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"The Talk of the Town with Brenda Nelson" covers a resort and retirement area in the Southern Ozarks from Fairfield Bay, Arkansas to Branson, Missouri. The program has been honored with over two dozen state and national awards. I've had an opportunity to sit down for personal and private visits with some very interesting people who have generously shared their lives and time with me. Some of my guests have included: (+ indicates telephone interviews; all others were one-on-one visits)
Frank Abagnale Jr--Spielberg's "Catch Me If You Can" movie; now FBI fraud/forgery expert +Kim Adelman--"Girl's Guide to Elvis"; "Girl's Guide to Country"; "E!" and "Biography" specials Alabama--CMA Country "Artists of the Decade" '80's & '90's--5 times "Entertainer of Year" +Dr. James Allen--Curator of the NY Metropolitan Museum of Art; V-P Internatl. Egyptologists David Alvirez--ALS Technologies, Inc; developer of non-lethal weaponry for police and military +Dr. Steven Ambrose--author of "Band of Brothers"; NBC spec. on Pearl Harbor 60th; died '02 Hap Anderson--one of four jack-hammer operators who sculpted Mt. Rushmore from ropes! +Al Aronowitz--NY Post Beat & Rock writer; introduced Dylan to Beattles; B Darin; A Ginsberg Donna Axum--Miss America 1964; from Arkansas; my husband & I sang with her in '68-'69 +Max Baer, Jr--"Jethro" on the Beverly Hillbillies; owner/host of "BHC" Casino in Nevada Preston Bailey--NY event designer for Oprah, Trump, MLauer, Douglas/Zeta-Jones, Liza M +John R. Barletta--Reagan's personal Secret Service agent for 17 yrs; "Riding with Reagan" +Joel Barker--the "Paradigm Man"; scholar, futurist, visionary; hybrid cars & energy crisis +Lucinda Bassett--founder/director Midwest Center for Stress & Anxiety; aftermath of 9-11 Beach Boys--Rock & Roll icons; Mike Love & Bruce Johnston (he wrote "I Write the Songs") +Dr. Marty Becker--"Good Morning America's" vet; books on pet care; "Chicken Soup" books +Norris Beren--Emergency Preparedness Educ. Institute; natural and man-made disasters **+Josh Bernstein--"Digging for the Truth" on History Channel; pres. Boulder Survival School Big Creek Golf Club pros--1 of only 16 "5-Star" Golf Digest Courses in the US--we're owners! Black Oak Arkansas--70's rock group; Butch Stone/Jim Dandy; my husband's bank customers! Todd Blackledge--NFL quarterback for Kansas City; now a CBS football commentator; FCA Dan Boever--long-drive champ; starred in Pinnacle commercials with "Long John" Daly;demos Ray Boltz--Christian singer and songwriter; Video Artist of the Year; Grammies and Doves Dr. Alfred Bonati--Founder of the Bonati Clinic in Florida; innovative back/bone surgery Pat Boone--Pop, Broadway and Christian singer/actor; "Will Rogers Follies"; 10 #1 hits +Noel Botham--British investigative reporter for BBC; wrote "The Murder of Princess Diana" Matt Bradley--Ozarks photographer/author of several books on Arkansas; "The Natural State" Terry Bradshaw--Hall of Fame QB and 4-time Super Bowl MVP with Pittsburgh; Fox NFL +Larry Bramblett--Dir. "Black Stallion Literacy Project", an elementary school reading prog. Chris Brannon--TRM Classic/Collectible Cars; popularity of "muscle cars"; celebrity dealer David Breashears--Emmy filmmaker/climber; shot IMAX "Everest"(7 summits);"Into Thin Air" +Jim Brickman--pianist and composer; uses today's best country & Christian singers +Dr. Bob Brier--anthropologist; "The Murder of King Tut"; Ramses II; mummification project Patricia Brown--regional pres. of the "Make-A-Wish Foundation"; gifts for terminally-ill kids +Dr. Yaron Brook--Israeli-born Pres. of Ayn Rand Inst., a think tank on Mid. East, for. policy T. Graham Brown--country/blues singer; 15 top 10 hits; alcohol addiction and comeback Frank Broyles--UofArkansas Athletic Director; "game of the century"; NCAA Natl. Champs '64 Dr. Tom Bruce--Dean of the Pres. Clinton School of Public Service; Kellogg Fdtn; Heifer Proj. Dr. Ronald Bruton--Post Partum Depression; after housewife Andrea Yates killed her 5 kids Brandon Burlsworth--All-Am. football player; died in a wreck after signing with NFL's Colts Scott Cain--Razorback sports writer; radio commentator for daily 3-hour "Drive Time Sports" +Jack Canfield--author and founder of "Chicken Soup for the Soul" books; for Mother's Day Carman--Grammy & Dove award-winning singer/songwriter; innovator of Christian videos +Andrew Carroll--NYTimes best-selling author of "War Letters"; "Letters of Faith" to soldiers Bud & Cathy Carney--Local couple who sailed 2000 miles across the Atlantic in a 28' boat Dixie Carter--"Designing Women" and "Family Law"; married to Hal Holbrook; TV & Broadway +Jennifer Carter--1987 diving expedition to reclaim Titanic artifacts; IMAX "Titanica"; "Jaws" Joseph Carter--Curator of Will Rogers Museum; author of "I Never Met A Man I Didn't Like" Dr. Eduardo Castro--Dartmouth physician; ADHD & hyperactivity; "Getting Rid of Ritalin" Larry Chase--NY Mets baseball scout; his recruited team played for the World Series in 2000 +Dr. James Chlovechok--"Fight Doctor" on pro sports "doping"; author of "Game Face" +Bobby Clampett--PGA pro; CBS golf commentator; designer of "Payne Stewart" golf course +Gerald Clarke--Time Magazine; wrote "Capote" (made into the film); "Get Happy" (Liza M.) Jamie Clarke--first Canadian to summit Everest; trekked the world's longest sand desert Bill Clinton--Arkansas governor and future 2-term President of the United States; 3 interviews Hillary Clinton--Arkansas First Lady; US. First Lady; NY Senator; first female pres. candidate Roger Clinton--brother of the President; told about his 2-year prison term for drug dealing +Anderson Cooper--CNN's "360" anchor; award-winning war correspondent; Vanderbilt heir Helen Copp--clinically dead for 4 hours; came to life at the funeral home; "life-after-life" +Richard Croker--CNN/TBS sports reporter/producer; Civil War book "To Make Men Free" +Kelvyn Cullimore, Jr.--CEO of Dynatronics; light/laser therapy for chronic pain & cosmetics +Dr. Bruce Cunningham--Pres. American Society of Plastic Surgeons; benefits and dangers +Dr. Clive Cussler--NUMA head; found 60 sunken ships; sold 130 million "Dirk Pitt" books! Danny Davis--and the Nashville Brass; 12 times country music "Instrumental Group of the Yr" Dr. Victor DeNoble--Philip Morris chemical eng.; his life was basis for the movie "The Insider" John DeVitt--Founder/chairman of the Vietnam Veterans' "Moving Wall"; here in 2002 Chuck Dicus--2-time All-American; NFL receiver for San Diego; head of the Razorback Fdtn. Stephanie Dill--Female firefighter; on CBS's "Survivor:Thailand"; married to my brother John +Dave Downing--Fodor's travel "Tipster"; "Great Hotels of the World"; taped from Berlin! John Downs--first heart transplant recipient in Arkansas; met the donor's family afterwards Sharon Dozier--private nurse to 2 of the 8 US children with the always-fatal Pompe' Disease +Daniel Ellsberg--Vietnam's "Pentagon Papers"; arrested for Iraqi war protest on airdate! Tim Ernst--Arkansas' Wilderness Photographer; vice-chair American Hiking Society; books Joe Falcon--Arkansas' Olympic runner; four NCAA track records still standing; now a detective +Robert Felix--from Seattle; apocalyptic book on the coming ice age, "Not by Fire, but by Ice" Joe Ferguson--NFL QB and Super Bowl teammate of OJ Simpson at Buffalo; during the OJ trial +Kim Fisher--Mel Fisher Maritime Museum; recovered $500 million in treasure from "Atocha" Werner Fornoz--President of the World Population Institute; addresses the UN & Congress Dr. Tom Fortson--Director of Promise Keepers, an international men's religious organization Andrew Frazer--designer for Victoria's Secret ("I know more about lingerie than I should!") +Luke Garrett--Christian singer and songwriter; composer of "Jesus, Our Treasure" cantata Ruth Irene Garrett--shunned by Amish family for marrying "outside" the faith; CBS movie Al Garza--Exec. Dir. of "Minutemen", the volunteer border patrol; illegal immigration; drugs Larry Gatlin--Country singer and actor; Male Vocalist of the Year; CMA Song of the Year 1985 David Gergen--Advisor to 5 Pres. (Nixon, Ford, Reagan, Bush & Clinton); author; CNN analyst Dr. Faye Girsh--Pres. of the Hemlock Society; legal, medical & social aspects of "right-to-die" +Annie Hoffman Goodrich--ABC Sports Entertainment reporter; pro athletes to entertainers +Bob Goodrich--ABC producer of natl. champ. game; '04 preview of college bowl games +Franklin Graham--son of evangelist Billy Graham; pres. Samaritan's Purse & CEO BGE Assn. +Eric L. Haney--Army Ranger; author "Inside Delta Force"; prod/writer of CBS's "The Unit" +Earl Hamner Jr.--author of "The Waltons", "Spencer's Mountain" & "Charlotte's Web" Graham Hancock--Scot hist/archeol; 9 books on ancient civilizations; PBS, Disc. TLC, Hist. Ch. +Mike Harland--Head of LifeWay Worship Music; Christian composer; "Jesus, Our Treasure" Jeff Harris--"Presidential Communicator"; mans the Russian Hotline for the Pres/Pentagon Hank Harvey--covered the "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" in 1975 for the Toledo Blade Dr. John Helstern--Dir of the National Bible Museum; cur. for portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls Bob Hills--writer Saturday Evening Post; friend of Norman Rockwell and Ernest Hemmingway +Stanley Hirshson--Queens College hist/auth of "Patton: A Soldier's Story"; NY Times #1 list +Joel Hirschhorn--2 best-song Oscars for "Poseidon Adv." & "Towering Inferno"; Variety Edit. Drake Hogeston--TV actor; Emmy-winner from "Days of Our Lives"; semi-pro baseball player +David Hoffman--Washington Post For. Ed.; "The Oligarchs"; Mid East, For. Policy, terrorism Scott Hoffmann--sound engineer for Paul McCartney; MTV & CMT awards; Woodstock '99 John Hollimon--CNN's first coverage of Gulf War from Baghdad; Peabody Award; died in '97 Tommy Holloway--NASA eng. '69 Lunar landing; dir. shuttle prog; dir. of Space Station Alpha Wayland Holyfield--Country songwriter; 8 #1 songs for Anne Murray, Don Wms, B.J. Thomas +Chris Hooten--Editor/Founder "Hooten's Arkansas Football"; preview of SEC & local football Dan Hope--Cur. of Memphis Museum; told of the slave ship Henrietta Marie during "Amistad" Allen Howe--personal bodyguard for Sammy Davis, Jr. & Mae Brit during the "Rat Pack" era Col. Edward Hubbard--Vietnam POW for 6 years; on air the first day we bombed in Afg'stan Mr. and Mrs. Mike Huckabee--Governor and First Lady of Arkansas; So. Governors' chairman Roy Hughes--Survivor of the Battan Death March; a US sub sunk his Japanese POW ship! +Rachel Hunter--Supermodel; 7 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Editions; Rod Stewart's ex-wife Congressmen Tim and Asa Hutchinson--US House & Senate; Asa--Homel'd Sec. Vice-Chair Dr. John Jayroe--one of NASA's design eng. for the Hubble Space Telescope; did reallignment Jimmy Johnson--played & coached NCAA champions (Ark & Miami); 2 Super Bowls (Dallas) Sharon Johnson--hand-writing exp; analyzed the Jon-Benet Ramsey ransom letter for FBI +Aphrodite Jones--True Crime author/profiler; covered O.J., Scott Peterson, Michael Jackson David Lynn Jones--wrote Willie Nelson's song of the year, "Livin' in the Promised Land"; 3 #1's Larry and Frances Jones--Founders of "Feed the Children"; we sang with his team in '80's Dr. Susan Smith Jones--President's Council on Physical Fitness; UCLA author 7 fitness books +L.A. Justice--authored "What Women Really Want", a celebrity rags-to-riches success book +Roger Kahn--ESPN analyst; "Boys of Summer"; "October Men"; & "50 Greatest Pitchers" +Ed Kamuda--Pres. of Titanic Historical Society; donated items to Titanic Branson museum Dino Kartsonakis--world-renowned pianist; TV show on TBN; million-selling CD's & concerts +Mimi Kennedy--actress/author/activist; original "Grease" cast; reg. on "Dharma and Greg" +Rep. Charles Key--Ch'man the OK City Bombing Investigation; aired on McVeigh's execution Mike Kite--AVA National Sand Volleyball Champion; played Sinjan Smith and Karch Karihy Richard Knaak--NY Times best-selling fantasy/scifi author; books for Sony video games Flore' Konold--girl whose home occupied by German soldiers in WWII; hid under floor 2 mos. +Dr. Harlan Lebo--Dir. Mars Polar Lander Proj. for NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab; lost on impact +Mike Lee--reported on the 9300-year old "Kennewick Man", oldest complete human skeleton Meadowlark Lemon--Harlem Globetrotters basketball legend; Christian motivational speaker Lennon Sisters--Singers with the Lawrence Welk Show since 1960's; also the Lennon Bros. The Lettermen--Vocal group in the 60's; 12 top 10 love songs; 6 number one hits Walter Lew--and 6 other US veterans of the attack on Pearl Harbor; awarded Purple Heart Jim Lindsey--NFL player with Vikings; Arkansas' top real estate firm; golf course developer +Danny Lipford--hosts "Today's Homeowner" on CBS & Weather Channel; winterizing homes +Dr. Paul Lisnek--CNN & NBC jury-consultant expert--the Michael Jackson molestation case +Dr. Allan Lohaus--making a transition from physician to patient after surgery sidelined him +Dr. Jean Loftis--Plastic surgeon; risks of elective cosmetic surgery for women; U of Cinn +Jacqueline Marcel--TV/radio host; authored "Elder Rage", coping with Alzheimer's/dementia Boyd and Bonnie Margason--eyewitnesses to the Space Shuttle "Challenger" explosion; pics +Dr. Howard Markel--"When Germs Travel"; threatening epidemics;addressed CDC that day! +Matt Matros--World Poker Tour champion of $700,000; a self-described "Yale math geek" Melanie Huckaba Martin--Successfully prosecuted Ark's first case on date rape drug, Rohypnol A Martinez--Emmy-winner from "Santa Barbara" and "General Hospital"; "LA Law"; movies +Matt Matros--26-yr old World Poker Tour Champion of $700,000! "Yale math geek"/author +Jeff MacGregor--Sports Illustrated NASCAR columnist; wrote "Sunday Money"; IMAX movie Austin McBee--2 Purple Hearts and the Bronze Star for Vietnam heroism; Salv. Army Captain Heather Whitestone McCallum--Miss America '95; first winner with a disability--deaf lipreader John McDonald--24 NCAA cross-country track championships at Arkansas; '64 Irish Olympian Nick McDonald--Arrested Lee Harvey Oswald, assassin of John F. Kennedy; "no conspiracy" Reba McIntire--7-time CMA Female Vocalist; 2-time Entertainer of the Year; TV show "Reba" Ed McMahon--"Here's Johnny!" on the Tonight Show; Publisher's Clearinghouse; "StarSearch" Betty McMullin--Sec. to 5 Pres.--Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, & Ford; my neighbor William McNamara--Ark' foremost watercolor artist; moved from NY to the Ozarks; 4 books +Dave Meltzer--former wrestler;official website World Wrestling Entertainm't (was WWF) Scott Mendes--Two-time World Bull Riding Champion; Christian speaker; bullriding seminars Dr. Earl Mindell--"Nutrition Guru"; millions of books on "Mindell" diets, vitamins and allergies +Dr. Marshall Moore--Bethesda surgeon for Iraq & Afghan war wounded; bioterrorism fears Gary Morris-Country/Br'way singer; actor-"Dynasty"; Song of Yr. ("Wind Beneath My Wings") +John Nance--ABC TV's Aviation Analyst; 14 novels (2 mini-series); 65 reports for 9-11! +Alanna Nash--"Elvis and Memphis Mafia"; "The Colonel (Parker)" on 26th anniv. EP's death National Canoe Racing Team--White River winners; my first AP award for sports reporting! +Chuck Negron--Lead singer "3 Dog Night"; book about sex, drugs & R&R (3 Dog Nightmare) Larry Nelson--2-time Ch'man State Bank Bd; Pres/CEO First Security; Tobacco Control Com. +Matt Nelson--"Geeks on Call", a squad of technicians who set up home/office electronics Coach Houston Nutt--Arkansas Razorback head football coach; SEC "Coach of the Year" 2000 Russell O'Quinn--"Skyfox", one of the top 5 test pilots in US aviation history; PBS/CNN special Osmond Brothers--70's pop group; Donnie & Marie, Jimmy; began Children's Miracle Network John Partipilo--National Geographic & Pulitzer photographer; engineered "The Eagles Live" Sandy Patti--Dove & Grammy award-winning Christian singer; 12-time female vocalist of yr. Michael Pendell--Asst. Director of "ER", "Baywatch", "Baywatch Hawaii" and "Briscoe County" Lt. Peters & Sgt. Schwartz--Chicago police who investigated Richard Speck, killer of 8 nurses +Bev Pfeifer-Harms--new St. Louis "James S. McDonnell Planetarium"; 1 of 4 in the world Jackie Pflug--hijacking victim; shot in head and thrown on tarmac for 5 hrs; Oprah, Today.. Ron Phillips--Shoots still photos for movie posters; "The Sixth Sense", "Terminator", etc Gaylon Pitts--MLB player with Oakland & St. Louis; "Coach of Year" for Memphis AAA team Point of Grace--Grammy and Dove Award-winning Christian group--voted #1 group for 5 yrs. Jacob Ponder--Local young man in the 2001 series of Coca-Cola and Toyota ("ET") ads +Dr. Michael Popkin--talk show expert on "52 Weeks of Active Parenting"; Oprah, CNN, PBS.. "The Power Team"--Feats of strength by Christian athletes and speakers; schools and prisons Nick Price--British Open and 2-time PGA Champion; '93 & '94 "PGA Player of the Year" Gian Quasar--Leading authority on the Bermuda Triangle; Learning Channel special in May '01 Theresa Rankin--co-founder of National Brain Injury Consortium with Mayo's; Cong. lobbyist +Robert Ringer--3 NYTimes best-sellers about success and intimidation in the workplace Brooks Robinson--"#5"; Baseball Hall of Fame; MVP of WSeries & All-Star; 16 Golden Gloves Mickey Rooney--and his wife Jan; American singer, actor, dancer; Oscars and Golden Globes +Samuel Roy & Tom Aspell--Authors of "The Essential Elvis"; on the 25th anniv. of EP's death Dan Ruda--onwer/developer of $420 million Branson Landing development; Thousand Hills Doug Rye--Architect and eng; "King of Caulk & Talk"; national talk show on energy efficiency +Ron Schaeffer--Head of Antiquities at U of Ohio; "Iceman", the 5300 year old Alps mummy +John Schenk--photo-journalist for World Vision; articles on AIDS projects all over the world +Jerry Schilling--"Me and a Guy Named Elvis"; Memphis Mafia; close personal friend/manager +Randy Schmidt--VH1 "Behind the Music" and A&E's "Biography" on the Carpenters music Barrie Schwortz--Official photographer for the "Shroud of Turin", the burial cloth of Jesus +Dan Seaborn--Founder "Winning at Home" Ministries; Father's Day '06; "WWJD" wristbands Bill Seidman--Ch'man of the FDIC & RTC under Pres. Reagan and Bush; CNBC's Bus. Analyst Ricky Van Shelton--Country Singer and songwriter; Male Vocalist of the Year; 8 # 1 songs +T.G. Sheppard--Award-winning country singer; twenty top-ten hits; "Timeless" love songs +Dr. Seth Shostak--Head of NASA's SETI Project--Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Hugh Sidey--covered 10 US Presidents for Time Magazine since 1952 (Ike to GW Bush); PBS +Stephen Singular--CNN, FOX, Court TV analyst & true crime author of 17 books; Jon-Benet +Paul Sledzik--Natl. Mus. of Health/Med; for. pathologist for Flight 93 on 9-11; aired 9-11-03 Yakov Smirnoff--Russian comedian, actor and artist; "Ground Zero" mural '02; "Night Court" Jerry Smith--Helped land the Eagle on the Moon in '69 with GPS on Navy ships in Pacific O. +Richard Norton Smith--Dir. of Nixon, Ford & Bush Pres. Libraries; Presidential graves book Dr. Vann Smith--Neuropsychologist; therapy for head injury and head trauma; strokes Carl Spencer--former Marine who bicycled across American at age 56 for USMC 200th anniv. +Michael Starr--NY Post entertainment critic; "Bobby Darin: A Life" on anniv. of his death +Dr. David Steenblock--Dev. of Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber for trauma; stem cell research George Strait--8 times "Male Vocalist"; 3 times "Entertainer of the Year"; "Artist of Decade" Dr. Reynard Strickland--Attorney for the Cherokee Nation; my college debate coach; Utah Law Dale Tabor--Parapalegic athlete; Ark' first artist admitted to "Internatl Mouth Painters Society" Joann Taylor--Founder of "Operation Angel"; children lost to miscarriage and abortion Capt. Kyle Taylor--fixed-wing search & rescue trainer; his unit rescued Scott O'Grady in Iraq Keith Thibodeaux--Little Ricky on "I Love Lucy"; dir. Christian dance troupe "Ballet Magnificat" +Marlo Thomas--"That Girl" tv show; daughter of Danny & wife of Phil Donahue; St. Jude's Randy Travis--Country singer and actor; "Male Vocalist of the Year"; CDs, TV & movies Tru-Blue Tactical, Inc--"sniper unit" instructors for US military forces and police SWAT teams +Richard Vetter--Entomology Dept, UCLA; authority on poisonous Brown Recluse Spiders Bobby Vinton--Billboard''s most popular ballad singer of the 1960's"; 10-year TV show Patty Wagstaff--First female "barnstorming" pilot; featured in the IMAX film "Magic of Flight" Darrell Walker--All-American for Ark; pro player and NBA coach for Toronto and Washington Michael Wanlass--U.S. Army Special Forces Unit in Afghanistan and Mid East; terrorism war +Lisa Welchel--Blair on "Facts Of Life"; Christian author of "Taking Care of the Me in Mommy" +Jim Wideman--James Dobson Ministries; chairman of the National Day of Prayer 2000-01 Andy Williams--TV, Oscars & Grammies; his voice has been called "an American treasure" Donald Roller Wilson--Surreal artist; owned by Robin Williams, Jack Nicholson, Andy Williams Gary Wiren--one of "Golf Digest's top 10 pros; personal pro to Donald Trump & other celebs Dr. Jennifer Wiseman--discovered Wiseman-Skiff comet; NASA scientist for Hubble t'scope Forrest Wood--founder of Ranger Boats, the biggest-seller in fishing boats on the pro circuit +Sandra Worth--author of "Rose of York: Love and War" about Richard III's life and legacy +Wyland--Internationally-known underwater artist; Wyland Fdtn; table books on ocean life Glen Yarborough--Pop, folk ("Limeliters"), and Br'way singer ("Annie Get Your Gun"); painter
*First-Place National Associated Press Award for Special Sports Reporting (6) **First-Place National Associated Press Award for Public Affairs Broadcasting (9) ***Second-Place National AP Award for Public Affairs or Sports Reporting (9) ****"Society of Professional Journalists" Awards--Public Affairs/Sports (5) '01, '02 & '04 Nominee for the "National Marconi Award"--only 5 US radio stations are nominated annually for outstanding community service
KTLO/KCTT has been the AP's #1 Radio News Team in Arkansas for 16 straight years |
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