This week, after a cold open involving Pee Wee Herman and David Hasselhoff, Dean and Phil discuss Dean’s travel plans, a big 30th anniversary “X-Files” convention and the latest news involving the Hollywood labor battles. Then Dean offers up another suggestion of a vintage television series you might want to avail yourself of while no new series are being produced. An all-music edition of “Celebrity Deaths” will focus on a groundbreaking Chinese American performer, a beloved bass player, an influential punk rock star, and a chart-topping singer. Then, Dean and Phil celebrate the enduring comedic legacy of true cinematic genius Jacques Tati, discussing his life, his career, his artistry and two of his most beloved films. Phil then asks Dean to weigh in on why the exceptionally funny Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves lost so much money. A show that starts out creepy, albeit hilarious, ends that way as well!

After another hilarious cold open, Dean and Phil briefly discuss the actors George C. Scott and William Shatner, the time their careers intersected, and how memory might have played a role in their careers. Then, it’s a deep dive into the careers of two of the most accomplished screen stars of the 2nd half of the 20th Century: Marlon Brando and Jack Lemmon! Some of the greatest movies, filmmakers and writers take their turns in the spotlight, as do several overlooked or under-appreciated gems!

A cold open about a … melon festival (?!) … inspires a story about racial hostility in Turlock in the early 20th century. From there, Phil is inspired to pick up on a brilliant observation Dean made last week about Mike Nichols’ Working Girl and apply that observation as a potential thru-line for this celebrated director’s career. Alec Baldwin gets into hot water for tweeting support for Anne Heche and Salman Rushdie gets stabbed on-stage right before hailing the USA as the last bastion of freedom of speech. Dean and Phil try to make sense of both of these events. The return of “What We’re Reading” sees Dean learning how to sketch people’s hands and Phil learning what the next World War will be like! In “Celebrity Deaths”, a good friend and frequent collaborator of Stanley Kubrick, a popular and inspiring painter, a legendary French movie star, and the composer of one of the most indelible theme songs of all time all get remembered. Finally, Dean and Phil discuss the finely-tuned instincts Marlon Brando possessed as a great entertainer, and Phil hails the allegorical storytelling on display in Jordan Peele’s Nope.

This weekend, Dean and Phil got together in-person on the “American Riviera” for a fascinating discussion inspired by a loyal listener like you (yes, YOU!). The conversation involves the importance of awards not only recognizing and rewarding great work, but also rewarding the great stories surrounding the making of that work! Somehow that inspires Phil to reappraise the entire filmography of James Mason. That great Belgian sleuth, Hercule Poirot, gets more time in the spotlight, as Dean and Phil take a little more time giving both a doff of the cap and a wag of the finger to Kenneth Branagh’s Death on the Nile and Phil, who took the time during the week to unearth the final Peter Ustinov performance as Agatha Christie’s protagonist, has some thoughts about Appointment with Death from the infamous Cannon Film Group. Finally, in a riff on their usual “Celebrity Deaths” section, Dean and Phil discuss three non-celebrity friends who died recently.

Since it is Valentine’s Day, it’s only fitting that Dean and Phil are offering up a show that is nothing less than a love letter to movies, movie-going AND great comedic acting on television! In addition to a great story about Howard (“Dr. Johnny Fever”) Hesseman that involves the legendary Jack (“Dragnet”) Webb, and analysis of a handful of nominated films, shows and performances, Dean and Phil also engage in free-wheeling discussion about how we judge film and TV, how these works are consumed and what awards shows need to be moving forward. All that, plus a legend of visual effects and the Queen of Italian Cinema both get remembered in “Celebrity Deaths”.

Much of what we think we see in a movie is based on what we hear. To this day, much of what we expect of how a movie will sound is because of the indelible impacts made by such legendary composers as Max Steiner and Bernard Hermann. Steven Smith is a prolific documentary filmmaker, an historian, a lecturer and the author of books detailing the lives and careers of these two giants of motion picture music. Steven is also a good friend Phil Leirness AND he is the guest on this week’s installment of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour!

If you have listened to our last few episodes, you know that conversation has really started to focus on great movies, great directors AND on silent film being appreciated as its own art form. On this week’s show, Dean and Phil really drill down into each of these topics by focusing on the careers, artistry and legacies of two formative giants of the motion picture industry: Mack Sennett and Charlie Chaplin. Even if you don’t like silent movies or know much about them, trust us, this episode is a blast!

Following up on one of their best episodes ever, your friends in podcasting return with the latest installment of Dean’s Down Under Bucket List (before he moves to Detroit)! Then, after a discussion of the visual symbolism of watching Aretha Franklin and John McCain memorialized in back-to-back days, Dean and Phil tackle the current season of “Better Call Saul”, the upcoming season of “Man in the High Castle”, the new movie from Spike Lee (BlacKkKlansman) and the Spike Lee joint Do The Right Thing (at almost 30!). Then, an actress with a once-promising, high-profile career who was shot and killed by police and the writer with the most ever combined Tony and Oscar nominations are remembered in “Celebrity Deaths”.

Happy June, everybody! Summer is on its way here in the historic core of downtown Los Angeles, and YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour’s 6th year of changing the way you listen to the internet is really starting to heat up!

This week, your friends in podcasting welcome two special guests in their first ever show dedicated to a Chillpak Hollywood “Live Event of the Week” …

French Stewart is a marvelous actor, best known for his role as “Harry Solomon” on 3rd Rock From the Sun, and he is at the top of his game playing silent screen icon Buster Keaton in a new show at the Sacred Fools Theatre in Los Angeles. Jaime Robledo, his director in the show, is one of the most gifted, most innovative talents working in theatre today. They both join Dean and Phil for an irreverent, hilarious, insightful and emotionally moving hour.

To learn more about Stoneface: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Buster Keaton, please visit the show’s Official Site.