Welcome to “Great Books, Great Voices,” a weekly podcast where we aim to “Ignite a New World of Community, Connection, and Conversation, One Book at a Time.”
Our guest for this episode is motion picture, television and Broadway producer Julian Schlossberg, a man who has spent 60 years in show business. Over the years he’s worked as a producer, director, distributor, exhibitor, radio host and record executive.
In his new audiobook, Try Not To Hold It Against Me, Schlossberg tells of negotiating with Al Pacino, Burt Reynolds and Lillian Hellman, hosting the syndicated radio show, Movietalk, interviewing stars like Jack Nicholson, George Burns, Bette Davis and Bob Hope, experiencing the paranormal with Shirley MacLaine and Betty Hill, restoring Orson Welles’ masterly film Othello, partying with Barbra Streisand and Liza Minelli, testifying in a lawsuit against The Beatles and interviewing over 140 major figures for his series Witnesses To The Twentieth Century.
With a foreword by Academy Award winner Elaine May— Try Not To Hold It Against Me gives listeners a behind-the-scenes look at the rarely seen but crucial work of a producer. Schlossberg recounts the trials and triumphs of work and play as a theater, film and TV producer and radio host. It’s a one-of-a-kind autobiography read by one of entertainment’s true insiders.
Feature Interview: Julian Schlossberg