#franksinatra

Harvey Brownstone conducts an in-depth Interview with Frank Sinatra Expert, Charles Pignone, Senior VP, Frank Sinatra Enterprises

About Harvey's guests:

Today’s guest, Charles Pignone, is a producer and author who is instrumental in preserving, perpetuating and honouring the legacy of the most popular and beloved vocalist and entertainer of all time, Frank Sinatra.  

His close association with the Sinatra family, which has been ongoing for over 40 years, began in 1984, when at the age of 18, he became the President of the Sinatra Society of America.  That position allowed him to get to know Frank Sinatra and his family, and evolved into a full time job, culminating in his current position as senior vice president of Frank Sinatra Enterprises.  

He’s produced several books about Sinatra, starting with “The Sinatra Treasures: Intimate Photos, Mementos, and Music from the Sinatra Family Collection”, which is filled with never-before-seen photos, letters and mementos from the Sinatra family archives.  Then, in 2007 he released “Frank Sinatra: The Family Album”, which chronicles the private life of the iconic star, filled with rare photos, and firsthand recollections and stories from his family and close friends. 

And then in 2015, to commemorate Sinatra’s 100th birthday, our guest, in conjunction with Sinatra’s 3 children, released a book entitled, “Sinatra 100”, which is an intimate and dramatic visual portrait of Frank Sinatra, revealing many of the previously unseen moments in a remarkable life.   Our guest also wrote the beautiful commemorative programs for the 2 groundbreaking multi-media concert productions – the first one in 2003 at Radio City Music Hall entitled, “Sinatra: His Voice, His World, His Way”, and the second one in 2006, “Sinatra At the London Palladium”.  

He produced a wonderful documentary called “The Rat Pack Captured”, as well as the 2011 TV Special, “Sinatra Sings”.  And he was an executive producer on the excellent 2015 miniseries, “Sinatra: All or Nothing at All”.  

He’s produced dozens of albums and box sets including some of my favourites, “Frank Sinatra: Nothing But The Best”, “Frank Sinatra: Vegas” and “The Rat Pack Live and Swingin’: The Ultimate Rat Pack Collection”.  

And if all of that weren’t enough, our guest also produced a fascinating book entitled, “The Copa: Jules Podell and the Hottest Club North of Havana”, which is a beautifully illustrated history and a mesmerizing look behind the scenes at the legendary Copacabana nightclub in New York.

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

#CharlesPignone   #harveybrownstoneinterviews

Harvey Brownstone conducts an in-depth Interview with Rona Barrett, Legendary Entertainment Journalist & Broadcaster

About Harvey's guests:

Today’s special guest, Rona Barrett, can truly be considered a member of Hollywood Royalty.  She was a pioneer in the world of entertainment journalism and broadcasting, with a multi-faceted career that spanned many decades.  She became a household name through her insightful reporting and signature style, in her immensely popular magazine, “Rona Barrett’s Hollywood”, her books, syndicated radio shows, and on television as a host and regular contributor on iconic shows like Good Morning America, The Today Show and Entertainment Tonight.  Because of her excellent network of reliable sources throughout the entertainment industry, she broke countless stories and became the public’s trusted insider, documenting the careers and lives of the biggest superstars from the world of movies, music, sports, TV, radio, theatre and even politics.  She is beloved and respected not only by the public, but also by the hundreds of celebrities who trusted her to be a liaison between their lives and ours.  In the year 2000, our guest decided to deploy her entrepreneurial acumen to address a challenge close to her heart: providing affordable and dignified housing and high quality care for the fastest-growing population on the planet – senior citizens.   She established The Rona Barrett Foundation, which is a non-profit organization that operates beautiful seniors residences in California like the Golden Inn & Village and Harry’s House, where residents benefit from a wide range of essential care services, in an atmosphere of dignity, respect and love.  Our guest has become a renowned advocate for vulnerable seniors, and her wonderful book, “Rona Barrett’s Gray Matters”, and her podcast with the same name, have become hugely popular.  She’s also written 2 other books:  an autobiography called “Miss Rona”, and a fascinating book entitled, “How You Can Look Rich and Achieve Sexual Ecstasy”.  And in 2009, she received a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars.  

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

To see more about Rona Barrett, go to:

https://www.facebook.com/RonaBarrett/

 https://twitter.com/ronabarrett

https://www.instagram.com/ronabarrettofficial/

https://ronabarrettfoundation.org/

#RonaBarrett   # RonaBarrettFoundation   #harveybrownstoneinterviews

Harvey Brownstone conducts an in-depth interview with Jim Mahoney, Renowned Hollywood Press Agent

About Harvey's guest:

If you’re a fan of the golden age of Hollywood, this episode of our show is most definitely for you.  For over 30 years our guest, Jim Mahoney, was one of Hollywood’s most successful, respected and sought after press agents in show business history.  

At the age of 19, he was hired by Howard Strickling, head of publicity at MGM studios, and was assigned to the legendary Clark Gable.   In those final years of MGM’s heyday, he also handled publicity for other stars including Debbie Reynolds, Ann Blyth, Howard Keele and Roger Moore.  

Then, after a stint with the iconic syndicated newspaper columnist, Harrison Carroll, at the Los Angeles Herald Express, he became a publicist at the prestigious firm of Rogers and Cowan in Hollywood.  And after 3 years, he opened his own immensely successful entertainment public relations business, where he acquired the most prestigious list of legendary clients in show business history, including Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Judy Garland, Bob Hope, Tony Bennett, Jimmy Stewart, Robert Wagner, Peggy Lee, Jack Lemmon, George C. Scott, Lee Marvin, Steve McQueen, Johnny Carson – and believe me, I’m just scratching the surface.  

And when business partner Paul Wasserman joined the firm, they became THE premiere representatives for the greatest music acts of all time, including The Rolling Stones, U2, Carly Simon, James Taylor, Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Neil Diamond, Linda Ronstadt, Glen Campbell and dozens more.  Over the years he developed close friendships with many of his superstar clients, and he worked night and day managing their mercurial and fragile egos, keeping their secrets, suppressing their outrageous and scandalous behaviours, and pulling out all the stops to preserve their all-important public image.  

He quickly became an expert not only in communications and media relations, but crisis management.  

And NOW he’s written a highly compelling, entertaining and incredibly eye-opening book entitled “Get Mahoney:  A Hollywood Insider’s Memoir”, in which he FINALLY tells many of the stories that he’s kept close to the vest all these years.   The book provides a unique perspective on the history of Hollywood, and some of its most notorious characters and events.  I absolutely loved this book and could not put down until the very last page.  

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

To see more about Jim Mahoney, go to:

https://getmahoney.com/

https://www.facebook.com/people/Get-Mahoney/

https://www.instagram.com/jimmahoneypr

#JimMahoney   #harveybrownstoneinterviews

Harvey Brownstone conducts an in-depth interview with Screen Legend Ava Gardner’s family, Ava Thompson and Ava Malissa Silver 

About Harvey's guest: 

If you’re a fan of our show, you’ll know that one of our most popular features is our “Gone But Not Forgotten” series, featuring interviews with family members of some of the greatest and most beloved legendary stars of all time.   

Today, we’re focusing on the fabulous Ava Gardner, an iconic actress who captivated the world not only with her breathtaking beauty, but by her earthy, magnetic screen presence in dozens of unforgettable classic movies, including “Showboat”, “The Snows of Kilimanjaro”, “Mogambo”, which earned her an Academy Award Best Actress nomination and a New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress,  “The Barefoot Contessa”, “On the Beach”, and “Night of the Iguana”, which earned her a Golden Globe Award Best Actress nomination, and a Best Actress Award at the San Sebastian International Film Festival.   She also received 3 BAFTA Award nominations throughout her career.   

And television fans certainly remember her recurring role as “Ruth Galveston” on “Knots Landing”.  Ava Gardner’s hand and footprints are in the forecourt at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.  She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  There’s a bronze statue of her overlooking the coast of Spain.    

And the American Film Institute placed her at #25 on their list of the 100 Greatest Female Screen Legends of all Time.    

Our guests are Ava Thompson, Ms. Gardner’s great niece and namesake, and her daughter Ava Malissa.  They manage Ms. Gardner’s intellectual property, and they are co-trustees of the Ava Gardner Trust, continuing Ms. Gardner’s renowned legacy of generosity and compassion.   On a personal level, their mission is to help the world see beyond Ava Gardner’s legendary beauty, talent, iconic fashion style, and all the myths surrounding her famous marriages and personal life.   Ms. Gardner was much more than that – she was bold, courageous, independent, generous and kind – and very much a trailblazer and a role model who was way ahead of her time.   Our guests are coming to us today from the Ava Gardner Museum in Smithfield, North Carolina.   

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

https://www.johnstoncountync.org/ava-gardner/

https://www.facebook.com/AvaGardnerMuseum/

https://twitter.com/AvaMuseum

https://www.instagram.com/avagardnermuseum/

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

#AvaGardnerMuseum   #harveybrownstoneinterviews

Harvey Brownstone conducts an in-depth interview with Alexis Hunter, Author of “JOI LANSING - A BODY TO DIE FOR - A Love Story”

About Harvey's guest:

Today we’re celebrating one of Hollywood’s most popular buxom blonde bombshells of the 50s and 60s:  Joi Lansing.   

She was often referred to as “the Marilyn Monroe of television”, because of her beauty, sparkling personality, and her musical and comedic talent.  She appeared in classic movies including “Easter Parade”, “Singin’ in the Rain”, “Touch of Evil”, “Marriage on the Rocks”, “Queen of Outer Space” and “Bigfoot”.   On TV, she appeared in “I Love Lucy”, “The Jack Benny Show”, “Perry Mason”, “Maverick”, and she had recurring roles on “The Bob Cummings Show” and “The Beverly Hillbillies”.  And if you’re a fan of the “Superman” TV show, Joi Lansing’s character was the one who beat out Lois Lane, to marry Superman, in the 1958 episode entitled, “Superman’s Wife”.  She also had a very successful Las Vegas nightclub act.  Miss Lansing tragically succumbed to cancer in 1972 when she was only 43 years old.   

Our guest was not only Joi Lansing’s best friend, constant companion and caregiver for the last 3 years of her life – she was her lover.  In 2014 she released a poignant and heartbreaking book entitled, “Joi Lansing: A Body to Die For”.   

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

#AlexisHunter  #JoiLansing   #harveybrownstoneinterviews

Harvey Brownstone conducts an in-depth interview with Paul Clemens, Son of Legendary Actress Eleanor Parker

About Harvey’s Guest:

Today Harvey welcomes the son of Eleanor Parker, three-time Academy Award nominated actress who starred in some of the most memorable movies of all time, including “Caged”, “Detective Story”, “Interrupted Melody”,  “Scaramouche”, “Above and Beyond”, “The Man with the Golden Arm”, and everyone’s favourite, “The Sound of Music”.  She was also nominated for a Golden Globe, an Emmy, 3 Laurel Awards, and she won Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival in 1950.  Of course I’m talking about the radiant and brilliantly gifted Eleanor Parker.  I’m delighted to welcome her dear son Paul Clemens to our show.  And if he looks familiar, that’s because he’s also a very talented award-winning actor, who you’ve seen in movies such as “The Passage”, “The Beast Within”, “Communion”, and “The Sound of Spying”.  He’s also guest starred on many TV shows including “Quincy”, “Murder, She Wrote”, “The Ray Bradbury Theatre”, and many others.

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

#EleanorParker  #PaulClemens  #harveybrownstoneinterviews

Harvey Brownstone conducts an in-depth interview with Tom Santopietro, Author of “Sinatra in Hollywood: The Film Career of a Screen Icon”

About Harvey's guest:

Tom Santopietro is the author of five books: “The Sound of Music Story”, “The Godfather Effect: Changing Hollywood, America, and Me”, “Sinatra in Hollywood”, “Considering Doris Day” and “The Importance of Being Barbra”.  A frequent media commentator in programs ranging from the PBS documentary The Italian Americans to the Jimmy van Heusen biography Swingin' With Frank & Bing, Tom conducts monthly interviews for Barnes and Noble and lectures on classic films. Over the past thirty years he has managed more than two dozen Broadway shows.

He’s here to discuss his fascinating book entitled, “Sinatra in Hollywood: The Film Career of a Screen Icon”, which not only celebrates the screen legacy of this iconic star, but also delves into his tumultuous marriages, his political involvement, and those persistent rumours of mafia connections.  Although we usually think of Sinatra as a recording and concert artist, the fact is that he made 61 feature films, and was a tremendously gifted actor.  

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

http://www.tomsantopietro.com/

https://www.twitter.com/tomsantopietro

https://www.facebook.com/tomsantopietro

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/122684.Tom_Santopietro

#TomSantopietro  #harveybrownstoneinterviews

Harvey Brownstone conducts an in-depth interview with platinum selling musical artist Matt Dusk.

Combing the two coolest guys working in the 1960’s, this Frankly Drinking we’re talking Bond and Sinatra together in one show.

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