Eric McCormack Live on Game Changers with Vicki Abelson

Will and Vicki. The virgin Walden/Abelson voyage. If you’re gonna break the almost 3 yrs to the day pandemic Zoom streak, and do a first Live in person from the new digs, how better than with handsome, charming, fabulous, Emmy, SAG, and GLAAD Award Winning, Eric McCormack? Couldn’t be done. If you’re gonna look into a set of eyeballs, share rarefied air, lotsa laughs, and some snacks, well…it doesn’t get better than this. Thank you, Loren Gold for putting up with my incessant begging and pleading and making this happen. 

Exceeding all expectations, Eric was easy, expressive, talented (he did accents, impressions, and sang a teeny bit), and crazy fun. Stories, stories, and more stories, one better than the last. When we wrapped and Eric’s fab assistant, Michelle Loparo, said some of said stories were new to her, well, score! From his early days in Toronto, school plays with David Furnish, no, really! Day jobs at Baskin Robbins, and a gas station, his father’s secret revealed, childhood heroes and how one blew Eric’s adult mind, five years doing Shakespeare in rep, breaking into TV, Lonesome Dove, meeting his unlikely perfect partner, manifesting his highest dream––auditioning for James Burrows, landing the part that would change his life, Will and Grace fun, bringing childhood imagings to life… Freddy Mercury, Barry Manilow, Elton John, starring on Broadway in The Music Man, turning serious… Travelers (Netflix- 3 seasons to binge), the upcoming, Departure (Peacock), Slasher (AMC), The Other Black Girl (Hulu) the acclaimed Drinkwater (Canadian Prime, soon here), plus another Broadway turn, The Cottage, directed by his great friend, Game Changers alum, Jason Alexander, coming this summer, and, as if that t’weren’t enough, two podcasts soon to drop, one, Eating Out, with his pal, Steven Weber, a Women Who Write alum, and Just Jack and Will with his great friend Sean Hayes. I’m exhausted typing it, let alone this indefatigable man living it all, no doubt, brilliantly. 

There are more stories, unmentioned. Tasty treats reenacted to delight. I’m still basking in the glow, wondering how I’ll ever Zoom again. Eric McCormack has ruined me for pandemic worry. What a way to break free. Whee! 

Eric McCormack Live on Game Changers with Vicki Abelson
Wed, March 1, 5 pm PT, 8 pm ET
Streamed Live on The Facebook
Replay here: https://bit.ly/3J5qyN5

Video and photos by Snuffy Walden

Eric McCormack Live On Game Changers With Vicki Abelson

Snuffy Walden Live on Game Changers With Vicki Abelson

There are no accidents. House stand-in as he so aptly named hisslef, Emmy-Winning Composer, Snuffy Walden, was just what the doctor ordered. Live from the dining room, with Rufus for the most part chillin’ between us, Snuffy got down, got real, letting us in as he seamlessly weaved through music, alcoholism, geographics, hitting big, breaking bad, highs, lows, getting sober, switching gears, success beyond his imaginings, the pandemic abyss, to slowly stepping back out amidst life’s challenges. 

From piano to trombone, finding guitar, playing with BJ Thomas at 14 and strip clubs at 17, DJing, to living in a park with a roadie, Aphrodite in Denver to fronting Stray Dog, rocking like hell, and opening for Emerson, Lake & Palmer around the world, a near-miss with me in ’74, drinking and debauchery, recording Songs in The Key of Life with Stevie Wonder, earning a platinum record, being in the passenger seat when Stevie drove––oh yes, he did; playing with Dave Mason at the peak, Chaka Khan when she was breaking I Feel For You, touring with Eric Burdon and having an epiphany, thanks to longtime friend and bandmate, Michael Ruff, which would change, and save, his life. 

With all his success before, a few years later, without experience or training, he scored Thirty Something, then The Wonder Years, both Emmy nominees their first year, then meeting Sorkin and doing Sports Night, and then The West Wing, where he won that Emmy with his iconic main title, and then a dozen other Emmy nominations and 51 BMI  Awards, representing over a hundred other shows… then the pandemic slowdown to almost shut down, and a recent rebirth doing what he loves and loving what he’s doing, committed to turning up the joy in the monitors, because of and in spite of recent news. 


Snuffy’s humility, humanity, and heart soar in his words and music. His dedication to being of service, hIs talent, and his sweetness, are ongoing inspirations to me and countless others. 

I neglected to say Happy Passover. Historically I’ve been a second-nighter, and this year is no exception. Tomorrow, Snuffy will be attending his first Seder. Hide the Manischewitz. From both of us.

Snuffy Walden Live on Game Changers With Vicki Abelson
Wed, April 5th, 5 pm PT, 8 pm ET
Streamed Live on The Facebook
Replay here: https://bit.ly/3mbZT8I

Snuffy Walden Live On Game Changers With Vicki Abelson

Friends who used to be 30 Something, Wingnuts, and Field of Dreamers, lend me your ear (s), and your eyeballs. Emmy-winner Timothy Busfield is a scream! His Burt Lancaster alone is worth the watch. Hysterical, and right on point. 

Tim’s amazing bride, Melissa Gilbert joined us for a sec, she’ll be back! But she was a big part of the conversation––how they met, and where––great story. I love how he loves her, and her, him. Their togetherness is epic. We talked how they do it, handle challenges, and resolve them, so quickly. Merging their families - both married for the thrice time… co-parenting and grandparenting, building a home, and a life. Ain’t love grand. 

We talked Tim’s early years in Michigan, his mother, her challenges, his father, and his. Tim getting the bug after seeing Burt Lancaster on the big screen, and going full circle co-starring with him in Field of Dreams so many years later––the challenges of that film. First, theatre out the wazoo… Actors Theater of Louisville to Circle Rep… being Matthew Broderick’s understudy on Broadway in Brighton Beach Memoirs and never getting on - Trapper John, getting an actors education, Nerds, Stripes, thirtysomething, his first gig with a guy named Snuffy, turns out there are 10 so far, 12 with Melissa’s… starring on Broadway for Sorkin, Sports Night, The West Wing, Studio 60 on The Sunset Strip, his two theatre companies intended to serve the young - the guppies did he call them? Being of service a major theme throughout. Turning down hosting SNL, thrice, auditioning for it without knowing, giving up the drink two weeks ago, how and why… his latest, The Cleaning Lady, and more importantly, his next binge with Melissa and their morning flight to Florida. 

We talked for almost two hours, from LA to Michigan to Upstate NY and the UWS…. and I could have talked all night. Ridiculous fun. Down to earth, open, warm, thoughtful, helpful, funny, loving, fun, fun, fun. Do they come more likable than Tim? You’ll have to prove it. 

Timothy Busfield Live on Game Changers With Vicki Abelson
Wed, May 17th, 5 pm PT, 8 pm ET
Streamed Live on The Facebook
Replay here:
https://bit.ly/3IjV5WJ

Timothy Busfield Live On Game Changers With Vicki Abelson

Max Gail Live on Game Changers With Vicki Abelson

What a thrill it is when someone whose work I admire, adore, and respect exceeds all my expectations as a human. Max Gail, actor, director, advocate, songwriter, two-time Emmy Award Nominee, for Barney Miller, and two-time Emmy Winner for General Hospital did just that. Spending time in his most excellent company felt like a giant hug, like going home. 

Max took us back to his childhood homes in Detroit and Florida, his six siblings, five of whom are twins, including his twin sister… crazy, the music his father instilled in him, his academic science “nerd” education, the songwriting, with rhyming lyrics of which he treated us to a delicious taste, backing into acting, a gift from his mother, co-starring in the original stage production of One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest as Chief Bromden in San Francisco, and reprising the role in his New York stage debut. He did his first film role in Dirty Harry, small parts on TV, and in commercials, till he got to Barney Miller, his Game Changer. You have to be smart to act dumb. Max with the masters mastered it. We talked about a lot of things along the way… acting, writing, auditioning, failing, scoring, native Americans, marriage, fatherhood, grandfatherhood, a later-in-life surprise, DC Cab, Belushi, Whiz Kids, 42, Alzheimer’s, General Hospital… Max, always fascinating, thoughtful, and delightful. 

I loved every moment, and I’m so grateful to have gotten this opportunity to know Max a bit and to discover his heart is as huge as his talent. No wonder he’s so beloved, by his fans, of which I’m one, as well as just about every actor I know. Deserved!  As much as I adored Max Gail before this sit-down, multiply it a gazillionfold. What fun! And boy, does he know to close. I still have goosebumps.

Max Gail Live on Game Changers With Vicki Abelson
Wed, August 30th, 5 pm PT, 8 pm ET
Streamed Live on The Facebook
Replay here:
https://bit.ly/3OWqb9i

Max Gail Live On Game Changers With Vicki Abelson

Marshall Herskovitz  Live on Game Changers With Vicki Abelson

Masterclass! I’ve had many stimulating, fascinating, brilliant, talented, fun guests. None more so than writer, director, and producer, Marshall Herskovitz. There’s a reason this human has won more Emmy, Golden Globe, Writers Guild, Directors Guild, Peabody, and Humanitas Awards than I can count… not to mention an Academy Award nomination. Wow, just wow! You don’t get all those awards for writing, creating, and making great television and movies without being a great storyteller, and boy is Marshall that! From his eighth-grade short story to his first attempt at filmmaking, AFI––miracle-ing his way in, meeting Ed Zwick the very first day––a partnership that would change both their lives and all of ours… Snuffy’s specifically and significantly. We talked thirtysomething from throw-away lack of interest to the cataclysmic creative shift in what was possible on series TV. From Day 1 to the present commitment to the reboot usurped by the pandemic. Marshall and Ed are still passionately committed to seeing it through to air and I don’t doubt with these two at the helm it will come to pass. Marshall talked about My So-Called Life, Claire Danes, Special Bulletin, and the NBC backlash on his Emmy-winning debut, Jack the Bear, Dangerous Beauty, The Last Samurai, and Tom Cruise––wonderful inside scoop there. Likewise, DiCaprio and Blood Diamond. We talked Marshall’s environmental activism and seemingly sensible solution and concluded with the political race and what 2024 may hold. 

A rare guest I didn’t know going in, Marshall quickly felt like a dear treasured friend. The conversation was effortless, exciting, insightful, and inspiring. Loved it!Can’t wait for more… on and off the screen. 

Marshall Herskovitz Live on Game Changers with Vicki Abelson
Wednesday, November 8, 5 PM PT, 8 PM ET 
Streamed Live on my Facebook
Replay here:
https://bit.ly/40yB9aE

Marshall Herskovitz Live On Game Changers With Vicki Abelson

Snuffy Walden Live on Game Changers With Vicki Abelson

Lemonade! That’s what you get when you take a brilliantly talented, supportive beau, and the greatest, most fun-loving, and devoted co-commiserators on the planet and mix them together on what could have been a rough one.  My gratitude is boundless. What fun this was! 

It helps when said Beau is Emmy Award-Winning Composer, Snuffy Walden, even though we didn’t really go there. From piano to trombone, finding guitar, playing strip clubs, to living in a park with his roadie, Aphrodite in Denver to fronting Stray Dog, opening for Emerson, Lake & Palmer around the world, a near-miss with me in ’74, drinking and debauchery, recording Songs in The Key of Life with Stevie Wonder, earning a platinum record, being in the passenger seat when Stevie drove––oh yes, he did; playing with Dave Mason, Donna Summer, Chaka Khan when she was breaking I Feel For You, touring with Eric Burdon, two times, and having an epiphany, thanks to longtime friend and bandmate, Michael Ruff, which would change, and save, his life. 

We focused on Snuffy’s playing, rock years… check out this Stray Dog front and center  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sbEdHgb2Oo

Thirty Something, The Wonder Years, The West Wing, an Emmy Award, a dozen other Emmy nominations, 51 BMI Awards, representing over 100 TV shows followed. It’s all in the great Mark Maxey doc, Up to Snuff. 
https://www.amazon.com/Up-Snuff-W-G-Snuffy-Walden/dp/B09T2BN8W4

Thanks for the thoughtful understanding, enthusiastic encouragement, sweet words, and unyielding support y’all showered us with. Special thanks to the sweetness that is Snuffy. How blessed am I? 

Snuffy Walden Live on Game Changers With Vicki Abelson
***TUESDAY, JULY 9th, 5 pm PT, 8 pm ET***
Streaming Live on my Facebook
Replay here:
https://bit.ly/3LeoZwG

Jim Vallely Live on Game Changers With Vicki Abelson 

Sitting down with Emmy and WGA award winner, Jim Vallely was a cozy, comfortable, fun, and funny hang. He even told us a joke joke, on request. It’s one he’s been “testing” as part of a sociological experiment of sorts. Win/win, we got a laugh with a lesson.

Who knew that having a seizure in 6th grade would lead to a career as a TV comedy writer. Jim takes us through and it makes perfect sense. This accountant studying student just happened to sit next to the right guy at an NYU audition, ask his mother the right question on the right day, marry the right girl, move into the right apartment, partner with the right actor/comedian, Jonathan Schmock, become 1/2 of The Funny Boys comedy team, appear on Johnny Carson, co-star on the sitcom, Double Trouble, and then write on The Golden Girls, one of the most successful sitcoms of all time. Brotherly Love, Ladies Man, Action, Two and a Half Men, My Wife and Kids, The John Larriquette Show, Till Death,  Extended Family, as well as Arrested Development, for which he garnered 4 Emmy nominations, and the aforementioned awards, followed.  Jim was an executive producer and co-creator with Will Arnett and Michael Hurwitz of Running Wilde on Fox. There’s more.

Jim tells a great Carl Reiner/Alan Brady story, tells us how the real Kramer, Larry David, Bill Maher, Callie Khouri, Chris Thompson, Don Reo, Mitchell Hurwitz, Will Arnett, and Jay Mohr factor into his story, gives us the before, during, and after of his career milestones, and speaks with great pride and tenderness about the great loves and joys of his life, his talented wife, Maggie, and his successful daughter, Tannis.

We talked about our friends, Taylor Negron and Ron Zimmerman. There is no friend like Jim. His love, devotion, and care for Ron, was a gift he gave all of us who loved him. Jim’s a tender-hearted, special man. And boy, is he funny. A very funny boy, indeed! 

Jim Vallely Live on Game Changers With Vicki Abelson 
Wednesday, 3/12/25, 5 PM PT, 8 PM ET
Streamed Live on my Facebook & YouTube 
Replay here:
https://bit.ly/4iCKgPq 
YouTube
https://www.facebook.com/vickiabelson/videos/937526015211102

Jim Vallely Live on Game Changers With Vicki Abelson

Tony Braunagel, Terry Wilson & Snuffy Walden Live on Game Changers With Vicki Abelson 

What do you get when you Zoom with three amigos from Texas who go back over 50 years? A whole lot of fun, rock stories galore, and a ton of love. The Grammy, Emmy, BMI, and Blues Award Winning trio of Snuffy Walden, Tony Braunagel, and Terry Wilson took us back to the 60s in Houston, playing at the Cellar, a strip club in Houston, Tony and Terry off with Johnny Nash and Snuffy off with Stray Dog to open for Emerson, Lake and Palmer. They all ended up in London, there was Rabbit, Paul Kossoff, Free, Back Street Crawler, Pete Townshend, and Eric Burdon for all of them, at least twice. Some great war stories along the way… there was Michael Ruff, some crashed cars and trashed hotel rooms. 

Tony took us through his time with Rickie Lee Jones, Bonnie Raitt, and The Blues Brothers backup band, leading to be an actor and musician on According to Jim. Snuffy getting Chaka Khan, Donna Summers and then segueing to TV, Thirty Something and The Wonder Years, his first foray in––both Emmy-winning shows that year, leading to the West Wing and his own Emmy. Terry partnering with Teresa James in music and in life, their Grammy nod, his song-writing, producing through his latest for Back Street Crawler’s Terry Slesser which reunited him with Tony and Terry. 

They’ve shared many stages and sessions over the years, but it’s their rock-solid friendship borne in decades-long history that sweetens their song. What a joy to be in their joy. A great time was had by all. Lucky me and you to be a fly on that wall. 

Tony Braunagel, Terry Wilson & Snuffy Walden Live on Game Changers With Vicki Abelson 
Wednesday, 3/19/25, 5 PM PT, 8 PM ET
Streaming Live on my YouTube & my Facebook 
Replay YouTube here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ArHgeUrToc&t=194s
Replay FB here:
https://bit.ly/4bNq8b2

Tony Braunagel, Terry Wilson & Snuffy Walden Live on Game Changers With Vicki Abelson

Celebrity Maps to Success... people living their dream... the paths they took to get there

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