Close. He also has given voice to a few animated programs including Ultimate Spider-Man, Avengers Assemble, The bravest Knight and Puppy Dog Pals. 

Steve Cooper talks with TV writer/producer Dan Dworkin. Dan has co-created various TV series such as Matador, The Crossing, Scream: The TV Series and The Lost Symbol. His writing credits include Criminal Minds, Cold Case, American Horror Story, Star Trek: Discovery, Scorpion, Revenge, Dragnet and Surface.

Steve Cooper talks with musician Jon King. Jon is best known as the singer-songwriter and founding member of the Leeds-based post-punk band Gang of Four. Gang of Four was one of the most influential and groundbreaking bands to rise from the British punk scene in the late '70s. Their 1979 LP, Entertainment, received triumphant reviews from critics and was a surprise hit in the U.K., while their third album, 1982's Songs of the Free gave them a commercial breakthrough in the United States as the single "I Love a Man in a Uniform" gained airplay on college radio and open-minded R&B stations. They folded after 1983's Hard, but periodically re-formed the band in the '80s, '90s, and 2000s for touring and recording projects that kept their singular sound alive. 

Steve Cooper talks with musician Pat MacDonald. He is best known for being the singer, guitarist, and main songwriter for Timbuk 3, nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1987. They scored a huge hit with The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades. They briefly appeared in the 1988 Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan movie D.O.A. His songwriting credits include collaborations Cher, Keith Urban, Stewart Copeland and Peter Frampton. Songs he has written or co-written have been recorded by Aerosmith, Jools Holland, Billy ray Cyrus and Night Ranger to name a few. He has also recorded 8 solo albums.

Steve Cooper talks with rapper Darryl McDaniels. Darryl is a legendary music icon who first impacted the world over 35 years ago.  From the first rap group to grace the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine to the first to appear on MTV, Run-DMC changed music, culture, fashion, language and made American history. It would be hard to overstate his influence on popular culture. Forty million record sales and ½ billion song streams later, and twenty years since the untimely death of his bandmate Jam Master Jay, DMC continues to create, inspire and motivate.  In 2009, as a member of Run-DMC, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and in 2016 he received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award from the Recording Academy given to “performers who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording.”

Steve Cooper talks with actor Denis O'Hare. Denis is known for his award-winning performances in the plays Take Me Out and Sweet Charity as well as portraying vampire king Russell Edgington on HBO's fantasy series True Blood. He is also known for his supporting roles in such films as Charlie Wilson's War, Milk, Changeling, Dallas Buyers Club, Garden State, Michael Clayton and The Proposal. In 2011, he starred as Larry Harvey in the first season of the FX anthology series American Horror Story, for which he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. He returned to the show in 2013 in American Horror Story: Coven and once more in American Horror Story: Freak Show the latter for which he earned a second Emmy Award nomination. For his performance in American Horror Story: Hotel as Liz Taylor, O'Hare received critical acclaim. Other TV credits include series such as The Nevers, The Good Fight, American Gods, Big Little Lies, This Is Us, The Good Wife, The Comedians and CSI: Miami.