Robert Wagner News

CBS's '48 Hours' To Investigate Wood's Death

2011-10-26T22:38:00.000-04:00

CBS's '48 Hours' to investigate Natalie Wood's death. Link to article.

It Takes a Thief - The Complete Series on DVD

2011-08-03T17:56:00.001-04:00

Click here to purchase It Takes a Thief on DVD.

It Takes a Thief Finally Coming to DVD October 11, 2011

2011-07-21T22:13:00.001-04:00

It Takes a Thief - eOne Announces 'The Complete Series' of the 1968 Robert Wagner Show
18-DVD set with all 3 seasons and bonus material will ship in October

Alexander Mundy is the world's greatest cat burglar...until the day he gets caught. But thievery skills are an asset in the world of espionage, so Mundy is pardoned when he agrees to use his wily ways to help steal for the U.S. Government. 6-time Golden Globe Nominee Robert Wagner (Austin Powers, "Hart to Hart") stars in his TV debut. Star-studded guests include Fred Astaire, Bette Davis, Peter Sellers and many more.

We've told you in the past that eOne Entertainment was working on a DVD release of Robert Wagner in It Takes a Thief - The Complete Series. Our most recent update was last Christmas Eve, with the expectation that we'd see the show come home in the Summer 2011 timeframe. That obviously moved, and now eOne has informed retailers that the 18-DVD collectible set will be available at last on October 11th.

Priced at $199.98 SRP, you will get all 3 seasons of the classic TV show from the late '60s, presented in the original full screen video format with English mono audio. There are English subtitles on board, too. Also included you'll find extras such as a Retrospective Featurette, a New Robert Wagner interview, the "Magnificent Thief" version of the Pilot Episode, "A Matter of Larceny" Interview with Glen A. Larson, and a Collectible Photo Book. Finalized package art hasn't been provided yet, but here's an early graphic that suggests which direction they're heading in. There's also a link to an Amazon.com listing for the title, but the big e-tailer isn't accepting pre-orders as of this writing. Check back, though!

Click below to pre-order.

It Takes a Thief - The Complete Series

Wagner drops out of TV series

2011-07-21T21:16:00.002-04:00

Robert Wagner has dropped out of the new Charlie's Angels television series due to a scheduling conflict.

Wagner had taken over for John Forsythe as the voice of Charlie in the ABC remake, which will air later this year.

A statement from a production spokesman reads, "Due to his scheduling conflicts, Robert Wagner will need to step away from his duties as Charlie on Charlie's Angels."

Producers are now looking for another well-known TV personality to play crime agency boss Charles Townsend.

Annie Ilonzeh, Rachael Taylor and Minka Kelly will play the Angels on the new show.

It takes a movie star: Robert Wagner enjoying Turner Classic Movies guest stint

2011-07-15T21:42:00.000-04:00

Robert Wagner appreciates spending some time in Robert Osborne's shoes.

As the primetime host of Turner Classic Movies begins a three-month break for what the network calls "minor surgery" and a subsequent vacation, veteran actor Wagner is the first of several guest hosts enlisted. Friday (July 15), he'll introduce several films made by Western star Tex Ritter -- father of John, grandfather of Jason -- and the next night, he'll present Clark Gable movies ("Mogambo," "Band of Angels").

"They are absolutely first-rate, top-of-the-line people," Wagner tells Zap2it of the TCM staff. "They run that organization so well, and they create such a tremendous atmosphere. They're wonderful, and so is Bob [Osborne]. We've been friends for years. We were both under contract to the Fox studio, so I go back a long time with him, and he's just one of the nicest people I've ever known. When they called me about this, I was thrilled and touched and flattered."

Still, for the vast Hollywood history that has seen him cast in everything from the 1953 "Titanic" to the "Austin Powers" spy spoofs, Wagner has no illusions about being another Robert Osborne.

"He is a master at that. It's kind of an interesting situation, because I think I'm the first person who's ever come in there (as a primetime stand-in, though Ben Mankiewicz is a daytime TCM host). I don't think he's ever missed an introduction in 17 years, and he's so highly respected by everyone."

MGM-musical veteran Jane Powell ("Royal Wedding") will be on TCM hosting duty next week, with Tippi Hedren ("The Birds") slated for the week of July 25. They're likely to draw on their own showbiz memories as Wagner has; he recalled being in the Broadway audience watching Robert Preston in "The Music Man" when he introduced the 1962 screen version Wednesday (July 13).

"They write so beautifully for those pieces," Wagner says of the TCM host segments. "I just suggested to them that I had seen Robert Preston on Broadway, so we put that kind of stuff in ... which they love, because it personalizes it."

Wagner also is able to do that with Clark Gable. "I tell the story about waiting there as a kid with his golf bag on my shoulder, hoping to caddy for him. He came out and looked at me and said, 'There's that kid again!' He was wonderful; he got me into MGM and was just so great to me. It's a nice thing to be able to add that."

Also a longtime television star through such series as "It Takes a Thief" and "Hart to Hart," Wagner -- who is married to actress Jill St. John -- is maintaining a home-screen presence through his recurring role as Tony DiNozzo's (Michael Weatherly) father on CBS' Tuesday hit "NCIS." He'll also be heard as Charlie in ABC's fall reboot of "Charlie's Angels," after having a share in the production of the original version.

"NCIS" is, according to Wagner, "the icing on the cake, to work with those people. They're just the best. They all have respect for one another, the writing is great, and I love that character. And I love Michael. I'm just crazy about him, so it's not a difficult thing to do. Our chemistry seems to work pretty well."

Working on his second autobiography now, Wagner also has been seen lately as a commercial spokesman. "Sometimes," he says, "I'll be driving down the road, and a guy will beep his horn at me and I'll look over and he'll say, 'I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you.' And that's the reverse-mortgage thing. The response to me in those kinds of presentations has been very gratifying. I believe in them, and I think that helps."

Turner Classic Movies Host to Take a Break

2011-07-11T19:46:00.002-04:00

Robert Osborne, the longtime host of the Turner Classic Movies channel, plans to take a three-month leave of absence, the channel said in a statement Monday. Mr. Osborne, 79, will be undergoing minor surgery, the channel said, without specifying for what, as well as taking a vacation.

Perhaps assuaging viewers’ concerns, the channel noted that Mr. Osborne, who has been the channel’s host since 1994, recently renewed his contract. In his place, guest hosts including Robert Wagner, Jane Powell and Tippi Hedren will step in, with others to be announced “in the coming weeks,” the statement said. In the interim, Mr. Osborne will still appear in taped features like the channel’s guest programmer series and “The Essentials,” a weekly showing of a must-see film.

Links to Purchase Five of the H2H Reunion Movies

2011-03-11T14:55:00.002-05:00

Hart to Hart Returns

Hart to Hart: Home is Where the Hart Is

Hart to Hart: Crimes of the Hart Is

Hart to Hart: Old Friends Never Die

Hart to Hart: Secrets of the Hart

Robert Wagner to Voice Charlie in ABC’s Charlie’s Angels Reboot

2011-01-13T18:32:00.000-05:00

ABC's long-gestating reboot of Charlie's Angels is a bit closer to reality today: The network has officially given the thumbs-up to producers Sony Pictures Television and Drew Barrymore to begin filming a pilot for the revival. Smallville vets Al Gough and Miles Millar are show-runners on the new Angels, which moves the action down to Miami. Casting sessions for Angels 3.0 (we're just going to forget about the pilot for Angles '88) began last week, with producers looking at both newcomers and more established actresses. Vulture hears one key part may already be filled, however: the voice of Charlie.

We've confirmed those Internet rumors that former Hart to Hart star Robert Wagner, who turns 81 next month, is in talks to serve as the Angels' unseen boss (the late John Forsythe was the original). We had been hoping the remake might utilize a more contemporary voice for the part (think Will Smith, or maybe even Barrymore). But our spies say that Wagner's casting is related to an old deal the actor had with original Angels producer Aaron Spelling that gave Wagner a stake in the Angels TV franchise. Wagner unsuccessfully sued Sony for a share of the profits from the movie versions of Angels, but he might have been able to make trouble for Sony had the studio tried to do a new TV version without his blessing. Paying Wagner to voice Charlie seems like a clever way to avoid any future headaches.

Pieces of Robert Wagner’s Heart

2011-01-12T00:16:00.000-05:00

The ageless Robert Wagner was the guest speaker at the Westside Center for Independent Living’s Holiday Tea. He spoke about his latest book, Pieces of My Heart – A Life, and reminisced about his long show business career, while answering questions about his life and book.

The octogenarian actor, who is still one handsome hunk, is slated to portray Charlie Townsend in the new Charlie's Angels remake. He has big shoes to fill – as the late, great John Forsythe was in the original TV series. But our money is on robust Robert to thrill the ladies – as he did at the Westside Holiday Tea.

'NCIS' exclusive: Robert Wagner to play Tony's dad!

2009-11-02T18:40:00.001-05:00

If nothing else, NCIS‘ upcoming 150th episode will be remembered for one thing: introducing us to Tony’s dad!

Veteran actor Robert Wagner — yes, the former Jonathan Hart himself! — has been cast as the dad of Michael Weatherly’s TV sleuth, sources confirm to me exclusively. Father and son will reunite in NCIS‘ milestone episode, slated to air in January.

Got a case of déjà vu? It’s probably because Weatherly played Wagner in the 2004 TV movieThe Mystery of Natalie Wood.

TV’s No. 1 show has an impressive track record when it comes to casting fathers of its lead characters. Previous daddy coups include Michael Nouri (as Ziva’s pa) and Ralph Waite (as Gibbs’ dad).

It Takes a Thief - The Classic 1968 Robert Wagner Series is Rumored for DVD Release!

2009-10-29T23:32:00.000-04:00

No definite announcement yet, so we officially have to call this 'gossip' for now

Are you sitting down? The rumors have reached our ears, from a VERY reliable industry source who spoke on condition of remaining anonymous, that the classic Robert Wagner series It Takes a Thief, which ran on ABC for 3 seasons (from 1968-1970), is finally going to come to DVD!

The series co-starred Malachi Throne, who had key guest roles in such classic shows as Star Trek ("Commodore Mendez"), Batman ("False Face", which is said to be that show's more family-friendly version of the classic villian Two-Face), Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea ("Blackbeard the Pirate") and Babylon 5 ("Centauri Prime Minister"), among many others in his long career. The legendary Fred Astaire had a recurring role in the show's last season, and another recurring role was had by the ever-lovely Susan Saint James (Kate & Allie, McMillan & Wife).

There are many more recurring stars and guest stars to mention from the show's 66-episode run, but we'll save that for the official announcement, if and when that comes! Right now this DVD is just gossip, officially, but it comes from a source that has always proven to be right on the money. We'll fill you in once we find out which studio is involved (it may have been sub-licensed), and what else we can expect about the show's release. Stay tuned!

Traveling with the Stars: Robert Wagner

2009-09-17T12:49:00.003-04:00

Actor Robert Wagner, who appears occasionally on CBS' Two and a Half Men, chronicles his six decades in show business in his bestselling memoir Pieces of My Heart, which will be released in paperback on Sept. 15. He spent part of the 1960s living in Italy and France but now resides in Aspen., Colo., with actress Jill St. John, his wife of 19 years. He shares his travel highlights and tips.

Q: Where have you been recently that you liked or were surprised by?

A: I was in Beaune (in the Burgundy region). I had driven through there before but this time was a tremendous experience. I was really taken by it. I love the French country. I was able to appreciate it and accept it more this time. Some friends of ours asked us to go with them and this one man is very much into wine. He was able to open some doors for me at cellars that were incredible. I hadn't been aware of those wines in that part of the world. I stayed at L'Hôtel de Beaune. It was just wonderful. I'm not very good at those long dinners. I'm more of a bistro and country cooking (man). That's what I like — simplicity… and this time was such a simple travel experience for me and that always makes it better.

Q: What's the best place you've ever visited?

A: I lived in Saint Paul de Vence, France, for a year in the 1960s. What did I do? I lived. I drank it all in. I took it into my soul. I did a movie. I had given up my apartment in Rome. Oh, it was a wonderful time. I lived at La Colombe d'Or and I never thought that would happen to me. David Niven had introduced me to the hotel and I had heard about it. I got to know the people who ran it, the Roux family. I just loved it there. I felt so at home and they were so warm to me and nice. It was a great privilege to be able to stay there for that length of time. I've been back several times. It's very romantic. I was back there with my (second) wife (Marion Marshall), who is the mother of my daughter Katie. I was back there with Natalie (he married actress Natalie Wood twice) and with Jill. That whole valley is so captivating and the warmth and feeling of the people and the feeling of life is there. I had no obligations then. Natalie and I had divorced and I was kind of on my own. And then Marion and I went there. Timing is it. It just worked for me and I was able to take it in, thank God.

Now all of these places have changed so much because of the people who have found them and go there. It's just become overpowering. The thing about traveling for me is the culture and being able to engage yourself in it. You find that the basic needs and wants and caring are all the same, particularly when you see people with children and young people.

Q: What's the most surprising/unexpected place you're ever visited?

A: I lived in Rome for three years. I was there at such a great time, in the 60s when all of the motion picture industry was centered around there. Cleopatra was being made. We made The Pink Panther there. It was just a joyous, wonderful, wonderful time. Rome was the place. All of the wonderful directors were there. They were making these great films and I wanted to be a part of it. I worked for Vittorio De Sica and with Sophia Loren. It all worked for me. It was a continual surprise. Every corner you go around is just unbelievable. You go around the corner and you're in a piazza you never thought you'd ever be in. Italy is so special to me because of the fact that I had the opportunity of living there for that length of time as a foreigner and that's a great gift to be given. I learned Italian but I speak like Tonto. I learned enough to get along. I haven't been to Italy for a while. Rome has changed a lot.

Q: What's your favorite vacation spot?

A: I love Paris. I've been going there for quite a while. I have friends there and I really enjoy it. I find it so romantic. I love the lighting. I walk all over. I think it has a great deal of softness. I was at a dinner one night with a woman and I was talking to her about the clouds. They have such special, special skies in Paris. She told me it's because the surface of the earth is closer. In some of the Impressionist paintings you see the clouds and how well they're represented. The reason is because they have those very special skies. I love the trees and the smells and the people. My French is not very good at all but it doesn't make any difference because I've got the feeling. I'm going to France for a wedding and I'll take the train into Paris. Taking the train through the French countryside is absolutely fabulous. It takes a lot to pull me away from where I am now because of where I live. The Rocky Mountains of Colorado are just superb.

Q: Can you offer an insider tip or recommendation for your favorite vacation place?

A: I've never been in a bistro in France that I haven't liked. I love going to restaurants. I really like the country food. In Paris I love the Brasserie Lipp and La Coupole. I love to get some French bread, a little salami and a cold bottle of white wine and go into Rodin's Garden.

Natalie Wood's Death Probed 30 Years Later

2009-08-25T14:32:00.002-04:00

THIS weekend -- ending tonight -- Lincoln Center has sponsored a Natalie Wood retrospective.

Natalie Wood. Glorious wide-eyed brunette. Movie star married to movie star Robert Wagner. Oscar nominee for "Splendor in the Grass" and "Rebel Without a Cause" co-starring James Dean. At age 43, on Nov. 29, 1981, in sight of her yacht Splendour, she drowned off Santa Catalina Island's Blue Cavern Point. Police ruled it accidental death.

Coming out now is the book "Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour." Last year I was told, "Don't mention this manuscript until everyone figures out how to do it. It's too hot. Right now we're talking about a lie-detector test." Recently an advance copy arrived, and I was told, "Write about it."

It's the words of the yacht's captain, Dennis Davern. The back cover says this "is the long awaited, detailed account of events that led to the mysterious death of Hollywood legend Natalie Wood . . . a story told by a haunted witness to that fateful evening." The cover says Davern's version of that evening's events was initially the same as Wagner's, but that now Davern feels he somehow failed Natalie.

Capt. Dennis Davern reached out to a collaborator, his friend Marti Rulli, "and little by little, at his own emotional pace," talked "of the fateful weekend Natalie died, and of the events following her death that prevented him from telling the whole story -- until now."

The captain said: "It's the kind of story that never goes away . . . and, you know, you just have to do this for her."

His story includes words like "drunkenness . . . screamed profanities . . . raging mad . . . wine bottle smashed . . . "broken glass . . . master stateroom in disarray . . . terrible argument . . . "

The last chapter claims Dennis Davern "willingly agreed to a polygraph test and a hypnosis session to validate his truth" -- and "passed."

The book's imprint is Medallion Publishing Inc. of Beverly Hills.

Click here for more info on "Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour."

Actor Robert Wagner still wows the crowd in Stuart, FL

2009-02-21T12:45:00.002-05:00

Tina Bowerman, center, talks with Robert Wagner during a luncheon and book signing of Wagner's book "Pieces of My Heart," Friday in Palm City.

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PALM CITY - Film and television star Robert J. Wagner talks with guest who came out for the signing of his book, "Pieces of My Heart," at a luncheon in Palm City. The luncheon was to benefit the Blake Library.

STUART, FL — He's a movie star and a television heartthrob. Depending on your age, you remember him as a teenage heartthrob, the stylish rogue in "It Takes a Thief," the romantic leading man in "Hart to Hart" or the evil No. 2 in the Austin Powers movies.

Robert Wagner's career spans more than 60 years.

"Natalie Wood and I came to Stuart for our honeymoon," he told a crowd of more than 400 women and a sprinkling of men gathered at a luncheon at the Harbour Ridge Yacht and Country Club in Palm City to raise money for the Blake Library. "We didn't stay too long. It was before Stuart was what it is today. Natalie wanted something a little more romantic."

Wagner, 79, oozes romance. Dressed in khaki slacks, cashmere sports coat, yellow shirt and dark tie, he held the crowd's attention for almost two hours. Interviewed by the co-author Scott Eyman of their best-selling book "Pieces of My Heart: A Life," Wagner talked about his road to fame. Seated at his side was Jill St. John, who looks so much like the Jill St. John of 20 years ago it's a bit surprising.

With her trademark red hair tousled in a poodle cut, a white suit with peplum jacket and black suede heels to match a silk flower at her throat, she enthusiastically carried on conversations at her lunch table and watched her husband intently as he told stories of the good old days.

Wagner's desire to act was ignited when he was only 10 years old and working as a caddy at the Bel-Air Country Club.

"The only thing I wanted to do was be in the movies," he said. "I caddied for Clark Gable. I used to wait for him in the parking lot, run around and get his clubs and be ready for him. He helped me out at MGM."

Wagner started out working the test stage at MGM, which is where he met Marilyn Monroe.

"She was a very unusual lady," he said. "She had a great sense of humor. It is amazing how her legacy has gone on."

Working with legends James Cagney and Spencer Tracy were pivotal to Wagner's career. Both men looked out for him, set him straight when needed, and helped him get roles.

"I was doing 'What Price Glory,'" he said. "I was 20 years old and dying on screen in Jim Cagney's arms. I couldn't get over it. He was a wonderful man and I admired him so much. John Ford was the director and he picked me out to be the boy he picked on. Cagney held my hand a lot."

Barbara Stanwyck held his hand, too, in a secret relationship that lasted four years.

"I was working on 'Titanic' with her and Clifton Webb. I don't know if it was timing. We just looked at each other and things started. I fell in love with her. She was 44 and I was 22. That wasn't accepted in those days."

Although that night off Catalina Island aboard the Splendour when Natalie Wood mysteriously fell to her death must have been on the audience's mind, Wagner only talked about working in "All the Fine Young Cannibals" with the woman he married twice.

"She was a tremendous professional," he said. "She started in the business when she was 4 years old with Orson Welles and Claudette Colbert. Working with her was a wonderful experience."

Anecdotes about Peter Sellers and the making of "The Pink Panther," his friend David Niven and a recent experience on the set of "Two and A Half Men" involving lipstick and a hoo hoo kept the audience laughing.

Wagner said he was surprised at his book's success; It's been on the New York Times bestseller list for a month. "It's extraordinary going around the world and people know about your life and career," he said. "And they are glad to see you."

Robert Wagner to Appear in Moorpark

2009-01-29T13:50:00.002-05:00

The Moorpark City Library is pleased to present An Afternoon with Robert Wagner who will discuss his New York Times bestselling book, Pieces of My Heart.

When: Saturday, February 7th

Time: 2:00pm, doors open at 1:00pm.

Where: High Street Arts Center, 45 E. High Street, Moorpark, CA

Info: 805-517-6370

Admission: Free

www.moorparklibrary.org

Robert Wagner's new book will be on sale and the event is followed by a book signing.

In his moving memoir, Robert J. Wagner opens his heart to share the romances, the drama, and the humor of an incredible life. Mr. Wagner has been active in Hollywood for more than five decades and has starred in such films as A Kiss Before Dying, The Logest Day, The Pink Panther, and most recently, the Austin Powers Movies. Wagner also starred in three long running series, It Takes A Thief, Switch, and Hart to Hart. He is currently featured on Two and a Half Men.

Robert Wagner shares life's tragedies and romances

2009-01-28T15:47:00.001-05:00

Actor will visit Mission Viejo on Saturday to promote his memoir.

Some know him as the evil Number Two in the Austin Powers movie series while others from another decade remember him as the handsome Jonathan Hart in "Hart to Hart" — the actor behind those memorable characters, Robert Wagner, is coming to Orange County to promote his new book "Pieces of My Heart: A Life."

Wagner's memoir, released in September, recounts the highlights, challenges and tragedies of his career and love life.

His story is cast with Hollywood legends Spencer Tracey, Clark Gable, Fred Astaire, David Niven, Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart and Gregory Peck. In it he reveals his love affair in the 1950s with Barbara Stanwyck, an actress twice his age, and writes about the tragic night his wife Natalie Wood died in boating accident off the coast of Catalina.

It took the 78-year-old actor three and a half years to complete the book with co-author Scott Eyman.

Wagner will appear at Mission Viejo's Norman P. Murray Community and Senior Center as part of the Writers Present program on Saturday at 6 p.m.

Here's what he had to say about his book:

Q. How did the book come about?

A. I was just so amazed in being in this industry for 60 years and I'm still working. For some people it happens for and others it doesn't. I've been so fortunate in my life that I just wanted to put it down. It's amazing and that's what motivated me to write.

Q. What does the title, "Pieces of My Heart," mean to you?

A. It means these people all have pieces of my heart and they were able to be so helpful to me and putting my life together and getting me back on my feet and helping me get through life — its dark spots and bright spots.

Q. Describe the writing process.

A. I had a lot of still pictures that I could look at and that would bring back memories. I went into old telephone books and I had some fans who kept scrapbooks from when I started. I was able to look at those and I could associate mentally… so that was very helpful. And then, also in my mind are all these times that I've had — my relationship with Fred Astaire, being a little boy and then working with him. And, my God, being a little boy and seeing Clark Gable and having him arrange for me to go to MGM and say, 'Hey, maybe you can be something.'

Q. What did you enjoy most about putting the book together?

A. When I felt it started to work and that it started right — that was encouraging to let it go. I didn't jump around. I wanted to start at the beginning.

Q. What was the most challenging part about writing the book?

A. There are a lot of stories and it could've been a lot longer. There are other people and moments in my life. It's not an autobiography, it's a memoir. It's a quest to decide what to leave in, what to take out, and structuring the book in a way. The biggest challenge was letting it go. I've never written before. This was all very close to me and I wanted to be correct and honest with it. I had a great deal of anxiety. When I let it go I fell into depression a bit. When you say, 'That's it,' and they start to print it — that's it and you can't take it back.

Q. What are you working on now?

A. I was doing (the TV show) "Two and a Half Men" until they stopped doing guest spots. I was making love to (actress) Jenny McCarthy when I died. What a way to go on the No. 1 comedy! Now I'm producing some things, talking to people into financing, and putting together projects and I'm also involved with this book.

An Evening with Robert Wagner

What: A free question-and-answer session and talk with the actor at 6 p.m. Saturday

Where:Norman P. Murray Community and Senior Center, 24932 Veterans Way, Mission Viejo

Reservations:949-830-7100 ext. 5105. Registration is closed. A waiting list is open.

Book signing:No reservations necessary. Open to the public. Begins at 7 p.m. Book available for purchase, $26.

An Evening with Robert Wagner at Thousand Oaks Library

2009-01-22T22:45:00.001-05:00

Thousand Oaks Library is pleased to present An Evening with Robert Wagner who will discuss his New York Times bestselling book, Pieces of My Heart. Wagner will be in conversation with Hollywood Producer Keith Sky. This event will be Friday, February 13, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. and is free to the public, however, seating is limited. The library is located at 1401 E. Janss Road.

Robert Wagner's new book will be on sale and the event is followed by a book signing.

In this moving memoir, Robert J. Wagner opens his heart to share the romances, the drama, and the humor of an incredible life. Wagner grew up in Bel Air next door to a golf course that changed his life. As a young boy, he saw a foursome playing one morning featuring none other than Fred Astaire, Clark Gable, Randolph Scott, and Cary Grant. Seeing these giants of the silver screen awed him and fueled his dreams of becoming a movie star. Battling a revolving door of boarding schools and a father who wanted him to forget Hollywood and join the family business, sixteen-year-old Wagner started like any naïve kid would-walking along Sunset Boulevard, hoping that a producer or director would notice him.Under the mentorship of stars like Spencer Tracy, he would become a salaried actor in Hollywood's studio system among other hot actors of the moment such as his friends Rock Hudson and Tony Curtis.

Working with studio mogul Darryl Zanuck, Wagner began to appear in a number of films alongside the most beautiful starlets-but his first love was Barbara Stanwyck.Stanwyck, an actress twice his age. As his career blossomed, and after he separated from Stanwyck, he met the woman who would change his life forever, Natalie Wood. They fell instantly and deeply in love and stayed together until the stress of their careers-hers, marching upward, his inexplicably deflating-drove them to divorce. Trying to forget the pain, he made more movies and spent his time in Europe with the likes of Steve McQueen, Sophia Loren, Peter Sellers, Laurence Olivier, David Niven, Liz Taylor, and Joan Collins. He would meet and marry the beautiful former model and actress Marion Marshall. Together they had a daughter and made their way back to America, where he found himself at the beginning of a new era in Hollywood-the blossoming of television.

Lew Wasserman and later Aaron Spelling would work with Wagner as he produced and starred in some of the most successful programs in history. Despite his newfound success, his marriage to Marion fell apart. He looked no further than Natalie Wood, for whom he still pined. To the world's surprise, they fell in love all over again, this time more deeply and with maturity. As she settled into a domestic life, raising their own daughter, Courtney, as well as their children from previous marriages, Wagner became the sole provider, reaping the riches of television success. Their life together was cut tragically short, though, when Wood died after falling from their yacht.For the first time, Wagner writes about that tremendously painful time.

After a serious bout with depression, he finally resurfaced and eventually married Jill St. John, who helped keep his family and his fractured heart together. With color photographs and never-before-told stories, this is a quintessentially American story of one of the great sons of Hollywood.

About the Author

Robert J. Wagner has been active in Hollywood for more than five decades and has starred in such films as A Kiss Before Dying, The Longest Day, The Pink Panther, and, most recently, the Austin Powers movies. On television, Wagner also starred in three long-running series, It Takes a Thief (with Fred Astaire), Switch (with Eddie Albert and Sharon Gless), and Hart to Hart (with Stefanie Powers). He is currently featured on Two and a Half Men. Wagner is married to actress Jill St. John and share their time between Aspen and Los Angeles.

Robert Wagner Appearances

2008-12-07T13:21:00.001-05:00

CBS Sunday Morning

Profile of Robert Wagner at his home in Aspen has been scheduled to air on December 14th

Book Signings

Diesel Books, Los Angeles, CA - December 11 - 7pm
Camelot Theatre, Palm Springs, CA - December 13 - 10:30am
Harbour Ridge yacht and Coutry Club, Palm City, FL - February 20, 11:30am

Live with Regis and Kelly on Tuesday

2008-11-03T11:32:00.001-05:00

R.J. is supposed to appear on Live with Regis and Kelly tomorrow, Tuesday, November 4.

CYInterview.com - Robert Wagner

2008-10-12T14:38:00.001-04:00

Chris Yandek Interview with Robert Wagner

R.J. on The Rachael Ray Show

2008-10-09T14:53:00.001-04:00

Legendary Mystery Taster

Backstage on Rachael Ray

R.J. on ET

2008-10-08T16:22:00.000-04:00

Stars Collide for a Hollywood Legend

Robert Wagner - Honeycomb

2008-10-05T15:11:00.000-04:00

Better.tv Pieces of My Heart

2008-10-05T15:10:00.000-04:00

Events Promoting Pieces of My Heart

2008-09-29T20:12:00.001-04:00

All Events Promoting Pieces of My Heart

Tuesday, September 23, 2008
07:00 AM - 09:00 AM
ABC-TV/Good Morning America

Tuesday, September 23, 2008
12:30 PM
BARNES & NOBLE
555 Fifth Ave at 46th ST New York, NY 10017

Tuesday, September 23, 2008
07:00 PM
BOOKENDS
232 E Ridgewood Ave Ridgewood, NJ 07450

Tuesday, September 23, 2008
ABC Radio Satellite Tour Live

Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Entertainment Tonight

Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Fox and Friends, Live

Wednesday, September 24, 2008
WMYC Radio
Leonard Lopate Show

Friday, September 26, 2008
07:00 PM
BARNES & NOBLE
901 B S Coast Drive STE 150 Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Saturday, September 27, 2008
12:00 PM
VROMAN'S BOOKSTORE
695 E. Colorado Blvd. Pasadena, CA 91101

Saturday, September 27, 2008
05:00 PM
BOOK SOUP
8818 Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90069

Sunday, September 28, 2008
03:00 PM - 03:45 PM
WEST HOLLYWOOD BOOK FAIR
647 N. San Vicente Blvd., West Hollywood Park, Los Angeles, CA

Tuesday, September 30, 2008
11:35 (EST) - NBC
"The Tonight Show With Jay Leno"

Wednesday, October 01, 2008
07:00 PM
BORDERS BOOKS AND MUSIC
9301 Tampa Avenue, Northridge, CA

Thursday, October 02, 2008
07:00 PM
SANTA MONICA PUBLIC LIBRARY
601 Santa Monica Blvd. Santa Monica, CA 90401

Monday, October 6, 2008
The Rachael Ray Show (syndicated)

Robert Wagner Interviews

2008-09-28T19:17:00.004-04:00

Robert Wagner on The Leonard Lopate Show on WNYC September 24, 2008

Robert Wagner on KPCC September 26, 2008

LA Times Interview

2008-09-28T18:33:00.002-04:00

Robert Wagner shares pieces of his heart

The actor discusses Natalie Wood's death and his affair with Barbara Stanwyck in his new memoir.

By Susan King, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
September 24, 2008

Robert Wagner gets a bit emotional explaining how he came up with the title of the memoir he wrote with Scott Eyman, "Pieces of My Heart."

After receiving a rough manuscript of the autobiography, he recalls, he decided to read the chapter about Barbara Stanwyck to his wife, Jill St. John, and a friend. The veteran Stanwyck and Wagner had a secret four-year relationship in the 1950s when he was in his early 20s and she was in her mid-40s. "She was a wonderful woman," Wagner says. "She was such a big part of my life."

Wagner got so choked up during the reading that he couldn't finish. He says their friend commented, " 'It must be very difficult to write a book. It must be very painful.' I said, 'Yes. It's taken pieces of my heart.' That's how I got the title."

Wagner's book has plenty of stories about his stern, demanding father, his early years in Hollywood, his friendship with such legends as Spencer Tracy and David Niven -- "you couldn't ask for a better friend" -- and his career ups and downs.

The crux of "Pieces of My Heart," however, revolves around his first -- and third -- wife, Natalie Wood, who died in 1981. For the first time since her death, Wagner talks publicly about the fateful night. But there are no surprise revelations in his account; he reiterates what the coroner and police concluded: Wood's drowning was accidental.

Wagner is 78. His daughters are grown, and he's a grandfather. He remains handsome and charming.

Known as one of the nicest guys in Hollywood, the actor admits he's astonished at the age range of his fans.

There are those who initially watched him as the hunky male juvenile in such 1950s films as "Prince Valiant" and "A Kiss Before Dying." A whole new generation was introduced to him in the late 1960s when he played the stylish thief Alexander Mundy in the lighthearted ABC caper series "It Takes a Thief." And then there are those who fell in love with him as the dashing crime solver Jonathan Hart in the ABC romantic mystery series "Hart to Hart" with Stefanie Powers, which aired from 1979 to 1984.

To the current generation, Wagner's the evil No. 2 in the "Austin Powers" comedies and a frequent guest on sitcoms, most recently on "Two and a Half Men."

Wagner has chosen the restaurant at the Hotel Bel-Air for the interview. It is one of his favorite haunts. And he seems to be a favorite of everyone who works there. It's almost like the scene in "Hello, Dolly!" when Dolly Levi goes to Delmonico's. The chef stops by for a chat and sends over a seared tuna appetizer with his compliments. The waiters dote. One of the valets has even named his son after the actor.

Wagner has a lot of nostalgic affection for the area. As a kid, he used to caddy at the Bel-Air Country Club, where he got to know everyone -- Fred Astaire, Clark Gable, Bing Crosby.

"There was nothing else here but the Bel-Air Hotel," he says, pointing out that the area where the pool is located was once a stable. "There were horses and trails all around. They have taken all the horses out of Beverly Hills and Holmby Hills. Everybody had horses. The center of Sunset Boulevard was a bridle path."

Wagner says it was "very difficult, very painful" to write about Wood's death.

"We were such a romantic couple, actually. The highlight of our lives was when we got back together. And then this horrible tragedy . . . good God."

Wagner and Wood first married in 1957 and divorced five years later. Both went on to marry other people -- and have children -- only to get back together and remarry in 1972. They had their daughter Courtney in 1974.

In the fall of 1981, Wood was in Raleigh, N.C., making the sci-fi film "Brainstorm" with Christopher Walken. It was the first time Wagner and Wood had been apart since their remarriage.

About a month into filming, Wagner visited the set, where he noticed he didn't have Wood's full attention. He describes Wood as being "emotionally unfaithful."

Did he think she was having an affair with Walken?

"No," Wagner says quietly. "She was involved in the picture and involved in the work . . . ."

Wagner and Wood had invited Walken to be their guest that Thanksgiving weekend on Catalina aboard their boat the Splendour. The evening of Nov. 29, the trio had dinner and drinks at Doug's Harbor Reef. They returned to the boat and continued to drink until a heated argument erupted between the two men. Wagner says it concerned how much of one's personal life should be sacrificed in pursuit of one's career; he was upset that Walken was advocating that Wood give all to her art, even at the expense of her husband and children.

Wood left to go to the master cabin's bathroom. Wagner says he and Walken eventually calmed down and said good night. When he went to bed, he says, Wood wasn't there.

It's believed the dinghy had gotten loose and Wood came up on deck to tie it up.

"I have gone over it so many millions of times with people. Nobody heard anything.

"It's in the book . . . but she had marks on her [body]. All of those things lead to the belief that she had slipped and rolled into the water, which makes a lot of sense because the boat -- when they found it, it hadn't been started and the oars were all in the same position. There was no evidence that she tried to get in it."

These days, Wagner and St. John, who have been married 18 years, live in Aspen, Colo., and keep a pied-à-terre in L.A.

He has no plans to retire from acting, though he won't be returning to his guest role as Holland Taylor's paramour on "Two and a Half Men." "I loved doing that show, but they decided to get the guest artists out of the show and go back to the original [format]," he says.

So Wagner's character was killed off on his wedding day -- suffering a heart attack after having sex with his younger lover (Jenny McCarthy) right after marrying another woman. "I was very disappointed about leaving the show, but what a way to go -- to have Jenny McCarthy make love to me in the most marvelous ways," he says with a wry smile.

Robert Wagner on NPR

2008-09-25T12:27:00.001-04:00

Link to NPR Interview

R.J. on Fox and Friends After the Show Show 9-24-08

2008-09-24T19:08:00.004-04:00

R.J. on Fox and Friends 9-24-08

2008-09-24T18:46:00.004-04:00

R.J. on GMA 9-23-08

2008-09-24T02:04:00.004-04:00

The life and loves of Robert 'RJ' Wagner

2008-09-24T00:24:00.001-04:00

Robert Wagner has spent 60 of his 78 years in show business, beginning with Darryl Zanuck's 20th Century Fox and continuing through to Mike Myers' Austin Powers movies.

Along the way, he's starred in more than 60 movies and two enormously successful TV shows: It Takes a Thief and Hart to Hart. You can still see him on TV on the Charlie Sheen sitcom, Two and a Half Men.

Wagner's memoir, Pieces of My Heart, is published this week. For the first time, Wagner discusses his four-year relationship with Barbara Stanwyck in the early 1950s, and his two marriages to Natalie Wood, as well as her tragic death in 1981.

Also featured in the book are Wagner's intimate friendships with Spencer Tracy, David Niven, Fred Astaire, Laurence Olivier, Elia Kazan and Peter Sellers, to mention only a few.

An interview with the man his friends and colleagues know as RJ:

Would it be fair to say that the three primary women in your life would be Barbara Stanwyck, Natalie Wood and Jill St. John?

Add one. My mother.

What did each of them give you?

My mother gave me unconditional love. She was constantly attentive to me; there was never any negative thing from my mother, ever. She was a very positive person.

Barbara gave me love and added a different direction to my life. What she gave me had nothing to do with acting or the movie business; it was a broader outlook that went beyond the movie business. She read everything, she had a very fine appreciation of art and music and life; I still have a couple of paintings she gave me, for instance. And to have a woman of her accomplishment and stature be with you was a tremendous validation.

Natalie ... Natalie was just an incredible force in my life. We were young together, discovering our places in show business together and discovering each other, all at the same time. It's rare to be in perfect sync with another human being, and that's what we had. But we were also very young, and it ended, and then years later we discovered each other again at a totally different stage of life. That time, it was even better because it was so unexpected. Because we were older and more experienced it was deeper and truer. I never took it for granted.

Jill came into my life after Natalie died and held me up. I was ripped wide open and she healed me in every way. I don't believe I would be alive today if it wasn't for her.

Why write a book now? Why not 10 years ago, or even 20?

Many people have talked to me about doing a book over the years. God knows, I've met so many fascinating people, and I think I have some insights into their lives. And I always felt I had to write something to acknowledge the people who have been so responsible for my career and my life. And those who helped put me back on my feet after Natalie died.

I felt it was right for me now. I had a hunch that if I didn't do it now, I wouldn't do it at all. It's a hard thing to do, a hard thing to address.

What was the hardest thing you had to do in the course of the book?

To be sure that my memories were correct. And to go back and relive some of those times was very difficult. I'm not speaking specifically of the tragic parts of my life, it's just difficult to go back and think about those times. So many of the people are gone. And to tell the truth, and at the same time, to try to be respectful of the people that were involved, is not always easy.

You have three daughters (Katie, Natasha and Courtney) and two of the three went into show business - was this OK with you?

I never tried to talk them out of it. I wanted Katie and Natasha to be little girls and have a normal life before they started becoming actresses. I wanted them to have the experience of being children. I didn't want them to be something different from their peers. Natalie felt the same way, and she felt it very strongly; she had been a child actress and knew what it cost. We had a lot of requests for them to get into the business, and they were interested in it, they'd been around us and the business seems like it's fun and glamorous. But we resisted that, because we definitely wanted them to have the experience and the joy of being little girls.

What did you learn about acting from making two films with Spencer Tracy?

Everything. Everything. On our first picture, Broken Lance, I played his son, and one day during a take he broke character and said he couldn't hear me. I said, "Boy that's something when I underplay you."

A few hours later it was lunch, and he called me into his dressing room and proceeded to ream me out. "You don't imagine you can underplay me, do you? What are you even thinking about things like that for? Are you thinking at all? You shouldn't be thinking about any of that, you should be thinking about playing the scene. Not about whether you're underplaying, overplaying or anything else. Concentrate on what you're going to do. The scene, that one moment, and nothing else!

"Don't learn the tricks of the trade. Learn the trade."

He really beat me up, but later he came up and put his arm around me and said, "How are you doing now?" and at that moment I realized he liked me. We became very close for the rest of the picture, as well as on The Mountain - where he requested me as his costar - and for the rest of his life. I've been on the board of the John Tracy Clinic for years, which was Spence's great passion, and I'm very proud to be connected with it.

Was there a project you turned down you wish you'd done; conversely, what's the part that got away?

I turned down Westworld. Michael Crichton wanted me to be in the movie, and I read the script and I didn't react to it at all. And it was a tremendous success. It was a mistake on my part. It was a big hit, and I would have made a lot of money.

As for the one that got away, there was some talk at one time of my doing Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid with Paul Newman, but that went away. I can't complain about that, because Robert Redford was sensational in the part.

The one that got away was Rosemary's Baby. Bob Evans cast me in it, but Universal wouldn't let me postpone shooting on It Takes a Thief to do the movie. I tried everything to make it work, but couldn't. Without false modesty, I think I would have been more effective than John Cassavetes, because one look at him and you know he's a minion of Satan. And I would have looked more natural with Mia (Farrow) as well.

You still work a fair amount - the Austin Powers movies, 'Two and a Half Men.'

Yeah, but the days when I pull the train are over, and I'm fine with that. When I started out in the business, the young leading men were Chuck Heston at Paramount, Jeff Hunter and Cameron Mitchell at Fox, and John Erickson at MGM, so I'm very happy to be still in the game and part of an ensemble. It's such a pleasure to work on a show like Two and a Half Men. The writing is there, the actors are there, the crew is there, and it's a smoothly running machine. You've sent a fair amount of time in Florida over the years - you shot 'Beneath the 12 Mile Reef' in Tarpon Springs and so forth.

Not just that. Natalie and I came to Stuart for our first honeymoon, where I thought it would be fun to go fishing. Well, Stuart was totally unromantic so we left very quickly, after a couple of nights. We got on a train and went to the Sherry-Netherland in New York. No fish, but a better atmosphere.

Show business has changed so radically since you got into it 60 years ago - what advice do you give young actors?

Simply that, if and when they are rejected, which they will be, it's not them. It's the producer or the director or whoever has a different concept of that character or that project. What they tell you is "'You're too short," or "too tall" or "too young" or "too old." You have to have the foundation to handle the rejections. I have literally seen actors be destroyed by constant rejection; they absorb the negativity and it changes their personalities. It takes away from you, and all any of us have is ourselves.

The many loves of RJ Wagner

From Debbie Reynolds to Anita Ekberg and Joan Collins, Wagner romanced a lot of Hollywood stars. His memories, from Pieces of My Heart:

JOAN CRAWFORD: 'She was a dynamic lover, both domineering - which you might expect - and yielding - which you might not. All in all, a memorable one-night stand.'

YVONNE DE CARLO: 'One thing led to another, and we went back to her house. Three days later, I staggered out, depleted and disheveled.'

BARBARA STANWYCK: Wagner had a four-year relationship with her. She was 45. He was 22. 'To have a woman of her beauty and accomplishment see value in me and give herself totally to me couldn't help but have a powerful impact on my psyche. Barbara was the first savior in my life.'

ELIZABETH TAYLOR: 'Some beautiful women are passive in the bedroom ... Elizabeth was not one of those women.'

When Natalie died:

'Everything went away from me'

In Pieces of My Heart, Wagner recalls the night of Wood's drowning death off Catalina Island, after she apparently slipped off their boat. Wagner says they all drank but were only tipsy, that he got into an argument with her current costar Christopher Walken and that she left to go to bed. He saw her briefly on the boat once more and never saw her again.

He recalls when he got the news from harbor master Doug Bombard:

" 'Where is she?' I asked him.

"Doug looked at me. 'She's dead, RJ.'

"My knees went out; everything went away from me. ... So many of the best times of my life had been spent in and around Catalina Island. It was always one of my favorite places on earth.

"From the day Natalie died to this, I have never gone back."

A Chat with Robert Wagner

2008-09-23T06:35:00.000-04:00

Robert Wagner was born in Detroit, but moving to Los Angeles with his family when he was 7 helped him avoid following his father into business. In Detroit in the '30s, Wagner's father sold the lacquer that was applied to the windshields of Ford cars. He also built houses in Palmer Woods. (The Wagners lived on Fairway Drive, by Detroit Golf Club.)

In Los Angeles, the elder Wagner was in the steel business, while his son caddied at the Bel-Air Country Club for film stars like Clark Gable, Randolph Scott and Fred Astaire. Gable got the youngster a screen test, which led to a career as the handsome, sensitive stud in movies like "Titanic," "With a Song in My Heart" and "A Kiss Before Dying." He jumped to TV starting in the '60s with "It Takes a Thief," and later, "Hart to Hart" with Stefanie Powers.

Wagner has written a surprisingly vulnerable autobiography, "Pieces of My Heart" (Harper Entertainment, $25.95), out this week. He describes a fractious relationship with his hard-driving businessman father, and is very frank about his romantic relationships, including a secret May-December affair with the elegant, worldly (and much older) actress Barbara Stanwyck. He was married twice to Natalie Wood; they first broke up when she became emotionally entangled with Warren Beatty. At one point, Wagner lurked outside Beatty's house with a gun, out of his mind with grief.

Wagner and Wood married a second time, in 1972, and had a daughter, Courtney. (Each had a daughter from an earlier marriage.) Then in 1981, Wood died in a tragic fall from their boat, Splendour, off Catalina Island. Because the couple and their guest, actor Christopher Walken, were drinking and arguing, the cause of Wood's death remained murky. In the book Wagner, 78, describes what he remembers, and how he and his daughters endured the loss. He married actress Jill St. John in 1990.

Do you remember much about living in Detroit?

It was a long time ago. I remember Traverse City, and all that. It was so beautiful, God, fishing and riding. I live in Colorado, and I'll go through the forest there and say, "It smells just like Michigan." I went to camp in Petoskey when I was a little boy. I have such great memories of Northern Michigan, what a beautiful place. When I come back (to Detroit), I go over there (Fairway Drive) and it's still beautiful. I saw one of my first shows at the Fisher, a Christmas play, and I was astounded.

Why did you decide to write the book?

I wanted to acknowledge the people who were so wonderful in my life and were responsible for me being here, and doing what I wanted to do. It's always been a bit of a mystery to me, how I've sustained a career. I've had a wonderful life, a wonderful family and now it's all down on paper.

How did you remember details of things that happened 30, 40 or more years ago?

I went back to phone books, I went back to my old cars. For guys, when you get your first car, it's very meaningful. You can kind of push your dates together from what cars you had.

Your relationship with Barbara Stanwyck is a surprise.

She was absolutely wonderful to me. I was so very fortunate to have that love come into my life, at that age.

You had a special bond with Spencer Tracy, with whom you made Broken Lance in 1954.

I did two pictures with Spencer Tracy, and he was wonderful to me. I was very fortunate that he put his arm around me and said I could go someplace. I was very young; I was so happy to be in the picture business, but I didn't know if I could sustain it or not. He was a major person in my life as far as that. We all need that; people need mentors.

You managed to see all the jazz greats in the '50s and '60s, including Billie Holiday.

I followed her, yes. Jimmy Rhodes was a good friend of mine, and he played for her. It was very exciting, but very sad at the end when she was in the hospital. They were treating her for pneumonia, for Christ's sake, they weren't treating her for the right thing. I think in another time, she would have survived.

When you moved from movies to TV in 1968 with It Takes a Thief, you were a pioneer. Was it hard to make that transition?

I didn't know if the transition would work. But I had a wonderful character, Alexander Mundy, who was created for me, and the public embraced me as that.

Was it hard to write about Natalie's death?

It was hard to go back there, and I wanted to get it right, as right as I could. It was a long time ago, 27 years -- can you imagine? It seems like yesterday, and I've gone over and over it in my mind a million, two million times. It was sad, and my girls, we all held on to each other. Everybody has tragedies in their life, and this was a confirmation that you can get through it, somehow. That you can put one foot in front of the other and keep going.

Did your wife, Jill St. John, really talk you out of appearing on Dancing with the Stars?

She didn't think that would be the right step -- not to be cute. That show is quite hard to do, it's not a walk in the park. I don't know if it's because of the way I dance with her (laughs), but I accepted it because she's very good with me.

Robert Wagner reveals affair with Barbara Stanwyck

2008-09-21T21:14:00.003-04:00

NEW YORK - Robert Wagner's long-awaited autobiography "Pieces of My Heart," written with Scott Eyman, is officially in book stores Tuesday. It's a terrific read: classy like Wagner and full of interesting showbiz stories and insights.

During the course of his long-distance movie career, Wagner has worked with a staggering number of iconic headliners -- such names as Spencer Tracy, Audrey Hepburn, Laurence Olivier, John Ford, Sophia Loren, James Cagney, Paul Newman, Fred Astaire, Blake Edwards, Steve McQueen and Elizabeth Taylor only scratch the surface. And those he didn't work with often were good pals, making his look back on the 58 colorful years he has spent in the movie business a star-studded and fascinating tale. (Wagner's first film, at age 19, was an unbilled turn in a 1950 MGMer called "The Happy Years.")

Like the Sondheim song says, he's been through it all -- from the era of Hollywood's contract system to today's Mike Myers movies -- and he's definitely still here. Few could spin stories with the star power that's been a part of Wagner's world: Tracy, Astaire and Frank Sinatra rank particularly high with him; director Ronald Neame and a few others less so.

He also discusses for the first time the drowning death of wife Natalie Wood in 1981 and reveals something that has long been an R.J. secret: a romantic relationship with Barbara Stanwyck, who was 23 years his senior and his co-star in the 1953 Fox biggie "Titanic."

RJ Wagner finds a piece of peace in Aspen

2008-09-18T19:25:00.002-04:00

by Bill Husted

Robert Wagner and Jill St. John are probably Colorado’s most celebrated couple — and hands down the most cordial.

I’ve met Wagner on several occasions — and you aren’t gonna find a more generous guy in Aspen, where he’s lived with St. John since 1995, full-time since 2007.

Wagner’s autobiography comes out next week. “Pieces of My Heart” traces a remarkable public and private life with enough triumph and tragedy for a movie-of-the-week, and Wagner’s made plenty of those.

His life has included films (good and bad), a lot of TV (most recently “Two and a Half Men”) and a parade of women, including Barbara Stanwick (he was 22, she was 45, and I bet she chewed nails for breakfast), and Liz Taylor (“She’s so beautiful, so sweet, just a wonderful person,” he tells the NY Times in a recent interview. “It just scrambles your brains up — in a good way.”)

He married Natalie Wood twice, and hooked up with St. John after Wood’s death.

Since then, Aspen and Colorado have been focal points in his life. It’s where he finally found his peace.

Wagner and St. John live on 7 1/2 acres - in a house they built, with view of mountains and trees, but not other houses. He writes that it is here that he is at home - forever.

“When my time comes, I will be buried in Aspen, in an old cemetery that was originally laid out in the nineteenth century,” he writes at the end of his book. “A lot of children are buried there, and it’s in the middle of a glade of aspen and birch trees - very wild and overgrown. As soon as someone is laid to rest, the land is allowed to return to its natural state … It’s absolutely pure and totally peaceful.”

Excerpt from 'Pieces of My Heart'

2008-08-20T21:10:00.000-04:00

By Robert Wagner

Chapter Five

Each of the major studios was like a royal court that was in competition with the other royal courts. Each studio had a social lion who maintained a prestigious individual salon, and it wasn't necessarily the studio head. Then there were the salons that owed no special allegiance to any studio, but cherry-picked from all the elites, such as the one maintained by Bill and Edie Goetz.

At Fox, the elite circle was presided over by Clifton Webb. I worked with Clifton on Stars and Stripes Forever, a biopic about John Philip Sousa, then Titanic, and I was invited into his group. Clifton's friends included people like Noel Coward and Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder's partner, who never got much credit from anyone, especially Billy. Charlie was a kind, well-educated, very bright gay man who was fairly deep in the closet.

Clifton lived with his mother Mabelle, who was a total character, and ruled the roost. The father had left very young, and was out of the picture, if he'd ever been in it. Mabelle had opened a dance school in Indianapolis, and she and Clifton gave dancing lessons together. He teamed up with Bonnie Glass and formed a very successful duo that followed in the footsteps of Vernon and Irene Castle. I never saw Clifton dance on the stage, but people who did told me he was a magnificent talent, the equivalent of Astaire but with a fey manner that he managed to get away with. Always high style: white tie and tails. Certainly, he had a major career, starring in shows like Sunny and Irving Berlin's As Thousands Cheer.

Clifton and Mabelle were completely devoted to each other; Clifton would dance with her at parties. She was outrageous, and would order Clifton around. "We are going to sit here," she would announce, "and then we are going to move over there." Mabelle was always at the head of the table, and Clifton was very respectful of her, although he had his eccentricities as well: he had an African grey parrot he would wrap in a napkin and put in a brandy snifter at the dinner table.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: Las Vegas | Africa | Indianapolis | Fox | New York | Greek | Paramount | Laura | Barbara | Titanic | Edge | Marlon Brando | Living | Vernon | Sunny | Dozen | Cheaper | Billy Wilder | Irving Berlin | Razor | Dolphin | Noel Coward | John Philip Sousa | Stripes Forever | Clifton Webb | Gary. | Auntie Mame | Mr. Belvedere | Charles Brackett | Irene Castle

It was as if they were competing to see who could be the most like Auntie Mame. They both had a larger-than-life quality, and the bond between them was very thick. Sometimes too thick. One time Noel Coward called Clifton, and Clifton was going on and on about Mabelle, as he tended to do. And Noel said, "Dear boy, if you want to talk about her, do it on your nickel."

Clifton was gay, of course, but he never made a pass at me, not that he would have. I never saw Clifton with a man; I never knew of Clifton being with a man, or having a lover.

Clifton had a very rich deal at the studio, and his house reflected it. It was Victor Fleming's old place, and Clifton had done it in a bright, comfortable style, in the mode of Billy Haines — the go-to decorator in that era. I remember at one point Clifton did the bar in a Greek style, full of things he brought back from the location of Boy on a Dolphin. The word was that Clifton earned the same money that Darryl Zanuck earned. He didn't get the stock that Darryl got, but he earned the same money. Clifton had a string of enormous successes. There was Laura, and The Razor's Edge, then Mr. Belvedere and two sequels, Cheaper by the Dozen, The Stars and Stripes Forever, and Titanic – all big hits.

I was learning that this kind of moviemaking was typical of Darryl; he never had the money that MGM or Paramount did. He couldn't buy stars, he had to make them, and if he didn't have enough stars to make a movie, he had the extraordinary ability to make the movie itself the star. Darryl had the vision to see real possibilities in an effete stage star, and to build very effective vehicles around a personality centering on asperity and waspish intelligence – hardly the stuff of mass audience entertainment then or now, but somehow Darryl and Clifton made it work.

Clifton was very social; he gave wonderful parties, so he had a lot of leverage by dint of his position as well as his commercial cachet. It was Clifton who introduced me to Noel Coward. Noel was playing Las Vegas and Clifton threw a lunch for him. Eventually, everybody else left, and I was alone with Noel. And he said, "Come and sit over here." So I went over and sat down, and he put his hand on my leg.

"Are you by any chance homosexual?" he asked.

"No, I'm not."

And he said, "Ah, what a pity." His hand came off, and that was it. After that, he couldn't have been more of a gentleman, and I always adored him.

**************

Living with Barbara, hanging around with a social set that was a generation older, I was very consciously styling myself after an earlier era and in a sense swimming against the tide, which in that era consisted of Marlon Brando and Monty Clift. But my interest in associating with people my age was no more than nominal. I wanted to see the great stars I had watched at the movies up close. I wanted to learn their secrets; I wanted to learn how they did what they did.

One day in New York, I walked into "21" with Gary Cooper and Clark Gable. The restaurant…stopped! It was like a freeze-frame in a movie. Diners froze in mid-bite, waiters froze in the midst of waiting. It was as potent a demonstration of the power of great stars as anything I've ever seen.

Clark Gable always liked me because I had caddied for him, and I had been shooting with Gary Cooper and knew his family quite well. I idolized Clark and watched every move he made; Gary I admired for being such a terrific actor, such a wonderful man.

In many ways, they were alike, in other ways they were different. Gable had been born poor, while Cooper was a judge's son from Montana who never dressed in anything but Brooks Brothers. But both of them had a way that suggested they came from the earth. Gable loved to hunt, loved to fish, loved automobiles and beautiful women. So did Coop, but offscreen he always gave the impression of being terribly chic.

Gable's personality was closer to what he played than Cooper's was, but they both read, were interested in what was going on and didn't hover around Hollywood. Neither of these men were sitting in their dressing rooms worrying about their next picture or who was up for what part. They got out of town. Coop would go to Sun Valley with Hemingway, while Clark liked his duck blinds and skeet shooting.

Beneath their likes and dislikes, they were alike in their tremendous craft. They had a way of taking the material that was written for them, much of which was very slight, and making something out of it because of the depth of their behavior. They took the material and filtered it through their own personalities. Because they were their own men, and they weren't trying to be someone else, the strength of their own characters was bestowed on the characters they played. They didn't have neuroses, or, if they did, they didn't inflict their neuroses on the audience.

That craft didn't come easily, and the self-confidence they projected was not something they were born with. I watched Coop work in a western he did for Fox called Garden of Evil. He put himself under tremendous stress when he worked; during a take his knuckles were white. But he concealed that stress magnificently; a lot of the time it looked like he wasn't really doing any acting at all. Now, here was an actor acting, and you couldn't see him acting. That is hard to do, the highest achievement in the business, and Coop never got enough credit for his ability.

Every actor's goal is to make it look like it's the first time he's ever done that scene — to make it look fresh. These men were masters of that. You were never aware of Gary Cooper acting, but he could move you to tears. As an actor, and as a man, I admired him without reservations.

Making friends with so many older actors gave me an invaluable tutorial in how to handle the paraphanalia of the business. Take, for instance, Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons, the two women who invented and defined the trade of gossip columnists. They were both tricky, and you had to know how to play them. Moroever, although they had been around for years – Louella had started in the silent days! — they were still important because they were so widely syndicated: Louella through the Hearst syndicate, and Hedda through the Los Angeles Times syndicate.

You had to pay court to Hedda and Louella; if I had an interview with Hedda, for instance, I went to her house. I would go to the race track with Louella all the time, but you quickly learned that either of them could turn on you. One time, Hedda got upset at me over something, and it was thought necessary that I come back from Catalina and go directly to her house to get things straightened out.

Years later, when I went to Europe for four or five years and then came back, Louella was very pissed off and called me an expatriate, which was a dirty word in her vocabulary. It was as if by going to Europe I had been disloyal to Hollywood and, more importantly, her.

********************

As my star continued to rise at Fox, I came to realize that the relationship between an actor and a studio was complex, and not always in the actor's best interests. After Titanic, I was making a movie for Robert D. Webb called Beneath the 12 Mile Reef, when my co-star Terry Moore suddenly realized she was pregnant. The father was Howard Hughes. She got very weepy and told me about the situation. Obviously, she told a few other people as well, because the studio blindsided both of us by releasing a story that we were engaged! They never called, they never told me they were going to do this, it just appeared in the papers.

I was livid; for one thing, I was very involved with Barbara and called her from Tarpon Springs every night, while Terry was calling Hughes every night. Terry was also a much younger woman, and Barbara was – how to put this delicately? — not pleased about that. Beyond that, the studio was trying to railroad Terry and me into a marriage for their convenience. They evidently thought I was terribly suggestible, I would succumb to the pressure, and the resulting marriage would be great for the movie, great for my career, and, not coincidentally, great for the studio.

It was at that point that I realized the true nature of the transaction between an actor and a movie studio. Fox was very interested in me in terms of generating publicity for a movie or a series of movies. They wanted to create momentum for me as an actor, as a personality, but they had a very limited interest in what was best for me as a human being. I was looking for a home, and they were looking for a saleable commodity. It was a difficult but necessary lesson, and I'm glad I learned it early.

So everybody was in the loop but Terry and me. She was not only in tears about being pregnant, she was in tears because she was being pressured to marry somebody she didn't love. And I started getting congratulatory telegrams from people about my impending marriage!

There was nothing to do but be blunt. I told Harry Brand there was no chance of my marrying Terry, not then, not ever. Fox never actually retracted the stories so much as they let them dry up.

Being part of events like this, as well as witnessing other things, made me realize that there is no more brutal, front-runner's business in the world. The pressures can be staggering. I remember being on the set of Love is a Many Splendored Thing, and watching Jennifer Jones work. I noticed the hem of her skirt vibrating. I looked down and saw that her knees were quivering like aspen leaves. She was absolutely terrified! Over on the side, behind the big lights, I could see a pair of shoes that belonged to her husband, the great producer David O. Selznick. He was hovering, making sure that his Jennifer was all right. But it was clear that Jennifer wasn't all right, and never would be. As experiences like these began to accumulate, I began to realize that it was mandatory to have some kind of meaningful life outside the movie business.

So the marriage to Terry Moore didn't happen. For that matter, neither did the baby.

Other than that, Beneath the Twelve Mile Reef was a very positive experience. I came to admire my co-star Gilbert Roland tremendously. He had come across the Mexican border when he was a boy, accompanied only by a friend named Polo. He began in the business as an extra for $2 a day and a box lunch. He told me that in the mid-20s, he and another young extra named Clark Gable used to stand outside Musso & Frank's restaurant on Hollywood Boulevard, watching the swells eat great food and dreaming of the day when they'd be able to do the same thing.

The dream came true for Gil, just as it was coming true for me, which explains why I felt such an affinity with him. The dream came true for his brother, too, who went by the name of Chico Day. Chico followed his brother to Hollywood and became probably the most respected unit manager and assistant director in the movies. He even worked for DeMille on the 1956 version of The Ten Commandments, one of the most demanding jobs ever for one of the most demanding directors ever.

Gil began his rise out of the extra ranks when he became the co-star and lover of Norma Talmadge and broke up her marriage to Joe Schenck. A few years after that, he married Constance Bennett. Gil was good in silent pictures as a dashing lover – he played Armand opposite Talmadge's Camille — but his accent limited him in talkies, although his performances in The Bullfighter and the Lady and The Bad and the Beautiful were quite good.

I admired the fact that he maintained, and for nearly 60 years – his last movie was Barbarosa, in 1982! As a man, he had immense dignity, and sustained great loyalty to his friends. He was close with Antonio Moreno practically all their lives. If Gilbert Roland was your friend, you had a man you could count on, in any situation.

Beneath the Twelve Mile Reef grossed $4 million — a very big hit. Harry Brand's publicity department claimed that I was getting more fan mail than Marilyn Monroe, although I'm not sure I believe that. I do know that during one month in 1953, I was on seven different magazine covers. My agent negotiated a new contract that bumped my salary from $350 a week to $1,250 a week.

I'm not going to pretend that there were an awful lot of negatives attached to being a young star in Hollywood. The perks are just what you might imagine them to be: every reporter wants to talk to you, and every girl wants you, not that I could indulge. Because of Barbara, I was off-limits to the girls. During the four years we were together, I had a couple of one-night stands on location, but was otherwise loyal.

When you're hot, the good times never really stop coming. Because of my friendship with Leo Durocher, I even got to work out with the New York Giants. Sal "The Barber" Maglie offered to pitch to me. Durocher took me aside and said, "Don't move; whatever you do, just don't move." It was a good thing he told me that, because Maglie's pitches were something else. Initially, the ball came right at your head, so the instinct was to duck down. The problem was that at the last second the pitch would dive down and away and catch the corner for a strike. If you ducked, the ball would nail you on the skull. I can assure you, standing in the box against him took courage, because he was authentically scary – the equivalent of Bob Gibson or Roger Clemens in a later era.

**************

One of the negatives that occurs to every actor is miscasting, which finally came to roost on my doorstep when Darryl cast me in the title role of Prince Valiant, an adaptation of Hal Foster's beautifully drawn comic strip that I had loved as a child. During the production, I was happy to be working for Henry Hathaway; I thought the picture was good, and I loved the romance of the subject matter. I was working with James Mason, another one of my favorite actors, and I thought I was sensational. I had no idea it would become for me what "Yonda lies the castle of my fadduh" was for Tony Curtis.

If I'd been paying a little more attention, I would have known something was wrong. Mainly, it was the wig. One day Dean Martin visited the set and spent ten minutes talking to me before he realized I wasn't Jane Wyman. Then I sat in the screening with the guys in the studio doing impersonations of the Singing Sword, not to mention me as Prince Valiant. And then I had to listen to jokes about the wig, which I now think made me look more like Louise Brooks than Jane Wyman. And I got upset about the ridicule, so much so that I still have a block about that movie.

But life teaches you many things, and one of them is that something good can come out of the worst experiences. I got a couple of life-long friends out of Prince Valiant ( Janet Leigh and the great cameraman Lucien Ballard) and I also got to know Sterling Hayden, who was so much more interesting as a man than, with a couple of exceptions (The Asphalt Jungle, The Killing, Dr. Strangelove) he was on screen. Sterling was a purist about life, with an interesting political point of view that was very much on the left. He had originally wanted to be a carpenter, and he was one of those rare guys in the movie business who genuinely didn't give a shit about the movie business.

Sterling was exceedingly well-read — his tortured autobiography called Wanderer should be required reading — and he was without question one of the most accomplished sailors I've ever seen in my life. I saw him take his twin-masted schooner and land it single-handedly at a dock in Santa Monica. He had a feather-light touch at the helm. On a boat, he was the artist he always wanted to be.

Another person I got to know well and admire about this time was Claire Trevor. I had gone to school with her sons Peter and Donald, but I really got to know Claire and her husband Milton Bren through our mutual regard for boats. Milton had begun as an agent and become very successful in real estate and home building. Because of the fortune Milton made, Claire was able to back out of the movie business, and only worked when she wanted to.

Claire was very much her own woman, and I came to admire her honesty and directness. She was a straightforward, creative human being who became a very good painter. She was also terribly underrated as an actress, as anybody who has seen her in Ford's Stagecoach or Huston's Key Largo can attest. Neither part was original – a whore with a heart of gold and a well-meaning but weak alcoholic chanteuse — but she gave each of those women a soul. No actress alive, not even Barbara Stanwyck, could have played those parts any better than Claire did. And she was able to tend her career while having a very happy marriage to Milton, and also had the complete respect of everybody in show business.

My realization about what Fox actually wanted from me, as well as getting to know well-rounded people like Sterling and Claire showed me by example how important it was to have a life outside of show business. It was a concept that would take another decade or so to ripen in my head, but I was beginning to realize that the most important parts of life didn't take place on a sound stage.

HarperCollins Book Description

2008-08-17T16:06:00.000-04:00

Pieces of My Heart
A Life
By Robert Wagner, Scott Eyman

Price: $25.95
On Sale: 9/23/2008
Formats: Hardcover | E-Book

In this moving memoir, Robert J. Wagner opens his heart to share the romances, the drama, and the humor of an incredible life

He grew up in Bel Air next door to a golf course that changed his life. As a young boy, he saw a foursome playing one morning featuring none other than Fred Astaire, Clark Gable, Randolph Scott, and Cary Grant. Seeing these giants of the silver screen awed him and fueled his dreams of becoming a movie star. Battling a revolving door of boarding schools and a father who wanted him to forget Hollywood and join the family business, sixteen-year-old Wagner started like any naïve kid would—walking along Sunset Boulevard, hoping that a producer or director would notice him.

Under the mentorship of stars like Spencer Tracy, he would become a salaried actor in Hollywood's studio system among other hot actors of the moment such as his friends Rock Hudson and Tony Curtis. Working with studio mogul Darryl Zanuck, Wagner began to appear in a number of films alongside the most beautiful starlets—but his first love was Barbara Stanwyck, an actress twice his age. As his career blossomed, and after he separated from Stanwyck, he met the woman who would change his life forever, Natalie Wood. They fell instantly and deeply in love and stayed together until the stress of their careers—hers marching upward, his inexplicably deflating—drove them to divorce.

Trying to forget the pain, he made more movies and spent his time in Europe with the likes of Steve McQueen, Sophia Loren, Peter Sellers, Laurence Olivier, David Niven, Liz Taylor, and Joan Collins. He would meet and marry the beautiful former model and actress Marion Marshall. Together they had a daughter and made their way back to America, where he found himself at the beginning of a new era in Hollywood—the blossoming of television. Lew Wasserman and later Aaron Spelling would work with Wagner as he produced and starred in some of the most successful programs in history.

Despite his newfound success, his marriage to Marion fell apart. He looked no further than Natalie Wood, for whom he still pined. To the world's surprise, they fell in love all over again, this time more deeply and with maturity. As she settled into a domestic life, raising their own daughter, Courtney, as well as their children from previous marriages, Wagner became the sole provider, reaping the riches of television success. Their life together was cut tragically short, though, when Wood died after falling from their yacht.

For the first time, Wagner writes about that tremendously painful time. After a serious bout with depression, he finally resurfaced and eventually married Jill St. John, who helped keep his family and his fractured heart together.

With color photographs and never-before-told stories, this is a quintessentially American story of one of the great sons of Hollywood.

Pieces of My Heart: A Life Due Out September 23, 2008

2008-08-14T21:48:00.002-04:00

Audio CD

Hardcover Book

Robert Wagner - Wagner Book Reveals He 'Plotted To Kill Beatty'

2008-08-14T21:31:00.001-04:00

Actor ROBERT WAGNER considered killing love rival WARREN BEATTY after losing wife NATALIE WOOD to the legendary lothario, he reportedly reveals in a new autobiography.

Wood and Beatty began a romance while shooting 1961 movie Splendor in the Grass together, leaving Wagner heartbroken and distraught.

According to reports, the actor confesses hatching a plan to murder Beatty in his new book Pieces of My Heart: A Life.

A publishing source tells the National Enquirer, "Wagner was ready to kill Beatty. He describes hanging around his house with a gun, hoping he would walk out so he could take a shot.

"Wracked with despair, Wagner started drinking heavily and considered suicide. He wondered if he couldn't kill Beatty, maybe he should kill himself. But an old friend pulled him out of his desolation and got him into analysis."

Wagner won Wood back, but she died in 1981 after disappearing from the actor's yacht off the California coast.

The book, due to go on sale next month (Sep08), also lifts the lid on Wagner's many love affairs, including romances with Dame Elizabeth Taylor, Barbara Stanwyck and Yvonne De Carlo.

Wagner Recounts Wood's Death In New Memoir

2008-08-14T21:15:00.001-04:00

Actor ROBERT WAGNER has recounted the tragic death of his wife NATALIE WOOD in a new autobiography.

In Pieces of My Life, the 78-year-old former Hart To Hart star describes the moment he discovered the actress was missing from the boat they were sailing on over Thanksgiving (Nov) in 1981, and his heartache when she was found dead in the ocean.

Publishing sources tell the National Enquirer that Wood disappeared while Wagner was arguing with pal Christopher Walken onboard Splendour, the star's yacht.

The insider says, "When Wagner went below, Natalie wasn't there. He went back up on the deck and the dinghy was gone. He knew she wouldn't have taken it because she was terrified of dark water and they would have heard its loud engine."

Wood's body was pulled from the water the following morning after the dinghy had been found floating and unused.

The death aroused suspicion at the time, and has never been explained. But Wagner maintains Wood died accidentally.

The source continues, "Having several decades to think about what happened, Wagner concluded that Natalie heard the dinghy banging against the side of the boat and went to re-tie it. But she slipped on the always-wet swim step and was knocked unconscious, rolling into the water.

"After Natalie's death, Wagner went to bed for eight days in a catatonic state of profound emotional pain and blamed himself."

The memoir will hit stores in the U.S. on 23 September (08).

Download the article from the National Enquirer by clicking here.

Hollywood stars honor Stewart

2008-06-13T19:55:00.000-04:00

Indiana, PA threw a birthday bash for Jimmy Stewart in May, and now it was Hollywood's turn.

On Thursday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences hosted “A Centennial Tribute to James Stewart” at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, Calif.

Actor Robert Wagner, who received the Jimmy Stewart Museum's Harvey Award in 2004, hosted the evening of film clips and reflections on Stewart. Special guests included Stewart's daughter Kelly; Shirley Jones, 1998 Harvey Award winner and Stewart's co-star in “Two Rode Together” and “The Cheyenne Social Club”; Ann Rutherford, who appeared in “Land of Liberty” and “Of Human Hearts” with Stewart; Shirlee Fonda, the widow of Stewart's friend Henry Fonda; Patricia Kelly, the widow of Gene Kelly; writer, director and actor Peter Bogdanovich; and actress Charlotte Rae.
“Jimmy Stewart is one of the most iconic actors ever to come out of Hollywood and a very beloved member of the Hollywood community,” Ellen Harrington, director of exhibitions and special events for the academy, said earlier this week. “It's very important for the academy to recognize his centennial.”

Nominated for five Academy Awards, Stewart won the best actor Oscar in 1940 for his role in “The Philadelphia Story.” The academy also gave Stewart an honorary Oscar in 1985.

The academy presented the event in association with the University of California, Los Angeles Film & Television Archive. The archive organized “The Picture Starts in Heaven: James Stewart's Centennial,” weekend screenings of several of Stewart's best-known films, including “Vertigo,” “The Glenn Miller Story” and “Harvey,” that ran from May 23 to Sunday at the Billy Wilder Theater in Westwood.

According to the archive's Web site, “It's a Wonderful Life” director Frank Capra pitched the movie to Stewart with the opening “The picture starts in heaven.” The archive contains the largest collection of media materials at any American university with more than 220,000 motion picture and television titles and 27 million feet of newsreel footage.

Stewart, who died July 2, 1997, would have turned 100 on May 20.

Film Tribute

2008-06-12T18:46:00.000-04:00

Who doesn't cry at the end of It's a Wonderful Life when the town comes together for Jimmy Stewart and sings "Auld Lang Syne"? Tonight there's a tribute program of film clips and conversation with family, friends and colleagues from Stewart's film career. It will be hosted by Robert Wagner and guests include Shirley Jones, Ann Rutherford and two of Stewart's daughters.

8 pm // Samuel Goldwyn Theatre // 8949 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles // $3-$5.

R.J. in Palm Beach

2008-05-23T10:26:00.000-04:00

Spending some time in Palm Beach: Hollywood icon Robert Wagner. The star of TV's Hart to Hart was checked in at The Brazilian Court and spotted Tuesday dining at Cafe Boulud.

R.J. in TV Comedy Do Not Disturb on Fox This Fall

2008-05-16T12:21:00.000-04:00

The new comedy premiering this fall is on Fox is:
DO NOT DISTURB (working title) (Wednesdays, 9:30-10:00 PM ET/PT): DO NOT DISTURB (working title) is a hilarious workplace comedy set at one of New York City’s hottest and hippest hotels: The Inn. Named one of the Big Apple’s “10 Best Places to Stay,” The Inn is just that – the “in” place to be, with its chic décor, stylish staff and celebrity clientele. Behind the scenes, however, the upstairs/downstairs dynamic tells quite a different story. The hotel’s top-notch reputation and sophisticated look is due in large part to NEAL (Jerry O’Connell, “Crossing Jordan”) – at least in his opinion. Although The Inn’s charismatic owner R.J. (guest star Robert Wagner) takes all the credit, Neal is the egotistical, hyper-stylish, detail-oriented general manager who will do whatever it takes to keep the hotel and its employees up to his standards. RHONDA (Niecy Nash, “Reno 911!”) is the head of Human Resources who also keeps Neal’s demands in check. She’s brash, fabulous and brutally honest and runs the HR department from her bullpen downstairs with a set of rules that are all her own. Rhonda does her best to keep the back of the house in line and the front of the house out of trouble. At the front desk handling check-in while wearing 6-inch Manolos is NICOLE (Molly Stanton, “Twins”), an aging model who is svelte, cynical and slightly starving. Fresh from Nebraska is JASON (Brando Eaton, “Zoey 101”), the naïve bellman who would prefer to work behind-the-scenes, but was hired to show off his chiseled face and perfect pecs at the front of the hotel. The downstairs staff includes MOLLY (Jolene Purdy, “Donnie Darko”), a reservations clerk who dreams of pop-singer stardom as much as she craves to be part of the action upstairs; and LARRY (Jesse Tyler Ferguson, “The Class”), the head of housekeeping who spends more time on the phone cleaning up his messes at home than he does cleaning up after the guests upstairs.
PRODUCTION COMPANIES: 20th Century Fox Television; Reveille, LLC; Principato-Young Productions
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Abraham Higginbotham, Howard Owens, Carolyn Bernstein, Paul Young, Peter Principato, Brian Dobbins
WRITER: Abraham Higginbotham
DIRECTOR: Jason Bateman
CAST: Jerry O’Connell as Neal, Niecy Nash as Rhonda, Molly Stanton as Nicole, Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Larry, Brando Eaton as Jason, Jolene Purdy as Molly
GUEST STAR: Robert Wagner as R.J.

Pieces of My Heart: A Life

2008-04-19T13:40:00.000-04:00

Two and a Half Men

2008-04-17T22:36:00.000-04:00

Robert Wagner will be in a new episode of Two and a Half Men on April
28th.

Little Victim

2008-04-12T16:41:00.001-04:00

Update

2008-03-27T22:00:00.001-04:00

This year, on Feb. 10, RJ's 78th birthday, Jill brought all of the family to their house in Aspen for the celebration -- which included the apple of RJ's eye, grandson of 14 months, Riley Wagner-Lewis , son of daughter Katie and husband Leif Lewis. RJ returns for more segments this season in the "Two and a Half Men" series. "I just love it," says Wagner. "It is the highlight of my career" -- which is saying a lot since his career include hundreds of TV shows ("Hart to Hart") as well as bigscreen comedies such as two "Austin Powers." Today, Wagner is readying to start 20th-Fox cable's "Pretty & Handsome" with Ryan Murphy. And he's prepping to produce two features: "The Nick of Time," by Ted Bell, a children's story, and another with producers Bob Papazian and Jim Hirsch, "Gone to Wichita" a contemporary Western. RJ acknowledges getting a film launched today as compared to the halcyon days of Hollywood is not easy. "Back then," he recalled, "I shook hands with people -- and we had a deal.")

Attn: British H2H Fans

2008-03-26T13:52:00.001-04:00

Hi Meredy,

I'm Dave - I work for So television in London. We're making the Graham Norton show and we're looking for Hart to Hart fans to come and join our audience for the programme. Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers will be Graham's guests on Wednesday the 30th of April in London. If anyone is interested in being in our audience we would love them to e mail me at davec@sotelevision.co.uk or call me on 02079602046.

Would you be able to advise me where would be a good place to find fans of the show in Britain?

Thanks,
Dave

Dave Coulson | Researcher
The Graham Norton Show
t: 02079602046
e: DaveC@sotelevision.co.uk
So Television, 18 Hatfields, London, SE1 8GN

Sinatra event proves smash again

2008-02-24T12:21:00.002-05:00

Fundraiser garners about $500,000 for children's center

Just as it did 20 years ago, the Frank Sinatra Countrywide Celebrity Invitation continued - come rain or come shine - this weekend.

Golfers played Friday at Indian Wells Country Club in rainy weather, but finished Saturday with everything shining brightly.

The fundraiser for the Barbara Sinatra Children's Center netted about $500,000 from the four-day event, concluding today with tours of the Rancho Mirage facility for physically/emotionally abused children.

More significantly, the revenue puts the center's endowment over its long-time goal of $20 million to safeguard its mission of making sure no child is turned away for lack of funds for years to come.

Long-time board member Helene Galen, one of a handful of board members who have been with center founder Barbara Sinatra from the start, said, "It was a dream to get $10 million" for an endowment in the early days. "Then it was a dream to get $15 million."

The celebrity field was reduced to 55 in this 20th anniversary year, down from the 79 when Liza Minnelli performed in 1991. Barbara Sinatra said that was partly to speed up play. But Sinatra board chairman Marshall Gelfand said this year's net was about the same as last year and better than the two previous years.

The celebrities were predominantly retired athletes, but friends of Frank Sinatra such as Robert Wagner, Jerry Vale, Norm Crosby and Frankie Randall also were among the 1,000 people in the Esmeralda Ballroom.

The winning celebrity golfer was actor Bill Smitrovich, noted the galleries were small Friday because of the rain, but "they were out in bigger numbers" Saturday.

Asked for highlights in the event's 20-year history, Wagner, who has played in nearly every tournament, said, "When FS was alive - all that enthusiasm."

Co-host Dick Van Dyke received a Frank Sinatra Award for his contributions, following a standing ovation just for clips of his film and TV career, and quipped, "I swear I'd come down to party with you even if there wasn't a tournament."

Besides its mission, the Sinatra event is most famous for presenting the nation's best traditional pop singers - including Tony Bennett, Barry Manilow, Harry Connick Jr. and Natalie Cole just after she won a Grammy.

Minnelli made her second appearance memorable with a bravura stage presence, songs and stories.

She sang a song her mother, Judy Garland, made a standard and Frank Sinatra covered, "The Man That Got Away," and made it her own.

She then launched into "Cabaret," the song she said made her famous.

She said of Barbara Sinatra:

"What she's done with this (center) is ridiculous. And, I'm so proud to be part of this."

Sinatra event is all about stars, not sports

2008-02-22T08:39:00.001-05:00

Celebrity golf comes in several different forms.

There is what happens each year at tournaments like the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic hosted by George Lopez, where the celebrities play side-by-side with the PGA Tour pros.

Then there are events like the Kraft Nabisco Championship, where the celebrities show up for pro-am rounds, but once the professional tournament begins, the amateurs head to the sidelines.

And then there are tournaments like the Frank Sinatra Countrywide Celebrity Invitational, being played today and Saturday at Indian Wells Country Club. In the Sinatra, there are no pros, meaning the celebrities are the appeal of the tournaments.

Now in its 20th year, the Sinatra tournament has been unabashedly about star power and not about golf. Sure, the people playing in the tournament are trying to play their best to win the event's prizes. But few if any of the fans who will walk around the two Indian Wells courses the next two days will care if the team they are watching makes a birdie, a par or a triple bogey on a given hole.

What they will care about is the caliber of the celebrity in the group.

Crowd pleasers

Sure, fans can watch the celebrities at events like the Hope and the Kraft tournaments, but at the Sinatra the celebrities are free - even encouraged - to sign autographs and pose for pictures during the round. Part of that is because the pace of play is slower at the Sinatra, so there is a little more down time between holes for the celebrities and the amateur partners.

But part of the signing and the posing is the basic philosophy of the tournament. That philosophy is to be as fan-friendly and laid-back and comfortable as possible in an effort to attract a larger gallery to the tournament. That, in turn, will help to raise more money for the primary charity served by the tournament, to benefit the nonprofit Barbara Sinatra Children's Center at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage.

The celebrities in the tournament also have been consistent, many playing from the days when Frank Sinatra was still involved in the tournament or who might have a personal connection to Ol' Blue Eyes. Names like Joe Mantegna, Pat Boone, Tom Dreesen, Chad Everett and Robert Wagner have become as much a part of the tournament as the Sinatra name. And the tournament is full of former athletes, like Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers, Ann Myers-Drysdale and Steve Garvey, among others.

Those celebrities and more than 40 others will be roaming Indian Wells Country Club the next two days in a celebrity golf tournament that really is about the celebrities and not really about the golf.

A Dennis the Menace Christmas

2008-01-04T12:51:00.000-05:00

Watch A Dennis the Menace Christmas on-line.

http://grab-videos.com/a-dennis-the-menace-christmas-watch-movie-online/

A heartfelt role for Robert Wagner

2007-12-21T19:06:00.001-05:00

Aspenite warms up role of coldhearted producer in ‘Man in the Chair’

ASPEN — Robert Wagner likes to delve below the surface of things.

In “Man in the Chair,” which opens Friday at the Wheeler Opera House, Wagner plays the smug Hollywood producer Taylor Moss. When we first see Moss, at his Hollywood mansion, we also see in the background the second (or possibly third or fourth) Mrs. Moss — hot, young and bikini-clad. It would be easy to see Taylor as the caricatured coldhearted, materialistic movie mogul — a perfect part for Wagner, who has a reputation for warmth, to play against type.

But what Wagner enjoyed was the layer of complexity writer-director Michael Schroeder built into the role. In a confrontation with his old nemesis Flash Madden, the subject of the former Mrs. Moss comes up. Flash notes that the old Mrs. Moss had also been Mrs. Madden, and Flash, a predictable curmudgeon regarding all other matters, shows his soft spot, reflecting that his ex-wife, stolen by Taylor, was the finest person in the world.

Taylor could simply harrumph, shunning the idea that there is anyone in the world worth such praise. Instead, Wagner gives Moss a sentimental twinkle in the eye as he agrees, yes, the late Mrs. Moss was, indeed, a special human being. The coldblooded producer does have a heart.

“I like that he was involved with Flash on that basis of the ex-wife,” said Wagner. “That was an interesting dynamic. He came in on another level. The character was well-defined.”

Wagner casts a similar eye on the town he calls home: Aspen. A ski junkie who first came here in 1949, lived in Aspen intermittently for more than 20 years, and been a full-time resident for a decade, the 77-year-old has seen enormous changes in the town. But he shrugs off the outsider’s notion of Aspen as a shallow playground for the rich. To him, the heart of Aspen is in such institutions as the Aspen Institute and the local residents he has come to know.

“There are all sides of Aspen,” said Wagner by phone, as he drove around town. “I think the fact that it’s such a desirable place to come to, and that the skiing is the best in the world, and you’re an upscale resort, it’s very easy to get criticized. But we all know that’s a balance that gets exceeded a lot.”

Wagner, best-known for starring roles in three successful TV series — “It Takes a Thief” in the ’60s, “Switch” in the ’70s, and “Hart to Hart” in the ’80s — was first lured to Aspen by the skiing. “I love the mountain, and Colorado, Aspen, was the place,” he said. “I came here and fell in love with all the benefits that are here. I fish the rivers, ski the mountains.”

His wife, actress Jill St. John, already had a home here for 16 years when the two were married in 1991. “She introduced me to an Aspen I didn’t know,” he said. “I was really able to meet some people who were the basic foundation here.”

Wagner keeps a second home in Los Angeles, to be close to his four children, and to maintain his acting career. He appears as the recurring character Teddy in the current sitcom “Two and a Half Men,” and recently filmed a pilot, “Pretty Handsome,” which co-stars Joseph Fiennes and Carrie-Anne Moss. Wagner played Mr. Wilson in the direct-to-DVD project “A Dennis the Menace Christmas.” And he has appeared in all three “Austin Powers” films.

With a Song in My Heart

2007-11-13T12:11:00.000-05:00

With a Song in My Heart available on DVD

Robert Wagner on Two and a Half Men Twice in November

2007-10-29T22:51:00.000-04:00

Monday, Nov. 5 (9:00-9:30 PM, ET/PT) TWO AND A HALF MEN - Charlie (Charlie Sheen) and Alan (Jon Cryer) butt heads over Alan's place in the house, prompting Alan and Jake to move in with Evelyn (Holland Taylor). Robert Wagner guest stars as Evelyn's boyfriend, Teddy.

Monday, Nov. 19 (9:00-9:30 PM, ET/PT) TWO AND A HALF MEN - Charlie (Charlie Sheen) tries to resist his attraction to his soon-to-be stepsister. Jenny McCarthy ("Scary Movie 3") guest stars as the daughter of Evelyn's fiance, Teddy (guest Robert Wagner).

Large Pic from the Furr Ball - 10/20/07

2007-10-24T19:27:00.001-04:00

Click here to download a large pic from last Saturday's Furr Ball.

Thank you, Rex Welton of the Forsyth Humane Society located in Winston-Salem, NC.

The 4th Annual "Furr" Ball was held at the historic Graylyn Manor House on Saturday, October 20th, 2007. This elegant, black tie celebration was a spectacular combination of delicious food, drink, shopping, music and dancing. It was a time for animal lovers to come together and make a real difference.

Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers in Winston-Salem, NC 10/20/07

2007-10-19T10:57:00.001-04:00

Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers are going to be in Winston-Salem, NC this Saturday.

FURR BALL: 6:30 p.m., Graylyn International Conference Center, 1900 Reynolda Road. Celebrity guests Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers, live entertainment, cocktails, silent auction and dancing. Proceeds benefit the Forsyth Humane Society. Reservations required. Tickets are $75 a couple, or $50 a person. Call 336-721-1303, ext. 102, or send e-mail to Rex Welton at rweltonfhs@triad.rr.com.

Mother Goose Parade is calling on Hollywood for some sparkle

2007-10-11T11:14:00.000-04:00

Celebrity sightings are about as rare in El Cajon as a cool breeze in July.

Yet come Nov. 18, this East County city will be teeming with teen sensations and television stars.

The 61-year-old Mother Goose Parade, known more for its storybook character floats and beauty queens than Hollywood glitz and glamour, is getting an extreme makeover.

Among the bevy of young stars scheduled to perform or appear are Corbin Bleu of “High School Musical”; singer Jesse McCartney; “American Idol” runner-up Katharine McPhee; and Mario Lopez from “Dancing with the Stars.”

Don't recognize those names? There's also Erik Estrada; bounty hunter Duane “Dog” Chapman; and one-time matinee idol Robert Wagner. John Schneider can claim cross-appeal as the blond Duke of Hazzard and recent “Smallville” star.

“People are going to lose their minds,” said Steven Gerard, a Los Angeles talent broker who has been working for months to lock in celebrities for the event.

So what's El Cajon's sudden draw after years of only attracting the occasional boldface name?

Thank Jillian Hanson-Cox, an El Cajon councilwoman and former actress. Hanson-Cox said she wanted to bring back the excitement she remembers feeling as a kid at the parade.

“I know what I liked as a little girl and I stopped seeing that,” Hanson-Cox said. “It just lost its pizazz. It was no fault of the board of directors. The community just got disinterested.”

When Hanson-Cox asked her nieces and nephews what they wanted at the parade, the No. 1 response was “more celebrities.” So she called in a few favors with friends in the entertainment industry.

El Cajon might not be a hub for the Hollywood crowd, but it's only a couple of hours from Los Angeles and celebrities have movies, CDs and TV shows to promote, Gerard said. And frankly, who doesn't love a parade?

“Greg Grunberg from 'Heroes' is bringing his wife and three kids,” Gerard said. “How cool is that? Your kids are riding in a parade with you.”

The famous names caught the attention of students leaving El Cajon Valley High School yesterday. Shown a flier, senior Jean Glaude perked up at the photos of young stars Emily Osment, Drake Bell and Ricky Ullman.

“I always pictured Mother Goose as this little thing parents bring their 3-year-old kid to,” Glaude, 17, said. “I'm impressed. I'm definitely impressed.”

Celebrities won't receive a dime from the nonprofit parade association or the city, Hanson-Cox said, but El Cajon has contributed $10,000 to help subsidize the parade. Gerard is lining up sponsors to pick up costs and fees related to celebrity appearances.

The event's faithful can rest assured that the parade will continue to feature the staples: clowns, giant balloons, horses, marching bands.

And while Mother Goose is in her golden years, she's trying to stay current. This year, the parade has a presence on MySpace and Facebook, and the parade association has launched a sister event – San Diego's Mega Star – to build buzz.

The “American Idol”-style competition was open only to San Diego County residents and the winner, to be announced Oct. 20, will be part of the parade.

El Cajon resident Ruby Morad likes that Wagner and “CSI: Miami” star Eva La Rue are coming to town, but she's more into the animated guest stars: Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Sylvester the Cat and Tweety Bird.

“We all love our cartoons,” Morad, 42, said. “Too bad they don't have Snagglepuss.”

DETAILS

Mother Goose Parade

When: Nov. 18. Celebrity arrivals 10:30 a.m., parade 12:30 p.m.

Where: Parade begins at Main Street and Magnolia Avenue in El Cajon.

Information: mothergooseparade.org

Buy R.J. Stuff

2007-09-27T13:47:00.000-04:00

Amazon.com Widgets

MCOF kicks off Friday

2007-09-27T12:56:00.000-04:00

Panel discussions include national film critic Leonard Maltin and Los Angeles Times critic Kenneth Turan.

It's been scaled down in length and number of screenings, but the Malibu Celebration of Film is still promising a unique display of entertainment and education as it returns for the sophomore edition of the "Best of the Best" film festival.

The celebration takes place Friday through Sunday with screenings at Pepperdine University's Elkins Auditorium, Smothers Theatre, Raitt Recital Hall and Alumni Park, as well as outdoor screenings at Bluffs Park and Calamigos Ranch. The movies featured have all won awards from previous festivals this past year. Additionally, on Saturday there will be a silent film accompanied by the Malibu Coast Chamber Orchestra and Orson Welles' final film, "F is for Fake" will be shown.

The program begins at 10 a.m. on Friday at Smothers Theatre with the FILMS'COOL' contest. Six short films made by high school and college students will be shown, and a winner in each category will be selected by a panel of judges, which include FILMS'COOL' co-Chair Amy Magidan, actor Daniel Stern, Malibu Youth Services Librarian Lora Cokalat and Miss Malibu Pageant founder Kristen Bradford. The winners of the competition will receive internships at a production company or studio and $1,000.

The celebration continues at Calamigos Ranch on Friday with the opening night film and party. The evening kicks off at 6 p.m. with cocktails and a silent auction benefiting FILMS'COOL.' Following dinner, "an intimate conversation" will take place with three members of the Motion Picture & Television Fund: actress Valerie Allen, cinematographer Ralph Woolsey and director Charles Jarrot. The fund assists people in the entertainment industry who have fallen on hard times. This will be followed by the screening of "Man in the Chair," the tale of a rebellious young filmmaker who enters a student competition in hopes of winning a scholarship to a prestigious Hollywood film school. He receives help from a person living at a Motion Picture & Television Fund home.

Director Michael Schroeder and producer Randy Turrow will attend the screening with cast members Michael Angarano and Robert Wagner. They are expected to participate in a question and answer session following the movie.

The festivities continue on Saturday with screenings at various locations beginning at 12 p.m. Among the highlights are "Hearts of the Hills," a silent film made in 1919 that will be shown at Smothers Theatre with the Malibu Coast Chamber Orchestra doing a live performance of the score.

A screenwriter panel discussion will take place at Raitt Recital Hall at 2 p.m. Moderated by movie producer Trevor Albert, the panel will include Peter Dunne, who has written for television and authored a book on screenwriting. Catherine Ann Jones, who has written for film and also penned a book on screenwriting, and John Logan, a playwright and screenwriter, will also be on the panel

"This event will try to generate discussion amongst the panelists to show a breadth of knowledge and a breadth of experience," said John Evans, co-owner of Diesel, A Bookstore, which organized the discussion. "It's sort of a workshop that can go in any direction."

Diesel is hosting another panel discussion on Sunday at 2 p.m., also at Raitt Recital Hall. National film critic Leonard Maltin will converse with Los Angeles Times critic Kenneth Turan. A similar discussion took place last year with Turan and critic David Thompson, with a moderator. But Evans said it was evident a moderator was not needed this year.

"They were so good at talking, and film critics in particular don't really need a moderator," Evans said. "It's really up to them what way to go, and people in the audience will be there to quiz them."

More screening will take place on Sunday, and the event will conclude at Bluffs Park at 7 p.m. with the documentary, "Sharkwater." Writer/director Rob Stewart will be in attendance to discuss the movie, which deals with the threat to the shark population in the marine reserves of Cocos Island, Costa Rica and the Galapagos Islands. His talk will be followed by a festival-closing party at Malibu Inn.

Last year, Robert Altman was given the Courage Award on the final day of the celebration. This year, the festival will not be recognizing anyone.

"We couldn't find an appropriate person to honor that could follow in the footsteps [of Robert Altman]," said Kim Jackson, the festival's executive director. "So we decided just to have a quiet year, and we'll bring it back next year."

Tickets can be purchased for individual events at the festival's Web site, www.mcof.org. The cost is $10 for most events, with the opening festivities costing $100 and the closing night party costing $75. Three-day program passes are also available for $100 to $750. A schedule for the screenings and other events can also be found on the Web site.

Video from April 2007

2007-09-27T12:00:00.000-04:00

Robert Wagner accepts award on behalf of Christopher Plummer - the Methodfest Life Achievement Award. Plummer was doing a play on Broadway at the time (Inherit the Wind, for which he received his seventh Tony nomination). Unfortunately, the clip does not include the taped acceptance speech that Plummer provided, but does include Wagner's comments.

http://www.diversitybroadband.com/mf07/

(You have to listen to a commercial first, then scroll to find the clips.)
There's second clip with a short interview with Wagner and director Michael Schroeder.

Three mix it up in FX transsexual pilot

2007-09-27T07:30:00.000-04:00

LOS ANGELES - Joseph Fiennes, Blythe Danner and Robert Wagner have been cast in U.S. cable channel FX's transsexual drama pilot.

The untitled project, formerly known as "4 oz.", centres on a family man named Bob (Fiennes) who decides to get a sex change. Danner and Wagner will play Bob's parents, Bunny and Scotch. The roles of Bob's wife and kids have yet to be cast.

The pilot comes from Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, respectively the creator and a writer/producer on FX's "Nip/Tuck". Production will begin at the end of October, with Murphy directing.

Fiennes recently appeared on the big screen in "Running With Scissors". Danner won two Emmys for her role on Showtime's "Huff". Wagner recently guest-starred on CBS' "Two and a Half Men" and AMC's "Hustle".

R.J. Update

2007-09-24T07:31:00.000-04:00

He is in Los Angeles this week and next week filming episodes of Two and a Half Men.

Katie Wagner Married

2007-09-23T11:15:00.000-04:00

I just found out that Katie Wagner got married (at the end of July, I think). She got married at her father's house (before he sold it)!

Riley is One

2007-09-21T07:35:00.000-04:00

R.J.'s grandson, Riley, is one-year-old today.

A Dennis The Menace Christmas Premiering on DVD November 6th

2007-09-04T13:30:00.000-04:00

One of the most recognizable comic strip characters ever created returns in live action form for the third time

BURBANK, Calif.--Just when you thought it was safe to celebrate the holidays, the Menace returns to jingle your bells and deck your halls in A Dennis The Menace Christmas. The DVD is set for release by Warner Premiere on November 6^th. This holiday season, naughty or nice, Dennis “The Menace” Mitchell is going to deliver Mr. Wilson the Christmas spirit whether he likes it or not. A Dennis The Menace Christmas will be available on DVD for $19.97 SRP.

Continuing on with the success of the franchise, A Dennis The Menace Christmas combines A Christmas Carol with the live action version of one of America’s most widely recognizable, chaos wreaking comic strip characters. Taking the reigns of a reimagined Mr. Wilson, film and television star Robert Wagner (Hart To Hart, It Takes A Thief, and the Austin Powers films) picks up where previous Mr. Wilsons (Walter Matthau and Don Rickles) left off. Rounding out the all-star cast is Academy Award winner Louise Fletcher (One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest) as Mrs. Wilson and newcomer Maxwell Perry Cotton (Brothers and Sisters) as the newly defined Menace.

This Christmas Dennis will face his greatest challenge to deliver Mr. Wilson the “Holiday Spirit” and secure Santa’s delivery of his ultimate present… the Raleigh Mite-Y-Max bike. Along the way, he’ll ruin his school’s Thanksgiving pageant, take on the neighborhood bully, and, as always, make life miserable for poor Mr. Wilson. However, all is not as it seems, and for the first time Mr. Wilson will come away from the holidays with a newfound understanding of himself and his next-door Menace, thanks in part to Bob The Christmas Angel, played by comedian Godfrey (Phat Girlz, Zoolander).

The DVD also comes with a stocking's worth of bonus features including, a “Making of…” featurette, bloopers, outtakes, deleted scene, an audio commentary with Robert Wagner and director Ron Oliver, and a video commentary of key moments of the film - featuring Maxwell Perry Cotton (aka “Dennis the Menace”).

Originally created as a comic strip by the late Hank Ketcham in 1951, the Dennis The Menace comic strip appears in over 1,000 newspapers in 48 countries and 19 languages. Throughout the years the character has evolved into an animated series, two feature films, as well as the face of the Dairy Queen Franchise.

Email requests for materials to greg_longstreet@polarispr.com or fax to 323-939-1566.

Fall TV Preview: Two and a Half Men

2007-09-03T02:06:00.000-04:00

When you think about it, it’s easy to see why Two and a Half Men is the highest rated sitcom on TV. We spend so much time during the week trying to keep up with complex, serialized dramas like Lost and 24 that it’s comforting to spend half an hour every Monday night with two brothers who we know will never change. Charlie (Charlie Sheen) will always be a shallow, materialistic skirt chaser. Alan (Jon Cryer) will always be a neurotic single father who can’t quite get over his (recently remarried) ex-wife. The only characters who we may see changes in this season are the guys’ mother Evelyn (Holland Taylor), who will continue her romance with Teddy (Robert Wagner) and Alan’s son Jake (Angus T. Jones), who is just hitting puberty. Pretty soon they’ll need to change the title to Two and 3/4 Men.

Robert Wagner on Sirius Satellite Radio

2007-08-28T19:15:00.002-04:00

Robert Wagner was a guest on Sirius Satellite Radio's Animal Intuition
with host Sonya Fitzpatrick on Aug 28. The show aired live 11 am - 1 pm ET on Sirius Stars channel 102.

Mr. Wagner and Ms. Fitzpatrick are friends and share a love for animals which they discussed on the program.

Click here to download the interview in .wma format.

Robert Wagner Selling House

2007-08-26T12:12:00.000-04:00

According to the Los Angeles Times Real Estate Section today, "R.J., as actor Robert Wagner is known, and his wife, actress Jill St. John, spend much of their free time at an out-of-state mountain resort. So, Wagner, 77, decided to sell his home in Brentwood's Mandeville Canyon, designed by Cliff May, for close to $15 million, including an adjacent parcel. The combined 2 acre property is about ready to close escrow."

Larry Passed On

2007-08-23T19:20:00.000-04:00

I'm sad to report that R.J.'s beloved dog, Larry, had to be put down. I'm sure this was very difficult for Mr. Wagner.

USPS Honors Jimmy Stewart with New Postage Stamp

2007-08-16T20:49:00.000-04:00

James Stewart, Hollywood's quintessential everyman, is being honored by the U.S. Postal Service with his own postage stamp. The stamp will be the 13th in the "Legends of Hollywood" series, which also includes Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Alfred Hitchcock, Lucille Ball and John Wayne. Ceremonies will be held on Friday, August 17th at Universal Studios in Hollywood, as well as the Jimmy Stewart Museum in Indiana, Pennsylvania.

Stewart starred in some of the most loved and respected films in Hollywood history, including:

It's a Wonderful Life
Vertigo
Rear Window
The Philadelphia Story
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Anatomy of a Murder
Harvey

... among many others.

Here's the official press release from the USPS:

Washington, DC — Tomorrow, the U.S. Postal Service salutes a World War II veteran who rose from the rank of private to retire as a brigadier general — one of the highest ranks ever achieved by a Hollywood actor. During World War II, as a B-24 combat pilot and commander, James Stewart flew 20 missions over Germany including one over Berlin. His first movie after the war was It's a Wonderful Life.

As the 13th stamp in the “Legends of Hollywood” series, the 41-cent First-Class James Stewart commemorative stamp honors James Stewart, whose naturalistic acting style made the characters he played seem “real.” The sheet of 20 stamps are available nationwide Friday, August 17, and will be dedicated at 10:30 a.m. PT at Universal Studios Hollywood at The Globe Theatre inside the theme park in Universal City, CA. Similar ceremonies will take place at the Jimmy Stewart Museum in Stewart's hometown of Indiana, PA, and in the Marquette, MI, courthouse where Stewart was filmed during the making of Anatomy of a Murder (1959).

“It's our privilege to pay tribute to James Stewart, a fantastic actor, a great gentleman, a brave soldier, and an inspirational human being who truly led a wonderful life,” said Vice Chairman, U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors Alan C. Kessler, who will dedicate the stamp in Universal City. “Jimmy Stewart knew how to touch us. Now it's time for our Nation to show how we feel.”

Joining Kessler in dedicating the stamp will be Stewart's children, Kelly Stewart Harcourt, Judy Stewart and Michael McLean.

“Our family is so honored by this stamp,” said Kelley Stewart Harcourt. “I'm sure my father would be humbled as well. He received many awards throughout his life and I'm sure he would view this as one of the most cherished.”

Also participating will be actor Robert Wagner, a longtime friend of Stewart, who will speak to his philanthropic endeavors.

“Jimmy Stewart gave so much to this country through his dedicated military service, to his craft as an actor, and to his family as a loving husband and devoted father,” said Wagner. “He also gave back to the community. For a quarter of a century, the Jimmy Stewart Annual Relay Marathon benefited the St. John's Child and Family Development Center, as well as other programs and services at St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica. From 1982 to 2006, the event raised more than $9 million.”

Stewart's role as a World War II decorated bomber pilot will be highlighted by a former intelligence officer who served with Stewart during the war.

“Jimmy Stewart was famous in another world and volunteered for wartime duty directly from civilian life,” said Starr Smith, who introduced Stewart to Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite during the war and recently authored a book on Stewart. “He was a man who trained hard and served well — a man who, from the beginning, wanted desperately to join the hunt in the cause of freedom. He was a man who led and inspired his fellow airmen in battle, won the admiration and respect of his superiors, and, in the end, was like many others — a good man who fought the good fight.”

President and CEO of Heartland Truly Moving Pictures, Jeffrey Sparks, will speak about Stewart's film accomplishments.

“On turning 80, Stewart was asked how he wanted to be remembered; he replied, ‘As someone who believed in hard work and love of country, love of family and love of community.’ Jimmy Stewart succeeded in living his life as he wished to be remembered — a lesson warranting emulation by all of us. Clarence the wingless angel spoke to George Bailey about how each of our lives touches so many others — and, when we are no longer around, we leave an awful hole. I would contend that Jimmy Stewart left no such hole. He filled the hearts of a nation — leaving behind far more than he took.”

Art director Phil Jordan of Falls Church, VA, designed the stamp using a portrait of Stewart by Drew Struzan of Pasadena, CA. Struzan based his work on a photograph taken during the filming of The Stratton Story. The painting on the selvage, also by Struzan, shows Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, the 1939 film for which he received his first Academy Award nomination for “best actor.”

Hart to Hart in OK

2007-06-22T11:35:00.000-04:00

Oklahoma's The Cox Channel is expanding. The station also has added syndicated programming, including "Gunsmoke,” "Hart to Hart,” "Bewitched” and "Designing Women.”

TV Land Canada Announces Its Fall 2007 Schedule

2007-06-05T18:36:00.000-04:00

On TV Land Canada, everything old is new again! New to the TV Land Canada schedule this September is Fantasy Island; Hart to Hart; Love, American Style; and It's Garry Shandling's Show.

Robert on Two and a Half Men

2007-05-16T10:16:00.001-04:00

Season Finale of Two and 1/2 Men

2007-05-13T22:59:00.000-04:00

SEASON FINALE at a Special Time

Monday, May 14, 8:30pm et/pt

Prostitutes and Gelato

Charlie and Alan must confront their "daddy issues" when Evelyn's new boyfriend invites them to Vegas on his private jet. Robert Wagner and Mike Connors guest star. TV14-DL

Wagner still punching in ‘Hustle’

2007-05-03T10:29:00.000-04:00

Robert Wagner shows up on BBC1 tonight in the first episode of the fourth series of the popular con artist show “Hustle” (below left, with Jaime Murray, Robert Vaughn and Marc Warren). He plays a wealthy collector of movie memorabilia who is conned into thinking he can buy the Hollywood Sign. The episode is the first in the series to be shot in the United States where it is carried by AMC. Wagner, however, did make a TV series in the United Kingdom a long time ago for the BBC and Universal Pictures titled “Colditz.” It was a prisoner of war drama set during World War II costarring Jack Hedley, Richard Heffer and Edward Hardwicke, shown standing behind Wagner and David McCallum below. The series ran for 24 episodes in 1972-74 but the American actor appeared in just 14 of them. This is what he told me about it:

I liked the opening, the first year, but then we had a very difficult time. It started out as a kind of documentary but in the end they had the prisoners out sitting on deck chairs and they’d be singing away. The guys in Colditz never sang; they were starving to death. I said, ‘What is this, a bloody musical?’ I turned my back on the camera and walked out because they took something that could really have been great and put it in the toilet. The reason I reacted so strongly was because I really loved doing it, and I hated to see it wasted.”

The Detroit-born actor started in movies in Hollywood in 1950 and appeared in some decent films along the way such as “The War Lover,” “The Pink Panther” and “The Towering Inferno.” His biggest successes were on TV, however, playing a reformed cat burglar in “It Takes a Thief” (left) which ran for three seasons from 1968, and the suave Jonathan Hart opposite Stephanie Powers in “Hart to Hart,” which ran for five seasons from 1979. He also played Brick opposite his wife Natalie Wood and Laurence Olivier in a TV version of Tennessee Williams’s “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.”

He showed up this year in a pretty good picture about filmmaking titled “Man in the Chair,” starring Christopher Plummer, but he is probably best known to young moviegoers as No. 2 in the Austin Powers pictures. I’ve interviewed Wagner several times and found him to be a classy gent, the kind who would write a note to your editor if he liked something you’d written. Promoting a 1987 TV movie titled “Love Among Thieves,” he introduced me to his leading lady, Audrey Hepburn, which was a treat. The actor had a clear idea of his abilities when he spoke about his career, and that is always endearing in a Hollywood star. Here are some comments from an interview I did with him in 1983:

I always knew that this was what I wanted to do but I never knew if I would make it. I had a lot of people stroking me over the years — a lot of good people like Spencer Tracy and Elia Kazan who boosted me. I could have gone down. I had a lot of enthusiasm but I don’t think I was really so talented. I don’t think I’ve had all that talent within me that was bursting loose, that couldn’t wait to be seen and captured on the screen. I think I was really fortunate.

I know what that sounds like but it’s the truth. It’s the truth. I mean, you look back at some of those pictures and you say, ‘Whew!’ But I kept going and in some of the stuff I was good, you know? Some of the stuff, I was O.K. I look back, and some of it wasn’t so bad for the time.

I’ve had a lot of ups and downs. It’s not been particularly a case of not getting the parts that you want but of not working at all. When I came back from Europe in the early ’60s, I had a soft spot for a while. I was out of work for a long time.

The guy who pulled me out of it was Paul Newman in ‘Harper.’ I think I loosened up a little bit in that film too. I’ve been really fortunate to have worked with people who have encouraged me, who’ve said, ‘Come on, you know it’s not gonna be that bad. Do it.’

I was sitting around the other day with a guy who started out in the picture business the same time I did and, I don’t know, it’s a real phenomenon: if you’re there and you keep going, if you just keep punching at it, somehow you stick around.

Robert Wagner looking to get back in weekly TV series game

2007-04-27T10:50:00.000-04:00

Robert Wagner, a TV mainstay through three decades with his "It Takes a Thief," "Switch" and "Hart to Hart" shows, is looking to get back into the weekly series game. This time, in a comedy. "I love the form," he says, "absolutely love it."

He guest stars in the May 14-airing season finale of "Two and a Half Men," and just finished shooting an ABC comedy pilot in which he plays the head of a law firm surrounded by rival up-and-coming legal eagles including Scott Wolf, Ayda Field, Amanda Detmer and Ben Savage.

"It was such a fun experience. I've done guestings, but I've never been involved in a pilot like this from the ground up, and with all these young actors. It was like an opening night," Wagner says of the prospective show from Jeff Judah and Gabe Sachs ("What About Brian," "October Road," "Just Shoot Me!").

The "Two and a Half Men" episode pits him and former "Mannix" star Mike Connors against each other as rivals for the affections of Holland Taylor. Wagner's character is wealthy and dashing but has a Viagra problem.

"You always wonder what it's going to be like, coming into such a tight group of people on an established show, but they couldn't have been nicer to me," Wagner recalls. "When I drove onto the lot, Jon Cryer happened to be outside, and said, 'Oh, we're so happy to have you! Park right there around the corner' -- such a nice welcome. It was terrific working with him, Charlie (Sheen) and Holland, and the character was so well written for me, I slipped into it and felt very comfortable with the chemistry."

Two and a Half Men

2007-04-23T00:31:00.000-04:00

Two and a Half Men

May 14

What's happening: In the fourth-season finale, the Harper brothers jet off to Las Vegas with Mom's wealthy new boyfriend. Forever-dapper Robert Wagner guest stars as Evelyn's beau, while Mannix himself, Mike Connors, turns up.

Characters more important than perks to Wagner

2007-04-18T00:25:00.000-04:00

PASADENA, Calif. — Robert Wagner perfected a suave persona on popular TV series such as "It Takes a Thief" (1968-'70) and "Hart to Hart" (1979-'84). He returns to familiar territory at 9 tonight as a bigger-than-life Texan on the fourth season premiere of AMC's clever caper drama "Hustle."
Wagner plays a collector of Hollywood memorabilia who can't wait to score possession of the Hollywood sign and transplant it to his Texas property. That makes him a mark for Robert Vaughn's team of London con artists, who are on the prowl in the U.S.

With half a century of film and TV work, from his 20th Century Fox contract player days in the 1950s in films like "Broken Lance" to recent projects like the "Austin Powers" movies, Wagner, who just turned 77, has learned it's well-written scripts and memorable characters that appeal to him, not the size of dressing rooms and other perks.

"I've really been mostly concerned about the work and who is there and what's — how it's going to happen," he said during a news conference to promote the series. "I had seen 'Hustle,' several of them. I admired the cast very much, and I liked this character a great deal, and it was very well written — all the things that an actor enjoys."

The Los Angeles location filming of "Hustle" was a reunion of sorts for Wagner and Vaughn, who starred in disaster king Irwin Allen's 1974 blockbuster "The Towering Inferno."

"We didn't have any scenes together," Wagner says. "I was at the top of the building trying to get it on with the young lady (Susan Flannery), and where were you?"

"I was hanging out with Bill Holden downstairs," Vaughn says.

While this episode of "Hustle" was shot in Hollywood, its base is London, the site of one of Wagner's most memorable working experiences.

"I've really been very fortunate to have worked with some wonderful people," he said. "One of the highs was doing 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' (a 1976 NBC movie) with Laurence Olivier and my late wife, Natalie Wood. We did that in England and had a five- or six-week rehearsal. Tennessee Williams was there. It was a highly charged, emotional time for all of us. Very exciting. I've had a lot of highlights, but that kind of stands out right now."

After the news conference, Wagner talked about a couple of things he hasn't enjoyed, including ABC's three-hour Natalie Wood biopic in 2004. The legendary actress' tragic drowning death off Catalina Island, Calif., on Thanksgiving weekend 1981 was a major part of the plot.

"I chose not to watch; I didn't want to," Wagner said, adding with a bit of a condescending tone: "I heard Peter (Bogdanovich, the director) needed the work."

And he sounds a bit miffed that bootleg copies of "It Takes a Thief" are circulating on the Internet while the series' owner, Universal, sits on the original negatives.

"I'm having meetings at Universal to see what their plans are for releasing 'It Takes a Thief' on DVD," he said. "I think it would sell well.

"Also, I've got some ideas on how to revive it, to bring it forward to 2007, but in a limited series form."

Wagner and his wife, actress Jill St. John, celebrate their 17th anniversary next month. One of their professional highlights as a couple was starring in A.R. Gurney's popular play "Love Letters."

Wagner became a grandfather in September when his daughter, TV personality Katie Wagner, had her first child, a boy named Riley. His other children are daughters Courtney and Natasha Gregson Wagner, an actress.

Ten years after his friend James Stewart's death, Wagner continues to host and promote the annual Jimmy Stewart Relay Marathon, which has raised more than $8 million since 1982 for St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica.

Wagner's civic-mindedness was noted on April 5 in Los Angeles when he was honored — along with former astronaut Buzz Aldrin, fitness guru Jack LaLanne and a few others — as Treasures of L.A. at a luncheon where Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa praised his philanthropy.

Filmgoers will soon be treated to the spectacle of Wagner playing a vampirish U.S. President James Garfield in "Netherbeast Incorporated."

Two and a Half Men

2007-04-16T12:31:00.000-04:00

Robert Wagner to appear on Two and a Half Men on May 14, 2007.

The View

2007-04-10T23:18:00.000-04:00

Robert Wagner will be appearing on The View April 17 to promote his appearance on Hustle.

Robert Wagner on AMC's "Hustle" April 18

2007-04-10T12:32:00.000-04:00

TV Guide Pic 1

TV Guide Pic 2

Symphony's 2007-08 main lineup has new sponsor, name, theme

2007-02-21T10:55:00.000-05:00

Changes are afoot for Seattle Symphony subscribers with today's announcement of the orchestra's 105th season in 2007-08.

The symphony has done away with such series designations as Masterpiece, Encore and Bravo for its 10th season in Benaroya Hall. Instead, the orchestra's main concert lineup of 21 programs, 13 of them led by music director Gerard Schwarz, will be called the UBS Masterworks Season. For the first time, there is a season sponsor (UBS Wealth Management US) and a season-long theme: a celebration of the work of immigrant composers.

In the lineup of more than 200 concerts, orchestra fans are likely to be most excited about an artist roster that includes an Opening Night Gala with stellar cellist Yo-Yo Ma on Sept. 15, and recitals featuring piano legends Lang Lang and Murray Perahia and violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter.

Among the other stars to appear next season: violinists Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Gil Shaham, Jaime Laredo, James Ehnes and Kyoko Takezawa; pianists Garrick Ohlsson, Yefim Bronfman and Awadagin Pratt; cellist Lynn Harrell; and soprano Jane Eaglen. Schwarz's son Julian, a cellist, will appear with the orchestra's principal cellist Joshua Roman in a Vivaldi double concerto.

The conducting roster will include Stéphane Denève, Rossen Milanov, Ingo Metzmacher, Jun MÃƒÆ’Ã†'Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¤rkl, Jaime Laredo, Gunther Herbig, Christopher Seaman, Bernard Labadie, Douglas Boyd, Michael Stern and Xian Zhang.

The Visiting Orchestras series will present the return of the St. Petersburg Orchestra (with conductor Yuri Temirkanov and pianist Nelson Freire), the Russian National Orchestra (with conductor Vladimir Jurowski) and pianist/conductor Barry Douglas with his Camerata Ireland.

A spring festival in May and June 2008 will feature the "Genesis Suite" (co-written by seven composers, including Schoenberg and Stravinsky), with visuals by Dale Chihuly, and narration by actors Jill St. John and Robert Wagner.

Already announced is another big event, in May 2008: a collaboration with the Seattle Theatre Group and the Mark Morris Dance Group, presenting Morris' famous work "L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato" (with music by Handel) in the Paramount Theatre, with Schwarz conducting.

As in the past, the symphony will present several other series, including Musically Speaking, Mainly Mozart, Basically Baroque, Popular Classics, Distinguished Artists and other recital series devoted to the organ and the guitar.

The Seattle Symphony Pops concerts will span sci-fi, holiday, musical theater and Hollywood themes, with guest artists Jack Everly, Jeff Tyzik, Marvin Hamlisch and Robert Moody.

Happy Birthday!

2007-02-10T00:00:00.000-05:00

R.J. is 77 today!

Sidney Sheldon, 89; master of flashy, trashy bestsellers

2007-01-31T11:15:00.000-05:00

Sidney Sheldon, a writer whose keen grasp of popular tastes fueled a string of feverishly romantic and suspenseful books that made him a perennial bestseller with millions of copies in print around the world, died Tuesday. He was 89. Sheldon died of pneumonia at the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, according to his friend and publicist Warren Cowan.

A multifaceted writer, Sheldon won a screenwriting Oscar and a Tony award and had created popular television sitcoms before starting his first novel at the age of 52. But it was through the novels that he gained his overriding fame.

His books usually revolved around characters of great wealth, beauty, brilliance and bedroom prowess — none of which protected them from infidelity, betrayal and indiscretion. Sheldon's protagonists were usually women and his plots were so artfully constructed that his books are the very definition of a page-turner.

He was one of the world's most translated authors, selling more than 300 million books in 180 countries. They were printed in 51 languages, including Urdu, which is spoken in Pakistan and India, and Swahili.

With his second novel, "The Other Side of Midnight" (1974), Sheldon broke into the blockbuster ranks; the book remained on the New York Times bestseller list for 53 weeks — a record at the time.

About half of his 18 novels — with such titles as "Rage of Angels" (1980) and "Memories of Midnight" (1990) — were turned into television movies or miniseries. Demand for his stories was so great that CBS executives reportedly paid Sheldon $1 million for the rights to make a miniseries of 1985's "If Tomorrow Comes" before they had even read it.

Some critics said his dialogue was banal and his plots were unbelievable, but many grudgingly acknowledged the author's unusual talent at producing what the Washington Post once called "good junk reading time after time."

After Sheldon's 1987 novel "Windmills of the Gods" debuted at No. 1 on bestseller lists, Charles Champlin, then The Times' arts editor, wrote that Sheldon had found "a statistically wider audience each time, evidently satisfying everyone except most literary critics, who regard popularity and quality as incompatible."

Fans admired plotlines that were amazingly complex yet easy to follow — and the colorful characters who could never be counted on to do the expected.

"Sidney's longevity secret is that he is a great storyteller, a master of the narrative tale," his literary agent, Mort Janklow, told The Times in 2004. "Readers care about his characters, many of whom are women under threat. He has an instinctive ability to read women's emotions."

For his part, Sheldon said: "I don't write for critics. I write for readers."

From the early 1940s until almost 1970, he had written mainly for viewers.

Wins Oscar in 1948

His wry and witty script for "The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer" (1947) won him a 1948 Academy Award for original screenplay. The farce, which starred Cary Grant and Shirley Temple, was "uncloyed with cuteness," the New York Times review said at the time.

Sheldon was also a screenwriter for the Judy Garland-Fred Astaire musical "Easter Parade" (1948) and the Astaire-Ginger Rogers musical "The Barkleys of Broadway" (1949). After he helped adapt the Irving Berlin hit "Annie Get Your Gun" to the big screen, the 1950 Betty Hutton-Howard Keel vehicle received generally favorable reviews.

He wrote half a dozen plays for Broadway. His biggest hit was the musical "Redhead," starring Gwen Verdon, which ran for a little more than a year from 1959 to 1960 and brought him a Tony for co-writing the book.

After working on about two dozen films, he turned toward television, writing scores of episodes for two hit sitcoms he created — "The Patty Duke Show" (ABC, 1963-66) and "I Dream of Jeannie" (NBC, 1965-70), according to Sheldon's memoir "The Other Side of Me" (2005).

Creating a show for Duke was a challenge because "she was so extraordinarily talented I did not want to waste her abilities," Sheldon wrote. He decided she should play twin sisters but changed it to look-alike cousins to explain why the characters had grown up without knowing each other.

"Jeannie," which starred Barbara Eden and Larry Hagman, opened to mixed reviews but had a loyal fan base, Sheldon wrote. One episode, "Bigger Than a Bread Box and Better Than a Genie," featured Sheldon's wife, Jorja, as a fortuneteller and his mother as a character in a seance scene.

He also created the glamorous "Hart to Hart" series, starring Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers, that aired on ABC from 1979 to 1984.

He was born Sidney Schechtel on Feb. 11, 1917, in Chicago, the son of Otto, a salesman, and Natalie, a homemaker. Unable to pay the rent, the family kept moving and Sheldon attended about a dozen schools.

Sheldon later remarked that his career as a writer was rather improbable considering his background.

Becoming a writer

"Both my parents were third-grade dropouts," he said. "My father never read a book in his life and I was the only one in my family to complete high school."

Sheldon won a scholarship to Northwestern University. Although he was forced to drop out halfway through his freshman year because of the financial pressures of the Depression, he recalled having an epiphany of sorts as he walked on campus one day.

"I saw all these well-dressed students, and I thought that years from now, no one will ever know they existed," he wrote years later. "I wanted to leave a mark, I wanted people to know I was here."

He made up the last name of Sheldon in the mid-1930s when he entered an amateur radio contest as an announcer.

At first, he worked in Chicago as a theater usher, shoe salesman and attendant in a nightclub checkroom. After the club's bandleader, Phil Levant, played a song Sheldon wrote, Sheldon left for New York City to try to make it as a songwriter. While there, he saw a lot of movies and turned his thoughts toward Hollywood.

Soon, he was in Los Angeles — he wanted to be a screenwriter but had promised his parents he would return to Chicago if he didn't have a job within three weeks.

Repeatedly, he was turned away from movie studio gates. As time was running out, he learned that producers hired readers to help analyze scripts. Since he had just read John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men," Sheldon sent synopses of the classic to every studio and was soon working at Universal for $17 a week, he told The Times in 1992.

At his boarding house, Sheldon met a young writer named Ben Roberts and they began collaborating on "B" movies like "South of Panama," "Gambling Daughters" and "Borrowed Hero," all released in 1941.

"I can't even call them 'B' pictures," Sheldon once said. "They were 'Z' pictures. But we got paid and we got screen credits. We were professionals."

At the start of World War II, Sheldon enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces but within months he was discharged for medical reasons. He began collaborating with Roberts on a revival of the musical "The Merry Widow," which ran for nine months beginning in 1943.

Two other musicals they wrote, the comedy "Jackpot" and the fantasy "Dream With Music," had brief Broadway runs about the same time.

Back in Hollywood, Sheldon won an Oscar for "The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer" but couldn't wait to leave Shrine Auditorium.

"On what should have been the happiest night of my life, I was suicidal," Sheldon wrote in his autobiography of the paralyzing mood swings he experienced. A psychiatrist soon diagnosed him as manic-depressive, Sheldon wrote in his memoir.

In midlife, he turned to writing novels, a career change that came about almost accidentally, he often told interviewers:

"I had an idea for something complicated, that delved into people's minds and motives to a greater extent than I could put in any film or TV script. Trying to put it into novel form was the only answer."

"The Naked Face," published in 1970, did not sell well, but readers loved his second novel, "The Other Side of Midnight," the so-bad-it's-good guilty pleasure set in World War II. It centers on a beautiful French woman named Noelle Page who is spurned by a dashing American pilot and spends the rest of her life obsessed with him.

Almost all of Sheldon's books hit the bestseller lists after that.

In his fourth novel, "Bloodline," a beautiful heiress becomes the target of the man who murdered her father. In his sixth, "Master of the Game," the Blackwell family rises to riches in the diamond mines of South Africa. In 1991's "The Doomsday Conspiracy," a naval intelligence officer must find witnesses to the crash of a weather balloon that could actually be a UFO.

His 18th novel, "Are You Afraid of the Dark?," which was published when he was 87, was a New York Times bestseller shortly after its release in 2004.

In his personal life, Sheldon was the opposite of the love 'em and leave 'em cads who populate so many of his works.

A family man

After a brief first marriage, he was married to his second wife, Jorja Curtright, for 33 years; she died in 1985 of a heart attack. In 1989, he married Alexandra Kostoff. Besides his wife, he is survived by a daughter from his second marriage, Mary, who is a novelist; two grandchildren; and his brother Richard.

During most of his writing years, Sheldon and his family traveled the world together, researching and taking photos of the locations where he planned to set his next novel.

"If you read the description of a hotel, or of a restaurant meal, you can bet we actually stayed at that hotel or ate that exact meal…. That's what makes my books so realistic," he told an interviewer.

He wrote every day, first "ad-libbing" an initial and very long draft, which was transcribed by a secretary, and then rewriting and editing what he had written.

Over the years, he also wrote popular children's books. He owned a string of luxurious homes, finally settling in Beverly Hills and in a five-house compound in Palm Springs.

He told the Times in 2000 that he thought the profession of author suited him best.

"In a book, your imagination has no limits," Sheldon said. "There is no budget to worry about, you can have as many characters as you want, you can give them all yachts…. It's remarkable to write a novel, because the author is the star."

Services will be private.

The family suggests that memorial donations be made to Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, 4650 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles 90027. A celebration of Sheldon's life will be held later.

Profitable page-turners:

The novels of Sidney Sheldon

• "The Naked Face"

• "The Other Side of Midnight"

• "A Stranger in the Mirror"

• "Bloodline"

• "Rage of Angels"

• "Master of the Game"

• "If Tomorrow Comes"

• "Windmills of the Gods"

• "The Sands of Time"

• "Memories of Midnight"

• "The Doomsday Conspiracy"

• "The Stars Shine Down"

• "Nothing Lasts Forever"

• "Morning, Noon & Night"

• "The Best Laid Plans"

• "Tell Me Your Dreams"

• "The Sky Is Falling"

• "Are You Afraid of the Dark?"

Send Robert Wagner a Birthday Message

2007-01-25T22:57:00.000-05:00

Robert Wagner's 77th birthday is February 10. The "Birthday Fax" will be sent to him again this year - for the uninitiated, this is a fax which contains birthday wishes from any fans who wish to participate. If you want to send a birthday greeting to him, go to his official Web site:

http://www.robert-wagner.com

and on the front page at the top, there's the info you need.

TV Notes: Vaughn, Wagner play con game

2007-01-24T10:33:00.001-05:00

In the 1960s, they were the sauve and debonair private eyes and spies who drew millions to TVs for weekly tongue-in-cheek adventures. Now, Robert Vaughn ("The Man From U.N.C.L.E.") and Robert Wagner ("It Takes a Thief") have reunited for a single episode of AMC's "Hustle," an "Ocean's Eleven"-type con series, in which the still-charming actors, both in their 70s, will match wits and tailors to charm a new generation of viewers.

Vaughn stars in the ensemble British series, co-produced by AMC and BBC, as the only American member of an elite group of con artists specializing in the "long con" -- an elaborate sting whose marks always deserve it. In this episode, shot in Hollywood and airing in April to launch the show's fourth season, the group travels to California to trick Wagner, a shady millionaire, into thinking he can buy the Hollywood sign from them.

Wagner said he was drawn to the show because of "the whole idea. It's a tongue to cheek, and it's played so well." What's more, its structure was written so solidly, he said, "it's like you're walking into a kind of Rolls-Royce."

Wagner, 76, rose to television stardom in "It Takes a Thief" as playboy spy Alexander Mundy and also starred as the rich and witty sleuth Jonathan Hart in the 1980s series "Hart to Hart." He was introduced to a new generation in later years by Mike Myers, who worked with him on "Saturday Night Live" and cast him as Number Two in the "Austin Powers" movies.

He said he rarely guests on television shows, but his appearance in the finale of "Boston Legal" last year, where he played Denny Crane's counterpart in the Los Angeles law offices of Crane, Poole & Schmidt, led some to hope he would return in his own spinoff.

It was "Hustle" that revived Vaughn's career, still highlighted by his portrayal of spy Napoleon Solo in "The Man From U.N.C.L.E."

Recently, the 74-year-old actor had been seen in several guest spots on "Law & Order" and in a string of commercials for law firms when he was tapped to play hustler emeritus Albert Stroller in the series.

"The BBC wanted to have it all British people, and the production team wanted me," Vaughn said.

By the time he was cast, shooting had begun, he said. "Suddenly I got a call from my British agent saying, 'You have to leave for London tonight.' I took the next flight and I was working the next morning."

"This is the first chance we've had to work together, but we've known each other for a very long time," Wagner said.

"A very long time," Vaughn emphasized. (In 1974, Wagner and Vaughn worked on "The Towering Inferno" but never shared any scenes.)

Marc Warren, whose character became the gang's leader after actor Adrien Lester left, said he learned much about acting and professionalism from Vaughn and Wagner.

Warren said he'll never forget watching the sunset from the Hollywood sign with Wagner and Vaughn and afterward driving with them in a convertible down Hollywood Boulevard. "That was amazing."

They know what it takes

2007-01-21T10:29:00.000-05:00

Robert Wagner, once of 'It Takes a Thief,' and Robert Vaughn, of 'The Man From U.N.C.L.E.,' pull off a 'Hustle.'

In the 1960s, they were the sauve and debonair private eyes and spies who drew millions to TVs for weekly tongue-in-cheek adventures. Now, Robert Vaughn ("The Man From U.N.C.L.E.") and Robert Wagner ("It Takes a Thief") have reunited for a single episode of AMC's "Hustle," a slick "Ocean's Eleven"-type con series, in which the still-charming actors, both in their 70s, will match wits and tailors to charm a new generation of viewers.

Vaughn stars in the ensemble British series, co-produced by AMC and BBC, as the only American member of an elite group of con artists specializing in the "long con" — an elaborate sting whose marks always deserve it. In this episode, shot in Hollywood and airing in April to launch the show's fourth season, the group travels to California to trick Wagner, a shady millionaire, into thinking he can buy the Hollywood sign from them.

"They set me up beautifully. I pay 5 million bucks," said Wagner, dressed to perfection in aviator glasses and mustache, between takes on the Beverly Hills location last month.

Wagner said he was drawn to the show because of "the whole idea. It's a tongue to cheek, and it's played so well." What's more, its intricate structure was written so solidly, he said, "it's like you're walking into a kind of Rolls-Royce." Wagner exuded an old-fashioned graciousness that, heightened by his signature smooth voice and humor, had clearly won over cast and crew, some of whom took pictures to show their parents.

Wagner, 76, rose to television stardom in "It Takes a Thief" as playboy spy Alexander Mundy and also starred as the rich and witty sleuth Jonathan Hart in the popular 1980s series "Hart to Hart." He was introduced to a new generation in later years by Mike Myers, who worked with him on "Saturday Night Live" and cast him as Number Two in the "Austin Powers" movies.

He said he rarely guests on television shows, but his appearance in the finale of "Boston Legal" last year, where he played Denny Crane's counterpart in the Los Angeles law offices of Crane, Poole & Schmidt, led some to hope he would return in his own spinoff.

It was "Hustle" that revived Vaughn's career, still highlighted by his portrayal of spy Napoleon Solo in "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." Recently, the 74-year-old actor had been seen in several guest spots on "Law & Order" and in a string of commercials for law firms when he was tapped to play hustler emeritus Albert Stroller in the series.

"The BBC wanted to have it all British people, and the production team wanted me," Vaughn said. By the time he was cast, shooting had already begun, he said. "Suddenly I got a call from my British agent saying, 'You have to leave for London tonight.' I took the next flight and I was working the next morning."

Having the work is great for a few reasons, said Vaughn, looking dapper in a three-piece suit and speaking in his own trademark speech, a posh mid-Atlantic accent. One reason is that the crew is the most social he's ever worked with. ("We've all been together all the time. They're wonderfully funny.") The other is that "any time you're on television every week for an extended period of time, everybody else says, 'Oh, he's alive and working. He's not dead.' That's always good."

Vaughn said he hadn't been to Los Angeles since 1997, when his star was installed on Hollywood Boulevard. Taking the British cast around to his old haunts proved disappointing, though. "Everything had disappeared, gone, everybody had died. The only person remaining alive is this person here," he said, waving at Wagner, who was passing by his trailer.

A 'Towering' partnership

IN 1974, Wagner and Vaughn worked on "The Towering Inferno" but never shared any scenes.

"This is the first chance we've had to work together, but we've known each other for a very long time," Wagner said. "A very long time," Vaughn emphasized.

Vaughn said he hasn't played a hustler before and has become knowledgeable about how it works. "First of all, you can never con an honest man, because the man is actually knowingly participating in the con. The interesting thing about a con is that people who are conned are usually wealthy to begin with. They can afford to lose some money. But even when they lose the money, they're so embarrassed, being a well-known person, they never tell the law."

His crew never robs the poor, he said. "We steal from the rich and keep it all. That's our theory."Because there are only a limited number of variations on a con and a limited number of moneyed venues to exploit in England, the producers decided to travel to the States, said actor Robert Glenister, who plays one of the hustlers. Fortunately, as it turned out, since Vaughn's character has an American back story, there could be a reasonable explanation why the gang would go to Hollywood and Las Vegas.

Whether they will return to the States, or whether Wagner will reappear in the cast, or whether there will be another season all have yet to be decided.

Working with Wagner was a "great thrill," Glenister said. "Not just for me, but for all of us. He's wonderful and such a nice man; he's almost part of the gang. We feel as if we've adopted him really."

Marc Warren, whose character became the gang's leader after actor Adrien Lester left, said he learned much about acting and professionalism from Vaughn and Wagner.

Warren said he'll never forget watching the sunset from the Hollywood sign with Wagner and Vaughn and afterward driving with them in a convertible down Hollywood Boulevard. "That was amazing."

Lively — and revealing — 'Legends'

2007-01-18T00:15:00.000-05:00

BEVERLY HILLS — Joan Collins showed off more than her talents at Tuesday night's opening performance of her traveling stage play, Legends, when the zipper on the back of her dress slid down, exposing the 73-year-old's lingerie-covered backside to a theater packed with '80s TV legends.

Among those who were treated to the moon: Hart to Hart's Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers; Knots Landing's Michele Lee; Falcon Crest's Lorenzo Lamas; and Dynasty's Pamela Sue Martin, Al Corley, Gordon Thomson and Pamela Bellwood.

On stage, Collins' co-star and Dynasty rival, Linda Evans, 64, struggled in vain to zip Collins up. "I tried, but it just didn't want to stay," Evans sighed at the after-party.

So Collins momentarily broke the fourth wall, vocally acknowledging her "wardrobe malfunction" and inspiring Evans to ad-lib "nice (butt)." Collins, who also was battling the flu, spent the rest of the show delicately sidestepping her way across the stage, occasionally clasping her hands over her posterior.

"That poor thing; what a trouper," Powers said. "I once had a set fall down on me."

At the after-party, Collins shared a booth with sister Jackie, who just finished her latest racy novel, Drop Dead Beautiful, about the continuing antics of heroine Lucky Santangelo

"How embarrassing," Joan said of the mishap. "But I had to make it fun, because if you're not having fun, neither is your audience."

Joan's husband, Percy Gibson, is a producer on the show, which casts Evans and Collins as aging actress rivals. After its two-week engagement in Los Angeles, the show will continue to Phoenix, Denver, Chicago and Boston before concluding in New Haven, Conn., on May 13.

It also was a night to remember those who could not attend. The most missed face was Dynasty patriarch John Forsythe, who had colon cancer surgery in September and was released from the hospital three weeks ago.

Forsythe's wife, Nicole, said her husband, who turns 89 Jan. 29, is cancer-free but is now fighting a leg hematoma. "He thinks he can get up and walk, because he's not getting any pain to his brain," Nicole said.

She planned to make the two-hour drive back to their Santa Ynez Valley ranch the same night so she would not worry her husband, who "saw me getting all dolled up."

RJ on Hustle

2007-01-17T12:16:00.000-05:00

Veteran TV actor discusses what it's like to be in on the con

Robert Wagner recently sat down with television critics to discuss and promote the new season of the AMC original series Hustle which stars Robert Vaughn. Mr. Wagner appears in the premier episode of the season and his character is instrumental in bringing the London-based characters/actors to Hollywood for a magnificent caper.

Can you talk about coming into an established ensemble and what you thought about it, and how did you get involved with the show?

Robert Wagner: I had seen Hustle, several [episodes]. I liked the writing very much, and I was very flattered that they asked me to come... And I admired the cast very much, and I liked this character a great deal, and it was very well written - all the things that an actor enjoys.

Have you ever worked with Robert Vaughn before?

Robert Wagner: Yes, we worked together in Towering Inferno, but we didn't have any scenes together.

Was this a great chance for you to work together?

Robert Wagner: I enjoyed it very much, and Robert's so wonderful in this character and is the glue that keeps it all together, and I enjoy working with him very much. We've known each other for a long time. We both started around the same time.

What was the biggest thing you pulled off as Alexander Mundy on It Takes a Thief?

Robert Wagner: I think the biggest thing we pulled off was to have Fred Astaire come on the show. That was a big help. And -- the way we introduced him on the show was we sucked all the money out of the casino in Venice through the vacuum. You know, they put them in the wall. Did you ever see that show?

No, I did not.

Robert Wagner: It was terrific. We sucked all the money out. Fred Astaire went dancing away with all the money, and it was terrific. We had some very good cons on that. But this show is so well written, and it does have so many different aspects to it. And it's subtle, you know. I think it has a subtlety about it that is very ingratiating and the humor that's there is, I think, really wonderful...

How much are you still sort of defined by your past roles in the public eye? Can you still not walk down the street without somebody remembering you from Hart to Hart or has that waned over the years?

Robert Wagner: It's just amazing. Television is just amazing - how many people see it and how many people recognize you, and I think once you've had the opportunity and have been in front of the public for the amount of time that Robert [Vaughn] and I have been there, it's very flattering to have people come up and say hello to you. It's a tremendous industry. I've been in places where people come out of the woodwork. And you would never think -- small towns in France or traveling through Europe - and [there are] so many of those people there that recognize you, you know, and you've been in their homes. I find it to be a very flattering thing.

Are you only in the first episode of this show?

Robert Wagner: (Nodding 'yes'.)

And you did a guest stint on Boston Legal. Is that the sort of work you want to do now, just recurring guest appearances?

Robert Wagner: It depends on the character. If it's well-written, you know -- on Boston Legal I loved that character. David Kelley and Bill D'Elia wrote that, and it was a really interesting guy to play. This [Hustle] is a very well-written show, as I said before. That's what really attracts me.

Are there any plans to do another Boston Legal episode?

Robert Wagner: I would -- I don't know. If they come to the West Coast.

What are your favorite roles or movies you cherish the most in which you have appeared?

Robert Wagner: I've really been very fortunate, you know, to have worked with some wonderful, wonderful people. One of the big highs was doing Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with Lawrence Olivier and my late wife, Natalie Wood. And we did that in England, and we had, like, a five or six-week rehearsal. Tennessee Williams was there. I watched them rewrite part of the third act of that. It was a very highly charged, emotional time for all of us. Very exciting. That was a highlight. I've had a lot of them, but that kind of stands out right now.

The new season of Hustle will premier later this spring on AMC.

C.A. Rejects Robert Wagner’s Bid for Share of ‘Charlie’s Angel’s’ Profits

2007-01-10T11:08:00.001-05:00

An agreement between actor/producer Robert Wagner and the late Aaron Spelling’s production company, which led to the creation of the “Charlie’s Angel’s” television series, does not entitle Wagner to share in the profits of the two Charlie’s Angels films, the Court of Appeal for this district.

Ruling in what it called an “unusually complex case” that required multiple briefs and two oral argument sessions, Div. Seven agreed with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Conrad Aragon that the unambiguous language of the contract supported Columbia Pictures’ argument that Wagner had no rights in the films.

Columbia purchased all of the assets of Spelling-Goldberg Productions, Inc. in 1982. Those assets included rights under a contract that Wagner and his wife, Natalie Wood, who died in 1981, had signed with Spelling-Goldberg years earlier.

The primary purpose of the agreement was to secure the couple’s services for a television movie that Spelling-Goldberg was preparing to produce. The contract, however, also included a provision under which Wagner and Wood would join Spelling-Goldberg in submitting ideas to ABC for a television series for the 1974-75 season.

If ABC agreed to produce a series pilot based on one of those ideas, Wagner and Wood were to receive one-half the net profits derived from the “exploitation of all ancillary, music and subsidiary rights...in connection with” the “right to exhibit photoplays of the series.”

One of the concepts was for a series called “Harry’s Angels,” later renamed “Charlie’s Angels.” The series ran for five years.

During the mid-1990’s, Columbia made a deal with the heirs of the show’s writers to obtain the rights to make one or more films based on the series. The films were released in 2000 and 2003.

After Columbia rejected Wagner’s claim that he and his family trusts, which had succeeded to Wood’s rights after her death, were entitled to half the company’s profits under the “subsidiary rights” provision of the old agreement, Wagner sued, but Aragon ruled that no triable issue existed and granted summary adjudication on the plaintiff’s breach of contract claim.

The parties then stipulated that the rejection of that claim effectively resolved Wagner’s claims for declaratory relief and an accounting, and judgment was entered for Columbia.

Justice Earl Johnson Jr., writing for the appellate court, explained that under copyright law, the pilot script was a “work[ ] made for hire,” giving Spelling-Goldberg absolute rights to exploit it in other media, except as otherwise provided by contract.

A provision of the writers’ contract with Spelling-Goldberg, however, incorporated a collective bargaining agreement between the producers and the Writer’s Guild. Under the “separated rights” provision of that agreement, Johnson explained, the writers retained the right to exploit the material for certain purposes, including making a motion picture.

That right was subject to a qualification, the justice added. If the writers had offered the film rights for sale within five years, the producer would have had a right of first refusal.

Had that occurred, Johnson explained, Wagner would have had a possible claim based on the “subsidiary rights” language. But because Columbia’s predecessor’s contract with the writers was completely independent of the company’s negotiations with their heirs—who could have sold the film rights to anyone—more than a decade later, the film rights were not ancillary to the television series, the justice wrote.

Attorneys on appeal were Samuel R. Pryor, Sally S. Liu and Matthew R. Belloni of Alschuler Grossman Stein & Kahan for Wagner and Martin D. Katz, Lisa N. Stutz and Jean-Paul Jassy of Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton for Columbia.

The case is Wagner v. Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., B184523.

Robert Wagner loses bid for 'Charlie's Angels' millions

2007-01-09T00:22:00.000-05:00

LOS ANGELES -- Veteran actor Robert Wagner's claim for millions of dollars in profits from the "Charlie's Angels" movies was on Monday rejected by a Los Angeles appeals court.

Wagner had claimed he was entitled to a share of the proceeds from 2000's "Charlie's Angels" and 2003's "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle" on the grounds he had helped develop the 1970s television show on which they were based.

But in a written ruling released Monday, a three-justice panel of the Los Angeles Court of Appeal upheld the decision of a lower court in 2005 which had dismissed the actor's multi-million-dollar claim.

The "Charlie's Angels" remakes, starring Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu and Drew Barrymore, grossed more than $500 million worldwide.

Wagner's lawsuit had argued that he was eligible for a share of the profits because the films were exploitations of the television series he and his late-wife Natalie Wood had helped to develop.

The hit television show ran from 1976-81.

Hart Quotes

2006-12-24T20:17:00.001-05:00

Hart Love Montage

2006-12-24T10:26:00.001-05:00

For your enjoyment. :-)

RJW Is Mr. Wilson

2006-12-14T22:30:00.000-05:00

Info from a fan:

Hi there. I was just reading your Robert Wagner page, and thought I would let you know that the "Dennis the Menace thing" is on, and shooting in Montreal. It is a Christmas movie slated for release on 2007. There have been a number of problems and delays, but it looks like it is coming together.

The Streets of San Francisco coming to DVD in April

2006-12-12T14:59:00.000-05:00

The first season of the show (actually, it's one of those "Season 1, Volume 1" deals) will be released by Paramount on April 3. It will be 10 episodes plus the pilot movie. No word on extras or commentaries yet.

It's amazing to see all of the famous faces that graced this show, including Martin Sheen, Deidre Hall, Robert Wagner, John Ritter, Stefanie Powers, Harold Gould, Brenda Vaccaro, Stuart Whitman, Jamie Farr, Shelley Morrison (Rosario on Will & Grace), Leslie Nielsen, Dick Sargent, Dean Stockwell, Bill Bixby, Nick Nolte, Jessica Walter, and some guy named Arnold Schwarzenegger. There was a reunion movie in 1992, but Douglas didn't want to be in it (his character "disappeared" and Malden looked for him).

R.J. Biography

2006-11-16T22:08:00.000-05:00

R.J. has signed a deal with Morrow Publishing. His biography will be written by Scott Eyman. They are working on it now. No publishing date has been set.

Hustle

2006-11-16T11:33:00.000-05:00

R.J. will be making a guest appearance in the UK TV show "Hustle" (which has Robert Vaughn as a regular cast member). R.J. will be playing a rich Texan who is targeted by the cons.

"Hustle" is shown in the USA on AMC.

Dennis the Menace Is Off

2006-11-16T11:32:00.000-05:00

The latest news is that the Dennis movie thing is off. I'm not sure if R.J. pulled out or if the plug has been pulled on the whole thing. But it might be back on again at some point.

R.J. to Play "Mr. Wilson" in "A Dennis the Menace Christmas"

2006-11-04T12:44:00.000-05:00

Read the article by clicking on the link below:

Ron Oliver's Fabulous Life: My New Pal, R.J.