Show Notes
From Hart to Hart glamour to life on the front lines of wildlife conservation, Stefanie Powers has lived one of the most unique careers in Hollywood. In this intimate conversation with Steve Kmetko, the TV icon looks back on growing up in the studio system at Columbia Pictures, working with legends like John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara, and becoming the first female lead of an adventure series in The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.
Stefanie also opens up about her great love, William Holden, and how their time together in Kenya inspired the creation of the William Holden Wildlife Foundation. She explains why she now spends half the year in Africa, what’s really driving species extinction and climate change, and why elephants remain her favorite “extraordinary creatures.”
Plus: the real story behind landing Hart to Hart, her instant chemistry with Robert Wagner, breaking box office records on stage with Love Letters, almost starring in Alien, and what it was like to be “sold” from Columbia to MGM. Stefanie shares how she thinks about aging in a youth-obsessed industry — and why she stays relentlessly focused on the work still ahead.
If you love classic Hollywood, TV history, or powerful stories of reinvention and purpose, this one’s for you.
🔔 Subscribe for more in-depth conversations with the stars who are STILL HERE. ❤️ Support us on Patreon: patreon.com/stillherehollywood
More from Still Here Hollywood
Before millions of Americans knew Denise Nicholas as Liz McIntyre on the groundbreaking television series Room 222, she was living through history.
Anson Williams became a television icon as Potsie Weber on Happy Days, but his Hollywood story goes far beyond Arnold’s Drive-In.
Linda Purl has spent more than five decades building an extraordinary career across television, film, Broadway and music. In this episode of Still Here Hollywood, Linda joins Steve Kmetko for a funny, candid and surprisingly personal conversation about Happy Days, Matlock, The Office, Andy Griffith, Garry Marshall, aging in Hollywood and the unexpected love story that brought her and Dallas star Patrick Duffy together. Linda reveals what The Office was really like behind the scenes, why Happy Days had only one bathroom for the cast and crew, and the remarkable story Andy Griffith told her about fighting for his role in A Face in the Crowd. She also opens up about reconnecting with Patrick Duffy during COVID, their nightly Zoom conversations and the moment he finally drove from Oregon to Colorado to see if their friendship could become something more. Plus, Linda talks about returning to the stage, her lifelong love of music, handling criticism, getting older without “giving up,” and how she and Patrick turned a 70-year-old family sourdough starter into Duffy's Dough and a mission to help fight food insecurity. It's Linda Purl, still working, still laughing, still singing and very much Still Here.
Elisa Donovan became forever recognizable as Amber, Cher Horowitz's fabulously overdressed rival in the 1995 classic Clueless. But behind one of the most memorable characters of the '90s is an actress, writer and mother whose life took turns she never could have imagined. Elisa joins Steve Kmetko for a candid conversation about landing Clueless, creating Amber from the mean girls she knew growing up, working with Alicia Silverstone, and the Clueless joke she didn't even understand when she delivered it. She also opens up about Brittany Murphy, sharing a hilarious memory from the Clueless set and revealing the troubling signs she says she witnessed the last time she saw Brittany before her death. Elisa talks about nearly landing the lead in Showgirls, climbing into bed with Jason Priestley on her first day of Beverly Hills, 90210, her frustration during Sabrina the Teenage Witch, losing her father to cancer, and the extraordinary dreams that changed the way she thinks about grief and death. Plus, Elisa explains why she believes Hollywood is losing the kinds of movies that once gave actors and storytellers room to take chances. This is Still Here Hollywood. I'm Steve Kmetko. Join us with today's guest, from Clueless, actor Elisa Donovan.
Emmy and Golden Globe winner Michael Chiklis joins Steve Kmetko for a remarkably candid conversation about The Shield, Fantastic Four, The Commish, Hollywood, artificial intelligence, reinvention, family, failure, and the future of the entertainment business.