Monday, August 3, 2026

The Breaker - series. Books 1 - 3:

 


The Breaker


ISBN: 9781656281517

Description:

How do you know the one you love won’t hurt you?
Or even try to kill you?
In many cases … you don’t.
How do we choose our path and purpose in life?
What makes us who we are?
When Seth Egan starts working as a private detective, he knows he’ll make enemies.
It goes with the territory.
As Seth works on a murder case and hunts down the killers, he becomes the target.
Some people have no conscience, shame, empathy, or remorse.
To get their own way, to get what they want, to take everything, they will do anything.
Even murder.
In the end, they will drag you down to hell with them.
Sometimes, our enemies are those closest to us.

Amazon link:


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Bad Blood

ISBN: 9798682203192

Description:

No one is paying Seth Egan for his latest case.

He keeps this one unofficial.

Pro bono publico.

Off the books.

For him, this one is personal.

A matter of bad blood.

A woman with a grudge of her own leads Seth to a place where people vanish without trace.

Money is the motive.

Greed is the motivator.

Scores that can only be settled in blood.

A dark underworld of illegal gambling, prostitution, drugs, violence and murder.


Amazon link:

 

https://t.co/e0XiS8crAr?amp=1


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Mall Maze

ISBN: 9798729917235


Description:


Friday the 13th.

Unlucky for many.

What should have been a routine adultery case ends with Seth Egan fighting for his life.

Cut off from the world.

With no way to call for help.

Trapped in a place where the walls are coming down around him.

Seth is running out of places to hide.

As chaos reigns and the city burns … the hunters close in.


Amazon link:
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Themes:
Abuse by proxy, Adultery, C-PTSD, crime, detective, domestic abuse, enabler, flying monkey, gaslighting, hardboiled, heist, infidelity, murder, narcissism, narcissist, narcissistic abuse, neo-noir, personality disorder, psychopath, sociopath, suspense, thriller, vigilante, violence.

Books available in hardcover, paperback and Kindle.

A percentage from sales of my books is donated to Multiple Sclerosis (MS) research.

What’s On?

What’s On?

A Guide to Movies and TV Shows


Hardcover

ISBN-13: 9798342696098

Paperback

ISBN-13: 9798341177307

Kindle

ASIN: B0DJTZ8T58

Back cover description:

What’s On? … is the timeless question we have all asked ourselves almost every day of our lives, as we reach for the remote control and settle in front of the TV screen.

Jack Kost, a life-long movie buff and coffee addict, offers his choice of favorite movie and television masterpieces.

Providing possible answers to the question of What’s On? with over 1,900 titles, from golden oldies and timeless classics, to more recent releases, all meticulously logged and summarized.

An invaluable and collectable go-to source for discovering new favorites and revisiting old ones.

Perfect for film enthusiasts and casual viewers alike, this guide will spark conversations, bring back memories, and help you navigate the ever-evolving world of screen entertainment.

A wealth of recommendations and insights from a passionate movie buff to enrich your viewing experience, complete with personal reminiscences and nostalgic reflections, told with a world-wise critical eye, sardonic dry wit, a healthy dose of cynicism, biting observations, and a well-founded rant here and there.

Just don’t challenge or get him started on his personal favorites, like The Shining, Point Blank, Jaws, The Exorcist, The Duellists, Romeo Is Bleeding, or The Ninth Configuration. His opinions on these and other iconic titles are as intense and unyielding as the movies themselves.

All compiled by an author who not only watched the movies, but also read the books on which they were based, did his research, drank a lot of coffee in the process, and advocates for the importance and value of reading.

A glimpse into the over-caffeinated mind of a writer with a passion for great stories.

What’s On? is a celebration of the intersection between page and screen, and a reminder that great on-screen adaptations often start with a great book and a strong cup of coffee.

Kick back, grab your coffee, and enjoy the show!

As author Jack Kost says:

“Happy viewing … and do yourself a favor … read the books.”

Slipped Masks:


Slipped Masks

ISBN: 9781719330640

Description:

I can’t call you because if he hears me talking on the phone he’ll hit me again. He scares me. I know sooner or later he’s going to kill me. I’ll text you again when I can. I love you, Casey. I’ll spend the rest of our lives proving to you how much I love you. Please come. Please save me …

With only text messages to guide him, Casey Byrne is on the hunt, racing across five states to save his ex-girlfriend, Madison.
Casey loves Madison deeply and wants desperately to save her life and rekindle their relationship.
But the closer he gets to her, the more surreal his journey becomes as the dead bodies pile up in his wake.

Clinical Lycanthropy: the delusion that a human can physically transform into a wolf.


If you were insane, would you know it?


How would you see the world if you were convinced you could transform into a wolf?


The hunter … and the hunted.


Slipped Masks is a dark neo-noir thriller about how the need for love and companionship becomes twisted into obsession, possession, jealousy, violence and murder.

A horrifying portrait of Clinical Lycanthropy.

Amazon link:


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Themes:
Sociopathy, narcissistic abuse, personality disorder, Clinical Lycanthropy, crime, murder.

Book available in hardcover, paperback, and Kindle.

A percentage from sales of this book is donated to Multiple Sclerosis (MS) research.

Work in progress:


My next books are Triangulation and Stinger.

Books 4 and 5 in The Breaker series.


Set in the year 2001, the story continues from Mall Maze.



Themes:


Crime, detective, hardboiled, heist, murder, narcissism, narcissistic abuse, neo-noir, psychopath, sociopath, thriller, vigilante.

 

A percentage from book sales is donated to Multiple Sclerosis (MS) research.


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The Breaker is an on-going series.


I’m outlining other stand-alone thriller novels.

Several coffee table books on my photography and my wife’s artwork.

A humorous book, based on the antics of our crazy pet Ragdoll cat, entitled: It’s That F****** Cat Again!



Here’s a GIF I made of our cat, settling down for another of his daily naps:

On this day in movie history - If I Didn’t Care (2007):


If I Didn’t Care

aka Blue Blood,
directed and written by Benjamin Cummings and Orson Cummings,
was released in the United States on August 3, 2007.
Music by Michael Tremante.


Cast:

Bill Sage, Susan Misner, Roy Scheider, Noelle Beck, Ronald Guttman, Brian McQuillan, Phyllis Somerville, Nico Yektai, Darius Yekati, Alex Kilgore, Mirelly Taylor, Constance Barron, Jack Marks, Sam Riley, Holly Barron, Patrick Collins, Eddie Kassam, Michelle Kelly, Billie Jean Fellingham, Jordyn Meyers, Orson Cummings, Ben Cummings, Mellanie Hubert, Piras Sebastian, Casey Van Maanen.

On this day in music history:

Rubber Biscuit by The Chips (1956)
Emotional Rain by Lee Aaron (1994)
Spa by Hennie Bekker (1999)
Let There Be Light – Deluxe Edition by Tom Moore & Sherry Finzer (2018)


Rubber Biscuit
Song by The Chips.
Recorded August 3, 1956.
 
Rubber Biscuit is a crazy song I love that gets stuck in my head for days when I rewatch the movie Mean Streets (1973), directed by Martin Scorsese. 


It’s on the soundtrack in the bar scene, with the camera focused and fixed on actor Harvey Keitel.
Now ... if only I could sing it ...
 
Lyrics:

Cow cow hoo-oo
Cow cow wanna dib-a-doo
Chicken hon-a-chick-a-chick hole-a-hubba
Hey fried chuck-a-lucka wanna jubba
Hi-low nay wanna dubba hubba
Day down sum wanna jigga-wah
Dell rown ay wanna lubba hubba
Mull an' a mound chicka lubba hubba
Fay down ah wanna dippa-zippa-dippa
Mm-mmn, do that again!
Doo doo doo boo
 
Cow cow lubba 'n a blubba lubba
How rown hibb'n 'n a hibba-lu
How low lubbin 'n a blubba-lubba
Hey ride ricky ticky hubba lubba
Dull ow de moun' chicky hubba lubba
Went down trucka lucka wanna do-uh
How low a zippin 'n a hubba-lu
Hey ride ricky ticky blubba-lu
How low duh woody woody pecker pecker
 
Mm-hmm, did you ever hear
Of a wish sandwich?
Well, that's the kind of a sandwich
That is supposed to take
Two pieces of bread
And wish you had some meat
Doo doo boo
 
Cow cow lubba 'n a blubba lubba
Hey ride hibbin' and zippin 'n
How luvva mail take a lubba hubba
Hey ride wanna take a recca recca
How low take a lubba hubba
Hey ride wanna 'n suppa suppa
How low a mail take a lubba hubba
Hey ride a hippin' and a hubbin' no
High low 'n sum a chicka wha
 
The other day
I ate a ricochet biscuit
Well, that's the kind of biscuit
That's supposed to
Bounce off the wall
Back in your mouth
If it don't bounce back
Shh-mmhh-mmhh
You go hungry
Doo doo boo
 
Cow cow lubba 'n a blubba lubba
Hey low a sum did a lubba goin'
Hey ride wanna take a-lubba do
How long long suppa dubba
How low a mail take a lubba hubba
Hey ride wanna take a lubba hubba
How low a mail take a lubba hubba
Hey down nothin' take a luvva do
Hey ride a sippin' and a hubba dubba
 
Mmm, the other day
I ate a cool water sandwich
And a Sunday-go-to-meeting bun
Doo doo boo
Cow cow lubba 'n a-blubba lubba
Hey ride ricky ticky hubba lubba
How low a wanna suppa do
Hey ride sippin' and hubba lubba
Hey ride a-hubbin' and wan' do
Hey ride a wanna an' recca recca
How low a mail take lubba hubba
Hey down a wanna suppa dubba
Please ride a hubbin' gonna do
 
What you owe for nothin'
Rubber biscuit
Doo doo doo boo
Cow cow ooooooooh


Emotional Rain
Album by Lee Aaron,
released August 3, 1994.
Track list: Odds of Love; Baby Go Round; Fire in Your Flame; Waterfall; Inside; Raggedy Jane; Soul in Motion; Emotional Rain; Judgement Day; Heaven; Cry; Had Enough.


Album by Hennie Bekker,
released August 3, 1999.
Track list: Comfort; Elusive Sensation; Euphoria; Inner Peace; Revitalized; A State of Bliss.


Let There Be Light – Deluxe Edition
Album by Tom Moore & Sherry Finzer,
released August 3, 2018.
Track list: The Way of the White Clouds; First Light; Timeless Journey; Full Moon Night; A Celebration of Life; Sacred Ground; Waves of Light; Tides of Time; A Deeper Light; Dancing in the Light.

On this day in movie history - The New Centurions (1972):


The New Centurions

directed by Richard Fleischer,
written by Stirling Silliphant,
based on the novel by Joseph Wambaugh,
was released in the United States on August 3, 1972.
Music by Quincy Jones.


Cast:

George C. Scott, Stacy Keach, Jane Alexander, Scott Wilson, Rosalind Cash, Erik Estrada, Clifton James, Richard E. Kalk, James Sikking, Beverly Hope Atkinson, Mittie Lawrence, Isabel Sanford, Carol Speed, Tracee Lyles, Burke Byrnes, William Atherton, Peter De Anda, Ed Lauter, Dolph Sweet, Stefan Gierasch, Debbie Fresh, Mike Lane, Roger E. Mosley, Charles H. Gray, Read Morgan, Michael DeLano, Adriana Shaw, Pepe Serna, Bea Thompkins, Hilly Hicks, Shaaron Claridge, Herbert Coley, Otis Day, Dick DeCoit, Lieux Dressler, Brent Dunsford, Raymond Guth, Kitten Natividad, Gerald S. O'Loughlin, Anne Ramsey.

Born on this day – Jay North:


Jay North


Actor

August 3, 1951 – April 6, 2025

Credits:

77 Sunset Strip (1959); ABC World News Tonight (2025); About Faces (1961); Arabian Knights (1968–1969); Dennis the Menace (1959–1963); Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star (2003); E! True Hollywood Story (2000); Fred Flintstone and Friends (1977); General Hospital (1982); GMA First Look (2025); Here Comes the Grump (1969–1970); Here's Hollywood (1960); It's Happening (1968); I've Got a Secret (1960); Jericho (1966); Lassie (1973); Lassie: Joyous Sound (1973); Living in TV Land (2006); Maya (1966–1968); My Three Sons (1966); Not Necessarily the News (1987); Our Time (1985); Pepe (1960); Rescue 8 (1959); Sally Jessy Raphael (1993); Scout's Honor (1980); Stu's Show (2011 / 2025); Sugarfoot (1959); The 36th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1962); The Actor's Journey (2011); The Actor's Journey for Kids (2011); The Banana Splits Adventure Hour (1968–1970); The Best of the Ed Sullivan Show (1992); The Big Operator (1959); The Dating Game (1969); The Detectives (1959); The Dinah Shore Chevy Show (1960); The Donna Reed Show (1960); The Ed Sullivan Show (1960); The Fantastic Plastic Machine (1969); The Flintstone Comedy Hour (1972); The Hollywood Squares (Daytime) (1967); The Linkletter Show (1961); The Lucy Show (1966); The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1965); The Merv Griffin Show (1967–1971); The Miracle of the Hills (1959); The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show (1971–1972); The Red Skelton Hour (1960–1961); The Simpsons (1999); The Teacher (1974); The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show (1959); Vicki! (1993); Wagon Train (1964); Wanted: Dead or Alive (1958); Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse (1959); Wild Wind (1985); Zebra in the Kitchen (1965).

Born on this day – Dick Pope:


Dick Pope


Cinematographer

August 3, 1947 – October 21, 2024

Credits:

13 Conversations About One Thing (2001); A Bigger Splash (1973); A Flock of Seagulls in A Flock of Seagulls: I Ran (So Far Away) (1982); A Promise of Bed (1969); A Running Jump (2012); A Sense of History (1992); AC/DC: Live at Donington (1992); AC/DC: No Bull (1996); Africa (1984); Alan Bush: A Life (1983); Alison Moyet: Invisible (Version 1) (1984); All or Nothing (2002); An Awfully Big Adventure (1995); Angelica (2015); Angels & Atom Bombs: The Making of the Reflecting Skin (2015); Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging (2008); Another Year (2010); Behind the Wheel of Happy-Go-Lucky (2009); Bernie (2011); Blue Suede Shoes (1980); Bringing Balanchine Back (2006); Career Girls (1997); Coming Up Roses (1986); Cool Cats: 25 Years of Rock 'n' Roll Style (1983); Creating a Classic: The Making of 'Nicholas Nickleby' (2003); Cuban Fury (2014); Cutting Edge (1993); Dark City (1990); Disappearing World (1974); Erasure: Chorus (1991); Erasure: Ship of Fools (1988); Fallen Hero (1978); Fine Young Cannibals: Suspicious Minds (1985); Fool's Gold: The Story of the Brink's-Mat Robbery (1993); Forever Green (1989); Forty Minutes (1985); Freddie Mercury: The Great Pretender (1987); Freddie Mercury: Time (1986); Friday Night Shirt (2005); Fun Boy Three: The Lunatics Have Taken Over the Asylum (1981); Great Performances (1998); Happy-Go-Lucky (2008); Happy-Go-Lucky: B-Roll (2008); Hard Truths (2024); Honeydripper (2007); Imagine (2014); Inseminoid (1981); Intercom (2008); INXS: Live Baby Live (1991); Iron Maiden: Women in Uniform (1980); It's a Wonderful Afterlife (2010); Just for Today (1980); Kylie Minogue: Never Too Late (1989); Kylie Minogue: Wouldn't Change a Thing (1989); La danse (2009); Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001); Legend (2015); Life Is Sweet (1990); Lisa Stansfield: What Did I Do to You? (1990); Loving Feeling (1968); Mad in the Making: Little Scenes and Outtakes Around a Mad Video (1991); Madness: It Must Be Love (1981); Madness: Sweetest Girl (1986); Man of the Year (2006); Me and Orson Welles (2008); Motherless Brooklyn (2019); Mountain Dew Kickstart Super Bowl Commercial: Puppymonkeybaby (2016); Mountains of the Moon (1990); Movin' On (1993); Mr. Turner (2014); Mr. Turner: The Many Colours of Mr. Turner (2014); Naked (1993); Never Mind (1995); Nicholas Nickleby (2002); Nineteen Eighty-Four / aka 1984 (1984); Nothing Personal (1995); Peter Gabriel's Secret World (1994); Peterloo (2018); Phantoms (1998); Pleasure (1994); Porterhouse Blue (1987); Punk and Its Aftershocks (1980); Queen: Champions of the World (1995); Queen: I Want to Break Free (1984); Queen: I'm Going Slightly Mad (1991); Queen: No-One But You (Only the Good Die Young) (1998); Queen: These Are the Days of Our Lives (1991); Rick Astley: Cry for Help (1991); Rick Astley: Hold Me in Your Arms (1989); Rude Boy (1980); Screen Two (1996); Secrets & Lies (1996); Side by Side (2012); Sigue Sigue Sputnik: Love Missile F1-11 (1986); Six Days in Romandie (1983); Soft Cell: Sex Dwarf (Version 1) (1982); Soweto (1991); Supernova (2020); Supertramp: Live in Paris '79 (2012); Swept from the Sea (1997); TCM Remembers 2024 (2024); Team Deakins (2020); The Air Up There (1994); The Blackheath Poisonings (1992); The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2019); The Christians (1977); The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005); The Cure in Orange (1987); The Debt Collector (1999); The Fruit Machine (1988); The Girl in the Picture (1985); The Great Kandinsky (1995); The Illusionist (2006); The London Weekend Show (1977 / 1978); The Mike Leigh Method (2011); The Oscars (2015); The Outfit (2022); The Planets (1985); The Pros (2015); The Reflecting Skin (1990); The Secret Garden (1993); The Shattered Dream: Employment in the Eighties (1981); The South Bank Show (1985); The Specials: Ghost Town (1981); The Swappers (1970); The Unlucky Australians (1973); The Way of the Gun (2000); The Women's Olamal: The Organization of a Maasai Fertility Ceremony (1984); The X Files (1998); Thin Ice (2011); Tina Turner: Private Dancer (1985); Topsy-Turvy (1999); Toyah: I Want to Be Free (1981); Urgh! A Music War (1981); Vera Drake (2004); Vera Drake: Cast and Crew Documentary (2005); Walking Away (2007); What's Good for the Goose (1969); Whoops Apocalypse (1982); Willie and the Poor Boys (1985); Women in Rock (1980); World in Action (1975–1978); Worlds Apart (1982); Yes, Honestly (1976); Zodiac Mindwarp & The Love Reaction: Prime Mover (1988).

Born on this day – Richard Foronjy:


Richard Foronjy


Actor

Writer

August 3, 1937 – May 19, 2024

Credits:

Book:

From the Mob to the Movies (2020).

Movies and television:

Prince of the City: The Real Story (2007); Hot Parts (2003); Boss of Bosses (2001); 18 Wheels of Justice (2001); Love Boat: The Next Wave (1999); Evasive Action (1998); Hoods (1998); Recoil (1998); Michael Hayes (1998); Dumb Luck in Vegas (1997); The Big Easy (1997); Under Suspicion (1994–1995); Man of the House (1995); Carlito's Way (1993); Da Vinci's War (1993); The Public Eye (1992); Fatal Instinct (1992); Oscar (1991); Get a Life (1991); Capital News (1990); Curiosity Kills (1990); Equal Justice (1990); Amen (1987–1990); Ghostbusters II (1989); Murphy's Law (1989); Midnight Run (1988); The Galucci Brothers (1987); Who's the Boss? (1987); The Morning After (1986); The Check Is in the Mail... (1986); Odd Jobs (1986); Hunter (1985); Streets of Justice (1985); Misfits of Science (1985); Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1985); Silver Spoons (1982); The Jeffersons (1985); City Heat (1984); Cagney & Lacey (1984); Once Upon a Time in America (1984); His & Hers (1984); Young Lust (1984); Repo Man (1984); Shannon (1982); Hill Street Blues (1982); The Gangster Chronicles (1981); Gangster Wars (1981); True Confessions (1981); Prince of the City (1981); The Two of Us (1981); Flying High (1979); The Jerk (1979); Hart to Hart (1979); Angie (1979); The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh (1979); Fix-it City (1978); Taxi (1978); The One Man Jury (1978); Kojak (1975–1978); Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (1977); Fun with Dick and Jane (1977); The Streets of San Francisco (1977); Rhoda (1977); Serpico (1976–1977); Charlie's Angels (1976); M*A*S*H (1976); Starsky and Hutch (1976); Wonderbug (1976); The Krofft Supershow / Wonderbug (1976); Shark Kill (1976); Phyllis (1976); Baretta (1976); The Blue Knight (1975); Harry O (1975); That's My Mama (1975); The Rookies (1975); Police Story (1975); The Bob Newhart Show (1975); The Gambler (1974); Serpico (1973).

Born on this day – Cécile Aubry:


Cécile Aubry

Actress

Writer

Director

August 3, 1928 – July 19, 2010

Born on this day – Elliot Silverstein:


Elliot Silverstein


Director

Writer

Producer

Actor

August 3, 1927 – November 24, 2023

Credits:

50 Years of Action! (1986); A Man Called Horse (1970); Alcoa Theatre (1959–1960); Arrest and Trial (1964); Assignment: Underwater (1960); Belle Sommers (1962); Betrayed by Innocence (1986); Biography (1996–2004); Black Saddle (1960); Breaking Point (1963–1964); Cain's Hundred (1962); Cat Ballou (1965); Channing (1963–1964); Checkmate (1961); Dr. Kildare (1961–1963); E! True Hollywood Story (2000); Fight for Life (1987); Filmmakers vs. Tycoons (2005); Flashfire (1994); Goodyear Theatre (1959); Have Gun - Will Travel (1961); Kraft Suspense Theatre (1963–1964); Kraft Theatre / The United States Steel Hour (1956–1957); L'ouest, le vrai (2019); Naked City (1961–1962); Night of Courage (1987); Nightmare Honeymoon (1974); Omnibus (1955–1956); Picket Fences (1993); Rich Men, Single Women (1990); Route 66 (1960–1961); Suspicion (1958); Tales from the Crypt (1991–1994); Talk to Taka (2000); TCM Remembers 2023 (2023); The Car (1977); The Defenders (1962–1964); The Dick Powell Theatre (1962); The Doctors and the Nurses (1962–1964); The Eleventh Hour (1963); The Firm (1983); The Further Adventures of Ellery Queen (1959); The Happening (1967); The Legend of 'Cat Ballou' (2000); The Twilight Zone (1961–1964); The Westerner (1960).

Born on this day – Jean Hagen:


Jean Hagen


Actress

August 3, 1923 – August 29, 1977

Credits:

A Life of Her Own (1950); Adam's Rib (1949); Alexander: The Other Side of Dawn (1977); Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1957); Ambush (1950); American Masters (2002); Arena (1953); Babylon (2022); Becoming Marilyn (2022); Ben Casey (1962); Carbine Williams (1952); Chris Olsen - The Boy Who Cried (2016); Climax! (1956); Dead Ringer (1963); Dr. Kildare (1963); General Electric Theater (1961); Good Heavens (1976); Half a Hero (1953); Latin Lovers (1953); Night Into Morning (1951); No Questions Asked (1951); Panic in Year Zero! (1962); Shadow in the Sky (1952); Shower of Stars (1954); Side Street (1949); Singin' in the Rain (1952); Spring Reunion (1956); Stagecoach West (1961); Starsky and Hutch (1976); Sunrise at Campobello (1960); Talking Pictures (1988); The 8th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1956); The Andy Griffith Show (1961); The Asphalt Jungle (1950); The Big Knife (1955); The Danny Thomas Show (1953–1956); The Detectives (1959); The DuPont Show with June Allyson (1960); The Ford Television Theatre (1956); The Jim Backus Show (1961); The Jimmy Durante Show (1954); The Law and Mr. Jones (1962); The Magical World of Disney (1978); The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Story (1951); The Shaggy Dog (1959); The Streets of San Francisco (1976); Wagon Train (1960–1963); Welcome to the Basement (2016); Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse (1959); What a Glorious Feeling: The Making of 'Singin' in the Rain' (2002); Zane Grey Theatre (1961).