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Sex, Secrets Sitcoms

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By Susan Silver

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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By Susan Silver

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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By Susan Silver

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!

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By Susan Silver

Q&A with Susan Silver

bookculture inteview with Susan Silver Sitcom Writer

Q&A with Susan Silver

Local author Susan Silver’s new memoir, Hot Pants in Hollywood: Sex, Secrets, and Sitcoms,
has just come out. To celebrate its release, we asked her a few questions.

1) How did you come to write Hot Pants in Hollywood?

I had always wanted to write a book about the incredible amount of iconic people I’d met in in my life…kind of like Zelig,or Ms. Zelig.
I started on it a couple years ago and it morphed into this book.It’s kind of three books in one:
my early life as a Midwest girl wanting to go to Hollywood, my first working
and writing experiences as a female in a man’s world,  and finally going through
what all Baby Boomers do…marriage, divorce, reinventing yourself,
search for love and taking care of elderly parents.
And  I’m still here! I hope it inspires others and gives a few laughs as well.

2) How was the process of working on this book different from your many other writing endeavors?

Totally different. No one telling you what to say or to say! Then of course having to cut and choose what to leave out or leave in. A great editor Leslie Wells who did all of Mitch Albom’s books helped me with that.

3) What are you currently reading?

To tell you the truth I did’nt read for a couple months while finishing the book. Now I will start again. Have Hitler: Ascent and Jonathan Safran Foer’s Here I Am waiting for me to begin.How’s that for a contrast?

4) Do you have a personal favorite book of all time? If so, can you share it and tell us why?

As a child I loved The Secret Garden and still think of it both realistically and metaphorically as a beckoning romantic force.

5) What’s next? Any upcoming book projects in the works that you can tell us about?

Lots of touring and book store events. I love doing TV and Radio and have some of those booked also…hope to get my own show perhaps….hint hint.

Read the entire article on bookculture here:

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By Susan Silver

What we should not tell our Mothers on Mother’s Day HUFF POST

Susan Silver Writer and her mother

I have just published my memoir, “Hot Pants in Hollywood,” and the subtitle is: “Sex,Secrets & Sitcoms.” Oh oh.

As an only child, growing up in a very sheltered Mid West upbringing in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, I would come home every day after school and tell my Mother every minute event of the day. There were no secrets, and she lived my life along with me, for better or worse. This was in thedays before Feminism, while most mothers were stay-at-home. Their life choices were limited and then, even in my college days, most of my girlfriends went to the University of Wisconsin, for their “MRS.”

To my Mother’s concern, fear, and some pride, I wanted to be a writer and have a career other than teaching and so was allowed to go a little bit away to Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. From there, I escaped to California, UCLA and the temptations of Hollywood. Now her worst fears would come to pass. (Don’t forget, I was not allowed to cross the main street until I was twelve.)

After some interesting jobs and more interesting “escapes” from the likes of Elvis, Steve McQueen, and Lenny Bruce, my career as a TV sit com writer took off with the iconic Mary Tyler Moore Show. By then I was married, though not to a man my Mother approved of….she wanted him to call her ‘Mother’ and he said he already had one and preferred to call her “Dorothy.”

With the good timing of the Feminist Movement, the show both led and encouraged working women, modeled after the lead, aka ‘America’s Sweetheart,’ who was a sometime reluctant but successful role model in the changing real world. I was more a Rhoda in temperament, with a much more rocky Mother/Daughter dynamic now bordering on full out war.

Mary’s relationship with her mother was more benign and one shock revealed was that she was on “The Pill.” I had never had “the talk” with my Mother about sex, other than her telling me repeatedly that “boys will not buy the cow if they can get the milk for free.” Yeah, hey, it was the Sixties!

Because I always felt my Mother’s shadow somewhere over my left shoulder, I’d remained a virgin until I was engaged. Even then, I knew my Mother disapproved and had always made the distinction of “fast girls” in high school. They were usually girls with over developed calves, she believed. So, even today, I see women walking down the street, legs clenched from heels and I know…I just know! We all become our mothers. Trust me. We do.

Fortunately, we’d made our peace somewhere around when I was in my late 30’s and had one knock out fight after which she started to cry and said, “I am a person too! I had my dreams you know.”

Wow, she wasn’t just here on earth to feed me, comfort me, pat my shoulder when I couldn’t fall asleep? Before she died, i made her promise she would come back and pat my shoulder to let me know. I”m still waiting.

But if anyone could, it would be my Mother. I miss both my parents every day.

I got divorced and led a rather liberated life in the many years after and my Mother enjoyed hearing about my liasons. My Father, however, had more doubts and he voiced them. That was hard to hear sometimes. But wonder of wonder, it was my Mother who supported these adventures and who enjoyed hearing of my Zelig like occurences in standing next to, knowing, and sometimes dating some of the Icons of my time. Once and a while I would even have a “famous person” call her and that made her day.

And yet, I will be very honest. I’m glad she never got to read my memoir..there are some secrets yes, usually sex ones, that I wouldn’t want her to hear! For Mother’s Day, I really think my book could open the door for discussion between mothers and daughters…but remember, there are some things we should not tell them! At least about my life!

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