Showing results by narrator "Terry Gross" in All Categories

Actress and model Isabella Rossellini on this archive edition of Fresh Air. Rosellini talks about her famous parents, actress Ingrid Bergman and filmmaker Roberto Rossellini, and her own career. She stars in the new film Left Luggage with Maximillian Schell. It opens this weekend. She has acted in numerous T-V shows, and her film credits include Blue Velvet, The Impostors, and Big Night. She is also the spokesmodel for Lancome cosmetics.

Writer David Rakoff on this archive edition of Fresh Air. He's a regular contributor to Outside, The New York Times Magazine, and public radio's This American Life. One of his peers, writer Paul Rudnick says of him, "Rakoff is a comic saint, an ideal mix of the crabby and the debonair." Rakoff has a new collection of essays, Fraud. He's also appearing in Amy & David Sedaris' new off-broadway show.

Historian Avi Shlaim and remembering Robert Ludlum on this edition of Fresh Air. Avi Shlaim is the author of the new book, The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World. Shlaim's book is a revisionist interpretation of Isreal's policy toward the Arab world, based on newly released documents, and on interviews with policymakers and participants in events. Writer Robert Ludlum died yesterday of a heart attack, at age 73. His string of best sellers, such as The Bourne Identity, The Osterman Weekend, and The Icarus Agenda, established him as one of literature's most...

Filmmaker Errol Morris on this edition of Fresh Air. His new documentary, The Fog of War, is a profile of the man many considered to be the architect of the Vietnam conflict, Robert McNamara. Taken from a series of interviews Morris conducted with McNamara, it yields new insights into the mind of the former Secretary of Defense.

Fifth Beatle Pete Best on this edition of Fresh Air. He was the drummer for the Beatles in their early days in Liverpool and Hamburg. His mother, Mona Best, was the owner of The Casbah Coffee Club in Liverpool.

Novelist Francine Prose and singer and guitarist Alex Chilton on this edition of Fresh Air. Prose's new book Blue Angel echoes the title of the film classic.

On this edition of Fresh Air, a Blue Velvet special in honor of its release in a new DVD edition. Host Terry Gross speaks with director David Lynch who Mel Brooks once dubbed "Jimmy Stewart from Mars." And, you'll hear from actress and model Isabella Rossellini. Plus, rock critic Ken Tucker reviews Eminem's new recording, The Eminem Show. And guest film critic Armond White from the New York Pressreviews The Sum of All Fears.

Creator of the TV series Law & Order Dick Wolf and Actor Robert Downey, Jr. on this edition of Fresh Air. Dick Wolf's Law & Order is the longest running drama on network television. After more than 300 shows and thirteen years the "ripped from the headlines" half cop-half law show is still going strong. It's also inspired two other series: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

Comic Bob Newhart on this archive edition of Fresh Air. He's been a part of the American comedy landscape since 1961 when his debut comedy album The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart became a surprise hit. Since then he's starred in three TV shows, including the Peabody award winning original The Bob Newhart Show, and appeared in numerous films. There's a new Rhino anthology of his classic routines, Something Like This...The Bob Newhart Anthology.

Hear authors David and Nic Sheff, and critic at large John Powers, on this edition of Fresh Air. David Sheff and his son, Nic, have both written memoirs. David's new book is called Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction. Nic's book is called Tweak. Nic became addicted to meth and was in and out of rehab. David and Nic join us to talk about doing drugs, getting over them, and the effect on family.

Singer/songwriters Barry Manilow and Tom Waits on this edition of Fresh Air. Barry Manilow made the pop charts in the 1970s and early 80s with love ballads such as "Mandy," "Looks Like We Made It," "I Write the Songs" and "Copacabana (At the Copa)." Before becoming a singer he was Bette Midler's accompanist and arranger.

Artistic director for the Houston Ballet, Ben Stevenson, dancer Lauren Anderson, and Dr. Zahi Hawass on this edition of Fresh Air. Stevenson has been with the ballet for over 25 years, turning it into a premiere dance company. The New York Times' dance critic said of Stevenson, "[he] is one of the most original figures in the development of regional ballet in America."

Computer programmer Linus Torvalds on this edition of Fresh Air. He is the creator of Linux, a computer operating system intended to improve upon Unix. When Torvalds wrote the original code in 1991, he sent it out on the Internet to allow anyone to make changes and improvements.

Actress and playwright Anna Deveare Smith and writer, director and exotic dancer Julia Query on this edition of Fresh Air. Deveare Smith is best known for her one-woman plays based on hundreds of interviews she did with diverse people who experienced a crisis in their community. They include Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 about the Rodney King verdict, and Fires in the Mirror about the Crown Heights disturbances.

Hear religion scholar Bart D. Ehrman on this edition of Fresh Air. Ehrman chairs the Department of Religious Studies at UNC-Chapel Hill. His new book is God's Problem: How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question - Why We Suffer. He is the author of the best seller Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why.

Novelist Stephen King on this edition of Fresh Air. In 1999, the prolific and popular horror writer experienced something that could have come out of one of his books: he was struck by a car while walking along a rural road in Maine and nearly killed. Six operations and a long recovery followed. Five weeks after the accident, King started writing again and published the novella, The Plant over the Internet. His latest book is On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft.

Writer Stephen King on this edition of Fresh Air. King has just received the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters at this year's National Book Award ceremony. Author of several best sellers, he is credited with ushering in a whole new era of horror with his first novel, Carrie, published in 1974.

Hear comic Don Rickles, documentary producer Huw Cordey, and rock critic Ken Tucker on this edition of Fresh Air. He's known for insulting his audiences on stage, but Don Rickles doesn't consider himself an insult comic. His heyday was in the 1950s and 60s, on TV and in Vegas. Frank Sinatra was an early fan and helped get him noticed. Rickles has a new memoir, Rickles' Book: a Memoir.

Tammy Faye Messner and record executive Simon Cowell on this edition of Fresh Air. Tammy Faye Messner, along with her ex-husband Jim Bakker, built the Praise the Lord televangelist network. Record executive Simon Cowell is one of the judges on the talent show, American Idol, a spin-off of the show he co-created in Britian, Pop Idol.

Singapore's first Prime Minister and its current Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew and journalist Stan Sesser on this edition of Fresh Air. A very controversial figure, Lee Kuan Yew formed the People's Action Party and won the first Singapore general election in 1959. Since it was granted independence in 1965, Singapore has gone from British colony to Asian economic powerhouse.