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A Corking Good Time! That is how Theodore Roosevelt explained his Great Loop Tour of 1903. It also expresses my feelings on my latest book (number 7!), Go West Mr. President: Theodore Roosevelt’s Great Loop Tour of 1903, that hits bookstores on June 1st. After my last book on TR, I really did not want […]

WHATZZZUP? Contrary to various rumors that I’m running on the TR Bully ticket for President in 2020, or ensconced in a bunker viewing Chaney’s lost “London After Midnight”……   The honest truth is I have just been busy. In May, I gave two speeches at the Grand Canyon about Theodore Roosevelt.  I was very honored […]

On This Date – January 6, 1919: “The Old Lion Is Dead.” Archie Roosevelt, who was home after being severely wounded in World War I, telegraphed his two brothers, Theodore Jr. and Kermit, who were still overseas, with those words. Theodore Roosevelt died at at the age of sixty a hundred years ago today. For […]

One of the brightest memories I have of the Christmas season was the day before Thanksgiving. My mom would pick me up at my school (Hollywood Professional) and we’d drive down Hollywood Blvd. Across the street from the Pantages Theatre, KTTV (local station in L.A.) had their scaffolding up, lights were set, cameras ready for […]

My God…50 years ago today. It only seems like it was a week ago. This was my first interview for ADAM-12. Little did I know how much a television show would have an impact on me, just like GUNSMOKE. Stuart Lee and I were on something of a roll. We were currently working on the […]

April 2, 1863: The cry of “Bread or Blood!” filled the streets of Richmond, Virginia as women rioted and broke into stores and warehouses holding food. By 1863, Richmond, like many other Southern cities, was experiencing a crisis in food shortages. Prices leaped, some by 10 times the normal price, and many items became scarce […]

So what was Lon Chaney doing on his 29th birthday in April 1912? He was performing with Fischer’s Follies in downtown Los Angeles. E. A. “Pop” Fischer was a well-known musical comedy producer on the California coast at the time, starting first in San Francisco, before setting up shop in Los Angeles in 1906. At […]

Marshal Dillon and Me I have always told actors to never underestimate the power they possess as a child’s hero. Many actors I worked with over the years have been a childhood hero due to a role in a TV series, or in a movie. No actor should ever dismiss what their performance can mean […]