Digital Series

Dispatches from Quarantine

Silver Screen Studios presents Dispatches from Quarantine, an interview series for the Zoom generation featuring celebrity interviews, short vignettes and special moments sourced straight from our community of inspiring seniors. From media icon Larry King to legendary actress Ellen Burstyn, Tommy Chong, Carl Reiner, Norman Lear, Marion Ross and more, the series tells the inspiring and uplifting stories of seniors as they navigate shelter-at-home orders and life under quarantine.

Season 1 Episode 6

Dispatches From Quarantine: From Generation to Generation

Whenever your children learn a family tradition, story, or recipe, that’s l’dor v’dor, which is Hebrew for “from generation to generation.” Each member of your family plays a role in shaping who your children will become. They instill character, and often embody values and traditions to be passed on to their own children and families.

Season 1 Episode 5

Remembering Norman Lear: Dispatches From Quarantine

Together with so many, we mourn the loss of Norman Milton Lear who passed away at 101 years old. A mensch in the truest sense of the word, he remained both intellectually curious & creatively engaged with work, family & social causes. He got his big break as a comedy writer for Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, among others. By the 1970s, he became one of the most prolific television producers of all time with a string of hits that he wrote, produced and developed including All In The Family, Sanford and Son, Maude, The Jeffersons, One Day at a Time and Good Times. Sheltering at home with his wife Lyn during the COVID-19 pandemic, Lear shared how he was able to find gratitude in the simple pleasures. As he considered his legacy, Norman remained focused on his family, his work and the future. May his memory always be the blessing he was for all of us. Watch his episode of Dispatches From Quarantine from Silver Screen Studios here.

Season 1 Episode 4

Dispatches From Quarantine: In the Weeds with Tommy Chong

Thomas B. Kin Chong was born in Edmonton, Alberta on May 24, 1938. He left school at 16 to pursue music and began performing with local bands. In the late 1960s, Tommy meet Chicano singer/performer Richard “Cheech” Marin. They joined forces and become the highly successful comedy duo Cheech & Chong, collaborating on a number of comedy albums and feature film comedies in the 1970s and 80s. As Tommy quarantines at home with his wife Shelby, he remains active with new business ventures and continues to live life to the fullest.

Season 1 Episode 3

Dispatches From Quarantine: Carl Reiner

Reboot’s Dispatches From Quarantine captured the last interview with Carl Reiner, allowing the world to get a final look into the life of an extraordinary and kind man before his passing in 2020 at age 98. The creator of The Dick Van Dyke Show reflected on mortality, faith and god and told some amazing jokes. 

 

Season 1 Episode 2

Dispatches From Quarantine: Ellen Burstyn

Edna Rae Gillooly was born in Detroit, Michigan on December 7, 1932.  She left high school early to pursue a career as a model and actress under various names including Erica Dean, Keri Flynn and Ellen McRae.

In 1957, she had her Broadway debut in the comedy Fair Game. By the late 1960s she joined The Actor’s Studio under the direction of Lee Strasberg and came to be known as Ellen Burstyn.

Unable to perform during the COVID-19 pandemic, Ellen is taking the time to reconnect with nature and reflecting on her storied career, her relationship with her late mother and the legacy she hopes to leave behind.

Season 1 Episode 1

Dispatches From Quarantine: Larry King

Lawrence Harvey Zeiger was born in Brooklyn, New York on November 19. 1933. He moved to Florida in his 20s to pursue a career in broadcasting and was hired as an assistant at WAHR , a small station in Miami Beach. On May 1, 1957, he was put on the air for the first time when one of the station’s announcers didn’t show up. On that day, Larry King was born.
Since then, he has interviewed over 30,000 people, including many of the leading figures of his time. As Larry stays home in quarantine with his son Chance during the COVID-19 pandemic, he reflects on his life, his family, growing older and his incredible career.