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10:06

Poetry and Music of "The Blank Generation."

Poet Richard Hell. He moved to New York City in the 70s, intending to concentrate on poetry. But he was drawn to the emerging punk rock scene and quickly became one of its best known acts with his band Richard Hell and the Voidoids. He later landed roles in the films "Smithereens" and "Desperately Seeking Susan." He is writing poetry again, editing the new poetry journal Cuz, and running the poetry programs at the St. Marks Poetry Project.

Interview
09:25

Ned Beatty on His Many Roles.

Character actor Ned Beatty. He spent 15 years in theater before making his film debut in "Deliverance." Since then, he's played everything from a sinister executive in "Network" to a clownish sheriff in the Burt Reynolds film "Stroker Ace." In all, Beatty has acted in 37 feature films, and 44 television movies or series.

Interview
09:48

The Skill and Danger of Twirling

Broadway actress Sophie Hayden worked in New York as an accomplished baton twirler before making it onto the stage. She put her skills to use in a recent production of Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors--where she twirled a machete.

Interview
09:52

The Many Voices of Eric Bogosian

The playwright and performance artist came from the New York fringe scene--which he believes is too afraid to really push cultural boundaries. His play Talk Radio is being made into a film.

Interview
27:53

Find the Perfect Moment

Spalding Gray's career performing humorous, autobiographical monologues has sometimes been a detriment to his attempts to break into film and television acting; no casting director wants to be mentioned in one of Gray's stage shows.

Interview
59:01

Spalding Gray and "The Terrors of Pleasure."

Frequent Fresh Air guest Spalding Gray takes stories about his life and anxieties and transforms them into comedic monologues he delivers in a direct fashion. His monologues include "Sex and Death to the Age of Fourteen," "A Personal History of American Theater," and "Swimming to Cambodia." His current monologue is "The Terrors of Pleasure," and it chronicles his attempts to "grow up" and experience ownership by purchasing a house in the Catskills.

Interview
20:34

Alec Guinness Discusses his Life and Career.

Actor Alec Guinness begin acting in classic English theater in the 1930s and 1940s. After World War II, he began to appear in films, and won an Academy Award in 1957 for his work in the film "The Bridge Over the River Kwai." He is known to a new generation of viewers as Obi Wan Kenobi from the Star Wars films. Guinness has recently published a memoir "Blessings in Disguise." (PARTIAL INTERVIEW)

Interview
28:17

Spalding Gray Swims to Cambodia.

Spalding Gray was already famous in experimental theater for his funny and erotically-charged monologues when he made his film debut in "The Killing Fields," about the American involvement in Cambodia. His experiences as a novice making the movie in Thailand inspired his new monologue "Swimming to Cambodia." The monologue contains stories of the real fighting in Cambodia.

Interview
28:16

The Art of the Interview

Studs Terkel studied law and acted in theater before becoming a radio broadcaster. His syndicated program and books feature oral histories of everyday people in the United States. He joins Fresh Air's Terry Gross to discuss how he conducts interviews in a way that is both insightful and respectful.

Interview
55:49

Oral History and the Art of the Interview

Studs Terkel studied law and acted in theater before becoming a radio broadcaster. His syndicated program and books feature oral histories of everyday people in the United States. He joins Fresh Air's Terry Gross to discuss how he conducts interviews in a way that is both insightful and respectful.

Interview
49:53

Escaping and Finding Himself Again

Billy Hayes' years spent in a Turkish prison for smuggling hashish have been well documented in his book Midnight Express, which was later adapted into a book. He now pursues an acting career in California.

Interview
46:04

Peggy King on Singing and Television.

Singer and lyricist Peggy King was well known in the 1950s, especially for her appearances on television variety programs, such as the Mel Torme Show. She left the business to raise her children in Philadelphia, but has returned to performance. King will perform with the Philly Pops, singing a Johnny Mercer set.

Interview
35:57

Acting On Stage and On Film with Milo O'Shea.

Milo O'Shea is an Irish actor currently starring as a priest in "Mass Appeal" at the Walnut Street Theater. He played the same role on Broadway for which he won several awards and was nominated for a Tony award. O'Shea has appeared in numerous films and plays. He will appear with Paul Newman in the upcoming film "The Verdict."

Interview

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