ONE MORE THING, SIR: THE MUSINGS OF A TELEVISION WRITER-PRODUCER (SOFTCOVER EDITION) by Michael Sloan
ISBN 9781629334714
In “One More Thing, Sir”, Michael Sloan brings his extensive knowledge of the television business to this charming, personable memoir of his years of bringing such iconic TV shows to life as McCloud, Columbo, The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman, B.J. and the Bear, The Return of the Man From U.N.C.L.E., Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Mysteries, Call of the Wild and The Equalizer. The author tells his tale with humor and insightful anecdotes of his days working with such powerful titans and legendary performers as Glen Larson, Fred Silverman, David Carradine, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, William Shatner, John Frankenheimer, Edward Woodward, Raymond Burr, David Janssen, Patrick Macnee and the incomparable Denzel Washington as The Equalizer. Anyone who was brought up on these iconic television shows will relish these funny and charming reminiscences by an author who was there and saw it all happen.
"ONE MORE THING, SIR...": The Musings of a Television Writer-Producer by Michael Sloan (BearManor Media; bearmanormedia.com; $24.00). Less a straightforward autobiography than a scattershot collection of extremely entertaining showbiz anecdotes, this 260-page softcover from Hollywood writer-producer Michael Sloan bounces back and forth throughout his career and overflows with warm and humorous reminiscences. If you grew up watching television in the 1970s and '80s, you've undoubtedly come across Sloan's work. He recalls how a freelance script for COLUMBO led to his first studio job, writing for the Dennis Weaver series McCLOUD, followed by shows like B.J. AND THE BEAR, the '80s reboot of ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS, KUNG FU: THE LEGEND CONTINUES, telefilm reprises of THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN and THE BIONIC WOMAN, and many more. Sloan also created TV's THE EQUALIZER, convincing skeptical network bigwigs to cast Edward Woodward in the title role. Generally enthusiastic about the people he worked with, both in front of and behind the camera, Sloan discusses the close friends he made over the years- Richard Anderson, Patrick Macnee, Robert Lansing, David McCallum - and covers a surprising amount of amusing territory: shooting THE RETURN OF THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. in Vegas' Caesar's Palace, hanging out at Ventura Boulevard's La Serre restaurant, encounters with Andre the Giant and Mel Blanc, choosing an unknown young actress named Sandra Bullock for BIONIC SHOWDOWN (over the objections of Universal execs, who thought she looked too "ethnic"), the production of his stageplay Underground, starring Raymond Burr; as well as Sloan's 1990 marriage to LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE's Melissa Sue Anderson. Including several dozen personal photos, this is a breezy and engaging read.
--Shock Cinema
"This book is more a feel good book and if you want to get a feel of his job and the people he got on with, then this makes for an enjoyable few hours and a lot of laughs."