March 18, 2025 • 26 mins
Tony Mantor sits down with Anson Williams, the unforgettable star from Happy Days, for a fascinating journey through his multifaceted career in entertainment and the stories that shaped his path to success.
• Started as a passionate singer with no formal acting training before landing his role on Happy Days
• Entrepreneurially introduced music into Happy Days, leading to record deals and $17,000 per night concert gigs
• Encountered John Lennon and his son Julian who crashed the Happy Days set, creating lasting memories
• Formed deep bonds with castmates through their charity softball team, playing at major stadiums worldwide
• Directed impactful projects including "No Greater Gift" which doubled organ donor cards in the US
• Created "Lone Star Kid" which was later screened for Poland's Constitutional Committee as an example of democracy
• Currently directing "Crazy Mama," a one-woman play starring Linda Pearl from Happy Days
• Developing "America's Funniest Joke," an innovative digital platform to revolutionize reality competition shows
• Reflects on Happy Days' enduring 50-year legacy as ABC's most successful show ever
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
My career in the entertainment industry has
enabled me to work with adiverse range of talent.
Through my years of experience,I've recognized two essential
aspects.
Industry professionals, whetherfamous stars or
behind-the-scenes staff, havefascinating stories to tell.
Secondly, audiences are eagerto listen to these stories,
(00:36):
which offer a glimpse into theirlives and the evolution of
their life stories.
This podcast aims to sharethese narratives, providing
information on how they evolveinto their chosen career.
We will delve into theirjourney to stardom, discuss
their struggles and successesand hear from people who help
them achieve their goals.
Get ready for intriguingbehind-the-scenes stories and
(00:58):
insights into the fascinatingworld of entertainment.
Hi, I'm Tony Mantor.
Welcome to Almost LiveNashville.
Today, I'm thrilled tointroduce our special guest,
anson Williams.
You know him as one of theunforgettable stars on the
iconic show Happy Days.
His journey is nothing short offascinating.
(01:19):
From the small screen to thestories behind the scenes, he
has a wealth of experience toshare.
Thanks for coming on.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
When you were cast in Happy Days, you did a lot of
singing on that show.
Yeah, which was your passionacting or singing?
Speaker 2 (01:36):
It was singing.
I just had this desire to sing.
So I grew up lower, lowermiddle class.
I had to do any job I could toget you know voice lessons, so I
had voice lessons From there,got in this Broadway a la carte
group where we do all Broadwaysongs for old ladies, homes and
things like that Very glamorous,and then I would do talent
nights around LA.
You know, you know theWednesday nights, Tuesday nights
(01:58):
, so no one shows up.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Yes, been there, done that.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
They have the talent nights so they hopefully will'll
bring a couple people to drink.
It's a good place to be bad.
You know, you have the pianoplayer, the cigarette line.
Give me our sheet music, yeah,so, and then from there I went
into stage.
Musical.
You know theater and neverreally had an acting lesson in
my life ever.
Ever.
A lot of theater, you know likethat, but not like drama class.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
How did music become part of the show?
Speaker 2 (02:25):
Yeah, it's interesting how music became
part of the show.
I've always been prettyentrepreneurial in many areas.
I've always been one and Ithink more people should follow
this.
See what you have now, what youdon't have.
Everyone sees no opportunity.
I always see opportunity.
When there's no one else seesit, I go nope, opportunity here,
(02:45):
you find it.
You know, you don't, you don'tcomplain, you find it.
So when we started happy days,uh, we weren't paid like actors
today, nowhere near.
It started off nine hundreddollars an episode for half a
season and twelve hundreddollars an episode for the
second season.
Eighteen hundred dollars anepisode for the third season.
I mean1,800 an episode for thethird season.
I mean it was fine, but you'renot going to retire on that.
(03:08):
But I thought, you know, musicwould be great on the show If I
could sing on the show.
I think it would be good forthe show.
I'll have a band, but also Ithink I could get booked.
It was a total entrepreneurialventure, no ego attached, just
livelihood.
So one morning I found GaryMarshall, our wonderful mentor.
Second father created lives forus.
(03:31):
I said I have somethingexciting to talk about.
He said well, talk to me later,I don't have time.
Anyone who knows how Gary talks.
You know, I'll talk to youlater.
I don't have time.
It'll only take a minute.
Okay, you got a minute.
You got a minute.
Walk with me, walk with me.
So I'm walking and I did anelevator pitch.
You got girls on the show.
(03:52):
You got cars on the show.
You need a band in Arnold's.
We opened the show band inArnold's and I sing.
He goes.
Wait, you sing.
Yeah, are you good?
Yeah, not bad.
I think.
Okay, he goes.
Really, you know, he saysthat's an interesting idea.
Before I became a comedian, anactor and then a writer, I was a
drummer.
He goes yeah, richie could beon the sax.
(04:13):
He goes.
I like it.
I like it.
Yeah, there's a show coming upat a fraternity.
I think we could fit a song.
I'm thinking I'm on nationaltelevision singing I just broke
through the clouds here.
Then he yells at me but you'resinging to a bulldog.
I go, excuse me, he goes.
(04:36):
No, I believe you're good.
I believe you're good, but Idon't have time to listen.
But even if you're good, ifyou're bad, I'm going to get
laughs.
You're singing to a bulldog.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
That's a great story.
What song did you pick to sing?
Speaker 2 (04:50):
So what am I going to pick?
Of course I'm going to pick,all Shook Up, where Elvis sang
on Sullivan.
So there I am.
Well, I bless my soul.
What's wrong with me?
I'm eating like a a bug.
I'm in love.
Then cut to, the dog Jumps offthe seat.
You know it was a chance.
So I do it and it gets lots ofletters, lots of attention.
(05:12):
Gary says, hey, people like it,let's do more.
He goes Anson, you're in charge.
You pick your songs.
About every third episode we'llhave a song in there.
So I did, I had aresponsibility.
So I get a call from DavidCassidy's label, chelsea Records
, west Farrell, we'd like tosign.
You Got a record deal.
Then I get all the amusementparks in the country.
(05:36):
Now they want you to doconcerts Disneyland, six Flags,
knott's, berry, farm, stateFairs, all that stuff.
So I was making $1,200 anepisode and $17,000 a night
singing.
Gary comes up to me.
He says I'm proud of you, youdon't bitch, you found
opportunity and you made thisshow better.
(05:58):
You go, that's good and thatwas it.
That's how music got on theshow and it just shows.
You find out.
Look what you have, not whatyou don't have.
There's opportunity in front ofyou.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
That's a great way to look at it.
You had a tremendous amount ofguest stars on the show.
Don told me Robin Williams washis favorite.
Who was your favorite?
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Well, I mean absolutely.
You know Robin's one of them,but at the time he wasn't a star
, he just was a.
He broke out of happiness.
As far as my like, you knowsomeone that came on the show.
That was a star Pat O'Brien.
Pat O'Brien the Gipper, allthat remember.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Yeah, I remember him.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
I remember a young kid, black and white, watching
the film with Ronald Reagan andPat O'Brien.
He was a big movie star in the40s and theirs was Pat O'Brien
guest starring on Happy Days.
He was speechless.
I mean, I'm still I'm thisnine-year-old kid still, you
know, watching his old movies.
And there he is.
He knows my name.
That was a thrill.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Yeah, that's always so good to have a star that you
grew up watching.
Then you wind up working withhim and he actually knows who
you are.
Yeah, that's more than amazing.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
Yeah, Did Donnie.
Did he talk about the JohnLennon situation?
Speaker 1 (07:20):
Yeah, he mentioned that John showed up with his son
one day.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
Yeah, yeah, it was early morning.
It wasn't a big shooting day.
Ron was there, henry was there,donnie was there, I was there,
one guest star, and that was it.
It was kind of a boring day.
I went over to get some coffeeand back then craft service is
not like it is today.
The bookie was the assistantelectrician and the
(07:48):
electrician's office was wherehe placed your bets, and Louie
was also in charge of craftservice.
So you better don't complain toLouie, okay, don't complain to
Louie.
And it's like rotten apples ina bowl and the worst coffee ever
in this Big Ten thing the worst.
It's always great to Willie.
I go to get some coffee andstanding to the side was a guy
(08:09):
with these kind of tintedglasses and a young 10-year-old
kid I didn't know he was 10 atthe time, but a young kid and I
walked back to Don.
There's this guy with a kid,looks like John Lennon and Don
goes.
Oh yeah, john Lennon came tohang out with us.
It was John Lennon and Julianand they were on a VIP tour of
(08:30):
Paramount and happy days, julianloved.
When they heard they werepassing the stage we were
shooting on, they snuck off andcrashed the stage, quite a few
hours with us and doing originaldoodles for the crew Not us,
we're professionals.
Oh no, we don't ask, they'rebuying houses with theirs.
The PR people heard about itran down and took a picture with
(08:50):
John and Julian with us.
That's what we got, but it wasgreat.
We spent hours with him he wasthe greatest guy and Julian.
Years later I'm at Sirius Radioin New York and Sirius Radio has
all their shows on one floor,one door to the next to the next
, almost in a circle.
So you do an interview, walkout, then do another interview,
(09:11):
walk out.
So it was in the middle ofinterviews and the photographer
of Sirius they always take yourpicture when you come in was
commenting.
There's this nice-lookinggentleman commenting on his
photography.
So I thought the guy must be aprofessional photographer.
So a little while later I'msitting there and I hear can I
(09:32):
have a selfie with you?
And it's that nice guy, sure.
And he says you know we've met.
Before I go, what when he goes?
I was with my father on thehappy day set.
I have a picture of all of uson my desk.
It was one of the happiest dayswith my dad.
It was Julian Lennon.
50 years later, all right, or40 years, yeah, anyway, he's 54,
55 years old now, and I saidonly if you send it to me.
(09:53):
So I have two pictures one withall of us when you stand and
with me and Julian today.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
Yeah, it's amazing how a show like that can create
so many tremendous memories.
What's one of the memories thatcome to your mind when you look
back at your times on HappyDays?
When you think of it, it justbrings back a smile and it
almost seems like it was justyesterday.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
Baseball comes to mind, because people always ask
what were your favorite momentson Happy Days.
Well, the favorite momentsweren't really filming the show.
The greatest moments were withour softball team.
Gary Marshall put together ateam.
We were all ex-athletes andHenry was coordinated, but he
never played baseball, but helearned to pitch and we started
(10:44):
doing charity pregames at everymajor stadium in the United
States and we'd do serioussoftball games against the
professional football team,whoever they had against us, at
Dodger Stadium, brewer Stadium,yankee Stadium, wrigley Field,
all over the country, and we'dspend time in the locker room
all that playing ball.
And then we started doing USOtours and we played over the
(11:06):
China Sea, we played in Germany,the Mediterranean.
These amazing experiences as ateam are just precious.
Gary actually thought if I canput a team together, you always
have your team members back, andhe thought it would relate to
the set, it would stop egos onthe set.
And it's true it did.
It was a major, major reasonwe're all still close today
(11:30):
because we we were teamwork anda team first, and those I mean.
One time we were in um germanywhat was the name of the
community?
Um gosh, we were playing thethird infantry.
All over the all over southerngermany.
Uh, we're playing the thirdinfantry.
All over the all over southerngermany.
Uh, we're playing the thirdinfantry division in different
(11:50):
places and we never lost thegame.
And gosh, we were in one smalltown, like a thousand year old
town.
Nothing changed.
I forgot the name of it.
And there was a castle.
The original castle on the hillwas there and they even had the
original suits of armor andeverything in it, and they
turned it into a restaurant andit overlooked the Rhine River
(12:12):
and at the tables, instead ofhaving water dispensers, they
had wine dispensers.
So we were feeling no pain.
And right by us there was thisstore, outside to this outside
patio, overlooking the RhineRiver and the city, god, the
city of Wurzburg, overlookingthe city of Wurzburg, and
there's Ron Howard and Henry andI and Don singing Splish,
(12:37):
splash at the top of our lungsto the city of Wurzburg, over
the Rhine River.
You can't make those stories up.
I mean, it's just phenomenal,phenomenal, phenomenal moments,
you know.
So, yeah, those are thefavorite moments.
Mean, it's just phenomenal,phenomenal, phenomenal moments,
you know.
So, yeah, those are thefavorite moments.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
Yeah, that's so very true.
One thing Don did bring up youwere more than just actors on a
set.
You were also family.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
Yeah, we were, we really were, and we're still
family to this day.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
Yeah, that's just so good to have friends and family
like that, even after the years.
I mean, don's got his acting,he's got his music, you're still
active in what you're doing,henry's still doing his thing.
It's just very rare to havethat kind of a relationship
after so many years.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
Yeah, in fact, I really miss Don because he lived
literally 30 minutes away andthen he moved to Colorado.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
Yeah, he did.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
My best friend moved.
You know I miss him a lot.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
Yeah, I totally get that.
Good thing is that you're doinga lot of things together that
keeps you in contact.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
Yeah, that's true.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
You're still doing shows together.
So even though you're notphysically close, you're still
very close with all the thingsyou're doing together.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Yeah, oh, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
With everything that you've done.
You've done acting, you've donemusic, you've done your
softball and baseball games.
You actually got behind thecamera instead of being in front
of it.
You did some directing, withsome pretty good projects.
Now, looking back at everythingyou've done the miniseries and
(14:10):
many shows that people might notrealize that you were a part of
what stands out.
What's one of your favoritethings that you did that you
just really take pride in?
Speaker 2 (14:22):
Well, there's a few favorites.
When I first started, I prettymuch created and sold to the
network and then attached myselfas director.
No one will give you again.
No one will give you a break,so you make your own break.
The subjects were important.
I always felt like as astoryteller.
It'd be great to actually offera little bit more.
Actually, the first film that Icreated was Skyward.
(14:44):
Ron Howard directed it, we bothexec.
Produced In 1980, it starredBette Davis.
It also starred the firstparaprolete, first disabled
actress ever on the movie of theweek.
We had to fight for that likecrazy.
We'll get into all the details.
It's a long story, but we didthe impossible getting Bette
Davis.
It was called Skyward andbasically it was about a young
(15:04):
girl in a wheelchair.
Basically, she's always lookingup.
She's never going to look down.
She's always looking up atpeople looking down at her, and
so her whole world became pastthem, skyward.
What if I could fly and lookdown for the first time?
What if they finally had tolook up at me, not down at me?
It had this whole scriptskyward around that.
We were able to do it.
(15:25):
We did it, did great, Didpre-med at the Kennedy Center,
All the bells and whistles ofWashington, but it was very
instrumental in getting past theavailability for disabled on
sidewalks and all that when theymade everything access
available.
Skyward had a big deal to dowith that.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
That's a great accomplishment.
It must have been reallyfulfilling while you was doing
that.
That's a great accomplishment.
It must have been reallyfulfilling while you was doing
that.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
That felt great.
Then.
The first one I directed was noGreater Gift after-school
special.
It was inspired by a true storybut I fictionalized.
It Won't get into the details,but it was about organ ownership
and with the airing of it andwith all the other organizations
that took it for their own, wedoubled donor cards in the
(16:09):
United States.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
Wow, that's awesome, Amazing actually.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
And then the other one, lone Star Kid.
I did for WonderWorks on PBS.
James Earl Jones starred in itfor Minimum and it's about the
youngest mayor in the history ofthe United States 12 years old,
Crabb, texas, the United States, 12 years old, crap, texas.
And his mentor was James EarlJones, who was blind, illiterate
, sold junk and he took out hisburied money $150, and financed
(16:34):
his kid's campaign.
I won't get all the details,but he created an unincorporated
campaign.
He won youngest man in theUnited States and that wasn't
cute.
He put in a temporary policedepartment.
He put in a temporary medicalteam.
He convinced Houston that theyowned his town, new Roads, which
they hadn't done, and I thoughtwhat a microcosm for Washington
(16:56):
, for the people.
So I sold it, I co-wrote thescript and I directed it.
Exec produced it.
It went on and Ron Howard alsoexec produced and we thought
will anyone ever get the biggerpicture?
Will anyone ever reallyunderstand why we did this?
Years later we get a letterfrom PBS.
We'd like you to know how proudwe are.
This is when Poland wasbecoming a democracy and the
(17:19):
Constitutional Committeerequested Lone Star Kid to view.
They thought it was the bestexamples of democracy.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
I think that's really cool.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
It's screened for the Constitutional Committee of
Poland.
My grandmother skate bowledbefore World War I yeah.
So then after that you become adirector for hire and you start
doing Star Trek.
And you know Hercules, xena, laLaw you know, you name it, I
did it.
They were great, but thoseserved a real purpose, you know.
Speaker 1 (17:49):
Yeah, it's always nice to be able to do something
that has a greater good, otherthan just working on just
another show.
Mm-hmm, I totally get thatMm-hmm.
So what's next?
You've directed, you've acted,you've had music, you've done
all these things.
What's coming up in the nextfew years that you see yourself
(18:10):
being involved with?
Speaker 2 (18:12):
Oh music, donnie's got me.
Donnie's the music man.
Right buddy, everyone's got togo see Don Nose.
He's phenomenal, best, bestAmerican songbook singer on the
planet.
Speaker 1 (18:21):
I totally agree.
Great singer, loved workingwith him.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
For me.
I have the honor.
I'm directing a major play inthe March called Crazy Mama and
it's actually starring.
I tell you no one knows this.
It into March called Crazy Mama, and it's actually starring.
I tell you no one knows this.
It's starring Linda Pearl.
Linda Pearl was actually onHappy Days twice.
She was Richie's girlfriend andFonzie married her at the end.
But Linda's also quite atelevision star, aside from that
, quite a stage star.
(18:46):
She did this one-woman showwritten by Joan Didion, called
the Year of Magical Thinking.
She took over Vanessa Redgravefor that, did the West Coast
premiere, london premiere, huge,huge, huge.
And we're very fortunate thatshe's going to star on Crazy
Mama, which is a one-woman showwith music.
There's one blues man with anoriginal song called Crazy Mama.
That's kind of like the Greekchorus.
I won't get into how it allworks, but he furthers the story
(19:09):
through his lyrics, through hismusic.
But it's basically a one-womanshow.
She plays 16 parts, from kidsto cops, to whatever I mean, and
it's a tour de force.
My wife, sharon Scott Williams,wrote it and she's going to be
known as one of the bestplaywrights in the world.
It's Pulitzer Prize-winningmaterial.
It's a big deal and I'm veryhonored to be able to direct
that and it's kind of going backto the beginning.
(19:31):
I started directing in theaterand then I'm working on a whole
new platform for entertainment,entrepreneurially and creatively
.
The typical television networkis going bye-bye.
It's like it's going away andit will go.
They're going to be gone.
Even the Tonight Show.
They're going to four nights aweek.
They don't have the ad revenue.
It's all going to the internet.
(19:51):
It's all going to YouTube andTikTok.
They're putting their ad moneythere.
I have this.
I thought I thought well, gosh,I mean, why would I even bother
taking shows to the networkanymore, especially reality type
things?
So I got the rights toAmerica's Funniest Joke, because
you need an IP.
America's Funniest Joke you cantell it or show it.
You can't be a comedian Realpeople, real jokes, or show us
(20:15):
something funny.
You want to set up a crazything, whatever and what it is,
and it's also a contest andAmerica votes.
So if you win that week, it's$10,000.
If you win America's FunniestJoke of the Year, it's $100,000.
You can only enter one at atime.
It's $100,000.
You can only enter one at atime, one per week, and America
votes.
And to me I went.
(20:37):
Well, there's the ad platform.
I'm getting a couple of verytalented, charismatic
influencers off the internet.
One gets a billion views amonth.
One gets like 15 billion viewsin the last four months and
they're going to be the host andwe're going to be promoting it
(20:58):
all through influence, allthrough that, and people are
going to subscribe Opening days.
There should be maybe 8 millionpeople ready to go.
Walmart will do one week, cbsthe next week.
We have all the ad platformsyou have for online shows.
Yeah, we'll pretty much ownreality contests on the internet
.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
When do you see that starting?
Do you know yet?
Speaker 2 (21:12):
Well, we're just now finishing up negotiating with
the group that's puttingtogether the whole tech.
It's a big deal, it's a huge,huge, and that's going to take
about four months four to fivemonths to complete.
It's very, very detailed, soit'll be within the next eight
(21:33):
months.
It'll take off, yeah, and thenfrom there we're going to have a
lot of little ancillarycontests going during the
contest.
Maybe for two weeks it'll beChristmas, right, so for two
weeks we're going to go.
We're going to say, hey, bestChristmas song sung in the car,
best Christmas sung song in theshower.
So all your ads go over thereand people have fun doing just a
(21:55):
simple little contest.
That's quick and then we canecho off.
We have three or four otherreality platforms that America
creates the content and Americavotes basically the same
infrastructure.
It's never been done.
We're in the middle of doing it.
So kind of exciting, right.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
Yeah, absolutely Nice .
Yeah, I'll be watching for it.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, you'll be submitting something.
Speaker 1 (22:19):
You never know.
So in closing, last year wasthe 50th anniversary of your
show Happy Days.
In your wildest dreams did youever think that 50 years later,
this show would be as relevantas it is today?
Speaker 2 (22:36):
No, no.
Which show does that?
No, I was just happy to get ajob, like Ron, and I thought I
think it'll be a hit for a while, because it was very.
You know, we hadn't done aHappy Days pilot before that.
You know that there were twopilots right.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
Yes, I'd heard that.
Speaker 2 (22:54):
The first one aired on Love America Style, didn't
sell, didn't have Fonzie, didn'thave Ralph, you know, they
thought it didn't sell.
Then American Graffiti came out.
After that Grease on Broadway,abc decided, hey, let's try it
again, but let's make it morelike graffiti.
We had an audition for theparts again and screen tested.
That's a whole other story.
But we got it again.
So they bought it and Ron and Ithought, well, you know, it's
(23:16):
kind of hip, kind of current, Ithink it'll go two years.
You know, had no idea it wouldgo 10 and a half years, it had
no idea it would be so iconic.
And here's the amazing thing Amajor research company, collider
, I think one of the major guys.
They went into what is the mostsuccessful show ever aired on
(23:41):
abc since the creation of thenetwork and had to do more than
just with ratings and all thathad to do with all sorts of
emotional response, the wholegamut, and they went in deep to
find, okay, what is the mostpopular show in the history
since the beginning of the ABCnetwork?
And they said and here's thetop 10.
And I go, oh, I wonder.
So I'm looking, 10, eight, nine, and I'm going, oh, god, man,
(24:06):
we didn't even get on.
We didn't even get on the top10.
Two one Happy Days, number onethe most popular, the best show
ever aired in the history of theabc network.
Wow, you can look that up yeah,I saw that list.
I thought that was justfantastic it's like wow, no, I
(24:29):
never, never did.
But I'll tell you everyone outthere, there was a magical time.
I'm just a small part of it, Iplay my character.
But the one thing Gary did heallowed us to contribute A lot
of success of that show wascollaborative ideas.
Collaborative ideas that hetook that he worked, I did music
, donnie came up with all thisstuff, henry came in.
(24:49):
I mean, we were all involved inmaking it better in a
collaborative way.
They had a lot to do with itand there was just an it factor,
just a moment in time, ofperfect, perfect chemistry,
perfect writing, perfecteverything and something and
something more.
There were countries that didn'teven know English that related
to the show.
(25:10):
I mean not in no English, theydidn't know the culture, they
didn't know the culture, theydidn't even know the culture,
but they related to thecharacters somehow, some way.
And I also think you knoweveryone wants friends that are
givers before takers.
And if you look at the show,even Fonzie's Cruz's, he's there
for you.
Parents that are givers, nottakers.
Everyone wants that kind offamily there for you.
(25:33):
You know where you're there foreach other and it's very subtle
, but it was there consistently.
It was very comfortable, it wasvery healing.
It like calmed you down and itmade you feel a bit more human
after the end of that half hour.
All that combined had some kindof magic.
I'm not the last to define it.
That's why it's lasted.
(25:53):
As far as the show itself, itwas always old.
It was old when it started itwas the 50s, but there's
something evergreen.
There's something evergreenwith those relationships and the
need for family and friendship.
I think it's going to be around.
As long as there's a screen toput it on, it's going to be
around.
Speaker 1 (26:13):
I think you are 100% correct there.
It was a great show with greatfamily values.
Well, this has been great.
I've really enjoyed this.
I really appreciate you takingthe time to come on.
Speaker 2 (26:26):
Well, I'm glad to Thank you so much for the time.
Speaker 1 (26:28):
It's been my pleasure .
Thanks again.
Thanks for joining us today.
We hope you enjoyed the show.
This has been a Tony Mantorproduction.
For more information, contactmedia at plateau music dot com.
My career in the entertainment industry has
enabled me to work with adiverse range of talent.
Through my years of experience,I've recognized two essential
aspects.
Industry professionals, whetherfamous stars or
behind-the-scenes staff, havefascinating stories to tell.
Secondly, audiences are eagerto listen to these stories,
(00:36):
which offer a glimpse into theirlives and the evolution of
their life stories.
This podcast aims to sharethese narratives, providing
information on how they evolveinto their chosen career.
We will delve into theirjourney to stardom, discuss
their struggles and successesand hear from people who help
them achieve their goals.
Get ready for intriguingbehind-the-scenes stories and
(00:58):
insights into the fascinatingworld of entertainment.
Hi, I'm Tony Mantor.
Welcome to Almost LiveNashville.
Today, I'm thrilled tointroduce our special guest,
anson Williams.
You know him as one of theunforgettable stars on the
iconic show Happy Days.
His journey is nothing short offascinating.
(01:19):
From the small screen to thestories behind the scenes, he
has a wealth of experience toshare.
Thanks for coming on.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
When you were cast in Happy Days, you did a lot of
singing on that show.
Yeah, which was your passionacting or singing?
Speaker 2 (01:36):
It was singing.
I just had this desire to sing.
So I grew up lower, lowermiddle class.
I had to do any job I could toget you know voice lessons, so I
had voice lessons From there,got in this Broadway a la carte
group where we do all Broadwaysongs for old ladies, homes and
things like that Very glamorous,and then I would do talent
nights around LA.
You know, you know theWednesday nights, Tuesday nights
(01:58):
, so no one shows up.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Yes, been there, done that.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
They have the talent nights so they hopefully will'll
bring a couple people to drink.
It's a good place to be bad.
You know, you have the pianoplayer, the cigarette line.
Give me our sheet music, yeah,so, and then from there I went
into stage.
Musical.
You know theater and neverreally had an acting lesson in
my life ever.
Ever.
A lot of theater, you know likethat, but not like drama class.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
How did music become part of the show?
Speaker 2 (02:25):
Yeah, it's interesting how music became
part of the show.
I've always been prettyentrepreneurial in many areas.
I've always been one and Ithink more people should follow
this.
See what you have now, what youdon't have.
Everyone sees no opportunity.
I always see opportunity.
When there's no one else seesit, I go nope, opportunity here,
(02:45):
you find it.
You know, you don't, you don'tcomplain, you find it.
So when we started happy days,uh, we weren't paid like actors
today, nowhere near.
It started off nine hundreddollars an episode for half a
season and twelve hundreddollars an episode for the
second season.
Eighteen hundred dollars anepisode for the third season.
I mean1,800 an episode for thethird season.
I mean it was fine, but you'renot going to retire on that.
(03:08):
But I thought, you know, musicwould be great on the show If I
could sing on the show.
I think it would be good forthe show.
I'll have a band, but also Ithink I could get booked.
It was a total entrepreneurialventure, no ego attached, just
livelihood.
So one morning I found GaryMarshall, our wonderful mentor.
Second father created lives forus.
(03:31):
I said I have somethingexciting to talk about.
He said well, talk to me later,I don't have time.
Anyone who knows how Gary talks.
You know, I'll talk to youlater.
I don't have time.
It'll only take a minute.
Okay, you got a minute.
You got a minute.
Walk with me, walk with me.
So I'm walking and I did anelevator pitch.
You got girls on the show.
(03:52):
You got cars on the show.
You need a band in Arnold's.
We opened the show band inArnold's and I sing.
He goes.
Wait, you sing.
Yeah, are you good?
Yeah, not bad.
I think.
Okay, he goes.
Really, you know, he saysthat's an interesting idea.
Before I became a comedian, anactor and then a writer, I was a
drummer.
He goes yeah, richie could beon the sax.
(04:13):
He goes.
I like it.
I like it.
Yeah, there's a show coming upat a fraternity.
I think we could fit a song.
I'm thinking I'm on nationaltelevision singing I just broke
through the clouds here.
Then he yells at me but you'resinging to a bulldog.
I go, excuse me, he goes.
(04:36):
No, I believe you're good.
I believe you're good, but Idon't have time to listen.
But even if you're good, ifyou're bad, I'm going to get
laughs.
You're singing to a bulldog.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
That's a great story.
What song did you pick to sing?
Speaker 2 (04:50):
So what am I going to pick?
Of course I'm going to pick,all Shook Up, where Elvis sang
on Sullivan.
So there I am.
Well, I bless my soul.
What's wrong with me?
I'm eating like a a bug.
I'm in love.
Then cut to, the dog Jumps offthe seat.
You know it was a chance.
So I do it and it gets lots ofletters, lots of attention.
(05:12):
Gary says, hey, people like it,let's do more.
He goes Anson, you're in charge.
You pick your songs.
About every third episode we'llhave a song in there.
So I did, I had aresponsibility.
So I get a call from DavidCassidy's label, chelsea Records
, west Farrell, we'd like tosign.
You Got a record deal.
Then I get all the amusementparks in the country.
(05:36):
Now they want you to doconcerts Disneyland, six Flags,
knott's, berry, farm, stateFairs, all that stuff.
So I was making $1,200 anepisode and $17,000 a night
singing.
Gary comes up to me.
He says I'm proud of you, youdon't bitch, you found
opportunity and you made thisshow better.
(05:58):
You go, that's good and thatwas it.
That's how music got on theshow and it just shows.
You find out.
Look what you have, not whatyou don't have.
There's opportunity in front ofyou.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
That's a great way to look at it.
You had a tremendous amount ofguest stars on the show.
Don told me Robin Williams washis favorite.
Who was your favorite?
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Well, I mean absolutely.
You know Robin's one of them,but at the time he wasn't a star
, he just was a.
He broke out of happiness.
As far as my like, you knowsomeone that came on the show.
That was a star Pat O'Brien.
Pat O'Brien the Gipper, allthat remember.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Yeah, I remember him.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
I remember a young kid, black and white, watching
the film with Ronald Reagan andPat O'Brien.
He was a big movie star in the40s and theirs was Pat O'Brien
guest starring on Happy Days.
He was speechless.
I mean, I'm still I'm thisnine-year-old kid still, you
know, watching his old movies.
And there he is.
He knows my name.
That was a thrill.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Yeah, that's always so good to have a star that you
grew up watching.
Then you wind up working withhim and he actually knows who
you are.
Yeah, that's more than amazing.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
Yeah, Did Donnie.
Did he talk about the JohnLennon situation?
Speaker 1 (07:20):
Yeah, he mentioned that John showed up with his son
one day.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
Yeah, yeah, it was early morning.
It wasn't a big shooting day.
Ron was there, henry was there,donnie was there, I was there,
one guest star, and that was it.
It was kind of a boring day.
I went over to get some coffeeand back then craft service is
not like it is today.
The bookie was the assistantelectrician and the
(07:48):
electrician's office was wherehe placed your bets, and Louie
was also in charge of craftservice.
So you better don't complain toLouie, okay, don't complain to
Louie.
And it's like rotten apples ina bowl and the worst coffee ever
in this Big Ten thing the worst.
It's always great to Willie.
I go to get some coffee andstanding to the side was a guy
(08:09):
with these kind of tintedglasses and a young 10-year-old
kid I didn't know he was 10 atthe time, but a young kid and I
walked back to Don.
There's this guy with a kid,looks like John Lennon and Don
goes.
Oh yeah, john Lennon came tohang out with us.
It was John Lennon and Julianand they were on a VIP tour of
(08:30):
Paramount and happy days, julianloved.
When they heard they werepassing the stage we were
shooting on, they snuck off andcrashed the stage, quite a few
hours with us and doing originaldoodles for the crew Not us,
we're professionals.
Oh no, we don't ask, they'rebuying houses with theirs.
The PR people heard about itran down and took a picture with
(08:50):
John and Julian with us.
That's what we got, but it wasgreat.
We spent hours with him he wasthe greatest guy and Julian.
Years later I'm at Sirius Radioin New York and Sirius Radio has
all their shows on one floor,one door to the next to the next
, almost in a circle.
So you do an interview, walkout, then do another interview,
(09:11):
walk out.
So it was in the middle ofinterviews and the photographer
of Sirius they always take yourpicture when you come in was
commenting.
There's this nice-lookinggentleman commenting on his
photography.
So I thought the guy must be aprofessional photographer.
So a little while later I'msitting there and I hear can I
(09:32):
have a selfie with you?
And it's that nice guy, sure.
And he says you know we've met.
Before I go, what when he goes?
I was with my father on thehappy day set.
I have a picture of all of uson my desk.
It was one of the happiest dayswith my dad.
It was Julian Lennon.
50 years later, all right, or40 years, yeah, anyway, he's 54,
55 years old now, and I saidonly if you send it to me.
(09:53):
So I have two pictures one withall of us when you stand and
with me and Julian today.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
Yeah, it's amazing how a show like that can create
so many tremendous memories.
What's one of the memories thatcome to your mind when you look
back at your times on HappyDays?
When you think of it, it justbrings back a smile and it
almost seems like it was justyesterday.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
Baseball comes to mind, because people always ask
what were your favorite momentson Happy Days.
Well, the favorite momentsweren't really filming the show.
The greatest moments were withour softball team.
Gary Marshall put together ateam.
We were all ex-athletes andHenry was coordinated, but he
never played baseball, but helearned to pitch and we started
(10:44):
doing charity pregames at everymajor stadium in the United
States and we'd do serioussoftball games against the
professional football team,whoever they had against us, at
Dodger Stadium, brewer Stadium,yankee Stadium, wrigley Field,
all over the country, and we'dspend time in the locker room
all that playing ball.
And then we started doing USOtours and we played over the
(11:06):
China Sea, we played in Germany,the Mediterranean.
These amazing experiences as ateam are just precious.
Gary actually thought if I canput a team together, you always
have your team members back, andhe thought it would relate to
the set, it would stop egos onthe set.
And it's true it did.
It was a major, major reasonwe're all still close today
(11:30):
because we we were teamwork anda team first, and those I mean.
One time we were in um germanywhat was the name of the
community?
Um gosh, we were playing thethird infantry.
All over the all over southerngermany.
Uh, we're playing the thirdinfantry.
All over the all over southerngermany.
Uh, we're playing the thirdinfantry division in different
(11:50):
places and we never lost thegame.
And gosh, we were in one smalltown, like a thousand year old
town.
Nothing changed.
I forgot the name of it.
And there was a castle.
The original castle on the hillwas there and they even had the
original suits of armor andeverything in it, and they
turned it into a restaurant andit overlooked the Rhine River
(12:12):
and at the tables, instead ofhaving water dispensers, they
had wine dispensers.
So we were feeling no pain.
And right by us there was thisstore, outside to this outside
patio, overlooking the RhineRiver and the city, god, the
city of Wurzburg, overlookingthe city of Wurzburg, and
there's Ron Howard and Henry andI and Don singing Splish,
(12:37):
splash at the top of our lungsto the city of Wurzburg, over
the Rhine River.
You can't make those stories up.
I mean, it's just phenomenal,phenomenal, phenomenal moments,
you know.
So, yeah, those are thefavorite moments.
Mean, it's just phenomenal,phenomenal, phenomenal moments,
you know.
So, yeah, those are thefavorite moments.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
Yeah, that's so very true.
One thing Don did bring up youwere more than just actors on a
set.
You were also family.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
Yeah, we were, we really were, and we're still
family to this day.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
Yeah, that's just so good to have friends and family
like that, even after the years.
I mean, don's got his acting,he's got his music, you're still
active in what you're doing,henry's still doing his thing.
It's just very rare to havethat kind of a relationship
after so many years.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
Yeah, in fact, I really miss Don because he lived
literally 30 minutes away andthen he moved to Colorado.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
Yeah, he did.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
My best friend moved.
You know I miss him a lot.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
Yeah, I totally get that.
Good thing is that you're doinga lot of things together that
keeps you in contact.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
Yeah, that's true.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
You're still doing shows together.
So even though you're notphysically close, you're still
very close with all the thingsyou're doing together.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Yeah, oh, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
With everything that you've done.
You've done acting, you've donemusic, you've done your
softball and baseball games.
You actually got behind thecamera instead of being in front
of it.
You did some directing, withsome pretty good projects.
Now, looking back at everythingyou've done the miniseries and
(14:10):
many shows that people might notrealize that you were a part of
what stands out.
What's one of your favoritethings that you did that you
just really take pride in?
Speaker 2 (14:22):
Well, there's a few favorites.
When I first started, I prettymuch created and sold to the
network and then attached myselfas director.
No one will give you again.
No one will give you a break,so you make your own break.
The subjects were important.
I always felt like as astoryteller.
It'd be great to actually offera little bit more.
Actually, the first film that Icreated was Skyward.
(14:44):
Ron Howard directed it, we bothexec.
Produced In 1980, it starredBette Davis.
It also starred the firstparaprolete, first disabled
actress ever on the movie of theweek.
We had to fight for that likecrazy.
We'll get into all the details.
It's a long story, but we didthe impossible getting Bette
Davis.
It was called Skyward andbasically it was about a young
(15:04):
girl in a wheelchair.
Basically, she's always lookingup.
She's never going to look down.
She's always looking up atpeople looking down at her, and
so her whole world became pastthem, skyward.
What if I could fly and lookdown for the first time?
What if they finally had tolook up at me, not down at me?
It had this whole scriptskyward around that.
We were able to do it.
(15:25):
We did it, did great, Didpre-med at the Kennedy Center,
All the bells and whistles ofWashington, but it was very
instrumental in getting past theavailability for disabled on
sidewalks and all that when theymade everything access
available.
Skyward had a big deal to dowith that.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
That's a great accomplishment.
It must have been reallyfulfilling while you was doing
that.
That's a great accomplishment.
It must have been reallyfulfilling while you was doing
that.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
That felt great.
Then.
The first one I directed was noGreater Gift after-school
special.
It was inspired by a true storybut I fictionalized.
It Won't get into the details,but it was about organ ownership
and with the airing of it andwith all the other organizations
that took it for their own, wedoubled donor cards in the
(16:09):
United States.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
Wow, that's awesome, Amazing actually.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
And then the other one, lone Star Kid.
I did for WonderWorks on PBS.
James Earl Jones starred in itfor Minimum and it's about the
youngest mayor in the history ofthe United States 12 years old,
Crabb, texas, the United States, 12 years old, crap, texas.
And his mentor was James EarlJones, who was blind, illiterate
, sold junk and he took out hisburied money $150, and financed
(16:34):
his kid's campaign.
I won't get all the details,but he created an unincorporated
campaign.
He won youngest man in theUnited States and that wasn't
cute.
He put in a temporary policedepartment.
He put in a temporary medicalteam.
He convinced Houston that theyowned his town, new Roads, which
they hadn't done, and I thoughtwhat a microcosm for Washington
(16:56):
, for the people.
So I sold it, I co-wrote thescript and I directed it.
Exec produced it.
It went on and Ron Howard alsoexec produced and we thought
will anyone ever get the biggerpicture?
Will anyone ever reallyunderstand why we did this?
Years later we get a letterfrom PBS.
We'd like you to know how proudwe are.
This is when Poland wasbecoming a democracy and the
(17:19):
Constitutional Committeerequested Lone Star Kid to view.
They thought it was the bestexamples of democracy.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
I think that's really cool.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
It's screened for the Constitutional Committee of
Poland.
My grandmother skate bowledbefore World War I yeah.
So then after that you become adirector for hire and you start
doing Star Trek.
And you know Hercules, xena, laLaw you know, you name it, I
did it.
They were great, but thoseserved a real purpose, you know.
Speaker 1 (17:49):
Yeah, it's always nice to be able to do something
that has a greater good, otherthan just working on just
another show.
Mm-hmm, I totally get thatMm-hmm.
So what's next?
You've directed, you've acted,you've had music, you've done
all these things.
What's coming up in the nextfew years that you see yourself
(18:10):
being involved with?
Speaker 2 (18:12):
Oh music, donnie's got me.
Donnie's the music man.
Right buddy, everyone's got togo see Don Nose.
He's phenomenal, best, bestAmerican songbook singer on the
planet.
Speaker 1 (18:21):
I totally agree.
Great singer, loved workingwith him.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
For me.
I have the honor.
I'm directing a major play inthe March called Crazy Mama and
it's actually starring.
I tell you no one knows this.
It into March called Crazy Mama, and it's actually starring.
I tell you no one knows this.
It's starring Linda Pearl.
Linda Pearl was actually onHappy Days twice.
She was Richie's girlfriend andFonzie married her at the end.
But Linda's also quite atelevision star, aside from that
, quite a stage star.
(18:46):
She did this one-woman showwritten by Joan Didion, called
the Year of Magical Thinking.
She took over Vanessa Redgravefor that, did the West Coast
premiere, london premiere, huge,huge, huge.
And we're very fortunate thatshe's going to star on Crazy
Mama, which is a one-woman showwith music.
There's one blues man with anoriginal song called Crazy Mama.
That's kind of like the Greekchorus.
I won't get into how it allworks, but he furthers the story
(19:09):
through his lyrics, through hismusic.
But it's basically a one-womanshow.
She plays 16 parts, from kidsto cops, to whatever I mean, and
it's a tour de force.
My wife, sharon Scott Williams,wrote it and she's going to be
known as one of the bestplaywrights in the world.
It's Pulitzer Prize-winningmaterial.
It's a big deal and I'm veryhonored to be able to direct
that and it's kind of going backto the beginning.
(19:31):
I started directing in theaterand then I'm working on a whole
new platform for entertainment,entrepreneurially and creatively
.
The typical television networkis going bye-bye.
It's like it's going away andit will go.
They're going to be gone.
Even the Tonight Show.
They're going to four nights aweek.
They don't have the ad revenue.
It's all going to the internet.
(19:51):
It's all going to YouTube andTikTok.
They're putting their ad moneythere.
I have this.
I thought I thought well, gosh,I mean, why would I even bother
taking shows to the networkanymore, especially reality type
things?
So I got the rights toAmerica's Funniest Joke, because
you need an IP.
America's Funniest Joke you cantell it or show it.
You can't be a comedian Realpeople, real jokes, or show us
(20:15):
something funny.
You want to set up a crazything, whatever and what it is,
and it's also a contest andAmerica votes.
So if you win that week, it's$10,000.
If you win America's FunniestJoke of the Year, it's $100,000.
You can only enter one at atime.
It's $100,000.
You can only enter one at atime, one per week, and America
votes.
And to me I went.
(20:37):
Well, there's the ad platform.
I'm getting a couple of verytalented, charismatic
influencers off the internet.
One gets a billion views amonth.
One gets like 15 billion viewsin the last four months and
they're going to be the host andwe're going to be promoting it
(20:58):
all through influence, allthrough that, and people are
going to subscribe Opening days.
There should be maybe 8 millionpeople ready to go.
Walmart will do one week, cbsthe next week.
We have all the ad platformsyou have for online shows.
Yeah, we'll pretty much ownreality contests on the internet
.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
When do you see that starting?
Do you know yet?
Speaker 2 (21:12):
Well, we're just now finishing up negotiating with
the group that's puttingtogether the whole tech.
It's a big deal, it's a huge,huge, and that's going to take
about four months four to fivemonths to complete.
It's very, very detailed, soit'll be within the next eight
(21:33):
months.
It'll take off, yeah, and thenfrom there we're going to have a
lot of little ancillarycontests going during the
contest.
Maybe for two weeks it'll beChristmas, right, so for two
weeks we're going to go.
We're going to say, hey, bestChristmas song sung in the car,
best Christmas sung song in theshower.
So all your ads go over thereand people have fun doing just a
(21:55):
simple little contest.
That's quick and then we canecho off.
We have three or four otherreality platforms that America
creates the content and Americavotes basically the same
infrastructure.
It's never been done.
We're in the middle of doing it.
So kind of exciting, right.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
Yeah, absolutely Nice .
Yeah, I'll be watching for it.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, you'll be submitting something.
Speaker 1 (22:19):
You never know.
So in closing, last year wasthe 50th anniversary of your
show Happy Days.
In your wildest dreams did youever think that 50 years later,
this show would be as relevantas it is today?
Speaker 2 (22:36):
No, no.
Which show does that?
No, I was just happy to get ajob, like Ron, and I thought I
think it'll be a hit for a while, because it was very.
You know, we hadn't done aHappy Days pilot before that.
You know that there were twopilots right.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
Yes, I'd heard that.
Speaker 2 (22:54):
The first one aired on Love America Style, didn't
sell, didn't have Fonzie, didn'thave Ralph, you know, they
thought it didn't sell.
Then American Graffiti came out.
After that Grease on Broadway,abc decided, hey, let's try it
again, but let's make it morelike graffiti.
We had an audition for theparts again and screen tested.
That's a whole other story.
But we got it again.
So they bought it and Ron and Ithought, well, you know, it's
(23:16):
kind of hip, kind of current, Ithink it'll go two years.
You know, had no idea it wouldgo 10 and a half years, it had
no idea it would be so iconic.
And here's the amazing thing Amajor research company, collider
, I think one of the major guys.
They went into what is the mostsuccessful show ever aired on
(23:41):
abc since the creation of thenetwork and had to do more than
just with ratings and all thathad to do with all sorts of
emotional response, the wholegamut, and they went in deep to
find, okay, what is the mostpopular show in the history
since the beginning of the ABCnetwork?
And they said and here's thetop 10.
And I go, oh, I wonder.
So I'm looking, 10, eight, nine, and I'm going, oh, god, man,
(24:06):
we didn't even get on.
We didn't even get on the top10.
Two one Happy Days, number onethe most popular, the best show
ever aired in the history of theabc network.
Wow, you can look that up yeah,I saw that list.
I thought that was justfantastic it's like wow, no, I
(24:29):
never, never did.
But I'll tell you everyone outthere, there was a magical time.
I'm just a small part of it, Iplay my character.
But the one thing Gary did heallowed us to contribute A lot
of success of that show wascollaborative ideas.
Collaborative ideas that hetook that he worked, I did music
, donnie came up with all thisstuff, henry came in.
(24:49):
I mean, we were all involved inmaking it better in a
collaborative way.
They had a lot to do with itand there was just an it factor,
just a moment in time, ofperfect, perfect chemistry,
perfect writing, perfecteverything and something and
something more.
There were countries that didn'teven know English that related
to the show.
(25:10):
I mean not in no English, theydidn't know the culture, they
didn't know the culture, theydidn't even know the culture,
but they related to thecharacters somehow, some way.
And I also think you knoweveryone wants friends that are
givers before takers.
And if you look at the show,even Fonzie's Cruz's, he's there
for you.
Parents that are givers, nottakers.
Everyone wants that kind offamily there for you.
(25:33):
You know where you're there foreach other and it's very subtle
, but it was there consistently.
It was very comfortable, it wasvery healing.
It like calmed you down and itmade you feel a bit more human
after the end of that half hour.
All that combined had some kindof magic.
I'm not the last to define it.
That's why it's lasted.
(25:53):
As far as the show itself, itwas always old.
It was old when it started itwas the 50s, but there's
something evergreen.
There's something evergreenwith those relationships and the
need for family and friendship.
I think it's going to be around.
As long as there's a screen toput it on, it's going to be
around.
Speaker 1 (26:13):
I think you are 100% correct there.
It was a great show with greatfamily values.
Well, this has been great.
I've really enjoyed this.
I really appreciate you takingthe time to come on.
Speaker 2 (26:26):
Well, I'm glad to Thank you so much for the time.
Speaker 1 (26:28):
It's been my pleasure .
Thanks again.
Thanks for joining us today.
We hope you enjoyed the show.
This has been a Tony Mantorproduction.
For more information, contactmedia at plateau music dot com.
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