Hot Pants in Hollywood |HotPants in Hollywood

Sex, Secrets Sitcoms

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Book Launch Celebration ! Susan Silver, Hotpants in Hollywood

Downing Drinks for a Jaw-Dropping Memoirist
by MICHAEL GROSS
Photographed by PATRICK MCMULLAN/PMC

Richard Johnson-Barbara Hodes-Judy Licht-Jerry Della Femina
Richard Johnson-Barbara Hodes-Judy Licht-Jerry Della Femina

When the television comedy writer and author of the dating advice column “Searching for Mr. Adequate,” Susan Silver, started talking about the vibrator that stars–as the love interest, no less–in the first pages of her new memoir, Hot Pants in Hollywood: Sex, Secrets and Sit-coms, the crowd at Michael’s laughed heartily. They already knew this is not your typical feel-bad baby-boomer memoir, even if it is also the sort of reinvention story that frequently tops the best-seller list. And that was before she mentioned being excluded from all-male writers’ rooms because the boys liked sitting around in their underwear passing gas.

But then, the soigné host, Estée Lauder executive group president John Demsey, had attracted a sophisticated crowd to the garden room of the media-elite cafeteria to toast one of their own. Among those laughing along with the former show girl-turned-writer for The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Maude, The Bob Newhart Show and The Partridge Family: Judy Licht and Jerry Della Femina, Jeff Greenfield, Richard Johnson,, Susan Magrino Dunning, David Patrick Columbia, Mark Cross head Neal Fox and Martha Kramer. Even the bestselling author Ed Klein was cracking up, indicating that right-wing politics don’t always trump appreciation of left-coast comedic skills.

See all the photos here.

Susan Silver- Sitcom Writer
John Demsey, Susan Silver

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Trailblazer for Female Writers, Susan Silver

A trailblazer for female writers in Hollywood, Susan Silver has written for some of the greatest sitcoms of all time, creating laugh lines for Mary Tyler Moore, Sarah Jessica Parker, Beatrice Arthur, Bob Newhart, and The Partridge Family.

Susan began her writing career in 1971 at The Mary Tyler Moore Show in an industry overwhelmingly dominated by men, who sometimes referred to her as “the broad with beauty and brains.” And she was the first and only television writer to be featured in TV Guide wearing hot pants.

Now, in her memoir Hot Pants in Hollywood: Sex, Secrets and Sitcoms (Hi Mount Press, May 2, 2017), ( www.hotpantsinhollywood.com ) Susan tells all about her times as a sitcom writer — from the female camaraderie on The Mary Tyler Moore Show to being considered too old to write for Square Pegs. Silver reveals herself as a modern-day Zelig, working and flirting with some of the biggest names in Hollywood and Washington, DC. From a date with Lenny Bruce (with her Uncle as a chaperone) to reveling in the rapport with a smitten Elvis Presley on the set of Viva Las Vegas; and from communicating with Bill Clinton to having Warren Beatty mess up her date with a presidential candidate.

Susan reveals her exciting experiences with movie stars (Sean Connery, Steve McQueen, Clint Eastwood, and James Garner) and fascinating interactions with presidents (Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton, Shimon Peres) — not to mention athletes and rock stars.

And through it all, it’s Susan’s humor that keeps both her and this hilarious memoir so sparklingly seductive.

Listen to the interview here:

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An Interview about Mary Tyler Moore with Susan Silver Sitcom Writer

Susan Silver Writer and Mary Tyler MooreSomeone just sent me this radio interview I did when Mary Tyler Moore had passed away.  So many people loved her and the show meant so much to people, I was honored to be a part of it.
Of course a lot of my book is about Mary and the fortunate experience I had starting my sit com career on the show. And oddly enough, Mary and I lived a few door down from each other for a while in New York.  Full circle.
The picture here is at a Diabetes Event, which honored Mary who was the wonderful spokesperson for the disease and did so much to raise awareness.

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Baby Boomers Talk Radio Interview with Susan Silver

Susan silver baby boomer talk radio

I did a fun interview with Torchy Smith on his BabyBoomerTalkRadio Show.

He is a Mid West guy who chases down iconic figures from the Baby Boomer era and sees what they are up to these days.  I’m thrilled to be included.
He is also the only one so far to bring up the first chapter: “Vibrator Girl!”  I’m not sure if that will help or hurt sales..but eager to find out!
Enjoy and you too can get the free Bonus Chapter that I talk about by going to the page here.

Listen to “Baby Boomers Talk Radio” on Spreaker.

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Roger Ailes and Me

susan silver female sitcom writerI AM ZELIG ….INDEED

WOW!  So I’ve told you that I’m Zelig in that I have met and been involved with all the major figures of our time.  In the book, I tell how Roger Ailes back in the day was manipulating the American body politic wayyyyyy back then, before Fox TV.

I was doing casting on Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, iconic satirical TV show of the late Sixties, when Richard Nixon that “master of comedy” was running for President. Funny, he was not. In fact, he was known to wear a suit for a walk on the beach.

Most of the writers were liberal, but we had a secret Republican Head Writer. He got Nixon to say one of the catch phrases: Sock it to me!

Or  “You bet your bippy”  …and knowing the naughty connotation of the latter, Ailes, chose the former. And we made it a question

Roger Ailes, even then the behind the scenes media-meister delivered him to us….to make him palatable to America. Nixon got elected and we got blamed and praised.  Ailes just passed away after a downfall and a fall.

If you want to read what happened back then…it’s in the book! Enjoy!