If his face is familiar, that’s because Raphael Sbarge has been working since he was a boy—in theater, television and film. His credits range from Murder, She Wrote and Risky Business to Fear the Walking Dead. More recently he has moved behind the camera, crafting documentaries like Only in Theaters, the story of Los Angeles’ beloved Laemmle Theaters chain. That’s the project that brought him in contact with Leonard and Jessie, who are happy to have him as this week’s guest.
If you enjoy watching classic films you’re probably acquainted with Alan Rode, prolific author, commentator (on numerous DVDs and Blu-rays), and host (with Eddie Muller) of the Noir City Festival, an annual event in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Chicago. He also hosts and programs the Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival every year in Palm Springs, California. He has several books to his credit, including a biography of character actor Charles McGraw and his magnum opus, Michael Curtiz: A Life in Film. He is a longtime friend of the Maltin family, so Jessie and Leonard had a grand time comparing notes on all aspects of film buffery.
An Oscar winner (for Mask in 1985) and multiple Emmy winner (for various incarnations of Star Trek), Michael Westmore carries a name that is synonymous with makeup in Hollywood. He’s proud of his heritage, which began with his grandfather in the silent-film era and flourished in the 1930s, when his father and uncles ran the makeup departments at virtually every major studio. He studied art history in college, then his uncle Bud took him on as an apprentice at Universal in the early 1960s and he unexpectedly (or inevitably) wound up in the family business. Mike wears his accomplishments lightly and for all he has done he remains delightfully down-to-earth.