October 16, 2023 - Airwave Podcast Network will debut a brand-new entertainment history podcast from hosts Steve Cubine and Nan McNamara and the award-winning producers of The Box of Oddities and The Shallow End. From Beneath the Hollywood Sign will launch on with five episodes on Monday, October 16, and new episodes every Monday.
Each week on From Beneath the Hollywood Sign, writer and producer Steve Cubine and actress Nan McNamara explore, discuss, and dissect the magical, mysterious, amusing, and sometime bizarre tales of Old Hollywood.
EPISIODE 1 - Oscar Fumbles
Hollywood’s Oscar ceremony is like the Super Bowl for cinema lovers. But beyond the clothes, the speeches, and the musical numbers, it’s all about the winners. And some leave us scratching our heads. Did How Green Was My Valley really deserve the Best Picture Oscar over Casablanca in 1941? How did CARY GRANT and MYRNA LOY never win competitive Oscars? And who the hell is LUISE RAINER, and how did she rob IRENE DUNNE and BARBARA STANWYCK of their Oscars? Join STEVE CUBINE, writer of the Emmy-Award winning series Break A Hip, and NAN MCNAMARA, renowned actress and director, as they discuss some of the most baffling Oscar fumbles in the history of the Academy Awards.
EPISODE 2 - The Sordid History Of the Knickerbocker Hotel
Planted firmly in the middle of Hollywood is the Knickerbocker Hotel, a big, boxy, building with a faded facade appearing like a sad relic from a gayer time. Only the illuminated block letters of its sign that light up the Hollywood night sky hint at the lively history of this Hollywood landmark that BETTE DAVIS, MAUREEN O’SULLIVAN, and DICK POWELL once called home. From affairs to arrests to seances to suicides, we take a deep dive into the sordid past of this once grand dame of Hollywood.
EPISODE 3 - Hollywood’s Web of Love
Everyone in old Hollywood can probably be connected by whom they dated, married, or screwed. And two of the most desirable lovers of the era were LANA TURNER and AVA GARDNER, two Hollywood superstars who shared a friendship, similar backgrounds, and many romantic partners, including a husband. Join us as we connect the romantic dots through old Hollywood using Lana and Ava’s little back books as our guide.
EPISODE 4 - The Murders, Mayhem, and Mischief of Beachwood Canyon
When you drive through Beachwood Canyon, don't be fooled by the droves of tourists vying for the perfect shot of the Hollywood sign or the beautiful stone gates of the village that lead to storybook houses covered with ivy and brilliant bougainvillea. The canyon has had its share of strange, and often dark, Hollywood history including religious cults, suicides, and a love triangle murder that involved popular and prolific Hollywood actor PAUL KELLY. Join us as we explore the happenings that occurred “from beneath the Hollywood sign.”
EPISODE 5 - Anne Revere: Mother Courage
The name ANNE REVERE may not ring a bell to many today, but during the 1940’s, the Broadway trained, Tony-winning actress, who was a descendant of Revolutionary War hero Paul Revere, was one of the most revered character actresses in Hollywood. She won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 1944 for National Velvet and left an indelible mark on the landscape of film as Gregory Peck’s sympathetic mother in Gentleman’s Agreement in 1947. Learn about her life, career, and the shameful witch hunt of an obsessed Wisconsin Senator looking to make a name for himself that ended her brilliant Hollywood career.
STEVE CUBINE has over 20 years of film and television experience. He is best known as the writer/producer of the Emmy Award-winning series Break A Hip, starring Emmy-winner Christina Pickles. His film credits include the cult classic comedy Sordid Lives, Our Very Own, featuring an Independent Spirit Award nominated performance from Allison Janney, and Lucky, featuring classic star Ann-Margret. A published author and graduate of The University of Tennessee-Knoxville, he is a proud member of the Director’s Guild of America and the Television Academy. He began From Beneath The Hollywood Sign five years ago as a blog. And, as you might have guessed, he lives just “Beneath the Hollywood Sign.”
NAN McNAMARA has been an actor/writer/director for over 20 years. She’s appeared in dozens of films and television shows including 911: Lonestar, Good Trouble, Hawaii Five-0 and Not That Funny, as well as voiced hundreds of radio & television commercials and nearly 300 audiobooks. Her work on the stage has garnered her multiple awards including the Los Angeles Drama Critics Award, Stage Raw Award, LA Weekly Award and Ovation Award. Her screenplay Brand New Ballgame with co-writer Ana Auther, was a finalist for the Santa Barbara International Screenplay Award. She is a proud Minnesota native, mom to corgi-mix rescue Sally and married to voiceover artist and podcast host Lindsay Schnebly.
KAT AND JETHRO GILLIGAN TOTH are the producers of “From Beneath the Hollwyood Sign.” Kat and Toth produce and host the award-winning podcast “The Box of Oddities.” They also produce “The Shallow End,” which is co-hosted by Toth and Lindsay Schnebly.
AIRWAVE is home to over 100 popular podcasts, including This Day in History, Big Picture Science, Fast Company Daily, Good Job Brain, The Civil War Podcast, TechCrunch Daily, The History of Everything, The Economist's The World in Brief, HerMoney, Tumble, Yahoo Finance Daily, Most Notorious, Sleepy, What If World, The Explorer’s Podcast, The Purpose Show, The Movies That Made Me, Sleep Tight Stories, Ben Franklin’s World, Wake Me Up, History of the Second World War, The Team House, Redacted History, Queens Podcast, Earn & Invest, My History Can Beat Up Your Politics, Small Things Often, The History of Egypt, Unbiased Science, The Constant, History Tea Time, and more. Find a complete listing of all programs available on Airwave at www.airwavemedia.com.
Airwave is a curated podcast network that believes learning and entertainment go hand in hand. Airwave empowers select podcast creators to do their best work, grow their audience, and monetize their content through advertising, paid subscriptions, and more. Airwave’s programs are available for free across all major platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Pandora, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, and more.
Contact Michael Moeri for more information. michael@airwavemedia.com