#26 "Brady Bunch" Producer Lloyd Schwartz: Hollywood Career Tips and How to Deal with Actors

Suzanne and Bob talk about their new book, Where Hollywood Hides: Santa Barbara, and are then joined by Lloyd Schwartz, one of TV’s most prolific writer-producers for stories of his long and successful career in Hollywood. Starting as a standup comic (with a member of The Black Panthers as his working partner), Lloyd recalls selling his first network script while still in college and describes the confidence and writing skills that made him Hollywood’s youngest television producer. With TV writing credits ranging from Harper Valley PTA and Baywatch to movies like The Invisible Woman and A Very Brady Christmas, Lloyd was well prepared when he became the producer of one of television’s most iconic series of all time, The Brady Bunch. Lloyd doesn’t pull any punches as he describes his notion of “happy projects” and reveals his secret to building a lasting writing career and delivers a realistic and practical step-by-step strategy for breaking into the studio system.  “If you do exactly what I’m saying, you’ll get into the business”. Throughout the conversation, Lloyd shares stories of his favorite actors, talks about what it was like moving up through the ranks from dialogue coach to producer—eventually becoming a network executive—and then to writing America’s first live dinner theatre plays. It’s a high-energy inspirational interview peppered with rock-solid tips for surviving in Hollywood, including Lloyd’s personal mantra “The phone will never ring.  You have to make it happen.” Lloyd Schwartz has a unique and inspiring story, and if you want “the keys to making it in Hollywood”, you’ll want to hear this podcast.