
About this episode
Robert Wolterstorff joined me to discuss being mentored by Norman Lear; a quick overview of his career; going to SFSU; being mentored by Norman Lear; selling a Good Times; going to work on the Jeffersons; turning down a chance to write / produce the Incredible Hulk; his pilot Pen 'n' Ink aided by Louis Schwartzberg; doing a college interview for Benjamin Spock for President that got picked up by PBS; Jeffersons episodes; befriending Roxie Roker and her husband Sy Kravitz; Jeffersons writer's were older; moving to Universal to write pilots; working for Nicholls, Ross, West; writing for Sheriff Lobo; his pilot for Pen 'n' Ink leads to a lifelong friendship with Fred & Mary Willard; his pilot, the Outlaw; Street Hawk was originally supposed to precede Monday Night Football; finished second to Dallas but not good enough; cost $1 million an episode; getting Tangerine Dream to do the music; hiring Joe Regalbuto and Rex Smith; "predicting the future"; great writing staff; his sitcom pilot Sisters with Sally Kellerman; Quantum Leap; his episode "Jimmy" is nominated for an Emmy; writes Little Rascals movie for Penelope Spheeris; hired to make snow version of Baywatch called Extreme; creates Slappy & the Stinkers based on original Little Rascals script; Extreme; his pilot for Stinger, a superhero parody; Blade Squad; Twice in a Lifetime; his fun in writing Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction; how he got the audience to believe anything; working for military intelligence creating battle drills, IED simulations, and writing military role playing table tops; and working for the Spy Museum
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