Swan Songs cover art

Swan Songs

By: Ross Johnson
  • Summary

  • In Swan Songs, we explore the final acts in the lives of film’s most legendary figures. Whether good, bad, or deliciously trashy, movie-writer and host Ross Johnson visits the films they left behind.
    Copyright 2023 All rights reserved.
    Show More Show Less
Episodes
  • Spencer Tracy and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
    Oct 24 2023

    Spencer Tracy was one of the biggest stars of golden age Hollywood. He brought a subtle, naturalistic style to even the biggest roles, earning Oscars and big numbers at the box office in the process. In his later career, he appeared in several critically acclaimed movies with strong, sometimes controversial, social messages—Guess Who's Coning to Dinner among them. His private life, though, was far more complicated: a lifelong struggle with alcoholism and a string of affairs with women and men left the Catholic Tracy constantly guilt-ridden. No less complex was his decades-long relationship with Katherine Hepburn, with whom he'd be forever associated.

    Show More Show Less
    45 mins
  • Betty White Gets Hot in Cleveland
    Oct 10 2023

    She was Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Rose Nylund on The Golden Girls. Delores Bickerman in Lake Placid. Those are just three of her memorable roles, but she was a television presence for decades, often as a quick-witted and welcome guest on game and talk shows. With a love for her work and a passion for animal causes, she took on a regular role in a sitcom at the age of 88, and continued performing and entertaining well into her 90s. On this episode, we're talking about Betty White and her journey to Hot in Cleveland, and her last major role as sassy caretaker Elka Ostrovsky. We're joined by filmmaker and friend-of-Betty Dan White, who has plenty to share about the Betty he knew.

    Show More Show Less
    50 mins
  • Alfred Hitchcock’s Family Plot
    Oct 3 2023

    In 1904, a small boy arrived at a London police station with a note. When read, it instructed the police to lock young Alfred Hitchcock up, because: "That's what we do to naughty boys." The boy would grow up to become one of the most significant figures in the birth and growth of film throughout the 20th century, right up until his final picture: Family Plot. This story isn't just his, though—it'a slap about Alma Reville, a teenage prodigy who collaborated on every one of Hitch's films, and it's also about Tippi Hedren, the actress who faced down the dark side of the director's genius.

    Show More Show Less
    44 mins

What listeners say about Swan Songs

Average Customer Ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.