Skip to content
Celebrity Interviews with Joey Mitchell artwork

Celebrity Interviews with Joey Mitchell

Joey Mitchell·63 episodes

TvFilmArchival interviewsShort episodesOld-school radioCelebrity storiesStandalone episodesEntertainment history

With over 51 years as a radio broadcaster, Joey has accumulated an incredible amount of on-air interviews over his career with various celebrities and notable figures. Each week Joey will be adding a podcast with celebrity interviews like Oprah Winfrey, Astronaut Charlie Duke, ABC'sPeter Jennings, Titanic's Robert Ballard, Johnny Cash and many more. Joey will take you behind the scenes with behind the scenes stories from both before and after each interview.. For our Patreon.com supporters, we will be creating additional content and releasing episodes early as a thank you.

Why listen

Celebrity Interviews with Joey Mitchell opens up Joey Mitchell's radio archive, turning decades of celebrity encounters into short, easygoing podcast episodes. You hear classic broadcast interviews with actors, musicians, comedians, athletes, astronauts, authors, and TV personalities, usually with Joey adding personal setup and behind-the-scenes context. It is a good fit for listeners who like old-school radio, entertainment history, and quick celebrity stories without a long talk-show commitment.

Series(1)

Episodes

8 min
Jun 6, 2022
Cybill Shepherd

From nationally known Teen Model, while still in high school, to major motion picture star and then co-starring in one of TV's most talked about series with Bruce Willis, Cybill Shepherd was destined for superstardom, and she didn't disappoint. When we caught up to her on my show, she had just published her autobiography, "Cybill Disobedience" which was a tell all book filled with juicy gossip about everyone who was anyone that she got to meet in her amazing career. In spite of h...

8 min
May 30, 2022
Linda Evans

Evans' first guest-starring role was on a 1960 episode of Bachelor Father. The series starred John Forsythe, with whom she would costar 20 years later on Dynasty.[5] After several guest roles in The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet between 1960 and 1962, and guest appearances on television series such as The Lieutenant and Wagon Train, Evans gained her first regular role in 1965 in The Big Valley. Playing Audra Barkley, daughter of Victoria Barkley (played by Barbara Stanwyck.On December 31, 1...

24 min
May 23, 2022
Joe Stampley - The Original "Lucious Lucy" straight man

Back in the day while I was doing mornings at KRAK in Sacramento in 1978, I spoofed a song that Joe Stampley recorded entitled "If You've Got 10 Minutes, Let's Fall in Love". In the song, Joe asked many opened ended questions which I decided to fill on air with stupid responses from my alter ego - Luscious Lucy. Well my dumb version was an instant hit locally with our listeners (you have to understand that they felt sorry for me) and I asked Joe's management if I could record my ...

7 min
May 16, 2022
Richard Lustig - 7 time Lottery Winner

Have you ever won the lottery? I have...five bucks here, 3 bucks there. However, the big prize - never. Most of us haven't. That's why Richard Lustig's claim to winning seven state lotteries is unbelievable...but true. In fact, Richard's book - "Learn How to Increase Your Chances of Winning the Lottery" was ranked #3 on Amazon's self-help book list in 2013. Richards sytem includes reinvesting all your previous winnings into buying more tickets and playing c...

6 min
May 9, 2022
Johnny Rivers - Singer, Songwriter and Producer

Rivers was born as John Henry Ramistella in New York City, of Italian ancestry. His family moved from New York to Baton Rouge Louisiana. Influenced by the distinctive Louisiana musical styler, Rivers began playing guitar at age eight, taught by his father and uncle. While still in junior high school, he started sitting in with a band called the Rockers,. Johnny formed his own band, the Spades, and made his first record at 14, while he was a student in High School. Some...

15 min
May 2, 2022
Gary Gerould - Voice of the NBA's Sacramento Kings

Gary Gerould, nicknamed “The G-Man”, is an American sportscaster, best known as the radio voice of the NBA's Sacramento Kings since 1985. The Kings renewed his radio broadcaster contract for 4 years on September 15, 2017.He is also a motorsports reporter for ABC and ESPN and served as a pit lane reporter for the 1981 and 1982 Caesars Palace Grand Prix for NBC.Gerould was born in Midland Michigan and got his start in broadcasting at the age of 15 on a local telegraph station. He later at...

6 min
Apr 25, 2022
Trisha Yearwood - Country Music Artist

From her childhood growing up in Monticello, Georgia, Trisha was passionate about music and participated in various music events held by her school and her community. Everything from talent shows, church events, and musicals. After high school, Trisha received her Associate Degree in Business from Young Harris College and in 1985 after moving to Nashville, she enrolled in Belmont College and pursued a music business degree. Her education would prove invaluable in both her bu...

8 min
Apr 18, 2022
Monkees - Mickey Dolenz

From child star to teen music sensation - Mickey Dolenz has almost always been meant to be in the spotlight. At the age of ten in 1956 he starred in a children's TV show called Circus Boy under the name Mickey Braddock. He played Corky, an orphaned water boy for the elephants in a one-ring circus at the start of the 20th century. The program ran for two seasons, after which Dolenz made sporadic appearances on network television shows and pursued his education. In 1964,...

15 min
Apr 11, 2022
Vic Dibetteto - Stand Up Comic and You Tube Sensation

Frankly, I had never heard of Vic Dibetteto until my K-Hits program director, Rico Garcia had me watch several of Vic's hilarious You Tube videos. After just seeing a couple, I was a big fan and had to book Vic for my show. Born and raised in NYC, he had become an internet sensation thanks to his videos and was featured on shows like "The View", "CNN" , "The Today Show" and more. With over 17 million views of just one of his videos, actor Kevin James was so impre...

8 min
Apr 4, 2022
Olivia Newton John

This interview is a perfect example of why I loved my job on the radio. Talking to celebrities on the show was always one of my favorite things, but when I actually got to meet and visit with a star whom I truly admired and was a fan of, well that was just icing on the cake. That was the case when I got to talk to Olivia Newton John. Of course, there's always the fear that the star won't live up to our expectations. We've got our favorites on a pedestal and there's alw...

10 min
Mar 30, 2022
Slim Pickens - Western movie actor and rodeo performer

Anyone old enough to remember Stanley Kubrick's movie "Dr. Strangelove" can picture the scene when Slim Pickens straddles the H-Bomb that's about to drop on an unsuspecting city, like a wild bronc and rides it on down to nuclear oblivion. That was my friend Slim Pickens, actor and rodeo star who appeared in so many movie and TV westerns he lost count. Slim and I met at a radio remote, and against all odds (me a city boy from NYC and he a western cowboy) would become real life grea...

13 min
Mar 21, 2022
Comedian Paul Mecurio

So how does a guy from Providence Rhode Island that studied Law and graduated in 89 from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington D.C. end up doing comedy??? Well, during his third year working at a mergers and acquisitons lawyer and later as an investment banker, he gets invited to a private party being thrown by Jay Leno to celebrate the comedian's taking over the Tonight Show from Johnny Carson. Mecurio, a comedy fan who had written some jokes for himse...

7 min
Mar 14, 2022
Comedian Pablo Francisco - "The Movie Voice-Over Guy"

In the 1990s, he appeared on MADtv as a featured player. His stand-up act was introduced to America at large when he landed his own half-hour comedy special on Comedy Central Presents in 2000. In 2001 and 2002, Francisco toured as part of "The Three Amigos" with Carlos Mencia and Freddy Soto. Since then, he has performed on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,VH1's ILL-ustrated, Mind of Mencia as "The Voiceover Dude" (same as "Movie Voiceover Guy"), and Frank TV.Francisco is recognized for vocal i...

13 min
Mar 7, 2022
Kim Fisher - Discovered the Spanish Galleon Atocha with his father Mel Fisher

Kim Fisher's dad, Mel Fisher who discovered one of the richest treasure troves ever found was an Indiana-born former chicken farmer who eventually moved to California. He opened the first diving shop in the state, it was called "See Da Sea". In 1953, he married Dolores (Deo) Horton who became his business partner. She was one of the first women to learn how to dive and set a women's record by staying underwater for 50 hours. Mel and Deo had five children: sons Terry, Dirk, Kim and...

14 min
Feb 28, 2022
Richard Simmons

From his excercise studio in Beverly Hills - Slimmons, managed to make himself the weight loss guru of America. His Sweatin' to the Oldies" sold millions of copies and made him a media celebrity along with the fact that his flamboyant and outrageous style was often paradied and got him invited on all kinds of TV and radio talk shows, mine included. This particular interview really stressed my producer and myself. We had promoted his appearance since the day befor...

8 min
Feb 21, 2022
Matthew Nelson - of The Nelsons

When it comes to an entertainer with star power in their DNA - Matthew and his brother Gunner Nelson are the ones that come to mind. They're the sons of actor and singer Ricky Nelson and his wife, actress Kristin Harmon. who just happens to be the sister of TV superstar, Mark Harmon. Did I mention they are also the grandsons of TV's Ozzie and Harriet? Wow...that's alot to live up to, and yet Matthew and Gunner manage to do that very well with their Platinum sel...

13 min
Feb 14, 2022
Richard Lewis - Curb Your Enthusiasm

There are certain people who are so naturally funny given any situation, that they make me laugh from the moment they show up. Comedian Richard Lewis, best known for his Emmy nominated role on Curb Your Enthusiasm is certainly one of them. When he appeard on my show on 92.1 KHITS, we were not only rolling audio from the moment he walked in, but we were shooting video too, for our website. From the moment he walked through the studio door, and saw the camera and m...

7 min
Feb 9, 2022
Tony "The Tiger" Lopez - IBF Super Featherweight Champion in 1988

I had the pleasure of speaking with Tony "The Tiger" Lopez , the IBF Super Featherweight Champion on my morning show on COOL 101.1 when I was surprised by one of the characters on my show "The Dogman" who set the interview up to surprise me. At the time, we were very involved supporting the troops in the gulf war after 911. We had created BAT Ribbons - "Bring Americans Together" in an interview to show their support. We create a red, white and blue ribbon folded like the pre...

6 min
Feb 7, 2022
Howie Mandel - Comedian, Actor, TV Host and AGT Judge

From stand-up comedy in his native Canada, to standing out on America's Comedy circuit, Howie Mandel made a name for himself in showbusiness faster than anyone imagined. Cast as a doctor in TV's St. Elsewhere, Howie never looked back. From there, scores of movie appearances, a voice over job as a Gremlin and then the host of TV's amazingly successful "Deal or No Deal". However, his current 11 year reign as a judge on TV's America's Got Talent has put him in TV's rare super...

8 min
Jan 31, 2022
Howard Bellamy - The Bellamy Brothers

The Bellamy Brothers are an American pop and country music duo consisting of brothers David Milton Bellamy (born September 16, 1950) and Homer Howard Bellamy (born February 2, 1946), from Darby, Florida. The duo had considerable musical success in the 1970s and 1980s, starting with the release of their crossover hit "Let Your Love Flow" in 1976, a number one single on the Billobard Hot 100. I had the priveledge of MC'ing several of the Bellamy Brothers concerts here in Northern Califor...

8 min
Jan 25, 2022
Toby Keith - Country Singer, Actor and record producer

Toby Keith has one of those amazing voices that sounds great even when he's just speaking, not singing. We used to say, we could listen to him just read the phone book out loud. Well, there's basically no use for phone books anymore, so thank goodness Toby's become a superstar country singer, actor and record producer. We talked to him via phone while he was traveling in his amazing tour bus on the way to a gig. Here's the former oil rig...

13 min
Jan 17, 2022
Jimmy J.J. Walker - "Dy-No-Mite" from TV's Good Times

Visiting our studio to promote his upcoming stand up comedy show at Laughs Unlimted, Jimmy J.J. Walker made famous on the TV comedy - "Good Times" amazed us with his intellect and insights about comedy today and show biz as a whole. He raves about the clean act and genius of one of his favorite comdeians who at the time we spoke was America's favorite, but now as you listen to Jimmy mention him, 'cause Bill Cosby's name now paints a completely different emotion in our minds.

17 min
Jan 10, 2022
Rudy Gatlin of Country music's Gatlin Brothers

In sacramento to promote the new Gatlin Brothers Music Gity Grille in the downtown area, Rudy was able to spend almost a half hour with us in person in our studio at KRAK 1140 AM. Since we were still playing Country Gold, and all the legendary artists, Rudy was thrilled to visit a station that featured he and his brothers songs. Mike Remy, my newsman was a big Gatlin Brothers fan and shared in the interview with Rudy. We talked about the industry changing focus with many stations...

9 min
Jan 3, 2022
Tom Arnold

For such a successful performer with so many skeletons in his closet, you would think Tom Arnold would be very selective about what he wants to talk about with a DJ on the radio, but that's the farthest thing from the truth. As a writer, actor and comedian who's appeared in countless TV and movies including 1994's "True Lies" with Arnold Swartzenegger, and most currently as a running character in Sons of Anarchy, Tom hides nothing and openly jokes about what most of us would cringe to m...

7 min
Dec 27, 2021
Michael Martin Murphy

He was coming to perform in Nevada City for an annual Christmas program that made him available for my show and I was more than delighted. It was American singer-songwriter Michael Martin Murphy who recorded great hit singles like "Wildfire", "Carolina in the Pines" "What's Forever For" "A Long LIne of Love" and so many others. But it's Michaels love for the old west that truly sets him apart from other country artists. Just ask him to remember the history of our cou...

8 min
Dec 20, 2021
Kenny Loggins - "Foot Loose"

Who can forget the fun dance movie starring Kevin Bacon - called "Foot Loose". It was made in 1984 and the title song written and produced for it by Kenny Loggins is still being performed by the singer/songwriter to this day. In 2016, I got to talk to Kenny while I was doing mornings on K-Hits radio in Sacramento. Kenny had just had his children's book - called amazingly enough - "Foot Loose" published and he wanted folks to know about it. In this episode, we visit wit...

28 min
Dec 13, 2021
Charlie Duke - Apollo 16 Moon Walker Astronaut

Here's an episode that validates why I love interviewing celebrities so much on the radio. Where else would I get the opportunity and honor of talking to a real life American hero. Only 12 humans through the history of mankind, have actually walked on the moon. Only 12!!, and I got to talk to one of them. Apollo 16's Charlie Duke. It was the next to last lunar mission in 1972, and I'm sure you've seen pictures of Charlie riding along the lunar surface on the ama...

8 min
Dec 6, 2021
Rudy Ruettiger - He inspired the movie "Rudy"

If you saw the movie "Rudy" than you know all about our guest "Rudy Ruettiger" who did what some feel was the impossible. Standing only 5'6" and weighing a mere 165 lbs. Rudy talked himself onto the Notre Dame football team. Although he was placed on the scout team, a squad that helps the varsity team practice for games, Rudy was never meant to actual play in a Notre Dame football game. However on Nov. 8, 1975, on the last game of Rudy's senior season, with only one play l...

6 min
Nov 29, 2021
Space Shuttle Endeavor's fly over Sacramento - with Nasa's Michael Curie

Space shuttle Endeavour ended its flight career Sept. 21 as it toured California on the back of NASA's modified 747 carrier aircraft, landing at Los Angeles International Airport after its final ferry flight into history.The four-hour, 34-minute flight began at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base Friday morning, and over the ensuing hours the piggyback pair made low-level flybys over scores of California cities and landmarks, many of which had direct ties to NASA's ...

10 min
Nov 19, 2021
Randy Travis

It was a delight to have country singer Randy Travis visit with us in studio at KRAK AM/FM while he was still healthy and a vibrant star in the country music industry. He was with his then wife/manager who was recovering from a broken leg and resting in our lounge while we visited with Randy. Later, he would suffer a terrible stroke that would incapacitate him for years and rob him of his singing voice. However, in this interview, Randy as you'll hear, was sitting on top o...

15 min
Nov 15, 2021
Bill Wadham - Animotion

As half of the lead singers of the group Animotion, Bill Wadham shares his wonderful story of success from writing songs to teaming up with his singing partner Astrid Plane for great songs like "Obsession", "Let Him Go", "I Engineer" , and "Room to Move:"A genuine guy with a humble attitude, Bill shares a story about meeting a fan who thought Bill must be a millionaire since he's got a hit record and is on TV.....it was far from the truth. Share his bumpy ride to the top and how it all ...

9 min
Nov 8, 2021
Felix Cavaliere - The Rascals

He's in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and yet he is one of the nicest artists I've ever had the privilege of interviewing on my show. Felix was creating bands as a teen and by 1965 struck gold when he put together his magical group - The Rascals. Singing lead on hits like "Good Lovin', Groovin, A Girl Like You, A Beautiful Morning and People Got To Be Free, it's easy to understand his amazing success.Coming to town for a show, I got to share some time with Felix on my show...

6 min
Nov 1, 2021
Cesar Milan - The Dog Whisperer

You've probably seen him countless times on TV sharing his almost mystical connection with every type of dog imaginable. From unruly biters, to those scared and timid animals hiding under the bed. His understanding of how to correct their behaviour truly makes him one of a kind in translating a dogs thought process into one we humans can understand and relate to.In this interview, you'' learn about a huge secret Cesar had and a celebrity who helped him overcome it and because who ...

11 min
Oct 25, 2021
Ken Burns - Award winning documentarian

Ken Burns widely known documentary series include The CIvil War, Baseball, The National Parks, The Roosevelts, Country Music and more including the purpose of this particular interview to promote his program - The War. Nominated for two Academy Awards, one for The Brooklyn Bridge and the other for The Statue of Liberty, it's easy to understand why audiences and critics alike love his style of story telling using static photographs that his cameras pan and zoom in on with su...

12 min
Oct 18, 2021
Annabella Lwin - Lead singer for Bow Wow Wow

Like Gary Busey, Annabella Lwin says what's on her mind and has no problem correcting what she perceives as a slight during an interview. The Burmese singer was discovered at the age of about 13 singing in a dry cleaner and eventually became the lead singer for Bow Wow Wow. By 14, the band was using nude pictures of her on their album covers much to the disdain of her mother and Scotland Yard. Later, the band would fire her without any notice and she'd learn about it read...

8 min
Oct 11, 2021
Gary Busey - Movie and TV star

Of all the celebrities I've interviewed on the radio over the past 51 years, I must admit that Gary Busey was the strangest. I had been warned that he was unpredictable, and could be argumentative and brash. Even so, he still surprised me with his outbursts about facts that I had wrong, the Catholic Church and lots of other surprises. His segment was so startling at times, that before we aired the interview, we prepared a promo that aired teasing the fact t...

15 min
Oct 4, 2021
Fran Drescher - The "Nanny"

Fran Drescher is an American actress, comedian, writer and activist who is best known for her role as Fran Fine in the TV hit Sitcom - The Nanny (1993-1999).From countless movie roles, Fran even found time to debut on Broadway in Cinderella as stepmother Madame. A uterine cancer survivor, she[s an outspoken healthcare advocate and LBGT rights activist. I found her to be a wonderful, friendly and gracious guest who I was delighted to share some time with on my show.

9 min
Sep 27, 2021
Dr. Robert Ballard - who discovered the RMS Titanic wreckage

In the early morning hours of September 1, 1985, Dr. Robert Ballard and his team on board the Woods Hole ship R/V Knorr, made maritime history with their discovery of the long lost wreckage of the RMS Titanic. The find stunned the world and made Dr. Ballard a household name over night. On my show to promote his then new CD Rom program "Titanic: Challenge of Discovery", Dr. Ballard graciously recalls those amazing first moments when he and his team realized what they had found and ...

10 min
Sep 20, 2021
Don Larsen - Only man to pitch a perfect game in a world series

On October 8, 1956, baseball history was made and the record still stands - the only perfect game pitched in a world series and the amazing feat was accomplished by my guest - Yankees pitcher Don Larson. Some might argue that the record was broken by Phillies pitcher Roy Hallady when he threw a no hitter against the Reds on October 6, 2010, but that was game one of the National League Division Series...a playoff game, not a world series game. Don was in town to promote his ...

23 min
Sep 13, 2021
Loretta Lynn

We had the pleasure of having Country Music Superstar Loretta Lynn visit us in studio one morning to promote her latest album and her autobiographical movie - "Coal Miner's Daughter". I think you'll be as impressed with her geniune kindness and honesty as we were.She even took time to talk to listeners who were beside themselves to be able to chat with the music legend.

8 min
Sep 6, 2021
Don King - Fight Promoter

World famous fight promoter Don King called me for an interview to promote a big heavyweight championship bout designed to unify the WBA, WBC and IBF titles into one championship between Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis. Like most of Kings promotions, this one ended in a huge controversy. Listen to the very upbeat and well spoken fight promoter who's been sued by most of his fighters from Mike Tyson to Lennox Lewis. With all that said....he's really hard to d...

7 min
Aug 30, 2021
Dorothy Hamil - Champion Ice Skater

Ice skating since whe was 8 years old, Dorothy Hamil won her first national success in 1969 taking the novice ladies title at the U.S. Championships at age 12. By 1976, at the Winter Olympics, she came in second in the figures and then won the short and long programs taking gold home for the United States. She is the last single skater to win the Olympics without a triple jump. How? By creating a new skating move - a camel spin that turns into a sit spin which became k...

11 min
Aug 23, 2021
Clive Cussler - World famed author

He started writing books in 1965, because his wife got a job working nights at their local police department. After feeding the kids and putting them to bed, Clive was bored and wanted something to do. That simple desire turned him into one of the most successful and prolific fiction writers in the world. I have tons of his books and haven't even scratched the surface of all the ones that he has written. Add to that his underwater research company, NUMA, that has discovered ...

12 min
Aug 16, 2021
Danny Bonaduce

As a child he starred as Danny Partridge on the TV show The Partridge Family. By his own admission, Danny's from such a dysfuntional family that his co-star Shirley Jones allowed him to stay at her home in order to avoid his difficult home life at the hands of his abusive father. Later in life, Danny became a black belt in Karate and found himself in trouble with the law. We talk about it all on this interview where he is accompanied by his then girlfriend and no...

13 min
Aug 9, 2021
Cyndi Lauper

She's so real, that when you interview her, you have to keep reminding yourself that she's a superstar. Maybe it's because we're both from New York, but I felt so comfortable talking with Cyndi and asking her anything. I just knew she'd give me a truthful answer without giving it much thought. We cover everything from her beginnings to even her venture into world wrestling. Sit back relax and get set to smile with our visit with the legendary Cyndi Lauper.

9 min
Aug 2, 2021
Adrian Cronauer - The real "Good Morning Vietnam" DJ.

Back in 1965, Adrian Cronauer volunteered for a transfer to Vietnam because he wanted to travel!! As a member of Armed Forces Radio in Saigon, Cronauer was assigned to the morning show entitled "Dawn Buster" because it started at 6am. He coined the phrase "Goooooood Morning Vietnam" to start every show and became a legend. His story reached Robin Williams who thought it would make a great feature film starring him. In my interview, you'll hear from Adrian,...

8 min
Jul 26, 2021
Brian Dunkleman - He quit American Idol as co-host in the first season!

Can you imagine being selected to co-host one of America's most successful TV shows along with Ryan Seacrest and resigning after the first year? That's exactly what Brian Dunkleman did and obviously I had a ton of questions for him beginning with WHY?He's become a stand up comic and is pretty funny. Check him out with this latest edition of Celebrity Interviews with Joey Mitchell

12 min
Jul 19, 2021
Bill Melody of The Rightous Brothers

They met as kids and yet Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield would go on to become superstars in the world of music with songs like "You've Lost That Loving Feeling" Unchained Melody" and so many more. Then tragedy struck and suddenly Bobby was gone. Bill relives that night with me and the loneliness that followed. You'll hear how after so many friends and fans suggested Bill find another singing partner to revive the Righteous Brothers...he finally did. His ho...

16 min
Jul 12, 2021
Carlos Mencia

Born in Honduras, one of eighteen kids, Carlos had to really speak out to make himself known, and that he did. His political, racial, comedy stems from his Latino upbringing and childhood spent in East L.A. Unfortunately for Carlos, Comedian, actor and Podcaster Joe Rogen called Mencia out with accusations of plagerism against the comic that resulted in Carlos seeking mental health help. At the time of this interview, I had no idea of the pending charges of plagerism and therefore...

18 min
Jul 5, 2021
Teen Idol - Fabian

He's the teen idol star of the fifties and sixties that never wanted a show business career, much less a teen idol singer but that's what happened to him anyway. While sitting on his house steps as a 14 year old kid watching an ambulance take his father to the hospital after a heart attack, Fabian is approached by a record producer looking for a kid with great looks to make into the next star from Philly like Frankie Avalon, Bobby Rydell and others. Fabian is shocked and annoyed w...