Coopertalk

Steve Cooper talks with actor Brian Palermo. Brian a member of the sketch comedy group The Groundlings  has appeared in a number of television shows, commercials and movies. He is also a writer whose credits include Warner Brothers' Histeria! and Disney's Dave the Barbarian and Weekenders. His film credits include The Social Network, Daddy Day Care, My Life in Ruins and Big Momma's House among others. His TV appearances include Beverly Hills 90210, Zeke and Luther, State of Georgia, The Middle, Gary Unmarried, Friends, Malcolm in the Middle, Entourage, Will and Grace and many others. He has also appeared numerous times on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno mostly in sketches within the show, though in April 2011 he started doing 'correspondent' pieces and has a recurring character on Tyler Perry's House of Payne.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Richard Karn. Richard earned a B.F.A. at the University of Washington in their Professional Actor Training Program and played in off-Broadway and Broadway productions (his Broadway debut was playing a suit of armor in Me and My Girl), in the 1980s. However, it was his role as the shy, but confident Al Borland on the 1990s television sitcom Home Improvement that made him a star. He discovered it by accident after he ran a stop sign, was sent to traffic school, and met an agent who told him about the Home Improvement audition. Looking back at the success of the series and his beloved character, it seems hard to believe that the actor kept his job as an apartment manager during the first season, unsure of the fledgling show's future. During his years on the sitcom, he appeared as a host for TV specials and in made-for-TV films, including ABC's Picture Perfect and HBO's Bram Stoker's Legend of the Mummy. Following Home Improvement, he found a new niche as a game-show host, replacing

Steve Cooper talks with news correspondent Josh Mankiewicz. Josh began reporting for Dateline in February 1995, and since then, he has contributed a mix of breaking news stories, news analysis, investigative reports and clever features to the broadcast. He has covered a wide range of stories including Hurricane Katrina, the 1996 and 2000 presidential campaigns, the terrorist takeover of Japan’s embassy in Lima, Peru, the mysterious mental disorder known as Munchausen’s Syndrome by Proxy, the story of John Walker Lindh, the American who joined the Taliban, and numerous aspects of airline and airport safety and security. Prior to joining Dateline, he served as a correspondent for Fox Broadcasting Company's newsmagazine Front Page. Before he joined Fox Broadcasting, he was a political reporter for KCAL-TV, Los Angeles from 1991 to 1993. He also worked as political correspondent for WCBS-TV, New York where he covered local, state and national elections from 1986 to 1991 and from 1982 to 1986, he was a corresponde

Steve Cooper talks with writer David Wild. David is  an American writer and critic in the music and television industries and a contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine. His published books include Friends: The Official Companion, Seinfeld: The Totally Unauthorized Tribute, Friends Til' the End and others. He was the host of the television series Musicians which aired on Bravo and his writing credits for television include over two dozen series and specials. In 2001 he was nominated for an Emmy for his work on America: A Tribute to Heroes. He is also a regular guest on The Adam Carolla Show and brings a music guest or a musical selection to feature on the show.

Steve Cooper talks with comedian/writer Mick Betancourt. Mick has written scripts for several television shows on major networks. He was born in Chicago but now resides in LA. He sold his first television show to CBS television at age 30 and has since written on or produced shows such as Breakout Kings, Black Donnellys, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Chicago Fire, The Mob Doctor, Detroit 187, Necessary Roughness, Ironside and Chicago PD. Recently he directed his first short film which was well received at independent film festivals. He also has performed at The Chicago and Montreal Comedy Festivals as well as performed stand-up on NBC, Comedy Central, HBO and TBS and hosts the popular podcast The Mick Betancourt Show.

Steve Cooper talks with musician Clive Farrington. Clive is the vocalist who founded the popular 80' band When in Rome. Michael Floreale and Andy O'Connell were recruited by him to replace departed members of his Manchester-based group Beau Leisure. Floreale and him began to write songs together. Later, Farrington and Floreale saw Andrew Mann, a beat poet, and had him join their performances. The group was signed by Virgin UK and when their song The Promise became popular, hitting the top of Billboard's Dance Club Play chart, Virgin ordered an album. A remixed version of The Promise was the first single from their self-titled debut album. It was an instant success, barely missing the Top Ten in the United States, peaking at No. 11. After the band broke up The Promise was heard in the movie Napoleon Dynamite and found a brand new audience. Clive recently moved to the US and is playing with his version of When in Rome and also collaborating with other artists.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Reed Diamond. Reed got his first big break in the movie Memphis Belle. Since then he has made an impact in both films and TV. He has co-starred in many shows including Homicide: Life on the Street, Judging Amy, The Shield, Journeyman, Dollhouse, 24, Bones and The Mentalist and has been a guest star on the series Cold Case, The West Wing, Medium, Law & Order, CSI, Castle, Monk, White Collar, Revolution, The Glades and Criminal Minds and many others. He has also been in numerous movies such as Moneyball, Good Night, and Good Luck and Much Ado About Nothing. He can be currently seen on the hit series Franklin & Bash.      

Steve Cooper talks with actor Regan Burns. Regan has a long list of TV guest appearances that include Weeds, Curb Your Enthusiasm, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Without a Trace, CSI, Supernatural, Las Vegas and Back to You to name a few. He’s also had recurring roles on Reno 911, Sonny with a Chance, Titus, Once and Again and Rodney. A veteran of 100 plus commercials, Regan starred in famous campaigns for CapitalOne, Burger King and AFLAC. He hosted two seasons of the Spike TV game show Oblivious and three seasons of AMC’s Cinemania and he appeared regularly as a personality on AMC’s The Movie Club and PAX-TV’s Balderdash. He also co-hosted  GSN’s pilot of Annie Duke Controls the World and starred in the pilot of Craig Ferguson’s Really Big Improv Show for CBS. In 2007 he starred in a season of the improv/sitcom hybrid Halfway Home for Comedy Central and he  currently stars in the Disney Channel’s Dog with a Blog.  

Steve Cooper talks with actor Joe Nieves. Joe moved to LA from Brooklyn to become an actor and started landing roles in shows such as Arli$$, Becker, The X-Files, Judging Amy and Six Feet Under. After that he was seen in NYPD Blue, ER, The Young and the Restless, Without a Trace and many others that led him to being a regular on Day Break which was followed by guest star roles in hit series including Cold Case, Prime Suspect, Castle, The Shield and Gray's Anatomy. He has also had recurring parts in 24, The Mentalist and was Carl the Bartender in How I Met Your Mother. His movie credits include The Bling Ring and the upcoming West End.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Jon Polito. Jon a veteran of over 100 films is most recognized for his work with The Coen brothers, as well as his many television appearances as a series regular and guest star. Notable Motion Picture roles are in Millers Crossing, The Big Lebowski, Barton Fink, The Man Who Wasn't There, The Crow, Blankman, and The Freshman with Marlon Brando, and his cameo performance in Gangster Squad. On Television he starred as a series regular on Crime Story, Ohara, Hearts are Wild, The Chronical, and the critically acclaimed Homicide, Life on the Street. Notable guest star roles include the befuddled landlord Sylvio on Seinfeld, his only role as a woman, Rhonda, on The Chris Isaak Show, Danny Devito's brother Frank on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and recently an ex-mobster on Castle. He starred on Broadway with Faye Dunaway in The Curse Of An Aching Heart and with Dustin Hoffman in the 1985 Tony award winning revival of Death Of A Salesman, which he also filmed for CBS. He received th

Steve Cooper talks with musician dUg Pinnick. dUg is an American musician best known as the bass guitarist, songwriter, and co-lead vocalist for the band King's X. He has fifteen albums with King's X, four solo albums, and numerous side projects and guest appearances to his credit. He is known for his gospel-like voice and his heavily distorted bass tone, played through multiple Ampeg SVT-4 amplifiers. In March, 2014 his side project Grinder Blues with the Emmy Award-winning Bihlman Brothers signed a deal with Megaforce Records and are scheduled to release their debut record in July 2014. He also recently released a CD with the supergroup kXm that also includes George Lynch and Korn's Ray Luzier and he still stays busy touring and recording with King's X.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Jere Burns. Jere is best known for his roles as ladies' man Kirk Morris on the television series Dear John, psychiatrist Anson Fullerton on the television series Burn Notice and as Wynn Duffy in Justified. Over his career he has been a regular on many other shows including Bob, The Mommies, Something So Right, Good Morning, Miami, Help Me Help You, Breaking Bad and Bates Motel. He has also appeared on Grey's Anatomy, Hawaii Five-0, CSI, Trust Me, Psych, According to Jim and many others. He currently is about to start shooting the film Tribeca.

Steve Cooper talks with singer/songwriter John Easdale. John is the lead singer for the band Dramarama who was founded in NJ in 1982 and disbanded in 1994. They formally reunited in 2003 following an appearance on the VH1's Bands Reunited show. They have performing ever since with different line-ups. Their song Anything, Anything (I'll Give You) was a staple of 80's music and still is very popular to this day. John also does acoustic sets and is working on a solo album.

Steve Cooper talks with comic/actor Jon Huck. Jon has performed, and continues to perform, stand up all over the country. He has appeared on Season 4 of Comedy Central’s Live at Gotham" and his first CD “Fantasticular Hilaritation” is available on ITunes. He has also done television commercials for companies such as Milwaukee’s Best Light, Capital One, Boost Mobile, AT&T, Burger King, Starbucks and ESPN and from drunken bum to undercover cop he has portrayed several characters during the run of MTV’s popular hidden camera show Punk’d.  Most recently he appeared on VH1’s Undateable and his first feature, Garbage can be found on NetFlix.

Steve Cooper talks with comics/writers Bill Masters and Steve Skrovan. The two of them wrote together on Seinfeld. Bill was a fixture in the New York City comedy scenes in the early 80s appearing on VH1, MTV and A&E. He then relocated to Los Angeles where he served as producer or writer on such shows as Grace Under Fire, Murphy Brown, Caroline in the City, Raising Dad and Greetings from Home to name a few. Steve has won two Emmys for Everybody Loves Raymond where he served as Executive Producer and Writer. He has also held the same position for the show Hot In Cleveland, Til' Death and many others. He directed the documentary An Unreasonable Man which is about Ralph Nader. He got his start in comedy where he made many TV appearances in the early 90's. Recently he wrote for the hit show Wendell & Vinnie and the latest film he has directed Fred & Vinnie is available on Netflix.

Steve Cooper talks with comedian/actor/writer Jann Karam. Jann's numerous T.V. credits include stand-up appearances on Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show and HBO’s Young Comedians Show. In addition to playing one of Jerry’s girlfriend’s on Seinfeld, she has guest-starred on Norm, Mad About You, Politically Incorrect, Dr. Katz and many more. She wrote, directed, and starred in festival-award winning film,Under the Big Muu-Muu, a funny, touching look at mother-daughter relationships. She performs her one-woman showReclining Nude on La Cienega in Los Angeles and around the country. In addition, she’s written a book based on the show–a humorous collection of short stories about life, love and finding a place to lie down.

Steve Cooper talks with entertainment jack of all trades Max Wasa. Max is a long-time industry professional. She is a classically-trained musician; nationally-recognized children's writer; green product developer; the creative force behind Hopey The Hound Dog, The Delicate Dragonfly, Kid Fuel Beverages; and along with writing partner Carrie Magalski the author of the brand new graphic novel: Inspirit: Cherubs In Training. All of this and also being known as one of the most popular models ever to grace the pages of Playboy Magazine. Her giving heart and unending talent set her apart from most of her contemporaries. Whether being behind the board in the recording studio; on stage in front of 60,000 people with Alice Cooper at Wembly; writing curriculum for advanced music academies; teaching voice lessons; writing for Paw Print Magazine; being the musical director for the documentary film "Seed Of Faith"; or shooting large and small-scale films, Max is an inspiration.

Steve Cooper talks with actor/writer Jonathan Schmock. Jonathan got his start in the comedy team The Funny Boys whose many TV appearances included HBO's 7th Annual Young Comedians Special. As an actor he gained recognition as the snooty maitre d' in Ferris Buehler's Day Off and has been seen in the shows The Golden Girls, Blossom, My Wife and Kids, Malcolm in the Middle, Arrested Development, Samantha Who, CSI:NY, The Mentalist, The Big Bang Theory and many more. He also has written for television, where he created Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Brotherly Love and has been on the staff of such shows as Dharma & Greg, Real Time with Bill Maher and How to Live with Your Parents (For the Rest of Your Life).