“The written word on TV”
PRESS RELEASE
Herbie J Pilato writes DASHING new book about Classic TV Male Icons!
DASHING, DARING AND
DEBONAIR:
TV’s Top Male Icons
from the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s
By Herbie J Pilato
Foreword by Adam “Batman”
West
Preface by Joel
Eisenberg (“The Chronicles of Ara”)
(Taylor Trade Publishing/Rowman & Littlefield)
(Taylor Trade Publishing/Rowman & Littlefield)
Be they actors,
comedians, singers, dancers, or talk show hosts and personalities, or
showrunners, everyone from Danny Thomas
and Desi Arnaz to Dick Van Dyke and Robert Conrad to Alan Alda
and Telly Savalas ignited their own
particular brand.
DASHING, DARING AND DEBONAIR: TV’S TOP MALE ICONS FROM THE
‘50s, ‘60s AND ‘70s by Herbie J Pilato profiles them all.
With a foreword by Adam "Batman"
West, this book celebrates the men who
invented television machismo and became stars in the process, including: Ed Asner (“The Mary Tyler Moore Show), Max Baer, Jr. (“The Beverly
Hillbillies”), Tony Dow (“Leave it
to Beaver”), Larry Wilcox (“CHiPs”), Stanley Livingston (“My Three Sons”), Robert Wagner (“It Takes a Thief”) - all
of whom (and more!) granted exclusive interviews for this book.
Just listen to some of the DASHING
praise:
"Well,
here we all are! We got lucky, worked hard and did what we loved,
and in return we found our places in the story – a story that Herbie J Pilato
tells so well." - Richard
Thomas (actor, John-Boy from "The Waltons")
“My friend Herbie J Pilato’s own personal
panache shines like a diamond stick-pin in his new book Dashing, Daring and Debonair - a perfectly fun and extremely
addictive read.” - Cindy
Williams (actress)
"Is there anything Herbie J Pilato doesn't know about
pop culture, most specifically classic television? I love all his books and
he's got the creds to write them because he personally knows many of
these icons and can ferret out all the juicy, little known,
behind-the-scenes anecdotes that make these tomes such gems. Great
reading!" - Kathryn
Leigh Scott (publisher, author, actress; "Dark Shadows")
"No one is more passionate or informed about classic
television than Herbie J Pilato, who is at it again with this truly exhaustive
survey of the most influential male stars and producers over three
decades. With profiles from the sublime
(Rod Serling) to the ridiculous (Red Skelton), and a slew of other icons in
between, Dashing, Daring, and Debonair is comprehensive,
enlightening, and a blast to read."
- David Bushman (Curator of Television, Paley Center for Media)
“Herbie J Pilato gives a true voice to classic television in
the same way historians give voice to classical music, poets, writers,
filmmakers and creators of masterpieces in museums all over the world. Herbie J places television history as
defining America where it needs to be, side by side with the greatest artists
of all time.” - Pierre
Patrick (talent agent, author of “The Doris Day Companion”)
“Herbie J Pilato had me at Dashing, Daring and Debonair…a
delicious, guilty pleasure written by one of today’s brightest chroniclers of
yesterday. Herbie J is a gifted and
talented man, whose love, respect, passion, and vast knowledge of classic TV
shines through on every page of this fun, fabulous can't-put-it-down guide to
TV’s finest male icons. I adore this
book - and I adore Herbie J! Bravo to
both!” -
Caryn Richman (actress, “The
New Gidget”)
“What an informative tribute to the male
icons whose talents helped shape classic television! The gang's all here:
everyone from Desi Arnaz and Rod Serling to James Garner and William Shatner,
from Ricky Nelson and Donny Osmond to Johnny Carson and Andy Griffith - and
literally dozens of others! Herbie J, take a bow!” - Thomas J. Watson (author, producer, TV
historian, former personal assistant to Lucille Ball)
"Herbie J Pilato has given us an encyclopedia of
television’s iconic male stars. What a grand and impressive trip down memory
lane!” -
Gloria Loring
(singer/songwriter, actress, author)
“Herbie J Pilato writes about classic television not only
with a deep knowledge of his subject, but with an equally deep love and
respect. If you know nothing about
television and its greatest stars, read one of Herbie J's books. If you think you know everything about television
and its greatest stars, read one of Herbie J's books. Either way, you will learn something new,
fun, and fascinating. Dashing, Daring,
and Debonair is a brilliant addition to his canon. It belongs in your
collection!” - Melissa
Byers (Digital Content Producer, Television Academy)
“There is no one more knowledgeable or more passionate than
Herbie J Pilato where classic TV is concerned. Dashing, Daring, and Debonair not only demonstrates his vast
expertise in this realm, but also gives the reader a fresh perspective on the
many pop culture icons profiled in this book. Great scholarship married
to great fun!" - Bill
Royce (Emmy Award-winning co-producer of "The Tonight Show with Jay
Leno")
“I've encountered the word 'scholar' more
than once when associated with Mr. Pilato...first in print and recently spoken
in front of me by Kung
Fu's creator Ed Spielman. In this and others writings by
Herbie J, one gets the distinct sense they are not reading an historian’s words
about television, but those by one who deeply cares for and understands the entire
milieu and the real people who inhabit that very special world.” - Radames Pera (actor, director)
“I first went to the section about my Dad,
and loved it. Then I jumped to Gene
Roddenberry because I’m a Trekker – and then on to Christopher Knight and Barry
Williams because we’re friends on Facebook.
After that…I was just plain hooked.
I read it from cover to cover, enjoying every minute of this
enlightening, entertaining, and revealing look at television’s glory days.” - Chris York (son of actor Dick York,
“Bewitched”)
“Herbie J Pilato, Golden Age TV Expert
Extraordinaire, has a new book for us to glom onto. Dashing,
Daring and Debonair…[is] chock full of all that full-bodied,
full-steam-ahead Herbie J flavor.” - Larry Brody, TVWriter.com.
“What
an exciting book! A must-have for any fan of television. Everyone
from the baby boomer generation and all ages will remember these stars.
Now the renowned television historian and author Herbie J Pilato has a present
for us all: this amazing book. From Fonzie to Barbarino to Batman,
Mr. Pilato gives us in-depth glimpses at our favorite male stars of the golden
age of television. Kudos!” - Rick Lertzman, author,
entertainment historian.
About
the Author
In addition to Dashing,
Daring and Debonair, writer/producer Herbie J
Pilato’s critically-acclaimed books include: Glamour Gidgets and the Girl Next Door, Twitch Upon A Star, The Bionic
Book, among others. In 2010,
Pilato founded the nonprofit Classic TV Preservation Society (which helps to
close the gap between pop-culture and education), presides over Television,
Ink. (a family-oriented TV, film, and literary production company), serves as
contributing editor to Larry Brody’s heralded www.TVWriter.net, writes frequently about classic television for www.emmys.org, and has worked on several classic TV broadcast and DVD
documentaries for Bravo, E!, A&E, TLC, Warner Bros., Sony, and NBCUniversal.
He lives in Los Angeles.
To schedule an author interview or receive a
review copy of Dashing, Daring and
Debonair, please CONTACT:
Herbie J Pilato
Television, Ink.
(310) 480-0067
