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It was just part of my day.
Id come home from school, and I had a very busy schedule of TV shows to watch.
Several surprise cameos are also promised.
Instead, he was head of the independent studios behind them.
(For the TV nerds keeping track at home, those would be Tandem Productions forStrokesand T.A.T.
Communications/Embassy forFacts,both of which were ultimately absorbed into Sony Pictures Television.)
and enduring for decades in reruns.
It wasnt like I looked at a lot of television.
I was working all the time, so I wasnt seeing a lot of the other shows.
We didnt have in mind how a career would look or what the history books would show.
But I fell in love with one of the kids on it and learned his name was Gary Coleman.
I said, Get that kid back here.
Theres magic about him.
And Bernie Kukoff and Jeff Harris created a show around him.
I cant believe hes not with us now.
But I adored him.
By 1978, when Tandem launchedStrokes, you were at a very different place in your career.
We were building a company.
Other brilliant talents were involved in making those shows.
I was probably at every taping and enjoying it, pretty much like a studio head.
The last two editions worked because they were tributes.
But after seeing the two table reads and a run-through, Im no longer worried.
NL:Were in the hands of Jimmy Burrows, who spent a career getting ready for this.
I think everybody will be pleasantly surprised.
Youve struck up quite a professional relationship and a real friendship with Jimmy.
It was his idea, and hes a gift.
Hes got a kind of creative enthusiasm, or enthusiastic creativity, that is all but hypnotic.
BM:And it should be known that hes not just a celebrity attaching his name.
Hes been very much involved throughout the whole process as weve been developing these specials.
He takes it seriously.
We shouldnt leave out Kerry Washington as well.
And she too is not just throwing her name in for a credit.
NL:Theyre hands-on.
Im also curious how you work with Brent when it comes to running your company, Act III.
You have the busiest development slate of anyone in their 90s.NL:I wait for Brent to call.
He carries the load.
Thats the fact of it at this time.
How did the two of you get together?BM:It started almost 16 years ago.
Weve been together ever since.
It was more on a social level and then it transitioned to coming into his world.
At that time, we were still touring the Declaration of Independence that he owned.
Any update on it?BM:We have almost ten scripts under our belt.
Were very excited about it.
Animation takes much longer than live action.
But were definitely in the thick of it.
It was actually Steph Currys company who came to us.
And of course, after Norm and I talked about it, we thought it was a great idea.
Im thinking ofHot l Baltimore;All That Glitters;a.k.a.
Pablo;andHello, Larry.
I had nothing but pleasant memories around all those shows, and theyre all worth being seen again.
Does that includeHot l Baltimore?
Maybe you were joking?NL:I adored that show.
Im not sure we got it as good as it deserved.
I loved the show and all the characters in it.
That was Charlotte Raes introduction to television, and I loved the play it came from.
It was a Broadway play before we optioned it for television.
It was before its time.
It had women in charge, and the guys were at home taking care of the kids.
Barbara Baxley was dynamite in that show.
And Linda Gray I loved her.
You didnt do a lot of directing in your career, but you did some early on.
I remember that show exceedingly well.
Oh my God, [Singing to the tune of theAll in the Familytheme] Those were the days!
She was a trailblazer and doesnt get talked about much anymore.
And there was a lot of drama in her life too.NL:I agree with you totally.
How would you cast it?
You have anybody in mind?
She was so larger than life.NL:Maybe Ann Dowd?
Not a look-alike at all but funny in the same way.
Theres nothing more important than helping the American people understand how important their vote is.
The country needs a lot of help.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
