Television Hosting Agents
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I’m Hosting as Fast as I Can! $10.99 He’s one of the most ubiquitous men on television. Certainly the most calm, cool, and collected—the king of “off the cuff.” And no one throws to a commercial better. Yes, Tom Bergeron is a Hollywood staple, and the role for which he is best known is . . . well . . . himself. But while he’s a comforting presence to millions of people, cultivating this seemingly unshakeable positive outlook and cool persona took as much motivation, inspiration, perseverance, and experience as it would take one to prepare a classic part for the stage. I’m Hosting as Fast as I Can! is the trying, often laugh-out-loud journey it took to get to himself . Tom got into the world of entertainment by way of local radio at age seventeen, hosting what his first boss told him was and should be a “no-personality station.” He said, “Tommy, just play the records and read the commercials.” But the sit-down-and-shut-up attitude belied Tom’s natural inclination to inject personality and a little pluck into his broadcasts. So, Tom sought other performance opportunities on radio, in improvisational theater, and even as a mime (yes, a mime ), which would help him hone the expressiveness that seems to come so naturally to his presentation. His determination would result in a high-profile hosting gig on the iconic game show Hollywood Squares and guest-hosting appearances on ABC’s Good Morning America and CBS’s Early Show . But as is sometimes the case with enthusiastic dynamos like Tom, he had an explosive temper that he admits had the potential to derail his dreams of being not only a successful broadcaster but also a successful husband, father, and friend. How to cope? “I meditated my temper into submission,” says Tom with his trademark sense of humor. In I’m Hosting as Fast as I Can! , Tom elaborates on the process by which he is able to sit calmly and patiently, without being distracted, at any time, no matter how hectic, as well as respond quickly (and hilariously) when Marie Osmond faints at his feet on live TV. Haven’t seen it? Check it out on YouTube. The man is always in control. |
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Creating Television $62.95 A detailed look at television production’s first 50 years, highlighting the pioneers, the writer-producers, directors, actors, agents, and more. |
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Television $12.99 Television |
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Sorry, Wrong Number $1.99 … |
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Roz’s Turn … |
Not Everyone Is Able To Travel Around The World Exploring Interesting Places, But With The Assistance Of A Fearless Television Presenter And His Crew We Are All Able To See And Enjoy Huge Areas Of Our Planet
As a person who likes to leave the UK and explore other continents, but never has the funds to ever get very far, I’ve ended up doing my travelling vicariously through the adventures of others. Naturally, as technology has become better the physical world has metaphorically shrunk and it is now quite easy to get a video camera and a television presenter to almost anywhere in the world if you try hard enough.
Of all the countless travelogue kind of programmes that have been recorded in recent times, I have to say that my real favourite intrepid globetrotter is Michael Palin, and I have viewed his trips around the planet numerous times on TV and DVD and always enjoy them (though too many hours spent staring at the TV screen has damaged my eyes so I’m looking to have Laser eye surgery).
I remember quite a lot about the very first Palin expedition – Around The World In Eighty Days – as my dad was one of the bank staff who organised a lot of the overseas currency details, so it was only clear that when the series was finally aired, me and my relations would be sure to watch it. It’s a bit sad that he didn’t get a brief credit really – we weren’t thinking of his name to be splashed across the sky in lights from a KEYWORD1% beam, but a little mention in the end credits would have been nice. But naturally, the whole concept of recreating Jules Verne’s epic journey using the same timescale as the fictional hero of the book, Phileas Fogg and his colleague Passepartout caught the public’s attention, and the programme was a huge success.
For the second travelogue, Michael made the long trip from the North Pole to the South Pole, visiting seventeen countries, not all of which were the most pleasant places to be. The journey actually took so many months that the period of time during which they were filming encompassed the dying days of communism and the death of apartheid – though I’m quite convinced that Mr Palin’s escapades didn’t have any effect on either event!
Having travelled from north to south for Pole To Pole, the next adventure was a circular one - a trip in which Michael and the crew set foot in all eighteen countries which border the Pacific Ocean. It is rumoured that one of his Python colleagues thought that the series should be named ‘Palin’s Rim’ but the BBC eventually decided on the much more obvious ‘Full Circle’.
Having then filmed a rather shorter and less taxing trip whilst following in the footsteps of Ernest Hemingway, (stampeding bulls excluded), the next great challenge was Sahara, which took a circuitous route through all of the countries which are in or on the edge of the Sahara Desert – an area of land which is the size of the USA, but with population levels similar to Norfolk. It’s just incredible to think of such a tiny population living in such a huge area of land, but very understandable given the inhospitable conditions and extremes of temperature.
And so from sand to snow for the sixth series, Himalaya, which crossed from west to east across the world famous Himalayan mountain area, setting out from Afghanistan, via the base camp for Mount Everest, through Tibet and China to the Bay Of Bengal.
Palin’s most recent series was named New Europe and in it he went to twenty countries in the area that used to be described as ‘Eastern Europe’, that huge mass of land which was previously under communist rule and which almost all ‘Westerners’ were actively discouraged from travelling to. A lot of us can remember the fall of the Berlin wall which came to symbolise the political changes and the wave of euphoria that followed it and when the 20th anniversary was reached in 2009 full scale celebrations were arranged including musical extravaganzas with full pyrotechnics and Laser eye beam displays, exhibitions, art projects and many other events.
Shortly after this series was completed, Michael returned to some of the places he had travelled to during that very first ‘Around The World’ adventure twenty years earlier to try and locate some of the people he had encountered on his travels. The documentary about that journey is definitely worth watching too. Naturally, some of the people have passed away since then, but there were several people who recalled the previous visit. And in all honesty, those hard-working folk in Dubai and India had almost certainly changed substantially less than the European television staff who could easily have had cosmetic nips and tucks, coloured their greying hair, bleached their teeth and had Laser eye surgery to correct problems with their vision.
We have no way of ascertaining if there are any further Palin adventures in the pipeline, but I think that he is presently penning another book. Getting older could make such travels less attractive as time goes by, but Michael should be hugely proud of the fascinating sights and sounds that we television viewers have been able to share as a result of his sense of adventure and his wish to leave the tourist locations behind and get to know the real people of the world.
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Author 101 Bestselling Book Publicity: The Insider's Guide to Promoting Your Book--and Yourself $12.95 From the marketing genius of Rick Frishman and the publishing acumen of Robyn Freedman Spizman comes the next book in the most comprehensive writing reference set on the market. These masters of promotion and publicity take readers behind the scenes, showing them how to work with publishers and agents to market their books the best way possible.This comprehensive guide offers advice and insight about every stage of the publishing world. Frishman and Spizman both bring decades of experience and insight to this instructional series Each chapter will offer a different lesson, complete with definitions and a review of the materials, bringing readers through the process one step at a time Through testimonials and commentary, this book lets authors, agents, and publishers alike show you the things you should and shouldn't do in promoting your book. Author Biography:Rick Frishman (New York, NY) is president of Planned Television Arts and one of the most powerful publicists in the media industry, working with authors such as Arnold Palmer, Alan Dershowitz, and Henry Kissinger. Also executive vice president at RuderFinn, this top-notch publicist has worked with the field's top agents, editors, and publishers, including Simon and Schuster, Random House Harper Collins, Pockets Books, Penguin Putnam, and Hyperion Books. Plus, Rick tours the country hosting seminars on how to help writers sell their books. Starting in 2006, he joins coauthor Spizman to travel the country under the banner of Author 101 University. Frishman is also the co-author of Networking Magic, Guerrilla Publicity, and Guerrilla Marketing for Writers (published by Writer's Digest Books). Visit www.rickfrishman.com for his Million Dollar Rolodex. Robyn Freedman Spizman (Atlanta, GA) is no stranger to success. As an award-winning author, she has written dozens of inspirational and educational nonfiction books during her accomplished career, including |
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Author 101 Bestselling Book Publicity: The Insider's Guide to Promoting Your Book--and Yourself $12.95 From the marketing genius of Rick Frishman and the publishing acumen of Robyn Freedman Spizman comes the next book in the most comprehensive writing reference set on the market. These masters of promotion and publicity take readers behind the scenes, showing them how to work with publishers and agents to market their books the best way possible.This comprehensive guide offers advice and insight about every stage of the publishing world. Frishman and Spizman both bring decades of experience and insight to this instructional series Each chapter will offer a different lesson, complete with definitions and a review of the materials, bringing readers through the process one step at a time Through testimonials and commentary, this book lets authors, agents, and publishers alike show you the things you should and shouldn't do in promoting your book. Author Biography:Rick Frishman (New York, NY) is president of Planned Television Arts and one of the most powerful publicists in the media industry, working with authors such as Arnold Palmer, Alan Dershowitz, and Henry Kissinger. Also executive vice president at RuderFinn, this top-notch publicist has worked with the field's top agents, editors, and publishers, including Simon and Schuster, Random House Harper Collins, Pockets Books, Penguin Putnam, and Hyperion Books. Plus, Rick tours the country hosting seminars on how to help writers sell their books. Starting in 2006, he joins coauthor Spizman to travel the country under the banner of Author 101 University. Frishman is also the co-author of Networking Magic, Guerrilla Publicity, and Guerrilla Marketing for Writers (published by Writer's Digest Books). Visit www.rickfrishman.com for his Million Dollar Rolodex. Robyn Freedman Spizman (Atlanta, GA) is no stranger to success. As an award-winning author, she has written dozens of inspirational and educational nonfiction books during her accomplished career, including |