Stuart Shostak is probably the biggest Lucille Ball fan you’re ever likely to meet – besides his wife that is. As a young man he was obsessed with the golden age of American television and would spend hours going through clips that he would painstakingly put together, in order to create a documentary about his favourite era.
Documentary Review: 'Stu's Show' is a Documentary about Showbiz, Love and Healthcare
Stu’s Show begins as one kind of documentary and ends as something completely different, richer, and more thoughtful. What looks like the story of a Hollywood outsider who became an unlikely ally and friend to the stars of the Golden Age of Television, slowly morphs into a harrowing story about our modern Healthcare system and the people on the fringes of society who are forced to struggle and risk death to get the care they need from an often uncaring and indifferent healthcare system.
"...so whether or not any of the series quoted in the movie or the names Lucille Ball, Edward Asner, Butch Patrick and whoever else mean anything much to you, this is just a well-told documentary with a not only for the genre strong narrative arc, and a good sense for storytelling!"
review by Mike Haberfelner
When Stuart Shostak got married to his longtime girlfriend Jeanine Kasun, it felt a little bit like a celebration of yesteryear's (as in 1960s and 70s) television, what with many of the TV-stars, showrunners and whatnot still alive in attendance. And it shouldn't be all that surprising, as for years Stuart has run a wildly popular podcast, aptly titles Stu's Show, inviting showbiz royalty every week, besides being a passionate private archivist of TV programs of old.
Courtesy Upstream Flix, the brand-new trailer for CJ Wallis’s comprehensive new film on TV historian Stu Shostak.
The pic, premiering May 2 on digital, features screen-legends Tony Dow (“Leave it to Beaver”), Michael Cole (“The Mod Squad”), the late Ed Asner (“Lou Grant”), Butch Patrick (“The Munsters”), Academy Award Winner Margaret O’Brien, Geri Jewell and many, many more.
Shostak got his start handing out tickets to Norman Lear sitcom tapings to people in Hollywood and parlayed that into doing audience warm-ups prior to tapings for shows such as “All In The Family” and “One Day At A Time”.
The film also indirectly tells the story of television legend Lucille Ball who, contrast to popular belief, was an extremely kind and generous person who treated those around her like family. Ball is hired to hold Q&A’s at a Los Angeles based College which provides a window of opportunity that alters the course of Stu’s life. Shostak’s encyclopedic knowledge of Ball’s career earns his way into becoming an essential part of her small inner circle as her archivist and assistant to her husband Gary Morton.
After Ball passes away, Shostak pioneers what we know now as “podcasting”, hosting internet shows interviewing celebrity cast and crew of the golden age of television. He also co-produces the widely successful LOVING LUCY conventions which welcomed prior cast, crew and superfans from around the world to come together for a few days to celebrate their love of I Love Lucy.
At one of these Loving Lucy conventions Stu meets Jeanine Kasun, a music teacher and Lucy super-fan, who noticed Shostak hosting game shows, events and trivia contests. The two speak on the phone at length and eventually begin dating until Jeanine suffers a brain aneurysm and the two, alongside the legends of television, enter into a war with the medical industry to keep her alive.
Grab one of the remaining Birdseyeview Print Series 2 which is a full set of premium prints of 40 Spitta album covers with over half the boxes containing a limited foil print or autograph!
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UPDATE: 12/23/21
The tracklisting artwork for Curren$y's Pilot Talk 4 has been released. The album is made up of ten tracks produced by Ski Beatz and features J A Y E L E C T R O N I C A on Audio Dope 6!
Pilot Talk 4 releases Friday, December 24th.
The first of our animated previews of Curren$y's artwork for "Pilot Talk 4" has been released with an exclusive track from the album. Curren$y posted: "Let’s start rolling this out. Here’s a diagnostic test. Let’s see if you can see the vision. #pilottalk4
Thrillist reached out to discuss the 20+ year history of our Paul Thomas Anderson website to promote Anderson's new film Licorice Pizza. The article titled "Cigarettes and Red Vines: The Story Behind the Definitive Paul Thomas Anderson Fan Site" is now out and features an interview with director CJ Wallis
Click here to read the full article!
