Herbie J Pilato is a writer, producer, actor, songwriter, and entertainment executive. The author of several media tie-in books (including NBC & Me, The Bionic Book, Twitch Upon a Star: The Bewitched Life and Career of Elizabeth Montgomery, and many more), Pilato has also produced for the A&E, Bravo, TLC, Syfy, and TV Guide channels, as well as Sony, Warner Bros., NBC Universal, and other television networks and film studios. He now has several TV shows, books, and films in development, and resides in Burbank, California, where he established Television, Ink. (a production company geared toward family entertainment) and The Classic TV Preservation Society (a nonprofit organization that seeks to close the gap between popular culture and education).
Pilato pays tribute to the women who lit up the small screen in
such now-classic shows as I Dream of Jeannie, Charlie’s Angels, and
The Mary Tyler Moore Show. He devotes 5 to 10 pages to each
actress, recounting her rise to fame, her experience on the show
(or shows) she starred in, and some basic facts about her life.
Among the profiled are Sally Field, who rose to fame in two very
disparate roles in Gidget and The Flying Nun before going on to
movie stardom; Cher, whose variety show launched her singing
career; Patty Duke, who charmed viewers as Patty and her look-alike
cousin Cathy on The Patty Duke Show but was forbidden to watch the
show by her tyrannical managers; and Nichelle Nichols, who made
history on the bridge of the Enterprise in Star Trek. With
photographs of the leading ladies and plenty of quotes culled from
magazines and interviews, Pilato’s guide will be a welcome trip
down memory lane for many readers and a terrific resource for all
film and television buffs.
*Booklist*
Here are the women that we Baby Boomers wanted to be, date, or go
shoe shopping with in mid-century America. What a fabulous shindig
Herbie J Pilato has thrown to celebrate these luscious legends!
Glamour, Gidgets, and the Girl Next Door is a joy for any TV fan
who was there when these classic shows were new, and a must-read
for anyone who wasn’t.
*Frank DeCaro, Sirius XM radio host and author of The Dead
Celebrity Cookbook*
This book is a marvelous feast of observations that celebrate the
glorious days of Hollywood’s Gidgets and glamorous women that we
should never forget. Herbie J Pilato is a brilliant author who
preserves Hollywood history in a way that no other author has
succeeded in doing.
*Margaret Wendt, award-winning executive producer, director, and
journalist*
From Loni Anderson to the Lennon Sisters, Herbie J Pilato’s
collection of small screen legends reminds us that America’s
pop-culture icons have never fit neatly into one simple mold.
Americans have always been drawn to beauty and glamour, but there
is more to the timeless subjects of Glamour, Gidgets, and the Girl
Next Door, and it is revealed more clearly with each turn of a
page.
*Terry Marks, president and CEO, Hooters of America*
Fans of classic TV will surely treasure Herbie J Pilato’s
insightful new collation of our favorite ‘girls’ from yesteryear.
Herbie’s reflections and his collection of rarely seen photos will
transport you back to simpler times and wonderful memories of these
glamorous ladies.
*David Van Deusen, publisher of The Walnut Times, the Dick Van Dyke
Show newsletter*
Why is it that so many books written about the entertainment
industry aren’t entertaining? Not so with Herbie J Pilato’s
Glamour, Gidgets, and the Girl Next Door. He’s clearly enamored
with the business and the actresses, and it’s a fun read. This
isn’t one of those tell-all books, revealing private secrets that
should’ve stayed untold—it’s a positive, fact-filled celebration of
these women.
*Treva Silverman, Emmy Award–winning story editor of The Mary Tyler
Moore Show and That Girl*
As soon as I began to read Herbie J Pilato’s Glamour, Gidgets and
the Girl Next Door, a wide grin appeared on my face. It never
disappeared. This book is a joyous account of the wonderful women
from yesteryear’s television. I’m happy to say that I knew and
worked with many of them. Anybody who watched their delightful
shows appreciated their talent and beauty.
*William Wellman, Jr., actor, author, and son of famed director
William Wellman*
Pilato (The Essential Elizabeth Montgomery) highlights 45 female
television stars from the 1950s through the 1970s, focusing on the
archetypal and nubile characters they portrayed. Dividing the
actresses into six sections—from Gilligan's Island, Tina Louise
(Ginger) is a 'Liberated Soul' while Dawn Wells (Mary Ann) is a
'Country Girl'—Pilato provides a three- to five-page overview of
each actress's life, characters, and TV productions, and closes
with a summary of iconic facts. It's impossible to argue with
Pilato's picks, and his breadth of knowledge allows him to
spotlight lesser-known roles such as Anne Francis's single season
as detective Honey West alongside more recognizable
'Supersleuths'—Diana Rigg's Mrs. Peel or Barbara Feldon's Agent 99,
for example. . . . Pilato offers a breezy, fun retrospective for
nostalgia buffs.
*Library Journal*
This is a great read for anyone who is nostalgic for the simple
times of classic television sitcoms or who want to know about the
women who led the way for the pioneers of the 21st century.
*Kelly Townsend, Tribute.ca*
Back in the ʼ60s and ʼ70s, women on TV really knew how to work
their magic on viewers, especially those playing witches or genies.
Now, television historian Herbie J. Pilato celebrates those
small-screen sorceresses, as well as the surfer girls, sweethearts,
and superwomen that were the stuff of male baby boomers' fantasies,
in the new book Glamour, Gidgets and the Girl Next Door. . . .
Pilato has penned breezy profiles of 45 ‘iconic’ actresses, from
Gale Storm (My Little Margie) to Mary Tyler Moore, who personified
boomer TV in chapters with titles like ‘Teen Angels,’ ‘Country
Girls,’ ‘Wonder Women,’ and ‘Liberated Souls.’ Peppered throughout
are interviews from many of the women, including Elinor Donahue
(Father Knows Best), Adrienne Barbeau (Maude), Diahann Carroll
(Julia), and Lindsay Wagner (The Bionic Woman). There's also plenty
of trivia. Dawn Wells, for example, played Mrs. Howell in a stage
musical of Gilligan's Island. And while it's clear the women
enjoyed the spotlight, they also seem humble. ‘It's flattering that
anyone would consider me an icon,’ Donahue says in the book, ‘but I
don't.’
*Newsday*
Had a crush on a TV star from the 50’s, 60’s or 70’s? This is a new
guide to the lovely ladies who headlined television shows of the
era. Whether it was Diana Rigg in the Avengers, Goldie Hawn in
Laugh-In, or Suzanne Pleshette in The Bob Newhart Show, this is
your compendium of lovelies from the past.
*Cinema Books*
Pilato has authored another book that TV buffs shouldn’t live
without - this one a fun look at the women who lit up our screens
in the 50s through the 70s. Boys had crushes on them, girls wanted
to be like them. Now we can all enjoy this collection of breezy,
affectionate profiles. . . .The book is warm and winning
nostalgia.
*Pop Culture Classics*
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