You may know him best as the voice of Salem The Cat or Norbert from Sabrina The Teenage Witch and Angry Beavers but Nick Bakay is also the Writer/Producer who brought you Mom, King Of Queens, Paul Blart Mall Cop and Bookie. What does it take to sustain a multi-decade entertainment industry career? Versatility.

Nick takes us deep into Sabrina lore with tales of the old-school imagineering of Salem Saberhagen, brought to us via several cats, puppeteers, animatronics, trainers and cat treats.

A Buffalo, NY native, Nick’s facility at performing, writing, and producing allowed him to create opportunities for himself that were both entertaining and rewarding. He’s heard from a generation of young women who felt empowered by Sabrina to take on adult life, even without the benefit of witchcraft.

Along with his pal Keven James, Nick went from writing on King Of Queens to creating Paul Blart: Mall Cops One and Two, and Zookeeper. And it was his writing chops that forged a connection with Chuck Lorre, providing Nick with an opportunity to write for Two And A Half Men and go on to helm nine seasons of Mom, HBO’s Bookie and an upcoming Netflix sitcom, Leanne.

Nick is also a household name to sports fan who see his work on ESPN. He was recently inducted into the Buffalo Broadcasting Hall Of Fame and, a Quick Buffalo Indulgence Warning: Nick and Weezy do get a little carried away waxing sentimental about their shared Buffalo roots.

Fritz is using one of his sick days and his seat is kept warm by Weezy’s radio buddies, Tom Murphy and Scott Paton. (They did occupy separate chairs, but you get the idea.)

In recommendations--

Weezy: Sirens on Netflix

Nick Bakay: Mr. Inbetween on FX and Hulu

Path Points of Interest:

Sirens

Mr. Inbetween

Nick Bakay - Wiki

Nick Bakay - IMDB

Sabrina The Teenage Witch

The Angry Beavers

Bookie

Mom

Paul Blart: Mall Cop 1

Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2

Salem Saberhagen

World Famous Tom Murphy

He has entertained tens of millions of people over the course of four decades with iconic film and TV appearances, yet he remains humble and modest - He is Mystic Pizza, Falcon Crest and Perry Mason (to name a few!) actor, William R. Moses!

His Mom, Marian McCargo and big brothers, Rick and Harry Moses were in the business and, although his step-dad, Congressman, Alphonso E. Bell did not entirely approve, Billy, a high school and college athlete found himself pulled towards acting. A typical Take-Your-Kid-To-Work day found young Billy on the set with Leonard Nimoy, Fess Parker and John Wayne! Or on Capitol Hill with Ted Kennedy, Gerry Ford and Bob Dole. Ample inspiration to dream big!

Billy’s resume includes the iconic prime time soaps Falcon Crest and Melrose Place, the role of Marc Christian, Rock Hudson's boyfriend, in a groundbreaking film about the legendary Hollywood and LGBTQ history figure, and he has the distinct honor of sharing his feature film debut, in the movie Choices, with fellow newby, Demi Moore!

As attorney and P.I. Ken Malansky in NBC's Perry Mason TV film series, Billy worked closely with Raymond Burr and, as it turns out, our own Fritz Coleman who guest starred on an episode entitled, The Case of the Telltale Talk Show Host.

From a Mystery Cruise Ship with the Olsen twins to Perry Mason’s Colorado courtroom, to the magical setting of Mystic, Connecticut, to his first Negroni on The Love Boat set with Eddie Albert to valiantly attempting to keep Viola Davis from Getting Away With Murder, Billy’s stories provide a front row seat to the show biz of the glorious final few decades of the 20th century and journeying on into the aughts and beyond.

In recommendations--

Weezy: The Lost Passenger by Frances Quinn

Fritz: Mobland on Paramount+

Path Points of Interest:

William R. Moses on Wiki

William R. Moses on IMDB

Perry Mason TV Movies

Mystic Pizza

Mystic Pizza Restaurant

Mobland - Paramount+

The Lost Passenger by Frances Quinn

The Case of the Telltale Talkshow Host

Media Path Podcast

It's a return trip down the Media Path for Vicki and John and this time Bob is along for fun, games and Cowsill family lore!

We welcome back Vicki Peterson and John Cowsill, who recently joined us to talk about their collaboration on a new album of songs written by John's late brothers, Billy and Barry Cowsill, 'Long After the Fire', plus fellow founding Cowsills member, Bob Cowsill joins the conversation.

We start at the dawn of Vicki’s Cowsills journey, as a fan who became a friend who became a spouse. A seven-year-old, Vicki’s big sister Debbi said, “You know, there’s a girl your age in this band.” Vicki was instantly sold and she spent her allowance savings on the We Can Fly album.

In 1977, when Vicki learned that a friend of a friend knew Bob’s Cowsill, Vicki gave him a call to talk vocal harmonies. Vicki and Debbi were still bubbling under as The Bangs and they went to see The Cowsills perform at a local club. Just a few years later, Bob found himself invited to The Bangles Platinum party and John recounts his meet-cute with Vicki, right before his marriage to someone else!

We test the Cowsill/Peterson crew on self-knowledge with a game we like to call 'Are You Better Informed Than Google?', Vicki and John share what took them two married decades to work together and Bob gives his perspective on John and Vicki's new album of Billy and Barry Cowsill covers.

Bob and John share how their generational split affected their musical influences and experiences within the band and we hear about the earliest days of the Cowsills, their father Bud's early clash with brother Richard, performing at Brown frat parties as young kids and their first demo song recordings. And the games continue as everyone takes on some Cowsills Trivia Roulette from Becky Presley's
Cowsills site!

In recommendations--

Fritz: Book, Miss May Does Not Exist by Carrie Courogen

Weezy: Hulu Series, Devil in the Family

Path Points of Interest:

The Cowsills

Becky Presley’s Cowsills Page

Vicki Peterson and John Cowsill

Vicki and John on Instagram

Vicki and John on Facebook

John Cowsill

John Cowsill on Facebook

John Cowsill on Instagram

John Cowsill on Wiki

Vicki Peterson on Wiki

The Bangles

Vicki Peterson on Facebook

Becky Presley Trivia

Miss May Does Not Exist: The Live And Work Of Elaine May, Hollywood's Hidden Genius by Carrie Courogen

Devil in the Family