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Friday, February 1, 2013

Retroality's "Reimagine That!" podcast, episode 16! ............................................................ Chris Mann's special guest, Lara Jill Miller, opens up about "Gimme a Break!," loving Nell Carter and giving life to various animated kids and creatures; also: Normand Authier's reimagined reality and Yvonne Ryba's crystal-clear dream interpretation

Click here to listen to the podcast!

Season 2 premiere, episode 16, "Re-envisioning Your Voice" ... In the Eighties, after a stint on Broadway with Dick Van Dyke in "The Music Man,' Lara Jill Miller grew up before our eyes as Nell Carter's sweet-faced "little girl" Samantha Kinisky on the hit NBC sitcom "Gimme a Break!" In the Nineties she went back to the East Coast, earned a law degree and became a practicing New York attorney ... but her passion for showbiz brought her back to Hollywood once more. In the last decade, Lara Jill has become one of the industry's most in-demand voice artists, with starring roles in several animated series, films, video games and more. In aspecial Valentine-themed episode of the hit Disney Jr. series "Doc McStuffins"--premiering at 10 a.m. today on the Disney Channel and 4 p.m. on Disney Junior--the former child star again takes the spotlight, this time as Doc's lovable pal Lambie. (Check out her Facebook page here and her Twitter page here.)

In this exclusive, in-depth interview about her amazing journey, Lara Jill opens up about her close relationship with the late Carter, revealing how being the "Ain't Misbehavin'" star's "baby" kept Sam in the "Gimme a Break!" fold after the show was extensively retooled (and much of the original cast let go) during its final season. Lara Jill recalls some of the long-running sitcom's landmark episodes (Joey in blackface?! Katie has an IUD?!) and discloses that, had the show been renewed for a seventh season, the focus would have shifted to Nell's misadventures with Sam in college. (NBC, instead giving us "A Different World," missed the boat on this one, folks.)



And after a special clip of Lara Jill singing the Charlie Chaplin-penned tune "Smile," Retroality.TV founder and host Chris Mann chats with singer-songwriter Normand Authier in the first installment of this podcast's new "Reality Reimagined" segment. Norm explains how a recent weight-loss transformation helped reawaken his long-shelved dream to write and perform music -- and, to quote is first recorded single, "To Live Again." And he tells how Annie Lennox and the Eurythmics inspired his artistry.

In connection with "Smile," Chris pays homage to Nell Carter (who died Jan. 23, 2003) and three other TV greats we've lost more recently: "Dallas" icon Larry Hagman, "Three's Company" Regal Beagle bartender (and stage star!) Paul Ainsley and "Maude" and "Diff'rent Strokes" star Conrad Bain.

Finally, our resident dream weaver Yvonne Ryba deconstructs a client's crystal-clear sleeping dream and relates this vision to her client's waking ambitions.

Host: Chris Mann

Announcer: Linda Kay

Created by: Chris Mann

Producers: Linda Kay, Chris Mann

Copyright 2013 by Chris Mann/Retroality.TV