CooperTalk

Steve Cooper talks with comic/actor/writer Melinda Hill. Melinda created, wrote, produced and starred in the web series Romantic Encounters with Melinda Hill, which was selected to screen at LA Web Fest, was nominated for an LA Weekly Web Award for “best comedy series” and was an IndieWire Critic’s Pick for “best comedy web series.” She also created the web series All Growz Up with Melinda Hill and is currently doing a series with Maria Bamford for Funny or Die. She plays multiple characters on Adventure Time (including Doctor Princess) and is the other half of the viral hit Confessions of a Tooth Fairy with Kristen Wiig. Other TV/ film appearances include Comedy Central’s Pretend Time with Nick Swardson, Reno 911, Sarah Silverman Program, Important Things with Demetri Martin, Bill Maher’s Bright Day, The Winner, Frank TV, Glory Daze, and Chris Kattan’s Bollywood Hero. Her stand up has been featured on Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Bonnie Hunt Show, BBC’s World Stands Up, NESN’s Comedy All Stars, Comics Unleashed, Who Wants To Date a Comedian, Stand Up In Stilettos ABC and when she hosted the series Comedy TV.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Bill Brochtrup. Bill was originally cast for just two episodes of NYPD Blue during the show's second season. However, when his splendid portrayal of P.A.A. John Irvin won over the show's producers and audience alike, he was invited to reprise the very same role in comedy series Public Morals and two years later he returned to NYPD Blue as Irvin, and continued to be a much-loved character for 8 seasons. His other TV roles include shows such as Murder, She Wrote, Dharma & Greg, Without a Trace, Dexter, Kendra plus recurring roles in Shameless and Major Crimes.

Steve Cooper talks with drummer Rich Redmond. Rich is an influential touring/recording drummer/percussionist based in Nashville, Tennessee and Los Angeles, California. His versatile, dynamic, and rock solid drumming is the sound behind many of today’s top talents.  While he’s not in the studio or on tour Rich is motivating others with his CRASH Course for Success a meticulously crafted program that anyone can follow to achieve success. As the drumming powerhouse behind Grammy nominated mega star Jason Aldean, he has recorded 17 #1 singles with over 7 million albums sold and well over 13 million single downloads. As a high-energy live showman, he plays sold out shows of 20-60,000 fans nightly in amphitheaters, arenas and stadiums across North America .A musical showman in the spirit of Gene Krupa, He has toured/recorded/performed with: Ludacris, Kelly Clarkson, Bryan Adams, Joe Perry, Jewel, Miranda Lambert, Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Brantley Gilbert, John Eddie, Pam Tillis, Susan Ashton, Deana Carter, Kid Rock, Lauren Alaina, Trace Adkins, Randy Owens, Marty Stuart, Mindy McReady, Rushlow, Gene Watson, John Anderson, Doc Walker, Jedd Hughes, Patricia Conroy, Earl Thomas Conley, Hank Williams III, Emily West, Jo El Sonnier, Jim Brickman, Lee Brice, Steel Magnolia, The Stellas, Kevin Fowler and many others. He has also appeared many times on the trail of late night shows such as: The Voice, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien, Conan, Jimmy Fallon, The Jimmy Kimmel Show, Craig Ferguson, Good Morning America, The Today Show, The Michael and Kelly Show, Ellen, Austin City Limits, The CMA Awards, The ACM Awards, The CMT Awards, The ACA Awards, numerous GAC and CMT Specials, and of course, The Grammy Awards.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Lombardo Boyar. Lombardo is set to return for his third season playing Navarro on the hit series Murder in the First. He  is a veteran of the US Army and was part of the 82nd Airborne Division. After he got out he decided to pursue acting. Some of his earlier notable performances include a brief part as convenience-store robber Ramon Garcia on Fox's 24, a starring role as burglar Eddie Tesoro in P.S. Your Cat is dead, his live-action performance as Sergio del Rio on Steven Bochco's Over There and guesting on a semi-regular basis as Chuy on The Bernie Mac Show. He has lent his voice to the movies Happy Feet and Happy Feet 2 and many other projects. He was one of the stars of The Joe Schmo Show and has appeared in numerous shows such as Southland, Cold Case, NCIS, Shameless, Breakout Kings, The Player, Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders and many others and has been seen in movies such as Some Kind of Beautiful, Big Ass Spider, Halfway to Hell and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. 

Steve Cooper talks with actor James DuMont. James is one of the busiest performers in & out Hollywood, working in both feature films and television. He recently was the supporting lead role of J. Parnell Thomas in the autobiographical feature, Trumbo opposite Bryan Cranston, directed by Jay Roach and as WB Nowlin in the Hank Williams bio-pic I Saw The Light opposite Tom Hiddleston as well as recurring for a 2nd season on the F/X series American Horror Story. His numerous movie credits include Dallas Buyer's Club, The Butler, Along Came Polly, Jurassic World, Speed, Miss Congeniality 2 and Catch Me If You Can. He is also a familiar face to TV having recurring or guest starring roles in countless series such as Treme, Men on a Certain Age, The West Wing, Cold Case, Zoo, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Ugly Betty, Bones, Grey's Anatomy, Harry's Law, Rizzoli & Isles, Mad Men and many more.  

Steve Cooper talks with actor/writer Paul Carafotes. Paul returns to CooperTalk to chat about his Charlie Bubbles children book series and play a few songs off his new CD, Sing With Charlie Bubbles. He is also well known for playing Harold Dyer on Knots Landing and since then he has appeared in numerous movies including All the Right Moves, Clan of the Cave Bear, Blind Date and Fight Club to name a few. He has also been seen on many TV shows including Castle, ER, CSI, Without a Trace, Criminal Minds and played the Man in the Overcoat on Damages. A man of many talents, he wrote and directed Club Soda which starred starred James Gandolfini, Lou Gosset Jr., Joe Mantegna and Michael Rispoli.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Phillip P. Keene. Phillip traveled the world, had different careers and went to UCLA before he got into the acting world. One of his first roles was a small part in the hit TV show The Closer which led to being a regular on the show for 7 seasons. His character Buzz Watson then transitioned to the spin-off of that show, Major Crimes which he has been on for four seasons. He has also been nominated for four Screen Actor Guild awards. 

Steve Cooper talks with actor Eric Allan Kramer. Eric is best known for his roles as Bob Duncan on Good Luck Charlie and as Dave Rogers on The Hughleys. He made his acting debut in the television film The Gunfighters. He also starred in the 1990 film Quest for the Mighty Sword and played Thor in The Incredible Hulk Returns. Among his other notable film roles are parts in Robin Hood: Men in Tights, American Wedding and True Romance. A familiar face to TV he has been seen in countless shows that include Seinfeld, Two and a Half Men, Wizards of Waverly Place, Growing Pains, Cheers, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Bob, NewsRadio, JAG, Roseanne, That 70's Show, Ellen, Monk, How I Met Your Mother, The King of Queens, My Name is Earl, Bones, Mike & Molly and NCIS: Los Angeles. 

Steve Cooper talks with actor Ed Asner. Ed is a television legend, the winner of seven acting Emmy Awards and has been nominated 20 times for an Emmy Award, with 17 nods for a Primetime Emmy and three for the daytime award. He is primarily known for his roles as Lou Grant during the late 1970s and early 1980s on both The Mary Tyler Moore Show and it's spin-off series Lou Grant making him one of the few television actors to portray the same leading character in both a comedy and a drama. His career has spanned almost 60 years and he has acted in over 350 projects including ground breaking mini-series, Roots and Rich Man, Poor Man, has lent his voice to the Oscar winning Up and even played Santa Claus in the hit Christmas movie Elf.           

Steve Cooper talks with actor Sharon Lawrence. Sharon is best known as her role as Sylvia Costas Sipowicz on NYPD Blue that garnered her three Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. SHe got her start in acting on Broadway with a role in the revival of Cabaret and years later she returned to star in Chicago in the role of Velma Kelly. A familiar face to TV she has starred, co-starred or been a recurring character in countless series such as Cheers, Star Trek: Voyager, Fired Up, Ladies Man, Wolf Lake, Law & Order: SVU, Boston Legal, Desperate Housewives, Monk, Grey's Anatomy, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Mentalist, One Tree Hill, Drop Dead Diva, Rizzoli & Isles and Blunt Talk.  

Steve Cooper with comic Wendy Liebman. Wendy returns to CooperTalk for the fifth time. She has been doing stand-up for over 25 years and has been a regular on the Late Show with David Letterman and has appeared on the Tonight Show with both Johnny Carson and Jay Leno, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson and Jimmy Kimmel Live! In addition she was the first comedian to appear on the Rosie O'Donnell Show and has done comedy specials for HBO, Comedy Central and Showtime. She has also performed or been seen on dozens upon dozens of various other TV shows, was recently seen on America's Got Talent and continues to headline across the country.

Steve Cooper talks with actor/comic Mary Lynn Rajskub. Mary Lynn is best known for her iconic performance as Chloe on FOX’s 24, which she reprised on 24: LIVE ANOTHER DAY, the number-one rated show of 2014. She has also appeared in recurring arcs on 2 Broke Girls and Californication and has guest starred on various series including Modern Family, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The Mentalist, Royal Pains, Grey's Anatomy, New Girl, Maron and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. She was a regular panelist on Chelsea Lately and is a familiar face to the big screen with credits such as Safety Not Guaranteed, The Kings of Summer, Little Miss Sunshine, Magnolia, Julie & Julia and Punch Drunk Love. Recently she has been touring as a  stand-up comic headlining at clubs across the country.

Steve Cooper talks with comic Heather McDonald. Heather  just debuted her first Showtime special I Don’t Mean To Brag, which achieved record ratings on the network and is currently streaming on Netflix. She gained a throng of loyal fans as a staff writer and for her regular roundtable appearances on E!’s top rated show ‘Chelsea Lately’. She also starred in After Lately, a mockumentary series on E! for 3 successful seasons. As an author, her debut book (released June 2010), You’ll Never Blue Ball in this Town Again, spent seven weeks on the New York Times best-seller list, and climbed to the #1 position on Amazon’s Bestsellers in Entertainment list. She released her follow up to Blue Balls in February 2013 titled MY INAPPROPRIATE LIFE: Some Material Not Suitable for Small Children, Nuns, or Mature Adults which also became a national bestseller. On top of being a full-time writer and story producer for Chelsea Lately, She has also been a regular collaborator with the Wayans Brothers; serving as a writer on their features White Chicks and Dance Flick and was a featured performer on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and has been a guest star on the hit television series Frasier, Malcolm in the Middle, Reno 911 and Nickelodeon’s Drake and Josh. 

Steve Cooper talks with actor Sunkrish Bala. Sunkrish is best known for his co-starring roles in The Walking Dead and Castle. He has starred in the sitcoms Notes from the Underbelly and I Just Want My Pants Back and recurred on such series as Awkward, Shameless, My Name is Earl and Barbershop. He has also guest starred on various shows including Bones, Grey's Anatomy, Criminal Minds, Damages, Brothers & Sisters, NCIS: Los Angeles, Body of Proof, Modern Family, Scorpion, Hot in Cleveland and NCIS. 

Steve Cooper talks with actor Eric Lange. Eric started acting in commercial and his most high-profile gigs included playing Stuart Radzinsky on the hit ABC series Lost and the eccentric acting teacher Mr. Sikowitz on the Nickelodeon teen show Victorious. He also had a featured role on the short-lived CW series Cult and on the FX series The Bridge, where his character is the antagonist of the lead. He was recently in the movie Nightcrawler and has had guest spots on shows such as Castle, Touch, Grimm, Chuck, Weeds, Monk, Bones, My Name Is Earl, Criminal Minds, Boston Legal and many more. He is currently shooting the second season of Narcos.