George Schlatter is living a life full of legendary firsts and remarkable adventures because he embraces innovation. George’s captivating career path is documented in his book, Still Laughing: A Life In Comedy. It’s a hilarious page-turner that serves as a showbiz primer and history lesson. It’s also self-improvement manual for anyone in search of creative inspiration. One of George’s key mottos is: When all hope is fading, make them laugh. George has brazenly cracked up Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland and Cary Grant. Now it’s your turn.
George takes us backstage with Lucille Ball, Judy and Liza, Sammy Davis Jr. Stevie Wonder, Cher and the cast of Laugh-In. He tells us how he talked Lucy into riding an elephant with Steve Lawrence through Shubert Alley. He shares his secret network executive management technique: Get them drunk at lunch. And he offers astutely passionate observations about the current state of television and how it’s changed since the turbulently transformative sixties.
George believes that rules are guidelines that should be courageously challenged. On a bet from Jack Lemmon, George sneaked a naughty phrase into an episode of Laugh-In, winning Jack as a guest star on the show. He pioneered the airing of bloopers and outtakes. He invented the Las Vegas lounge act and created reality TV with Real People which shared the true stories of the Navajo Code Talkers, The Tuskegee Airmen and the Viet Nam War’s missing in action.
We also challenge George to a round of People You've Worked With Roulette, talk about his once-lost show, Turn-On, which was cancelled 20 minutes into its first hour. You can find that and so much more on George’s new Youtube Channel, Clown Jewels!
In recommendations, Weezy loves Conan O'Brien Must Go on Max, and Fritz and Weezy are both obsessed with Stax: Soulsville USA, also on Max.
Path Points of Interest:George Schlatter
What is Media Path Podcast?
Have you ever become obsessed with a topic and taken a deep dive into consuming all you could uncover about it?
Media Path podcast is here to indulge your obsessions. hosted by Fritz Coleman and Louise Palanker, the show takes you along on a scenic tour through books, movies, TV, podcasts and music related to a given topic of captivation. We are exploring entertainment, politics, history, true crime, world events and all of their intriguing intersections.
Fritz Coleman is a legendary Los Angeles weatherman/humorist. Louise Palanker is a filmmaker/columnist and co-founder of Premiere Radio.
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