"Vinnie From Queens"

Vinnie From Queens featuring Connell McShane, Tony Powell, Gunz Gunzelman, Sid Rosenberg, Bernard McGuirk & Lou Rufino

Leigh Montville

STING LIKE A BEE, an insightful portrait of Muhammad Ali from the New York Times bestselling author of At the Altar of Speed and The Big Bam,  centers on the cultural and political implications of Ali’s refusal of service in the military—and the key moments in a life that was as high profile and transformative as any in the twentieth century.

With the death of Muhammad Ali in June, 2016, the media and America in general have remembered a hero, a heavyweight champion, an Olympic gold medalist, an icon, and a man who represents the sheer greatness of America. New York Times bestselling author Leigh Montville goes deeper, with a fascinating chronicle of a story that has been largely untold. Muhammad Ali, in the late 1960s, was young, successful, brash, and hugely admired—but with some reservations. He was bombastic and cocky in a way that captured the imagination of America, but also drew its detractors. He was a bold young African American in an era when few people were as outspoken. He renounced his name—Cassius Clay—as being his ‘slave name,’ and joined the Nation of Islam, renaming himself Muhammad Ali. And finally in 1966, after being drafted, he refused to join the military for religious and conscientious reasons, triggering a fight that was larger than any of his bouts in the ring. What followed was a period of legal battles, of cultural obsession, and in some ways of being the very embodiment of the civil rights movement located in the heart of one man. Muhammad Ali was the tip of the arrow, and Leigh Montville brilliantly assembles all the boxing, the charisma, the cultural and political shifting tides, and ultimately the enormous waft of entertainment that always surrounded Ali. Muhammed Ali vs. the United States of America is an important and incredibly engaging book.

LEIGH MONTVILLE - Three-time New York Times bestselling author LEIGH MONTVILLE is a former columnist at The Boston Globe and former senior writer at Sports Illustrated. He is the author of Evel, The Mysterious Montague, The Big Bam, Ted Williams, At the Altar of Speed, Manute, and Why Not Us? He lives in Boston.

"PSYCHOS"

PSYCHOS with Deirdre Imus, Curtis Sliwa, Tony Powell, Lou Rufino, Bernard McGuirk, Sid Rosenberg and Lionel!

Robert Klein

Robert Klein - For more than forty years, Robert Klein has entertained audiences, and he continues to have an acclaimed career in comedy, on Broadway, on television, and in film.

2014 and 2015 have been busy years for Klein. He’s appeared on “Madame Secretary” starring Tea Leoni on CBS, “Sharknado 2: The Second One” and ”Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!” starring Ian Ziering, on Syfy. Most recently, he guest stars as Laura Diamond’s grouchy but loveable father, Leo, on NBC’s “The Mysteries of Laura” starring Debra Messing. He is the subject of a new documentary, “Robert Klein: Still Can’t Stop His Leg”, for the Weinstein Company.  Born in the Bronx, he was a member of the famed “Second City” theatrical troupe in Chicago.

He was nominated twice for Grammy Awards for “Best Comedy Album of the Year” for his albums “Child of the Fifties” and “Mind Over Matter.”

He received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor, and won a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for his performance in the hit Neil Simon musical, “They’re Playing Our Song.” In 1993, Klein won an Obie and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in Wendy Wasserstein’s, “The Sisters Rosensweig.”

In 1975, Klein was the first comedian to appear in a live concert on Home Box Office. He has gone on to do nine one-man shows for HBO and received his first Emmy nomination for Outstanding Music and Lyrics in 2001 for Robert Klein: “Child in His 50’s.”  Klein released “Robert Klein: The HBO Specials 1975-2005,” a collector’s DVD box set to critical acclaim.

Among dozens of starring and guest-starring roles on television, he co-starred in the hit NBC series, “Sisters,” has a recurring guest-starring role on “Law and Order” and has guest starred on “The Good Wife” and “Royal Pains.”  He regularly appeared on talk shows, making more than 100 appearances on “The Tonight Show” and “Late Show with David Letterman.” Currently, he can be seen on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon,” where he is a show favorite and on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”

Klein has also appeared in many notable films including, “Hooper,” “The Owl and the Pussycat,” “Primary Colors,” “People I Know,” “Two Weeks Notice,” and “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days,” and “The Back-Up Plan” with Jennifer Lopez.

“The Amorous Busboy of Decatur Avenue,” his first book for Simon & Schuster, is an affectionate coming-of-age memoir about growing up in the ‘50s and ‘60s before embarking on a show business career. In it he recounts his journey from an apartment in the Bronx, developing his talent in Chicago and the beginning of his show business stardom. The book is pure Robert Klein: witty, honest, self-questioning and always contagiously funny. Publishers Weekly wrote: "...he unfurls an array of captivating anecdotes, writing with wry wit and honesty."

Robert, a lifelong New Yorker, makes his home in Westchester and New York City.

Professor Douglas Brinkley

Douglas Brinkley is an American author, professor of history at Rice University and a fellow at the James Baker Institute for Public Policy. Brinkley is the history commentator for CNN News and a contributing editor to the magazines Vanity Fair and American Heritage.  A public spokesperson on conservation issues, Brinkley serves as an editor at Audubon Magazine. He joined the faculty of Rice University as a professor of history in 2007.