Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff were two middle-aged, foreign, struggling actors who became huge stars thanks to Dracula and Frankenstein, the first two of a trend of monster movie hits released by Universal Studios during the 1930s. This season, we’ll discuss their parallel but very different lives and careers. Today, we’ll start by exploring where each man c ... Show More
Oct 2017
116: Bela and the Vampires (Bela & Boris Part 2)
With Dracula (1931), Bela Lugosi instantly became the first horror star of sound cinema. It’s not easy being a trailblazer, and Bela would have difficulty capitalizing on his newfound stardom. In this episode we’ll discuss how Dracula made him, and trapped him, and trace the subs ... Show More
1h 2m
Oct 2017
117: Boris and the Monsters (Bela & Boris Part 3)
After twenty years as a journeyman actor/laborer, Boris Karloff became an instant superstar as the Monster in Frankenstein (1931). Today we’ll explore how Karloff, unlike Lugosi, managed to maintain a steady stardom throughout the decades, returning to the monster that made him w ... Show More
54m 55s
Nov 2017
118: Bela vs. Boris (Bela & Boris Part 4)
Lugosi and Karloff, the two stars made by Universal’s monster movies, made eight films together. Today we’ll dive deep into some of these movies (including The Black Cat, The Raven, Son of Frankenstein and Val Lewton’s The Body Snatcher), and continue to explore how even when the ... Show More
54m 37s
Aug 2018
Episode 167: Riverdon't
In this episode Ru and Michelle discuss losing friends on the journey, riding the train, lessons from motown stars, the pressures facing children of famous folk, Whitney Houston, and Walton Goggins.This episode is sponsored by Squarespace, Greats, and Warby Parker.
1h 10m
Jul 2019
Summer of ‘69: Judy Garland, Death of a Starlet
This episode is brought to you by The Dark Side Of, a Parcast Original. For more episodes like this one, subscribe to The Dark Side Of on Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
In 1939, 16-year-old Judy Garland began filming the Wizard of Oz. While the film would become a b ... Show More
47m 30s
Sep 2022
Barbie Block and Sally Stiner Meet World
<p>Barbie Block and Sally Stiner were the storied casting directors for Boy Meets World and now they’re revealing how the Matthews family, and so many more of their classic TV shows, came together! </p> <p>They’ll talk auditions, missed opportunities and even their side of the in ... Show More
1h 10m
Dec 2023
The Story of Elvis Presley's Christmas Recordings By a Man Who Was There
On this episode of Our American Stories, Greg McDonald got his start in show business as a teenager after meeting Elvis Presley and his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, shortly after Parker began managing Elvis in the ‘50s. Here’s Greg with a Colonel and Elvis Christmas story. Suppor ... Show More
7m 59s