Nostalgia Tonight with Joe Sibilia

This week's guest:

James Curtis, author of "Comedy is a Grim Business: The Making of 'It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World'"

Topic: How the film got started; Stanley Kramer and "The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T"; The reception of "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" on the heels of the John F. Kennedy assassination; Casting the Fire Chief; The origins of the Big W

Nostalgia Tonight with Joe Sibilia | 7-5-2026

Monologue: 

Fourth of July movies to watch- "Jaws" and "Jersey Shore Shark Attack"

Guest:

Bobby Valli, singer, entertainer, and brother of Frankie Valli

Topic: His "America" song; Growing up as Frankie Valli's younger brother; Getting his hair cut by Joe Pesci; His friendship with Frank Vincent; Frankie the Fly; Forging his own musical identity as a singer and entertainer

Fourth of July memories- Barbecues, Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, and Dad's Dangerous Fireworks Extravaganza

Nostalgia Tonight with Joe Sibilia | 6-28-2026

Joe Sibilia hosts a special broadcast of "Nostalgia Tonight" from Times Square, and celebrates the history of broadcasting and entertainment from the Crossroads of the World with special guests Mark Malkoff, host of the "Inside Late Night" podcast for LateNighter and author of "Love Johnny Carson," and Bradley Clarke, host of "The Game Show Starring Bradley Clarke" who has worked behind-the-scenes on game shows including "Tic Tac Dough," "Match Game," and "Pyramid."

Joe, Mark, and Bradley discuss shows that emanated from the Crossroads of the World and the surrounding area, including "The Tonight Show" and "The Price is Right" from the Hudson Theater, "Who Do You Trust?" and "The Merv Griffin Show" from the Little Theater (now the Hayes Theater), "The Late Show," "To Tell The Truth," and "What's My Line" from the Ed Sullivan Theater, and much more! Plus, Joe hosts an off-the-rails game of "Times Square Truth or Dare"!

Nostalgia Tonight with Joe Sibilia | 6-21-2026

Monologue:

Celebrating Father's Day

Guests:

Patricia Heaton, actress best remembered as Debra Barone on "Everbody Loves Raymond" and Frankie Heck on "The Middle"

Topic: Her new line of Solubre non-alcoholic wine; Working with Katherine Helmond, Robert Culp, and Dick Van Dyke; How the cast of "Everybody Loves Raymond" became a family; Being in New York City on 9/11

John Ratzenberger, actor best remembered for his roles as Cliff Clavin on "Cheers" and as the voice of several characers in nearly every Pixar animated film

Topic: Working at Pixar as the voice of Hamm the Piggy Bank in the "Toy Story" films; Co-starring with James Cagney in "Ragtime"; Meeting Steve Jobs while working at Pixar; The "Cheers" bar auction; "Toy Story 5" now in theaters

Joe Sibilia revisits his final interview with comedian Tom Dreesen from "The Friars Club Podcast," where Tom discusses his childhood, Frank Sinatra, David Letterman, and how he became involved with the Friars Club.

Nostalgia Tonight with Joe Sibilia | 6-14-2026

Monologue: Regis Philbin's influence on Joe Sibilia

Guests: 

Englebert Humperdinck, legendary singer and entertainer known as the "King of Romance"

Topic: His new single "I've Got You"; Appearing on "This is Your Life"; Friendship with Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin; His recurring nightmare

Michael Schur, creator of "Parks and Recreation," "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," & "The Good Place," and Joe Posnanski, bestselling sportswriter

Topic: Their new book "Big Fan: Two Friends, 82,490 Miles, and the Wild, Wonderful Sports We Love"; Pickleball and Chess; Mike Schur remembers his father-in-law Regis Philbin; How Mike Schur and Joe Posnanski began co-hosting "The PosCast"

Mike Connors, attorney at Connors & Sullivan and host of "Ask the Lawyer" on AM 970 The Answer

Topic: "Estate Planning Gone Wrong"

Nostalgia Tonight with Joe Sibilia | 5-31-2026

Joe celebrates Dean Martin's birthday talking about singing with Dean's daughter Deana Martin at 18 years old and revisits a clip from his Friars Club Podcast interview with John Stamos recalling the one-word career advice he received from Dean Martin.

Guest: Jeff Bergman, the voice of Bugs Bunny, Fred Flintstone, Yogi Bear, Daffy Duck, Barney Rubble, and many other cartoon favorites

Topic: Working with Bill Hanna on "Jetsons: The Movie"; Working with Seth MacFarlane on "Family Guy"; Doing voices on the animated 1960s-style "Batman" films; The two voices Jeff would love to do but hasn't yet

Joe talks about the merits and pitfalls of VHS and VCRs in honor of National VCR Day, and the strategy Disney used to make a fortune off the technology.

Nostalgia Tonight with Joe Sibilia | 5-31-2026

Guest: Jeff Bergman, the voice of Bugs Bunny, Fred Flintstone, Yogi Bear, Daffy Duck, Barney Rubble, and many other cartoon favorites

Topic: Inheriting the role of Mr. Potato Head from Don Rickles for "Toy Story 5"; Meeting Mel Blanc as a student at the University of Pittsburgh; HIs friendship with Noel Blanc; Mastering the voice of Fred Flintstone; Becoming Barney Rubble; Working with Chuck Jones

Nostalgia Tonight with Joe Sibilia | 5-24-2026

Monologue: How Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera joined forces to create Tom & Jerry and their own cartoon studio

Guest: Fred Seibert, Former President of Hanna-Barbera, Founder of Frederator and FredFilms, and Creator of "What a Cartoon!" and "Oh Yeah! Cartoons"

Topic: Spearheading the revival of Hanna-Barbera with cartoons such as "Dexter's Laboratory," "The Powerpuff Girls," "Johnny Bravo," and others; Giving a young Seth MacFarlane his start in animation; Working with legends like Ted Turner and Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera

Nostalgia Tonight with Joe Sibilia | 5-17-2026

Monologue:

Joe Sibilia talks about his family's estate sale and the vintage items Joe couldn't sell.

Guest:

Bill Burke, Former General Manager of Turner Classic Movies, Former President of TBS, co-author of Ted Turner's autobiography, "Call Me Ted"; Founder of the Optimism Institute and host of The Blue Sky Podcast

Topic: The beginning of Turner Classic Movies; TBS becoming "very funny"; The life of Ted Turner and his marriage to Jane Fonda; Ted Turner's battle with Lewy body dementia

The case of the missing Pee-wee Herman DoIl

Joe talks about the Pee-wee Herman pull string doll from the 1980s that went missing somtime in the last 22 years.

Nostalgia Tonight with Joe Sibilia | 5-10-2026

Monologue: 

Remembering Ted Turner and his legacy with Cartoon Network and Turner Classic Movies

Guest:

Steve Randisi, Entertainment historian and the author of "Penny Singleton: A Biography"

Topic: Penny Singleton's role as the voice of Jane Jetson on "The Jetsons"; Meeting Joan Crawford and her ex-husband Douglas Fairbanks Jr; His unconventional photo with Shirley Jones of "The Partridge Family"

A tribute to Joe's mom and grandmothers on Mother's Day

Nostalgia Tonight with Joe Sibilia | 5-3-2026

Guest: 

Ralph Helfer, animal behaviorist and trainer of numerous animal actors

Topic: His career in Hollywood training the MGM lion, Gentle Ben, and numerous other animals; Working with Walt Disney and Jerry Lewis; Meeting Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe

Nostalgia Tonight with Joe Sibilia | 4-26-2026

Guest:

Turner Sparks, Comedian with an all-new special, "Buttoned Up & and Unhinged"

Topic: His new special; How he brough Mister Softee to China; Going from ice cream magnate to comedian; Appearing on "Comics Unleashed" and performing at the Laugh Factory in Hollywood

Monologue:

The death of "H.R. Pufnstuf" creator Sid Krofft, and how the Krofft Brothers sued McDonald's

Voices of the Past: Lennie Weinrib, the voice of H.R. Pufnstuf

Joe Sibilia looks back on the life and career of Lennie Weinrib, the voice of H.R. Pufnstuf, Grimace, Scrappy-Doo, and many others. Featuring new interviews with Linda Weinrib, Mark Evanier, and a special appearance by Lennie's college friend Carol Burnett.

Inside the Sibilia Vault: Hayley Mills

Joe Sibilia revisits his 2017 interview with Hayley Mills in honor of the Academy Award-winner's 80th birthday on April 18th.

Mike Connors, Attorney at Connors & Sullivan and the host of "Ask the Lawyer on AM 970 The Answer

Topic: Estate Planning Gone Wrong

Nostalgia Tonight with Joe Sibilia | 4-13-26

Monologue:

Uncle Tommy's 75th Birthday

Guest:

Jason Zinoman, author of "Letterman: The Last Giant of Late Night" and critic-at-large for the Culture section of The New York Times

Topic: The life and career of David Letterman; Letterman post-"Late Show"; How Allen Ludden got Letterman his start in Hollywood; The future of late night television

Nostalgia Tonight with Joe Sibilia | 4-5-2026

Joe Sibilia celebrates the one-year anniversary of "Nostalgia Tonight," looking back on highlights from the past year, including:

• "Here Comes Peter Cottontail"- "Back to the Future" but with the Easter Bunny
• "Frosty the Snowman" voice actor Jackie Vernon's unusual birthday gift for his son
• Joe's Pat Cooper impression
• Sandy Duncan opens up about working on "Barney"- and her run-in with Burt Reynolds
• "Impractical Jokers" star Sal Vulcano on how he landed ALF on the show
• "Double Dare" host Marc Summers on his early gig working with Bob Barker
• The Man who saved Richard Nixon's sandwich for over 60 years
• "Road Trip Masters" hosts Nick Kessler and Brian Fulmer take their TV show to the Sibilia Family Dinner

Guest:

Ted McGinley, actor best remmebered for his roles on "Married...with Children," "The Love Boat," and "Happy Days"

Topic: His role on "Shrinking"; The secret of love on "The Love Boat"; The challenge of joining the cast of "Married...with Children"; The mentorship of Garry Marshall

Nostalgia Tonight with Joe Sibilia | 3-29-2026

Guests:

Jill Hennessy, Actress, Singer, and Songwriter best known for her roles on "Law & Order" and "Crossing Jordan"

Topic: Her new series "Hope Valley: 1874" on Hallmark Plus; Performing as a busker on the sidwalks of Toronto; Her work on "Law & Order"

Elaine LaLanne, The First Lady of Fitness and wife of Jack LaLanne

Topic: Celebrating her 100th birthday

Mike Connors, Lawyer at Connors & Sullivan and the host of "Ask the Lawyer" on AM 970 The Answer

Topic: "Estate Planning Gone Wrong"

Nostalgia Tonight with Joe Sibilia | 3-22-2026

This week's guest:

Burt Dubrow, legendary television producer and the creator of "The Sally Jessy Raphael Show" and "The Jerry Springer Show"

Topic: Remembering Chuck Norris; Burt's appearance in the recent "Dirty Talk" docuseries on ABC; His most memorable civilian guests on "Sally"; The future of daytime and late night talk shows; Burt's Rowlf the Dog replica; Working with Buffalo Bob Smith; Buffalo Bob's rift with Bob Keeshan (Captain Kangaroo)

Nostalgia Tonight with Joe Sibilia | 3-15-2026

Inside the Joe Sibilia Vault:

Joe Sibilia looks back on the Academy Awards with clips from his past interviews with Billy Crystal (from The Friars Club Podcast) and Bruce Villanch (from Nostalgia Tonight).

Guest:

Terry Naughton, Disney Animator for 17 years and illustrator

Topic: His career at Disney working on classics such as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King; His start at Disney; Meeting Disney voices Vincent Price and John Candy; His camaraderie with Roy Disney; Modeling for Gaston in Beauty and the Beast; The infamous studio-wide rubber band/food fight

Nostalgia Tonight with Joe Sibilia | 3-8-25

Guest:

Kirk Demarais, author of "Mail Order Mysteries: Real Stuff From Old Comic Book Ads!"

Topic: The history and mysteries behind products you could order from comic books, including X0Ray Specs, Sea Monkeys, Live Spider Monkeys, Vetriloquist Dummies, and more!

Nostalgia Tonight with Joe Sibilia | 3-1-2026

Guest:

Tim Walsh, founder of The Playmakers, toy & game designer, historian, and the author of "Timeless Toys"

Topic: The story behind Play-Doh, Silly Putty, Slinky, Mr. Potato Head, Operation, and numerous other toys and games