Month: September 2017

This week, Ira spoke with Dennis Bono. To listen to the interview click below.

Dennis Bono, who has been part of the Las Vegas entertainment scene for decades, is celebrating 17 years as the host of his own successful musical/variety/talk show broadcast. His new CD, “To Laugh, To Love, To Life,” interprets, among other tunes, the Great American Songbook.

Before he launched his career as a variety talk show host, Bono started out in the 70’s and early 80’s by learning his craft as a singer on the eastern seaboard club circuit playing night clubs such as Playboy, resorts in the Caribbean and singing the national anthem for the Yankees, Angels, Dodgers and Celtics.

In the 80’s, he was living on the East Coast with his first CD Release, “By Myself,” receiving recognition on the West Coast. During this time, Jilly Rizzo heard him and gave him a call. He introduced Bono to his closest friend and confidant, Frank Sinatra. Both were impressed by his taste in music and his interpretation of the standards. Just as Rizzo and Sinatra helped guide Bono’s career, Bono also provides the opportunity on television and radio for young, up and coming talents to be discovered and to showcase their abilities on his show.

He is married to former Lieutenant Governor of Nevada Lorraine Hunt-Bono and they reside in Las Vegas. The family owns and operates the historic Bootlegger Italian Bistro on Las Vegas Boulevard.

http://www.dennisbono.com
http://www.thedennisbonoshow.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Android | RSS

This week, Ira spoke with John Barbour. To listen to the interview click below.

Few people in show business history have had as varied or controversial a career as John Barbour.

At 15 he was a Canadian 9th grade drop out. At 46, Barbour became the creator-producer-principal writer and co-host of “Real People,” television’s first reality show.

Prior to that, he was the first on TV to do film reviews on the news. Barbour was the three- time Emmy winning “Critic-At-Large” on KNBC, and for ten years the oft-quoted controversial film critic for Los Angeles Magazine.

In 1970 he was the original host of “AM Los Angeles,” where he won the first of his five Emmys, interviewing Mohammed Ali, Cesar Chaves, and Ronald Reagan, among others; and lost this highly rated show after booking New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison to talk about his investigation into the murder of President John F. Kennedy.

As a stand-up comedian, Barbour released two major albums: “It’s Tough To Be White” with liner notes by Dick Gregory; and “I Met A Man I Didn’t Like” with liner notes by Neil Simon.

In Las Vegas, he was the opening act for Robert Goulet, Bobby Darin, and Dionne Warwick. Barbour appeared frequently on variety shows including “The Dean Martin Show,” “The Dean Martin Roasts,” and “The Merv Griffin Show,’ where Westinghouse signed him to replace Merv.

On his own variety shows in Los Angeles, Barbour gave Redd Foxx his first television appearance, and was known for booking controversial guests such as Frank Zappa and Harlan Ellison. He wrote scripts for “Gomer Pyle” and “My Mother the Car” and “The Tammy Grimes show.”

Barbour was a principal writer-performer on the “Laugh-In” revivals that introduced Robin Williams…where he met and for four years became Frank Sinatra’s private writer, subsequently guesting with Sinatra on “The Tonight Show.” He was also a private joke writer for a number of prominent politicians.

In 1972, Barbour won a Golden Mike for his commentary on the murder of Israeli athletes during the Munich Olympics. He is the only person in television to have won Emmys for both news and entertainment. In 1992, his documentary feature, “The Garrison Tapes” won the San Sebastian Film Festival Award…and has had a million views.

In May 2017 he completed part two of “The Garrison Tapes” called “The American Media And the 2nd Assassination Of President John f. Kennedy.” It has been accepted for 2017 Oscar consideration, and in just a matter of weeks became one of the most watched films on Amazon. Barbour is the only person to whom DA Jim Garrison gave an interview to in the ten years following the Clay Shaw trial.

http://www.jfk-media-assassination.com
http://www.johnbarboursworld.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Android | RSS

This week, Ira spoke with Michael Shulman. To listen to the interview click below.

Writer, photographer, artist and philanthropist Michael Shulman, prior to launching ShulmanSays.com in September 2009, worked in various capacities for many of the world’s best known publications, including Vanity Fair, Ocean Drive, PAPER, Condé Nast Traveler, W, BlackBook, US Weekly, BPM, CardPlayer, Los Angeles Confidential, and VEGAS – the last being home to his popular “Diva Las Vegas” column (a name bestowed upon him by nightlife doyenne Amy Sacco).

His knowledge in the fields of popular culture, luxury, nightlife, travel, consumerism and Las Vegas, as well as his immensely quotable humor have resulted in Shulman’s being cited in publications ranging from The New York Times (“Style” and “Travel” sections) and Departures to gear and The Village Voice.

Shulman’s artwork can be found in the collections of Vanessa/Tom Breitling, Greg Calejo/Thom Filicia, Donna D’Cruz/Tom Silverman, Billy Erb, Robin/Danny Greenspun, Heather Harmon, Sally Horchow/Christopher McCaully, Susan Jansen, Sir Elton John/David Furnish, Alan Mace, Timothy Poster, Camille/Larry Ruvo, Nicole Ruvo, Amy Sacco, Alison Sarofim, Amy Sedaris, and Reagan Silber.

He has been a DJ since the age of 14, when he spun at his prep-school’s bi-weekly dances in the middle of the Connecticut woods. Since then, Shulman has played at a wide array of Vegas venues, ranging from lounges such as ghostbar and Blush Boutique Nightclub to larger clubs including Rain, Light and JET; as well as such diverse national hot-spots as New York’s Bungalow 8 and Man Ray and Honolulu’s Diamond Head Grill.

By way of his enthusiasm for such endeavors and his family’s Shulman Family Foundation, he has become an active philanthropist on a local and national scale, as a vigorous and hands-on supporter of and advisor to such causes as Free Arts for Kids, Human Rights Campaign, Nathan Adelson Hospice, and Keep Memory Alive/Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Institute for Brain Health.

http://www.shulmansays.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Android | RSS

This week, Ira spoke with Nathan Lump. To listen to the interview click below.

Nathan Lump is the Editorial Director of the Time Inc. Luxury & Lifestyle Group, overseeing the strategic and creative direction of 10 iconic media brands, including Departures, Travel + Leisure, Food & Wine, Southern Living, and Real Simple.

He also serves as Editor in Chief of Travel + Leisure, a role for which he was named one of Media Industry News’s 30 Most Intriguing People in Media in 2016 and its 2016 Editor of the Year.

Since joining T+L in September 2014, he has overseen the re-launch of the brand in both print and online, resulting in triple-digit digital growth and the brand’s largest total audience in its 45-year history, with print and digital magazine readership of more than 6 million, 10 million monthly unique visitors on TravelandLeisure.com, and more than 12 million social media followers. Travel + Leisure was named the hottest travel magazine of 2015 and 2016 by the editors of Adweek.

Prior to Time Inc., Nathan held senior editorial roles at The New York Times, Condé Nast, Hearst, and American Express Publishing; he also spent several years creating and leading the content marketing practice at two major advertising agencies, Hill Holliday and J. Walter Thompson, where his clients included T. Rowe Price, Liberty Mutual, Rolex, and Brand USA. Nathan is a graduate of Harvard College and lives in Brooklyn, New York.

http://www.travelandleisure.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Android | RSS