Live on Game Changers With Vicki Abelson

2x GRAMMY Nominee CIDNY BULLENS - NOT An Ordinary Life

Today LIVE! Two-time Grammy nominee Cidny Bullens is a good friend and a multi-talented performer, of whom I have borne witness, live, as a singer/songwriter and as an actor. Cid has performed with Bob Dylan, toured and recorded with Sir Elton John, sang three lead vocals on the iconic Grease movie soundtrack, and has had a string of acclaimed solo rock/Americana albums from 1978 to the present. He is also part of the long-time trio, The Refugees, with Wendy Waldman and Deborah Holland. In 2016, Cidny wrote his award-winning one-person show Somewhere Between: Not an Ordinary Life, which he performs nationally. Cid's memoir, TransElectric: My Life as a Cosmic Rock Star (with a foreword by Sir Elton John), was released in 2023 by Chicago Review Press to rave reviews and praise from me. Cid continues to write and tour both solo and with The Refugees, appear at book signings, and is bringing back his solo show Somewhere Between, in the fall. I have yet to see it, can't wait, but did see Cidney in the stellar premiere production of The Civility of Albert Cashier, in the title role. Magnificent! 

More than any of that, Cid is a treasured friend, with a story that screams to be heard, especially today. We'll be talking about transitions never before discussed on this show. It's about time. 

Cidny Bullens Live on Game Changers With Vicki Abelson

Wed, June 10, 5 pm PT, 8 pm ET

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Today on STSWV, about last night at The Hollywood Bowl with Paul Simon… I have what to say… The Tonys, yeah, about that, too. Saying goodbye to Samantha, Beanie & Marsh after their 12-day visit with us. 😭

Shooting The Shit With Vicki

Monday, June 8, 2026

Streaming Live @5ish PM PT on my FB

It just doesn’t get better than this. I knew, and have known since I was 10, that Peter Noone is easy on the eyes and the ears. Meeting him recently after his show at The Canyon Club in LA, I also knew he was funny, crazy talented, nice to a fault, and charismatic as hell. What I didn’t know was that Mr. Herman’s Hermits, a name chosen for hysterical reasons (he ‘spains), would regale us with story after story, many previously untold (I listened to a load of his interviews today), before tonight, one more precious than the next, each told with wild enthusiasm and almost reckless, but not quite, abandon. We laughed like hell for the entire hour and forty minutes. Reading the comments on Facebook, which we couldn’t see during the broadcast, so did the Live audience. 

There were a few technical glitches before, during, and it turns out, after, but so what! This show is a gem, a diamond in its glory, nothing rough about it… Well, the tech stuff, but who cares? It’s like having the best slice of pizza and quibbling over a little dripped cheese.

Peter, with his 60 million records sold, 7 gold albums, and 14 gold records, has met and has known everybody who’s anybody, and I do mean everybody, and he shares juicy tales from the front, back, and side about so many of them. Friends with the Beatles, Peter’s remembrances of John and Paul are priceless. Likewise, Elvis, Bowie, Mick Jagger, Eric Burdon, Leslie Gore, Graham Nash & The Hollies, The Cavern, meeting his wife at a Hendrix Concert and marrying her on his 21st birthday because… well, I let him tell you, his family foibles, the drinking, more drinking, getting sober, advice on drugging from Keith Richards, hysterical, and the creme de la creme with Richard McArthur Park Harris, worth the price of admission. 

There was some singing here and there, including a bissel, There’s a Kind of Hush. Speaking of bissel, Peter’s got more Yiddish than I do. The story of his nuptials with his French, Jewish bride in a Roman Catholic church is pure Peter. 

From the man who gave us, I’m Into Something Good, Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got A Lovely Daughter, I’m Henry VIII, I Am, Can’t You Hear My Heartbeat, Listen People, No Milk Today, we got a treasure trove of bliss. 

It just doesn’t get better than this! 

Peter Noone Live on Game Changers With Vicki Abelson

**Wed, June 3rd,  7 pm PT, 10 pm ET**

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There's a Kind of Crush! Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits - 

TODAY LIVE! 7 PM PT

A child of the 60s, Peter Noone, graced the cover of more of my 16 Magazines than I could count. Beyond adorable then, still so now, meeting Peter recently at his fantastically fun, entertaining, and musically sensational show at The Canyon Club in April was a thrill I’ve waited many decades to realize. A huge Herman’s Hermits fan, “I’m Into Something Good,” “Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got A Lovely Daughter,” “I’m Henry VIII, I Am,” “Can’t You Hear My Heartbeat,” and  “There’s A Kind of Hush,” are all part of the fabric of my youth… and boy do they hold up. Hearing them now thrills me as much, if not more, than it did then. And Peter delivers them with the same adorable charm and keen musicianship. What a singer! What an entertainer. 

As massive as Herman’s Hermits is and was, there’s so much more to Peter.  As a child, he played “Stanley Fairclough” in the long-running British soap opera Coronation Street. He was also featured in the television series Knight Errant, Family Solicitor, and Monro’s Saki Stories. Peter performed on hundreds of top-rated television programs and appeared with Ed Sullivan, Jackie Gleason, Dean Martin, and Danny Kaye. He also starred in ABC’s musical version of The Canterville Ghost, Hallmark Hall of Fame’s Pinocchio (in which he played the title role), and three feature films for M-G-M: Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got A Lovely Daughter, Hold On!, and When The Boys Meet The Girls.

Throughout the seventies, Noone performed, composed songs, and produced recordings with such artists as David Bowie, Debby Boone, and Graham Gouldman. His album with the Tremblers, “Twice Nightly,” and his solo effort, “One of the Glory Boys,” were both critically and commercially successful. 

Peter starred on Broadway in the New York Shakespeare Festival’s production of The Pirates of Penzance as the dashing, young hero, Frederic. He went on to reprise the role at the Drury Lane Theatre in London. Peter continued to play Frederic with both the U.S. National Touring Company and the International Touring Company of Pirates.

Accompanied by his band, Herman’s Hermits, Peter consistently plays to sold-out venues the world over. He has a legion of faithful fans, known as Noonatics. Today’s teen girls scream just as passionately as their mothers did back in 1965, prompting VH1 to select Peter as their viewers’ choice for the Sexiest Artist of the Year. Most recently, Peter starred in the recurring role of Paddington on As the World Turns. Added to all of that, Peter is a funny, humble, sweet, kind, lovely gent. The proof is in this pudding. Despite constantly touring, just returning home last night before readying to jet off again, he’s making time for us. I’m in awe and can’t wait for us to spend some quality time with him! 

PLEASE NOTE THE SPECIAL 7 PM PT TIME! 

Peter Noone Live on Game Changers With Vicki Abelson

SPECIAL TIME 

****Wed, June 3rd,  7 pm PT, 10 pm ET****

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Please vote. Blue. And come on in and catch up.

Shooting The Shit With Vicki Monday, June 1, 2026 Streamed Live @5ish PM PT on my FB

Today on STSWV, last week was sort of a drive-by. Let's ketchup!

Shooting The Shit With Vicki Monday, June 1, 2026 Streaming Live @5ish PM PT on my FB facebook.com/vickiabelson

Getting kissed by Sean Connery, whilst he was James Bond, fanned repeatedly by Bob Dylan when she sang, plucked for a film by Frank Sinatra, bagels and the part of a lifetime from Tom Hanks, gaslit and insulted by Jerry Lewis, adored and showcased by Dean Martin, wildly successful club proprietor with Hugh Hefner, best friends with Connie Stevens, and Diane Ladd, taught a golden secret by Shelley Winters, asked to serenade her hero Judy Garland, and then had the favor returned, making the funny with Renee Taylor, the straight serious with John Houseman, stress understudying Barbara Streisand, mad love for Bette Midler, who almost played her, Tony, Emmy Golden Globe nominee, Lainie Kazan, dancer, singer, actor, spilled all this and so much more! 

My favorite character in my favorite movie, My Favorite Year, we got the behind-the-scenes fun, Peter O’Toole and his wonderfulness, improvising one of the funniest lines, likewise with My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which she waited a year to hear, then had the time of her life with a cast she’s still connected to. 

What a life Lainie’s led! What work she’s done! And what a fun, fierce, and fabulous woman she is! Blessed to call her a friend and even more to know she was off to have drinks and dinner with my mother, which she does most nights. I can’t wait for her in-process memoir, sure to shock, delight, and thrill. 

I love Lainie! Who doesn’t! Lainie Kazan Live on Game Changers With Vicki Abelson

Wed, May 27, 5 pm PT, 8 pm ET

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Today, LIVE! I couldn't love Lainie Kazan more! I'm a fan, and dare I say, friend. And, she's my mother's regular dinner partner. Crazy.

Star of my favorite comedy, My Favorite Year, Lainie's credits include her iconic turns in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, St. Elsewhere, Beaches, Desperate Housewives, The Nanny, Veronica’s Closet & Will & Grace… to name but a few.

Beginning her career on Broadway in Funny Girl, where she played a Ziegfeld showgirl and understudied Barbra Streisand. Lainie performed the lead role twice in one day, and the rest, as they say, is showbiz herstory!

Hysterically funny, warm, smart, intuitive, and generous, I cannot wait to sit down with this fiercely talented woman again with y'all. We got first-time told secrets last time... just wait!

Lainie Kazan Live on Game Changers With Vicki Abelson

Wed, May 27, 5 pm PT, 8 pm ET

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It was a fun week leading up to today, and this coming week promises to best it. There used to be a perfect expression for “best it.” 🤮 Highlights: Bill Murray fanning over Snuffy at Dan Tana’s; my old pal Godfrey Townsend’s incredible rock hero stories on Wednesday’s Game Changers, finding out I’m not allergic to Zepbound, and getting cleared to restart at 7:14 pm! This Wednesday’s BMI Awards, and Samantha’s graduation from USC Gould School of Law on Friday. My daughter the Dr.!  A lot of gratitude today.

Shooting The Shit With Vicki Monday, May 11, 2026 Streamed Live @5ish PM PT on my FB

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Today, Live! My old friend, guitarist extraordinaire, Godfrey Townsend, currently with the Yardbirds, will be joining us. Finally!

Godfrey has played with a range of greats from John Entwistle to Jack Bruce. Eric Clapton's guitar technician, Lee Dickson, commented to John Entwistle, "Hey John, come listen to this guy...he's got Clapton down better than Clapton!" Entwistle replied, "You twit!...that's MY guitar player!"

Godfrey plays guitar and keyboards, sings, and serves as the music director for countless live performers, most notably his own "Clapton is God-frey" show and the Happy Together tour.

A favorite in New York City's Max's Kansas City and the China Club, Godfrey's been the guy who got famous rockers on stage to jam with the bands. After a stint in Las Vegas working with Mitch Ryder, Spencer Davis, and Joey Molland of Badfinger, he was recruited by John Entwistle of The Who, with whom he performed a half dozen tours, a studio album, and a live album. Godfrey went on to play with Alan Parsons, Todd Rundgren, Ann Wilson of Heart, Jack Bruce, Mark Farner, Christopher Cross, Flo and Eddie, and Dave Mason.

And, he's played for me in innumerable venues back in the day! Can’t wait to catch up! 

Godfrey Townsend Live on Game Changers With Vicki Abelson

Wed, May 6, 5 pm PT, 8 pm ET

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I jumped! It was a year in the contemplating and avoiding, and two days of heavy research and mishaps, with ChatGPT giving me misinformation twice, but I'm on Day 4 of Zepbound 2.5, which I got for pretty much a song, without insurance, or going rogue or using non-FDA-approved compounds. I tell how and why... and how lucky I am to be pretty much symptom-free. Fighting my first cold since before the pandemic, the price of being back in the world. And rewatching the spectacular FROM in prep for starting the new Season 4.

Shooting The Shit With Vicki

Monday, April 27, 2026

Streamed Live @5ish PM PT on my FB

Today on STSWV, took a leap! Info to share. Let's ketchup.

Shooting The Shit With Vicki

Monday, April 27, 2026

Streaming Live @5ish PM PT on my FB

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Today on STSWV, what we're eating, doing, and viewing. Let's ketchup! 

Shooting The Shit With Vicki

Monday, April 20, 2026

Streaming Live @5ish PM PT on my FB

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Cady Huffman’s Got It - And I Made Her Flaunt It!

With a gazillion-dollar smile, easy, absolutely effortless charm, Tony Award-winning Cady Huffman took this adoring fan and turned me into an even bigger one (who knew that was possible), and dare I say (she said), a friend. *Sigh* A masterful storyteller, without even trying,  I was delightfully mesmerized, hanging on her every word. 

Her remembrances of Bob Fosse, auditioning for him, being cast by him, dancing with him (WHAT!), and dinking beside him, left me breathless. Tommy Tune, another genius, and The Will Rogers Follies, her first Tony nomination, her most vivid remembrance of finding out is about the guy she woke up with. So damn human at every turn. I love this woman! 

And of course, her Tony turn, also winning the Drama  Desk Award and the Outer Critics’ Circle Award, for The Producers, where I first witnessed Cady’s stunningly sexy, adorable Ulla, the last preview before opening night. The show against which I’ve measured all others. To date, none have exceeded the laughs, the spectacle, and the non-stop thrills. In a word, it was… perfection! Cady told us about Susan Stroman, Mel Brooks, Nathan Lane. and our mutual friend, Wendy Waring, still in Cady’s world today. 

We talked Kay Cole, Samantha’s director and OG of A Chorus Line, who sang, At the Ballet, which could have been Cady’s theme song for many of her days, La Cage Aux Folles, her first Broadway play, the wild backstage antics, and auditioning for Cy Coleman, hysterical! Dame Edna! Steel Pier, Sting! 

We talked about growing up in Santa Barbara, early family struggles, her first play and her first line, ballet, opera, and Cady mastering each. Her brother Linus, childhood friends Anthony Edwards, Eric Stoltz, and the incredible Kathleen Wilhoite, my long-time grown-up pal. 

Before we signed off, we talked the reals… aging, food, booze, programs, Ozempic, and a little-known side effect that worked for the good. 

Cady Huffman is living my life. My childhood dream life. Better than I could have ever imagined. Tonight, I got to live it vicariously through her. Thank you, Cady, for that, for everything!

Cady Huffman Live on Game Changers With Vicki Abelson

Wed, April 15th, 5 pm PT, 8 pm ET

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Today, LIVE! Cady Huffman is living my life! A lot better than I ever could. How I ADORE her! My first Cady taste came at the final preview for The Producers on Broadway, opposite Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, where her Tony-winning performance blew me ut of my seat! A knockout performance, as vivid and unforgettable today as it was that day, 25 years ago.  

Cady's recurring role on Curb Your Enthusiasm, where she almost became Larry David’s 10th-anniversary present, stands right beside it in my heart and mind.  Those successes brought her to the Food Network’s kitchen stadium, where she judged for 10 consecutive seasons on Iron Chef America.

Cady’s other Broadway credits are her Tony-nominated performance as Ziegfeld’s Favorite in THE WILL ROGERS FOLLIES, her Outer Critics’ Circle Award-nominated performance as Sylvie in THE NANCE, the original production of LA CAGE AUX FOLLES, CHICAGO, STEEL PIER, DAME EDNA: THE ROYAL TOUR, and Bob Fosse’s last original musical BIG DEAL. She has had several guest-starring appearances on television, including recurring roles on The Good Wife and Blue Bloods,  Younger, Madam Secretary, Master of None, Difficult People, Law & Order: SVU, Law & Order: CI, Law & Order: Trial By Jury, Frasier, and Mad About You. She even showed up on Daytime’s One Life to Live as the 2nd Dr. Paige Miller.

Cady was most recently nominated for an Emmy Award for her work on the digital series AFTER FOREVER, which she won the 2018 IAWT Award for. She created and starred in her own digital series titled CADY DID.. Her one-woman show, MISS PEGGY LEE, premiered at the Green Room 42. She performed her cabaret TOMBOY SHOWGIRL and directed THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT TIME at Weathervane Theater.

I am beyond excited to sit down with this Broadway titan and get to know the woman inside the stunning talent that I coveted. She's got it, and I'll be flaunting it! 

Cady Huffman Live on Game Changers With Vicki Abelson

Wed, April 15th, 5 pm PT, 8 pm ET

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I’ve known comedian/writer/animal activist Elayne Boosler for a couple of decades, but there’s so much I didn’t know! We got loads of juicy bits from the woman who pioneered stand-up comedy for all who followed in her wake. 

From her earliest days at The Improv in New York, a waitress/hostess, who needed Andy Kaufman’s help to differentiate the brown drinks, to her love/hate relationship with proprietor, Bud Friedman, swooning over 20-year-old Richard Lewis, MC’ing without an act or a net, singing and then not thanks to now partner Andy, who Elayne credits with teaching her “everything.” 

Tom Waits? Who knew! We got a great story there. Robin Williams, to Bill Siddons, her husband of 30 years, with whom she shares a home in Italy, and a great line to sum up the current state of their union. We got lots on Italy, the when, where, why, and how. 

Elayne talked Rodney, Belzer, Totie, Joan,  Leno, and Jackie Gayle with a hilarious impression; the book she has to write, Tails of Joy, her passion project, which has saved tens of thousands of animals. To learn more and help https://www.tailsofjoy.net/, I just donated, won’t you? Love her necklace? I sure do, get it here: mermadejewelry.com  and for all things Elayne https://www.elayneboosler.com

Elayne was always a must-see for me whenever she appeared on TV, and hugely impactful when I tried my hands and feet at standup. I could never be as smart, but she gave me permission to let my sass shine. A fan for decades, it was a pinch-me moment when we met on the Facebook and became instant friends. It translated to the reals not long after, over pizza in New York, and sometime after that, with Elayne gracing my living room for Women Who Write. It’s taken 10 years to get this sit down, she was well worth the wait. Despite a couple of tech glitches, I  adored every moment, and I’m so grateful for all the laughs, so needed now. I’m about to do a YouTube Elayne deep dive and continue to lose myself in her brilliant shine.

Elayne Boosler Live on Game Changers With Vicki Abelson

Wed, April 8th, 5 pm PT, 8 pm ET

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