Rusty Staub: Bonus Baby

When Daniel Joseph Staub signed a major league contract, he fell under the “bonus baby” nomenclature.  Nicknamed “Rusty” by a nurse upon his birth on April 1, 1944, Staub became so known.  In a 1967 article for Sports Illustrated, Gary Ronberg...

The Reign of Brandon Tartikoff

Brandon Tartikoff saw the best of times and the worst of times during his reign as the programming chief for NBC in the 1980s. The best of times:  Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, Miami Vice, Cheers, St. Elsewhere, Family Ties, The Cosby Show, Hunter, Late Night with...

Welcome to the St. Gregory

Aaron Spelling, the television producer who injected fantasy into ABC’s prime time lineup in the 1970s and the 1980s, created Hotel, based on the 1965 novel of the same name by Arthur Hailey.  Where Hailey’s novel took place in New Orleans,...

Lupo, Bernard, Briscoe, Logan, et al.

Law & Order changed cast members about as often as Mickey Rooney changed wives in its prime time tenure on NBC from 1990 to 2010.  Jeremy Sisto played Cyrus Lupo.  Fans of Six Feet Under know Sisto from his performance as Billy, brother of Brenda and sometimes...